SOME SAYINGS
OF THE PROPHET

Now we come to certain sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, in which the Arabic word ‘dhil’ has been mentioned for the word ‘rib.’ The first thing that has to be remembered here is that these traditions are about ordinary women and do not refer to the creation of Adam and Eve. It is the manner of every woman’s creation that is being dealt with, not precisely that of Eve. One of the relevant sayings is as follows:

“Treat women well, for they have been created from a rib.” (Sahih aI-Bukhari, Hadith No. 5186)

This cannot be taken to mean that women have been created from a rib, for this has no connection with the point conveyed in the rest of the sentence, which is that women should be treated well. A correct interpretation of the word ‘rib’ has to fit in with the underlying purpose behind the Prophet’s statement.

The statement, ‘women have been created from a rib,’ should be taken metaphorically, not literally. What the Prophet wished to convey was this: “‘Women are akin to a rib and should be treated with due consideration.’ There is another tradition that explains what this means. ‘A woman is like a rib,’ said the Prophet, ‘If you try to straighten it, it will break.’” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1468)

This saying of the Prophet Muhammad, related in the Sahih of both Bukhari and Muslim, which are the most authentic collections of traditions, makes it clear that women are like ribs, not created from ribs. The allusion is figurative, not literal. Light is also cast on the meaning of the metaphor. Ribs break when one tries to straighten them. So, it is with women. Rather than try to straighten them, it is better to let them be.

‘Women have been created from ribs’ and ‘Women are like ribs’ are two different ways of saying the same thing. There is a difference in the mode of expression of the two statements, but there is no difference in meaning. It is common in every language for metaphors to be expressed directly without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as.’ For instance, if one wishes to pay tribute to a person’s bravery, one can say that he is like a lion. But there is not as much force in saying that a person is ‘like a lion’ as in saying that he ‘is a lion.’ Examples of such usage abound in every language, including English. A notable one is to be found in the poem “Morte d’Arthur” by the celebrated poet Alfred Lord Tennyson:

…More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of, wherefore, let thy voice,
Rise like a fountain for me night and day
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourishes a blind life within the brain,
If knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friends.
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.

In this last line, the poet does not mean that the world is physically tethered to the feet of God by chains but merely wishes to indicate the unbreakable bonds between God and this world. In referring to the chains as ‘golden,’ he suggests these bonds have great beauty and value. By referring to the ‘feet’ of God rather than any other part of Him, he suggests the humble position of man in God’s divine scheme. It is, indeed, a vibrant metaphor.

To return to the metaphor of the rib, in saying that if one tries to straighten a woman, one will break her, the Prophet was referring to her delicate nature. Physically, women are weaker than men; psychologically, they are more strong and more prone to emotional upset. Everyone realizes this is a fact of life, regardless of whether he is educated or not. A father, for instance, will not be as hard on a daughter as he might be on his son, for he knows that boys are made of sterner stuff than girls. The latter tend to break under severe pressure.

For this reason, females are more prone to emotional breakdowns. Sometimes, a trivial matter can drive a woman to have a nervous breakdown. In likening a woman to a rib, the Prophet metaphorically expressed this fact of life. Ribs have a slight curve in them. There is good reason for them to be made that way. They should be left in their natural state. No attempt should be made to straighten them. The Prophet used a parable to explain the delicacy of women’s nature, pointing out that due to their nature, their delicate emotional constitution should always be borne in mind. God has created them that way and has done so for good reason. They should be treated kindly. It should be done tactfully and gently if they must be told something. Abruptness and severity will break them, as a rib is broken by any attempt to straighten it. Once, when the Prophet was on a journey, he saw some women riding on a camel. The man leading the camel made to drive the animal on faster, forgetting that this would cause undue discomfort to his passengers. So, the Prophet said to the camel driver: ‘You have glass cases there. Be gentle with them.’(Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2323)