The Birth of Islam

As the old empire of Rome fractured and China entered into a Golden Age, the middle of Eurasia saw a rebirth. There, Muhammad rose to a position of power. At age 25, he was married to a 40-year-old, wealthy businesswoman, Khadija. The wealth of his wife allowed Muhammad time to engage in politics and religious thought, and in 610, at the age of 40, he was visited by the angel Gabriel - the same angel who had visited Mary half a millenia before to inform her of her miraculous pregnancy. Gabriel delivered the written word of God (Allah) on a cloth, but Muhammad was illiterate and could not read it. Gabriel then read the verses to him for Muhammad to memorize, and these verses later became the Quran. 

Khadija

At first, Muhammad only revealed this event to Khadija who helped convince him through a series of tests and reassurance that this was not deceit from the devil, but the true work of an angel. Like Sarah in Judaism and Mary in Christianity, Khadija was the first Muslim, or believer in Islam. 

He began to share his revelations with more people, and by 613, he was preaching publicly and gaining a following. His word also began to spread as believers shared Muhammad’s teachings as he tried to unite the various Meccan clans under monotheism. After Muhammad began to share his revelations, he faced opposition and violence from the tribe that held commercial and political authority in the region, the Quraysh. The Quraysh, like most tribes in the region, were pagans who worshiped many gods. They feared losing power and wealth, as the monotheistic message might hurt the trade that brought thousands of merchants and pilgrims to the shrine in Mecca (the Kaaba) each year. In 619, both Khadija and his uncle passed away - both personally and financially devastating to him - and by 622, a man called Muhammad, was forced to flee Mecca for Medina, a city on the Arabian peninsula, for claiming to be a prophet. He traveled with his followers and was pursued by assassins, along with an army that was trying to wipe out his community, the first Muslims.

The Kaaba during Hajj

Early Gains for Women 

Women were drawn to Muhammad and his message, both spiritually and practically. A core tenet of Muhammad’s revelations was an emphasis on charity. Men were encouraged to marry widows, take in orphans, and even take on enslaved people as a type of social welfare. In a desert culture where women without physical protection were vulnerable, taking multiple wives - it was argued - protected them from rape, violent assault, or death by warring tribesmen. Muhammed asked all Muslims to protect women and children as part of their duty to Allah, and asserted that men had a legal and religious obligation to care for their wives materially, sexually, and emotionally. He also allowed women to enter into contracts by law, to seek custody of children after divorce, and frowned upon child marriage. 

Muhammad himself had many wives, including some child brides. Muhammad’s third and “most beloved wife,” Aisha, was one of the most important figures in early Islam. She was the daughter of his longtime ally and friend, Abu Bakr. She was a child, probably nine, when she married him. Following his death, she became one of the most prominent contributors to the spread of his message, narrating 2,210 hadiths, not just on matters related to Muhammad's private life, but also on topics such as inheritance, pilgrimage, and the end times.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of early Islam with regard to women was its strict prohibition of female infanticide, which was commonplace in the Middle East, North Africa, and India. A preference for male babies was evidence of deep-seated misogyny in a society reliant on manual laborers and the belief that young girls were a burden.

Under early Islam, women were given control over their own property, especially their dowries and inheritance, but their inheritance was half the rate of men. Islam enforced consent, and  marriage by kidnapping was prohibited. Divorce was also possible but difficult for women to attain. Nevertheless, divorce was more attainable than in any faith up to that time. 

Female Followers of Muhammad 

Muslim women found incredible freedom and honor in aligning with the Prophet Muhammad. Primarily, women who followed him garnered protections like those noted above. However, some exemplary women also provided Muhammad protection themselves. 

Nusaybah bint Ka’ab is famous for defending Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud in 625, one of the early conflicts where Muhammad fought against the pagans from Mecca. Nusaybah was initially there to help and nurse the soldiers. At some point in the battle, the archers on the hill believed victory was in sight and abandoned their position, leaving Muhammed and some of his followers vulnerable. Nusaybah grabbed weapons and stood between the Meccans and Muhammad. Muhammad described her in battle, stating, “Wherever I turned, left or right, on the Day of Uhud — I saw her fighting for me.” 

