All of our relationships are set up as a triangle, us, them and Allah. When we enact an injustice on someone, we are also enacting that upon Allah and this is something we should remember as a guide in our relationships.
As Muslim women we have opted into a setup with a relationship with Allah, this comes first. We identify as a believer and have a direct link with Allah, without a human being. Allah tells us he is closer to us than our jugular veins.
"Our goal in life is to become best friends with Allah. As a servant of Allah I can aim to have Allah as my best friend"
In relationships think "Am I behaving justly? Am I behaving in a way that is appropriate and am I behaving true to what Allah wants from me, knowing that Allah is part of this relationship and He can see and hear everything that I'm doing?"
Reminding ourselves that all relationships as a triangle with Allah, it reminds us and lets us know that anytime we as Muslim women or as people face and injustice that is unfair to us, who is better to have on your side than Allah, the creator of the heavens and the earth.
"Allah doesn't hate us because we are women. So many women have internalized this message that's come from unfortunate sources in our communities" ~ @rumaysah_
It is comforting to know that Allah hears my calls, my complaints. He hears us and has also given words to us directly.
Allah doesn't hate us because we are women. So many women have internalized this message that's come from unfortunate sources in our communities.
Her husband said you are to me like my mother - which in the jahiliyyah era was a way to strip agency of women who was nor divorced nor could she approach him
Khawla went to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to tell him and a revelation came down. Allah had personally had listened, divine listening, to her and follows with instruction in surah Al-Mujadila to address the legality of pre-Islamic method of divorce called zihar.
Khawla, knew in her heart that even though this was an established practice, she knew in her heart that Islam could not accept this as it was an unjust practice. This is why she sought to go to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
We owe a lot to Khawla's activism on how she went to get justice for her case. She went to seek justice, she shows how we should aim to seek justice when we see something wrong. Her act was not only seen as acceptable but as the right response as a believer.
We know Khawla bint Tha'labah was quite poor, she had to borrow clothing to visit the Prophet ﷺ as she didn't have anything spare. Her story is a reminder that Allah is listening to each of us and responding to us through the Qu'ran.
We should allow the Qu'ran to speak to us and have an active conversation with the Qu'ran. Try and apply it to your everyday life. We may read something and then speak to Allah about our affairs e.g. "Oh Allah just as you hear Khawla"
Khawlah not only asked a question about the unjust treatment towards but also insisted on getting it unanswered. Allah acknowledges this act by responding with a revelation.
There are many examples of women in the Qu'ran and those around the Prophet ﷺ that we can use as role models. They had diverse characteristics and personalities. They are role models for women and men, not just women.
It is the responsibility of leaders to listen, to validate the feelings Muslim women have and the concerns or complaints should not be dismissed. Just as Allah heard and listened to Khawla.
The Qu'ran is universal and diverse, it has something for everyone. The Qu'ran has something that is specifically for you. Whoever you are, the Qu'ran will have something for you and examples of people who you can relate to.
Umm Salamah had a brilliant skill at asking questions, she had made hijra twice. She wanted to know if the reward for making hijra the same as that of a man. Allah responded with revelation saying I will not let any actions go to waste..
For women of her time, it was more dangerous to travel and more risks to life. She was actually asking if her difficulties will be recognised as she struggled more than a man, she also had a small child who she was breastfeeding.
We can see how this story can relate to gendered Islamophobia and how Muslim women who are visibly Muslim need to be validated in their experiences and the impact of gender in their experience ~ @fatimasflavors
The oft-quoted hadith on more women being in hellfire is often used to villainize women. The first principle to understand is that Allah is a just God and he enables us to access Jannah at an equal rate.
The first thing is to understand there was a certain tribe of non believing women who had bad characteristics and they were talking about them saying there will be women like this in hellfire. He was addressing believing women when saying this
The Prophet (saw) is also talking about his experience of seeing different sections of hellfire. The Hadith is speaking about particular sections for particular sins, not hellfire overall.
If we talk about the section of hellfire for unjust rulers, we can tell from history that there will be more men in this section because there have been more male rulers. The Hadith cannot be used to condemn women to hell.
