Biography, - Faatimah bint Muhammad ibn Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy upon her

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We are now going to meet one of the greatest Faqeehah )woman-scholar of Islamic Jurisprudence( of her time. She was renowned for her grounded knowledge of Hanafi Jurisprudence and was no other than the daughter of the great scholar and jurist, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abu Ahmad ‘Alaa’ Ad-Deen Al-Samarqandi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, whose bookTuhfat Al-Fuqahaa’is well-known by the scholars and students of knowledge. Not only did she learnFiqhfrom her father, but she memorized his bookTuhfat A- Fuqahaa’.
Being a jurist in itself is no small matter; one needs to be well-acquainted with the Quranic verses, ahaadeeh of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the principles of theMathabthey wish to base their ruling on. Further they need to have knowledge of the circumstances and needs of the contemporary world. Her knowledge, may Allaah have mercy upon her, was such that it exceeded her husbands, who would consult her for her opinions, especially when lie erred in passing aFatwa. Her name was Faatimah bint Muhammad ibn Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy upon her, and her father had married her to ‘Alaa’ Ad-Deen Abu Bakr ibn Mas‘ood Al-Kasaani, may Allaah have mercy upon him, who was highly distinguished in the fields ofAl-Usool and Al-furoo‘and who was as"The king of scholars".He wrote a commentary onTuhfat Al-fuqahaa’entitledBadaa‘i Al-Sanaa‘i, and showed it to his Shaykh )the father of Faatimah(, who was delighted with it and accepted it as a dowry for his daughter, although he had refused offers of marriage for her from some of the kings of Byzantium. The juristsof his time said,“He commentated on his )teacher's( Tuhfah and married his daughter.”
Before her marriage,Faatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her, used to issueFataawa)religious edicts and verdicts( along with her father, and theFataawawould be written in her handwriting and that of her father. After she married the author ofAl-Badaa‘i, theFataawawould appear in her handwriting and that of her father and her husband. Her husband, may Allaah have mercy upon him, would make mistakes, and she would correct them. Ibn Al-'Adeem, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,‘My father narrated that she used to quote the Hanafi Mathab )school of jurisprudence( very well. Her husband Al-Kasaanee sometimes had some doubts and erred in the ]issuing of a[ Fatwa; then she would tell him the correct opinion and explain the reason for ]his[ mistake … Her husband used to honor her and highly respect her’
She, may Allaah have mercy upon her, authored many books from which scholars benefited, and she used to have a study circle. She lived during the era of the just rulerNoorud-Deen Ash-Shaheed, may Allaah have mercy upon him, who would consult her about different issues and he used to generously gift her.
Surprised? But as we will come to see, there were many like Faatimah bint Muhammad, may Allaah have mercy upon her, who would follow her footsteps in the coming centuries.







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Biography, - Umm As-Sa‘d … the loyalty of the pupils

