Benefits of the Hadith: (… from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A woman is like a rib; if you try to straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it, you will enjoy her despite her crookedness”)

The Shaykh : This hadith provides evidence of the excellence of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) teaching, which he did by using tangible analogies for abstract concepts. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared a woman to a rib, meaning the human rib, which is one of the bones of the chest and is naturally curved. If you try to straighten it, it breaks; if you leave it as it is, you enjoy it despite its curvature. So it is with a woman. A woman is patient and endures, for she is deficient in intellect and reasoning, while the man is more complete than she is in intellect and reasoning. Be patient with her. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: So enjoy her despite her crookedness, otherwise you will break her. Breaking her means divorce. Divorce is a disliked matter, especially if there are children, as it becomes more disliked due to the separation of the family, disputes over custody, and other such issues. If someone asks: “Is a man like a woman?” We say: Yes, some men are like a woman, like a crooked rib. If you enjoy him as he is, you will get along with him; but if you want him to be straight, you must oppose him and not stay with him. This is a general principle in reality that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned regarding women, but it is universal. Whenever you see a person who has some crookedness, be patient with him; otherwise, it will lead to separation. Yes.