Ali’s Attitude towards Women

The following article is a little collection of some of what Ali allegedly had said about women in Nahjul Balagha. It is very important to keep in mind that Sunnis do not accept that such statements were ever uttered by Ali. However, this is the type of content that one can find in Nahjul Balagha which is accepted by most Shias as the second most important book in Islam after the Qur’an.

Without further ado, we present to you a feminist’s nightmare:

  • In Sermon #78, he says, “Beware evil women and be cautious of good women. Do not obey them in good matters lest they seek evils.”
  • In Sermon #151 he says, “Cattle are concerned with their bellies, beasts are concerned with preying on others, and women are only concerned with the luxuries of this world and the destruction of it.”
  • In Letter #29 (270) he says, “Beware of consulting women, for their opinions are deficient and their determination leads to ruin.”
  • In Saying #62, he says, “Women are like scorpions with a sweet sting.”
  • In Saying #125, he says, “A woman’s jealousy is disbelief and a man’s jealousy is eman.”
  • In Saying #236, he says, “The best traits of women are those which are the worst traits of men, namely: vanity, cowardice and miserliness. Thus, since the woman is vain, she will not allow anyone access to herself; since she is miserly, she will preserve her own property and the property of her husband; and since she is weak-hearted, she will be frightened with everything that befalls her.”
  • In Saying #240, he says, “Women are entirely evil and the worst thing about them is the need for them.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, we ask Shias to take one of two positions: 1) To accept the alleged quotes and to turn theory into practice by adopting this mentality against women, or 2) to turn away from Nahjul Balagha, a book of fabrications that has been falsely attributed to the Commander of the Believers Ali bin Abi Talib.

For actual Saheeh content from Nahjul Balagha, see our PDF here.

4 Comments

  1. Are you sure you Muslim, because they don’t lie. I am already reading this book and I didn’t found such statements.plz send me full reference odd this book u have

    • Dear sir, I have purchased my copy of Nahjul Balagha from a Shia bookstore. The publisher (Dar Al-Murtadha) is Shia. The editor is Shia (Ali Mohammad Ali Dakheel). What else do you need after I have provided screenshots? Are you accusing my scanner of lying?

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