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Name
Hanan rashwan
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
What does Islam preach regarding women seeking higher educational positions? Is it encouraged that women do Phd or women are only allowed to seek literacy and then take care of their homes?
Answer
All Praise is due to Allah Lord of the worlds, the Owner of all that is therein and peace and blessings upon the one who was the living embodiment of the revelation of Allah SWT.
Regarding knowledge, it is the right of each Muslim, male or female, to pursue and own it to the degree that it allows them to magnify the bounty of Allah SWT. There is nothing preventing a woman from seeking higher education. In a hadith related by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), he said that "If Allah desires good for someone, He gives them understanding of this deen"
Regarding your PHD, if you have children there are a couple things you must consider. The most important profession and responsibility is in raising your children; so if pursuing your studies will not affect your ability to look after them then it should not be an issue. BUT it should also be done in shura/consultation with your husband.
As far as knowledge goes we have noble examples in Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and other notable female scholars of the past. We have learnt 1/2 of our deen from 'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).
Knowledge gained by women is even more important because the lap of the mother is the first school of an ummah. They are to strive alongside men in being ambassadors of Allah SWT and assisting in the care/welfare of society. Ignorance in any form is not something that is encouraged/cherished.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Zeina
- Ukraine
Profession
Question
Can women join military?
Answer
All Praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of all creation - men and women who have the noble responsibility of taking His message to humanity. May His peace and blessings be showered upon Muhammad, seal of the prophets, his family, companions and those who follow him until the day of Judgment.
Islam does not enjoin Jihad on women. In fact hajj is likened to the jihad of a woman. However, although it is not compulsory on women, practically, we know that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would carry one of his wives with him each time he went on an expedition. If we consider this and look at the Ansari and Ghifari women who were fighters, it says something about the desirability and perhaps the need for women participating in Jihad. (Although it is never obligatory upon them and never a general rule.) At the very least, women should know how to defend themselves.
Ibn Ishaq talks about a woman of Banu Ghifar who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek his permission to go out with him to treat the wounded and help the Muslims to which he responded " With the blessing of Allah"
There are also countless other examples such as Nusaybah bint Ka'b who defended Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Uhud; Umm Sulaim bint Milhan of Banu an Najjar who used to carry a dagger tied to her waist and told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that it was in case she needed to defend herself. She was a staunch fighter and witnessed Uhud and Hunayn. Others who participated includes (not limited to): Aisha bint Abi Bakr; Umm Haram bint Milhan; Safiya bint Abdul Muttalib; Umm Salit; Umm Sharik; the Ghifari women; Umm Attiyah al Ansariyah among others.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Ahmed Khan
- United States
Profession
Question
What do you say of some who say women are forbidden to lecture in a conference because they are a source of fitna and the audience will be gazing at her even if she maintains proper Islamic dress?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, the compassionate the merciful. May Allah descend His peace and blessings upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgement.
As long as men and women observe the limitations explained by Allah and his messenger there is nothing that stops a woman from speaking in conferences, being a teacher, speaking to mixed gatherings.
The injunctions include hijab, speaking professionally, loose clothing, lowering of the gaze (the latter two for men as well.)
Too many times men try to silence the voices of our sisters. It is sad because we are saying that as men we are too weak to be taught by our sisters. Esp when Islam has a tradition of female scholarship. It is these same people who confine women to closets and back rooms that are poorly ventilated and do not facilitate the participation of women when we know that in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) this was the opposite. Why can't brothers lower their gaze and still benefit from the teachings of their sisters is what I would ask as a response.
And Allah knows best
Name
Farrukh
-
Profession
Question
My thoughts exactly. It seems that half of humanity are neither represented, or if they are, they are represented in a derogatory 'Islamic' manner. Can we first start by having men and women pray together in the same hall without the bidah (innovation) of a barrier separating them, as they did at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? Especially when the women prayed in the rows behind the men and NOT at the back of the mosque? What do you think?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
In the time of the prophet there was no barrier in the mosque. In fact, initially men and women used to enter and exit through the same door. However, as time went on, some of the male youth would delay their exit so that they could exit with the women. There were also other issues where some men would actually look back to the back rows to see the women. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that the best rows for the men were at the front, and for the women in the back. However he never instituted a barrier.
