Men teaching women

bismilla...

the overall point about wisdom, and the fact that proposing this as the solution to the world's problems being dubious to say the least, have all been mentioned to you....

i feel like you'll only take this point on board if you realise your ammunition is not as strong as you thought. is the hadith you've posted considered sahih?

***

lastly, just reflect on the blessed hadith of our Beloved sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam:

"The best of you...
...are the best of you to your women..."

that's our standard for goodness!

and have a look at the last pieces of advice our Beloved, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam gave us before he passed. you'll find the issue of salah, of the ahl al-bayt, not competing over the dunya and treating women well right up there.........

if we believe he sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam was gifted knowledge of the unseen, we might realise that maybe the secret to navigating the trials which were to come, could and should be found in those last pieces of advice.

salam.

 

They may have taught but this does not mean they mixd with men openly, they taught behind a veil, behind a curtain. You speak about in touch with the times, in these times the prohibition should be even moreso as greater fitnah and Fasaad. We should not be ashamed of what Islam says or the Hadiths of RasoolAllah ﷺ.

The fitnah of women and zina in the Muslim Ummah and the world altogether is indeed a big problem, RasoolAllah ﷺ himself said there is no fitnah greater than the fitnah of women.

There is a need, more than ever, we should not just brush under the carpet those parts of Islam that do not fit in line with Western feminist views of equality, Islam is what it is, many Muslim women and Kafirs these days do not like the idea of wives submitting husband, the fact wife has to obey husband and husband can discipline wife even by hitting her, that a man can have more than one wife at once etc.

 

There were so many famous female scholars who taught the likes of Imam Shafi'i and others. I understand your viewpoint but please try to be in touch with the times. All the daughters of Islamic scholars today themselves learn how to read and write.
Going to non Muslims and telling them "In Islam women are completely forbidden from learning how to write" would do a lot of harm.

We have to maintain the correct balance. We should not argue over issues such as this. There are bigger problems the Ummah is facing today.

(Also, your determination to prove it is totally haram for women to write would deter many Muslim women from the religion altogether. There is no need to be raising this issue)

 

Yes, Allah and His Rasool ﷺ know best, they know what is best for this Ummah, both male and female and thus His Rasool ﷺ also explained this matter to us clearly when he ﷺ said:

"Do not keep women at the balconies and do not teach them to write, teach them spinning and Surah Noor"

 

Allah Knows Best

 

The crux of the matter is that there is fitnah in women learning to write and there is an explicit, direct Hadith in its prohibition, not just from one Sahabi, but rather 3 of the Sahabah RadiAllahu Anhum, from different routes, while there is no explicit proof for its permissibility, to abandon what is clear and explicit in prohibition for something ambiguous is not correct.

The Hadith of Shifa has been explained by the Ulama in a manner so that it does not contradict the Hadith of clear prohibition.

Also AlaHazrat mentions the Ijma of the Ummah in this regard, to the extent that in the 1300 years of Islam till his time there is only about 9 women or so in the history of Islam that have been known to write, and even that is not clear as they could have just dictated to a scribe as was common.

Majority of the Ulama and laymen until recent times held this opinion until Westernisation and a lack of care, as a result we see the Fitnah of women being even worse than ever before.

 

Here is the crux of the matter. So it does not appear clear which Hadith came before or after and there is no Ijma mentioned on this concession being only For Hazrat Hafsa RadhiAllah Annha. So there is a possibility that the Hadith of permissibility came after the one of prohibition and it is possible that not everyone concurred that it is specific to only Hazrat Hafsa (RadhiAllah Annha)

So here- this shows that we are not limited to only the two opinions (in other words some must have held permissibility)

Allah Knows Best

 

AlaHazrat Rahmatullah Alayh addresses this objection in his Fatawa Razawiyyah:

It is said that from this (hadith) it is apparently understood to be a permissibility of it (women being taught to write) but we have seen the Ulama e Kiraam that they did not follow this understanding, for this reason some of them state that this is a disagreement of Huzoor ﷺ with Sayyidah Hafsah, so Zaki al Maghribi agreed with this and Abu Musa said this is Hasan, good, and said that the interpretation of this is that which Imam Torpushti al Hanafi in Sharh al Masabih and narrated this from Allamah Teebi ash Shafi in Sharh al Mishkaat and from him Al Fatni narrated in Majma al Bahar and Imam Suyuti narrated similarly in Mirqaat al Saood from an Nihayah and agreed with it.