Women came to Prophet Muhammad (saw) and said along with the sermons and congregations they wanted a special time just for women. And he gave a particular day and time to women, this was his love and understanding.
There was a young woman who started her period, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw this and said perhaps you have started your period, this is what you need to do. With love, mercy and compassion. This is the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Menstruation for many Muslim women intertwines with how we practice three of five of our pillars and to see how Prophet Muhammad (saw) approached this with love and mercy is comforting.
When we try and understand Allah's justice and wisdom we must first start with "Allah is just", so we must question is there justice in what I am hearing or being told by people about my place as a Muslim woman?
The points made about Jannah are meant to motivate good action, similarly with hellfire the points made is to deter us from bad action. There is a lot of leeway and we must go back to the principal of Allah is just.
So first when looking at the Hadith on not having female leaders, we must first ask what does the Quran say about female leadership? In the Quran we hear about Bilqis (Queen of Sheba/Saba)- a just Queen. Allah also talks about a story of a Queen ant.
Bilqis is put forward in the Quran as a just leader who is a wise Queen. There is a Hadith that says a nation will not prosper with a female leader, however, there is no other Hadith on this and Quranic evidence on the contrary with Queen Bilqis.
We cannot take a fiqh ruling from this hadith, also the context of this hadith was when there was an unjust nation in Persia. The king died and there were only daughters, the Hadith was talking about this specific nation and this specific woman.
Also because of the classification of the Hadith with it only being one sahaba who heard it, we could also say he may have misunderstood it. If you stick to how fiqh is derived then this seems to be the conclusion. Allah knows best.
On women travelling. Some of the traditional opinions say to travel with Mahram due to safety. The most moderate opinion, is that it depends on the safety of the area and if you are putting yourself in a dangerous position.
Living alone in general, not just for women, is disliked. The lone wolf is attacked by shaytan. Living alone in general for everyone is not recommended. Try and live with someone that reminds you of Allah.
It is disliked for people to live entirely on their own, not completely Haram, there may be situations that arise that need it e.g a man having to move to get a job. There is a recommendation on not living alone.
Where there is a harm to ones safety, it is your responsibility to remove yourself from that harm, it becomes compulsory on you. The removal from harm is greater than living alone being disliked.
Salaam, that's it from us. Please note these tweets are not word for word from @rumaysah_ or @fatimasflavors so please do not take the tweets as absolute verbatim. We pray Allah keeps our hearts all firmly turned toward Him and reunites us all in Jannah ✨
Lady Zainab Cobbold, a convert, was the first documented British Muslim woman to perform Hajj.
This is a thread about her extraordinary journey to Islam 👇
Born into aristocracy as Lady Evelyn Murray in Edinburgh in 1867, her father frequently took her and her family on trips to Algiers and Cairo where she spent the majority of her childhood.
There, she learned Arabic and visited local mosques with her friends.
It was in Cairo that Lady Evelyn met and married her husband who she had 3 children with.
Lady Evelyn's interest in Islam grew and she changed her name to Zainab in 1915. This impacted her relationship with her husband and later became the reason for their divorce in 1922.
[THREAD] Here are 8 of the best films and documentaries on Hajj 🎬
Grab yourself some popcorn, get together with family and friends and journey to Mecca through your screen in these blessed days of Dhul Hijjah 🕋
1. The Great Journey (Le Grand Voyage)
A Moroccan immigrant in France asks his adolescent son to drive him across seven countries so he can perform Hajj. What they come to understand about one another has implications far greater than the journey itself.
2. From Xi’an to Mecca: The Road to Hajj
In this five-part series of mini documentaries, Al Jazeera follows Muslim pilgrims from around the world as they prepare to undertake Hajj, starting with the Chinese Muslims of Xi’an.
How you can engage with the Qur'an this Ramadan if you can't read or understand Arabic - a short thread 🧵
1. Find a good translation that works for you
Many websites allow you to choose between different Qur'an translations or include the different translations side-by-side. Some good examples include: