What Has Befallen the Women of This Era!

When I read the biography of Muslim scholars, I realize that most of them would have finished the memorization of Quran by 7 and many would have acquired a wide field of knowledge even before they reach the age of 20.

Have you ever thought about this also?

I was amazed when I studied the lives of those scholars and discovered that most of them were brought up by their mothers. It is either the father had died early or he was alive but has no hand in the scholarship of the child.

For example, Imam Bukhari’s father died whilst he was an infant and thus he was raised by his mother. He became blind at the age of 12 and despite efforts by many doctors at the time, none of the treatment restored his eyesight. His mother prayed fervently for him and his eyesight was restored at the age of 16. I’m not discussing how his mother prayed for him but what is incredible to learn is that during the four years when he was blind, he memorised 500,000 Hadiths because his mother would read the hadith to him until he memorised it. Yes, 500,000 hadeeth!

Likewise, Imam Shaafi’ and Imam Ahmad bn Hanbal , their fathers also passed away while they were young, their mothers took it upon themselves to train them. And Imam Malik, though he was raised by both parents, we all read about how her mother would dress him up and send him to learn from scholars.

These are the mothers of yesterday; they were pious and knowledgeable and they were able to produce scholars.

Where are the mothers of today? They are busy checking their Facebook and Whatsapp messages with their phones on the left hands while they hold the TV remote control with the right hands.

Do you still wonder why this generation has kept producing vagabonds?

Mothers had dropped the duty of teaching their children today, they are either ranting about polygyny on facebook or busy selling goods at the market while their children are now being taught by the X men on the social media. If we wish for a generation like the past generations, our women should be ready to do like the past women.

It is good that men strive hard in seeking for knowledge but it is not an abomination for the women to also seek for knowledge of the deen. The past women were able to teach their children because they also had the knowledge. What will you teach your children when you are busy reading romantic novels in the morning; taking #CoveredPearl selfies and doing #HijabieGang on Facebook in the afternoon; spending the whole evening watching Zee world and Korean soap operas; and the remaining of your night to discuss matters of other people?

There were two famous hadith scholars in the 13th century whose works of hadeeth are helping the Ummah till date. It is not what you are thinking – they were not females, they were Imam Adh Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar Al asqolaani, but the interesting thing is that both were taught by a woman, a famous Muhadithah of their time, she is Zaynab bint ‘Umar b. Al Kindi. Can we see a woman like her today?

The past periods produced women who were experts in the knowledge fields like Hadeeth, Usool, Tafsir, Fiqh and even in calligraphy, women scholars like Fatima Al Fudayla, Umm Darda As Sughara, Faatimah Al Samarqandi Nafisa bint Al Hassan, Fakhrun Nissa Shuhdah Al Bagdaadiyah.

These are the women of virtues of knowledge.

Meanwhileh, these Muslim female scholars who produced great scholars of the Ummah, didn’t achieve these feats by taking selfies and writing love poems; they sought for the knowledge.

So search for the knowledge my sister. Know that when the women are good, the Ummah will be good as a whole.

May Allah ease our affairs.