Islamic Duty to Seek
Knowledge
 Prophet Muhammad said: “Seeking knowledge is
incumbent upon every Muslim, male and female.”
 The most frequently used word in the Qur’an is “Allah.”
 After Allah, the second most frequently used word “deals
with a cluster concerned with knowing, reasoning,
intellect, pondering, reflecting, meditating upon, and
thinking.”
 The first revelation started with the word “iqra” (read)
 One of the Prophet’s most famous sayings is “Seek
Knowledge from the Cradle to the Grave.” Another
important saying: “Seek knowledge even if it is in China.”
Why is Knowledge Key in this
Case?
 Knowledge is essential because we tend to oppress others and
allow oppression against ourselves because we lack proper
understanding of the Quran and the life of the Prophet (PBUH).
 Islam indisputably gives women rights, respect and equality in
this world and before God.
 The equality and inherent dignity of all human beings are
among the central teachings of Islam.
 We have greatly deviated from these Islamic principles. This
must change and responsibility for generating change lies
within each of us: “God will not change people’s conditions
unless they change their inner selves.” (Quran 13:11)
Women Rights in Islam
 Women’s freedoms are an INTRINSIC part of Islam
 It is patriarchal culture, not Islamic principles, which
restricts women
 During the early years of Islam, as we will see,
women scholars taught judges and imams, both at
the mosque and elsewhere. They traveled to distant
cities searching or imparting knowledge. They
studied, wrote and judged cases and even issued
fatwas. They led cosmopolitan lives.
Women at the Mosque
During the Prophet’s Time
 During the time of the Prophet, men and women
participated fully in the dynamic community of
believers that he established.
 The Prophet (PBUH) did NOT separate men and
women at the mosque by using curtains, walls,
partitions, and, much less banned women from the
mosque or relegated them to basements or upper
floors as it happens today.
Women at the Mosque in
Hadiths
 A hadith reported in the Book of Muslim states that
Umm Hisham, daughter of Haritha, who was the son
of Ne’man said “I memorized sura Qaf from hearing
it from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because he
used to recite it during his khutbah on Fridays.”
 There were no microphones or loud speakers during
the Prophet’s time. Therefore, this is clear indication
that women at the Prophet’s mosque in Medina sat
close to the minbar.
Women at the Mosque in
Hadiths
 Ibn Abbas, the paternal cousin of Muhammad (PBUH),
reported that “A beautiful woman, from among the most
beautiful of women, used to pray behind the Prophet
(PBUH) Some of the people used to go to pray in the
front row to ensure they would not be able to see her.
Others would pray in the last row of the men, and they
would look from underneath their armpits to see her.”
 This Hadith was narrated by Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud,
Attayalisy, Baihaqi, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasai and others. It
was judged authentic by Sheikh Al-Albaanee in his book,
Silsilat Al-Ahaadeeth (Saheehah #2472), where he quoted
many scholars who determined it to be true.
Women at the Mosque in
Hadiths
A well authenticated Hadith, in the Taqbat ash-Shafi’a
of Allama Tajudding Subki states:
“At a meeting where a discussion on Hadith was going
on and scholars like Yahya ibn Mu’in, Abu Khusima,
Zuhair ibn Harb and Khalaf ibn Salam were present, a
woman came in. When she heard them talking, she
asked “is it permissible for a menstruating woman to
wash a corpse for burial?” (Washing bodies for
funerals was this woman’s job). Nobody could answer
the question and they started looking at each other’s
faces.
Women at the Mosque in
Hadiths
At that moment, Abu Thaur was coming towards the meeting. They
insisted that the woman ask Abu Thaur the question. So she asked
and he replied, “Yes, because Qasim (the grandson of Abu Bakr
Siddiq) narrated from Ayesha (radi Alallahu ‘unha) that the Prophet
said to her “your menstruation is not in your hand.”
Ayesha narrated “During my menstrual period, I poured water on the
Prophet’s (PBUH) head and parted his hair.” Hence, if a menstruating
woman can pour water on a living man’s head, she can even more
rightly pour it on a dead one.
At this, the other men began to contribute, yes, so and so reported
this, and so and so narrated this, etc. At this, the woman rebuked
them, saying: “Why were you silent until now!”
Imam Abu Taur died 240 years after Hijra.
Division of Men and
Women at the Mosque
 There was no division of men and women at the mosque
during the time of the Prophet.
