Muslim Woman's Participation in Social Life

Women's Emancipation during the Prophet's Lifetime #2

by Abd Al-Halim Abu Shuqqah, Adil Salahi (Translator)

The emancipation of women cannot be complete unless it is coupled with the emancipation of men. This can only be accomplished by drawing our social values from the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

In volume 2, the author shows that mixed social life was the pattern in the early Muslim society established by the Prophet.

This eight-volume series is the author’s abridged version of his longer work with the same Arabic title, Tahrir al-Mar’ah fi ‘Asr al-Risalah spanning a twenty-five year study comprising fourteen great anthologies of ahadith, but in this book he only rarely includes hadiths from any anthology other than the two most authentic ones of al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Genres: Islam, Womens

175 pages, Paperback

Published August 7, 2021

Reviews

[Zainab Bint Younus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is officially my new favourite book & my go-to recommendation for Muslim women's issues!

I first heard about the original Arabic book (Tahreer al-Mar'a fee 'Asr ar-Risaalah) from Sh Rumaysa & Sh @safiyaravat90, both of whom urged me to read it. I was overjoyed when @kubepublishing announced that they were publishing an English translation by Adil Salahi, dividing the full work into several volumes.

While I'd preordered volume 1 & 2 from Amazon ages ago, I still haven't received Vol 1, but this is Vol 2: "Muslim Woman’s Participation in Social Life."

The author - a contemporary scholar of hadith (d. 1995) - discusses the importance & indeed the necessity of Muslim women engaging in the public sphere, drawing upon the Sunnah & authentic ahadith about the Companions of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) & their practices.

I deeply appreciated his emphasis on Islamic principles of modesty & appropriate conduct while underscoring the importance of women's participation in wider society.

He refutes many commonly perpetuated ideas (that it's haraam for women to work outside the home, that men & women shouldn't be talking to each other at all, etc), & highlights the holistic, healthy Islamic society that existed at the time of RasulAllah & the Sahabah.

It was incredibly refreshing to see him point out the nonsensical stances that have been made to appear "religious" while having no reflection in the practices of our beloved Messenger.

I did take off a partial point simply bc I disagreed with his laxity on the issue of non-Mahrams shaking hands; there's a lot to be said on the topic, but my take is that we should be firm upon avoiding it & not making excuses. (Really not that hard tbh)

4.8/5 🌟!!!!!!!

[Haneen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative but the lack of clear citations (I.e specifying which collection each Hadith came from, rather then just the author) took from credibility of author. Was also very repetitive and essentially reiterated same few points using same hadiths from start of book to end. I think it’s Worthwhile to focus on the authentic hadiths in themselves rather then explore the inconclusive opinions of a few select scholars

[Aiza Idris (biblio_mom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody who thinks muslim womens are oppressed, have no social lives and are totally forbidden to engage with mens should read this including muslims themselves.

Most of us might agreed that taking care of the family home is the first and most important responsibility of the woman, BUT, every household needs mutual care and coorperation, and have their respective tasks in taking care of the home and family. When a home established that, women will get more time in experiencing social lives outside the home to achieve many things, be valuable and beneficial to her family, economics, the people, which reminds me of Malala who fights the rights for girls and women's educations.

Structured. Every chapter have summaries for better conclusions by readers. This book is a very enlightening read to better understand why women should not be restricted to socialised as long as they are doing it with reasons and following certain rules like to dress modestly, not being in a private room alone with a man, etc.

My Notes :
- Acknowledging woman's values, the importance of their involvement in many outsite activities that needs them to be with men
- Attending to their needs of education medical rights political, go to the mosque to pray or i'tikaf
but still have islamic values
- Have to maintain propiety. not one to one meeting in a secluded place
- Woman wear islamic standards of decency clothes as mentioned in several surah in quran
- be adequate in everything you do
- this book values women's rights to the mosque (pg98)
- talking about segregation (pg119)
- more rigid restrictions that do not allow interaction between men and women are often imposed by social tradition rather than Islamic legislation

[جبرئیل · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rollercoaster ride this was.

There are points which make you question the book. The author seems a bit biased. But I can’t criticise completely before I complete the whole series of 8 books. As the original book is of 1600 pages, and its translation is abridged and converted into an 8 booklets series.

The kind of mixing that author presumes and builds on, is extremely extreme. Which you cant even assume as something to be discussed as a problem.

Ah… it left me concerned and confused on some aspects.

Plus, i am also unable to find any critique of this book from experts. So its a dangerous ride, be cautious!

[Sultana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soo im currently reading a part about physical contact between a woman and a man..

And the author says on page 50 and 52 "that because in the present society where shaking hands between woman and man is frequent, we May need to be a little flexible particularly if this means avoiding causing embarrasment. Because there is no clear statement prohibiting such contact"

Im soo confused as to why he would say that. Because everyone in this world (muslim and non muslims) know that we as muslim woman/man do not touch a non mahram.

And there are hadith about this subject.

[Rayfienta Gumay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book offers explanation through examples from the life of the Prophet that highlight women’s emancipation during that time. It shows how Islam encouraged women to take active roles as part of society, as demonstrated by the sahabiyah (female companions).

While the premise is interesting, I find that some parts of the book insist on permitting practices that are generally considered prohibited in Islam, such as handshakes and free mixing between men and women, as well as the use of musical instruments and singing in certain events.

Often, the book presents arguments that only support the author’s stance, without providing clear evidence regarding the textual proofs for prohibitions. Although it cites many hadiths, it does not specify the numbering, authenticity, and only provide limited scholarly explanations related to those hadiths, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the boundaries in each type of interaction.

I also find it regrettable that the book does not include any Arabic script for Qur’anic verses or hadiths, leaving readers to rely solely on translations.

I would not recommend this book to general readers who are not yet familiar with the foundational evidences concerning Islamic rulings on women.