UpFront - What is the solution to the war in Yemen?

Al-Muhaddithat | The Female Scholars of Islam | Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi | Cambridge Islamic College

Farkhunda: The making of a martyr - Newsnight

The War Against Muslim Women - Abdullah Hakim Quick

CONTEXT of the "Women Pray at Home" Hadith - Nouman Ali Khan

Abdallah Adhami - You Can't Just Marry Four Wives

What Islam Really Says About Women | Alaa Murabit | TED Talks

Me and the Mosque

Me and the Mosque by Zarqa Nawaz, National Film Board of Canada

Forgotten Heroines: Guardian of the Qur'an- The Salafi Feminist

 

 

Hafsah bint �Umar (radhiAllahu �anha) is one of the wives of RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam) who stands out at the forefront, along with her co-wives A�ishah, Umm Salamah, and Zaynab bint Jahsh.

Her name has two meanings: one being �young lioness,� and the other being a reference to a certain type of bird that was known for being beautiful, elegant, strong, and predatory. With Hafsah (radhiAllahu �anha), everyone around her testified to the fact that she indeed lived up to her name � a creature of power as well as beauty.  

Hafsah was amongst the eldest of �Umar ibn al-Khattab�s children, and of the early believers of Makkah. She was described as being �her father�s daughter� and indeed, she had a very close relationship with him. Although they used to have strong words with each other quite often, they also respected each other greatly and loved each other dearly.

�Umar would often go to his daughter in matters of both family dispute � for example, when he disapproved of something that one of his sons did � or politically, such as when he was the khalifah and Hafsah acted as an intermediary between him and various plaintiffs. He also referred to her for Islamic knowledge, drawing upon her understanding of legal rulings as well as an understanding of the society around her.

Hafsah�s first husband was Khunays ibn Hudhaafah, a believer who fought in the Battle of Badr and then fell ill in Madinah after the Hijrah. When he died and Hafsah was left a widow, �Umar (radhiAllahu �anhu) was determined to find a husband who would be suitable for his daughter. With a personality that so matched his own, he knew that not any man would be right for Hafsah � only a strong man could marry a woman like Hafsah.

With this in mind, �Umar approached both Abu Bakr and �Uthmaan (radhiAllahu �anhum), hoping that one of them would be as eager about the match as �Umar himself was. To his dismay, both of them refused. However, his disappointment was quickly alleviated when RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam) proposed to Hafsah.

As RasulAllah�s wife, Hafsah quickly established herself amongst her co-wives. She and A�ishah (radhiAllahu �anha) were similar in temperament and immediately hit it off; A�ishah laughingly described the two of them as being �one hand.� They spent time together both in camaraderie and friendly rivalry, forming their own little clique and backing each other up in conflicts with their other co-wives.

Hafsah was a woman of both strength and skills. As A�ishah (radhiAllahu �anha) said drily, �She was her father�s daughter� in temperament, and equal in intelligence. She was one of privileged few who were not only literate, but were able to write as well. She was eager to study and quick to learn, which RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam) recognized and encouraged, especially when he found Hafsah (radhiAllahu �anha) sitting with ash-Shifa bint �Abdullah, who was famous for her skills as a doctor. RasulAllah specifically instructed ash-Shifa to teach Hafsah medicine, thus adding to her skillset.

In addition to the �secular sciences,� however, Hafsah was unique in that she was one of the female Companions who memorized the Qur�an completely. She committed it firmly to memory and was well-versed in it, to the point that she would engage in debate with RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam) and quote ayaat of the Qur�an to bolster her points.

Jabir bin 'Abdullah Ansari narrates an incident which was related to him by Umm Mubasher. She, Hafsah and RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam) were sitting together and conversing. RasulAllah mentioned that all the people who had given the pledged of allegiance at Hudaybiyah under the tree would go to Paradise, and not to Hell. Intrigued, Hafsah asked how this was possible, and quoted the verse: {There is not one of you but will pass over it (Hell).} (Quran 19:71)

In answer, he replied with the verse immediately after it: {Then We shall save those who use to fear Allah and were dutiful to Him. And We shall leave the wrongdoers therein to their knees (in Hell).} (Noble Quran 19:72)[1]

Hafsah was not merely a passive caretaker of the mus�haf; she was a powerful guardian, who was also an active participant in the process of the preservation of the Qur�an.

