The question/claim: "When the Qur'an says 'O you who believe' (alladhīna āmanū) it uses a masculine plural; therefore it addresses only men, and women are second-class."
What does the Qur'an say?
One of the Qur'an's most familiar forms of address comes in the masculine plural:
O you who believe! When the call is made for the salāt (prayer) on the day of Friday, hasten at once to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trade! (62:9)
Yet the same Qur'an, when it matters, names women and men EXPLICITLY, pairing them one by one:
Muslim men and Muslim women, believing men and believing women ... for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward. (33:35)
Believing men and believing women are protectors of one another ... they establish prayer and give zakāt ... (9:71)
... Indeed, I will not let the work of any worker among you go to waste, male or female. You are of one another. (3:195)
When Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, no believing man or believing woman has any choice in their affair ... (33:36)
Key word / grammar
The crucial concept here is the principle of taghlīb (التغليب). In classical Arabic grammar, when a mixed group (men + women) is addressed, the masculine plural form is used and that form includes women. This is not unique to Arabic; it is a near-universal grammatical rule found across many languages: even if a single male is present in a group, the group can be treated grammatically as masculine.
Therefore the phrase "alladhīna āmanū" (those who believe) is grammatically inclusive, not exclusive. This is not an interpretation or a tafsīr; it is a linguistic fact defined at the level of classical naḥw (Arabic grammar). Saying "a masculine form was used" does not mean "women are not addressed" — just as saying "let the students come" in English does not exclude female students.
Two readings
- Critical reading: The masculine form dominates most of the text, and some passages (e.g. references to "your wives") appear to take the male as the "default/primary addressee." This reflects the cultural context of the language.
- Inclusive reading: The masculine form is a requirement of the taghlīb rule, not a deliberate exclusion. Indeed, verses like 33:35 seem to answer this very objection by listing acts of worship as man + woman pairs; 3:195 makes no gender distinction in rewarding deeds; 9:71 declares woman and man equal allies/protectors.
An honest boundary
Certain at the level of text and grammar: The masculine plural address includes women through the taghlīb principle; this is a linguistic fact. Moreover the Qur'an repeatedly makes women an explicit subject/addressee (33:35; 9:71; 3:195; 33:36; 33:73). These two points are not in dispute.
Contested at the level of interpretation: Whether certain verses (marriage, inheritance, the perspective of address) take the male as the "default addressee," and how much of the language is universal versus period-bound, is a modern tafsīr debate. Closing it off by declaring "the perspective is entirely gender-neutral" is as much an overreach as claiming "women were excluded from the start."
Conclusion: The inference "masculine language = women excluded" is grammatically false: by the taghlīb principle the masculine plural is inclusive, and the Qur'an explicitly addresses women when it matters. On the other hand, claiming the language is "entirely gender-neutral" is also an overreach; the honest middle path accepts the inclusive grammar of the text while keeping the perspective debate open.
Source: Qur'anic verses (M. Okuyan meal) + classical grammar/lexicon. Presented with a text/interpretation distinction; not a fiqh fatwa.