A General Warning Against Akram Nadwi

Quotes from Akram Nadwi's Recent Lecture

The following is a selection of quotes from a highly problematic lecture recently delivered by Akram Nadwi, along with a brief analysis. The recording received a lot of negative attention due to the ridiculous and wild claims made by Akram Nadwi and has since been removed.

1. Akram Nadwi said: “And a hadith of Bukhari, it says very clearly once we were travelling with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and men and women both were doing wudu at the same time from the same container.”

He appears to argue from this that it is fine for women to reveal their arms and the parts of wudu in front of men for this purpose!

The hadith in reference says nothing about “travelling” – this is a complete misquote and distortion from Akram Nadwi. It only says men and women would make wudu together in the time of the Prophet i.e. from the same pot. According to commentators, this was before the Hijab in the 5th year of Hijrah or it is referring to husbands and wives doing wudu together.

2. Akram Nadwi said: “Basically, women had no justice in the society except for a very brief period when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was there and he taught people in Madinah. After that, rarely some time here and there somebody comes and makes reform, then women again realise they are human beings; but otherwise, generally women are not treated properly.”

3. Akram Nadwi said: “These Kufan people already know what women means [from their culture], so they read in the Qur’an but they take meaning from their own society; so when they read in the Qur’an that women have to be respected, they don't know what respect means because they have never seen what the Prophet did, so they create meaning of respect from their own society - how their mothers are treated...”

By “Kufan people”, he is referring to the people of Kufa from the time of the Salaf.

In another part of the talk, when questioned by an audience member, Akram Nadwi added the phase of the Khulafa al-Rashidah within the ideal Madinan society. Thus, apart from the period of the Prophet and the first four Khulafa, Akram Nadwi believes there was systematic mistreatment of women. And this includes the time of the Salaf: the time of the Sahabah, Tabi‘in and Tab‘ Tabi‘in! According to Akram Nadwi, the Salaf were more influenced by their culture than correct Islamic teachings with regards to women. This is a typical false feminist narrative.

4. Akram Nadwi said: “Some people are little bit more clever and they want to basically take some balance and they don't want to offend the women, then they have a new idea. What they say, you know, no, men and women both complement each other. Then women get happy, you know men complement women and women complement the men...Islam never has concept of complementing; men don't complement women and women don't complement the men. Islamic way is men and women both are complete creation. Men can do what women can do and women can do what men can do. This idea of complementing each other is alien to Islam...Women become happy, they should not be happy. You know what men mean by that? Men mean by that, cuz you know, women don't go to other men, they don't learn, they don't teach, men do these things. Men don't cook the food, they don't clean the kitchen, so the women do these things, so they complement each other, that what they mean by complement: dividing the role, one thing men do, one thing women.”

Islam teaches that men and women/husbands and wives have complementary roles. The Qur’an says: “Men are the guardians of women because of the preference Allah has given to one over the other and because of what they spend of their wealth.” The hadith says: “All of you are shepherds, and all of you will be asked about your flock...The man is a shepherd over his household (i.e. spending on them and taking care of them) and the woman is a shepherd over the house of her husband.” Al-Khattabi explains the wife’s role from this hadith as “good management in the care of [the husband’s] house, and taking care of those under his protection, like dependents, guests and servants.” (A‘lam al-Hadith, 1:580) There are examples in the hadiths, from Asma and Zubayr and Fatimah and Ali (radiyallahu 'anhum), which show the domestic duties fall on the wife and earning an income is the responsibility of the man.

Just because men and women/husbands and wives complement each other in their respective roles does not mean they are not each complete creations. They can simultaneously complement each other and be complete creations. Akram Nadwi has thus created a false dichotomy.

Akram Nadwi is again peddling a feminist narrative of pitting men against women, giving the impression that men have a penchant for putting women down and not having their interests at heart.

4. Akram Nadwi said: “Many people say if men and women come to the same class they will talk and fall in love. So I say what the problem with that? This made something easier because actually everybody keeps looking how to marry how to marry, nobody, if they see each other and they fall in love, then best thing.”

This ignores Islamic safeguards against unnecessary mixing between the genders. Akram Nadwi's “theory” might hypothetically work with unmarried men and women, but what about married men and women who fall in love during these mixed sessions?

5. Akram Nadwi said: “Whatever you learn the Qur’an, always make effort to find its reference from Madina. Don't give your own meaning...Don't take meaning from society, from culture, from fiqh, from kalam, take meaning from the city of Madinah, cuz the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam most safe person, protected one.”

6. Akram Nadwi said: “People don't take guidance from Qur’an. They take guidance from the Fiqh which is actually influenced by the culture, so they will ask Muftis, they will not ask Quran, and people don't read Qur’an. What people do really is they read Qur’an for Tarawih. They don't read Qur’an to understand it...”

Here Akram Nadwi is putting down Fiqh and Muftis, claiming that they are influenced by culture and not Qur’an. How do we know that “Mufti” Akram Nadwi is not himself influenced by his westernised, secular, liberal, feminist culture? And how do we know he is not reading his culture into the sources? Should we not rather trust the Salaf, who were far more learned and far more scrupulous, and whose culture *was* Islam?

7. Akram Nadwi said: “Then actually if you come very late little bit, fifth century, Imam Ghazali. He's clever man. You know, so clever, many good writing. But again what women mean he did not take from the city of Madinah, he took from where? From Greek philosophy.”

Akram Nadwi gives no evidence of Imam al-Ghazali taking his ideas on women from Greek philosophy.

One of the issues Akram Nadwi made a big deal about is al-Ghazali's comment, “Consult women and then do differently” (shawiruhunna wa khalifuhunna). However, al-Ghazali did not say this for women in general, but about wives specifically. Nor did he say this as a general rule; rather, that at times husbands should do the opposite of what their wives advise them so that they are not completely dominated by their wives. He is addressing a specific attitude of some men to always give in to their wives’ desires and not assert any positive authority or influence. Hence, al-Ghazali mentions this in the section of his Ihya under the subheading: “The man should not become so free in his playfulness, good character and conformance with [his wife’s] desires to the point of corrupting her character and completely eliminating his respect before her.” (Ihya Ulum al-Din, Dar al-Minhaj, 3:180-1) Moreover, al-Ghazali did not say this statement (i.e. “Consult women and then do differently”) from himself but prefaces it with: “it was said”. Some have even misquoted it as a prophetic hadith. See al-Maqasid al-Hasanah (585) of al-Sakhawi for a discussion on it and similar-worded narrations. Anyhow, there is no evidence that this was taken from Greek philosophy. Al-Ghazali’s discussion here and elsewhere appear to be derived from the classical Islamic sources.

Again, Akram Nadwi is peddling a feminist narrative of distrusting classical writings on women-issues so that contemporary society is free to act on its misguided feminist ethics.