Outstanding Women Scholars of Islam 8th

8/19/2019 Outstanding Women Scholars of Islam 8th

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Outstanding Women Scholars of Islam8th century to 20th century

By Zakaria Virk, Toronto, Canada

There is a misconception that there have been no women scholars in Islam. In this article we are presenting brief biographies of 55 eminent Muslim women who were gifted scholars. Some

woman established girl’s schools and some were matrons of scholars. Some were rulers whospent money stupendously in disseminating knowledge. Some were lecturers, authors and some

were translators. Some women were so learned that men drank from the fountain of their

knowledge. ach woman described here contributed to the sum total of human knowledge in herown uni!ue way.

"e agree there should have been more woman scholars, but the severe social taboos and

religious restrictions placed on women in Islamic countries were insurmountable barriers in their

pursuit of knowledge. "omen were not allowed to go out of their houses. To this day in many

modern Islamic societies women are considered a distracting influence. Some men feelthreatened by the educated woman or consider them a challenge to their authority. "omen were

obliged to observe veil#purdah which was a hindrance in interacting with male professors. Theywere not allowed to talk to strangers. Mothers taught their young daughters’ ac!uiescence to

male domination. Men were considered inherently superior. "omen were e$pected to procreate,

satisfy men, stay at home and raise children. %ny time a woman did something on her own free

will it was considered disgrace to family honour . In the &'th century Muslim scholars banishedwomen from mos!ues claiming dogs, donkeys (unbelievers) and women disrupt prayer *ust by passing too near a mos!ue. Independent travel by women was not allowed. "omen, eviltemptresses, who acted like men were cursed. Immodest women aroused uncontrollable urges inmen. ( M. French, History of Women, page 281)

Some woman, however were allowed to attend schools, hence they made a name as we shall see

in this article.


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Muslim woman daring to read a book # +the best person in the sight of God is onereading a boo .

Things are improving around the world. In particular those Muslim woman who have been born

or raised in the "estern culture. These women are making big strides in every field. Those

women, who emigrated from Muslim countries to urope or %merica, have made tremendous

advances because they are free to think and make choices. %s for Muslim countries, women arescoring victories, small and large. Iran-s parliament compromised with conservative clerics to

allow a single young woman to study abroad, albeit with her father-s permission. angladesh

passed legislation increasing the punishments for crimes against women, including rape,kidnapping and acid attacks. gypt has banned female circumcision and made it easier for

women to sue for divorce. In /atar women have the right to participate in municipal elections

and are promised the same rights in first#ever parliamentary balloting in 0''1. ahrain hasassured women voters and candidates that they will be included in new elections for its

suspended parliament. Saudi %rabia has started issuing I2 cards to women since 0'&' so they

can travel in the absence of a guardian though permission is still needed. Turkish parliament hasreformed family law. 3reviously, a man was the head of the household, able to make unilateral

decisions concerning children. 4o more. The law also establishes community property in

marriages and raises the marriageable age of girls from &5 to &. In India and 3akistan women’s

plight is so egregious that it is better not to say anything. In May 0'&6 a pregnant 05 years oldwoman was bricked to death near the 7ahore 8igh 9ourt because she married the man she loved.

"hen we compare the plight of women in Muslim countries with that in the "estern world it

was no different. In urope and %merica university women were confined to basement

laboratories and attic offices. They crawled behind furniture to attend science lectures. Theyworked in universities without pay as volunteers, in the :S as late as &;erman


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mathematician mmy 4oether (&;15), founder of abstract algebra @ who did difficult

calculations for instein, lectured in >ottingen under another mathematician’s name after the

3russian government refused her to be a university lecturer. 4obel 3riAe winner Italian Bita 7evi#Montalcini began her research in her bedroom hidden from the 4aAis. 9hina born 9.S. "u

(d.&;;ertrude lion, winner of 4obel 3riAe in medicine &;; workedwithout pay. In the :S universities were the main sponsors of research positions for men. >erty

9ori (4obel 3riAe &;6ermany. Fohns 8opkins

in altimore was a coeducational medical school, but the university F8: was vehemently

opposed to admitting women as regular undergraduates. Maria Mayer, winner of &;H1 4obel

3riAe in physics, was never listed with 1' male research associates at Fohns 8opkins in itscatalog. "hen she asked for an empty office on the main floor, she was sent to the attic. She

worked there for a number of years without pay *ust to stay active in physics.

(4obel 3riAe women in Science by Sharon Mc>rayne, Foseph 8enry 3ress, "ashington dc &;;)

rief iographies of Muslim woman scholars

BbyJa al#J%dawKyya (d. 801) Ira!