Eventually there was a separate door for the women so they could enter and exit peacefully and without interruption.
Islam came as a liberation not to impose shackles and silence the voices of our sisters. In fact our ummah will NOT prosper until women regain their rightful place in society as partners of men who enjoin good and forbid evil and be the ambassadors of Allah SWT.
There was a recent documentary entitled "me and the mosque" by Muslim sister/producer - Zarqa Nawaz that explores the issue of access of women in the mosque.
Women for too long, have been either left out completely, put in dangerous situations to pass through poorly lit alley ways to get to "dungeons" in which they have poor ventilation and a huge wall to stare at and are told that this is their proper place.
The son of Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) was angry at his own son who tried to stop his wife from praying at the mosque. He told him, how can you prohibit something that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allowed?
This silencing of women has been to the detriment of our communities. It has isolated our women and pushed them out to seek help elsewhere and taught our children (who inevitably are stuck behind those barriers by virtue of being with their mothers) that the mosques is not a place for them.
It is time we correct this situation because we will be accountable before Allah for this.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Zakariya
- Canada
Profession
Question
How do men and women doing volunteer work together maintain proper adab in dealing with one another??
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
I will try to answer this very briefly. Allah says that we are not to come near zina (17:32) and sometimes this is interpreted as meaning men go out the house and women stay locked up inside. In fact, the Qur'an does lay out some guidelines for men and women to be able to interact in society. In this way it guaranteed the voice and participation of women in society.
Some of the guidelines include:
1) Hijab and proper clothing (men and women should wear loose/non revealing clothing)
2) Do not be alone with an unrelated member of the opposite sex in a closed room.
3) Women should avoid make up and perfume in public places and should not beautify their voices, so that men will respect their opinions and intellect and not focus on their bodies. These guidelines are in place to guarantee women's participation and respect for being intellectual beings who can contribute to the welfare of society.
4) Public relationships are based on the issues being dealt with together and should not get into deep private affairs between genders.
5) Engage in respectable and professional conversations.
These are some basic guidelines. They are by no means meant to limit women's participation in society.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Fatima Elsheikh
- Indonesia
Profession
Question
I heard that women used to be teachers of great scholars that we know today? Could you mention some, if any?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
Insha'Allah I will try to mention a few examples from an article I found to be very useful. You can find the full article here:
Umm al-Darda (d. 81/700) was regarded by some of her contemporary leading male traditionists as "superior to all the other traditionists of the period, including the celebrated masters of hadith like al-Hasan al-Basri and Ibn Sirin."
'Amra was specially recognized for her authority on traditions related by A'isha and among her many notable students was Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, the celebrated judge of Medina, who was ordered by none other than the caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz himself to write down all the traditions known on her authority.
Zaynab bint Sulayman (d. 142/759) "gained a reputation as one of the most distinguished women traditionists of the time, and counted many important men among her pupils." [p. 118] Almost without any exception, the compilers of major collections of hadith also lists a good number of women traditionists and scholars as their teachers
"A survey of the texts reveals that all the important compilers of traditions from the earliest period received many of them from women shuyukh: every major collection gives the names of many women as the immediate authorities of the author. And when these works had been compiled, the women traditionists themselves mastered them, and delivered lectures to large classes of pupils, to whom they would issue their own ijazas."
Karima al-Marwaziyya (d. 463/1070), is one of those names that we should proudly know and remember, "who was considered the best authority on the Sahih of al-Bukhari in her own time. Abu Dharr of Herat, one of the leading scholars of the period, attached such great importance to her authority that he advised his students to study the Sahih under no one else, because of the quality of her scholarship." Among her students were al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, a noted Islamic scholar and historian Fatima bint Muhammad (d.539/1144) received from her contemporary hadith specialists "the proud title of Musnida Isfahan (the great hadith authority of Isfahan)."
In fourteenth century, Zaynab bint Ahmad (d.740/1339) used to deliver public lectures the Musnad of Abu Hanifa, the Shamail of al-Tirmidhi, and the Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar of al-Tahawi. Do we remember the great traveler Ibn Battuta? He studied hadith with her and various other women during his stay at Damascus.
These are just a few. There are MANY notable female scholars throughout history. Many male scholars including Imam Shafi among others benefitted from the scholarship and teaching of women.