Allamah Teebi said:


"This Hadith can also have 2 more possible meanings. One is that it is praising the teaching of Ruqyah and a recommendation for it whilst it is a rejection of teaching to write, meaning, "Why did you not teach her the thing which would benefit her as it is a means of being saved from disobedience to her husband, and why did you teach her how to write which definitely brings sadness and harm.""


"The second is that rejection is in regards to both things because Ruqyah is contrary to the state of those who do Tawakkul"

Some say that it is possible (that this was a permissibility) before the prohibition. Shaykh Muhaqqiq Dehwli mentioned this in Ashatul Lamaat, and some say that (this permissibility) was specific for Sayyidah Hafsah RadiAllahu Anha because Huzoor ﷺ pure wives are specified in some things, so Allah said: "O wives of the Prophet ﷺ! You are not like other women"

And the Hadith "Do not teach women to write" applies for other women as there is fear of fitnah with them.

Mulla Ali Qari narrated this from some and likewise Shaykh Muhaqqiq Dehlwi agreed with this.

Mulla Ali Qari said:


"It is also possible that it is permissible for the Salaf but not for the latter people due to the fitnah of women in this time."


Then these words of theirs prove that they considered women being taught to write as Makruh.

I say:


Besides this, if anybody says (the hadith of Shifa) is a comparison, then there is no clear text in regards to permissibility that goes against "Do not teach women writing."


This is a clear text for prohibition.

In addition, this is one specific incident in which there is no generality (for all women) as opposed to the Hadith of prohibition.

Also, the Hadith of Shifa, if it took place before then it is abrogated, and if it took place after then we do not accept it except as a specific concession for Sayyidah Hafsah just like when Huzoor e Akram ﷺ gave Hazrat Zubair and Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Awf RadiAllahu Anhuma concession to wear silk.

And how he ﷺ allowed lamenting and wailing after the death of Hazrat Saad RadiAllahu Anhu.

After these things he ﷺ forbade them, so then these concessions were specific to some people, and were not abrogations of the rulings.

Moreover, this position is one of caution, for this reason prohibition is accepted, and also if it is assumed that prohibition has not been conveyed at all, even then due to the condition of the times is enough to rule it prohibited, rulings change due to changing of the times.

Do you not see that Huzoor e Akram ﷺ gave women permission to go the Masjid and they would go to the Masjid during that time, in fact it was commanded for the 2 Eids that the Pardah Nasheen women were also to go to to the Eidgah as is present in Bukhari and Muslim, in fact he ﷺ even said "Do not prevent the female slaves of Allah from going to the Masjids of Allah"


Imam Ahmad and Imam Muslim narrated from Abdullah bin Umar RadiAllahu Anhuma.


Despite that, when the conditions of the time got worse and fasaad was prevalent then the Aimmah (Imams) e Kiraam stopped women from going the Masjids outright.

Ummul Mumineen Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah RadiAllahu Anha said:


"If Nabi ﷺ were to see the state of women today that we are seeing then they would have stopped women for going to the Masjids just as the women of Bani Israeel were stopped."

At first, women generally were allowed to come to the Masjids for the 5 prayers, (for Eid women were told) to go to Eidgah even Pardah Nasheen women even if they are in the stat of Haidh such that they cannot even pray Namaz, just to be part of the Barkat of the Dua.

So why did these rulings not remain? Hazrat Ummul Mumineen Hafsah is a Ummul Mumineen RadiAllahu Anha, today which lady is similar to Hazrat Faqih Fatimah Samarqandiyah bint Imam Ala ud Deen RahimahumAllah?


Rather, after searching and probing, it is found that the writing of only a few women is discovered.


This informs that the action of Salaf and Khalaf, Ulama and laymen has been upon rejection of this.

In every time period, men have been writers in the range of hundred thousands while in 1300 years the range of women that have written is a few.

From the outside it seems writing is a very beneficial thing, if there was no harm in the writing of women then why has the majority of the Ummah, from the Salaf till this day, been in agreement in regards to its rejection?

