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If a man is superior to a woman in intellect and management, then why are both punished with the same penalty when committing mistakes, even though the man, being intellectually stronger, should receive a harsher punishment?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

We mentioned the guardianship (qawamah) of men over women to explain guardianship in worldly matters and livelihoods, not to indicate an absolute superiority of men over women. The intended meaning is the superiority of the male gender over the female gender, not the superiority of every individual man over every individual woman. Men and women differ in intellect and knowledge, but Islamic law does not differentiate between them in worldly punishments and prescribed penalties (hudud), such as the penalty for fornication. As for sin and accountability in the Hereafter, disparity exists, and among the proofs for this is the hadith: "There are three whom Allah will not speak to on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, nor will He look at them, and for them is a painful torment: an old man who commits fornication, a lying king, and an arrogant poor person." This is because the old man who commits fornication committed the sin without a strong lustful urge like that of a young person.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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