She was wounded in 12 or more places and fainted from a major blow to the shoulder. When she recovered, her first words were to inquire about the health of Muhammad. She and dozens of other women participated in subsequent battles, and in some cases they shared in the spoils of war. 

Death of Muhammad 

When Muhammad died in 632, Muslims were divided on the proper path for succession. Most favored Abu Bakr, the father of his “most beloved wife”Aisha, while others preferred Ali, Muhammad’s daughter Fatima’s husband. Abu Bakr ultimately succeeded Muhammad and began a war of conquest that continued after his death. When he died of illness only two years later, the second caliph (leader), Umar, continued the wars for expansion.

Sadly, as the empire grew, women’s roles became more restricted. Umar told women that they must pray at home and veiling and seclusion became standard practice in Muslim society. Men and women prayed separately, and women were not seen by unrelated men. This removed women from public life. A later caliph created social infrastructure in order to make women’s segregation more practical by building a bridge across the Euphrates River only for women. 

Being secluded became synonymous with being chaste, as well as a symbol of one’s wealth and class. Poor Muslim women throughout the empire who lacked servants and slaves had to go to the market or to work and thus were not as secluded as wealthy women.

Ali continued to assert his position as a rightful caliph, but many still opposed him, including Aisha and several of Muhammad’s other widows. As Uthman was chosen as the third caliph, Ali built resistance against him, which reached its peak in 636 as opposing forces began to gather in the capital of Medina. He also faced internal divisions as Aisha also opposed him and even called for his death at one point. 

Aisha in the Battle of the Camel

However, when Uthman was assassinated by Egyptian rebels in June 636, and Ali was elected to hold the position of caliph over members of her family, Aisha went as far as to lead troops into battle to oppose Ali for control of the Muslim Empire. While she did not believe in Uthman, she proclaimed him to be far superior to Ali. Muhammad’s other wives notably did not join her, believing a widow’s place was in seclusion. Yet, Aisha fought in the Battle of the Camel to protect Islam. The battle ended only after Aisha’s camel was hamstrung and killed and she was captured. She was spared by the mercy of Ali but still marched, humiliated, to her home, while Ali went on to become the fourth caliph of Islam. This massive battle cost thousands of Muslims their lives and represented an emerging rift between the Sunni (those who supported the Bakr and his successors) and Shia (those who supported Ali) Muslims. 

Aisha’s story didn’t end there. She retreated to Medina, opened a school, and became a teacher. Privately, she also continued influencing those intertwined in the Islamic political sphere, and within the Islamic community, she was known as an intelligent woman who debated law with male companions. For the last years of her life, Aisha spent much of her time telling the stories of Muhammad.

The Quran 

In the years after Muhammad’s passing, his revelations were recorded by his followers in the form of a single book, the Quran. The Quran appears explicit in its assertion that men and women are spiritually equal. The text uses gender-inclusive language such as, “those who surrender themselves to Allah and accept the true Faith; who are devout, sincere, patient, humble, charitable, and chaste; who fast and are ever mindful of Allah - on these, both men and women, all I will bestow forgiveness and rich reward.” 

But socially, the words of the Quran could not transcend the cultural norms in the growing Islamic Empire. Further, despite spiritual equality, the Quran also limited women's lived experience, especially within marriage. One passage made women’s subordination explicit, proclaiming, “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient.” 

The Quran also banned women from taking more than one husband while permitting men to have numerous wives because women were not considered providers. This reinforced a patriarchal lineage and ownership of wives and children. Men could have up to four wives and had to treat each of them equally. Men were allowed to have sex with enslaved women, but any children those women birthed were free. While the Quran said heaven was at a mother’s feet, other passages were interpreted as permitting husbands to discipline their wives. This included  prioritizing males’ legal testimony over a woman’s, and  proscribing violent punishments for adultery. 

Later Muslims also recorded the hadiths, a collection of traditions and daily practices attributed to Muhammad. Some hadiths are respected more than others, based on who recorded them and how far back one could trace the hadith. Over time, hadith pronouncements became increasingly hostile to women, almost contrary to the history known about Muhammad’s treatment of women. ​For example, women ruled Islamic kingdoms as consorts through the Golden Age of Islam, however, one particularly hostile and frequently quoted hadith - only weakly attributed to Muhammad - stated,  “Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler.” Aisha’s defeat only helped solidify these ideas.

