What Does “Deficiency of Intellect” Mean in Imam Ali’s Words About Women?

The expression “deficiency of their intellects” is among the more difficult statements attributed to Imam Ali (as) in Nahj al-Balagha. A jurisprudential discussion attributed to Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani offers an important explanation: the phrase is not intended to mean that women possess less intelligence, but relates instead to restraint, emotion and their implications for testimony, judgement and the issuing of religious rulings.

The phrase “deficiency of their intellects” appears in a well-known statement attributed to Imam Ali (as) in Nahj al-Balagha.

The Imam (as) states:

«وأمّا نقصان عقولهن فشهادة امرأتين كشهادة الرجل الواحد»

“As for the deficiency of their intellects, the testimony of two women is equivalent to the testimony of one man.”

What exactly is meant by “deficiency of intellect”?

A jurisprudential discussion attributed to Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, recorded by Sayyid Muhammad Ali al-Rabbani in al-Ijtihad wa-l-Taqlid wa-l-Ihtiyat, addresses the meaning of this expression and its implications for Islamic jurisprudence.

Crucially, the discussion explicitly states that the phrase does not mean that women simply possess less intelligence:

«وليس المراد من ذلك قلّة عقلهن، بل المراد من العقل العقال»

“What is meant by this is not that their intellect is lesser. Rather, what is meant by ʿaql is ʿiqāl [restraint].”

This distinction is central to understanding the argument.

What Is Meant by Intellect?

According to the explanation, the term ʿaql here is connected with ʿiqāl meaning restraint, or that which restrains.

The discussion continues:

«والمراد قلة ما يعقلن وذلك لكثرة العواطف فيهن، وكثرة العواطف مانعة من ضبط أنفسهن»

“What is meant is a lesser degree of restraint, due to the abundance of emotions within them; and an abundance of emotion can prevent them from maintaining control over themselves.”

According to this explanation, then, “deficiency of intellect” is not being used to describe a lack of intelligence. Rather, it relates to the capacity for restraint and the influence that emotions may exercise over judgement.

This distinction then forms part of a broader jurisprudential discussion concerning women as witnesses, judges and those responsible for deriving and issuing religious rulings.

From Testimony to Judgement

The discussion points to the Islamic legal rules surrounding testimony.

It argues that if particular conditions are placed upon women’s testimony in matters that are directly perceived through the senses, then an even greater question arises when it comes to the more demanding responsibility of judicial judgement.

The text asks:

«فمن كان حاله هكذا في الشهادة – التي هي من الأمور الحسية – كيف يكون حاله بالنسبة إلى ما هو أهمّ وهو القضاء؟»

“If this is their situation regarding testimony, which concerns matters perceived by the senses, then what would their situation be regarding something more important, namely the judiciary?”

From this, the discussion argues that the prohibition on appointing women to judicial office may be inferred with even greater force.

A judge is not merely reporting something witnessed. The judge must understand and derive the relevant ruling and then apply it to the case before them.

Emotion and the Derivation of Islamic Law

The discussion then extends the argument beyond the judiciary to the process of deriving Islamic rulings itself.

Fiqh, it notes, is not restricted to questions of worship. It also encompasses political matters and situations in which a ruling may favour a woman or go against her, or favour her relatives or go against them.

The text therefore asks:

«فمن لم يكن له السيطرة على نفسه في مقام الشهادة كيف يكون له السيطرة على نفسه في مقام الاستنباط»

“If someone does not have control over herself in the context of testimony, how will she have control over herself in the process of deriving rulings?”

The discussion particularly emphasises the possibility that emotions can influence legal reasoning without a person consciously recognising it:

«فإنّ العواطف تؤثّر في مرحلة اللاشعور في الاستنباط»

“Emotions influence the process of deduction at the subconscious level.”

This is considered particularly significant because caution must be exercised when issuing religious rulings.

The text consequently suggests that such considerations may have been among the reasons why an established practice permitting women to issue fatwas did not develop.

Importantly, it presents this as a possible explanation, stating that these matters “may” have constituted a reason or basis for the absence of such an established practice.

The Narrations About Consulting Women

The discussion also draws support from narrations concerning consultation with women.

It cites a statement attributed to Imam Ali (as):

«وإياك ومشاورة النساء فإن رأيهن إلى أفن وعزمهن إلى وهن»

“Beware of consulting women, for their judgement tends towards weakness and their resolve towards frailty.”

The discussion connects this with the strength of will required in issuing religious rulings, observing that many fatwas require strength of will and considerable determination.

It then cites a narration from Abdullah ibn Sinan in which the Prophet Muhammad (s) is reported to have said:

«اعصوهن في المعروف قبل أن يأمرنكم بالمنكر، وتعوّذوا بالله من شرارهن وكونوا من خيارهنّ على حذر»

“Disobey them in what is good before they command you to what is wrong; seek refuge in Allah from the evil among them, and remain cautious even regarding the good among them.”

The instruction to “disobey them in what is good” could easily be misunderstood.

The discussion therefore explicitly explains that it does not mean abandoning a good deed simply because a woman has recommended it.

Rather, it states:

«بل المراد ترك حالة الانفعال من قولهن»

“Rather, what is meant is abandoning the state of being emotionally influenced by their words.”

The issue, according to this explanation, is therefore not that a good action becomes wrong because a woman has recommended it.

Rather, a man should not automatically become influenced by her words merely because she has spoken them. The discussion explains that if a man becomes emotionally responsive to a woman’s words in this way, a path may be opened to his heart through which he might eventually be influenced towards something wrong.

It identifies the particularly relevant part of the Prophetic narration as the instruction to “remain cautious even regarding the good among them”, connecting this to the question of reliance and the level of evidence required in matters of religious rulings.

So What Does “Deficiency of Intellect” Mean?

The central point of the discussion can therefore be found in its explicit qualification:

«ليس المراد من ذلك قلّة عقلهن»

“What is meant by this is not that their intellect is lesser.”

According to this explanation attributed to Ayatollah al-Sistani, “deficiency of intellect” should therefore not be understood simply as a statement that women possess less intelligence.

Instead, the discussion interprets intellect through the concept of restraint and connects the expression to what it describes as the stronger presence of emotion in women and the consequent difficulty of controlling its influence in certain circumstances.

From there, the discussion connects this principle with a series of jurisprudential questions: women’s testimony, appointment to judicial office, the derivation of Islamic rulings, the issuing of fatwas, and narrations concerning consultation with women.

Whether discussing testimony or ijtihad, the underlying concern presented throughout the passage is therefore the same: the relationship between emotion, restraint and judgement.

And this is why, according to the explanation, describing women as possessing a “deficiency of intellect” should not simply be understood as saying that women are “less intelligent”.