During the lifetime of RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam), the Sahabah used to write down the ayaat of the Qur�an on various sheets of paper and leather. Those sheets of paper were not collected in the proper order of the Qur�an itself, but rather were left loose. This was not an issue at the time as RasulAllah was still alive, and there were many Sahabah who memorized the Qur�an and taught it to those around them.

However, during the khilaafah of Abu Bakr, there arose a problem � not only were there hundreds of thousands of individuals newly accepting Islam, but there were many military expeditions against political rebels. Due to the fact that those who memorized the Qur�an were those most keen to die in Jihad, huge numbers of qurraa� (recitors of the Qur�an) died in those battles. With their deaths came the risk of the Qur�an being lost.

Abu Bakr and �Umar (radhiAllahu �anhum) came to the conclusion that it was now necessary for Zayd ibn Thabit � the personal scribe of RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam) � to take part in collecting all the manuscripts of the Qur�anic verses. They did so, and Abu Bakr became the first custodian of those scrolls until his death, whereupon �Umar took them into his care, and after his death, it was Hafsah bint �Umar who became the guardian of the mus�haf. (Narrated in Bukhari)[2]

It is further interesting to note that when �Umar ibn al-Khattab (radhiAllahu �anhu) passed away, he not only bequeathed the ownership of the mus�haf to Hafsah, but also appointed her as the executor of his will and his estates.[3] Considering the fact that Hafsah had several brothers � including the famous Abdullah ibn �Umar � it is a significant matter that Hafsah was regarded so highly by her father, and respected by others.

Hafsah (radhiAllahu �anha) was extremely protective of the manuscripts in her care. She understood their importance and felt a personal bond with them � after all, she had been witness to the revelation of so many of those verses, and heard her husband, the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam), recite them in front of her.

When �Uthmaan ibn �Affaan (radhiAllahu �anhu) became the khalifah and made it his mission to provide a standardized copy of the mus�haf in order to prevent confusion regarding the different qira�aat (modes of recitation), he first asked Hafsah�s permission to use the manuscripts in her possession. Only after he promised to return the scrolls to her when he was done, would Hafsah permit him access to the scriptures. 

 Nonetheless, during Hafsah�s lifetime, her ownership of the scrolls was undisputed and unchallenged � no one could take them from her or dictate how she used them. Truly, she guarded her treasure with all the ferocity and dedication of a lioness.

When we look at the lives of the Ummahaat al-Mu�mineen and indeed, at great women throughout Islamic history, we need to consider them with more than a passing glance. It�s not enough to mention them as being �righteous� and �pious� � which they indeed were � but we do need to focus on how they contributed meaningfully to our history and our faith.

Without Hafsah�s dedication to being a strong protector and guardian of the mus�haf, we would not have had the Qur�an�s impeccable preservation; since we know that Allah promised us that He would never allow the Qur�an to be corrupted, Hafsah�s role is highlighted further. In essence, she was a manifestation of the promise of Allah � and indeed: {No doubt - the promise of Allah is true.} (Qur�an 10:55)

In Hafsah, we have the example of a woman who spent her life dedicated to the Qur�an; to memorize it, to protect it, to preserve it, and to live according to it. Jibreel (�alayhissalaam) himself told RasulAllah (sallAllahu �alayhi wa sallam): �She is sawwaamah (constantly fasting),qawwaamah (constantly standing in prayer), and she will be your wife in Jannah.�

This devotion to Allah, to His Words and His Commands, is precisely what we need to revive amongst ourselves should we hope to see the rise of another generation of heroines of Islam. 

Source

HEROINES: Here are 6 women trying � against all odds � to build a future for Gaza

 

Madeleine Kulab grew up by Gaza�s glistening blue sea, watching the waves crash into the strip�s 25-mile Mediterranean coastline. But at 13, when her father, who suffered from a form of palsy, could no longer fish, Kulab took the helm and became her family�s breadwinner.

Now 21, she says becoming Gaza�s first and only fisherwoman was not easy, both because she is a women and because she lives in a society whose dysfunctional relationship with Israel takes a daily toll. �Even the sea isn�t free here,� Kulab says. �People always looked at me and teased or scolded my dad � they didn�t take me seriously. But we ignored them.�

Today, one year after last summer�s war with Israel in which 2,100 Palestinians were killed � most of them civilians � vast devastation can still be seen across the Gaza Strip�s scarred landscape.

For many, Gaza is a cemetery of aspirations never realized. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world � home to about 1.8 million Palestinians, roughly a third of whom live in UN-funded refugee camps. The territory is riddled with poverty and its local economy strangled by a blockade which Israel imposed in 2007 to weaken the Islamist Hamas government.

