October142012
“Reminiscent of Mary, Hagar was nourished by God through divine intervention. Yet such intervention on the part of the Almighty resulted not simply from Hagar’s prayers but more importantly from her efforts to find help on her own. This is to say that activism and self-integration are integral aspects of taqwa, not simply passive faith in God. That God answered Hagar’s prayer for sustenance by providing her with the “primordial spring” of Zamzam is not only evidence of her steadfast belief but also acceptance by the Almighty.
[…]
What is equally if not more noteworthy is that Hagar’s exhaustive search for help in walking seven times between Safa and Marwah later become “rites” of God, or sha‘a’ir, as indicated in the Qur’an. That is, sha‘a’ir that were originated by Hagar in an act of motherly and religious devotion become constitutive parts of what would later be revealed as one of the five pillars of Islam, name the major pilgrimage (hajj), as well as part of the minor pilgrimage (‘umrah). What better way to accept the sacrifice of a faithful servant than to deem that servant’s acts of sacrifice as rituals designed to heighten God consciousness in the believers?
[…]
In sum, Hagar symbolizes the strength and courage of God’s chosen agents, here in the role of both matriarch and messenger in God’s sacred history. Her maternal strength, her courage, constancy, and self-initiation as messenger – all derived from taqwa – provided her with the necessary qualities not only fulfill her sacred mission but also to become an aspect of the mission itself. In her suffering for God’s cause, Hagar had to endure distress and danger that have typically marked the careers of God’s chosen historical agents. Like God’s prophets, moreover, Hagar persevered, and thus her name and memory came to be part of Islam’s sacred history and ritual.”

“Hagar: A Historical Model for Gender Jihad” by Hibba Abugideiri in Daughters of Abraham: Feminist Thought in Judaism, Christianity and Islam

I love the part which highlights that activism and self-integration are part of taqwa itself. Grab this book if you can!

(via globalwarmist)

history 

September272012
“Lady Khadija was a great teacher; she has such a Maqaam in our religion. She taught the Prophet ﷺ who he was; she was the one who elevated him in his esteem. When he had self doubt she said no. You can see that when the Prophet ﷺ married Lady Aisha he had no fear of strong women. There are a lot of men who fear strong women, who want them to be wallflowers. Whereas with the Prophet ﷺ, that’s not the type of people he encouraged. His wives were women who talked back, and the reason he wasn’t afraid was because khadija was his first wife. She was a women of the world. She knew the world, and she was completely self confident. That’s a sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ, to elevate women.” Hamza Yusuf  (via zuleikha)

(Source: hamzayusuf, via zuleikha-deactivated20121202)

khadijah islam history 

September152012

Lost Female Scholars of Islam by Dr. Akram Nadwi

arabswagger:

Dr Akram Nadwi is soon to publish his 40-volume collection on Muslim women scholars.  In 2007, Mehrunisha Suleman and Afaaf Rajbee analysed the lost legacy of women scholars and its impact on today’s world in emel’s feature on The Lost Female Scholars of Islam.  

At the time Eileen Collins became the first woman to command the space shuttle, some Muslims were debating the right of women to drive a car on the road. This disparity in the level of public discourse on the rights of women and role of women confront Muslim societies.New findings by a scholar at Oxford on the historical role of women may help Muslims forge a new perspective but still remain true to the Prophetic traditions. Mehrunisha Suleman and Afaaf Rajbee report.

Read More

(Source: emel.com)

academia scholars scholarship history 

March292012

aidahrasheed:

بسم الله 

My Mother was born Lisa Angela Jones. The eldest of seven children from Melvin Jones Jr. and Luvenia Juanita Woods. When her parents left the Catholic Church to join the Nation of Islam (NOI) they both received X’s.

“X” is used in Mathematics, science, and elsewhere to denote an “unknown quantity”; a unit or value that needs to be determined. My Grandparents knew that their last names could be traced back to the surname of slave masters on whose planations their forebears were held as slaves, so they sought to redefine themselves and their family. 

Instead of giving my Mother an “X” they later changed her name to Nafessah, meaning “Precious” and began using Mustafa, meaning “Chosen One” in replace of Jones. After marrying my Father she took on his last name Rasheed, meaning “rightly guided”. And she now goes by Nafeesah Mustafa-Rasheed, “Precious Chosen One-Rightly Guided.” 

Many African-Americans joining the Nation of Islam and outside of the NOI began changing their names. While exploring my family history I have been reading from multiple sources. I found this article online by Joseph E. Holloway, Ph.D. (California State University Northridge). Dr. Holloway published a great synopsis on this cultural phenomenon, along with lesson activities to do with students or an exercise you can do with your family/friends check it —> here.

photo history usa 

February232012
“Zuleikha let everything be the name of Joseph,
from celery seed to aloes wood. She loved him
so much she concealed his name in many phrases,
the inner meanings known only to her.

When she said,
The wax is softening near the fire, she meant,
My love is wanting me.
If she said, Look, the moon is up,
or The willow has new leaves, or The coriander seeds
have caught fire, or The king is in a good mood today,
or Isn’t that lucky, or The furniture needs dusting, or
The water carrier is here, or This bread needs more salt,
or The clouds seem to be moving against the wind,
or My head hurts, or My headache’s better,
anything she praises it’s Joseph’s touch she means.
Any complaint, it’s his being away.

When she’s hungry, it’s for him. Thirsty, his name
is a sherbet. Cold, he’s a fur. This is what
the Friend can do when one is in such love.
The miracle Jesus did by being the name of God,
Zuleikha felt in the name Joseph.

When one is united to the core of another,
to speak of that is to breathe the name Hu,
empty of self and filled with love.”

Rumi

Trans. Coleman Barks. From Rumi: The Book of Love

(via muslimwomeninhistory)

She’s such a minor player in the Qur’an, but I love her so much! And I love the role that she plays in tradition with regard to worldly longing for another person as it relates to the spiritual desire for God.

(via thearanadiscoteca)

(via mybrotherspeach-deactivated2013)

zuleikha history rumi poetry 

December252011

Women in Muslim History: Traditional Perspectives and New Strategies - Fatima Mernissi

muslimwomeninhistory:

This short essay by sociologist Fatima Mernissi, a prominent sociologist from Morocco, is a survey of Islamic texts on women. Mernissi argues that the authors of these texts “did not, as might be expected, talk about them only as the mothers and daughters of powerful men. General history books, genealogies and chronicles identified women as active participants and full involved partners in historical events.” Mernissi then provides examples, beginning with the Prophet’s wife, Aisha. The second part of the article addresses strategies for pursuing research into the role of women in Islam, in the process assessing some of the efforts of modern feminist movements.

fatima mernissi history academia 

November142011
notyourkinddear: muslimwomeninhistory: Nana Asma’u (1793-1834) was the daughter of Usman dan Fodio, founder of Sokoto Caliphate which was one of the most powerful kingdom’s in northern Africa of the time. For some, Asma’u represents the education and independence that is possible for women under Islam and remains a model for African feminists into the present. Erudite and well versed in Arabic, Greek, and Latin classics and fluent in Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa, and Tamacheq, Asma’u was reputed to be a leading scholar in the most influential Muslim state in West Africa. She represented the number of highly educated Muslim women of the time. Bearing witness to the Fulani Jihad (1804-1810) in which her father conquered Nigeria and Cameroon, she recorded her reactions in The Journal.  Asma’u also left an impressive corpus of poetry which is comprised of historical narratives, elegies, laments, and admonition, which became tools for teaching men and women the principles of the caliphate. Later, she became her brother’s advisor when he took the caliphate and according to contemporary sources, Asma’u debated with governors, scholars, and princes. Asma’u was also influential on women’s education during the caliphate. Beginning in 1830, she formed a group of female teachers who journeyed throughout the caliphate, educating women.  Becoming symbols of the new state, these female teachers, or jajis, used the writing of Asma’u and other Sufi scholars to train women from all areas, including poor and rural regions. This educational project began to integrate the pagan portions of the newly conquered empire with the existing Muslim state and culture. Today, in northern Nigeria, Islamic women’s organization, schools, and meeting halls are frequently named in her honor. With the republication of her works, she has become a rallying point for African women for the cause of women’s education. -WISE Muslim Women More Information: 1.) Nana Asma’u and the Scholarly Tradition 2.) Nana Asma’u Tradtion: An Intellectual Movement and a Symbol of Women Rights in Islam During the 19th Century DanFodio’s Islamic Reform. YESYESYES One of my all time faves. I also recommend One Woman’s Jihad. Another excellent source for info on Nana Asma’u, and the living legacy of her tradition, is Yan Taru.

notyourkinddear:

muslimwomeninhistory:

Nana Asma’u (1793-1834) was the daughter of Usman dan Fodio, founder of Sokoto Caliphate which was one of the most powerful kingdom’s in northern Africa of the time. For some, Asma’u represents the education and independence that is possible for women under Islam and remains a model for African feminists into the present.

