Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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When the Prophet was preparing to set off for
Khaybar to engage in
jihad,
some women of the
Banu Ghifar tribe approached him and said, “O
Prophet of God, we want to accompany you on this
journey, so that we may tend the injured and help
Muslims in every possible way.” The Prophet
replied, “May God bless you. You are welcome to
come.”
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Umm ‘Atiyah, a Medinan woman, said
that she had been present on seven expeditions: “I
looked after the emigrants, cooked their food,
bound up the wounds of the injured and cared for
those who were in distress.”
During the battle with the Jews in Medina, the
Muslim women and children were gathered on the
roof of a fort with Hassan ibn Thabit as their guard.
Safia, the daughter of Abdul Muttalib, who was also
present on the roof, describes how she saw a
passing Jew taking a round of the fort: “At that time
the Banu Qurayza (a Jewish tribe) were doing battle
with the Muslims, which is why the road between
us and the Prophet was cut off, and there was no
one to defend us from the Jews. The Prophet and all
his Companions, being on the battlefront, were in
no position to come to our assistance. In the
