The Prophet of Islam, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, conveyed all the Islamic rules and regulations on behalf of Allah Almighty for his Ummah and defined the position of each stratum separately according to its dignity. A woman, as an active member of society, has also received attention in the hadiths of the Prophet, peace be upon him. In the previous section of this article, the position of women in the Qur’an was examined; in this section, we want to discuss the position of women in the light of prophetic hadiths and the opinions of scholars and scientists.
The Position of Women in the Light of Prophetic Hadiths
From the very first moment of Islam’s emergence, the position of women was made clear, which significantly impacted the affirmation and support of this religion. Women were able to escape from the confines imposed upon them by false beliefs. Therefore, as long as a woman remains in these confines, she cannot hear the call of Islam; she must break free from this cage, accept the religion of Islam, and respond to it, recognizing that Allah Almighty has made her the religious sister of men.
When we consider the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, along with Islamic history, we find that Hazrat Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, was the first woman to believe in the Prophet, peace be upon him, and support him in his Da’wah to Islam. It was with her assistance that Islam achieved one milestone after another.
The first property that the Holy Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, distributed in Islam, before the Ansar believed in him, was from Hazrat Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her. She was also the first person who comforted the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, from the fear of the revelation that had engulfed his entire being. She treated Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with grace and kindness and offered him her property.
Furthermore, the first martyr of Islam was a woman: Hazrat Sumayyah, may Allah be pleased with her, the mother of Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them), who endured numerous hardships for her faith and experienced all kinds of torment. But these tortures only strengthened her resolve, and she was martyred while remaining steadfast and truthful, with hope for reward and a good ending from Allah Almighty.
Many prominent figures in Islam had their faith strengthened and perfected by women, including Sayyid al-Shuhada, Hazrat Hamzah, son of Abdul Muttalib, who was guided to faith by the wife of his slave Abdullah bin Jada’an, and Hazrat Umar bin Khattab, the second caliph, who converted to Islam through his sister, Fatimah, despite his initial resistance to the religion.
