What is the meaning of the Hadith: "Were it not for the Children of Israel, meat would not rot..."? And can one adopt the view of those who believe that "were it not for Eve" could be "were it not for Eve, deficient in intellect and religion, no woman would betray her husband"?

The early scholars did not mention an interpretation of the hadith about Eve's betrayal with regard to her deficiency in intellect and religion, in the sense of "Had Eve not been created deficient in intellect and religion, no female would have betrayed her husband." This alone is sufficient reason to reject it or pause regarding it, as there is no blame on her for this, given that it is not her doing in her original creation.

Most commentators believe that Eve's betrayal means that she was one of the reasons for Adam eating from the tree, in that she began eating and encouraged him to do so.

Although the foregoing is the opinion of most scholars, there is no evidence for it from the apparent meaning of the Quran and Sunnah. Rather, the apparent meaning of the Quran indicates that Adam and Eve ate together, and that the whispering came from Iblis to both of them.

Indeed, the apparent meaning of the Quran may indicate the opposite: that Adam was the one who started eating, and then Eve followed him, and that Adam's disobedience was an example for his wife, as stated in the verse: "Then Satan whispered to him, saying, 'O Adam, shall I guide you to the tree of eternity and a kingdom that will not decay?' So they both ate from it, and their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred."

The most accurate interpretation of the hadith is what Ibn Hubayra, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Ibn al-Athir held: that Eve's betrayal was in her failure to advise Adam when he intended to eat from the tree, and not in anything else. This means that anyone who sees his believing brother making a mistake and fails to advise him has betrayed him.