Women and the Advent of Islam Author(s): Leila Ahmed Source: Signs, Vol. 11, No.

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WOMEN AND THE ADVENT OF ISLAM

LEILA AHMED

'Aisharather thanKhadijashouldbe countedthefirst womanof Probably widowwho employedMohamadto oversee Islam. Khadija, the wealthy her caravan (tradingbetween Mecca and Syria) and proposed to and and he twenty-five, him when she was forty was alreadyin her married when Mohamad receivedhis first fifties revelation and began to preach Islam. 'Aisha, on the otherhand, was born to Muslimparentsand beto Mohamadwhenshe was a childand he in his fifties trothed and already career.Khadijarightly launchedon his prophetic occupiesa place offirst in the story ofIslam itself because ofher importance to Moimportance hamad'slife:itwas herwealththat freed himfrom theneed toearna living and enabled himto lead the lifeofcontemplation thatwas thepreludeto his prophethood;and her supportand confidence were crucial in his to preach Islam. venturing To place Khadija at the beginning of the story of women in Islamwhereshe is regularly She was after all placed-is, however,misleading. formostofher lifea Jahilia woman,shaped byJahilia (pre-Islamic) ways, and her lifeand outlookexemplified Jahilia-notIslamic-attitudesand
Whereverpossible I have used editionsthatgive an Englishtranslation as well as the Arabictext.
[Signs: Journalof Womenin Cultureand Society1986, vol. 11, no. 4] ? 1986 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.0097-9740/86/1104-0001$01.00

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Ahmed / ISLAM

ofherownmarriage, herinitiating hereconomicindependence, practices: to a male and noteven needing,apparently, guardian act as intermediary toa manmany her younger years marriage (as was tobe requiredbyIslam), with him in a monogamous than herself,and her remaining marriage her death),all mustreflect (Mohamadhad no otherwifetillafter Jahilia, not are distinctly not Islamic,practice.Conspicuously, too, suchfeatures he became the established after typicaleitherof Mohamad'smarriages prophetand leader of Islam, nor of Muslim men's since. It is CAisha, at aboutten, whenshe was six,married to theprophet surely-betrothed when the Koranicverseson veilingand seclusionwere and, soon after, Arab woman to revealed, to become along with her co-wivesthe first observethe new Islamiccustomsofveilingand seclusion-it is she who, woman of Islam. Destined to properly,should hold the place of first remainvalid to thisday on whose pronouncements become an authority ofMuslimlaw,it consulted eveninmatters ofMuslims, conduct theproper atleastbearstheunmistakable is herlifeand notKhadija'swhichin outline livesand, betweentheir The difference ofthenewIslamicoutlook. imprint and autonomy in the degree ofcontrol the differences in particular, they exercised with respect to marriageencapsulate and foreshadowthe forwomenin Arabia. changesthatIslam would effect in its of Islam was momentous thatthe establishment It is axiomatic thegeneralsubjectofwomenin women,and yetthough consequencesfor to difficult it is stillexceedingly Islam has generateda vast literature, discoverwhatin factIslam's impactwas forwomen,despitethe factthat ofthe subjectofwomen to anydiscussion central theissue is ideologically the subjectbeing so as well as historical. in Islam, contemporary Partly, of assertion charged,it has tended to generatea literature ideologically and New Muslimcirclesdeclare thanevidence. Muslimapologists rather that Islam accords women a statusunsurpassedin other culturesand thecondition in itsowndayitimproved and thatunquestionably religions, of women. They declare that it banned the Jahiliapracticeof female toinherit and, property, right infanticide, gavewomentheunprecedented men up to four rampant polygwives,curbeda previously in permitting on Westernworks in well-meaning reiterated amy. Such claimsare often that"in the prewomen in Islam, a recentone, forinstance,declaring Islamic era there was no question of a woman being an heir"-selfin light ofKhadija'sfinancial fuller a claimmeriting investigation evidently in Women'sinheritance, indeed,mayhavebeen a custom independance.1 like Mecca, and there are other instancesof Meccan women trading, Khadija, in theirown right.2
1Wiebke Walther,Womanin Islam (London: George Prior,1981), 33. forinstance,Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat, ed. E. Sachau, in Asma' bint Mukharibah, Watt, vols. 9 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1904), 8:220. See also W. Montgomery Biographien, ClarendonPress, 1956), 290. Mohamad at Medina (Oxford:
2