May Allah SWT bless us to regain this noble tradition of men and women who studied and taught in His path.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Whinstanley
-
Profession
Question
Is it possible to tar then feather every bigoted Muslim man who stands in the way of Muslim women attaining their rightful position in society, i.e. enabling them to do live normal everyday lives and not to have to suffer the burden of being viewed as a second class citizen?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
I understand the sentiments that you have expressed. However we have to do two things 1) we cannot accept the status quo which has become prevalent today and 2) recognise our duty to Allah in terms of moving our communities along with us. This requires a delicate balance. We need to move our communities along and get them to start giving sisters access they are supposed to. At the same time, we don't want to just throw people to the sides. I believe that people who are doing things like putting up barriers are sincere in their intentions albeit misguided.
So we need to find a balance where we push and then relax so that the changes can happen and people accept it. And then push again to get more of the changes happening.
For example there are some communities where women are not allowed to even enter the mosque. So if a group of sisters just forced their way into the mosque (during Ramadan) and say "the wives of the Prophet used to make 'itikaf in the mosque during Ramadan so we will as well", it may not be to their benefit, the benefit of their children or the community as a whole. As they may just be shut out.
They may begin by advocating for their own space and then move forward step by step. The only caveat I add here, is that this assumes that the community is accepting changes even though they may be upset or slow. If they are consistently shutting women out, then other avenues need to be examined and this is where organizations such as CAIR may be useful.
And Allah knows best
Name
Khadija Aroan
-
Profession
student
Question
How does Islam look at a woman who has a very good heart, prays five times a day and reads Qur'an as much as she can, but she does not wear hijab?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
My dear sister, may Allah bless you for seeking His pleasure and make you amongst His flagbearers in this life and among the inhabitants of Jannah in the next.
Hijab has many challenges associated with it. Especially because women become the flagbearers of Islam when especially in western societies many men can become almost invisible.
For this I say to you, it is a command of Allah SWT and it is fard. This means, like everything that is fard, Allah expects that we place His command over our own desires. Especially when we realize that Islam came to free us from the servitude to mankind (including our own selves/nafs) and to serve solely Allah. It is in submitting our will to the will of Allah that we will truly find complete and absolute freedom and internal sakinah (divine tranquility).
While saying all of this, i do want to caution those brothers and sisters who go around passing judgments on sisters who do not wear hijab. It is not our place nor is it up to us to impose anything upon them. The most that we can do is to encourage and facilitate and pray that our sisters take the steps that will enable them even more amongst Allah's creation by doing something that Allah wants.
In saying this, my sister, to one who is good in their heart and fulfills everything else, Allah is with them. I would ask them what is truly stopping them from doing this one other thing. Like other things that Allah may command us to do or not do, it is not that we may want to do so, but it is that we submit to Allah our own wills and do what He commands.
In doing so, we become dearer and more pleasing to Him in His sight, He becomes our reality and our hearts becomes satisfied with sacrificing in this very short life for eternal happiness in the hereafter.
May Allah bless and keep you near Him always.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Dohei
- United States
Profession
Question
I am curious to know more about the Islamic faith. I visited a mosque in California last week and I saw women always praying in a closed area behind the mosque. Is that a norm? Is there any worry in Islamic teachings from women upseting social order and being with men at the same play? I could understand why women do not pray in front of men but why can't they pray in the same fancy carpeted prayer area?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
My dear sister, thank you for your question. I answered an earlier one that dealt with this issue as well and will add the following:
There is no reason for women and men to be separated physically in the prayer area. It may be that a partial blocked off area will be convenient to some women who are more comfortable with this and perhaps for mothers who are nursing or women who may even want to lie down and rest without worrying about men.
However about women being involved and not upsetting the social order..there is NOTHING like this in our tradition.
In fact if we look at the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) there are accounts of the woman: Khawlah bint Tha'labah who came to see the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) about her difficulty with her husband who vowed not to have sexual relations with her. Two times the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her that she ought to separate from him but she disagreed and continued to dispute with him until Allah revealed the chapter in the Qur'an entitled "the disputant" (surah Mujadalah).
Over time the barrier/women praying in closed off areas has become a culturally embedded reality which may have started with good intentions but which has now had serious grave implications for our sisters and community as a whole.