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The Loyalty of the Pupils
Regarding her pupils and their relationship with her, she remarked:"I remember each one of them: some I certified in one way of recitation, and others – and they are few and far between – I have conferred licenses in all ten styles. All of these accreditations are stamped with my own seal that I always keep with me and hand it to no one, no matter how much I trust him ]or her[."She added:"Some of them are busy and no longer come to me. But, most of them either call or pay me a visit and inquire about my affairs from time to time."
She would proudly recall from among them some now-famous memorizers and reciters of the Quran and preachers. One of them even won second place in the international competition annually held in Saudi Arabia, for those who have committed the Holy Quran to memory. The most famous of her students is the physician, Ahmad Nu‘aina‘, who had recited the Quran in front of her and been accredited by her. Additionally, there are countless recitation specialist and teachers in the Alexandria Institute for Quran Recitations, who, when granting recitation licenses, have the honor of her name in the chain ]of reciters[ that goes back generations directly culminating with the Messenger of Allaah,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
The Wives are Jealous of the Sheikhah!
Perhaps one of the funniest anecdotes related by Umm As-Sa‘d was how the wives of some of her students felt jealous of her, fearing she would take their husbands from them, particularly because they would talk about her ]at length and[ with much pride. This caused many of the men to bring their wives along to the lessons, to assure them their fear was baseless, for she was a blind old lady.
She recounted:"Some men were initially hesitant in coming to recite the Quran to me, and others stayed away, because I am a woman. However, Sheikh Muhammad Ismaa‘eel, one of the most renowned preachers in Alexandria, released an edict permitting this, when he came to know of my age. He even sent members of his family to me to learn to recite the Quran."
The Day of Khatmah - Ceremony of Celebration and Gifts
The happiest days of Umm As-Sa‘d were those ofKhatmah)completion of recitation of the Quran(, when she would issue a license to a student of hers. Although she had lived that day over three hundred times, as a keepsake, she would retain a photocopy of each certification she had conferred. The last, ]we saw[, was awarded to a woman who was licensed in reciting according to the style of Qaaloon on the authority of Naafi‘.
On the day of theKhatmah, a banquet, or ]sometimes[ a tea party would be held, in which the licensee would present a gift to Umm As-Sa’d; sometimes, it was a garment, a ring or gold jewelry, according to each one’s financial ability. But, to her, the most beautiful present was an all-expenses-paid trip forHajjand ‘Umrah)major and minor pilgrimage(, and yearlong accommodation in Makkah, gifted to her by some of her pupils.
The best reward for her during this journey was that she“reviewed her memorization of the Holy Quran, and gave out licenses in different ways of recitation to tens of Quran students from almost all Islamic states, like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Chad and Afghanistan. ]..[ Yet, the dearest accreditation for ]her[ had been the one ]she[ awarded a Saudi female student of no more than seventeen years of age."
The Surprise: I got married, may my Sheikhah forgive me!!
You may be taken aback if you had asked her about the closest of her pupils to her, for her answer was: her husband Sheikh Muhammad Fareed Nu‘maan, who was, before he passed away five years ago, the most famous reciter of the Quran on the Rradio of Alexandria. He was the first to be granted a license from Umm As-Sa‘d.
Regarding the story of her marriage, she said:"I failed to fulfill my promise to my teacher, Sheikhah Nafeesah, to not marry. ]My husband[ recited the Quran to me in different styles; ]..[ I felt comfortable with him; he was blind like me and memorized the entire Holy Quran at an early age. I continued to teach him for five years, and when he concluded ]learning[ all ten modes of recitation and was licensed in them, he asked for my hand in marriage and I accepted."
Their marriage lasted for forty years during which she had no children. She commented on that once, saying:"Praise be to Allaah; I feel that He always chooses the best for me. Perhaps if I had had children, they would have distracted me from the Quran and possibly even made me forget it."
Undoubtedly, theSheikhahwas like a stream that gave of itself and incessantly flowed with the Quran and other virtues.
Death
Umm As-Sa‘d, may Allaah have mercy upon her, died at dawn on the sixteenth day of Ramadan, 1427 A.H., corresponding to 9/10/2006, at the age of eighty-one. Her funeral procession was from the Mosque of Ibn Khaldoon, in the Bahari area of Alexandria.







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Biography, - Maryam bint Jahsh

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Muslim women excelled, not onlyFiqh,HadeethandTafseerbut also in other Islamic sciences. One such example is of Maryam bint Jahsh, may Allaah have mercy upon her, who lived in the 4thCentury; she was an expert of the language in which Allaah chose to reveal the Quran )i.e. Arabic(.
She was married to the great Yemeni scholar Jamaal Ad-Deen ‘Ali ibn ‘Abu Al-Fawaaris Al-Hamdaani, may Allaah have mercy upon him. Not only was it due to her knowledge of the Arabic language, but also the acuteness of her mind, that Maryam bint Jahsh, may Allaah have mercy upon her, was able to subtly resolve a difficult point for her husband.
Her husband had been engaged in debate with some adherents of a sect calledMurji’ah. Their heresy was such that they believed that as long as one had faith in their heart, regardless of what they commit with the limbs, faith by itself will secure their salvation. Her husband, ‘Ali, may Allaah have mercy upon him, quoted the end of verse 40 of ChapterAl-A‘araaf:‘‘…. Indeed those who belie our signs )aayaat( and disdain them — for them the gates of the heaven will not be opened, nor will they enter the Garden, until the camel passes through the eye of the needle.’’]Quran 7:40[
TheMurji’iwho was debating said: “This is easy for Allaah, with His Power, if He Wills, He passes the camel through the eye of the needle.’ When ‘Ali, may Allaah have mercy upon him, returned home his mind was still preoccupied and at he could not sleep during the night. His wife, Maryam, may Allaah have mercy upon her, asked him what was wrong; after he, may Allaah have mercy upon him, explained to her what the matter was she said on sentence that gave ‘Ali, may Allaah have mercy upon him, not only a good nights sleep, but a very good nights sleep. She, may Allaah have mercy upon her, said,‘In the verse of the Quran the camel is the subject ]of the verb[, not the object.’







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