Seeking knowledge is a duty for men and women
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ“Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.” — and the word “Muslim” covers men and women alike.
إِنَّ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ وَٱلۡمُسۡلِمَٰتِ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتِ وَٱلۡقَٰنِتِينَ وَٱلۡقَٰنِتَٰتِ وَٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ وَٱلصَّٰدِقَٰتِ وَٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ وَٱلصَّٰبِرَٰتِ وَٱلۡخَٰشِعِينَ وَٱلۡخَٰشِعَٰتِ وَٱلۡمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَٱلۡمُتَصَدِّقَٰتِ وَٱلصَّٰٓئِمِينَ وَٱلصَّٰٓئِمَٰتِ وَٱلۡحَٰفِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمۡ وَٱلۡحَٰفِظَٰتِ وَٱلذَّٰكِرِينَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرٗا وَٱلذَّٰكِرَٰتِ أَعَدَّ ٱللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغۡفِرَةٗ وَأَجۡرًا عَظِيمٗاDios les tiene reservado Su perdón y una gran recompensa a los musulmanes y las musulmanas, a los creyentes y las creyentes, a los piadosos y las piadosas, a los veraces y las veraces, a los pacientes y las pacientes, a los humildes y las humildes, a los que hacen caridades y las que hacen caridades, a los que ayunan y las que ayunan, a los pudorosos y las pudorosas, a los que recuerdan frecuentemente a Dios y las que recuerdan frecuentemente a Dios.
طُوبَىٰ لِنِسَاءِ الْأَنْصَارِ، لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُنَّ حَيَاؤُهُنَّ أَنْ يَتَفَقَّهْنَ فِي الدِّينِ“How excellent the women of the Ansar are! Their shyness did not prevent them from learning their religion in depth.”
The Prophet’s ﷺ school: women asked and learned
Women attended the mosque, joined study circles and asked the Prophet ﷺ directly; some argued their own legal cases until the Quran answered them — as with Khawlah bint Tha’labah, whose plea about her husband was affirmed by revelation. The Mothers of the Believers became authorities consulted without embarrassment after the Prophet’s ﷺ death.
قَدۡ سَمِعَ ٱللَّهُ قَوۡلَ ٱلَّتِي تُجَٰدِلُكَ فِي زَوۡجِهَا وَتَشۡتَكِيٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱللَّهُ يَسۡمَعُ تَحَاوُرَكُمَآۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعُۢ بَصِيرٌDios oyó las palabras de quien reclamaba ante ti [¡Oh, Mujámmad!] acerca de su esposo y se quejaba por su aflicción ante Dios, y Dios escuchaba su diálogo porque Dios todo lo oye, todo lo ve.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتُ يُبَايِعۡنَكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن لَّا يُشۡرِكۡنَ بِٱللَّهِ شَيۡـٔٗا وَلَا يَسۡرِقۡنَ وَلَا يَزۡنِينَ وَلَا يَقۡتُلۡنَ أَوۡلَٰدَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأۡتِينَ بِبُهۡتَٰنٖ يَفۡتَرِينَهُۥ بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِنَّ وَأَرۡجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعۡصِينَكَ فِي مَعۡرُوفٖ فَبَايِعۡهُنَّ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُنَّ ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ¡Oh, Profeta! Cuando las mujeres creyentes se presenten ante ti para prestarte juramento de fidelidad, comprometiéndose a no cometer idolatría, no robar, no cometer fornicación ni adulterio, no matar a sus hijos, no mentir sobre la paternidad de sus hijos, y a no desobedecerte, tómales el juramento de fidelidad y pide perdón a Dios por ellas. Dios es Absolvedor, Misericordioso.
Aisha and the women scholars of the ummah
Aisha bint Abi Bakr (may God be pleased with them both) ranks among the greatest authorities of the ummah: al-Bukhari, Muslim and the Sunan collections narrate some two thousand hadiths through her, and the Companions and their successors sought rulings from her on the Prophet’s ﷺ private life, Quran commentary, law and poetry. After her, women hadith-masters and jurists appeared in every century, some held up as models of memory and precision in transmission.
- Karima Umm Ahmad al-Marwaziyya (d. 463 AH): a transmitter of Sahih al-Bukhari in Mecca, from whom leading scholars took hadith (Dhahabi’s Siyar A’lam al-Nubala).
- Shuhdah bint al-Ibari (d. 573 AH): heard from al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and others, taught in Baghdad and granted licences to senior scholars (Ibn al-Muqarram’s al-Dhayl wa-l-Takmila).
- Zaynab bint Umar ibn al-Kamal (d. 740 AH): Damascus master of transmitters, from whom thousands of scholars — including the hafiz Ibn Hajar — took hadith (Ibn Hajar’s al-Durar al-Kamina).
Women in dawah
وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتُ بَعۡضُهُمۡ أَوۡلِيَآءُ بَعۡضٖۚ يَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَيَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤۡتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥٓۚ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ سَيَرۡحَمُهُمُ ٱللَّهُۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٞLos creyentes y las creyentes son aliados unos de otros, ordenan el bien y prohíben el mal, cumplen con la oración prescrita, pagan el zakat y obedecen a Dios y a Su Mensajero. De ellos Dios tendrá misericordia. Dios es Poderoso, Sabio.
The plural wording of the verse on enjoining good includes women with men: each is an ally of the other in goodness. Women took dawah seriously from the first generation; the Prophet’s ﷺ biography is incomplete without their names.
- Nusaybah Umm Amarah: at Uhud she served water and treated the wounded, then defended the Prophet ﷺ with her sword until wounded (Ibn Hisham’s Sira; Ibn Hajar’s al-Isabah).
- Al-Shifa bint Abdillah: taught Hafsah to write, and Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed her supervisor of the Medina market (Ibn Hajar’s al-Isabah).
- Umm Sulaym Sahbah bint Milhan: narrated hadith, taught women and took part in community affairs (Dhahabi’s Siyar A’lam al-Nubala).
Today every Muslim woman can take part in dawah: through good conduct before words, by walking with new Muslim women in their learning, and by a home that presents Islam to people in its best light.
Preguntas frecuentes
Is a woman required to learn her religion?
Yes; learning the minimum required for worship and dealings is a personal duty on her as on men — Ibn Majah’s hadith “seeking knowledge is a duty on every Muslim” covers both.
Did women learn in the mosque?
Yes; they attended prayer and study circles in the Prophet’s ﷺ and the Companions’ era, and Muslim 442 commands facilitating that.
May a woman travel to study without a mahram?
There are contemporary differences: many scholars allow travel for study or need given the circumstances; others apply further conditions. Present your situation to a trusted Islamic centre.
Corán: QuranEnc. Traducciones de hadices: HadeethEnc. Cada elemento indica su fuente. ¿Encontró un error? Avísenos.