Female Scholars

Aisha was not the only female scholar to contribute to Islamic texts and literature. One analyst found that, “most of the important compilers of hadith from the earliest period received many of them from women teachers, as the immediate authorities. Ibn Hajar studied from 53 women; As-Sakhawi had ijazas from 68 women and As-Suyuti studied from 33 women, a quarter of his shuyukh.” Historians count more than 8,000 female Islamic scholars of note.  

Women who memorized the teachings of Muhammad were often consulted by legal scholars, wrote petitions, entered opinions in the public sphere, and were mentioned by biographers, dictionaries, and debates of the day. To establish authenticity and authority, scholars kept track of lineages, noting which scholars mentored which schools and recorded “chains of transmission.” Oral histories that retold these chains served to strengthen legitimacy.  

Painting titled, “Girl Reciting Qur'an”

Sayiida Nafisa was one such scholar who lived a century after Muhammad, and was famous for her devotion and asceticism. Living in near-seclusion, with almost no material goods, she and other Muslim women scholars memorized thousands of hadiths. Nafisa gave lectures at mosques, blessings to weary travelers on Hajj, performed miracles, and helped prisoners and the hungry. She was revered even after her death as a holy woman, and pilgrims visited her shrine. She is even one of the patron saints of the city of Cairo in Egypt.

Another such scholar was Rabi’a, a Sufi Muslim poet whose ideas demonstrated persistent feminist inklings within the increasingly restrictive faith. One poem attributed to her demonstrated her pure devotion to Islam. She wrote:

O my Lord, if I worship you

from fear of hell, burn me in hell.

If I worship you from hope of Paradise, 

bar me from its gates.

But if I worship you for yourself alone, 

grant me then the beauty of your Face.

The House of Wisdom (also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad) was established as a public academy and library in the 9th century, and was the center of intellectual activity in the Muslim world, according to Dr. Sandi Toksvig, where men and women alike shared ideas about faith, history, medicine, and science. One of the devices being discussed was the Astrolabe, a device used to calculate time and location which was immensely valuable in the Muslim world for determining the direction of Mecca for prayer and holy periods. One notable developer and maker of the Astrolabe was Al-ʻIjliyyah bint al-ʻIjliyy (also recorded as Mariam al-Asṭurlābiyya) whose contributions to the device’s development and the study of astronomy led to her being employed directly by the Emir of Aleppo. 

Still, women scholars and teachers were less common in this period as most women were illiterate, resulting from prohibition around women’s education. A Muslim woman was more likely to be educated in places like Al Andalusa (Muslim Spain) than her Christian counterparts, but that was still only among the elites.

Umayyad and Abbasid Empires

During the subsequent Umayyad (661-750 CE) and Abbasid (750-1258 CE) Empires, women served as teachers, preachers, philanthropists, patrons, scholars and jurists. Sufi women, especially, were often wealthy property holders who built houses of worship, schools, feeding houses, and shrines to Muslim saints in order to care for the poor and use their influence to better society.

Women were involved in assassination plots, arranged marriages to consolidate wealth and power, collaborated with investors and patrons to support their more benevolent acts noted above, led armies, flouted dishonest viziers, pirates and social climbers, and supervised sacred festivals and spectacles of devotion to gain influence. Showing piety and highlighting devotion via service and networks of the faithful guaranteed many women special status in the landscape of power in this period.

The Abbasid Empire, in particular, existed in a period of great land expansion for the caliphate. The capital city of Baghdad grew and embraced immigrants from around the Muslim world, including Christians, Jews, Hindus and Zoroastrians. Most women belonged to families of farmers and traders, and in many areas, common women were likely subject to enslavement during territorial expansion.

Near the end of the 8th century, Al-Khayzuran was the wife of the caliph, al-Mahdi. Like other queens and empresses of the period, Al-Khayzuran started from very little, but was enslaved to a wealthy master who trained her in the arts, science, mathematics, theology, and Islamic law. She was, thus, more educated than most women in the world at the time and more than most men in her society. She was sold as a concubine to the future caliph, joining his growing harem. 

