International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 2017, Vol. 7, No. 12 ISSN: 2222-6990 631 www.hrmars.com Defamation by Women Mentioned in Surah Yusuf According to Hamka: A Review Mariam Nabilah Mohd Noor and Mohd Shafiee Hamzah Faculty of Islamic Contemporary Studies, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia DOI: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i12/3645 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i12/3645 Abstract Many of the contemporary social and criminal problems are due to the defamation of women. This has been emphasised in the al-Qur’an and Hadith, especially about the dangers of women defaming men. The Prophet PBUH iterated, “I have not left behind me any fitnah (temptation) more harmful to men than women” (al-Tirmidhi). The Al-Quran had proven this through the narrative about Prophet Yusuf PBUH, who faced defamation after being seduced by Zulaikha. Hence, this working paper had identified the issue of defamation by women that exists in Surah Yusuf besides analysing the HAMKA interpretation pertaining to this issue. This study had employed the qualitative design involving library research. Therefore, the source of the primary data was the al-Azhar Interpretation text, which was considered a case study. Data in this study were analysed using the thematic method by gathering verses of the al-Qur’an related to Prophet Yusuf PBUH and Zulaikha according to a specific theme based on the HAMKA interpretations. Initial examinations found that the issue of defamation by women contained in Surah Yusuf referred to the seduction by Zulaikha due to sexual desires (hawa nafsu) because she was totally in love with Prophet Yusuf PBUH and possessed an immoral attitude prevalent among all the urban women at that time. Keywords: Defamation of Woman, Zulaikha, Narrative about Prophets, Yusuf PBUH, HAMKA. Introduction Islam recognises the existence of women on this earth as well as the existence of men and there is absolutely no discrimination, gender bias, second class issues etc. expressed towards women (Hafiz & Rohaya, 2010). Hence, women play an important role in society such as building a future generation of esteemed leaders and Islamic advocates and this process begins at home. A Muslim woman could not possibly build a strong family except by being a true Muslimah who is nutured from a religious aspect, strongly upholds Almighty Allah’s scriptures as well as the sunnah of Prophet Peace and Blessing Be Upon Him (PBUH) (Majdi, 2001). On the other hand, women could also become a form of defamation (as a test or challenge) when their presence makes men neglect their obligations to Almighty Allah (Nurdin & Rufika, 2014). The Prophet Muhammad PBUH had narrated numerous instances that went awry because women were not made a lesson off or the outcome of their actions taken as a form of advice for those who were pious (al-Sa`di, n.d.). This was proven by cases of women in the past, such as Walihah, the wife of Prophet Luth PBUH, as a symbol of treachery by a wife; Unaizah, as a