EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN RELIGION ISLAM
ٱقۡرَأۡ بِٱسۡمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ
Recite in the name of your Lord who
created -
خَلَقَ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ مِنۡ عَلَقٍ.
Created man from a clinging substance
ٱقۡرَأۡ وَرَبُّكَ ٱلۡأَكۡرَمُ
Recite, and your Lord is the most
Generous -
ٱلَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِٱلۡقَلَمِ
Who taught by the pen -
عَلَّمَ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ مَا لَمۡ يَعۡلَمۡ
Taught man that which he knew not
(Surah Al-Alaq:
1-5)
The first guidance
was about reading for both males and females.
It was narrated from Anas bin Malik
that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
"Seeking
knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim, and he who imparts knowledge to those
who do not deserve it is like one who puts a necklace of jewels, pearls, and
gold around the neck of swine." (Sunan Ibn Maja: 224)
Every Muslim man or
woman must acquire knowledge. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him)
specially told the parents to educate the children, especially the daughters,
and husbands must arrange a source of education for their wives, especially
religious education. If parents, husbands, or guardians do not give educational
Rights to a female, she has the right to go to the court to judge and demand
it. If they cannot teach their girls by their selves they have to send them to
a safe place to acquire an education.
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:
Some women
requested the Prophet (ﷺ) to fix a day for
them as the men were taking all his time. On that, he promised them one day for
religious lessons and commandments.( Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol: 01, 101).
In the history of
Islam, we have several women scholars, and the best example of this is Ayesha
(May Allah pleased with her) the daughter of Abu Baker (May Allah pleased with
him) and wife of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him).
The Islamic scholar and Tabi'i Urwah
Bin Zubair said about Aisha: "I did not find anyone more proficient (than
Aisha) in the knowledge of the Holy Quran, the Commandments of Halal (lawful)
and Haram (prohibited), Genealogy, and Arabic poetry. That is why even senior
companions of the Prophet used to consult Aisha in resolving intricate
issues." (Recorded in Jala-ul-Afham by Ibn Qaiyem and Ibn Sa'ad, Vol.2,
p.26)
The Sahaba Abu Musa al-Ashari (r)
said: "Never had we (the companions) any difficulty for which we
approached Aisha for the solution and did not get some useful information from
her." (Recorded in Sirat-I-Aisha, on the authority of Tirmidhi, pg. 163)
The strength,
character, and dedication of Hazrat Ayesha (May Allah pleased with her) to
knowledge make her an inspiration for all Muslim women. She was the scholar of
scholars. We also have many examples of Muslim women scholars in the history of
Islam,
- Fatimah (daughter of Prophet Muhammad PBUH)
- Zaynab bin Ali
- Hafsa bint Umer
- Umm e darda as Sughra
- Umme Hakim
- Al-Shifa bint Abdullah
- Hafsa bint Sirin
- Umme Salamah
- Aisha bint Talhah
The conclusion of
all discussion is, imagine the time when people were hardly educated and most
of them did not have proper awareness of education, from that time we found
many Muslim women Scholars who were higher in the rank of education than many
Muslim men scholars. Education for women is an integral part of the religion
Islam. Muslim women have to respect the divine obligation to acquire knowledge.