8adhrat Baby’a asri (or Babya al#%dwiyya ) was a prominent scholar of Sufi Islam. She was a

women#slave of the tribe of /ais bin %ddi, hence she was called %dwiyya. y virtue of her

e$ternal and internal beauty she was given the title of !mm al"#hair $mother of virtues%. Dne ofher title is &a' al"(i'al that is 9rown of Men.

She was born in asra (Ira!) in


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Some historians say she remained a celibate all her life, while others say she got married, had

children but became a widow in her old age. 4o one knows how many children she had. %ll of

her biographers have praised her piety, her wisdom, and her ascetic high status.

It is stated that after freedom from slavery she lived in a desert. In this period she had close

contact with >od. 4ow she settled down in asra, her fame spreading far and wide on account of her ascetics, her mystic knowledge and direct communion with the 9reator. 3eople started

flocking to her which included many pious people, religious divines like Imam Sufian Sauri,8aArat Malik bin 2inar, 8aArat Shafi! alkhi.

8er discourses were penned down which show she was into$icated with the intense love of >od.

%ll she wanted was the pleasure of >od. 8er love of >od was selfless, it was totally for 8im.She would e$hort people to do the same. She founded Sufi school of +2ivine 7ove, which

emphasiAes the loving of >od for 8is own sake, rather than out of fear of punishment or desire

for reward. She lays this out in one of her poemsL

+) God* +f + orship -ou for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell,and if + orship -ou in hope of aradise, e/clude me from aradise. 0ut if + orship -ou for -our )n sae, grudge me not -our everlasting 0eauty.

Dnce someone suggested to her why you don’t ask for help from those who profess their loyalty

to you. She replied I am ashamed of asking for something from >od who is owner of all things,then why should I ask for something from those who are not true owners. Dn one occasion she

saidL +s God going to forget the poor on account of their poverty, or is He going to rememberrich due to their ealth When He nos the situation + am in, hy should + remind himWhatever He ills e should submit to that .

Dnce Babay’a noticed a young man wearing a head band. She asked him the reason for this= hesaid it was due to headache. She asked how old are you 8e replied 1'. She asked him during

these 1' years did you ever fall sick 8e replied 4D. 8aArat Babia retortedL +n these 3 years you did not ear a headband of thanfulness but one day4s sicness you are earing a band ofungratefulness.

% man asked her do you consider %llah to be your friend. She replied indeed I consider 8im my

friend. The man asked now do you consider Satan your enemy She replied I am so engrossed inthe love of %llah that I am not the least fearful of Satan, nor do I have time to think about it.

Dnce a group of asra residents came to her and asked why have men been given certain

positions which women were not 2oes this not mean that women are dim#witted, and for thisreason evidence of two women is e!ual to one man Then only men have been given the prophethood, and >od deprived women of this distinction. 8aArat Babay’a saidL D my brothers have you

ever heard of any women claiming to be >od, only men have done this. %s far why no women

have been granted the status of prophethood, you should also think about all those prophets,siddi!, Shaheed and wali who were given birth by women. They were educated @ raised by

women. This is no mean feat. veryone was speechless with this reply.


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ma4arifat . She went to gypt with her illustrious husband, and settled there permanently. "hilein gypt she devoted more time to worship and seeking pleasure of >od. She would tremble at

the recitation of word %llah. She recited istighfar (>od’s forgiveness) all the time. She performed8a** 1' time in her lifetime.

Camous Islamic *urist 8aArat Imam Shafee (d.0') was a contemporary of 8aArat 4afeesa. othe$changed views on important intellectual !uestions. Dne report says that Imam Shafee sought

guidance in matters of 8adith from her. oth recogniAed each other’s high scholarly status.Imam wrote in his "ill that when I die my body should be taken in front of her house, so she

performed funeral prayer inside her house. "hen she passed away in 06, her husband wanted

her to be buried in Medina but people of gypt would not let this happen. It was a national dayof mourning in gypt. %ccordingly she was buried near 9airo. 8er tomb is called Mashad

4afeesa which is visited by millions every day. (M shaheer 6isan, +bn #hallian)

Catima Muhammad %l#Cihri (d.')

She was chiefly known as the founder of the world-s first academic degree#granting institution of higher education, which is still in operation today as the :niversity of /arawiyyin in Ces,

Morocco. Catima %l#Cihri was the daughter of Muhammad %l#Cihri, a wealthy businessman.