UN figures show about 80 percent of the population receives aid. According to the World Bank, unemployment in Gaza is the highest in the world at 43 percent. Youth unemployment hovers over 60 percent. Few ever obtain the proper permits to travel through the territory�s tightly controlled borders.

Since Israel imposed its land and sea blockade, families have suffered. On the water, if fishermen exceed a six-mile limit imposed by Israel, they risk being shot at by the Israeli Navy. �We are given small swimming zones to fish where there isn�t any good fish,� Kulab says, noting her boat has been shot at in the past. �It�s a cage.�

Zakaria Bakr, head of Gaza�s Union of Agricultural Workers, says Kulab is one of the best on the sea. �Living in Gaza taught her to be brave,� he says. �Both physically and mentally. This isn�t always easy here � few men are as strong.�

 Source

Celebrating Muslim Women Leaders in Islam

Abdallah Adhami - Islam Forbids Hitting Ones Wife

 Must watch. Allah bless this Sheikh.

Afghanistan: No Country for Women

Under the Taliban women were banned from going to school and working. They were not allowed to leave their homes without a male relative or be seen in public without a burqa. For defying the regime's repressive laws, women were openly flogged and executed.

But 13 years after the fall of the Taliban, and despite the influx of billions of dollars in development aid, many Afghan women are still living in terror.

A report by Global Rights estimates that almost 90 percent of women experience physical, sexual or psychological abuse or forced marriage. Overwhelmingly, it is their families who are committing these crimes.

"It's a question of control and power," said Sima Samar, a prominent women's rights activist and chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. "You use religion, you use culture, you use tradition, you use gender to keep the power, to keep control."

When Mariam, 25, got married five years ago, she never imagined that she would end up in a shelter.

"When I first saw my husband I thought he was the right man for me," she said, sitting on the floor of the shelter with her head covered in a black scarf.

"I thought I'd have someone to share my pain and my secrets with. I'd have children and live a happy life."

But she says the abuse began almost immediately. Without warning, her husband would erupt into violent rages, at times threatening her with a loaded gun or dragging her by her hair through their home.

When she tried to seek help from the police, they released her husband after a few hours. Even her parents refused to help her, returning her to her in-laws after assurances that she would not be beaten.

Mariam says her husband was diagnosed with a mental illness and prescribed medication. But the torment continued.

"I thought about killing myself but I couldn't go through with it because I was pregnant. I was so tired. Most of the time I didn't even have the energy to defend myself and nobody was there to defend me," she said, showing no emotion.

Source

Filmmaker Wants To Stop Fathers From Giving Up Their Daughters

 

She fights for the rights of women by telling stories about heroic men.

"The struggle to end violence against women has always been carried out by women activists," says Samar Minallah Khan, who makes documentaries about gender-based violence in her native Pakistan.

"Women have worked very hard to bring awareness, but it will never be enough." That's why she brings men into the picture. And her approach has won acclaim from both men and women.

Khan is one of five women honored with a Global Leadership Award by Vital Voices, a group founded by Hillary Clinton after the World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995. At the presentation ceremony, held at the Kennedy Center last month, a packed house of women gave her a standing ovation when she dedicated the award to the men in her life: "my amazing supportive and loving father, my husband, my brothers and my son."

Khan's films focus primarily on the practice of swara, where a daughter is given away as compensation for a crime. Swara happens mainly in poor, rural areas.

Source

Jackson Katz: Violence against women�it's a men's issue

�THE WORLD EXISTS ON HOPE� � MUKHTAR MAI

 

Ramadan Mubarak.

Many of you know the story of Mukhtar Mai, one of my personal heroes.

In 2002, Mukhtar, a Pakistani village woman, was brutally gang raped by four men of a powerful neighboring tribe, on the order of a local council; the attack was said to be punishment for an alleged affair that her young brother had with a girl from another tribe. To humiliate her further, Mukhtar was forced to walk home, nearly naked, as villagers looked on. People expected her to commit suicide; she thought about it. But instead, Mukhtar took the rapists to court. Initially, six men were sentenced to death for the rape. Then in 2011, the Pakistan Supreme Court overturned all but one of the convictions and the men were freed; they continue to live in her neighboring village.

I first met Mukhtar seven years ago when she was in Washington, D.C. for a Vital Voices event. I was asked to be her translator when she was invited to speak with Hillary Clinton at the inaugural Women in the World Summit in 2010; unfortunately she had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. In April we had the chance to meet again when she was in town for a Developments in Literacy (DIL) fundraiser.

