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Leading Ladies: who
made a difference in the lives of others
MAADHAH
BINT ABBDULLAH ADVYAH:
She was a student of Aisha(R.A.), the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi
wassallam)'s wife. After her husband's death she vowed not to lie in bed
When she would fall asleep she would wake herself up by going for a walk and
say to herself, "I won't let you sleep, you will have the chance to sleep
well when you are in the grave". It is said that once when she fell ill, the
physician advised her to take nabiz (a non alcoholic fermented beverage
prepared from malt and dates). She held the cup containing nabiz and said,
"O Allah! You know that Aisha(R.A.) conveyed the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi
wassallam)'s word, as he had prohibited consuming nabiz".
UMRAH BINT ABDUR RAHMAN (d. 103 AH)
Regarded
as an authority of hadith and fiqh, she was the grand daughter of one of the
famous companions, Asad ibn Zararah Ansari(R.A.). The scholar, Imam
Bukhari(R.A.) said that she was like the secretary for Aisha(R.A.), the
Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)'s wife,and that people who sent Aisha
gifts/presents and letters, would send it through her. The scholar Ibn Hajr
Askalani said that she was one of the scholars of the early Muslims as she
was an authority on the hadith
transmitted by Aisha(R.A.). The scholar Ibn Hibban said she was the best
person who had knowledge of the hadith of Aisha(R.A.). The scholar, Imam
Zahri said that when he wanted to learn hadith he would go to Umrah, saying
that when he would meet her he found her in a 'deep sea of knowledge'. The
chief Judge of Madinah, Umrah's nephew, was asked to collect hadiths with
the following order from the Caliph (ruler) of their time, "Umrah's ahadith
are to be despatched to the Caliph in black and white". The scholar, Imam
Malik(R.A.) said that Umrah would CORRECT the mistakes her nephew, the Chief
Judge of Madinah, would make. The scholar Imam Dhahabi classified her as a
Jurist. She died aged 77.
AISHA BINT TALHA:
The grand daughter of Abu Bakr(R.A.), and was taught by the
Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)'s wife Aisha(rR.A.).Abu Zahra the
early Muslim said, "Aisha was cited because of her authentic knowledge".
Aisha was also graced with physical beauty. Once Caliph Hisham invited her
to his court where she engaged dialogue with eminent scholars of different
fields. The Caliph was so impressed with her knowledge that he gave her a
gift of 100,000 dirhams.
HAFZAH BINT SIRIN (d. 101 AH)
The sister of the scholar Muhammad ibn Sirin, she had memorised the Quran by
the age of 12, and by the age 14 she was well versed in the exegesis
(explanation) of the Quranic verses. She became famous for her beautiful
recitation of the Quran. Her recitation was of such a high standard that
when her brother had difficulty with recitation he would ask her to correct
him.
NUFAYSAH
BINT HASAN (d. 208 AH)
Known for her committment to Islam, she would frequently fast, and it is
reported that she performed hajj over 30 times. The scholar Imam Shafi, is
said to have learned and been taught from her. Imam Shafi thought so much of
her that he stated in his will that he wanted his funeral procession to pass
by her home - and when it passed by her home she prayed the funeral prayer.
She died during the month of Ramadan whilst reciting the Quran.
RIBAH QAYSI's WIFE
She was known for spending much of the night in prayer. In the early parts
of the night she would begin to pray. She would wake her husband, but if he
didnt wake up she would pray. Sometime later she would try again, but if he
failed to wake, she would pray. And again, some time later she would try
again. Sometimes she picked up straw from the ground and would say "By
Allah, I regard the worldly vanities less than this". Occassionally she
would dress in a shiny dress at night and ask her husband if he wanted her
company (intimacy) in bed - the times he would say no, she would resort to
prayer instead.
JAWHAR
BRATHYAH:
A resident of Baghada, she was the slave of one of the Abbasid rulers, one
day she was returning home and she heard a teacher at a nearby school
teaching in an eloquent manner. In captivated, she stayed listening to him,
then went to the grand mosque to listen to a scholar teach hadith. The
encounter changed her such that when she returned home, she was a changed
woman. She would spend her time constructively whilst others would mock
her.One day when asked why she was so quiet she said, "I am a slave of Allah
and it is incumberant upon me to obey His command" (she said this as they
were speaking improperly, so to avoid putting herself in difficulty she
remained
silent not contributing to the bad talk). She was then asked, how she would
explain her silence to the Caliph, to which she replied the same. When the
Caliph heard this news, he set her free. She became a scholar of hadith, and
later began teaching hadith. Once the Caliph sent her a gift of 10,000
dinars, she returned it saying, "Wealth brings pride and arrogance and so I
do not need it".
RABIYAH KHATUN
The sister of the Muslim General Salahuddin al Ayubbi, she was well educated
and established a great institution bfor religious learning near Damascus.
She established a waqf (trust) in the form of an endownment of a very large
property which met the expenses that were generated by the institution.
