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Fatwa CenterHadeeth about number of women in Paradise
Question
What is the meaning of the following hadith:
‘Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas mentioned, "Whilst we were with the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in this valley (on this mountain path), he said, 'Look, can you see anything?' We said, 'We see crows, and one of them stands out because its beak and feet are red.' The Messenger of Allaah said, 'No women will enter Paradise except those who are as rare among them as this crow is among the others.'" [Ahmad and Abu Ya’la, via ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Aas, see also Silsilat Al-Ahaadeeth As-Saheehah, 4/466. Hadith 1851]
It confuses as I thought that women were the majority of paradise as well.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
This hadeeth indicates the small number of the women of this worldly life in Paradise, and this may be in proportion to their number in Hellfire. Some scholars interpreted the following hadeeth to this effect: The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "The least in number of the inhabitants of Paradise are the women." [Muslim]
Al-Munaawi 
in Faydh Al-Qadeer, cited the statement of As-Samhoodi, which reads, "This is how the reported on the authority of ‘Aa'ishah, stating that the least in number of the inhabitants of Paradise are the women, is interpreted as to mean that the number of women in Paradise will be less than their number in Hell..." [Faydh Al-Qadeer] Hence, the hadeeth about the red-footed crow does not necessarily mean that men will outnumber women in Paradise.
Some ahaadeeth indicated that women shall make up the majority of the inhabitants of Paradise, just as they are also the majority of the denizens of Hell. For instance, Muhammad ibn Seereen reported that a group of people either boasted or discussed whether men will outnumber women in Paradise or the other way around. It was upon this that Abu Hurayrah said, "Did Abu Al-Qaasim (the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) not say that the first group to enter Paradise would have their faces as bright as a full moon and the next group would have their faces as bright as the brightest star in the sky, that each of them would have two wives and the marrow of their shanks would glimmer beneath the flesh and there would be no bachelors in Paradise." [Muslim]
Another version reads, "Some men and women argued which of them is more in number in Paradise? They asked Abu Hurayrah, so he replied, "Abu Al-Qaasim, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said ...(same as the previous version of the hadeeth)." [Muslim]
An-Nawawi commented on the hadeeth, citing the statement of Al-Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh that he said, "The apparent indication of this hadeeth is that women make up most of the population of Paradise. The other hadeeth indicates that women make up most of the inhabitants of Hell! It is deduced from both ahaadeeth that females constitute the majority of the descendants of Aadam (Adam). This applies to human women only, as it was reported that each man in Paradise will be blessed with a large number of Houris (maidens of Paradise)."
Allaah knows best.
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