%fter Catima and her sister Mariam inherited their deceased father-s fortune, they decided tosupport the construction of mos!ues or educational institutions such as the /arwiyyin mos!ue as

a a9f ?endowment.

:niversity of /arawiyyin in Ces, Morocco.

In 5;, Catima founded the world-s first academic degree#granting institution of higher

education, which is still in operation today as the :niversity of /arawiyyin in Ces, Morocco.O&P

The university was regarded as a ma*or intellectual centre in the Mediterranean. Its e$cellent

reputation attracted >erbert of %uvergne to study there. %uvergne later went on to become 3opeSylvester II and has been given credit for introducing %rabic numerals and the concept of Aero to

the rest of urope. Catima-s sister Mariam is said to have been responsible for the construction of

the %l#%ndalus (%ndalusian) Mos!ue in CeA. (Wiipedia).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_al-Karaouinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waqfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_al-Karaouinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_degreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_al-Fihri#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numeralshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waqfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_al-Karaouinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_degreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatima_al-Fihri#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sylvester_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numeralshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_al-Karaouine


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/ueen oran ;th century

Nhadi*a commonly known as /ueen oran was wife of 9aliph Mamoon al#Basheed (


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Her noledge of mathematics as also immense and she as proficient in other sciences asell. &here ere none in the !mayyad palace as noble as her.;


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poems. Those who completed their education under her became reputable civil servants. Spanish

historian %llama Ma!ari 1578–1632 has !uoted many of her poems in his celebrated book 6afh"tayyab (reath Of !erfumes"#

Catima intey Raka Biyat al#Rableri 10th century

Catima was >eorgian woman in the haram of 9aliph al#8akam II (d.;rabes en ?spa@a,)

%yesha bintey %hmad &'th century 9ordoba

%yesha lived in the &'th century in 9ordoba. 8istorian ibn 8ayyan states no women in %ndalus

were so proficient in poetry, knowledge and deep understanding of intellectual matters. %ll the

rulers of %ndalus respected her greatly and would shower her gifts and awards. esides being a

master of various secular sciences she was a magnificent calligrapher. "hoever saw herhandwriting was dumbfounded. She copied scores of books with her own hand and scholars of

%ndalus benefited immensely. She was considered one of the top most poets among her

contemporaries. $Mashaeer 6isan).

ibi %rooAiyya &&th century

ibi %rooAiyya is considered one of the internationally renowned scholars of &&th

century. Shewas a freed slave of %llama %bul Mutrif %bdur Bahman. ibi lived in Qalencia, Islamic Spain.

She was one of kind e$pert of science of prosody, philology, rhetoric and grammar. She masteredthe sub*ect of grammar from her owner but very soon surpassed her teacher. She knew by heart

Nitab Namel of Mubarrad and Nitab al#4iwader of /ali. She passed away in &'H5 and was

buried in the city of 2ania. ( 6afh Atayyab by Ma99ari)

:mmay Rainuddin &&th century

She was a consummate scholar of &&th century. %lthough she had good understanding of all the

religious sciences, her speciality was commentary of 4obel /uran. 8er brother Imam %bdul

"ahhab was a learned commentator of the /uran who penned a large commentary in thirtyvolumes. It is said :mmay Rainuddin had committed the entire volumes of tafsir to memory. 8er son Rainuddin was also a polymath. 8er favorite pastime was spending time in worship Jibadat’

sitting on the musalla. It is said she spent 6' years on the prayer#mat (musalla).

Nareema bintey %hmad MaroAi ? &&th century IB%4


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She was a famous scholar of &&th century, daughter of %hmad bin Muhammad abee 8atem of

Merv Iran. She was enrolled in the study of religious sciences for many years. She studied

8adith from a variety of divines and received +B5C5 (diploma or certificate). The renowned8adith narrator of %ndalus %bu akr bin Sabe! al#Si!li was a disciple of ibi Nareema MaroAi.

%fter the fall Islamic government in Sicily %bu akr travelled to Mecca where he became a

student of ibi Nareema, subse!uently he travelled to Islamic Spain. 8e settled down in >ranadawhere he gathered many followers. Camous historian %llama Nhateeb aghdadi has written in

his multi#volume History of 0aghdad that he attended the lectures ( aras) of Nareema duringthe days of 8a** in Mecca. She was ac!uainted with mysticism also. This learned lady passedaway &'hayasuddin Sal*oo!i. Catima was married to 1&st %bbasid 9aliph al#

Muktafi lay#%mrillah (d&&H5). She was a well#mannered, talented lady. She had penetrating

insight in household affairs but politics as well. She used to read and write all royal

correspondence of her illustrious husband. 8er opinion in state matters was wide#ranging. 8erofficial residence 2argah#Nhatoon was an important gathering place for all. She died in &&5hlib al#%nsrK al#Sharrt (d. 1216).