Harems in Muslim culture differed greatly from those found in East Asia. Only the elite men could afford them and their wives and concubines were active in politics and managed their own business. In this environment, Al-Khayzuran’s wit and aptitude for leadership was apparent, and she found his favor. She convinced him to free her and make her his legitimate wife. When he ascended to the position of caliph, she maintained the lady-like seclusion expected of an elite woman. At court, she sat behind a screen and listened in on matters of state, yet, she often quarreled with the caliph and did not hesitate to confront him on important issues. 

She also had two sons who succeeded their father as caliphs. One son, al-Hadi, did not like being controlled by his mother and at one point angrily rebutted, “Whoever from among my entourage – my generals, my servants – comes to you with a petition will have his head cut off and his property confiscated. What is the meaning of those retinues that throng around your door every day? Don’t you have a spindle to keep you busy, a Quran for praying, a residence in which to hide from those besieging you? Watch yourself, and woe to you if you open your mouth in favor of anyone at all.” Failure to submit to her rule led to Al-Khayzuran having her son murdered. Her second son assumed the role of caliph and happily shared power with his mother. His rule was arguably the most powerful of the Abbasids, and his mother is considered by most historians to be the power behind the throne. Although Caliphs were expected to be stoic, he wept openly when his mother died in 789. 

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Arab women

The Abbasids declined and were replaced by the Fatimid Empire that claimed lineage from Muhammad’s daughter. Here, more powerful women thrived. Sitt al-Mulk, a Fatimid princess whose mother was a concubine, was favored by her father. She had an army at her disposal, and donated lavishly to charity. She never married so that her brother’s line would be uncontested, but after she arranged for her brother’s disappearance or death in 1021, she served as regent for his young son until her death two years later. 

Al-Khayzuran and Sitt al-Mulk’s involvement in assassination plots is a very familiar trope of female leaders. Why are female rulers portrayed as conniving assassins of their rivals? Were they as evil, as portrayed, or was it a pattern of narrative that later chroniclers resorted to in order to frame power in the hands of women as something earned through immoral means?

Thankfully, not all queens were portrayed that way. Queen Arwa was adopted by her uncle, the king of Yemen, after her parents’ deaths. She married the crown prince, served as de facto ruler through this and another political marriage, before standing as an independent monarch from 1098 to her death in 1138, at the age of 90. Historian Shala Haeri notes that she had "few, if any, qualms about her gender or the extent of her political authority." She focused her attention on public welfare, building schools, roads, and mosques. She affectionately earned the name “Little Queen of Sheba” from her people.

Conclusion

By 900, Islam had reached most of the Middle East and northern Africa. By 1300, it had expanded to include most of the Sahara and east coast of Africa, and northern India. By 1500, followers could be found in Europe, modern day Russia, and further into India. When the Mongols sacked Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Empire, the strength of Islam as a faith was evident because the religion and Arabic, in which most texts were recorded, continued to expand even though the empire had fractured.

Interestingly, wherever Islam spread, it melded with the local culture. The West African empires of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Hausa states, and Bornu embraced Islam and boasted hundreds of Quranic schools and universities. When the world traveler Ibn Battuta came to Mali, he was appalled that practicing Muslims allowed their women to appear in public almost naked and mingle freely with men outside their families. In reply to his remark, one Mali man told him “they are not like the women of your country.” 

This extent of freedom for women as a result of cultural diffusion was not replicated everywhere that Islam spread. Practices in certain localities such as “honor killing“ of women by their male relatives when they were dishonored were practiced in the name of Islam even though Islam never called for it. Elsewhere, clitorectomy became common. This was the practice of cutting and sewing a woman’s vagina to make it painful to have sex as a means to enforce chastity. This practice was not prescribed in the Quran or Islamic law, but it nevertheless grew to exist in many places where Islam existed.

The early years of Islam garnered women many freedoms and protections that had not existed in Arab clans, but those were challenged as the small faith grew into a series of massive empires. Like most places, elite women were policed more than lower class women, and all women found themselves subordinate to men.

Studying this era, one must ask, how did Islam maintain its thriving culture? Would women continue to maintain their respected positions as scholars? Or would they be sidelined by patriarchal institutions?