 More than 200 years after the migration of the Prophet
and his followers, there was no separation in Islamic
gatherings either.
 Dr. Kaukab Siddique in his book, “Liberation of Women
through Islam” explains that “the unislamic idea that
even decent Muslim men and women, engaged in the
holy acquisition of Islamic knowledge should be
separated from each other…took centuries of decadence
to plant itself in the Muslim mind.”
The Early Days of Islam
 ibn Ḥazm (994 – 1064) was an Andalusian scholar
born in Cordoba who produced a reported 400
works on Islamic jurisprudence, history, ethics,
comparative religion, and theology.
 He adduces a number of traditions that prove that in
the days of the Prophet, women frequented the
mosque together with men. He reports that, during
this time, should anything happen during prayer,
such as an error made by the imam, “men should
praise God and women should clap their hands.”
Ibn Hazm
 Ibn Hazm states the Prophet encouraged women to go to
the mosque
 Women are not OBLIGED to be present during
congregational prayers if it is inconvenient to them. But,
he concludes, “it has been reliably transmitted that
women would attend prayer with the Prophet.”
 To support this, he quotes several hadiths:
 “Do not deny slave girls of God access to the mosques of
God.”
 “Do not deny your women access to the mosques…”
More Hadiths on Women
at the Mosques
 Ibn Hazm discusses a narration where Umar, wanting to
prevent women from going to the mosque, was sternly
rebuked by his father, who stated this would be against
the Prophet’s wishes.
 Another hadith states: “Do not prevent the women from
going out to the mosques at night.”
 The Prophet further tells women to abstain from perfume
if they go to the mosque.
 Ibn Hazm states that if the Prophet did not prevent
women from going to the mosque, “it is a sin and bid’a to
do so in one’s own authority.”
Women’s High Status in the
Early Days of Islam
 The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies has produced a 40volume work on Muslim women scholars and prayer leaders
 The book “Al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam,” was
edited by a conservative sunni sheikh, Sheikh Mohammad
Akram Nadwi, who studied in a madrassa in Lucknow, India.
This is a 40-volume dictionary of female scholars in Islam who
actively participated in mosque life.
 Sheikh Akram found over 9000 women who enjoyed high
public standing and authority in the formative years of Islam.
For centuries thereafter, women travelled intensively for
religious knowledge and commonly attended prestigious
mosques and madrassas across the Islamic World.
Women Scholars in Islam
 Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi’s work began by
accident:
 Reading classical books on hadith, he kept running across
women’s names as authorities and so he decided to do a
well researched dictionary of them.
 He first thought it would be a short dictionary, but kept
discovering more and more: He found thousands of such
women scholars
 He states that he “does not know of another religious
tradition in which women were so central, so present, so
active in its formative history.”
Women Scholars in Islam
 In medieval Mauritania, Sheikh Akram found evidence of
hundreds of girls who memorized books of fiqh by heart
(al-Mudawwana, a famous book of fiqh was often
memorized by them).
 In 12th century Egypt, a woman scholar was lauded by her
students for mastering a “camel-load” of religious books
 In Samarkand, during the medieval period, Fatimah alSamarqandiyyah, trained by her father in hadith and fiqh,
used to judge court cases. She issued fatwas and advised
her far more famous husband on how to issue his.
Examples of Brilliant Muslim
Women in the Early Days of Islam
 In the 7th Century, women like Umm al-Darda taught
jurisprudence (fiqh) and hadith in the mosques of
Damascus and Jerusalem. Her students were men
and women. One of her students was the caliph Abd
al-Malik ibn Marwan.
 Umm al-Darda' was declared by Iyas ibn Mu’awiya,
an important scholar of the time and a judge of
undisputed ability and merit, to be superior to all the
other scholars of the period.
 There is a center for teaching Quran in Bahrain
named in her honor.
More Examples of
Influential Muslim Women
 Fatimah al-Bataihiyyah was a 14th century Syrian
scholar. She taught both men and women in the
Prophet’s mosque in Medina.
 Students came to her from all over the Muslim
world, even from as far away from Fez.
 She used to lean against the Prophet’s tomb while
she taught, placing herself right besides the
Prophet’s head.
 Fatimah bint Yahya was a 13th century jurist whose
husband used to consult her on his tougher cases.
Influential Women in the
Early Days of Islam
 Fatimah bint Sa’d al-Khayr is perhaps the best example of a Muslim who
took the duty to pursue knowledge extremely seriously.
