Women and True Education
A mother is the first teacher of the child. It is through women that the next generation of Muslims learn about Islam and our duties towards our Creator.
Women were inspired to study the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the Arabic language in the time of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. 'A'isha radi Allahu anha said, “In the time of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, whenever any verse was revealed, we used to memorize the lawful and the unlawful contained in it even if we did not memorize its exact words.” (al ’iqd al-farid vol. 1 p 276) This fact may seem small, but it has great bearing on the Muslim Ummah as well as to the rest of the world, for we become bearers of the Truth, al haq.
Living in the west, we find ourselves looking at handbooks on parenting and even motherhood. Why should anyone, let alone a mother, need a handbook for the care of an infant? Mothers are supposed to be a guide to the nature of human nature itself! One would think that manuals were only for new pieces of machinery or new cars, but certainly not for newborn infants! It’s a bizarre fact of life nowadays at the thought that one needs lessons on how to raise a healthy child. It is more so a symptom of some sickness in society, or in the ways of the world.
As Muslims, our definition of education is to increase in knowledge in Islam in order that we may strengthen our faith and understanding of our purpose in this life. Education begins at the breast. It is the only way it could begin. Allah said in the Qur’an: “And we have enjoined on man to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years-- give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.” 31:14
“The carrying of the child to his weaning is a period of thirty months.” 46:15
These verses indicate the importance of the role and function of the mother in Islam. The following may shed some light on the verses. While nursing, the infant is held close, talked to or sang to. All five senses in the infant come alive simultaneously. As the baby remains attached to his/her first teacher, the learning process affects not just the baby’s future ability to speak, but in its potential to listen in a rhythmical way as a result of the mother’s heartbeat and breathing. These are ingrained on the infant’s consciousness.
Notice that inside the home on one ever teaches language to an infant? It does not matter whether it is an Arabic speaking or a Chinese speaking home. An infant learns by listening to the articulation of sounds being in close contact with the mother’s heart. The mother’s words and sentences are embedded in the infant’s mind. Each time the mother utters something, the infant mirrors those sounds. Each time the mother responds to the infant’s plea for aide, the infant absorbs his or her mother’s response as a form of trust. How is this related to education one might ask? Hikma, or wisdom, is highly dependent on trust, for a true wisdom can only be imparted through the trustworthiness of the teacher. This is learned for the very first time between mother and child.
Historically, we notice that as the mother increasingly moved out of the home especially during the arrival of the industrial revolution, institutions gradually took over the mother’s role in the child’s life. For example, by the late 19th century a kindergarten movement was already in full effect while preschool activity took place in World War II. In both time frames, mothers left the home for the workplace, an occurrence completely alien to Islamic tradition. This paved the way for the breakdown of literacy and what it meant to be truly literate. With the mother gone from the home, a disastrous break occurred. A crucial piece connecting the child to its ultimate development in learning falls apart. How could a teacher and a bottle possibly replace the mother and the breast?
Certainly Muslims have not been exempted from this disastrous break up between mother and child. Many Muslim countries have likewise befallen to the arrival of the industrial revolution. Therefore, we as Muslim women need to bear this in mind before we speak of seeking secular education. We need to re-examine our purpose in life and put before us a goal greater than to satisfy our never ending drive for recognition as being a “successful woman”.
Women and True Education: True success is fulfilling our roles as women and living up to Allah’s expectations of us as being mothers of steadfast Muslims. Those are the deeds truly worth bringing to our graves and the only deeds worthy of showing Allah on the final day. May Allah grant us mercy. Ameen.
'A'isha radi Allahu anha used to praise women of the Ansar in the following words, “How good were the women of the Ansar that they did not shy away from learning and understanding religious matters.” (Muslim, kitab al hayd)
Malik ibn Huwayruth and a group of young men had come to live near Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to take knowledge from him. When they deiced to return to their homes, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told them “Return home to your wives and children and stay with them. Teach them what you have learned and ask them to act upon it.” ( al Bukhari)
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made it a duty for every father and mother to make sure that their daughters did not remain ignorant of Islam knowing that after marriage they would have to play important roles as housewives and as mothers of Muslim children. In case the parents had failed to give such knowledge to their daughters, it was compulsory upon husbands to teach their wives the basic principles so that they would lead their lives according to the teachings of Islam.
Ibn al hajj said, “If a woman demands her right to religious education from her husband and brings the issue to a judge, she is justified in demanding this right. It is her right that either her husband should teach her or allow her to go elsewhere to acquire education in Islam. The judge must compel the husband to fulfill her demand in the same way that he would in the matter of her worldly rights since her right in matters of religion are most essential and important.” (al mudkhal vol.2 p 277)
The women of Arabia, who until the advent of Islam had been completely unaware of learning and literature, became the protectors of learning and offered guidance to others in this respect. The following are only a handful of the many hundreds if not thousands of women scholars in Islam. They are examples of women who placed their religious obligations first before any material aspirations in this life.