May God continue to guide you on your quest to know him and bless you always with truth, guidance, health and happiness in this life and eternal happiness in the next.
And God knows best.
Name
Ahmad
-
Profession
Question
Assalamu 'Alaykum, could you please tell me where did honor killing start? Is it misunderstanding or pure ignorance?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
My dear brother,
Unfortunately I do not know when "honour killings" started and/or where. I think it should be termed brutal murders instead because there is no honour in anything that is being done when women are killed.
It stems from ignorance. We saw the recent case in Pakistan of the man who murdered his children and some reports say step sister. Whatever the case, this comes from cultural baggage imported into Islam and Islam is being used to justify it occurrence.
Let us remember the jahilliya of the Arabs in burying their daughters and the fact that Islam stamped it out. Instead we need more Muslim men to stand up and say that this cannot and will not be tolerated any more. Men who do this should be punished within the parameters of the local laws HOWEVER in some places these laws need to be changed as the perpetrators of such barbaric crimes often leave with simply a "slap on the wrist". We also need our imams to use the mimbars not for chanting khutbas that were written 50 years ago but to address these issues and clearly condemn them as being completely outside the parameters of Islam.
How will people fair on the day of Judgment when these innocent victims stand before Allah and ask for their Haqq? What will we say to Allah when they say we were there but did nothing?
The time for action of MEN and women has long passed.
May Allah help us to stamp out ignorance in all its forms from polluting our noble deen.
And Allah knows best.
Name
samia
- United States
Profession
student
Question
Is it true that when a woman gives birth that all her sins are forgiven? Is it haram to like someone? Thank you, wasalaam.
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
I personally do not know of any tradition or hadith that states when a woman gives birth that all her sins are forgiven (which does not mean that such a narration does/not exist). What I do know that for a believer, any pain that they suffer with patience, Allah will forgive them for their sins even if that pain is as small as the prick of a thorn. And that it is recommended to ask for forgiveness for sins while in labour as well.
In terms of the second question - no it is not haram to like someone but it depends on what you mean by "like". I assume that you mean here that a person is attracted to someone else.
The formula is simple:
1) we lower our gaze, "the first GLANCE is for us and the second is against us".
2) if we are interested in someone and are in a position to get married then we can consult with our families about this.
3) we are not supposed to lust after someone. If we cannot marry, we should be patient and the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) recommended that we fast.
4) there is no harm in a woman indicating her interest in a man or even being the first to propose.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Aisha Addow
-
Profession
Question
How can a woman strike a balance between family and community work? An active sister that tries to benefit the community through many of her skills that Allah bestowed on her, but at the same time tied by so many family responsibilities and children's care?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
This is a very important question and may Allah bless you for raising it.
First of all, we must view everything from its purpose and its priority.
The first and most important role of a mother is to look after the welfare of her children. And this is beyond just their physical care but their mental/emotional/spiritual well being as well. There is the well known saying that the "lap of the mother is the first school of the ummah".
Second, the role of care of children is not limited to the mother but the father must play a role in raising the children as well. So the father is not supposed to just work outside the home but should be spending time playing and teaching his children as well.
Third - and actually this should be the first, the way a woman can continue to be involved is by choosing a suitable husband who is also involved in doing work in the community and express to him her desire to be a partner of his in this work even after marriage. It is something that can also be stipulated in a marriage contract which is an Islamic right of the woman. We see a good contemporary example of this with the well know daiya Zainab al Ghazali who stipulated in her contract that - if ever the love that existed between her and her husband was to come in the way of their work for Allah, that they should agree to be separated. This was her understanding of her duty to Allah SWT.
If she has a husband who understands the value of this work and the tarbiya that occurs when the children see that this involvement is of paramount importance (alongside spiritual development) then they may start to make concessions such as maybe cooking big meals on one or two days and splitting it up over the week. Not always emphasizing on how the home "looks" if it means that time can be spent helping others.
That the husband shares the care of the children so that the mother can attend halaqas and events as well.
We also need more events that remember to provide PROPER and EFFECTIVE childcare so mothers can benefit or assist with their expertise.
It is very important that as you do this, you explain why you are doing it to your children so that they grow to understand the importance of contributing their time for the sake of Allah. Sometimes include them in the activities so that they can begin to help as well.
