Women in Islam: What the Qur'an and Sunnah Say

by Abdur Raheem Kidwai

Women in Islam is an attractive book of simple compilation of quotations from the Qur’an and Hadith collections that refer to or address women specifically. It engages the reader in a moment of reflection on the Islamic view of her existence as a creation of Allah, her role as a positive stakeholder in building a God-conscious society and her capacity for attaining proximity with Allah.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2020

About the author

Abdur Raheem Kidwai (b. 1956) is Professor of English at the Aligarh Muslim University, India and Visiting Fellow, School of English, University of Leicester, UK. He earned his two PhDs in English from the Aligarh Muslim University and the University of Leicester.

Reviews

[Zainab Bint Younus · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Women in Islam: What the Qur’an and Sunnah Say" by Abdur Raheem Kidwai and published by @kubepublishing is... yet another disappointment tbh.

The premise is to list ayaat of the Qur'an and ahadith that refer to/ are relevant to women. It begins with the ayaat, and a VERY brief commentary by the author (as in, 2 sentences on average). The ahadith have no commentary.

Honestly, the translations of the ayaat themselves were often odd, and the author's commentary was surface level and shallow at best, and straight up wrong at others (claiming that the "eternal youths" of Jannah are the male equivalent of the Hoor al-Ayn).

When it came to the ahadith section, names of several female Companions were butchered ("Zainab bint Hajash" instead of Zainab bint Jahsh!), and one hadith (about the Sahabaiyyah who was raped on her way to the masjid) had very important details omitted entirely.

Many of the ahadith require explanations - brief but thorough - in order to properly understand them; with none provided, I can see many women being left very confused.

There was also a very brief section on women mentioned in the Qur’an, and female narrators of hadith (this section literally just copy/pasted bits of Sh Akram's book Al-Muhaddithaat).

This book's premise had a lot of potential and delivered on none of it. Abysmal quality.

Frankly, this felt like a hack job with zero quality control. Here's a thought: hire some actual editors, and maybe get a woman to write on this topic instead. It's 2022. Do better. Your readers have higher standards.

[sahra (readwithsahra_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was an amazing book to be conscious of the place and role women have in Islam

in this book you’ll find a part about:
- every mention of women in the Quran
- Hadith referring to women
- in dept explanation with based on honorable women of Islam
- believing women mentioned in the Quran
- unbeliving women mentioned in the Quran

this book was really informative and help you understand and reflect on the place of women in Islam

a must read for everyone!

[m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice and easy ramadan read <3 i’ll always take an opportunity to read islamic literature, especially when it’s highlighting the role and importance of women within this faith. 5/5 if not more

[Aisha Oredola · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided into three sections:
- Quranic verses and hadith addressing women
- Women specifically mentioned in the Quran
- Women as Hadith narrators and teachers

✨ In the pre-Islamic era, men used to look down on women right from birth, so much that they buried their girl daughters alive out of shame for having a girl in society. When Islam came, a lot of misconceptions were straightened out. The punishment in life and the hereafter for such acts like these that scream misogyny are brutal. Women are to be honored and respected.

✨Overall the book is designed in such a way that the Quran verses, commentary and hadith are not overwhelming to read. Matters of identity as a woman, marriage, motherhood, divorce, knowledge, war, martyrdom, trade/commerce, advice/counsel, inheritance, finance, worship, legislations and politics are addressed centering women, sighting examples of women who were not docile/quiet to a fault, who spoke and complained when necessary that their voices were heard by God and this influenced certain revelations in chapters or verses of the Quran. This strongly shows the significance of women in the sight of God.

✨The rights of women were reiterated in Quran verses and hadiths, warning men to be conscious of not denying women these rights. There are rewards stated for appreciating women; mother/wife/sister/daughter for their existence. The consequences of not fulfilling these rights are ugly as we have those who trample upon these rights. The Quran states that women and men are the same in the sight of God as the book referenced.