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The genuine difficulty of construing, at this distance,what exactly occurredin thatsociety, and controverparticularly giventheperplexing sial nature of the available evidence, is also perhaps a reason forthe On the basis of that subject's neglect despite its obvious importance. evidence, forexample(to give some idea ofbothhow complexand how controversial its potential one earlyscholarconcludedthat implications), and thatIslam therefore had pre-Islamicsocietyhad been matriarchal to institute a patriarchal In more recent order.3 displaced a matriarchy timesa leadingWesternIslamicist has put forward a modified versionof thistheory: theevidencefor thepre-Islamic of gathering together practice uxorilocal and ofthepractice, in someparts ofArabia, ofpolyanmarriage, notthatpre-Islamic Arabia was matriarchal butthat itwas dry,he suggests a predominantly matrilineal in.which was oflittleor no society, paternity and that thesociety was intheprocessofchanging, aroundthe importance, timeofMohamad'sbirth a matrilineal to a patrilineal (ca. 570. C.E.), from Islamwas toconsolidate. The changefrom society-a changethat matriliny to patriliny was occurring, itis speculated, because ofMecca's commercial overthefifth/sixth centuries and theprogressive growth sedenterization of its previouslynomadic dominanttribe, the Quraysh.This led to the breakdownof tribalvalues and, in particular, of the tribalnotion of as communal, now displaced,as dominant property traders accumulated wealth,by the rise of individual Men now wished to pass on property. to theiroffspring, whichgave new importance to paternity property and led eventually to the completedisplacement of matriliny by patriliny.4 Today the evidence cannotbe regardedas lendingsupportto the of a matrilineal once havingprevailedthroughout Arabia. theory system However, the factthat the sexual/marital of arrangements pre-Islamic Arabiawerevery different from thoseofIslamcannot be disputed: indeed, itis wellknown that thearea inwhichIslamintroduced thegreatest reform was thatofmarriage and sexualrelations, a largeproportion-perhaps 80 devoted to percent-of Koranicrulings marital relations being regulating and theconductofwomen.Thatis, theestablishment ofIslamwas marked ofnew sociosexual norms toat leastthesameextent bytheinstitution as by the institution ofa new religion and polity. The changesin male/female relations instituted byIslamthusappearto have occurred a background ofan Arabiain whichbothmatrilineal against and patrilineal and the diverse sociosexualarrangements systems, they
3 W. Robertson Smith,Kinshipand Marriagein EarlyArabia (Cambridge:Cambridge Press, 1885). University 4 Watt,272-73. More recently Chelhod has suggestedthatthe changerepresented, in part, the spread of the matrilineal South Arabiato the nomadic, practicesof a sedentary tribes ofthenorth. patrilineal Chelhod,"Du nouveaua proposdu 'Matriarcat' Joseph Arabe," Arabica 28, fac. 1 (1981): 76-106.

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Ahmed / ISLAM

in this area, as entailed, were in practice.In the changesit instituted indeed inotherareas,Islamappearstohaveconsolidated a trend ofchange in Mecca: a Mecca inwhich,as a alreadyunderwayin Arabia,particularly resultof its commercialexpansion,the entirefabricand institutions of livingof the old nomadicorderwere undergoing change.This in no way in its specificity. preempts,however,Islam's radicalinnovativeness Externalsociocultural influences fromMecca's new openfollowing ofitsexpanding as wellas ness,as a result trade,tothewiderancient world, the internal ofeconomicand socialchangewouldhave playeda pressures moment.Meccan partnow in shapingthe outcomeofthistransformative tradelinkedSyriaand the Byzantine withYemenand empireto thenorth Meccan contactwithand Ethiopia to the south. This meantincreasing and materially moreadvanced,powerful world exposureto the culturally to thenorth, to itspredominating growing exposure religions, Christianity and Judaism, and to itssociosexual (as well as withthoseof arrangements Thus,well beforeMohamad Persia):all at thispointdistinctly patriarchal. of monotheism (itspractitioners began to preach Islam, an Arabianform called hanifs)had appeared. Externalculturalinfluences perhapshad a shift uxorilocal suchas Mohamad's awayfrom practices partin thegrowing Mohamad'smother, AmnabintWahb,havown background exemplified: herclanafter hermarriage to 'Abdullah, whowouldvisit with ingremained hisbirth, 'Abdullahdied before herthere;Mohamad,whosefather passed kinonlyafter Amna'sdeath,whichoccurred on to the care ofhis paternal ofa female a tripto Medinain thecompany herwaybackfrom slave,Umm had been son.5Mohamad'sown grandfather and her six-year-old Ayman, father's his clanand appropriated from his mother's extracted onlywith by difficulty.6 marriagessuch as those that Conceivablyin uxorilocal,matrilineal existedin Arabiaat about the timeofMohamad'sbirthor a littleearlier, women as well as men mighthave more than one spouse. A woman and receivevisits also marry herclanmight with and remaining "marrying" sincethechildren notbeingimportant from othermen(paternity belonged and visita in any case to the maternal "marry" kin),just as men might It is knownat anyratethattherewas no single,fixed numberofwomen.7 of a variety ofIslamandthat at thetimeoftheadvent ofmarriage institution reAl-Bukhari and men. both women were union of practicedby types was offour in the Jahilia of 'Aisha thatmarriage portedon the authority of "the to of these one 'Aisha, people as it marriage according being, types, is today,"while two ofthe othertypesshe describeswere polyandrous.~
Ibn Sa'd, 1,1,73. Watt,375. 7 Ibid., 275. 8 The Translationof the Meaning of Sahih, Arabic and English, trans. Al-Bukhari, MuhammadM. Khan, 9 vols. (Medina: Dar al Fikr, 1981), 7:44. Here and below I have of Khan's rendering. the precisewording thanfollowed the Arabicrather translated
6