Women were inspired to study the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the Arabic language in the time of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. 'A'isha radi Allahu anha said, “In the time of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, whenever any verse was revealed, we used to memorize the lawful and the unlawful contained in it even if we did not memorize its exact words.” (al ’iqd al-farid vol. 1 p 276) This fact may seem small, but it has great bearing on the Muslim Ummah as well as to the rest of the world, for we become bearers of the Truth, al haq.
Living in the west, we find ourselves looking at handbooks on parenting and even motherhood. Why should anyone, let alone a mother, need a handbook for the care of an infant? Mothers are supposed to be a guide to the nature of human nature itself! One would think that manuals were only for new pieces of machinery or new cars, but certainly not for newborn infants! It’s a bizarre fact of life nowadays at the thought that one needs lessons on how to raise a healthy child. It is more so a symptom of some sickness in society, or in the ways of the world.
As Muslims, our definition of education is to increase in knowledge in Islam in order that we may strengthen our faith and understanding of our purpose in this life. Education begins at the breast. It is the only way it could begin. Allah said in the Qur’an: “And we have enjoined on man to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years-- give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.” 31:14
“The carrying of the child to his weaning is a period of thirty months.” 46:15
These verses indicate the importance of the role and function of the mother in Islam. The following may shed some light on the verses. While nursing, the infant is held close, talked to or sang to. All five senses in the infant come alive simultaneously. As the baby remains attached to his/her first teacher, the learning process affects not just the baby’s future ability to speak, but in its potential to listen in a rhythmical way as a result of the mother’s heartbeat and breathing. These are ingrained on the infant’s consciousness.
Notice that inside the home on one ever teaches language to an infant? It does not matter whether it is an Arabic speaking or a Chinese speaking home. An infant learns by listening to the articulation of sounds being in close contact with the mother’s heart. The mother’s words and sentences are embedded in the infant’s mind. Each time the mother utters something, the infant mirrors those sounds. Each time the mother responds to the infant’s plea for aide, the infant absorbs his or her mother’s response as a form of trust. How is this related to education one might ask? Hikma, or wisdom, is highly dependent on trust, for a true wisdom can only be imparted through the trustworthiness of the teacher. This is learned for the very first time between mother and child.
Historically, we notice that as the mother increasingly moved out of the home especially during the arrival of the industrial revolution, institutions gradually took over the mother’s role in the child’s life. For example, by the late 19th century a kindergarten movement was already in full effect while preschool activity took place in World War II. In both time frames, mothers left the home for the workplace, an occurrence completely alien to Islamic tradition. This paved the way for the breakdown of literacy and what it meant to be truly literate. With the mother gone from the home, a disastrous break occurred. A crucial piece connecting the child to its ultimate development in learning falls apart. How could a teacher and a bottle possibly replace the mother and the breast?
Certainly Muslims have not been exempted from this disastrous break up between mother and child. Many Muslim countries have likewise befallen to the arrival of the industrial revolution. Therefore, we as Muslim women need to bear this in mind before we speak of seeking secular education. We need to re-examine our purpose in life and put before us a goal greater than to satisfy our never ending drive for recognition as being a “successful woman”.
Women and True Education: True success is fulfilling our roles as women and living up to Allah’s expectations of us as being mothers of steadfast Muslims. Those are the deeds truly worth bringing to our graves and the only deeds worthy of showing Allah on the final day. May Allah grant us mercy. Ameen.
'A'isha radi Allahu anha used to praise women of the Ansar in the following words, “How good were the women of the Ansar that they did not shy away from learning and understanding religious matters.” (Muslim, kitab al hayd)
Malik ibn Huwayruth and a group of young men had come to live near Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to take knowledge from him. When they deiced to return to their homes, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told them “Return home to your wives and children and stay with them. Teach them what you have learned and ask them to act upon it.” ( al Bukhari)
Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made it a duty for every father and mother to make sure that their daughters did not remain ignorant of Islam knowing that after marriage they would have to play important roles as housewives and as mothers of Muslim children. In case the parents had failed to give such knowledge to their daughters, it was compulsory upon husbands to teach their wives the basic principles so that they would lead their lives according to the teachings of Islam.
Ibn al hajj said, “If a woman demands her right to religious education from her husband and brings the issue to a judge, she is justified in demanding this right. It is her right that either her husband should teach her or allow her to go elsewhere to acquire education in Islam. The judge must compel the husband to fulfill her demand in the same way that he would in the matter of her worldly rights since her right in matters of religion are most essential and important.” (al mudkhal vol.2 p 277)
The women of Arabia, who until the advent of Islam had been completely unaware of learning and literature, became the protectors of learning and offered guidance to others in this respect. The following are only a handful of the many hundreds if not thousands of women scholars in Islam. They are examples of women who placed their religious obligations first before any material aspirations in this life.
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