[neirty]

How do you know whether a particular passage of the Quran is addressing men only or is addressing all Muslims? It seems there is sometimes guesswork needed.

[EarnestKS]

Can you please give us an example of where "guesswork" is needed?

[CorpoRasion]

that's why we should read 'summary' too to 'understand' the translation of any ayat.

Reference: 'Tafseer ibn katheer' is an authentic source to read Quran tafseer/commentary/summary.

[chadnezzrr]

How do you know whether a particular passage of the Quran is addressing men only or is addressing all Muslims? It seems there is sometimes guesswork needed.

I ask myself this all the time, more so men I would say jsut based on language alone!

[redDoodia]

I ask myself this all the time, more so men I would say jsut based on language alone!

Not really, when the masculine form is used in Arabic that includes females as well. So say you had a group of females, you use the female form, if you have a group of males, you use the male form, if you have a mix, you still use the male form.

So almost always the Quraan speaks to both males and females though the language demands the male form is used when there is a mix. I say almost always, because when the Quraan says things like how the wife should be treated, then it is obviously talking to just males.

A female companion once asked a similar thing, she said to the Prophet SAW: "why does the Quraan only talk to men?" To which Allah SWT revealed the following verse: "Lo! men who surrender unto Allah, and women who surrender, and men who believe and women who believe, and men who obey and women who obey, and men who speak the truth and women who speak the truth, and men who persevere (in righteousness) and women who persevere, and men who are humble and women who are humble, and men who give alms and women who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, and men who guard their modesty and women who guard (their modesty), and men who remember Allah much and women who remember - Allah hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward." (33:35) (translation by Pickthall)

This was to emphasise that Allah speaks to both males and females, so in this particular place, Allah emphasises this by explicitly using both the male and female forms seperately.

[neirty]

For example, the verse saying you should have only 1 spouse, but if you can support up to 4, you can have up to 4. It's traditionally been interpreted to being addressed to men only, even though it doesn't explicitly say "men". Could it also be applicable to a modern-day powerful woman like Khadijah, if she wanted to support a second husband?

[redDoodia]

That verse uses the word النساَء which means women, so it is explicitly referring to men as Allah mentions women by name

[EarnestKS]

As brother Arif has said, the word used is not "spouse", but women/wives.

[neirty]

Thanks! So the assumption is that it could only apply to a heterosexual man with multiple wives, if I am correct? A lesbian Muslim could not marry multiple wives?

[hansen384cbh]

A lesbian Muslim could not marry multiple wives?

Homosexuality is Haraam and also marriage between people of same sex is not valid in Islam. So the verse cannot be applied for Lesbian women.

[neirty]

Thanks!