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Evidence forMedina indicatesthatmanymen had two and sometimes womenhad twoand sometimes threewivesand also thatas many threeor even fourhusbands.While we do not knowifthe multiplemarriages in thesecases were consecutive orconcurrent, ofdistinctly examples polyanare knownforboth Mecca and Medina.9Also, although drous marriages as wellas polyandry was a custom, thetypeofpolygyny endorsed polygyny a manmarries and maintains a number ofwomenin one byIslam(wherein or moreestablishments) seems to have been an innovation ofMohamad's: thereis no evidenceofitshavingbeen a practicein Medina, and ifthere were instances of it before Mohamad's initiative,it was clearly not Divorce and remarriage widespread.?0 appear to have been commonfor bothmenand women,withwomenas well as menable to initiate divorce. Kitab al Aghani reports:"The women in the Jahilia, or some of them, divorced was that ifthey livedin a tent men,and their[manner of]divorce they turnedit round, so that if the door had faced east it now faced west ... and when the mansaw thishe knewthatshe had divorcedhim and did notgo toher."" Divorcewas notgenerally followed bythe'idda or for women before observance Islamwas "waiting period" remarriage-an to insist on-and although itappearsto havebeen a custom for a womanto a periodafter for herhusband'sdeath,itseems to have go intoretirement been laxlyobserved.12 It was againstthis background of varied marriage customsthatthe lineaments ofIslamicmarriage weregradually defined. The Koran specific was revealedpiecemealin thecourseofMohamad'slife,and themajority ofthe laws on marriage and divorceand thosedirectly women's affecting statuswere revealedafter the Muslimshad become an establishedcomin Medina withMohamadas the acknowledged munity religious/secular leader. Even at the early stages, however,the institution of a type of on the recognition of paternity as the Islamic typeof marriage insisting was evidently marriage partof the Islamic message. The pledge of allein the Koran,sura 60:13 (known giance to Islam, laterformalized as the Pledge ofthe Women: the men'spledge differing onlyin thatit included theduty ofdefense) seemsfrom itsearliest stagestohaveincludeda pledge to refrain fromzina, a termusuallyrenderedas "adultery." What zina meantbeforeIslam-in a society in whicha numberofdifferent typesof unionwere legitimate-is not clear. The men ofTaif,forexample,complainedwhen conqueredby Mohamadand taking the oathto Islam, that zina was necessary to themsincetheywere merchants (for them,in other towhichno stigma words,itwas a practice was attached), and one woman's
9 Ibn SaCd,vol. 8: "Hind," 231; and "Buraida" 251. See also Watt, 277-79, 376-77; GertrudeStern, Marriage in Early Islam (London: Royal AsiaticSociety, 1939), 61-62, 172-73. 10 Watt,277-79; Stern,62. "l Abu'l Faraj al-Isfahani, Kitab al Aghani,20 vols. (Bulak, 1285 A.H./1868),16:106. 12 139-43. Stern, 669

