ISSUE BRIEF 10.02.18 Women as Religious Authorities: What A Forgotten History Means for the Modern Middle East Mirjam Künkler, Ph.D., University of Göttingen Although the history of Islam includes family members of the prophet were numerous examples of women transmitting frequently consulted on questions of Islamic hadith (i.e., sayings of the prophet), writing guidance. This practice was not limited to authoritative scholarly commentaries on the prophet’s family and descendants. As the Quran and religious law, and issuing Islamic scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl notes, fatwas (rulings on questions of Islamic law), “certain families from Damascus, Cairo, and women rarely perform such actions today. Baghdad made a virtual tradition of training Most Muslim countries, including those in female transmitters and narrators, and… the Middle East, do not allow women to these female scholars regularly trained serve as judges in Islamic courts. Likewise, and certified male and female jurists and few congregations would turn to women therefore played a major contributing role for advice on matters of Islamic law, or in the preservation and transmission of invite women to lead prayer or deliver the Islamic traditions.”1 sermon (khutba). Women’s role in transmitting hadiths For decades, Sudan and Indonesia were was modeled after ‘A’ishah, the prophet’s the only countries that permitted female youngest wife, who had been such a prolific judges to render decisions on the basis of transmitter that Muhammad is said to have the Quran and hadiths (which are usually told followers they would receive “half their conceived as a male prerogative only). And religion” from a woman. In later centuries, too, only recently have religious seminaries in In his overview of the history of women the great scholars of Turkey, Morocco, Iran, and pre-war Syria as hadith scholars—Al-Muhaddithat—Oxford Islam learned from opened their highest degree programs to scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi observes both male and female women, thus enabling them to develop that, “in the formative period of Islam… the expertise in Islamic law required to women scholars are not only great in teachers. Knowledge issue fatwas. number but also great in prominence [and] seekers traveled far and Given the dearth of women exercising great in their authority. Men go to them to wide, from Damascus 2 Islamic authority, one might be forgiven learn, and doing so is normal.” and Cairo to Baghdad for assuming that for most of Islamic Research by Islamic studies professors history, women were not granted the right Irene Schneider and Jonathan Berkey and Nishapur, to study to gain expertise on questions of religion indicate that Nadwi’s observation was not with female jurists. and religious law and that these realms only true for the formative period of Islam; of knowledge were the near-exclusive in later centuries, too, the great scholars of domain of men. Islam learned from both male and female Yet a look into Islamic history teachers. Knowledge seekers traveled far and suggests otherwise. In the early periods wide, from Damascus and Cairo to Baghdad of Islam, women had great prominence and Nishapur, to study with female jurists. in transmitting the hadith, and female The 12th century Sunni scholar Ibn ‘Asākir RICE UNIVERSITY’S BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY // ISSUE BRIEF // 10.02.18 (d. 1176) noted that he studied under 80 (school of jurisprudence). Women jurists different female scholars.3 Among the 172 can be found from Timbuktu to Cairo, from teachers of Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 1370), 19 Damascus to Baghdad, and from Isfahan and were women. The Shafi‘i scholar Ibn Hajar Nishapur, from the 700s to the 1500s and al-‘Asqalani (d. 1448) named 53 women across the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and with whom he studied. Al-Sakhawi (d. 1497) Shia schools of law. Nor is there evidence noted that he learned from 68 women,4 that women transmitted or taught only and Al-Suyuti (d. 1505) listed 33 women on gender-specific themes.10 The Shafi‘i among the 130 scholars on whose authority jurist Amīnā bint al-Ḥusayn al-Maḥāmilī he recited traditions.5 Even Ibn Taymīyah (d. (d. 987) was particularly expert in the law 1328), a leading Hanbali jurist known for his of inheritance.11 The Hanbali jurist Fatimah stern approach to gender relations, listed two bint ‘Abbas ibn Abi al-Fath al-Baghdadiyyah women among his teachers. al-Hanbaliyyah (d.1333) became a renowned Schneider’s account of female scholars scholar of the Quran, and her contemporary, in Nishapur, Iran, between the 11th and 13th the great Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyah, centuries is extraordinary, as she not only acknowledged her as an equal in knowledge offers examples of women who taught in and expertise. 