She was one of the most learned women in al#%ndalus during the late twelfth and early thirteenth

centuries. 8er engagement with works of legal theory, *urisprudence as well as mysticism makes

it apparent that she was familiar with a wide variety of Islamic sciences. She was the mother ofthe eminent professor %b al#/sim b. al#T aylasn. %ccording to the %ndalusi scholar %b

Fa’far al#>harnt K (d. &1';)L +She memoriAed innumerable books under the guidance of her

father, including al#Makki’s &anbDh, al#/udJK’s al":hihEb, Ibn J:bayd al#ulayt alK’s Muhtasar ,all three of which she knew by heart.

She also memoriAed the /ur’an under the guidance of %b J%bd %llh al#MadwarK, the great

ascetic who is considered from among the abdEl Oan important rank within SufismP. "ith herfather, she also learned :ahDh Muslim, Ibn 8ishm’s :Dra (asool 5llah, al#Mubarrad’s al"#Emil ,al#aghddK’s 6aEdir , and other works.O%b Fa’far %hmad b. IbrhKm al#>harnt K, #itEb :illaal":illa (eirut, 0''), p. 6H'P. (from the internet)

Safiyya bintey %bdul Malik &0th century, 9ordoba

She was daughter of most renowned %ndalusian royal surgeon @ physician %bu Marwan %bdulMalik bin abee %la Ruhr (d.&&H0). She was trained in obstetrics. 8er brother %bu akrMuhammad bin %bdul Malik (aka al#8afeed) was royal physician of 9aliph Ga!oob al#Mansoor

illah (d.&&;;). She worked alongside her celebrated brother. very woman in the royal

household was treated by Safiyya especially during gestation.

intey Ruhr 9ordoba


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%ccording to some reports intey Ruhr was daughter of %bu akr al#8afeed but some say she

was his niece. She was an e$pert in obstetrics. She treated women in the royal palace also .

:mm al#8ina 9ordoba

She was an %ndulasian scholar of &0th

century. She was born and raised in 9ordoba. 8er father/aAi %bu Muhammad %bdul 8a! was a renowned Furist of his age. 8ence she was also

proficient in *urisprudence. :mm al#8ina was a top notch poet and authored books also. 8er

father was governor of city of Murcia. She passed away towards the end of &0th century @ laid torest in a suburb of 9ordoba.

%l#Malika al#8 urra %rwa al#Sulayhi d. 1138

8er full name was %rwa b. %hmad b. Muhammad al#Sulayh K. Crom &'H< to &&1, she ruled as

the !ueen of Gemen in her own right. %n IsmJKlK Shi’a who was well#versed in variousreligious sciences, /ur’an, hadith, as well as poetry and history. 9hroniclers describe her as

being incredibly intelligent. The fact that she ruled in her own right as !ueen is underscored bythe fact that her name was mentioned in the hutba (Criday sermon) directly after the name of theCatimid caliph, al#Mustans ir#billah.

Fibla, /ueen %rwa’s magnificent capital in Gemen

%rwa was given the highest rank in the Gemeni Catimid religious hierarchy (that of h u''a) by theCatimid caliph al#Mustans ir. She was the first woman in the history of Islam to be given such an

illustrious title and to have such authority in the religious hierarchy. 8er reign was marked by

various construction pro*ects and improvement of Gemen’s infrastructure, as well as its increasedintegration with the rest of the Muslim world. She was perhaps the single, most important

e$ample of an independent !ueen in Muslim history.


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Shuhda Muhaditha wa katiba &0th century, aghdad

She was daughter of %bu 4asr %hmad bin :mar al#Ibri who was a distinguished Islamic scholar

of his time. She was born in &' in 2eenwar, Iran. She received her early education from herfather, later learnt calligraphy from him as well. She was such a skilled scribe @ calligrapher that

e$pert admitted her high status. She studied 8adith from leading Muhaditheen like Muhammad bin %hmad al#Shashee, %hmad bin %bdul /adir bin Gusuf and abul#8ussaini. She grew up inaghdad as her father moved there at the invitation of the 9aliph. She gained reputation in the

science of 8adith so much so scholars visited her from far off places. 8er lectures were attended

by prominent scholars. She had good knowledge of history and literature. She was a fiery orator.

ecause of her learned status, calligraphy and oratory she was given the title of Fahru 6isa (pride of women). %bbasid 9aliph 8assan al#Mustade be#%mrillah (r.&&


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intelligence. %fter studying the /uran she was schooled in traditional Islamic sub*ects by

prominent Muslim scholars. %s far the art of war, she was instructed in horsemanship, swords#

womenship, and bow shooting. 8er father personally mentored her in the art of governance, somuch so he would at times seek her political advice. "hen going out of the capital on an

e$pedition, her father would designate her all powers. Sultan Shamsuddin had sons, but he

favoured her over all of them. She had all the !ualities of a monarch.

