Muslim Women Seize a Place of their Own in the World of Religious Knowledge: Da‘iyat, mujtahidat, and ‘alimat

Abstract

The attitudes of historians and scholars towards women’s contribution to the scholarly field of Islamic knowledge range between recognition and denial. In view of a number of publications on this issue, major attitudes can be classified as follows: An attitude that recognizes the importance of women Islamic scholars (alimat) starting with Aisha, the Prophet’s own wife, who was considered a main source of the Prophet’s sayings or Hadith (the record of the Prophet’s sayings and deeds), and including other women at later stages of Islamic history who stood out and became famous for their religious knowledge. Moreover, there were Sufi women who were knowledgeable about religion and gained a reputation for their ability to explain to people the rules and principles of the faith.