Semantics of the Word  aql (reason) in Islamic Quotes Referring to Women's Deficiency of  aql

Some hadith sources contain reports about women’s deficiency of ‘aql (reason). Such reports, plus inappropriate treatment towards women by some men in Islamic societies, allow opponents of Islam to take advantage of this opportunity to claim that Islamic rules are against women. Rigorous re-examination of meanings of the words in such reports will resolve disputes over Islam and women’s rights. Most scholars agree that the word naqs means limit, and that ‘aql here refers to practical or social reason. However, the word naqs here denotes deficiency, and ‘aql means memory. Due to certain physical and mental properties, women are likely to miss details of an event. Women’s sight is weaker than men’s, while sight influences storage of event details in memory. Moreover, menstruation and menopause cause certain disorders in women, including depression and lack of focus in women, which, again, have weakening impacts on women’s memory.