SPIRIT OF ISLAM MARCH 2O18

7 Spirit of Islam Issue 63 March 2018 So women are not required just to stay at home and confine themselves to household tasks. They can also seek work outside their homes, as long as there is no harm to their modesty and they do not compromise on their values. WOMEN AND EDUCATION A study of the life of the Prophet tells us that education is just as essential for women as it is for men. From the Islamic point of view, the goal of education is to create awareness in the individual. There is a famous saying of the Prophet that the acquisition of knowledge is the duty of all Muslims. And scholars who have studied the teachings and life of the Prophet have inferred that the acquisition of knowledge is also the duty of every Muslim woman. In the biographies of the narrators of Hadith (sayings and deeds of Prophet of Islam) literature, mention is made of the academic services of women, which shows that during the first era of Islam, there was a strong tendency among women to acquire knowledge. Imam Bukhari who compiled the Hadith book Al-Jami as-Sahih , which is considered as the most authentic source of Hadith , was initially educated at home by his mother and sister. There are some reports that tell us that the Prophet’s conversations with his wife Aisha were aimed at educating her. Aisha reported that the Prophet would often get up in the middle of the night and then converse with her on various topics. This informal education was an important part of their life together. These interactions and discourses made her the most distinguished personality in matters of religious knowledge. The Prophet also took her with him during many travels which gave her more knowledge in his company. She survived the Prophet for a full 50 years, and throughout this period, she remained a valuable source of Islamic knowledge. Her house served as a school of religious learning. Women are just as entitled to seek education as men. However, this does not necessarily mean that an educated woman should be rebellious and headstrong, challenging the authority of whomsoever she likes. Education in the real sense makes a person see reason, and gives an insight into all aspects of life. According to the Quran there is no difference between a man and woman. They share a common fate, and are subject to the same existential conditions with the same potential and the same purpose of being.