Unhelpful religious verses and texts

This page will list religious texts which appear to be unhelpful rather than helpful in combatting crimes of violence against girls and women.

In the following, parts which are particularly problematic have been emphasised in bold, e.g. because they condone the following:

• wife beating
• child marriage/sex
• slavery
• sex with slaves (i.e. rape)
• forcing slave girls into prostitution if they are no longer chaste (i.e. no longer virgins)
• beating slaves
• female genital cutting
• the view that "silence for a virgin is consent"
• views that "women are deficient in intelligence and religion and are the majority of the inhabitants of hell".

The texts themselves

• Quran 4:34 Men are the caretakers of women, as men have been provisioned by Allah over women and tasked with supporting them financially. And righteous women are devoutly obedient and, when alone, protective of what Allah has entrusted them with. And if you sense ill-conduct from your women, advise them ˹first˺, ˹if they persist,˺ do not share their beds, ˹but if they still persist,˺ then discipline them ˹gently˺. But if they change their ways, do not be unjust to them. Surely Allah is Most High, All-Great. (Note: this has been modified in the last year or two to say "discipline them gently", it used to say "strike them")
• Quran 65:4 As for your women past the age of menstruation, in case you do not know, their waiting period is three months, and those who have not menstruated as well. As for those who are pregnant, their waiting period ends with delivery. And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make their matters easy for them.
• Quran 2:223 Your wives are like farmland for you, so approach them ˹consensually˺ as you please. And send forth something good for yourselves. Be mindful of Allah, and know that you will meet Him. And give good news to the believers.
• Quran 4:3 If you fear you might fail to give orphan women their ˹due˺ rights ˹if you were to marry them˺, then marry other women of your choice—two, three, or four. But if you are afraid you will fail to maintain justice, then ˹content yourselves with˺ one or those ˹bondwomen˺ in your possession. This way you are less likely to commit injustice.
• Quran 4:24 Also ˹forbidden are˺ married women—except ˹female˺ captives in your possession. This is Allah’s commandment to you. Lawful to you are all beyond these—as long as you seek them with your wealth in a legal marriage, not in fornication. Give those you have consummated marriage with their due dowries. It is permissible to be mutually gracious regarding the set dowry. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
• Quran 4:25 But if any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, then ˹let him marry˺ a believing bondwoman possessed by one of you. Allah knows best ˹the state of˺ your faith ˹and theirs˺. You are from one another. So marry them with the permission of their owners, giving them their dowry in fairness, if they are chaste, neither promiscuous nor having secret affairs. If they commit indecency after marriage, they receive half the punishment of free women. This is for those of you who fear falling into sin. But if you are patient, it is better for you. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
• Quran 24:33 And let those who do not have the means to marry keep themselves chaste until Allah enriches them out of His bounty. And if any of those ˹bondspeople˺ in your possession desires a contract ˹to buy their own freedom˺, make it possible for them, if you find goodness in them. And give them some of Allah’s wealth which He has granted you. Do not force your ˹slave˺ girls into prostitution for your own worldly gains while they wish to remain chaste. And if someone coerces them, then after such a coercion Allah is certainly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful ˹to them˺.
• Quran 4:100 Whoever emigrates in the cause of Allah will find many safe havens and bountiful resources throughout the earth. Those who leave their homes and die while emigrating to Allah and His Messenger—their reward has already been secured with Allah. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
• Quran 5:87 O believers! Do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.
• Quran 5:101 O believers! Do not ask about any matter which, if made clear to you, may disturb you. But if you inquire about what is being revealed in the Quran, it will be made clear to you. Allah has forgiven what was done ˹in the past˺.1 And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.
• Sunan Abu Dawood 2121 Narrated 'Aishah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ married me when I was seven years old. The narrator Sulaiman said: or Six years. He had intercourse with me when I was nine years old.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 5137Narrated 'Aisha:I said, "O Allah's Apostle! A virgin feels shy." He said, "Her consent is (expressed by) her silence."
• Sunan Abu Dawood 2155 Abu Sa’id Al Khudri said “The Apostle of Allah ﷺ sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of Apostle of Allah ﷺ were reluctant to have relations with the female captives because of their pagan husbands. So, Allah the exalted sent down the Qur’anic verse “And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hand posses.” This is to say that they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period.
• Sunan an-Nasa'i 3959 It was narrated from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah had a female slave with whom he had intercourse, but 'Aishah and Hafsah would not leave him alone until he said that she was forbidden for him. Then Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, revealed: "O Prophet! Why do you forbid (for yourself) that which Allah has allowed to you.' until the end of the Verse.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 5194 Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet ﷺ said, "If a woman spends the night deserting her husband's bed (does not sleep with him), then the angels send their curses on her till she comes back (to her husband)."
• Sahih al-Bukhari 304 Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o 'Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 6449 Narrated 'Imran bin Husain: The Prophet ﷺ said, "I looked into Paradise and found that the majority of its dwellers were the poor people, and I looked into the (Hell) Fire and found that the majority of its dwellers were women."
• Sahih al-Bukhari 1052 ...I also saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that most of the inhabitants were women." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Why is it so?" The Prophet replied, "Because of their ungratefulness." It was asked whether they are ungrateful to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said, "They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one of them throughout the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in you, she will say, 'I have never had any good from you.'"
• Sahih Muslim 974b Aisha said … "He struck me on the chest which caused me pain, and then said: Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?"
• Sunan Abu Dawood 2146 Iyas ibn Abdullah ibn Abu Dhubab reported the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as saying: Do not beat Allah's handmaidens, but when Umar came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: Women have become emboldened towards their husbands, he (the Prophet) gave permission to beat them. Then many women came round the family of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ complaining against their husbands. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Many women have gone round Muhammad's family complaining against their husbands. They are not the best among you.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 5137 Narrated 'Aisha:I said, "O Allah's Apostle! A virgin feels shy." He said, "Her consent is (expressed by) her silence."
• Sunan Abu Dawood 5271 Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet ﷺ said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband. Abu Dawud said: It has been transmitted by 'Ubaid Allah b. 'Amr from 'Abd al-Malik to the same effect through a different chain. Abu Dawud said: It is not a strong tradition. It has been transmitted in mursal form (missing the link of the Companions) Abu Dawud said: Muhammad b. Hasan is obscure, and this tradition is weak.
• Exodus 21:7 When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are.
• Exodus 21:20 Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result.
• Deuteronomy 15:17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.
• Luke 12:42-48 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."