Progress of Women in Islamic Society

RIGHTS AND PROGRESS OF WOMEN also a jurist of high calibre and used to explain the wisdom and background of each tradition she described. (Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Women between Islam and Western Society, p 160) According to a Hadith of the Prophet, the Prophet Muhammad praised the women of Madina for their desire for religious knowledge. (James E. Lindsay, ‘Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World,’ Greenwood Pub. Group, 2005, p. 196) We can also see the case of Imam Bukhari, whose alJami’as-Sahih is by far the most authentic source of Hadith learning. He had set off at the young age of 14 to acquire knowledge in distant lands. But his education had started with his mother and sister at home, who gave him a sound educational background. (Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Woman Between Islam and Western Society, p, 155). The Quran advised humanity to pray thus: “Exalted is God, the True King. Do not be impatient with the Quran before its revelation is completed and say, ‘My Lord, increase my knowledge.’” (20:114) According to a saying of the Prophet of Islam, every believer must acquire knowledge. (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 224) A woman can seek employment and work if she wishes to work. No text in the Quran or the Hadith prevents a woman from working outside the house, as long as it is not unlawful, within the preview of the Islamic Shariah,