 She traveled all over Asia in pursuit of knowledge. She was born in 1130 to
a Spanish Muslim father in western China, and was an itinerant student,
moving through madrasas in Bukhara and Samarkand.
 She studied with another celebrated woman scholar in Isfahan, Fatimah alJuzdaniyah, the primary narrator of the massive 37-volume hadith
collections of al-Tabarani. Fatimah al-Juzdaniyah was the longest-living
student of the last student who narrated from al-Tabarani himself,
characterizing her scholarship as possessing one of the highest chains
(with the shortest links) to the Prophet in her lifetime, all of which Fatimah
bint Sa’d al Khayr inherited and began transmitting in her lifetime.
 She settled for a time in Baghdad, teaching men and women in Damascus
and Jerusalem. She died in Cairo at the age of 78.
Women in the Early Days
of Islam
 Umm al-Kiram Karimah bint Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn
Hatim al-Maarwaziyyah was a popular narrator of Bukhari
hadiths.
 She was based in Mecca, where she died at the age of
one hundred.
 Students came from all over to study with her, including
great imams and the well-known historian al-Khatib alBaghdadi.
 She traveled “in the path of knowledge,” to the Iranian
cities of Sarakhs and Isfahan, and to Jerusalem.
Female Companions of the
Prophet
 A remarkable female companion of the Prophet
(PBUH) was Nusaybah bint Kaab
 She was legendary for her bravery and military skills
 She participated in several battles and in the battle
of Uhud was severely wounded while defending the
Prophet
 Prophet Muhammad said: “whenever I looked to my
right or left I would find Nusaybah fighting
defensively and praised her for her courage.”
Khadija
 Khadija, whom the Prophet married first and loved deeply until
her death, ran a caravan business in Mecca.
 She was a wealthy and successful businesswoman.
 Twice-widowed single mother
 Fifteen years older than the Prophet
 She proposed marriage saying: “I like you because of our
relationship, your high reputation among your people, your
trustworthiness, your good character and truthfulness.”
 Khadija was the first Muslim.
 The Prophet sought her advice on all matters
Today: the Exclusion of
Women
 Denying women access to the mosque, like denying them
other rights is simply clinging to custom, it is not Islam, it
is not faith. It contravenes Islam and is in fact, unislamic.
 Preventing women from pursuing knowledge “is like the
pre-Islamic custom of burying girls alive” says Sheikh
Mohammad Akram Nadwi
 History is at odds with the confinement of many
contemporary Muslim women: In medieval times, women
bazaar merchants held classes in their shops. Some
learned women taught courses in the parks, and, of
course, at mosques. Women participated in lectures, even
correcting the caliph, for instance.
Today
Going Backwards
 Since the time of Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago,
when women were welcome at the mosque and given an
important place in it, other cultures have greatly evolved.
 They recognize the valuable contributions women can
make to a community and welcome women in their
houses of worship.
 Sadly, as Dr. Sultan points out: “Muslim society has gone
the other way. Muslim women have less status in
mosques today than they did 1400 years ago. This is
because the affairs of mosques are decided by narrowminded men who got their religious education by rotememorization and not by thinking”
Consequences
 The treatment of women at the mosque contravenes the
teachings of Islam and utilizes religion to enforce one of
the cultural practices Islam sought to remedy: the
oppression of women
 The consequences of excluding women from religious life
and relegating them to hiding behind curtains, walls or in
basements are dire.
 The spiritual state of the Muslim community is stagnant
and in desperate need for revival.
 Spirituality is meant to uplift us, nurture us, energize us,
and empower us.
How to Tell which Religious
Interpretations Are Correct?
 “Any belief, any tradition, any interpretation that does
not make you more resourceful, more powerful, and freer
to act is false. Stated in the opposite way, the right
interpretation is the one that if you act upon it, it will
increase your personal power to make a difference in
your life and that of others. If religious teachings
contribute to personal growth, resourcefulness, freedom,
and happiness of people who follow them, then these
represent the true purpose of religion.
 “If, on the other hand, religion is taught in ways that
contribute to constriction of human potential, to
unhappiness and lack of productivity, they are false,
regardless of how famous the scholar who conveys these
ideas.”
The Quran and the Life of
Excellence
“… All the interpretations that women should be
subjugated, or their movements be restricted, or their
choices should be controlled by men, are misguided
interpretations. Any religious opinion that tries to limit
the rights or opportunities of any group of people is a
false interpretation.” –Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed