Reviving a Tradition: Muslim Women as Religious
Authorities
Yoginder Sikand
Separate madrasas for Muslim girls are a relatively
recent phenomenon in India. Although the number of
such madrasas is still small, there is a distinct
trend towards setting up more such institutions, both
that provide only religious education, as well as
those that combine both Islamic and modern subjects.
What impact these institutions might have for the
reconstruction of contemporary Islamic thought remains
to be seen, but that the fact that they are helping to
subtly refashion structures of Indian Muslim religious
authority, till now largely a male domain, is obvious.
The setting up of girls' madrasas is a crucial focus
of many advocates of madrasa reform today. Contrary to
what is often imagined, numerous male ulema or clerics
are among the most enthusiastic supporters of this
cause. In recent years, a steady stream of writings on
the subject has emerged, arguing the case for such
institutions from within an Islamic paradigm. It may
well be said to reflect, in a certain sense, the
emergence of a gender-friendly understanding of Islam
that critiques male, patriarchal control of religious
knowledge as 'anti-Islamic'.
A passionate argument for Muslim girls' education,
including girls' madrasas, is presented in a recent
work by a noted Hyderabad-based Islamic scholar, Mufti
Muhammad Mustafa Abdul Quddus Nadvi. A graduate of the
renowned Nawat ul-Ulama madrasa in Lucknow, the Mufti
teaches at the Mahad al-Ali al-Islami, headed by
Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, a widely-respected
Indian Muslim scholar.
Titled 'Talibat Ki Dini wa Asri Talim Aur Unki
Darsgahen' ('Women's Religious and Modern Education
and Their Institutions'), this book stresses the
importance of both secular as well as religious
education for Muslim women, marshalling Islamic
arguments for this purpose. If women, who constitute
half of the Muslim population, continue to be
educationally deprived, he says, Muslim society cannot
progress, particularly since mothers exercise an
important influence on their children.
To press his case, the Mufti refers to verses in the
Quran and the corpus of Hadith, the traditions
attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, that stress the
importance of education and to instances of well-known
women scholars in early Muslim history. All forms of
'useful' knowledge, the Mufti says, are allowed for in
Islam, be they useful for the life after death or in
this world. The latter include subjects such as
languages, the social and the natural sciences,
medicine, engineering and so on. The Quran exhorts all
Muslims, males and females, to acquire useful
knowledge. Without such knowledge, the Mufti says,
people cannot 'walk on the right path'. Using this
knowledge, he goes on, women can even seek employment
outside the house, provided they do not, as a result,
neglect their familial responsibilities and also do
not transgress the limits set by the shariah. He
refers to a tradition attributed to the Prophet, who
is said to have declared that a man should treat his
daughter in a good manner. 'What could be better',
asks the Mufti, 'than providing her with a good
education?'.
Every Muslim, male and female, must also have at least
a basic knowledge of Islam, writers the Mufti. Hence
the need for girls' madrasas. He cites the fact that
the Prophet was requested by some Muslim women to
provide them, in addition to their men-folk, religious
instruction, which he acceded to. Because, in contrast
to many other religions, Islam positively encourages
women to acquire religious knowledge, there were
several woman religious specialists among the early
Muslims, particularly among the sahabiyat or female
companions of the Prophet. These, the Mufti points
out, included several female Quranic commentators
(mufassir), narrators of hadith reports ( muhaddith),
jurisprudents (faqiha) and scholars (alima).
The most notable of these early Muslim women scholars,
the Mufti writes, was Hazrat Ayesha, the youngest wife
of the Prophet. He describes her as being an expert in
Quranic commentary. Besides, she, almost with some
other wives of the Prophet, narrated numerous Hadith
reports. She is also said to have delivered numerous
fatwas or opinions on jurisprudential issues ( fiqhi
masail) and thus was among the first female muftis
(muftia). On certain matters on which there was no
explicit reference in the Quran and the Hadith, she is
said to have exercised her own judgment or ijtihad,
which made her one of the first Muslim mujtahids. Some
other wives of the Prophet and certain other sahabiyat
also gave fatwas, and male companions of the Prophet
or sahaba are said to have consulted them. In that
sense, they served the function of Muftis.
Hazrat Ayesha, the Mufti goes on, was also one of the
few early Muslims who had a deep understanding of the
'secrets of the faith' ( asrar ud-din), including of
the causes (asbab) and the pronouncement (hukum) on
certain issues ( masla). Several wives of the Prophet
would teach other Muslim women about religious
matters. For her part, Hazrat Ayesha also taught
numerous male companions of the Prophet after his
demise. Some of them would recite hadith narrations to
her, which she would correct. They would also ask her
for her opinions on various fiqh issues.
The argument the Mufti puts forward obviously has
crucial consequences for the pattern and structure of
religious authority in contemporary Muslim societies.
Since several early Muslim women had a specialized
knowledge of different branches of Islamic learning,
some of them even excelling men in their fields of
learning, the Mufti suggests that there is nothing to
prevent Muslim women today from emulating their
example. Indeed, he positively exhorts them to do so.
If these early female Muslim scholars had acquired
such a stature that even some male companions of the
Prophet sought knowledge from them, today the doors to
becoming muftis and religious experts are still open
to Muslim women.
In line with his understanding that there is no rigid
distinction between 'religious' and 'secular'
knowledge in Islam and that all forms of 'useful'
knowledge are Islamically legitimate, the Mufti goes
on to argue that Islam allows for women to acquire
'secular' knowledge as well, along with religious
education. Here, too, he cites the instances of some
noted female companions of the Prophet, presenting
them as role models for Muslim women today. Thus, he
notes, Hazrat Ayesha taught a woman to write, and
several other sahabiyat, too, were literate. Hazrat
Khansa was said to excel even men in poetry. Sakina
bint Abu Abdullah had a good knowledge of astronomy.
Hazrat Umm Salim is said to have crafted a weapon.
Numerous Muslim women helped the injured in battles
led by the Prophet. Hazrat Ibn Masud's wife was a
craftsperson and used her skills to financially
support her family. Hazrat Asma bin Mukharama used to
sell perfumes. And so on.
In short, the Mufti argues, Muslim women can or,
indeed, should acquire both 'secular' and religious
knowledge. In addition, they can train to become
religious authorities. To do so would not be a
wrongful innovation, nor would it lead women astray,
as is sometimes argued. Rather, it would be a revival
of a precedent and a religiously-sanctioned and
historical tradition that needs to be resurrected.
Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur Soye
Dukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur Roye
The world is 'happy', eating and sleeping
The forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping
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