But remember everything in balance and that the priority is in looking after them so at the very least, you can give naseeha. If something happens that prevents you from getting involved due to you looking after your children, Allah SWT the most Merciful will bless you for fulfilling your primary duties and 2) having the intention to do more even if you were not able to do it.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Abdi
- United States
Profession
Question
Is 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) the Mother of Believers, the best woman of this generation?
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
I am afraid, I am not sure what your question is asking. She is one of the Mothers of the Believers and she was amongst the best of women. We have taken from her half of our faith in terms of how we practice it. She was a scholar, poet, jurist, doctor, strategist, leader among other things.
So if you mean "is she a great example for women of this generation?" I would have to agree and say that she has been an excellent example for women throughout history and will continue to be one over time.
May Allah bless us to pursue the Love and Pleasure of Allah the way our mother 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) did.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Abdullah
-
Profession
Question
Assalamu 'Alaykum, The unstable situation that we face in our Muslim youth is due to various factors. But the most serious is neglecting Islam, and idolizing pop-culture. Could you tell us what some steps that parents and kids could take? Jazakullah Khayran.
Answer
All praise is due to Allah, Lord and Cherisher of mankind, the One who will bring justice to all those who have been treated unjustly. May His peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and those who follow him until the Day of Judgment.
While this is not on the topic, I will give a brief answer because it is an important question.
The fact that many of our children are following the cultural norms of the society in which we live should not surprise us. Especially if we did not make any attempts to provide them with suitable alternatives to what they may see their peers doing on a regular basis.
Many times parents want to give their children what they did not have themselves to the extent that they sacrifice Islam in the process for both them and their children. They are so busy working that they do not spend time playing and teaching (in a fun way) their children.
As communities we have not tried to develop the arts until recently so that the only forms of entertainment available to our children has been largely areas that are unacceptable Islamically. Sometimes parents are so staunch in what they believe that they do not consider the fiqh of priorities in how they raise their children. For example: some parents may say all music is haram. It is an opinion, there are scholars who hold this opinion. However there are others who say it depends on the context and message. For a child growing up here, would it not be preferable that they listen to Islamic raps/music/nasheed that is starting to become available instead of the other types of pop culture that may be Islamically unacceptable? Instead some parents say No to both and then when they are not looking children begin to do things behind their backs.
We also don't want them to be involved in Islamic activities because it will affect their school work instead of helping them find a balance. So what do they do, they study and learn until it becomes too much for them and since they have little or no interaction with other Muslims they begin to engage with people who may not share their beliefs and who may encourage them to do things outside of the realm of Islam.
Other times, especially when our children are small we chase them out of the masjid if they make any sound or movement. We beat our children to learn the Qur'an and punish them by making them pray 100 raka'at. So what are we teaching them of the things and place that should be most beloved to them? Shouldn't we be embracing them in the mosques, like Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Hugging them, giving them treats when we see them do good things? Encouraging them to pray with us when it is time for prayer and to pray together as a family? Go out and do good deeds like helping the poor together? It is important that we develop friendships with our children, have their friends over to our homes, give them alternatives that will help them feel like they are not missing out on something, teach them and equip them with useful knowledge that will assist them to answer questions when they are questioned by their peers about being "weird or different".
I would like to quote a verse from one of the songs of my dear friend and nasheed artist Dawud Wharnsby Ali from his song "blue sky" that echoes the voice of a child:
"I don't want to be a grown up
Like the grown ups I have seen
Cause the grown ups I have seen
Don't seem to have much fun
They don't get down on the floor enough
To pray or play with toys,
When I'm a grown up, I won't want to be one"
I recently answered a question dealing with some of these issues that should be posted on Parent counselor in the near future. The answer is several pages long because of its complexity. The couple points I mentioned here are simply some areas that need to be addressed and in no way represents all facets of the challenges in raising Muslim children.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Editor
-
Profession
Answer
Finally, we would like to thank Jeewan Chanicka for taking the time to answer the questions of Islamonline viewers today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue. We apologize for not being able to accommodate all the questions within the time allocated to this session. If you feel your question is very important, feel free to contact us at EngLivedialogue@islamonline.net and we will try our best to answer your question. We request our readers to join us in upcoming sessions.