The path of safety lies in this, for this reason these Ulama e Kiram had a liking towards this, Imam Hafizul Hadith Abu Musa, Imam Allamah Torpushti, Imam Ibn al Atheer Jazari, Allamah Teebi, Imam Jalalud Deen Suyuti, Allamah Tahir Fatni and Shaykh Muhaqqiq Mawlana Abdul Haqq Muhaddith Dehlwi and others, Rahmatullah Alayhim, they were more knowledgeable than us in every way.


Now the one who goes towards permissibility of this is heedless of the state of the times or is void of wishing well for this Ummah.


"Whoever does not recognise the state of the people of his time period then he is a Jahil."


We ask Allah for forgiveness and for health.


Then after this I saw the statement of Shaykh Ibn Hajar in Fatawa Hadeethiah in which he mentions the Hadith of Ummul Mumineen and the Hadith of Ibn Masood RadiAllahu Anhuma and then he expanded on them saying:


Imam Tirmidhi al Hakeem RadiAllahu Anhu recorded from Ibn Masood RadiAllahu Anhu that Huzoor e Aqdas ﷺ said:


"Luqman saw a girl being taught in a school so he said, 'For whom is this sword being polished?'"

Imam Ibn Hajar says:


"In this Hadith there is an indication to the reason behind women being forbidden from writing, which is that when a woman is taught to write she herself will gain a path towards evil intentions/purposes and also the Fasiq men will find a great opportunity to find access to her that they would not find if she did not know how to write because a person can write those things which they cannot say through the words of a messenger (between the 2 of them) and also because a letter is more hidden than a messenger, so in this she will find the path of trickery and deceit very quickly, so for this reason, after having learnt how to write, she becomes a polished sword, she does not pass by anything except that quickly cuts it up, so after learning how to write, a woman becomes like this, due to this he does not request anything except that she becomes ready to accept the invite and request very quickly."

 

Of course they should be forbidden from all means of fitnah, learning to write is one of these, it is most likely this would also extend to typing as this is a greater source of fitnah due to technology. As for TV then Ulama have said it is Haram, as for a phone then I am not aware of any rulings however it is known that women, especially unmarried young girls get up to a lot of mischief and send very inappropriate things right from the comfort of their own rooms, it would be best not to give them a phone.

Here is a part of one of AlaHazrat fatwa on women being taught to write:

Women teaching girls to write is forbidden. It is in a Hadith that RasoolAllah ﷺ said:


"Do not teach women to write"


In this there is the opening of the door of fitnah and Allah said:


"Fitnah is worse than killing"


Hazrat Luqman Alayhis Salam saw a girl being taught in a school and said:


"Who is this sword being polished for?"


This was said in their time, as for the fitnah of these times it is evident, for this reason it is said in Durr e Mukhtaar and in other places:


"The person who is not aware of the state of the people of his time then he is ignorant"

 

Also, in our time, the means of fitnah are rife like tv channels, whatsapp, facebook, sms etc. forbiding women from learning to write is less important than saving them from all of these dangerous tools.

 

no doubt, it is our imam's fatwa but the time has changed. a close disciple of Hazrat Sayed Shah Turabu'l Haq Qadri rahimahullah told me that hazrat shah sabhab said that indeed this is the fatwa of ala hazrat alaihi rahmah wa riDwan, but in our time we will not forbid girls from this otherwise, they will not get married especially when boys look for educated girls.

daughters of our scholars and muftiyan e kiram go to schools and colleges, our ulama are running dars e nizami madris for girls, they cannot get their certificates/degree until they appear in annual exam and answer to questions in writing.

I'm not favoring coeducation, it is obvious.

 

When he reached 25 he married the lively and brilliant Anas Khatun, then 18 years of age. She was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Zayn al-Din al-‘Iraqi, and she gave celebrated public lectures in the presence of her husband to crowds of ulema among whom was Imam al-Sakhawi.

(Ibn Hajar Asqalani bio from Sunnah.org)

So do you think she knew how to write? Do you know how many female Scholars taught other great Mujtahid Imams? Did they know how to write brother?

