Ideal Muslimah- lesson 17, teacher Umm Yusif

Ideal Muslimah

Lecture # 17

(From the book Ideal Muslimah by Dr. Muhammad Ali al-Hashimi)

Chapter 2: The Muslim Woman and Her Own Self

1 - HER BODY

She does not go to extremes of beautification or make a wanton display of herself p. 63

Paying attention to one's appearance should not make a Muslim woman fall into the trap of wanton display (tabarruj) and showing her beauty to anyone other than her husband and mahram relatives. She should not upset the balance which is the basis of all Islamic teaching, for the Muslim woman always aims at moderation in all things, and is on the alert to prevent any one aspect of her life from taking over at the expense of another.

One of the worst excesses that many modern Muslim women have fallen into is the habit of showing off expensive outfits at wedding parties, which have become fashion shows where competition is rife and is taken to extremes far beyond the realms of common sense and moderation. This phenomenon becomes clearest when the bride herself wears all her outfits, which may number as many as ten, one after the other: each time she changes, she comes out and shows it off to the other women present, exactly like the fashion models in the West. It does not even occur to the women among whom this habit is common, that there may be women present who are financially unable to buy such outfits, and who may be feeling

depressed and jealous, or even hostile towards the bride and her family, and other rich people. Nothing of this sort would happen if brides were more moderate, and just wore one or two outfits at their wedding parties. This is better than that extravagant showing-off which is contradictory to the balanced, moderate spirit of Islam.

2 - HER MIND

She takes care of her mind by persuing knowledge

The sensitive Muslim woman takes care of her mind just as she takes care of her body, because the former is no less important than the latter.

The Muslim woman is responsible just as a man is, so she is also required to seek knowledge of her religion and secular that will be of benefit to her. When she recites the ayah ( . . . But say, `O my Lord! Advance me in knowledge.') (Qur'an 20:114) and hears the hadith, "Seeking knowledge is a duty on every Muslim," [A hasan hadith narrated by Ibn Majah]

What the Muslim woman needs to know

The first thing that the Muslim woman needs to know is how to read the Qur'an properly (with tajwid), and to understand its meaning. Then she should learn something of the sciences of hadith, the sirah of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam), and the history of the women of the Sahabah and Tabi`in, who are prominent figures in Islam. She should acquire as much knowledge of fiqh as she needs to ensure that her worship and daily dealings are correct, and she should ensure that she has a sound grasp of the basic principles of her religion.

Muslim women's achievements in the field of knowledge

The Mother of the Believers, `A'ishah (radi Allahu anha), was a primary source of hadith and knowledge of the sunnah, and was the first faqihah in Islam.

Another of these prominent female scholars was Fatimah, the daughter of the author of Tuhfat alfuqaha', `Ala' al-Din al-Samarqandi (d. 539 AH). She was a faqihah and scholar in her own right: she had learned fiqh from her father and had memorized his book al-Tuhfah.

And many more …..