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274chapter fivetake care of women’. For some naïve people it even expresses abiological superiority that is forever engrained in the constitution ofthe male sex, and since Allah created both sexes in this way theyusually jump to the conclusion that Allah wanted women to be essentiallydeficient in reason and religion and that He preferred men towomen (‘because God has given the one more (strength) than theother’, 4:34). But if Allah had really wanted to make such an essentialistand sexist claim on the basis of people’s gender, why did Henot say: ‘All males [i.e., using a different word than rij§l, e.g. dhukår]are the guardian over all females [i.e., again, using a different word,not nis§" but in§th]’?Defining the Term ‘Men’ ( al-rij§l)Conventional wisdom tells us that ‘men’ are defined by their masculinesexuality. But if masculinity was the only marker of manhood,the two terms ‘male’ and ‘men’ would be synonymous, interchangeable,and, hence, absolutely identical. This, of course, is out of thequestion since ‘men’ are not exclusively defined by their sex. TheArabic term ‘man’ (rajul) has the same root as the noun rijl, whichrefers to that part of the body which enables people to move, to walk,or to stand. People are called ‘pedestrians’ if they walk with theirlegs and feet (arjul), and a woman who walks per pedes is called ‘awoman going on foot’ ( al-r§jila). Many verses in the Book use the termrij§l in exactly this way: to denote ‘movement’ regardless of the mover’ssex:– ‘If you fear (an enemy), pray on foot ( rij§l an ), or riding…’( Al-Baqara 2:239). If rij§l in this context only meant male sex,it would imply that women never go on foot!–‘“And proclaim the pilgrimage among men: they will come toyou on foot (rij§l an )…”’ ( Al-Hajj 22:27). Again, if rij§l meantonly male pilgrims, would this not exclude women from makingthe pilgrimage on foot? Of course, women also performtheir pilgrimage on foot. Rij§l an in this context implies that thosewho perform the Èajj have to be strong enough to walk longdistances; it addresses the stronger and healthier people amongthe believers (men and women).