She was a ma*or patron (or matron) of learning, establishing schools and libraries across northernIndia. She gave funds for preaching of Islam by successors of Nhawa*a /utubuddin Naki. In all

matters, she behaved like a sultan, leading armies, sitting upon the throne and even adopting the

same royal dress as her father= to the outrage of many. She also insisted on appearing unveiled inroyal court because she felt veiling was a hindrance for ruling with an even hand. %uthor of 01

volume Islamic world history book &aba9at"e"6aser i (3esian &0H'), Maulana Minha*#i# Sira*conferred upon her the title of 5alem"6aa7 ? matron of scholars. In &06', she was overthrownin a rebellion by the nobles of the kingdom, whoWamong other thingsWwere strongly opposed

to

Indian actor 8ima Malini played the role of BaAiya Sultan

She was a ma*or patron of learning, establishing schools and libraries across northern India. Shegave funds for preaching of Islam by successors of Nhawa*a /utubuddin Naki. In all matters, she

behaved like a monarch#sultan, leading armies, sitting upon the throne and even adopting thesame royal dress as her father= to the outrage of many conservatives. She also insisted on

appearing unveiled in royal court because she felt veiling was a hindrance for ruling with an even

hand. Maulana Minha*#i# Sira*, author of 01 volume Islamic world history book &aba9at"e" 6aser i (3esian &0H'), conferred upon her the title of 5alem"6aa7 ? patron of scholars. In


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&06', she was overthrown in a rebellion by the nobles of the kingdom, whoWamong other things

Wwere strongly opposed to being ruled by a woman and killed her.

Bafi! Rakaria’s (a7ia ueen of +ndia (&;HH), Ibn atuta# Travelogue, Sayyara 2igest 7ahore March &;, 4igar 7ucknow Ceb.&;6

S!a"ar a#$urr d. 12%&

She was the widow of the %yyubid sultan al#Slih %yyb (r. &06'#&06;) and played an important role in

gyptian politics following her husband’s death. She was most likely of Turkic origin, beginning her life

as a slave#girl in the %yyubid court. y &05', she had become the ruler of gypt= her reign is generally

considered to mark the beginning of the Mamluk dynasty of gypt.

She played an important role in the preparations in defending northern gypt against the Seventh

9rusade, defeating the crusaders (although she herself was not present) at the attle of Cariskur (&05')

and taking Ning 7ouis IX of Crance captive. She was the effective head#of#state and her name was

mentioned in the hutba and coins minted in her name with the title + Maliat al"MuslimDn (/ueen of the

Muslims).

8owever, it was difficult for people to accept being ruled solely by a woman and in %ugust &05', as a

result of various pressures, she married her commander#in#chief JIAA al#2Kn %ybak, who became the first

Mamluk sultan. 2espite the marriage, Sha*ar al#2urr maintained her power and was even able to ensure

that documents of state bore the names of both sovereigns, rather than only that of %ybak.8owever, in &05< she decided to eliminate her husband in bath. "hen this was discovered, she

was deposed and brutally killed, bringing her reign to a tragic end. 8istory of gypt


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Tomb of Sha*ar al#2urr in 9airo

:mm al#Nhair Famal#u#4isa d.&06&

She was born in aghdad. y virtue of her intelligence and wisdom she became a bright star on

the horiAon and reached greatest heights of fame. She was given the title of Bamal"u"6isa (*ewelof women) because of her breadth of knowledge. She mastered the science of 8adith from such

distinguished scholars of age as ibn al#atee, %bul MuAaffar NaghAi, and Shu*a al#8arbi.

Thereafter she started her own lectures which were attended by hundreds of people. 8er famousstudents were eminent Muhaditheen in their own right # Catima bintey Sulaiman, Ibn Shahna, Ibn

Sa’ada, Ismail bin %saakar, /aAi Ta!iuddin Sulaiman. She passed away in &06&.

Raynab b. %hmad (d. &11;).

