Women In Islam

Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Women in Every Field

Women In Islam — Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.

Contents (85 chapters)
  1. Foreword
  2. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / The Wisdom of Creation
  3. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Some Sayings of the Prophet
  4. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Equal in Respect, Different in Role
  5. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / The Position of Women in Islam
  6. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Islam Gives More Respect to Women than Men
  7. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / The Succour of God
  8. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Islam Holds Women in High Esteem
  9. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Women in Every Field
  10. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Women and Education
  11. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Islam and Modesty
  12. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / The Obligations and Rights of Women
  13. Ch 1 — Women and Islam / Attributes of Men and Women
  14. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / The Rights of Women in Islam
  15. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Progress of Women in Islamic Society
  16. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Women in Religious Life
  17. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Islam and Women
  18. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Islam Gives Women Complete Freedom
  19. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / An Old Woman's Courage
  20. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Women and Inheritance of Property
  21. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / The Testimony of Women
  22. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Working Outdoors
  23. Ch 2 — Rights and Progress of Women / Women in the Field of Education
  24. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Status of Women in Society
  25. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Unnatural Equality
  26. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Status of Women in Religions
  27. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Gender Equality
  28. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Equal in Respect, Different in Role
  29. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Role of Women in History
  30. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / A Clarification of a Misunderstanding
  31. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Empowerment of Women
  32. Ch 3 — Women in History and Today / Progress of Women: An Islamic Perspective
  33. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / Ideal Women
  34. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / The Story of Hazrat Khadijah
  35. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / Glad Tidings
  36. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / Mothers of the Believers
  37. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / The Example Set by Hazrat Fatimah
  38. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / Exemplary Muslim Women
  39. Ch 4 — Women from Muslim History / Fortitude of Muslim Women
  40. Ch 5 — Hijab in Islam / Here's the Truth Behind the Veil
  41. Ch 5 — Hijab in Islam / Hijab in the Light of the Quran and Hadith
  42. Ch 5 — Hijab in Islam / Hijab: A Comprehensive Term
  43. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Sanctity of Marriage in Islam
  44. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Successful Marriage
  45. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Dower (Mahr)
  46. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Hazrat Fatimah's Dower
  47. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / The Companions and Their Marriages
  48. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Stability in Marriage
  49. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Breaking the Conditioning Mould
  50. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Position of Woman in Islamic Shariah
  51. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Adjustment in Marital Life
  52. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Principle of Adjustment
  53. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Marriage: Intellectual Partnership
  54. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Emotionalism vs Egoism
  55. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Companionship of Husband and Wife
  56. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Mutual Trust
  57. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / Qawwamiat or 'Bossism'
  58. Ch 6 — Marriage in Islam / The Boss at Home
  59. Ch 7 — Polygamy and Islam / The Issue of Polygamy in Islam
  60. Ch 7 — Polygamy and Islam / The Inequality in Numbers
  61. Ch 7 — Polygamy and Islam / The Willingness of Women
  62. Ch 7 — Polygamy and Islam / Solution to a Problem Rather than a General Commandment
  63. Ch 7 — Polygamy and Islam / The Islamic Way
  64. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / The Issue of Divorce
  65. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / Satan's Greatest Weapon
  66. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / Divorce in Islam
  67. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / Two Ways of Divorcing
  68. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / The Case of Women
  69. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / The Meaning of Provision
  70. Ch 8 — Divorce in Islam / After Divorce
  71. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Women's Spiritual Role in Early Muslim Society
  72. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Women's Spiritual Role in Later Muslim History
  73. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Paradise Lies at the Feet of the Mother
  74. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Shaping Family and Society on Spiritual Lines
  75. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Family: Microcosm of Society
  76. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Better Home, Better Society
  77. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / A Mother's Responsibility
  78. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Family Culture: A Narrow Outlook
  79. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / The Faulty Role of Parents
  80. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / The Harm of Pampering
  81. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / The Upbringing of Children
  82. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Cultivating a Religious Environment at Home
  83. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Home-Schooling: A Hub of Intellectual Activities
  84. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Mother as a Role Model
  85. Ch 9 — Shaping the Family and Society / Woman at the Beginning of All Great Things

Women in Every Field p. 31

Once, Umm Salmah was combing her hair when she heard the sermon starting in the mosque. The Prophet began with the words, “O people ...” On hearing this, she told the woman, combing her hair, to braid it just as it was. The woman asked her why she was in such a hurry. Umm Salmah replied, “Are we not counted among ‘people’?” And so saying, she promptly braided her hair, went to the corner of the house nearest the mosque, and listened to the sermon. p. 32

In all, Umm Salmah related 378 traditions and used to lay down laws. Ibn Qayyim writes that if her decrees were to be compiled, they would take up a whole book. p. 32other source

Of all the Prophet’s wives, ‘Aisha was the most intelligent. About 2210 traditions of the Prophet were related by her, and these were passed on by about one hundred of the Prophet’s Companions and their close associates. Among her pupils were such eminent scholars as ‘Urwah ibn Zubayr, Sa‘id ibn Mussayyib, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amir, Masruq ibn Ajda,’ ‘Ikrimah and ‘Alqama. A jurist of high calibre, she used to explain the wisdom and background of each tradition that she described. To take a straightforward example, she explained that the prescribed bath on a Friday was not just a matter of ritual, as had been maintained by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, but was meant as practical advice for people who had to travel from far-off places to say their Friday prayers in the Prophet’s mosque. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 877- 879). While travelling, they perspired and became dust-covered: the Prophet had told them to bathe before attending prayers. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 902; Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 847) p. 32unverified

When the Prophet was preparing to set off for the Khaybar expedition, 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.” (Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 8, p. 292) p. 33unverified

Umm ‘Atiyah, a Madinan woman, said she had been present on seven expeditions: “I treated the sick, attended to their wounds, and took care of their belongings during their journeys. I also prepared food for them.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 20792) p. 33hadith

During the battle with the Jews in Madina, the Muslim women and children 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. Being on the battlefront, the Prophet and his Companions could not assist us. Meanwhile, the Jew approached the fort, and I said, ‘O Hassan, look! This Jew who is walking all around our fort is a danger to us because he might go and inform the Jews of the insecure position we are in. The Prophet and his Companions are in the thick of battle, so you must go down and kill him.’ But Hassan replied, ‘By God, you know I am not fit for such a task.’” p. 33original + quote

“At this, she tied a cloth round her waist, picked up a stick, went down to the outside of the fort, and beat the man to death. “This done, I came back inside the fort and asked Hassan ibn Thabit to bring the things the Jew had on him, as I, a woman, did not want to touch him.” Hassan ibn Thabit replied, ‘Daughter of Abdul Muttalib, I do not need his possessions.’’(Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah, Vol. 4, pp. 108-109) p. 34other source