Introduction: Honor Killing and the Legitimization of Male Domination

In modern human rights philosophy, the 'right to life' is an integral and inviolable fundamental human right. The primary condition for ensuring the rule of law is—not leaving the responsibility of judgment in the hands of an individual's personal emotions or enraged psychology. But in the Islamic tradition, the discourse of 'ghayrah' or masculine sense of honor found in many cases flips a finger at this fundamental principle. Especially the extreme threat of killing his wife by the Companion Sa'd ibn Ubadah and the Prophet Muhammad's laudatory reaction to it—this is not merely an isolated incident, but an institutional recognition of man's absolute domination and violence over woman's body.

Analyzed from a rational human rights perspective, it is seen that here the word 'self-respect' or 'ghayrah' has been defined in a way that directly endangers women's safety and right to life. When a man, driven by suspicion or upon seeing his wife with another man, entertains the intention of striking (i.e., killing) her outside the law with the sharp edge of a sword, calling him 'a man of self-respect' essentially equates violence with heroism. In this article we will see how, in contrast to the so-called divine law (the obligation of proving with four witnesses), this 'masculine emotion' has been given a higher place, and how it wrecks women's dignity and safety in a civilized society.

The Sources of the Sunnah and Tacit Consent: The Idealization of Extrajudicial Violence

According to Islamic legal theory or usul al-fiqh, the rulings of Sharia do not depend only on the Quran; rather, the Prophet Muhammad's words (qawl), actions (fi'l) and tacit consent or approval (taqrir) are counted among the primary sources of law. (( Usul al-Shashi, the chapter of Kitabullah and Sunnah )) Analyzing this incident of Sa'd ibn Ubadah, it is seen that the Prophet Muhammad not only praised a Companion's personal emotion here, but through his statement elevated the primitive psychology of 'honor killing' or killing to protect honor to a spiritual and legal level. When a Companion publicly denied the legal obligation of four witnesses and announced that he would strike directly with the sword, calling him, instead of rebuking him, 'a man of self-respect' or 'possessor of ghayrah' is essentially a form of the Prophet's 'taqrir' or tacit and verbal support for that violent mentality.

From a rational perspective this is extremely dangerous. Because when the Prophet praises a deed or thought, it becomes a 'uswatun hasanah' or exemplary model for the believers. When Sa'd ibn Ubadah clearly says that he will strike with the sword without waiting for witnesses, the Prophet compares his 'taking the law into one's own hands' desire with the attribute of Almighty Allah (ghayrah). This comparison essentially gives extrajudicial killing a sacred form. By global human rights standards, threatening to kill a person before his crime is proven and praising that threat directly contradicts the 'right to a fair trial'. But in Islamic Sharia, this approval of the Prophet has established violence as an ornament of masculinity, which still serves as the religious and psychological foundation of 'honor killing' in Muslim-majority societies.

This hadith proves that Islamic Sharia is more interested in seeing women as a man's 'honor' or 'property' than as an independent human being. Claiming that the Prophet's own 'ghayrah' or self-respect is greater than Sa'd's means—that a man's anger and suspicion are more valuable than a woman's life. In rational analysis, this is not any divine justice, but rather a strategy to consolidate a belligerent and patriarchal tribal system. Through 'tacit consent' or praise, such a message is given here in which a woman's life always hangs on the tip of a man's sword, and men are incited to wield that sword by dangling the temptation of 'honor'.

The Narration of the Hadiths: Literally Granting the Legality of Wife-Killing

Let us read the hadiths, (( Sahih Muslim, Hadith Academy, Hadith: 3655 )) (( Sahih Muslim, Hadith Academy, Hadith: 3656 ))

Sahih Muslim (Hadith Academy)
20. Li'an
Section: No section
3655-(16/...) Abu Bakr ibn Abu Shaybah (RA) ….. Narrated from Abu Hurayrah (RA). He said: Sa'd ibn Ubadah (RA) said: O Messenger of Allah! if I see a man with my wife, should I not seize him until four witnesses are brought? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: yes, you cannot. He (Sa'd) said: that can never happen. By the oath of that Great Being who has sent you with the truth, I will surely strike him with the sword without delay before that (bringing four witnesses). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: hear what your leader is saying. Surely he is a man of utmost self-respect. And I am even more self-respecting than him, and Allah is more honorable than me. (Islamic Foundation 3621, Islamic Center 3621)
Hadith grade: Sahih (Authentic)
Narrator: Abu Hurayrah (RA)

