Significant Role of Women Companions of the Prophet

Significant Role of Women Companions of the Prophet
Dr. Abd Al-Haleem Abu Shuqqah

When people became Muslim, they were eager to know more about Islam.
During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him), he was the
only source from which they could learn their faith. They realized
that by adopting Islam, they committed themselves to a fundamental
change in their life pattern and the way they conducted their
affairs. Hence, they went to him asking about everything that
occurred to them. Men and women sought his guidance. Therefore, it
was not uncommon that they should meet and exchange information, or
discuss matters. They found nothing wrong with that. Nor did the
Prophet at any time point to any need of separation between men and
women. We will cite some examples of this, making clear that such
exchanges occurred all the time in the early period of Islam. The
first is the case of Asma' bint Umays. She was visiting Lady Hafsah
bint Umar, the Prophet's wife, when she had a bit of an argument
with Umar about their relative positions. Asma' had been among those
who emigrated to Abyssinia and stayed there for many years until the
Prophet instructed them to come back. She was upset by Umar's remark
and she went to seek clarification from the Prophet.

Abu Musa Al-Ashari reports: When the Prophet came in, she
said: "God's Messenger! Umar has just said, 'We have had the honor
of emigrating with the Prophet before you. We have a better claim
than yours to the companionship of God's Messenger (peace be upon
him).' The Prophet asked her, 'What was your reply to him?' She
reported her answer in the following words: 'No, by God. You were
with God's Messenger (peace be upon him) who fed those of you who
were hungry and admonished the ignorant, while we were in the land
of hostile strangers, staying there only for the sake of God and His
Messenger... We were often abused and we were scared.' The Prophet
said: 'He does not have a better claim to me than you. He and his
fellow Muslims have the reward of one emigration, while you, the
people of the boat, shall have the reward of two emigrations.' Asma'
added: 'Abu Musa and the people who came on the boat from Abyssinia
came in groups to see Asma' and ask her about this Hadith. Nothing
in this world gave them more joy and greater happiness than what
God's Messenger said to her.'" (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Amir Al-Shaabi was a famous scholar of the Tabieen generation, which
followed that of the Prophet's companions. He said to Fatimah bint
Qays, who was one of the early Muslim women to emigrate: "Tell me a
Hadith which you yourself had heard from the Prophet, not reporting
it through anyone else." She said that she could easily do that if
she had a mind to it. He insisted and she reported to him the
following Hadith: "I heard the caller announcing prayer to be held
shortly (which meant that a public meeting would be held). I went
out to the mosque and joined the Prophet's prayer. I was in the
women's row that was immediately behind the men's rows. When the
Prophet finished the prayer, he sat on the pulpit smiling. He
said: 'Let everyone stay where they are. Do you know why I have
asked you to come?' They said: 'God and His messenger know best.' He
said: 'I have not asked you to come in order to announce anything
pleasant or unpleasant. I only want to tell you that Tameem Al-Dari
was a Christian man who came forward and declared himself a Muslim,
pledging his loyalty to me. He told me something that was in
agreement with what I had told you about the Impostor who would
claim to be the Messiah. He said to me that he went on a boat in the
sea with thirty people...'" (Related by Muslim.)

The Hadith goes on to report what the Prophet said, but we are now
interested only in this first part which makes clear that men and
women were equal in seeking knowledge and that they met as they
pursued what they wanted. Here Fatimah mentions that she was in the
first of women's rows and listened to the Prophet as he gave them
this information.

In fact, the Prophet's companions did not find it odd that they
should seek knowledge from the opposite sex. Tawoos, a famous
scholar of the Tabieen generation, reports: "I was with Ibn Abbas
when Zayd ibn Thabit said to him: 'Did you rule that a woman pilgrim
who is in her period could leave before she had performed the tawaf
of farewell?' Ibn Abbas said: 'If you are unsure, then go and ask
this Ansari woman (he named her) whether it was God's messenger who
ordered her to do so.' When Zayd ibn Thabit came back to meet Ibn
Abbas he said to him: 'I see that you have said the truth.'"
(Related by Muslim.)

This is just one example of men seeking to learn from women. We
mentioned many other examples when we discussed how the Prophet's
companions sought to learn from his wives what he said about
different issues. Needless to say, when the Prophet traveled for his
pilgrimage, there were many occasions when men and women met and
exchanged information, or learned together from the Prophet. Here
are three examples, the first of which suggests that the Prophet
gave a general order, applying to men and women alike: Lady Ayesha
reports: "We went out with the Prophet on his farewell pilgrimage.
We all declared our intention to do the Umrah. Then the Prophet
announced: 'Whoever has brought his sacrifice with him should
declare their intention to do the pilgrimage and the Umrah together.
They must not release themselves from consecration until they had
done their duties for both.'" (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Yahya ibn Al-Hussayn quotes his grandmother as saying: "I went out
with the Prophet on his farewell pilgrimage. I saw him when he did
the stoning at Jamrat Al-Aqabah and then left. He was on his camel,
and Bilal and Usamah were with him. One of them was leading the
camel and the other holding his robe above the Prophet's head to
shelter him from the sun. The Prophet said many things, before I
heard him saying: "If a slave whose ears and nose have been cut (and
the reporter thought that she described the slave as 'black') is
appointed your leader and he implements God's book, then you must
listen and obey him." (Related by Muslim.)

Ibn Abbas reports that "the Prophet met a group of travelers at Al-
Rawha' and asked them who they were. They said: 'We are Muslims. Who
are you?' He said: 'I am God's messenger.' A woman lifted her baby
son and asked him: 'Can this one perform the pilgrimage?' He
said: 'Yes, and you earn a reward.'" (Related by Muslim.)

Note that an English translation of the Qur'an is an interpretation
of the Qur'an, and does not have the perfect status as the Qur'an in
its original Arabic form.

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SUBMITTED BY: "Shahid Khan" <mail2shahid@gmail.com>

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