✨Asides from believing women in the Quran, the book mentions disbelieving women who started chaos, or fanned its flames, like potiphar’s wife and Abu Lahab’s wife. The wives of Lot and Moses too; how their husband’s prophecy didn’t save them from straying.

📚It’s a simple lovely book and I recommend it. It was written for Muslim women to know their worth and chase their goals for this deen and dunya fearlessly. Also a good Ramadan book buddy

[Sahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺 is a short yet powerful book highlighting the the virtue and honour of women. The preface pertinently references the befogging of the Islamic stance on women in recent times and how 𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵, 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀.

Kidwai notes: “𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯; 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ‘𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦’ 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴.”

This dispels popular notions of gender parity being only afforded to women when they seek affinity with men, a stance that inadvertently elevates men to a rank that they were not even prescribed by God. The majority of this book consists of 𝗤𝘂𝗿’𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘆𝗮̄𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 specifically relaying how the ayah addresses women and/or reinforces gender parity.

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗿’𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗻?
A group of women conveyed to the Prophet ﷺ that they thought the Qur’an exclusively addresses men and not women specifically. Allah ﷻ directly addressed these women by revealing the verse that promises equal reward for both men & women: “𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 (𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀) 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴: ‘𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲. 𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.’ (3:195) 🌹

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻/𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺 and how, with the rise of certain movements, one can remain firm in their beliefs on gender/equality and internalise the fact that 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Inti Alkhatib · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly worth a read and debunks theories that paint Islam as an oppressive regime against women. This book offers us all instances where the Quran and Sunnah mentions women, and when placed into historical context, narratives and quotes from this book reveals how the practice of Islam greatly empowered women instead. From restoring their right to financial freedom/property/inheretence, to their equality under god in terms of reward and punishment. It also provides harsh punishment for crimes committed against women that may otherwise perpetuate without justice, and a legal system that requires 4 witnesses and where a wife and a husband’s testimony weighs equally. Although some of the values brought forth in this book may be controversial to the women’s rights movement today, it’s important to place the book under its unique historical context culture instead of looking judgementally and critically at it through a western lens.


This book and it’s primary source quotes within also disprove many historical regimes such as Ayotallah Khomeini of Iran who narrate and perceive themselves as enforcing “strict scripture” interpretations. Many of their policies directly go against teachings promoted in this book in terms of the practice of marriage/divorce/custody/property that was originally implemented with the intent of protecting women.

[Najia Al Umri (najiainwonderland) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light to read, the tafsir is not deep at all but quite essential ( I hope the explanation is longer ). The book gives me sparks to find out more about the extraordinary women of Islam like Khadijah, Aishah, Queen of Sheeba ??? This one I'm so curious and many more 💙💙💙

[Raihanah Madihah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of information about women in Islam. Recommended who studies about women

[Faiz Azizan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished reading this within a day. Such a good book with commentary on the ayahs from the Quran. Just wished that the name of the Prophets used are in arabic instead of being aglicized

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review coming soon inshaAllah

[Emelie Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book. It's an easy read and very informative

[Sincerely, Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read it fully — beautifully explained but it was just minimal, most information I knew

[Zarnae Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but a biased perception was felt throughout the text.
Especially a misinterpretation by the author of Allah SWT sending down His "Spirit" to Hazrat Mariam RA. (Mary).

It is agreed upon that, it might have been the angel Gabriel, "Jibareel" who visited Hazrat Mariam as a man, bringing news of a son.

It was not, Allah himself as suggested by the author as being one of Hazrat Mariam's blessings and honours.

[Shaima Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a warm hug, showing how much Islam values women and their roles in life. It's all about the Quran and stories of Prophet Muhammad, teaching us how women are respected and how they can make a big difference in the world. Reading it feels like chatting with a wise friend who reminds you of your worth and encourages you to shine in whatever you do. It's a feel-good read that leaves you feeling empowered and appreciated.