In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Female Scholars in Islamic History

From the first generation of Islam, women learned the religion directly, asked about its rulings, narrated what they heard, and taught those who came after them. This page gathers what the books in this site’s library verify about those women: the Prophet ﷺ setting time aside to teach them, ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) answering the questions brought to her and spreading knowledge after his death, and women of the generation after her learning at her side, narrating, and being narrated from.

The record kept here is deliberately narrow. This page carries only what the books of the library establish, each point with its reference, so that what is said about these women rests on sources the reader can open and check.

The Prophet ﷺ Taught the Women, and Knowledge Is Their Obligation Too

In Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women, the twenty-fourth question in the chapter on knowledge records that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ “used to set a special day for teaching the matters of the religion to the women,” and that he also permitted them to be behind the men in the mosque in order to seek knowledge. Shaykh Ibn Baz answered:

“There is no doubt that such was the practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, as well as the scholars.”

He went on to describe how that teaching reached women in his own time: he set days aside for them himself, women sent their questions to Noor ala al-Darb [a radio programme where scholars answer people’s questions], and they wrote to Dar al-Ifta [the office that issues formal religious rulings].

“Indeed, I myself have done that here on a number of occasions as well as in Makkah, Taif and Jeddah. I have no problem with setting apart a specific time for women in any locale if they want that from me. That is also the position of my scholar colleagues.”

“Furthermore, by the radio program Noor ala al-Darb, Allah has opened the way to much good. A woman can send her question to the program and during the program it will be answered.”

“Similarly, women may write to Dar al-Ifta. In this case, a committee of scholars may respond to their questions. It has been designed for that purpose.”

“In any case, knowledge is equally obligatory for both men and women. There is nothing to prevent a woman from attending lectures, with the condition that she is properly dressed and is not exposing any of her beauty.”

‘Aishah: The One They Asked

The books preserve ‘Aishah being asked about the rulings of the religion and answering. Al-Qurtubi mentioned, as Ibn Kathir records in his tafsir, that ‘Aishah was asked about what non-Muslims slaughter for their feasts and then offer some of it as gifts for Muslims. She said:

“Do not eat from what has been slaughtered for that day, (or feast) but eat from their vegetables.”

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen records another question in his explanation of Riyaad as-Saaliheen. ‘Aishah was asked, “Why does a menstruating woman make up for the Fast but not the Prayer?” She answered:

“We would experience that and would be ordered to repay the Fast but not to make up for the Prayer.”

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen comments on her answer: “As if to say, the duty of the believer is to implement the Sharee’ah whether he knows the wisdom behind such legislations or not; this is the right thing!”

Of her place after the Prophet ﷺ, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen writes that, towards the end of the Message and after the demise of the Messenger ﷺ, she “was involved in the rapid and vast spreading of the Message, knowledge and the rulings of Islam.” In another place he describes her:

“She was a distinguished personality in terms of knowledge, worship, opinion and decision-making.”

And he says of her that “she possessed abundant good judgement, knowledge, restraint and wisdom.”

A book this page has not drawn on before adds its own testimony. The narrator note in Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkam, in the Book of Zakah and Fasting, introduces ‘Aishah before the hadeeth she narrated, and records what a Companion found when he asked her:

“She had a great portion of knowledge, virtue, intellect, and understanding.”

“No matter was confusing to us and we asked ‘Aa’ishah concerning it except that we found with her knowledge regarding it.”

“She did not die until she had spread within the Ummah much knowledge; such that it was said: One fourth of the legislative rulings are transmitted from her and there has been narrated from her of the Hadeeth of the Prophet ﷺ that which is around two thousand two hundred and ten Ahaadeeth.”

Women Who Learned and Narrated

Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) was a woman of the Ansar, and ‘Aishah praised the women of the Ansar for asking about the religion without letting shyness stop them. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen quotes her praise in his explanation of Riyaad as-Saaliheen:

“The women of the Ansar are so good; bashfulness never prevents them seeking to understand the religion.”

