Episode 1: Muslim Women's Role in Islam

The Role of Muslim Women in Preserving Islamic Knowledge

The Role of Muslim Women in Preserving Islamic KnowledgeWelcome to the Mahad Al Islami Lil Banat Podcast https://mahadalislamililbanat.com/, where we explore Islamic history, thought, and the unsung heroes in Islam. I’m your host, Sarah, and today, we are going to discover a topic that doesn’t get enough attention: The Role of Muslim Women in Preserving Islamic Knowledge.When we think about Islamic scholarship, names like Imam Bukhari, Al-Ghazali, or Imam Shafi’i usually come to mind. But what about Aisha Bint Abu Bakr (RA), Fatima Al-Fihri, or Fatima Al-Samarqandi? These are only a few names of the countless women who contributed to teaching, preserving, and transmitting Islamic knowledge to the next generations in history. Hazrat Aisha Bint Abu Bakr (RA) Let’s start with one of the most revered and earliest women in Islam: Aisha Bint Abu Bakr, the wife of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). She (RA) was a teacher, a jurist, and a scholar. Hazrat Aisha (RA) narrated more than 2,000 hadiths and was known as one of the most knowledgeable women in the matters of Islamic law, hadith, and Qur’an.Male companions of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), including some of the top scholars of her time, would come to Hazrat Aisha (RA) for clarification on different religious matters. She had a phenomenal role in the preservation of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH )'s Sunnah. Fatima Bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiyya Fatima Al-Fihriya is another remarkable personality in Islamic history. She was from Tunisia in the 9th century, and founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco. UNESCO recognized her institution as the oldest with continuous operation in the educational world. Think and feel proud that a Muslim woman founded a renowned university over 1,000 years ago, and it is still running successfully. Rābiʼa Al-ʼAdawiyya Al-Qaysiyya Rabi’a al-Adawiyya was a poet and mystic from Basra. She is known for her deeper spiritual contribution and insights into Islamic spirituality. Rabia Basri’s teachings on divine sincerity and love are still influencing Islamic thought even in the current modern era. She is also popular as one of the three prominent Qalandars in the world. Muhaddithat The tradition of women influencing Islamic history hadn’t ended in the early centuries. Women contributed to leading and engaging in the scholarship throughout Islamic history. The female scholars during the Mughal and Ottoman times are known as muhaddithat. These women specialized in hadith and taught both female and male students. It is true that some narration chains that we prefer for authentic hadiths consist of female scholars. Muslim Women in the Modern Era The role of Muslim women in scholarship and education is strong in the modern era. Women study, teach, and forward knowledge from the academic institutes to the community halaqas. There are numerous women teaching hadith, Arabic, and fiqh while maintaining a balance between the community leadership and family responsibilities.So why are we not aware of these women?One prominent reason is that we overlooked the roles of women in the historical context. We can rediscover the wisdom and influential role of women through the growing interest and primary sources.