Why are there more women in hell than men?
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that women will form the majority of the people of Hell. It was narrated from Imraan ibn Husayn that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: I looked into Paradise and I saw that the majority of its people were the poor. And I looked into Hell and I saw that the majority of its people are women.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3241; Muslim, 2737)
With regard to the reason for that, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about it and he explained the reason.
It was narrated that Abd-Allaah ibn Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: I was shown Hell and I have never seen anything more terrifying than it. And I saw that the majority of its people are women. They said, Why, O Messenger of Allaah? He said, Because of their ingratitude (kufr). It was said, Are they ungrateful to Allaah? He said, They are ungrateful to their companions (husbands) and ungrateful for good treatment. If you are kind to one of them for a lifetime then she sees one (undesirable) thing in you, she will say, I have never had anything good from you. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1052)
It was narrated that Abu Saeed al-Khudri said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to the Musalla on the day of Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Fitr. He passed by the women and said, O women! Give charity, for I have seen that you form the majority of the people of Hell. They asked, Why is that, O Messenger of Allaah? He replied, You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religious commitment than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you. The women asked, O Messenger of Allaah, what is deficient in our intelligence and religious commitment? He said, Is not the testimony of two women equal to the testimony of one man? They said, Yes. He said, This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Is it not true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses? The women said, Yes. He said, This is the deficiency in her religious commitment.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 304)
It was narrated that Jaabir ibn Abd-Allaah said: I attended Eid prayers with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He started with the prayer before the khutbah, with no adhaan or iqaamah. Then he stood up, leaning on Bilaal, speaking of fear of Allaah (taqwa) and urging us to obey Him. He preached to the people and reminded them. Then he went over to the women and preached to them and reminded them. Then he said, Give in charity, for you are the majority of the fuel of Hell. A woman with dark cheeks stood up in the midst of the women and said, Why is that, O Messenger of Allaah? He said, Because you complain too much and are ungrateful to your husbands. Then they started to give their jewellery in charity, throwing their earrings and rings into Bilaals cloak.
(Narrated by Muslim, 885)
Our believing sisters who learn of this hadeeth should behave like those Sahaabiyaat who, when they learned of this, did good deeds which would be the means, by Allaahs leave, of keeping them far away from being included in that majority of the inhabitants of Hell.
So our advice to the sisters is to strive to adhere to the rituals and obligatory duties of Islam, especially prayer, and to keep away from that which Allaah has forbidden, especially shirk in its many forms which are widespread among women, such as seeking one's needs from someone other than Allaah, going to practitioners of witchcraft and fortune-tellers, etc.
We ask Allaah to keep us and all our brothers and sisters far away from the Fire and the words and deeds that bring one close to it.