She was one of the most eminent Islamic scholars of the fourteenth century. Raynab belonged tothe 8 anbalK School of *urisprudence and resided in 2amascus. She had ac!uired a number of

i'a7as (diplomas or certifications) in various fields, most notably hadith. In the early fourteenthcentury, she taught such books as :ahDh 0uhEri, :ahDh Muslim, the Muatta4 of Mlik b. %nas,the :hamE4il of al#TirmidhK, and al#TahwK’s :harh MaIEnD al"5thEr .

%mong her students was the world famous traveler Ibn attta (d. &1H;), T* al#2Kn al#SubkK (d.

&155), al#2hahabK (d. &16), and her name appears in several doAen of the isnads of Ibn 8 a*ar al#

%s!alnK (d. &66). It is important to point out that Raynab was only one of hundreds of female

scholars of hadith during the medieval period in the Muslim world. Cor more on the role of Muslimwomen in hadith scholarship, read %sma Sayeed’s Women and the &ransmission of (eligious #noledge in +slam (0'&1) and Mohammad %kram 4adwi’s 5l"Muhaddithat &he Women :cholars of +slam (0''


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Muhammad Shah (&60'#&610) was her brother. She was married to ruler of Faunpur Sultan

Mahmud Shah who ruled &66'#&65auharshad %ga egum ? &65< %fghanistanU Iran

She was !ueen of MirAa Shahrukh (&1


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Sayyida al#8urra was one of the most intriguing Muslim figures of the si$teenth century. She

was originally from the 4asrid Ningdom of >ranada, but was forced to flee following its

con!uest by 9hristian Spain in &6;0. 7ike many %ndalusi Muslims, she settled in Morocco and,along with her husband, fortified and ruled the town of Tetouan. Collowing the death of her

husband in &5&5, she became the sole ruler of the city, which grew in strength and population as

more %ndalusi Muslims were e$iled or driven out of Iberia in the early si$teenth century. Corvarious reasons, including the desire to avenge the destruction of al#%ndalus and the forcible

conversion to 9hristianity of Muslims there, she turned to piracy and transformed Tetouan into a

ma*or base of naval operations against Spain and 3ortugal. She allied with the famous Dttomancorsair#turned#admiral Nheireddin arbarossa (1$78 – $ %uly 15$6) in %lgiers and together

they dealt a serious blow to Spanish imperial power in 4orth %frica and the "estern

Mediterranean.

For a good loo at her life, see Fatima Mernissi4s &he Forgotten ueens of +slam $1P%, here the author discusses al":ayyida

al"Hurra as ell as other important female figures in the medieval Muslim orld. $article from the internet )

3arK Nhn Nhnum (d. 1%&8). Iran

She was a Safavid princess and daughter of Shah Tahmasp I (r. &506#&5ulbadan egum 1R th century +ndia

She was daughter of Ning Raheeruddin abar, founder of Mughal dynasty in India. orn inNabul in &500 when her august father was ruling over vast swath of territory, instead of the tiny

city state of Carghana. >ulbadan showed signs of brilliance early on. 8er family took specialinterest in her education. Soon she was accepted as a leading poet of 3ersian and Turkish

languages. She was 1 when abar went to India to con!uer it. In &5


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published by Sang&e&'eel !u(lications) *ahore !a+istan 2002 & $27 ,ages

:pon her arrival, her nephew Ning Falaluddin %kbar commissioned her to chronicle the story of

her brother 8umayun. %kbar was fond of his aunt and knew of her storytelling skills # re!uestedher to write biography of Ning 8umayun. %ccordingly she penned J Humayun 6ama4 . Cor 1''years this biography lay hidden until Mrs %nnette everidge discovered this book after a lot of

effort and going through records of uropean libraries. Mrs. everidge added some stuff as welllike bio of >ulbadan, had it translated into nglish, e$plained many Turkish words, gave brief

biographies of many royal ladies (harem) whose names were listed in the book, prepared adetailed list of people’s names. nglish translation was printed from 7ondon in &;'0.

She appears to have been an educated, gentle, virtuous, and cultured woman of royalty. She was

avid reader and en*oyed the confidence of both her brother 8umayun and nephew %kbar. Crom

her account it is also apparent that she was an astute observer, well versed with the intricacies ofwarfare, and the intrigues of royal deal making. She died in %gra in May &H'1. >ulbadan and

one of %kbar’s wives, Salima Sultan were the driving force behind %kbar’s patronage of the arts

and literature. Df the many things %kbar inherited from his grandfather abar and father8umayun was a magnificent library housed in the :hermandal building of Sher Shahi Cort in2elhi. It is reported there were 06,''' books housed here, whereas 005 topnotch scholars were

attached to his royal court.

