Female Scholars

Holy Quraan:

,
.

Whoever does good whether male or female while he or she is a believer verily, to him We will give a
good life and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do.
(An-Nahl: 97)

Dr. Bilal:

In Christianity men and women are equipped by nature for complementary rather than identical roles, no
spiritual superiority inheres in the masculine principle. The science of hadith forms an outstanding exception
in this respect which records few scholarly enterprises. In these enterprises women have played an important
and active role side by side. As a result of the above verse, the Muslim community was happy to entrust
matters of the greatest religious responsibility to women, who, as sisters to men, were of equal worth is
Allahs (SWT) Sight.

Shaykh Shafiq Finn:

The low status of women, such as buried baby girls alive as a view of useless (Soorah an-Nahr, verse: 28-29)
among Arabs were erased when Islam gave human rights to women like men. Quraan first time proclaimed
the source of origins of both male and female as same (Soorah an-Nisa, verse-1). Despite of their certain
limitations, Allah ordered men to respect and provide requirements to female as they are treated equally in
the case of worship and getting reward (Soorah Zariat, verse: 56).

In Arabic language masculine tense includes feminine tense during addressing. This makes female
inseparable from scene. Sometimes Allah specifically mentions female to emphasize their equality &
importance in worship, accountability, duties, obligations, objectives, means and source of guidance
(Quraan & Sunnah). So, they possess independent status in accountability and dawah to people. Even thy
have special respect or honor than men, given by Allah (SWT). In the case of mother, when Allah (SWT)
gives them special status (Soorah Luqman, verse: 14), His Messenger (SAW) also walked in that way
through manner and spiritual superiority. Moreover, Shariah also differed for female alone due to suit in
their biological nature.

Shahadah (testimony) Vs. Riwaayah (Narrating):

Is it Mutlaq or absolute preference about male?

Based on Soorah al-Baqarah, verse-282 some claimed that in case of Shahadah, women became inferior to
men. The verse equals a mans testimony to two womens testimonies. It shows the misunderstanding of
their claim. Here, the verse describes Dayn, an obligation contracted by two parties. So, the men are more
preferred than women because they are more knowledgeable about transactions & contracts for their more
outer activities. Moreover, the verse also mention about womens participation. As a result, we can
differentiate between two terminologies:

Shahadah Riwaayah
Contains liability or directly relating to Directed towards society in general, not a
somebody. particular person.
Specific. More broad.
Muhaddithaat (Women Muhaadiths):

Same condition as a Raawi, like Aaishah & Umm Salamah (RA). Some of the golden chain traced
to these Ummul Mumineen.
So the qualities, such as, Adaa, Daabit, Piety, Memorization and forms of Tahammul, are considered
in their regards.
Women in the time of Rasoolullah (SAW) directly questioned him about womens personal affairs &
got the teachings. In this context, Aaishah (RA) praised Ansaar women for acquiring the
knowledge about hukm without being shy.
Fatimah bint Qays (RA) narrated a very long narration from Tamim ad-Dari about Dajjal. So,
women not only memorized Quraan but also memorized and preserved many hadiths. Imam Tabari
wrote a book of long hadith where many hadeeths were narrated by women.

In other era:

Imam Maliks daughter memorized the whole Muwatta while his son didnt. She even listened the
narration behind a door and corrected the people their errors.
(Dr. Bilal) Abida al-Madaniyya: She started life as a slave owned by Muhammad ibn Yazid and
learnt a large number of hadiths with the teachers in Madinah. She was given by her master to Habib
Dald-oon, the great traditionist of Spain. He became so impressed that he freed her, married her and
brought her to Andalusia. It is said that she related 10,000 traditions on the authority of her Medinan
Teachers.
Zaynab bint Sulaymaan: She was princess by birth in Abbasid dynasty and received a fine education.
She acquired mastery of hadith, gained reputation as one of the most distinguished women
traditionist f the time and counted many important men among her pupils.
Fatima bint al-Uasan ibn Ali ibn al-Daqqaq: She married the famous mystic and traditionist Abul-
Qasim al-Qushayri. She was celebrated not only for her piety and mastery of calligraphy but also for
her knowledge of hadith and the quality of isnaads she knew.
Karima al-Marwaziyyz: The best authority on the Sahih al-Bukhari in her time. Aboo Dharr of Herat,
one of the leading scholars of the period, attached such great importance to her authority that he
advised his students to study the Sahih under no one else, because of the quality of her scholarship.
Among her students were al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and al-Humaidi.
Ibn Hajar listed 170 prominent women of the 8th century in his work, al-Durar al-Kamina while
Aishah bint Abd al-Hadi was one of his teachers and considered the finest traditionist of her time.
It is clear that the women involved did not confine their study to personal interest or to the private
coaching of a few individuals but took their seats as students as well as teachers in public educational
institutions, side by side with their brothers in faith.

Historical development:

Shaykh Shafiq Finn:

1. 100-200 A.H: Narration from Sahaabiyaat in huge amounts of ahadith and participation in society.
2. 200-500 A.H- Women participation decreased & men more common because of travelling.
3. 600-900 A.H- The highest peak of women participation because of wars.
4. 1000-1500 A.H.- General decline of Muslim scholarship regarding gender. Imam Suyootee said
when Umm al-Khair Amat al-Khaliq al-Damashqiyyah died, a major link to strong isnaads was
broken.