بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

A Response to the Hadith: “Were it not for Eve, no woman would ever have betrayed her husband.”

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and upon his family and all of his Companions.

Introduction

Among the misconceptions raised by some critics of the Prophetic Sunnah is the claim that the Prophet ﷺ accused all women of betrayal, citing his statement:

“Were it not for the Children of Israel, meat would never decay; and were it not for Eve, no woman would ever have betrayed her husband.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, nos. 3330, 3399; Sahih Muslim, no. 1470)

This interpretation is fundamentally mistaken. It results from understanding the word “betrayal” (khiyanah) according to its most common modern usage—namely, marital infidelity or adultery—whereas the terminology of the Qur’an and the Sunnah must be interpreted according to its usage in the revealed texts and in classical Arabic, not according to later popular usage.

First Discussion: The “Betrayal” Mentioned in the Hadith Is Not Sexual Infidelity

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (may Allah have mercy upon him) wrote:

“His statement, ‘No woman would ever have betrayed her husband,’ refers to what occurred when Eve encouraged Adam to eat from the tree until he did so. Thus, her betrayal consisted in accepting the embellishment of Satan and then presenting it attractively to Adam. Since she is the mother of the daughters of Adam, they resemble her through birth and inherited disposition. Accordingly, scarcely any woman is entirely free from betraying her husband through word or deed. What is intended here, however, is not the commission of acts of sexual immorality—far from it. Rather, when she inclined toward the desire to eat from the tree and encouraged Adam to do likewise, this was described as betrayal. The hadith also offers consolation to husbands concerning the shortcomings they may encounter from their wives, reminding them that such tendencies trace back to their first mother. Therefore, one should not be excessive in blaming a wife for an occasional lapse that was neither deliberate nor habitual. At the same time, women should not take this as a license to persist in such behavior, but should discipline themselves and strive against their desires.”
Fath al-Bari (6/424).

Ibn Hajar explicitly states—in language that admits no ambiguity—that the hadith is not speaking about adultery or sexual immorality.

Rather, it refers to Eve’s encouraging Adam to eat from the forbidden tree after Satan had first deceived her.

Accordingly, the hadith contains no accusation whatsoever that Eve (peace be upon her) committed adultery, nor does it accuse her daughters of such conduct. Instead, it speaks of a different kind of shortcoming that the revealed texts describe as khiyanah (betrayal), as will become even clearer below.

Second Discussion: Ahmad Shakir’s Explanation Removes This Misunderstanding Entirely

Shaykh Ahmad Shakir (may Allah have mercy upon him), commenting upon Ibn Hajar’s explanation, wrote:

“There were no other men besides Adam from whom such immorality could even be imagined. Therefore, what is meant by betrayal here is a failure to offer sincere counsel; it is not marital infidelity.”

This is among the clearest responses to the objection.

Adam and Hawwa were the only human beings in Jannah.

How, then, could the hadith possibly be referring to marital infidelity when no other man even existed?

This alone demonstrates that the intended meaning of khiyanah here is not adultery but rather an imperfection in sincere counsel or encouraging something that ought not to have been encouraged, precisely as the scholars explained.

Third Discussion: The Qur’an Itself Uses the Word “Betrayal” for Matters Other Than Sexual Immorality

Another point that completely removes this misconception is that the Qur’an itself employs the word khiyanah in contexts unrelated to adultery.

Allah, the Exalted, says concerning the wives of Prophets Noah and Lot (peace be upon them):

“…but they betrayed them…”
(Qur’an 66:10)

The scholars are unanimously agreed that this betrayal was not sexual infidelity.

Rather, it consisted of betrayal in matters of faith and the failure to support their prophetic missions.

It is authentically reported from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said:

“No wife of any prophet ever committed adultery.”

Thus, if the Qur’an itself applies the term khiyanah to conduct other than adultery, then interpreting the word in the hadith of Eve as referring to sexual immorality is a clear misunderstanding of the revealed texts and a contradiction of the explanations given by the scholars of Islam.

Fourth Discussion: The Hadith Is Not a Condemnation of All Women

Nor does the hadith condemn all women or encourage men to harbor suspicion toward them.

Rather, it points to a human tendency that may occasionally give rise to certain shortcomings, just as something similar occurred with their first mother.

The Sunnah contains parallel expressions concerning men.

For example, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Adam denied, and so his descendants came to deny…”

This does not mean that every man is invariably ungrateful or obstinate in every circumstance.

Rather, it means that this characteristic may appear among his descendants to varying degrees.

The same principle applies here.

The hadith does not mean that every woman is treacherous.

Instead, it indicates that women, like all human beings, may display certain shortcomings resembling the lapse that occurred with Eve, each according to her own circumstances, while remaining obligated to strive against the inclinations of the soul.

For this reason, Ibn Hajar concluded his discussion by saying:

“Women should not take this as permission to continue such conduct. Rather, they should discipline themselves and strive against their desires.”

Thus, the hadith does not excuse wrongdoing.

Instead, it serves two complementary purposes:

• it consoles husbands so that they do not respond with excessive blame when minor human shortcomings occur; and
• it calls women to spiritual self-discipline, sincere counsel, and the struggle against personal desires.

Conclusion

The foregoing discussion demonstrates that this misconception arises solely from misunderstanding the word khiyanah as it appears in the hadith and assigning to it a meaning never intended by the Prophet ﷺ and never understood by the leading scholars of Islam.

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar—and many other scholars after him—clearly explained that Eve’s “betrayal” did not refer to any act of sexual immorality—far be such an accusation from her. Rather, it referred to her encouraging Adam (peace be upon him) to eat from the forbidden tree after Satan had first beautified that act in her eyes. The betrayal mentioned here therefore signifies an imperfection in sincere counsel, not marital infidelity as the term is commonly understood today.

Furthermore, the Qur’an itself employs the word khiyanah in contexts entirely unrelated to adultery, describing the wives of Noah and Lot by saying:

“…but they betrayed them…”
(Qur’an 66:10)

Yet the scholars of Qur’anic exegesis unanimously agree that this refers to betrayal in matters of religion rather than sexual misconduct. It is also authentically reported from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said:

“No wife of any prophet ever committed adultery.”

Thus, the very foundation of the objection collapses. The critic has misunderstood the word according to modern usage rather than according to its established meaning in the revealed texts and then built an argument upon that misunderstanding.

Nor does the hadith encourage contempt for women or suspicion toward them. Rather, it offers consolation to husbands when ordinary human shortcomings occur, while simultaneously encouraging women to strive against their desires, perfect their sincerity, and cultivate excellence in marital conduct, exactly as Ibn Hajar explained.

It therefore becomes evident that the Prophetic Sunnah is entirely free of the accusation leveled against it. Whoever understands it through the explanations of the scholars will find in it nothing but wisdom, justice, and profound insight into human nature. It is only those who detach the words of the Sunnah from the explanations of the righteous predecessors and the great hadith scholars who fall into the misunderstandings from which so many contemporary misconceptions arise.

And Allah knows best. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon His servant and Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and upon his family and all of his Companions. Our final supplication is: All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

الحمد لله رب العالمين