'A'isha bint 'Abd al-Hadi Apart from these official madrasahs (rather than in the privacy al-Ba'uniya (d.1516) excelled in Arabic leadership roles in of their homes, as was customary in Cairo, for grammar and rhetoric, Islamic law, theology, Islamic scholarship, example),6 but also detailed descriptions of and mysticism. women also often seating orders, which suggest that religious Apart from these leadership roles in scholars were not spatially segregated by Islamic scholarship, women also often played noteworthy gender but that men and women—teacher played noteworthy roles as founders and roles as founders and student—occasionally sat side by side.7 benefactors of madrasahs, with the authority and benefactors of The common conception, by contrast, is to appoint teachers and other functionaries. madrasahs, with the that if women taught at all, they did so from Even as controllers of the endowment, they behind a curtain. Schneider’s findings set could greatly influence the sphere of religious authority to appoint Nishapur apart from discussions of Cairo and teaching and learning.12 teachers and other Baghdad, where women are usually assumed functionaries. Even to have taught from behind a curtain. A “MODERN ABYSS” FOR FEMALE as controllers of the In addition to being prevalent among the group of esteemed hadith transmitters, RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES endowment, they women also issued fatwas, legal With the rise of modernity, the profound could greatly influence recommendations based on Islamic law, a transformations in statecraft, the adoption the sphere of religious service that would be requested of only of European legal systems, the diminished the most distinguished scholars of Islamic teaching and learning. role of religious authorities across the law. As El Fadl notes, “a careful reading Muslim world, and the rise of political of biographical dictionaries reveals a large Islam, knowledge of the multifaceted number of women who are described as ways in which women were central to the jurists (faqīhāt), and who are asserted to development of the Islamic tradition, Islamic have attained a level of competence that law, and scholarship faded into distant qualified them to issue fatwas.”8 Among the memory. It is not entirely clear why modern earliest known examples is the Damascene religious authority in Islam was in most jurist Hujayma bint Ḥuyay al-Awtābiyya (d. places reshaped to include men only, or why 701), “who is said to have taught numerous it was forgotten that women, too, could men, and who enjoyed the confidence of the become muftis and that their interpretations caliph ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwān (r. 685–705). should have authority for both female and [She] used to meet with him regularly when male believers. they would sit together in the back of the While modern educational systems that Damascus mosque.”9 focused on men’s preparations to eventually Examples abound in subsequent become breadwinners as well as the militant centuries and are not confined to a particular anti-colonial struggle that propelled men to center of learning or a particular madhab 2 WOMEN AS RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES: WHAT A FORGOTTEN HISTORY MEANS FOR THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST political leadership and relegated women to vaizler in Germany at mosques administered the private sphere both played a role in this by the directorate’s foreign office.17 development, the reasons behind this trend Iran has been the most proactive in are multifaceted and vary across the Muslim training women as religious authorities. world. Still, the schism between the period Since the 1990s, hundreds of religious spanning the seventh and 16th centuries on seminaries have been set up across one hand, and the 17th to 20th centuries on the country to train women in Islamic the other is extraordinary. In a sense, one sciences. An estimated 40,000 female can speak of a “modern abyss” for female students presently study in Iran’s religious authorities; women Islamic scholars, theological seminaries.18 Similar to the muftis, and judges are the great exception. Moroccan program, they are not trained Even public opinion surveys indicate that to become scholars of Islamic law most believers today, irrespective of gender, (which might prompt them to generate do not wish to follow women religious leaders re-interpretations), but rather to give and do not trust a woman’s interpretation lessons at mosques and schools, respond of the Quran, even if she has proven to be to female believers’ queries, and to lead equally qualified.13 pilgrimages to Mecca and other holy sites. In most of these recent initiatives, women are trained to respond to the inquiries NEW INITIATIVES: WOMEN ADVISING of female believers only, not as authorities for WOMEN the umma, as such. The Turkish and pre-war Even public opinion Syria programs train women to issue fatwas. Fortunately, several recent developments surveys indicate that But they do so only with regard to women’s indicate that the tables may be turning most believers today, issues and in response to women’s questions.