📜 The Learned Women — Transmitters of Knowledge رضي الله عنهن

خُذُوا نِصْفَ دِينِكُمْ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْحُمَيْرَاء

"Take half of your religion from this Ḥumayra' (reddish one)."

— [Attributed to the Companions regarding 'Āisha رضي الله عنها]

---

📖 Context

Islam has always honored learned women. From the time of the Prophet ﷺ, women transmitted knowledge, taught both men and women, and were recognized authorities in hadith, fiqh, and tafsīr.

1️⃣ The Place of Women in Islamic Sciences

---

📚 'Āisha bint Abī Bakr — The Greatest Scholar

1️⃣ Her Scholarly Rank

2️⃣ Scholars Who Learned from Her

3️⃣ Her Corrections of the Companions

'Āisha corrected the Companions on several points of fiqh and hadith:

When she was told that Ibn 'Umar said that the deceased is punished for the weeping of their family, she replied:
"May Allah forgive Abū 'Abd al-Raḥmān! He did not lie, but he forgot. The Prophet ﷺ passed by a Jewish woman being mourned and said: 'They weep for her, and she is being punished in her grave.' He was speaking about the disbelievers, not the Muslims."
— [Al-Bukhārī, Muslim]

Imam Al-Zarkashī compiled an entire book: "Al-Ijāba li-Īrād mā Istadrakathu 'Āisha 'alā al-Ṣaḥāba" (The Corrections 'Āisha Made Upon the Companions)

4️⃣ Testimonies About Her

Abū Mūsā al-Ash'arī said: "Never did we, Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, have difficulty regarding a hadith except that we asked 'Āisha and found knowledge about it with her."
— [Al-Tirmidhī]

Masrūq said: "I saw the senior Companions of the Prophet ﷺ asking 'Āisha about the obligations (farā'iḍ)."

'Urwa ibn al-Zubayr said: "I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable in fiqh, medicine, or poetry than 'Āisha."

5️⃣ Her Methodology

---

🌍 Umm Salama — The Consulted Jurist

1️⃣ Her Rank

2️⃣ Her Sought-After Opinions

Umm Salama was consulted on:

• Rulings concerning women
• Fiqh of purification
• The Prophet's ﷺ behavior at home

3️⃣ Important Hadiths

Umm Salama narrated: "The Prophet ﷺ would visit me while I was menstruating. He would sit near me and talk to me, and he was the most compassionate and gentle of people."

---

💎 Ḥafṣa bint 'Umar — The Guardian of the Muṣḥaf

1️⃣ Her Rank

2️⃣ The Deposit of the Quran

After the death of the Prophet ﷺ, then Abū Bakr:

• 'Umar kept the compiled sheets (ṣuḥuf) of the Quran
• Upon his death, he entrusted them to Ḥafṣa
• 'Uthmān borrowed them to establish the standard Muṣḥaf
• The originals remained with Ḥafṣa until her death

She was literally the guardian of the Quran for decades.

---

🎓 The Learned Tābi'iyyāt

1️⃣ Ḥafṣa bint Sīrīn

Iyās ibn Mu'āwiya said: "I have not met anyone whom I would prefer over Ḥafṣa bint Sīrīn."

2️⃣ 'Amra bint 'Abd al-Raḥmān

Imam Mālik narrated from her and considered her an authority.

Caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azīz ordered: "Record the hadiths of 'Amra!"

3️⃣ Fāṭima bint al-Mundhir

---

⏳ The Muḥaddithāt of Later Centuries

1️⃣ The Golden Age of Muḥaddithāt

2️⃣ Fāṭima al-Samarqandiyya (6th century AH)

Al-Kāsānī said: "My wife knows her father's book better than I do."

3️⃣ Fāṭima bint 'Abbās (8th century AH)

4️⃣ 'Āisha bint 'Abd al-Hādī (8th century AH)

---

📖 The System of Female Ijāzāt

1️⃣ What is an Ijāza?

2️⃣ Women in the Chains

Imam Al-Dhahabī: "I know of no woman accused of lying in hadith."

3️⃣ Examples of Scholarly Travels

---

⚔️ Fields of Contribution

1️⃣ Hadith

2️⃣ Fiqh

3️⃣ Quran and Tajwīd

---

📖 Lessons

1️⃣ Knowledge Has No Gender

2️⃣ Women's Education

3️⃣ Complementarity

---

🎯 Conclusion

The learned women of Islam — from 'Āisha to the muḥaddithāt of Damascus — prove that Islamic knowledge has always been transmitted by both genders. Their contribution is indispensable to our religion.

خُذُوا نِصْفَ دِينِكُمْ عَنْ هَذِهِ الْحُمَيْرَاء

"Take half of your religion from this Ḥumayra'."

— [Attributed to the Companions regarding 'Āisha]

---

📊 Key Points

---

رضي الله عنهن أجمعين
May Allah be pleased with them all