Erudite and well versed in Arabic, Greek, and Latin classics and fluent in Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa, and Tamacheq, Asma’u was reputed to be a leading scholar in the most influential Muslim state in West Africa. She represented the number of highly educated Muslim women of the time. Bearing witness to the Fulani Jihad (1804-1810) in which her father conquered Nigeria and Cameroon, she recorded her reactions in The Journal.  Asma’u also left an impressive corpus of poetry which is comprised of historical narratives, elegies, laments, and admonition, which became tools for teaching men and women the principles of the caliphate.

Later, she became her brother’s advisor when he took the caliphate and according to contemporary sources, Asma’u debated with governors, scholars, and princes.

Asma’u was also influential on women’s education during the caliphate. Beginning in 1830, she formed a group of female teachers who journeyed throughout the caliphate, educating women.  Becoming symbols of the new state, these female teachers, or jajis, used the writing of Asma’u and other Sufi scholars to train women from all areas, including poor and rural regions. This educational project began to integrate the pagan portions of the newly conquered empire with the existing Muslim state and culture.

Today, in northern Nigeria, Islamic women’s organization, schools, and meeting halls are frequently named in her honor. With the republication of her works, she has become a rallying point for African women for the cause of women’s education.

-WISE Muslim Women

More Information:

1.) Nana Asma’u and the Scholarly Tradition

2.) Nana Asma’u Tradtion: An Intellectual Movement and a Symbol of Women Rights in Islam During the 19th Century DanFodio’s Islamic Reform.

YESYESYES

One of my all time faves. I also recommend One Woman’s Jihad. Another excellent source for info on Nana Asma’u, and the living legacy of her tradition, is Yan Taru.

(via thoumbreath)

history Nana Asma’u 

November102011
afrikanwomen: Queen Tin Hinan Tin Hinan is the name given by the Tuareg to a 4th-century woman of prestige whose monumental tomb is located in the Sahara at Abalessa in the Ahaggar or Hoggar region of Algeria. The name means literally “she of the tents”, but may be metaphorically translated as “mother of the tribe” (or “of us all”) or even “queen of the camp” (the “camp” maybe referring to the group of tombs which surround hers). She is sometimes referred to as “Queen of the Hoggar”, and by the Tuareg as tamenoukalt which also means queen.

afrikanwomen:

Queen Tin Hinan

Tin Hinan is the name given by the Tuareg to a 4th-century woman of prestige whose monumental tomb is located in the Sahara at Abalessa in the Ahaggar or Hoggar region of Algeria. The name means literally “she of the tents”, but may be metaphorically translated as “mother of the tribe” (or “of us all”) or even “queen of the camp” (the “camp” maybe referring to the group of tombs which surround hers). She is sometimes referred to as “Queen of the Hoggar”, and by the Tuareg as tamenoukalt which also means queen.

(via espritfollet)