She smiles when she greets me, remembering that we had met before; she laughs as she shares some of her stories; but it�s her eyes � her eyes can�t hide the unfathomable pain that she�s endured. Her voice is soft, I sit right beside her to hear her. She seems timid, a bit withdrawn. But Mukhtar Mai has the courage of a warrior, and a voice that has challenged centuries of brutality and injustice against women.

We talk about her typical day, her schools, her children, life for women in Pakistan, her fears, her dreams, who inspires her, what makes her so strong.

�Allah jin sey kaam laina hota hey, leta hey,� (loosely translated, �God chooses certain people to do certain things�).

Mukhtar runs the Mukhtar Mai Women�s Organisation. It includes a resource center, which deals with 500 cases of violence against women each year, and includes legal support, a hotline and a mobile emergency unit; a shelter, which started in Mukhtar�s bedroom with women sleeping beside her; and two schools, which provide free education, books, uniforms and supplies; the schools are for both girls and boys until primary, and for girls until high school.

In 2003, she used funds she won from her case to start a school for girls, the first in her village. Illiterate herself, she understood that only education could bring about change.  She laid the bricks with her own hands, she tells me proudly, and enrolled herself as her first student; she made it through primary school, she laughs, then got too busy running her organization. Now the school has 700 children; the second in a neighboring village has 300.

People used to slam the door in her face when she tried to encourage families to send their daughters to her school; now their only wish is for their girls to attend. �If they miss the bus, the parents themselves bring their daughters to school. One way or another, they have understood that girls should get an education,� she says smiling. Visiting the schools is the brightest part of Mukhtar�s day. The kids crowd around her, they all want to shake her hand; sometimes three hands hold on to hers, she says smiling. �The kids love me; the children are very happy at school. And we feel the same way. We consider them our own kids.�

The children of her rapists attend her school too.

Mukhtar got married in 2009, and has two kids of her own, a daughter who is almost five and a son who is three; she also adopted her sister�s daughter, 9. We share stories, and stresses, about our children. She fears for their security. �For myself I don�t worry; whatever happens to me will happen; I worry for my children.� She also worries that her kids are not taking school seriously; since it�s located next to their house and their mother is always there, they don�t see it as a place to study.  Mothers� worries are always the same � our children�s safety, well being, and education.

Her other big stress is funding for her schools; for the past six years, it�s been very difficult to get funds; DIL helps with some of the teacher salaries. �I�ve been so tense; I don�t want the schools to close down. I hope this mission continues.� She has faith that she will get through this difficult time too.

Mukhtar has big dreams, even if limited resources. �I want to open schools all over Pakistan,� she says, �wherever there isn�t a school.� She also wants to make a college for girls so they can continue studying. �One wishes for so many things, our dreams never stop. But what happens is what Allah wants to happen; if He wishes, then this will happen too.�

We talk about her case, and if things have gotten better for women in Pakistan. She�s frustrated that laws for women are made on paper, but not implemented. �If no one gets punished, there�s no justice. A country that does not have an effective justice system, that country will perish.�  Maybe her kids will see justice, she says, even is she doesn�t. And adds, �Omeed pay dunya kaim hay,� (the world exists on hope).Hakumat mai nai, lekin Allah pey to hai (not in government, but [we have faith] in God).

I ask her what gives her so much strength. �First of all, Allah,� she says, �what Allah wants done, he enables it to happen.� She also gains courage from her mother; and from the support of all of us. �I know that the whole world�s duas are with me,� she says.

I set aside my notebook, hold her hands, and ask her how she�s really doing. She says, unconvincingly, that she�s ok, Allah ka shukr. Adding, �Aik cheez insan key andar ajai, phir wo jatee nahi� (one thing if it gets inside you, then it never leaves you). She hasn�t been able to sleep well in 13 years. �But you have to go on; you still have to laugh; no one likes someone who cries all the time. Zindagi to gozarnee hai�(You have to continue to go on with your life).

I assure her that she�s not alone, that we�re by her side; I tell her that I will share her story during Ramadan, and that we will give generously to make sure her schools stay open; I promise her that I will pray for her children, and ask her to pray for mine.

To learn more about Mukhtar Mai�s work and to donate to her efforts, please visit:http://www.mukhtarmai.org

Source

How Morocco's Islamic Women Preachers Are Leading A Social Revolution

Girls are "like a timebomb ready to explode and ruin the family's reputation," the Moroccan jewelry trader tells his customer as she admires a display of necklaces.