%kbar carried the casket on his shoulders for a short distance, stood at the grave for an e$tended

period of time to show his respect, deep sorrow and invaluable loss. $Ma9alate :hibli, Humayun 6ama, !rdudaira Ma4arif +slamiyya% httpSS.bolo'i.comSinde/.cfmmdTNontentUsdT5rticlesU5rticle+TP3

Saleema Sultan egum 2.&H&0 India

She was grand#daughter of mperor abar. 8er first marriage was to %bdur Baheem

Nhanekhana. %fter his murder she was married to mperor %kbar. She was youthful, !uick onhis feet, good natured, prudent, intelligent, seeker of knowledge, devout and a big hearted lady.

She was well versed in many sciences and was passionate about poetry. She had her own personal library which house priceless hand written manuscripts and books. Some of the booksfrom this library are now found in uropean libraries.

NZsem Sultan (d. &H5&).

Many nglish#speaking audiences are !uite familiar with Bo$elana or 8urrem Sultan, the !ueen#

consort of Suleyman I (r. &50'#&5HH). 8owever, NZsem Sultan seems to be much less known. %s

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=703http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=703


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the wife of Dttoman sultan %hmed I (r. &H'1#&H&


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4awab Shah*ahan egum d.&;'& India

She became ruler of state of hopal (India) in &H at age 1&. She was genius, patron of

scholars, and author of several books. Mention must be made of Ta*#al#I!bal which is history ofhopal in 3ersian and has been translated into nglish. 8er other notable books are #ha7eenatul

Jughat U &ah7eeb"e"6isan. She wrote poetry in :rdu and 3ersian. 8er husband 4awabSiddi! 8assan Nhan (&;') was author of 000 books i.e. Fatah"al"0ayan fee Ma9asid al"uran in < volumes, &ar'aman al"uran in &5 volumes. (monthly Caran Narachi &;


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courage in the struggle for women-s rights. She was women’s rights activist who openly

denounced polygamy, repugnant veil and other cruel manacles put upon women by men with the

result Iranian women flocked to see and hear her words of wisdom# Df her important worksabout a doAen on abi faith and a doAen personal letters have survived. Twenty poems are

attributed to her, and are regarded highly in 3ersian culture.

4ana %sma’u &


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4awab Sultan Fahan egum &5#&;1' hopal India

4awab Sultan Fahan egum was taught translation of the >lorious /uran with commentary by

3rime Minister of hopal Famaluddin Nhan ahadur who was a leading scholar of his time. Shelearnt nglish, :rdu, 3ersian and %rabic, then became proficient in horseback riding and

marksmanship. She became a devout Muslim reciting /uran daily after the Ca*r#morning prayers. %fter her crowning she performed 8a**, and wrote the travelogue (iyadh al"(aheen. Shetraveled widely within India later visited urope. She was appointed vice#chancellor of %ligarh

Muslim :niversity, and donated large sums of money to this :niversity. "hen Indian Islamic

scholar %llama Shibli 4oamani (&5


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She was an gyptian nuclear scientist who held a doctorate in atomic radiation and worked to

make the medical use of nuclear technology affordable to all. She organiAed the %tomic nergy

for 3eace 9onference and sponsored a call for setting an international conference under the banner V%toms for 3eaceV. Camous !uoteL -I will make nuclear treatment as available and as

cheap as %spirinV She died on her first visit to :S when her car fell 6' feet, It-s alleged that the

Israeli Mossad was behind Moussa-s murder. ("ikipedia)

7aleh akhtiar IranU born in 4ew Gork &;1 #

7aleh akhtiar is the first %merican woman to translate the /uran into nglish from a feminist

viewpoint. She did 3h.2. in ducational 3sychology. akhtiar is a 7icensed 3rofessional

3sychotherapist in 9hicago. She also taught courses on Islam at the :niversity of 9hicago.

She is co#author of 5 :ense of !nityL The Sufi Tradition in 3ersian %rchitecture (:niversity of9hicago 3ress) and author of :!F+ ?/pressions of the Mystic uest (Thames and 8udson), aswell as a three volume work, God4s Will 0e one, on Moral 8ealing and some &5 other books onvarious aspects of Islam. She has also translated over 1' books on Islam and the Islamicmovement into nglish. 8er teacher and mentor is, 2r. Seyyed 8ossein 4asr . She has translated

first volume of Ibn Sena’s magnum opus al"anoon fil &ibb into nglish.