history algeria 

November92011
muslimwomeninhistory: THE Princess Zeb-un-Nissa was the eldest daughter of the Mogul Emperor Aurungzebe of India, and was born in 1639. She came of a distinguished line, in direct descent from Genghiz Khan and Tamerlane. Her Emperor-ancestors were famous not only for their valour and states­manship, but as patrons and inspirers of art and learning, and, moreover, they themselves possessed distinguished literary gifts. At seven years old she was a Hafiz—she knew the Koran by heart; and her father gave a great feast to celebrate the occasion. We read that the whole army was feasted in the great Maidan at Delhi, thirty thousand gold mohurs were given to the poor, and the public offices were closed for two days. She was given as teacher a lady named Miyabai, and learned Arabic in four years; she then studied mathematics and astronomy, in which sciences she gained rapid proficiency. She began to write a commentary on the Koran, but this was stopped by her father. From her early youth she wrote verses, at first in Arabic; but when an Arabian scholar saw her work he said: “Whoever has written this poem is Indian. The verses are clever and wise, but the idiom is Indian, although it is a miracle for a foreigner to know Arabian so well.” This piqued her desire for perfection, and thereafter she wrote in Persian, her mother-tongue. She had as tutor a scholar called Shah Rustum Ghazi, who encouraged and directed her literary tastes. She wrote at first in secret, but he found copies of her verses among her exercise-books. He prophesied her future great­ness, and persuaded her father to send all over India and Persia and Kashmir to find poets and to invite them to come to Delhi to form a fitting circle for the princess. This was the more wonderful as Aurungzebe himself cared little for poetry and used to speak against the poet’s calling. He had forbidden the works of Hafiz to be read in school by boys, or in the palace by the Begums, but he made an exception in favour of Zeb-un-Nissa. Read More

muslimwomeninhistory:

THE Princess Zeb-un-Nissa was the eldest daughter of the Mogul Emperor Aurungzebe of India, and was born in 1639. She came of a distinguished line, in direct descent from Genghiz Khan and Tamerlane. Her Emperor-ancestors were famous not only for their valour and states­manship, but as patrons and inspirers of art and learning, and, moreover, they themselves possessed distinguished literary gifts.

At seven years old she was a Hafiz—she knew the Koran by heart; and her father gave a great feast to celebrate the occasion. We read that the whole army was feasted in the great Maidan at Delhi, thirty thousand gold mohurs were given to the poor, and the public offices were closed for two days. She was given as teacher a lady named Miyabai, and learned Arabic in four years; she then studied mathematics and astronomy, in which sciences she gained rapid proficiency. She began to write a commentary on the Koran, but this was stopped by her father. From her early youth she wrote verses, at first in Arabic; but when an Arabian scholar saw her work he said: “Whoever has written this poem is Indian. The verses are clever and wise, but the idiom is Indian, although it is a miracle for a foreigner to know Arabian so well.” This piqued her desire for perfection, and thereafter she wrote in Persian, her mother-tongue. She had as tutor a scholar called Shah Rustum Ghazi, who encouraged and directed her literary tastes. She wrote at first in secret, but he found copies of her verses among her exercise-books. He prophesied her future great­ness, and persuaded her father to send all over India and Persia and Kashmir to find poets and to invite them to come to Delhi to form a fitting circle for the princess. This was the more wonderful as Aurungzebe himself cared little for poetry and used to speak against the poet’s calling. He had forbidden the works of Hafiz to be read in school by boys, or in the palace by the Begums, but he made an exception in favour of Zeb-un-Nissa.

Read More

history 

March142011

Sultan Al-Qassemi: Just a Century Ago, a Woman Ruled in the Gulf

-gemmadoyle:

“In the early 20th century, Princess Fatima Al Zamil qualified as one ruler. A blue-blooded lady born of a marriage between members of the Al-Rasheed and Shammar tribes - which makes her a relative of the current Saudi Arabian King Abdullah - she ruled the province of Ha’il from 1911 to 1914 as an administrator of her minor grandson’s estate.

Princess Fatima ran the affairs of her society and people from the historic and lavish three-storey Barzan Palace, over which she had full authority. She received foreign guests such as the British writer and politician Gertrude Bell, a close friend and associate of TE Lawrence (of Arabia). She allowed her visitor to photograph her in her residence with her long beaded hair adorning her chest and with her face uncovered, something that is taboo for many Arab women almost a century later.

What is possibly the most significant fact of Princess Fatima’s reign wasn’t that she ruled over the now demolished 300,000 square metre Barzan Palace, but that she was chosen by the elders of the two most powerful tribes of the central Arabian peninsula in what may be one of the few exercises of tribal democracy in the Gulf.

One may ponder the obstacles that would hinder women from reaching the top post once again. Religion is often used by conservatives to maintain the status quo. However, in modern history, years before Hillary Clinton decided to run for president of the (secular) US, more than one woman has reached the helm of power in Bangladesh, a country founded on Islamic tenets.”

>

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(Above: Fatima Al-Zamil Al-Sabhan Al-Quwaei)

(full article here)

(Source: thoumbreath)

history 

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