“Islam has laid great emphasis on pursuit and quest for knowledge and in this regard it has made no difference between a man and a woman. Hence Muslim women have shown great interest in the field of knowledge and education and have made significant contributions. Particularly in the field of Ilme-Hadith, women’s contribution has been extraordinary and highly palpable. All the Muhadditheen (Scholars of Hadith) in Islamic history were taught by a large number of women teachers. Women used to conduct study circles in Masjid-e-Haram (Makkah), Masjid-e-Nabawi (Madina), Masjid al-Aqsa (Palestine), Masjid-e-Umayya (Damascus), etc, and men and women used to assemble in large numbers to gain knowledge.”
The above thought was expressed by Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadvi, Research Fellow, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford, while delivering an Extension Lecture organised by Dr. Zakir Husain Institute of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, on September 3.
Dr. Nadvi said in the early ages of Islam women enjoyed a respectable position in the society and were seen with reverence. They were at the forefront in all the spheres of life and in the field of education they not only were considered equal to men, but were a degree ahead of them. However, the later ages of Islam did not notice that enthusiasm and activity which was present in the early ages. The reason for this decline was that in the eyes of philosophers, status of women is lower as compared to that of men. Hence, in those ages when Muslims began discussing philosophy and Ilm-e-Kalam, women naturally got pushed to the edge.
Dr. Nadvi, after completing his studies in Islamic Sciences (degrees of Almiyat and Fazilat) from the renowned seminary Darul Uloom Nadwa, moved towards Oxford on persuasion of Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi. He is currently a research fellow at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. From the past 22 years he has been working on Ahadith. Recently he has completed one of his projects entitled “Muslim Women in Dissemination of Ilme-Hadith.”
Introducing his project, he said that during his stay at Britain he got bombarded with the claims that Islam, largely, has kept women at bay from the quest and pursuit of knowledge. So he thought that, in order to counter the claim of the west, he will collect the data of women who had done some remarkable works in the field of education.
When he started reading books and other texts, he got a pleasant surprise that, in actual, there are huge numbers of women who were inclined to Ilme-Hadith and had done exceptional works related to it. Initially he thought that at the most he would get around 20-30 such women and all of them could easily be contained in a single volume, however slowly and gradually he got the account of more than 8,500 women who did superior work in teaching ahadith, Riwayaat, cross-checking of hadith and compilation, the account of which got incorporated in a whopping 53 volumes. Dr. Nadvi’s remarkable work is in Arabic and is yet to be published. As an introduction and summary to his work, a book in English, running through 400 pages, has been compiled. The book has been published from UK and it is being received with appreciation in the educational circles in Europe.
Dr. Mohammad Razi-ul-Islam Nadvi, Secretary Tasneefi Academy, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Deputy Editor of Urdu quarterly Tehqeeqat-e-Islami, presided over the programme. While praising the hard work of Dr. Akram Nadvi, he said the project is worthy and deserves respect and reverence. “People allege that Islam has kept women at bay from seeking knowledge and the occidentals have created a virulent propaganda regarding it. Dr. Nadvi, while sitting in Europe, has given a fitting reply to them,” Dr. Razi-ul-Islam said. For his exceptional services to Islam, Dr. Razi-ul-Islam gave Dr. Nadvi the title of “Ambassador of Islam” in Europe.
At the beginning of the programme, Dr. Akhtarul Wasey, Director, Zakir Husain Institute of Islamic Studies, gave a brief introduction of the speaker. He said that even after living in the west for quite a long time, Dr. Nadvi has maintained his eastern mindset and has presented an precept that can be followed by research scholars and students of Islam.
The extension lecture was followed by a question and answer session, wherein students and research scholars from the Department of Islamic Studies participated. The issue of rights of women in Islam also came under discussion and the speaker gave all the answers in a convincing and comprehensive way. Professor Wasey added that the present extension lecture was one of the best lectures ever organised by the institute since 1999.