Question Summary:
Is the hadith “I entered Paradise and saw that most of its dwellers were women” authentic?

Question Detail:

is this hadith authentic?
Jabir said, Allah be well-pleased with him: I heard the Messenger of Allah say, upon him blessings and peace:
 
�I entered Paradise and saw that most of its dwellers were women.� Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in al-Ba`th wal-Nushur and Ibn `Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq.
 
I have been told that it is ghareeb?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
We could not locate a narration with this wording in Imām al-Bayhaqī’s al-Ba‘th wa l-Nushūr or Hāfiz Ibn ‘Asākir’s Tārīkh Dimashq.
An authentic hadīth states:
اطَّلَعْتُ فِي الجَنَّةِ فَرَأَيْتُ أَكْثَرَ أَهْلِهَا الفُقَرَاءَ، وَاطَّلَعْتُ فِي النَّارِ فَرَأَيْتُ أَكْثَرَ أَهْلِهَا النِّسَاءَ
“I looked into Paradise and saw most of its dwellers are the poor and I looked into Hell and I saw most of its dwellers are women.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī[1] and Sahīh Muslim[2])
And a similar hadīth states:
قُمْتُ عَلَى بَابُ الجَنَّةِ، فَكَانَ عَامَّةَ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا المَسَاكِينُ، وَأَصْحَابُ الجَدِّ مَحْبُوسُونَ، غَيْرَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ قَدْ أُمِرَ بِهِمْ إِلَى النَّارِ، وَقُمْتُ عَلَى بَابُ النَّارِ فَإِذَا عَامَّةُ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا النِّسَاءُ
“I stood at the gate of Paradise, and the majority of those who entered it were the poor…and I stood at the gate of Hellfire, and the majority of those who entered it were women.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī[3] and Sahīh Muslim[4])
The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) explained in another hadīth that amongst the reasons for this is that women have a tendency to be abusive and ungrateful to their husbands. Moreover, they are more inclined to favouring the glitter and glam of the present world over the eternal life hereafter.[5]
In these hadīths, Nabī (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) diagnosed particular weaknesses in women, and in one hadīth, he also prescribed a treatment: to give in charity. The hadīths are, therefore, a great blessing for women as they teach and encourage them to be weary of certain negative traits by which they can secure themselves from Allāh’s punishment and anger. This does not entail that they are less than men or that men do not have weaknesses. The hadīth should not be misconstrued as gender discrimination.
And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best
Zameelur Rahman
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net