UKHTUL MAZNI
The sister of al-Mazni (the noted student of Imam Shafi), she was a highly
placed scholar of Islamic Jurisprudence. It is said that because of her
knowledge her opinions were highly respected including the difference of
opinion she had with Imam Shafi regarding the zakat which was to be paid on
minerals.
MULAYKAH BINT MUNKADAR
When Imam Malik ibn Dinar was making tawaf (circulation of the Kaba) he
heard a woman saying "My Lord! Have mercy on me, I have come from a very
distant place to Thy House. My Lord! I have come hopeful of Your favours and
beneficience. Do not make me dependant on anyone but you". Having heard
these words, the Imam and his companions asked her later in the day to speak
to them some words of wisdom. He speech was persuassive and it left a strong
and good opinion on them. After some time she asked them to leave her alone
as her talking began interfering with her worship.
FATIMAH KHANUM
Seven centuries had passed since the Zubaydah canal which brought water to
Makkah from outlying springs. Thepassage by now had reached a bad state of
repair, with the wells and springs having dried up and the canal now being
fullof sand/stoens. It was 965 AH (1557 AD) when a Turkish princess Fatimah,
daughter of the Uthami ruler Sultan Salim came along. She took the task to
rebuilt and redevelop the 'Zubaydah canal'. The rebuilding of the canal was
extremely dificult ad involved Egyptian, Syrian and Yemeni engineers and
masons. On their route, there was a large rock 50 feet wide and 2000 feet
long which looked as if it was going to stop the efforts. The chief of the
project lost his heart in fear of not being able to overcome it. Fatimah
refused to accept that.In this timeperiod dynamite didnot exist, rather the
only way to cut through such large rocks would be to heat them up with coal
to high degrees and them to cut the stones with sharp tools. It took
hundreds of workers, who burnt millions of tons of fuel. In 979 AH (1571 AD)
the rock was conquered. Soon afterwards water again began to flow to Makkah
on the repaired Zubaydah canal. The event was celebrated with a great
feast/party which involved not only the everyday people but also the
government officials. Due to her committment to rebuilding the canal,Fatimah
was nicknamed 'Zubaydah Thani' (Zubaydah the second).
SHAD KHANUM
A descendant of the famous conqueror Amir Taymur, she was a master of
calligraphy with no one else in her time being able to match her skills of
calligraphy of the Quran. It was said that in 1045 AH, she sent a gift of
the Quran written by her calligraphy to the then ruler, which he was most
appreciate of.
THE SLAVE
WOMEN WHO CONVERTED THE MAGUS FAMILY
One of the leading scholars said that a slave woman would come to him to ask
him questions about shariah (islamic law). Some years later he saw a man
selling her in the market saying she was worthless. He enquired and the man
said that his family were Zorasterians, they bought her beauce of her
beauty. They would worship the fire and light. Some days ago a Muslim went
to their house and recited the some words. Hearing these words she started
to cry. From then she reused to eat their (Zorasterian's) food and she began
to pray (like a Muslim). They tried to prevernt her but they couldnt so she
was worthless. The scholar asked the girl if she was the same girl he
remembered from years ago, she replied in the affirmitive. The scholar then
asked her what verses that man recited, she said, "Therefore flee unto
Allah, Lo I am a pla warner to you from Him". Hearing these words she became
restless and said that is the condition she was now in. The scholar then
offered to complete the rest of the verse, and said, "Lo Allah! He is the
one who gives livelihood, the Lord of the unbreakable might". Hearing this
she said, 'The matter, which is guarnteed by Allah livelihood) must be left
unworried for'. (Basically she put her trust in Allah knowing that Allah
would provide for her if she did the right things). Hearing this trust in
Allah, the scholar was amazed. The scholar asked what her price was and
wanted to buy her. The man trying to inflate the price said his cousin
wanted to buy her. The scholar couldnt match the price, so the man sold her
to his cousin. Now the cousin, also a Zorasterian was determined to convert
her back to his faith. He set about trying to find a way to reprimand her.
He decided to give her a purse of money to keep and protect or him for some
time, a bag full of dinars. She took the money and kept it with her in a
safe place. Later the man, when she was praying went to her safe place and
took the bag. His intention was that after prayer he would ask her where the
bag was and she would not be able to find it, so he would criticise her
faith and tell her that she has to come back to Zorastianism. After the
prayer he asked her to fetch the bag. She went and she retrieved the bag.The
man was in shock, how could she have given him the bag which he took while
she was praying? He concluded that she had help from a divine authority.
Upon this, he decided to accept Islam. Upon this, his family, relatives and
friends also chose to accept Islam. The slave girlthen lived with them, not
as a slave girl, as she was set free, and she was invited to live with them
as a member of their family.
MOTHER OF
IMAM BUKHARI:
Imam Bukhari left with his mother and his sister to gain knowledge at the
age of 14. All of his provisions were provided for by his mother and his
sister.
[Ref: 'Leading
Ladies: who made a difference in the lives of others, approved by Mufti
Muhammad Taqi Usmani, and Mufti Abdul Qadir, published by Idara Talifat e
Ashrafia]
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