2r %mina "adud :S%

2r. %mina "adud is a visiting scholar at the Starr Ning School for the Ministry in 9alifornia anda visiting consultant on Islam and gender at the International 9entre for Islam and 3luralism in

Indonesia. 2r. "adud achieved full 3rofessor at Qirginia 9ommonwealth :niversity, Bichmond,

Q%. :S%, before taking early retirement. She is the author of several books, including Inside the

>ender Fihad (Dneworld 3ublisher, 0''H), and ur4an and Woman (D$ford :niversity 3ress,&;;;), now available in < translations. % core member of Sisters in Islam, Malaysia since &;;,

2r. "adud contributed the theological basis for the organiAation in its earliest stages of

development. She continues to combine academia and activism= progressive Islam and

spirituality in her work. She continues to travel e$tensively providing consultation on areasrelated to Islam and 3luralism and is an e$pert on the theology of Islam and gender e!uality. She

is doing research on knowledge production and gender in Islam(httpLUUwww.wisemuslimwomen.orgUmuslimwomenUbioUamina]wadudU)

%sma arlas b.&;5', 3akistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_physicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_radiationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyyed_Hossein_Nasrhttp://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/bio/amina_wadud/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_physicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_radiationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyyed_Hossein_Nasrhttp://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslimwomen/bio/amina_wadud/


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She served as SpinoAa 9hair in 3hilosophy at the :niversity of %msterdam in the spring of 0''. 8er

credentials include a 3h.2. in International Studies from the :niversity of 2enver, an M.%. in Fournalism

from the :niversity of 3un*ab in 3akistan, and a .%. in nglish 7iterature and 3hilosophy from

3akistan’s Ninnaird 9ollege for "omen. In 0''0 her focus shifted to the hermeneutics of the /uran,

Muslim se$ual politics, and relations between Islam and the "est ( (e"understanding +slam, 0''= Islam,Muslims, and the :.S., 0''6= + 0elieving Women in Islam, 0''0).

Nhalida %deeb Nhanum &6#&;H6 Istanbul

She is considered one of the most prominent scholar and political figure of modern Turkey. 8er

father was chief secretary of Sultan %bdul 8amid II (d.&;';). 8er first literary work was nglish

translation of %merican author Facob %bbott’s J&he Mother in Her Home4 . She was appointedinspector general of woman’s education in Syria and 7ebanon. In &;06 she was e$iled by %taturk Namal to ngland. In &;15 she came to India and lectured on Turkish literature, politics and

history in various universities. In /arool agh 2ehli she delivered lectures= one of these was

presided over by %llama I!bal (d.&;1). 8er travels in India resulted in a book +nside +ndia.%fter a stint of && years as professor she was elected to Turkish parliament. She authored 65

books, 15 in Turkish, one in nglish, ; were translations from other languages. (Ma’arif 7ahore Fune


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MirAakhani obtained her Sc in Mathematics (&;;;) from the Sharif :niversity of Technology.

She holds a 3h2 from 8arvard :niversity (0''6), where she worked under the supervision of the

Cields Medallist 9urtis McMullen. She was a 9lay Mathematics Institute Besearch Cellow and a professor at 3rinceton :niversity. (9ourtesy "ikipedia)

2r 3ardes Sabeti 05th

2ecember &;


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%merican material scientist

In 0'' she was given the title of youngest professor by >uinness ook of "orld Becords. Shewas only ; when she got a black#belt in Tae Nwan#do. Cor one year she was teaching at Nonkuk

:niversity, South Norea in the department of %dvanced Technology Cusion. %alia is a recipient ofthe 0''< 2ean fellowship from 2re$el :niversity. In 0''< she took a temporary position at Southern

:niversity in 4ew Drleans after 8urricane Natrina. %s a motivational speaker she has given &5 talks in

the :S, Malaysia, and Norea. alia#sa(ur-gmail#com

Muslim lady reading a book

R-rn/:&. Talib al#8ashmi, &arih"e"+slam ee L33 0aamal #hateen, Islamic book foundation 2ehli 0''H0. Sharon Mc9>rayne, 4obel 3riAe "omen in Science, "ashington 29 0''1. >isela "ebb, Muslim woman scholar#activtist in 4orth %merica, Syracuse :.3. 0'''

6. everly Mack, Dne "oman’s Fihan 4ana %smau, loomington, Indiana :S% 0'''

5. M. Crench, 8istory of "omen, Crom ve to 2awn Mc%rthur @ 9ompany, Toronto, 0''0

H. Monthly magaAine TahAibul %khla! :rdu, %ligarh

Outstanding Women Scholars of Islam 8th

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