I think you'll find there may be a difference opinion on the issue and you need the proper understanding of Hadith on each topic including this....just saying

 

Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Rahmatullah Alayh reply to question on women writing:






Imam Qurtubi RahmatullahAlayh writes in his Tafsir:

وروى حَمَّاد بن سَلَمة عن الزبير بن عبد السلام، عن أيوب بن عبد الله الفهري، عن عبد الله بن مسعود، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " لا تُسْكِنوا نساءكم الغُرف، ولا تعلموهن الكتابة " قال علماؤنا: وإنما حذرهم النبيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ذلك، لأن في إسكانهن الغُرَف تطلعاً إلى الرجل؛ وليس في ذلك تحصين لهنّ ولا تستر. وذلك أنهنّ لا يملكن أنفسهنّ حتى يشرفن على الرجل؛ فتَحدثَ الفتنة والبلاء؛ فحذرهم أن يجعلوا لهن غُرَفاً ذريعة إلى الفتنة. وهو كما قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " ليس للنساء خيرٌ لهنّ من ألا يراهنّ الرجال، ولا يرين الرجال " وذلك أنها خُلقت من الرجل، فنهْمتُها في الرجل، والرجل خلقت فيه الشهوة، وجُعلت سكناً له، فغير مأمون كل واحد منهما في صاحبه. وكذلك تعليم الكتابة ربما كانت سبباً للفتنة، وذلك إذا عُلِّمَتِ الكتابة كتبت إلى من تَهوَى. والكتابة عين من العيون، بها يبصر الشاهد الغائب، والخط هو آثار يده. وفي ذلك تعبير عن الضمير بما لا ينطلق به اللسان، فهو أبلغ من اللسان. فأحب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن ينقطع عنهنّ أسباب الفتنة؛ تحصيناً لهنّ، وطهارة لقلوبهنّ.

 

Narrated Ash-Shifa', daughter of Abdullah,:



The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) entered when I was with Hafsah, and he said to me: Why do you not teach this one the Ruqya for skin eruptions as you taught her writing.


حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ الْمِصِّيصِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُسْهِرٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ بْنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ أَبِي حَثْمَةَ، عَنِ الشِّفَاءِ بِنْتِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَتْ دَخَلَ عَلَىَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَأَنَا عِنْدَ حَفْصَةَ فَقَالَ لِي ‏ "‏ أَلاَ تُعَلِّمِينَ هَذِهِ رُقْيَةَ النَّمْلَةِ كَمَا عَلَّمْتِيهَا الْكِتَابَةَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏
Grade : Sahih (Abu Dawud, Book of Medicine)

This Hadith proves women can be taught to write.

Allah Knows Best

 

Not being able/taught to write is not illiteracy. I do not think I need to elaborate on that - it's obvious.

Having said that, I think that in our times, not to teach women to write is also dangerous. In a world full of wolves our women should know at-least the basics - for self-protection.

See, girls are taught writing even at amjadiyyah in ghosi shareef, though, so far as I know, Allamah zia-al-mustafa sahib (HafiDahullah) disfavored the practice before. Perhaps he still does.

there can be a lot of such things. women are bashful by nature, which is a good thing. Writing to a scholar anonymously can seem safer, particularly if the question is about some perceived or real sin/bad habit of the husband himself. Obviously, he can't be made a party to the query.

Also, seeing as domestic violence or even just rudeness is common even in "educated" households (this is what I have heard from some people, correct me if I am wrong), it is not too difficult to imagine a scenario in which a woman might want to contact a scholar without the knowledge of the husband.

However, in such cases, if she can, she must involve another meHram or, if that is not an option, then a meHram of a virtuous and trustworthy female friend - who can be trusted not to disclose the identity of the questioner.

------

about gender-specific prohibition - well, for that we will have to get into behavioral psychology, social structures and other related topics. I do not want to participate in that discussion as it might easily cause misunderstanding and heated exchanges.

Among the things regarding which the Prophet (peace be upon him) bade us to be extra careful, just as he (peace be upon him) was leaving for the better world, was the rights of women.

May Allah ta'ala guide the men and women of our community to the best of conducts in their private and social lives.

 

I've known of scholars teach young women with their own wives present in the dars, as well as cases where female pupils have had their brothers or fathers with them. And of course, all parties are dressed according to Shariah and a substantial distance is always kept between them.

 

And since your username indicates you are approximately 17, you should know better than the others here what fitnah boys can get upto as well. Why is this gender specific? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to just abstain from bad doings whilst also being literate? Illiteracy can lead to ignorance and lack in ilm, can it not?
I don't intend to dispute, just would like to hear your reasoning; as a refresher.

 

Since your username indicates you are approximately 14, you should know better than the others here what fitnah girls can get upto on messaging apps including where pictures and videos are also sent.