Unconventional Duha Research Unitary

The Epistemological Framework: Tawḥīd and the Ontology of Knowledge

The Problem of Secular Dualism

Modern discourse often divides revelation (naql) and reason (ʿaql) into separate epistemic realms. The Islamic worldview — as articulated by al-Attas and al-Ghazālī — refutes this bifurcation. All knowledge, whether empirical or metaphysical, flows from the One Reality. Thus, “scientific findings” and “religious truths” cannot oppose each other; they merely illuminate different facets of divine wisdom (ḥikmah).

1.2. The Prophetic Statement in Context

The ḥadīth reported by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (Bukhārī 304; Muslim 79) states:

“I have not seen anyone more deficient in intellect and religion who can overcome a man of reason than you [women]… That is the deficiency in her intellect, and when she menstruates, she does not pray nor fast — that is the deficiency in her religion.”

Classical exegetes — Imām al-Nawawī, Ibn Ḥajar, Ibn Taymiyyah — unanimously explain this as legal differentiation (nuqṣān ʿaqlī ḥukmī), not ontological inferiority. It refers to the procedural mechanism of testimony (where two women equal one man in certain contexts) and the ritual suspension during menstruation — not a statement on intrinsic intellect.

1.3. The Tawḥīdic Principle of Complementarity

In the Tawḥīdic model, human roles are differentiated by fiṭrah and divine wisdom, not by hierarchical superiority. The male–female distinction is a complementary polarity: rational linearity (taʿaqqul) and emotional sensitivity (raḥmah) form a synergistic whole. “Deficiency” here signals specialization — not imperfection.

Part II – Empirical Findings: Hormonal Modulation and Emotional Regulation

2.1. Hormonal and Neurochemical Dynamics

Recent studies (Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2022; Harvard Health 2024; PLOS ONE 2025) reveal that while estrogen and progesterone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can modulate mood, energy, and affective control, cognitive performance (memory, reasoning, executive function) remains largely stable.

2.2. Emotional Variability vs. Cognitive Deficiency

Key findings include:

Mood fluctuation is significant in PMS and PMDD due to serotonergic and dopaminergic interactions.

Working memory and reasoning show negligible changes (r ≈ 0.1; SCIRP 2023).

Emotional sensitivity increases, correlating with empathy and relational cognition — a strength, not a weakness.

Thus, the Prophet’s identification of “deficiency” can be reinterpreted as an affective periodicity: temporary emotional modulation, not intellectual inferiority. This aligns precisely with Sharīʿah’s precautionary principle (iḥtiyāṭ) in legal testimony — ensuring reliability in high-stakes transactions when emotional stressors may transiently affect perception or recall.

2.3. Integrating Neuroscience into Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah

From the maqāṣid lens, preserving ʿaql (intellect) and ʿird (dignity) requires acknowledging biological rhythms that may modulate perception. The legal differentiation thus protects truth in testimony, while affirming the honour of womanhood — a jurisprudential mercy, not discrimination.

Part III – The Theological and Spiritual Synthesis

3.1. Ibn Taymiyyah’s Clarification

“Among women are those who surpass men in intelligence and religion; the deficiency mentioned is only in rulings of testimony and menstruation.”
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 32/260)

Ibn Taymiyyah thereby nullifies any ontological reading of the ḥadīth. His perspective anticipates modern findings: variability is situational, not structural.

3.2. Spiritual Intelligence in Tasawwuf

In the Sufi ontology, intellect (ʿaql) is not limited to analytic reasoning but includes qalbī ʿilm — knowledge of the heart. The feminine nature, characterized by receptivity and mercy, excels in this inner intelligence. Thus, “deficiency in intellect” is external legal form (ẓāhir), while bāṭin perfection lies in emotional attunement and compassion — traits praised by the Prophet.

3.3. The Tawḥīdic Convergence

Domain Core Finding Tawḥīdic Interpretation

Empirical Science Hormonal cycles modulate emotion, not reason. Affective fluctuation is fitrī; reflects divine wisdom in human design.

Fiqh al-Shahādah Differentiation of testimony ensures procedural accuracy. Law accounts for natural cycles, not inequality.
Tasawwuf, ʿIlm al-Nafs Emotional receptivity is gateway to spiritual intuition. What appears as deficiency in law is perfection in spirit.

Conclusion

The synthesis of classical Sharīʿah reasoning and contemporary neuroscience confirms that:

The Prophetic description is not ontological but situationally legal.

Emotional modulation during menstruation is empirically real but not cognitive deficiency.

The differentiation in testimony represents protective jurisprudence, not patriarchal bias.

In the Tawḥīdic paradigm, revelation and reason are mirrors of one divine truth. The nuqṣān al-ʿaql ḥadīth, properly understood, stands as a testament to the Prophet phenomenological insight into human variability — 14 centuries before hormonal science named it.