502. Are there two hearts for women?
We have translated this verse (33:4) of the Quran as ‘Allah has not provided two hearts to any human being’
The Arabic word ‘Rajloon’ is substituted by us in our translation as ‘men’, its direct meaning is ‘male’. Some call our translation wrong.
They cite a scientific explanation supporting their argument, saying when women become pregnant, they carry the heart of the child in addition, and is the reason the Arabic word Rajulan is found in the Quran.
They also cite verses 4:34, 7:155, where this word is used to denote men folk.
It is a fact the word ‘Rajulan’ finds place in this verse, and it is also a fact the direct meaning of the word is ‘men’. But we have translated it as ‘human’ with a valid reason.
Let’s get into its details.
Though in most of the world’s languages several words are used to give a direct meaning, sometimes a word is used to give a wider meaning than a direct one, to drive home a message direct meaning cannot convey.
The phrase ‘I am not not scared of anyone’ generally conveys a message to both men and women.
The direct meaning of the word ‘Rajulan’ needs to be taken as far as possible to mean ‘man’. When found not to fit a context it can be taken to mean a wider interpretation as men and women (humans).
For instance, in verse 7:46 of the Quran, the plural form of the word ‘Rajul’ as ‘Rijal’ is used and most of the scholars have taken it to mean’ as humans’ and not the direct meaning ‘men’.
Those who have committed good and evil deeds equally are to be placed in the barrier lying in between paradise and hell. Similar to the presence of men and women in heaven and also in hell of the hereafter world, the barrier between paradise and hell will also hold both the sexes. Hence the word men used here needs to be understood as referring to humankind.
On observing verse 33:4 it can be seen to refer to both the sexes, and is the reason we have translated as ‘Allah has not provided all men with two hearts’.
The argument that the word ‘men’ is used to Indirectly differentiate women carrying two hearts during the period of their pregnancy is a fallacy. Let us analyze the verse.
Verse 33:4 does not talk of the heart as an organ, but as a mind, an idea inside. Let’s take a look at the whole verse.
Allah had not made for any man two hearts in his interior (i.e., body). And he has not made your wives whom you declare unlawful by saying, “You are to me like the back of my mother.” as your mothers. And He has not made your adopted sons your (real) sons. That is your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides you to the (right way). This is the whole verse 33:4
The phrase ‘had not made for any man two hearts’ needs to be seen in the context in which it is used.
Let’s imagine a man considers his wife as his mother, while in fact she is his wife, whereas because of his imagination she is made to be his mother. Man has only one heart (mind), if he decides her as a wife, he needs to treat her as wife and not as mother, and in case he decides her as his mother, he cannot treat her as his wife, and he needs to treat her only as a mother. Man has only one heart to decide, he cannot have both ways, it is possible only if he possesses two hearts where he can make a choice one for each person. Hence there are no two hearts provided for men, one cannot take two contradictory decisions at the same time.
Similarly, there can be only one father for a child, and a child cannot be fathered by two men. If a person has two hearts a contradictory decision would be the result, hence a single decision is to be taken by the lone heart. This is the reason we find the phrase ‘there are no two hearts provided for men (humans).
This verse does not talk of the heart as an organ that pumps blood to all parts of the body in a man, but as a mind that decides between contradictory ideas within him, and there does not exist two hearts (minds) in all men to arrive at two decisions. This is the message the verse conveys. (i.e.,) Allah has not provided two hearts (minds) in men to decide both ways. It could be understood by going through the entire verse, and can be noticed as the common attribute of all men and women.
A pregnant woman can be said to carry two hearts at a time, one of her own and another of the baby within her, but she can never carry two minds to make two decisions at the same time.
Only her mind decides and not the mind of the child she carries in her. She cannot take a decision on her part and another on behalf of the baby within her. Hence she carries only one heart (mind) during her pregnancy.
If it is said these words refer only to men as alleged by others, can a pregnant woman claim the baby she carries as hers as well as it belongs to some other women.
If men are not allowed to call a boy a foster child because he was born to a different person, can the same be called by women? If the answer is in the negative, it means the women do not have two hearts provided in them and they are with a single mind established here. Similarly, if a women decides to call her husband also as her father, it be concluded as she having two hearts (minds)
The above cited decision should not be taken either by a man or a woman.
Because both possess a single heart (mind) individually. If these people are true to their concept about women being provided with two hearts (minds), they should agree that calling a foster child as their own is prohibited only for men, and not for women. But they are unwilling to say so, and thereby agree that women are also provided with only one heart (mind). For argument’s sake if it is said the verse does not refer to two minds but the two hearts of a pregnant woman, the one heart of the baby she is carrying does not belong to her. Only one heart (mind) is provided in a woman and in no circumstance is she provided with two hearts.
And in case the mother happens to carry two hearts, it is for a meagre period, as can be seen, for example in a woman of sixty years age giving birth to three children, spends a total of thirty months in her life with the rest of the fifty-seven years of her life spent as an individual person all by herself with one heart. And sometimes if she happens to carry quadruplets then it becomes as if she is carrying five hearts. And in case of women who are not at all chanced to have children the issue of two hearts does not arise.
She remains a women right from the time of puberty to menopause, without two hearts.
Hence the arguments by these people are totally wrong.
This verse in fact, conveys a message as a law that contradictory decisions are not to be taken either by men or women, by driving home the truth Allah did not provide any men (human) being with two hearts (minds), making our translation apt, fitting into the context.
