Milestones of Humanity: Women in the Qur’an (Part 1)
June 1, 2009 by Guest Authors
Filed under Muslimah of the Month, Personal Development
By: Amatullah
These stories are an “ibrah“, a lesson that goes beyond the obvious facts. Allah says only the “Ulil Albaab” will understand these deep lessons: those who go beyond the surface and delve into the crux of the matter to derive benefits and understand the deeper meaning.
Firstly, it is an ibaadah, an act of worship that Allah commanded. Allah ta’ala tells the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam:
فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“Then relate the stories, so that they may reflect.” (7:176)
Secondly, so that we may contemplate. These stories are not to entertain us, but they are for reflection.
Thirdly, they are the ones who are guided, and Allah is instructing the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam and us to follow their guidance:
أُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ ۖ فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهْ
“They are those whom Allah had guided. So follow their guidance.” (6:90)
Our nature as humans is that we must have people to look up to. If we do not find role models in the Prophets and the righteous, we will find them somewhere else. This was the instruction given to Rasul Allah sal Allahu alayhi sallam, then what of us?
Fourthly, to love them. If you do not know someone you cannot love them. We all claim to love the Prophets and righteous, yet if we do not know the details of their life and their struggles, how can we respect them?
We hear many times that there are only righteous men in our deen—where are the women?? Alhamdulillah, we are not deprived of examples! InshaAllah this series will introduce our sisters to the women of the Qur’an: their lives, their struggles and their lessons.
-Umm Musa: the epitome of tawakkul for a mother, her reliance upon Allah ta’ala saved her and her family.
-Queen of Sheba: a powerful woman who humbled herself before Allah, a queen of a nation before women in the rest of the world were even recognized.
-Aasiya the wife of Firawn: a woman who had everything going for her in this dunya: wealth, powerful husband and beauty, which she all gave up for Allah azza wa jal.
-The servant of Firawn: she called to Allah even though her life would be in danger working for the greatest disbeliever in Musa alayhi salaam.
-The daughters of Shu’ayb alayhi salaam: they guarded their chastity even when they were not seen, assisted their father in his old age, and recognized the excellent qualities in Musa alayhi salaam.
-The wife of Abu Lahab: unlike our other stories, we will learn from her what we should not do. She did not accept the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam and Allah ta’ala tells us the ultimate end of her and her husband in the hereafter.
…and more!
and Allah azza wa jal knows best.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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where is Ibrahim’s (‘alaihi Salaam) wife, Hajar/Hegar? (or did I miss something) her story is one of the most powerful (and she is not even mentioned as one of the four most righteous women ever) – Allah ordered Ibraheem to send her and her/his baby son out into the dessert – the end of which was the miracle of the well of Zam Zam and the Kaaba and the fifth pillar of Islam – Hajj.
Yeah MashaAllah, her story is really inspiring. She had true tawakkul in Allah (swt). I think the article said ‘and more!’ so her story would come under that.
Great article sister Amatullah- mashaAllah.
To me, the ‘righteous woman’ narratives of the Qur’an are just footnotes to the stories of more illustrious men. Think about it- each of them is mentioned largely in their capacity of connectedness to a man; Maryam (as) with Sayyidna `Isa (`alayhi’s salam); Asiya (as) with Sayyidna Musa (`alayhi’s salam), and so on. And since prophethood is restricted to men, I think it’s fair of me to be far more impressed by the spiritual travails of men. They, after all, are our leaders in faith- the prophets and messengers.
I love the story of Ibrahim (`alayhi’s salam). I love the way he stood out for truth, and was persecuted for it. His prophetic career is so much ‘bigger’ than Hajar (as), so much bigger that her life is easily bounded by the compass of his.
I don’t know how charitably these comments will be received. They are only some reflections of mine.
Bismillah
Brother WM: I don’t quite agree with your comment. We know the Prophets are the best of mankind. This series is not meant to make these righteous women as Prophets or to compare them to the Prophets, but it is to have role models for our brothers and sisters alike and to learn from those who Alla azza wa jal Himself mentioned in the Qur’an.
The story of Maryam alayha salam began not with her son (alayhi salam), but with her mother who vowed to Allah whatever was in her womb. Allah says in the Qur’an that HE Himself raised Maryam in a nabaatan hasanan.
If the mother of Musa alayhi salam did not have tawakkul in Allah, Musa alayhi salam would have been killed. If it was not for his sister suggesting his mother as a wet nurse, he would not have returned to his family. If it wasn’t for Aasiya encouraging Firawn to take Musa in, he would not have grown up in their surrounding.
If you are to think that righteous women only come in the Qur’an under another man, you are indeed mistaken brother. Yes, these women are connected to the Prophets and Messengers, but Allah azza wa jal praises them for their own actions, struggling in His Path and their emaan.
Not only it is disrespectful to call our mothers and righteous women of the past “footnotes”, but it just goes to show how much knowledge we lack with regards to them.