The solution is to "get rid of this bomb" by marrying your daughters off as soon as you can, he explains.

His customer, Hannane, replies firmly that Islam does not advocate child marriage and that women can also play an important role outside the home.

Hannane is one of a new generation of female religious leaders, known as morchidat -- part of a quiet social revolution in the North African country.

Their groundbreaking work is the subject of a British film, "Casablanca Calling," which will be showcased on Tuesday night at an international conference on child marriage in Morocco's famous port city.

The morchidat were introduced in 2006, partly in an attempt to counter Islamist radicalism following suicide bombings that rocked Casablanca in 2003.

The hope is that these female spiritual leaders can both encourage a more tolerant Islam and improve the position of girls and women in Moroccan society.

"The morchidat are a rare experiment in the Muslim world," the film's Moroccan associate producer Merieme Addou told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"It's the first time in a Muslim country that a religious role has been given to a woman."

The morchidat give guidance to women and young people in mosques, schools, orphanages, hospitals, prisons and rural villages.

But Addou says they have their work cut out as they try to overcome the many problems facing Moroccan society.

"So many cultural traditions -- from early marriage to women's education -- have become confused with religious teaching and it is challenge to separate them in people's minds," she adds.

Source

Women scholars in Egypt reflect on the intersection of Islam and feminism

 

 When Omaima Abu-Bakr was a teenager in Egypt, she wore miniskirts and high heels � in line with the fashion of the time. But she says the freedom in fashion didn�t translate to equity in education or work or family life.

Now a professor at Cairo University and co-founder of The Women and Memory Forum, a women's rights NGO, she dresses much more modestly, including wearing a headscarf. But she says women in Egypt actually have more rights now than they did when she was young. And she believes that with a bit of re-interpretation of classic texts, Islam and feminism can work hand-in-hand.

�We�re correcting [and] we�re reforming past, patriarchal interpretations of the religion,� she says.

Most of the conflicts between Islam and modern women's rights she attributes to culture, rather than the actual religion. She sees Islam as a dynamic religion, adaptable to the times.

In her research, she digs into the Quran and other sources of Sharia law, analyzing from what she calls a perspective of �equality and justice.�

�I still am, day in and day out, trying to deal with these conflicting orders or diversions to discourses. Trying to deal with them on a personal level because I have a personal stake,� she says. �This is part of my self-perception. I�m a practicing Muslim person and a feminist too,� she says.

Abu-Bakr represents one of several perspectives on how observant Muslim women can merge their religious beliefs with their feminist values.

Amna Nosseir is also exploring this path. She teaches Islamic philosophy and comparative religion in the women�s section at Al-Azhar University. She also served as the dean of the section for a decade before she "quasi-retired� to focus on teaching and advocating for a stronger role for women at the government-affiliated religious institution and in society in general.

Full article.

YES, I�M A MUSLIM AND A FEMINIST

 

Personally I think feminism is about people being able to make choices for themselves without getting judged. You want to wear the veil? Fine! You want to wear short skirts? That�s fine too! It�s not up to me to go up to people and tell them what is wrong and what is right. The only person I have to control is myself. Obviously feminism goes way further than just the way you dress. But the most important thing is that there are equal human rights for men and women. These aren�t crazy ideas right? Yet there are always people who judge others for being feminists. Some Muslim men think I�m just a little girl whining because I don�t want to do the dishes. Others think I am some kind of Ayaan Hirsi Ali supporter. But there are also some non-Muslim people who have these stereotypes that really bother me. Ideas such as having to free me from my beliefs because I am oppressed. Listen to me, we are far from oppressed. Islam was the first religion but also the first system to give women the right to have education, the right to vote, etc. �Yeah but the Quran says-..� Excuse me but have you actually read the Quran? Have you actually put everything in its context or are you just trying to make your point and make me look like I�m oppressed?

Being a Muslim and a feminist is possible and here I am to prove that. I don�t feel any connection towards Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who seems to only bash Islam and I don�t feel any connection to Femen either who seem to only want to �free� women by tearing their clothes off. I do feel a connection to women who stand up for each other, who support each other whatever their belief or background might be. That�s what I believe in.
What you�ve just read was about me and my experiences, but I didn�t want this to revolve around me only. There are some other people who wanted to share their ideas and experiences. These people are Muslims with different backgrounds, from different countries, who want to show you that being Muslim and a feminist is perfectly possible.

Full article