Islamic Store

By Aisha Abdurrahman at Tarjumana Bewley

History describes the activities of Muslim women in all areas of life, then it suddenly stops. What happened? How and why have things changed in the last three hundred years to the extent that few women are involved in the Islamic sciences and few men would even consider being taught by a woman? This book gives numerous examples of how women acted in the past, to help us escape the limiting perspectives which have come to be the norm.

“Reading historical sources throughout the centuries of Islamic history, we find lots and lots of women active in all areas of life, and then suddenly it stops. What happened? How and why have things changed in the last three hundred years to the extent that it is unusual to find women involved in Islamic sciences and, unlike in the past, very few Muslim men would even consider being taught by a Muslim woman? This is a phenomenon which requires in-depth research.

It is time to re-examine the sources and re-assess how Muslim women in the past acted so that we can escape the limiting perspectives which have come to be the norm. To this end, we will examine three perspectives: the Scholarly Woman, the Political Woman, and the Spiritual Woman.”

About the author

Aisha Abdurrahman at Tarjumana Bewley is one today’s most prolific translators of classical Arabic work into English. Aisha Bewley not only understands Arabic but she is also aware of the basic meanings and nature of teachings and history of Islam. Her knowledge is born of experience and direct transmission, not merely academic theory and learning by rote. For more than twenty-five years she has been concerned with making the contents of many classical works in Arabic more Accessible to English-speaking readers for the first time, including Ash-Shifa of Qadi “Iyad.

She is co-translator The Noble Qur’an A New Rendering of its Meaning in English. Other works include -Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik , Glossary of Islamic Terms, Islam: The Empowering of Women, Muslim Women A Biographical Dictionary,

“Men and women who are Muslims,
men and women who are muminun,
men and women who are obedient,
men and women who are Truthful,
men and women who are steadfast,
men and women who are humble,
men and women who give sadaqa,
men and women who fast,
men and women who guard their private parts
men and women who remember Allah much
Allah has prepared forgiveness for them and an immense reward.”
(Surah al-Ahzab 35)