Monday evening on August 13th, women from all backgrounds came together in the gymnasium of the Muslim Center to hear and learn about the role of women’s education in Islam. The lecture was provided by Anse Tamara Gray who is a scholar residing in Syria. She has her ijazas (permitsto teach others) in Qur’an and Tajweed (proper recitation of the Qur’an). She has also studied other subjects, such as hadith (documents of the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and practices) and fiqh (law).
Anse Tamara Gray recently came to the U.S. on tour as part of the “Rabata Retreats”- a series of lectures and events dedicated to bringing women together for Islamic education and enlightenment. Having lived in Syria for the past 20 years, she briefly discussed her own journey from accepting Islam to moving to Syria and pursuing Islamic scholarship.
Anse Tamara converted to Islam in her teenage years in Minnesota in 1985. She soon began to feel a lack of support from the small Muslim population of her community and also a strong sense of superiority from men. She prayed for God’s guidance and sought a connection with her newly accepted faith. Soon, she met a woman from Syria who told her of a female scholar who was educating a few students, in the hopes of preparing them to attain their ijazas – an honor that no Muslim woman was documented for receiving up to that point. Soon enough, Anse Tamara married and moved to Syria with her husband and began pursuing her Islamic studies under female scholars. In 1991, the first female received her ijaza in Qur’an- but not before struggling to find a scholar who would be willing to issue it to a female.
To explain the significance, an ijaza is similar to a PhD. One theory has it that the concept of the Western doctorate actually originated from the Islamic ijaza system. To obtain an ijaza one must complete in-depth studies for several years and pass rigorous testing. Therefore, the attainment of an ijaza by the young female student was a major feat and one that was unheard of in the modern Muslim world. From that point on, thousands of women have received their ijazas in Qur’an and many women have received ijazas in the seven books of hadith.
Although, as noted, this is a major accomplishment, one should remember that, ironically, it is a major accomplishment for the modern Muslim world. Hundreds of years ago, including under the Prophet’s leadership, female scholarship was prominent and encouraged.
Recently, scholars, such as Alim Mohammad Akram Nadwi, have decided to study and search for Muslim women scholars. Up to 2007, his research unearthed at least 8,000 documented female scholars throughout Islamic history. According to Anse Tamara, that number is currently at 12,000. These women were not simply high-achieving students, but were teachers, doctors, and even scholars who issued fatwas (legal rulings and opinions).
The importance of education can be illustrated by this story: Umm Waraqa was a contemporary of the Prophet and was incredibly learned in the Qur’an and its recitation. She used to teach the other women of the community at her home. When a war was to take place and the Prophet had summoned men and women to participate as soldiers and nurses, Umm Waraqa also volunteered. However, the Prophet told her to stay. She told him that she wanted to die a martyr and the Prophet gave her the title, referring to her as “The Martyr” from that point on. The Prophet deemed Umm Waraqa’s work of educating others as so important that he denied her permission to participate in the defense of the community, an act considered of notable honor, and still gave her the title.
Another case that illustrates the high and respected status Muslim women held in the past is of Fatima bint Qais, who was a knowledgeable and respected scholar of her times. After having a personal experience with divorce and learning from the guidance she received from the Prophet regarding it, Fatima bint Qais issued fatwas based on the experience. There came a time when Caliph Umar disagreed with the fatwas she was issuing. However, although he made his opinion known, he did not stop her. As Anse Tamara said, “our tradition is a tradition of respect for opinion.” Fatima bint Qais’ opinion was so respected that the scholars of all the four madhabs (schools of thought), Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi’i, included it in some way when establishing their respective rulings and laws.
A final story is of a woman who was a scholar of hadith in the early generations after the Prophet and had published a book on the topic. Students from various places would come to study under her. One of her students asked to see her book so he could assess if he was completing his assignments correctly. The scholar told him that the only way his work would be approved was if she personally looked at it. As his teacher, she would not allow him to self-correct. Therefore, his work was assessed and approved by her personally. This point became a point of pride for him as he would use it as proof that his education was valid and to be trusted.
Unfortunately, all of these stories portray something that is almost unheard of in most parts of the Muslim world and communities today. There was more women’s scholarship in Islam in the past, than there is today, in the age of “women’s rights”. Anse Tamara stated that one of the primary reasons for this is Colonialism; when Muslims lost connection to their roots and faith, they also lost many of the values and principles that are held in high regard in Islam. This included education for all- men and women.
Anse Tamara encouraged everyone to seek knowledge. She gave basic, practical tips such as learning enough Arabic to be able to read a dictionary. Many translations of Arabic texts can be unreliable as they may carry personal interpretations and overtones of the translators. Therefore, if one comes across a translation that seems doubtful, one should be able to easily look up the terms in a dictionary and arrive to a more accurate meaning of the text. If learning Arabic is not a possibility at the time, she also suggested reading more than one translation for the same purpose.
During the Q/A session, Anse Tamara was asked about the permissibility of female scholars teaching in front of a male or mixed-gender student body. She clarified that unless the teacher herself chooses to not teach a male or mixed-gender student body, she is not religiously barred from teaching as long as rules of modesty are observed. Such rules include appropriate clothing and using a professional, not feminine, tone when speaking.
The overall lesson of the lecture was that women have a high status and significant role in Islam. Throughout history, Muslim women were held in esteem and were provided and encouraged to take part in opportunities to increase their knowledge and share it with others. As much as the world may have developed over the past hundreds of years, one aspect that seems to have actually backtracked is the role of women and the importance of their own education and their contributions to society. As Anse Tamara said several times, Muslim women have lost their voices and have learned to dismiss themselves. The only way they will regain their proper rights and positions is if they study the faith and act upon it. “When you are strong, no one can bully you. Strength in Islam comes from knowledge.”
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