Muslim Women: Past and Present

Recommend a Muslim Woman

Throughout the ages, from the earliest days of Islam to contemporary times today, Muslim women have been and continue to be active leaders in their communities and countries across the world. This directory is a growing archive of leading Muslim women scholars, activists, writers, politicians, artists, religious and spiritual leaders, civil society leaders and more. Please contribute to this archive by suggesting Muslim women to be featured through our recommendation form.

  • By Category
  • By Name
  • By Century
  • By Country
  • Search


Shahdah “the Writer”

Known For: Calligrapher and one of the most distinguished Islamic scholars (ulema)
Dates: Hijri Unknown- 574 (AH)
Common Era Unkown-1178 (CE)
Country: Iraq

About

Shahdah ”the Writer” was a great authority on hadith and an exquisite calligrapher. She was also known as Fakhr an-Nisa, or ”Pride of Womankind,” and Shuhda bint al-Ibari bint Abi Nasr Ahmad al-Ibari and lived for a time in Al Andalus or Muslim Spain.

Shahdah was educated by her father, Abu Nasr, and several prominent hadith scholars. She married ‘Ali ibn Muhammad, who later became a companion of the caliph Al-Muqtadi and who founded a college and a Sufi lodge. Shahdah became extremely well-known in her own right, due to the high quality of her hadith transmissions and her strong scholarship. Throughout universities and mosques in Baghdad, she lectured on Sahih al-Bukhari, which she also taught, as well as other hadith collections.

Shahdah’s role has significant importance, because women were not given official positions in the mosque at that time. However, she maintained an authoritative voice and her teachings of the hadith were widespread.

Sources

Mohammad Shabbir Khan,  Status of women in Islam (LOCATION:APH Publishing, 1996), 105.

Jennifer Heath,The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam(Mahwah: HiddenSpring, 2004). 

RSS Bookmark and Share
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women alphabetically by their first names. Many Muslim names have alternative spellings once rendered into English so if you cannot find the name you are looking for, please try the general search tab where you can enter keywords of your choice.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women chronologically by the Common Era century. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women by their Country. We are actively building the archive of Muslim women leaders from the past, as well as from today, and we would welcome your recommendations of women to feature. Please complete our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.
This search feature will enable you to find Muslim women leaders by entering the keyword(s) of your choice. If you cannot find a particular woman that you are looking for, please let us know by completing our “Recommend Muslim Women” form and check the site again in the near future as we actively expand this section of the portal with your suggestions.