The Male Brain, The Female Brain and (24:30-31)

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

Recently, I have been reflecting on the difference between two signs/indicators (ayaat) in The Qur'an:

(24:30) Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! Allah is aware of what they do.

Qul lilmu/mineena yaghuddoo min absarihum wa yahfazoo furoojahum zalika azkalahum inna Allaha khabeerun bima yasnaAAoon

and

(24:31) And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent...

Wa qul lilmu/minati yaghdudna min absarihinna wa yahfazna furoojahunna wala yubdeena zeenatahunna illa ma zahara minha...

I am intrigued by the presence of the phrase "That is purer for them" (zalika azkalahum) in respect of 'believing men' (al-mu'mineen) in (24:30), and the absence of this phrase in respect of 'believing women' (al-mu'minaat) in (24:31).

While I am certainly no genetic determinist/reductionist, the reality of neuroplasticity and biological differences in the brains of males and females have led me to consider whether there may be a neurophysiological issue relevant to the understanding of the phrase "That is purer for them" (zalika azkalahum). Crucially, this phrase is better rendered as "That is more conducive to their growth/cultivation through pruning" since the verb zaka has as its basic meaning "to cultivate through pruning".

In this connection, I would refer interested readers to the following two articles available online:

Canli, T. and Gabrieli, J.D.E. (2004) Imaging Gender Differences in Sexual Arousal. Nature Neuroscience 7(4), 325-326.

Hamann, S., Herman, R.A., Nolan, C.L., Wallen, K. (2004) Men and Women Differ in Amygdala Response to Visual Sexual Stimuli. Nature Neuroscience 7(4), 411-416.

Peace