He explains what her praise means: “So, a woman would come to the Prophet ﷺ enquire about a matter that men would ordinarily shy away from. Nevertheless, regarding the matters of the religion, the individual must find out and not be held back by bashfulness.” Umm Sulaym’s own question shows it:

“Umm Sulaym - may Allah be pleased with her - came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asking him that, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Allah is never shy of the truth, must a woman give the ritual bath if she has a wet dream?’ He responded, ‘Yes, if she notices the fluid.’”

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen comments on her asking:

“Sometimes, a man would avoid enquiring about such a question, especially in a gathering, but bashfulness did not prevent Umm Sulaym from learning the religion and understanding it. Consequently, such self-restraint and reticence that would deter the individual from asking about the incumbent and necessary is blameworthy. It is not rightly called bashfulness; it is rather - we say -, weakness and timidity, and it is from the Satan. So find out about your religion and do not be timid.”

The explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkam, in the Book of Purification, gathers the lesson of her question into the first of the benefits of its hadeeth: “The excellence of Umm Sulaim for her eagerness to understand the religion and her good etiquette for bringing forth that which paves the way for her excuse.”

Mu’adhah al-‘Adawiyyah learned at ‘Aishah’s side, asking her about the Prophet’s ﷺ practice and carrying her answers to others. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of Riyaad as-Saaliheen records:

“Mu’adhah Al-‘Adawiyah reported: I asked ‘Aishah, ‘Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ use to observe three days of Saum (fasting) in every month?’ She replied, ‘Yes.’”

The book cites this narration to Muslim. The same woman appears in Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkam, in the chapter of menstruation, asking ‘Aishah, “What’s with the situation of the menstruating woman, she makes up the fast and she does not make up the prayer?” ‘Aishah answered her: “That used to happen to us and we were ordered to make up the fast and we were not ordered to make up the prayer.” The book names her Mu’aadhah bint ‘Abdillah al-‘Adawiyyah and describes her as a trustworthy narrator and a jurist from the generation that followed the Companions.

Safiyyah bint Shaybah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated from the Prophet ﷺ himself. Ibn Kathir records in his tafsir that al-Bukhari “recorded a similar Hadith from Safiyyah bint Shaybah who narrated it from the Prophet,” speaking there of the sanctity of Makkah. She also narrated from ‘Aishah. On the verse of the veils in Surah an-Nur, al-Bukhari narrated from Safiyyah bint Shaybah that ‘Aishah used to say:

“When this Ayah: (and to draw their veils all over their Juyub) was revealed, they took their Izars (waist sheets) and tore them at the edges, and Akhtamar themselves with them.”

And Ibn Jarir narrated from Safiyyah bint Shaybah that ‘Aishah said:

“The Prophet went out one morning wearing a striped cloak of black camel’s hair.”

From there ‘Aishah went on to narrate how the Prophet ﷺ gathered al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Fatimah, and ‘Ali, each in turn, under that cloak with him.

Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) was a woman of the Ansar whose narration the scholars carried. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s explanation of Riyaad as-Saaliheen brings a report on her authority about the washing of the dead, and mentions her noble deeds, among them giving the funeral bath to the women. When Zaynab, the daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, passed away and the women came to give the funeral bath, the Prophet ﷺ said to them, “Begin with her right sides and the parts she would wash during the Ablution.”

Her own narration about funerals shows something further: the scholars weighed her understanding of what she narrated. She reported:

“We (womenfolk) were prohibited from accompanying a funeral procession, but we were not compelled (not to do so).”

The book records this narration as being in al-Bukhari and Muslim. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen explains: “However, the statement of Umm Atiyyah: ‘But it was not strictly enforced upon us,’ is her own understanding.”

Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), a Mother of the Believers, also carried what she learned to those after her. In the Book of Purification’s telling, Umm Sulaym’s question above reached later generations on Umm Salamah’s narration. And when Marwan ibn al-Hakam sent a man to ask about the Prophet’s ﷺ practice in his home, it was ‘Aishah and Umm Salamah who answered. The General Explanation in the Book of Zakah and Fasting introduces the hadeeth they narrated:

“‘Aa’ishah and Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with them, who were from the mothers of the believers and the most knowledgeable of the people concerning that which the Prophet ﷺ would do within his home”

“Their informing regarding that was in response to Mar’waan ibn Al-Hakam when he sent someone to them to ask them about that.”

