ENGLISH: WOMEN IN HADITH: FEMALE NARRATORS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS

Abstract

The paper is an investigation into an important but neglected role of Islamic scholars: women as transmitters and preservers of Hadith, or recorded words and practice of Prophet Muhammad, in the Islamic academic tradition. Confronting the unwarranted view that Islamic scholarship has been traditionally the preserve of men, it demonstrates how Prophetic and medieval women were active reporters, teachers and transmitters of Hadith with accepted scholarly standards of integrity. Important figures including ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr. The paper appeals to classical biographical dictionaries and academic publications in showing the existence and presence of women in the formal learning institutions, transmission licenses ((ijāzahs) they issued and how they continued to have their impacts in key cities of Islam. Although visibility of female Hadith scholars greatly reduced following the 15 th century with changes in social and political tides and colonial influence, current revivals opened the doors to renewed academic and communal awareness and intellectual interest in female Hadith scholars. The paper promotes the idea of reinstatement of these contributions in the study of Islamic education and scholarship, honorable legacy of women always present and respected in the Islamic intellectual community as central and reliable relayers.