Does Islam equate women with animals and slaves?

Q: In a Hadith from Abu Dawud's Hadith Collection men are ordered to seek refuge from women, animals and slaves in a similar manner. Does this not degrade women?


ANS:- Such an impression is given by the notorious anti-Islamic polemic writer Abul Kasem but these insane souls forget that falsehood has no basis. We take a look of the issue here;

What he has written in his article is;

"Women are like animals and slaves.

Women, slaves and camels are same; must seek Allah's refuge from all these...(Sunaan Abu Dawud 11.2155)

Book 11, Number 2155:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If one of you marries a woman or buys a slave, he should say: "O Allah, I ask Thee for the good in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her; I take refuge in Thee from the evil in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her." When he buys a camel, he should take hold of the top of its hump and say the same kind of thing."


MY RESPONSE


You see, every individual person, or a thing or any being has both good and bad aspects. One would always wish to seek benefit of its goods and would run away from its evils, whoever or whatever he, she or it may be.

And it is woman who enters a new household, she goes to the house of her husband. So the men are advised to ask Allah to let them receive of every good of their wives and to seek Allah's refuge from all their evils, for no-one is absolutely innocent.

A person may also get a new conveyance (for camel here stands for it) or buy a slave, as was the norm back then or some other thing like that, so for that as well, he is advised to ask Allah to let him receive of every good of that and to seek Allah's refuge from all its evils.

It is not that (May Allah forbid us) Islam is equating women and the animals, but it is for the owner of the household to seek to have every good and be protected from the evil of everyone who enters his household.
 

INDEED ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST!

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