The Mothers of the Believers: Knowledge Recited in Their Homes

The wives of the Prophet ﷺ were commanded to hold on to what was recited in their houses and carry it to those after them. Allah says, addressing them:

“And remember what is recited in your homes of the revelations of Allah and wisdom.”

(Surah al-Ahzab 33:34)

As-Sa’di explains that this remembrance “includes remembering the words, reciting them, remembering the meanings, reflecting upon them and pondering them, deriving rulings and wisdom from them, acting in accordance with them, and interpreting them correctly.” Ibn Kathir explains the command as: “act in accordance with that of the Qur’an and Sunnah which Allah revealed to His Messenger in your houses,” and he singles out ‘Aishah within this blessing: she “was foremost among them within this blessing and was the most fortunate, and the most favored with this mercy.”

This is the root from which ‘Aishah’s teaching, and the learning of the women around her, grew. A fuller treatment of the Mothers of the Believers as teachers of the Ummah is planned from these same sources.

Key Lessons

Knowledge is obligatory for women as it is for men, and the Prophet ﷺ himself set a special day aside to teach the women.
‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about the rulings of the religion and answered from what she had witnessed, and after the Prophet’s ﷺ death she spread the Message, its knowledge, and its rulings.
Learning in the first generations ran through asking: Mu’adhah asked ‘Aishah, and her questions and ‘Aishah’s answers are preserved in the books.
Women narrated the Prophet’s ﷺ words and deeds, and their narration was carried by the scholars, as with Safiyyah bint Shaybah and Umm ‘Atiyyah.
A narrator’s own understanding is distinguished from the Prophet’s ﷺ words, as Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen notes in Umm ‘Atiyyah’s narration.
The houses of the Prophet’s ﷺ wives were houses of recitation: what was recited in them of the revelation and the wisdom was to be remembered, understood, and acted upon.
Shyness does not stop a woman asking about her religion: ‘Aishah praised the women of the Ansar because bashfulness never prevented them seeking to understand it, and Umm Sulaym asked the Prophet ﷺ about a matter people shy away from.
‘Aishah and Umm Salamah were the most knowledgeable of the people about the Prophet’s ﷺ life in his home, and they answered the one who was sent to ask them.

References

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), the ten-volume compilation held in the library (no publisher is named for this copy): on ‘Aishah being asked about slaughtered meat, combined file PDF p. 421; on Safiyyah bint Shaybah narrating from the Prophet ﷺ, PDF p. 334; on Surah an-Nur 24:31, PDF p. 3470; on Surah al-Ahzab 33:33, PDF p. 4012; on Surah al-Ahzab 33:34, PDF pp. 4014-4015.
Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen, Dar-us-Salam. Translation: Abu Naasir Ibrahim Abdur-Rauf and Abu Abdil-Barr Muhammad Yaqeen. Vol. 2 (2016, ISBN 978-603-500-380-3), printed p. 315; Vol. 4 (2018, ISBN 978-603-500-418-3), printed pp. 54-55, printed p. 134, printed p. 187, and printed pp. 503-505; Vol. 5, printed pp. 332-333; Vol. 6, printed pp. 753-754.
Explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkam: the Book of Purification (Arousing the Intellects), Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen, Menstruation chapter, printed p. 111; Fifth Hadeeth, printed p. 89.
Explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkam: the Book of Zakah and Fasting (Arousing the Intellects), Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen, Darussalam, 2003. Translation: Dr. Muhammad Afzal, revised by Sufyan Zahi ibn Fathi. The Fifth Hadeeth, printed pp. 107-108 and 110-111.
Tafsir as-Sa’di, Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Vol. 8, on Surah al-Ahzab 33:34, printed pp. 22-28.
Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women, compiled by Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz al-Musnad, translated by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Darussalam, First Edition, 1996/1417H. Q24, printed p. 60.

Explanation of ‘Umdatul-Ahkam prints the divine name as “Allaah”; on this page it is spelled “Allah”, by the site’s spelling decision.

Questions & Clarifications

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