Allah ta’ala says about Maryam and Aasiya in surah Tahrim: “And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe..” – Allah did not say they are only an example for the women of this ummah, but He said al-latheena aamanoo, those who believe. They are an example for the believers.
Allah azza wa jal also commands the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam: wadhkur fil kitaabi Maryam, and remember (mention) in the Book, Maryam.
Doesn’t sound like a footnote to me.
Allahu ta’ala alam.
First you accuse me of disrespect, and then of ignorance.
Figures like Maryam (as) are outstanding because of their rarity- ‘many men attained perfection’- the number of women who did so being decidedly smaller.
What I’m trying to suggest is that such women are singled out largely because of the influence they had on the lives of particular men (usually in the capacity of wife or mother-figure). I don’t consider this demeaning, and I don’t feel that it’s a particularly outrageous inference to draw from the Qur’an. Being a dutiful wife, or a caring mother, contrary to what some believe, is actually the most spiritually fulfilling thing a woman can be- being the thing most rewarded by God. And I think that’s one lesson- among many others- that we can learn from the good women mentioned in the Qur’an and various ahadith on the subject.
Sister Nasira, as Zahra said, they will be included inshaAllah
Don’t worry!
WM: I stand by my statement that using the term “footnote” to refer to the likes of Maryam, Umm Musa, Queen of Saba, is disrespect. You could have used a better word to describe their connection with the Prophets. Allah ta’ala honorably raised these women in the Qur’an, something no man can have today – so who are you to refer to them as something that denotes a low status?
Secondly, I did not accuse you of ignorance. If you read my comment, I did not say YOU lack knowledge, I said WE.*We*, including myself, do not have sufficient knowledge of the righteous women in our Deen.
This series is about women in the Qur’an and what we can learn from them because there is a lack of this information out there. We love the Prophets and Messengers of Allah salawatullahi wa salaamuhu alayhim, and you can learn about them through many books, lectures and classes. The goal here is to make a resource available about the women in the Qur’an – righteous and disbelieving. We ask Allah ta’ala to grant us tawfeeq in this, Ameen.
Finally, I’ve seen many of the comments you leave on MuslimahSource, and I’m not surprised with your comments here so my dear brother I will not go back and forth with you. I ask Allah to guide us all to good speech and actions. Ameen.
You misunderstood the use of ‘footnote’. Since Prophets are better than ‘mere’ awliya, it makes sense to say that Maryam (as) is less than Sayyidna `Isa (`alayhi’s salam), just as it makes sense to say that Asiya (as) was inferior to Sayyidna Musa (`alayhi’s salam), and so on. If you find that disrespectful, you’ll have to disregard the countless statements made in books of creed by scholars discussing the respective merits of various sahaba and prophets, `alayhum us-salam.
And the word footnote was used with reference to the *narratives* of these women, not the women themselves. I was talking about texts and their portrayal of women, rather than women themselves, and ‘footnote’ is quite obviously a ‘textual’ term.
But an insincere person with little regard for any opinion but their own will always find a way of distorting the words of others.
This comment has been edited as part of an effort to ensure that the comments posted within the context of discussions provoked by the pieces posted on MuslimahSource.org maintain both their relevance to the topic and an acceptable level of maturity. — Admin
Assalamualykum sister ,
Mashaallah.I was just pondering upon the word “Ulil Albaab” .May Allah guide us to straight path. I have a question ,”Who are the daughters of Shu’ayb alayhi salaam ? “Are you talking about the girls who gave water to Musa alahiassalam and took him to their dad`s home where Musa alahiassalam worked as a shepherd for some years and later got married to one of the girls.Are you talking about Prophet shu’yab alayhisalaam?
The other lady I love who was mentioned in the Quran in surah Muzadilah.Mashaallah she had a doubt and she approached our beloved prophet sallalahu alahi wassalam and Allah send a verse..Mashaallah.
Assalamualykum.
wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah,
Yes, majority of the scholars say that those two women are the daughters of Shu’ayb alayhi salaam, but there is no definite proof in the Qur’an or Sunnah (that I know of) that mentions they are his daughters.
I believe you are referring to Khawlah bint Tha’labah radi Allahu anha from surah Mujadilah.
Allah knows best.
Jazakumallahu khairaa sr.amatullah
Bismillahil Rahmaanil Raheem,
I just wanted to make a really brief comment. Allah swt makes a point in Surat al-Kahf not to argue about things that have no benefit, so the points brought up of men vs women should not be discussed in great detail or even paid attention to.
The fact of the matter is simple: we all, as Muslims, follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammad (asws). At the time of our wonderful Prophet asws, he delegated the task of teaching women to sitnah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and she would only approach the Prophet Mohammad asws for help when she could not answer a question herself.
So it is Sunnah for Muslim women to learn particularly from the examples of other women in history and to follow their examples.
To vocalize any further speculation, comparisons, or personal opinions without religious edification and legitimate qualifications is risking violating the boundaries of Allah swt, and we should all be wary of this.