Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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The greater part of his knowledge of religion was
learned from her. Similarly, many other
Sahaba
(Companions of the Prophet) and
Tabi’un
(companions of the
Sahaba
)
acquired their religious
knowledge from her. So here we have the very fine
example of a Muslim woman imparting to others
the religious knowledge which she had imbibed
directly from the Prophet.
Another example of a woman making a signal
contribution to the spread of religious learning is
that of the daughter of Imam Abu Ja’far Tahavi
(229-321
A.H.
), the famous traditionist whose book,
Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar,
is regularly included in the
syllabuses of Arabic schools. He dictated his book
of traditions to his daughter and, as he read out the
hadith,
he would explain its finer points to her and
then she would write it all down. The whole book
was prepared in this way. This is one of the finest
examples of a woman helping her family members
in matters of religion.
The above examples show the nature and extent of
the contribution which can be made by believing
Muslim women to the cause of Islam.