Sahih Muslim (Hadith Academy)
20. Li'an
Section: No section
3656-(17/1499) Ubaydullah ibn Umar al-Qawariri and Abu Kamil Fudayl ibn Husayn al-Jahdari (RA) ….. Narrated from Mughirah Shu'bah (RA). He said: Sa'd ibn Ubadah (RA) said: if I see another man with my wife, then surely I will strike him with the sharp edge of my sword - not with the side. This statement reached the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said: are you astonished at Sa'd's sense of self-respect? By Allah! I am more self-respecting than him. And Allah is more honorable than me. Because of His self-respect, Allah has made all obscene deeds, open and secret, forbidden. And there is none more self-respecting than Allah, and none who prefers accepting excuse ('udhr) more than Allah.* For this reason Allah sent His Prophets and Messengers as bearers of glad tidings and warners. There is none who likes praise more than Allah. For this reason He has promised Paradise. (Islamic Foundation, 3622, Islamic Center 3622)
* None likes accepting excuse ('udhr) more than Allah. Here 'udhr means forgiving and warning. Before seizing for punishment, Allah the Exalted sent the Messengers to warn. (Verification. Sahih Muslim, Fuad Abdul Baqi', 2nd Volume, Page 574)
Hadith grade: Sahih (Authentic)
Narrator: Shu'bah (RA)

Legal Contradiction and the Legal Foundation of Protecting 'Male Ego' at the Cost of Life

One of the notable claims of Islamic jurisprudence is—in the case of adultery or zina, proving the crime requires four eyewitnesses, which is essentially a legal shield to protect an innocent person from false accusation (qadhf). (( Surah an-Nur 24:4 )) But this hadith of Sa'd ibn Ubadah exposes a deep contradiction and moral vacuum within Sharia law. When Sa'd clearly declares that he will strike directly with the sword without waiting for the presence of four witnesses, the Prophet Muhammad, by 'praising' this mentality of law-breaking, has essentially given higher status to a man's personal 'anger' and 'masculine ego' over the legal process. This is not merely one individual's emotion, but a 'political logic' in which the value of a woman's life is trivial compared to a man's imagined 'honor'.

In a polemical human rights analysis, this incident establishes a scriptural and psychological foundation for 'honor killing' or killing to protect honor. In modern law, where punishing anyone unless 'convicted beyond reasonable doubt' is a crime, in this Islamic narration it is seen—a man, merely upon 'seeing his wife with another man' (which is no proof of a physical relationship; it may be mere presence), desires to get a license to kill, and that desire is being identified by the Prophet as 'ghayrah' or self-respect.  This proves that in this system a woman is not a person entitled to an independent judicial process, but rather a being owned by the man, whose death warrant can depend merely on a 'glance' or 'suspicion' of the husband.

Viewed from a rationalist lens, this hadith legitimizes a kind of primitive barbarism under the pretext of 'Allah's self-respect'. When the Prophet says, "I am more self-respecting than Sa'd, and Allah is more than me," he essentially gives this violence a heavenly form. Through this, the message reaches ordinary men of society that—if a wife is suspected or seen with another man, killing her is not a crime, but rather a symbol of 'imani ghayrah' or masculinity. As a result, women's safety and right to life are completely obliterated here, and society turns into a sanctuary of lawless violence, where the sword is the final judge.

Conclusion: Barbarism Under the Veil of Heroism and the Crisis of Contemporary Human Rights

In the end, this hadith of Sa'd ibn Ubadah and the Prophet Muhammad's high praise of him is not merely a historical narrative, but a deep psychological and legal foundation of violence against women and 'honor killing' in contemporary Muslim societies. In the global philosophy of human rights, where the security of every human life is the responsibility of the state and taking the law into one's own hands is a punishable crime, there in the Islamic tradition, the way the desire for extrajudicial killing is portrayed as 'heroism' under the pretext of 'ghayrah' or masculine sense of honor is utterly inhumane. It proves that in this system, the value of a woman's life is even more trivial than a man's imagined honor, and her safety depends entirely on the man's whim.

In rational analysis, it is seen that this hadith in effect also nullifies the Sharia's own 'four witnesses' provision in the case of the husband. When a Companion's violent desire is compared with the attribute of Allah, the message becomes clear to ordinary followers that—personal 'bloodthirst' and 'anger' are far more virtuous and honorable than the legal process. This is essentially a legal legitimization of systematic oppression of women, which keeps women forever chained in the shadow of the husband's suspicion. In any civilized society, violence or the sword can have no place in the definition of 'self-respect'; rather, respecting women's personal freedom and right to life is the mark of true dignity.

Therefore, analyzing such hadiths, it is seen that these are not a reflection of any eternal or divine justice, but merely an institutional attempt to preserve a primitive and barbaric patriarchal social structure. By the standards of modern human rights and gender equality, these ideals are not merely outdated, but dangerously harmful. In building a safe and just society, it is essential to discard such erroneous notions of 'honor' and to place women's absolute right to life above all religious or personal emotions.