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responsewhen takingthe oath, "Does a freewomancommit indignant to mean thatshe feltthatany union a free zina?" has been understood use in zina.13Atthetimeofitsfirst womanenteredintocouldnotbe termed to other types of marriage, Islam, then, the term may have referred of "temporary" and to forms marriagealso includingthe polyandrous, practicedin the Jahiliaand which Islam would outlaw. 'Aisha, in her concludes:"When aboutthe different remarks marriages, typesofJahilia Mohamad (God bless and preservehim) was sent with the Truth,he abolished all the types of marriage[nikah] of the pre-Islamicperiod . .except the typeofmarriage today."14 [nikah]whichpeople recognize Islam and sexualmisconduct thatinprohibiting The fact generally adultery was outlawingpreviously among the accepted practicesis presumably Koranicruling(4:16) that reasonsforthe otherwise surelyextraordinary shouldbe producedto convict witnesses four anyoneofthesecrimes.The in practices boththatthoseengaging by beingdesignated suggests ruling in themwithsome openness were engaging Islam as sexual misconduct or than"immoral" to relatively acceptedrather (theopennessappropriate could and thatMohamadrealizedthatsuchpractices practices) prohibited eradicated. not be instantly form as the sole legitimate ofmarriage ofone form Islam's institution in the material wouldprecipitate, ofall others and itsoutlawing surveyed dramatic socialchange.The particular the following type pages suggests, theexclusively itrendered ofmarriage oftheform lineaments and specific a type of marriagebased formwas of decisive importance: normative father of male right, on the privileging and categorically unambiguously with of customs this, not abolition and the incompatible clearly only right, to initiate but also ofcustoms-such as women'sright such as polyandry, of endorsement on theunqualified divorce-whichin anywayencroached ofdivorce, to all matters male precedencewithrespectcomprehensively Thatthisbecame the normative to offspring. ofwives,and right plurality would be crucial,would be the pivotalpoint formof Islamic marriage betweenthe sexes. It would in the relations transformation precipitating and rolesthathad been offreedoms, also lead to theforeclosing activities, women. to open Jahilia out the impactofIslam on women,I have triedto include In tracing thatmight material conveya sense ofwomen'slivesat the time,tangibly in and how theyparticipated taskstheyperformed and practically-what to thelarger also relevant life:facts investigathecommunity's ultimately ofearlyMuslims, oftheProphet's life, tion.The sourcematerial-accounts suchinformation: with for andtheHadith(Traditions), example-is replete eagerto recordall theycould aboutthe Prophet earlyMuslimhistorians,
13 Watt,384; Ibn SaCd,8:4. 14 Al-Bukhari, 7:45-46.

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women.Even texts material also recorded incorporatinvolving inevitably in that such include verses Koranic on material, theygive ingcommentary ofparticular that"occasioned"therevelation ofsituations verses, accounts and verses on on the as those such seclusion, veiling situations, bearing Mohamad'swives. womenand in particular ofteninvolving thatin its accountofpre-Islamic It is noteworthy customs,thisearly edited froman materialis materialthathas alreadybeen ideologically at dates from we have on the Jahilia All the material Islamicstandpoint. thus was written down and death Mohamad's after a least century by as the"Age ofIgnorance," Muslims(theterm"Jahilia," usuallytranslated was the name Muslimsgave to thatperiod). For example,whenIbn Sa'd five hundred thatnoneofMohamad'sforemothers asserts through genera"of the he manner in the was a "fornicator" Jahilia," refers tions, presumthatwere acceptedpractice ofunion,including polyandry, ably to forms that were outlawedby Islam.15 in the but and not "fornication" Jahilia endorsed Islam-for by example, polygyny-are Conversely,practices mentionedwithoutparallel censor. The texts,that is, themselvesdisreaffirmed thenewIslamicpractices and branded and continuously creetly the old "immoral." these earlyrecordswere written down by men, a Further,although and histimes(a literature oftheaccounts oftheProphet significant portion the core ofthe Islamiccorpusreveredas the authentic annalsof forming earlyIslam and lookedto as a modelforMuslimconductand a sourcefor on theauthority ofwomen,that Muslimlaw)was recounted is, traceditself as thefirst backto a womanofthe Prophet's teller,and usually generation to a woman who was a Companionof the Prophet,generally a wifeor have had an (and 'Aisha mostparticularly) daughter.Women therefore of the official of Islam, and in part in the authoring history important thatliterature thatestablished thenormative ofIslamic creating practices is an indication thatthe first of Muslims society.This in itself generation thatstoodclosestto the Jahilia attitudes (the generation daysand Jahilia toward in accepting heirs,had no difficulty women),and theirimmediate womenas authorities. It also meansthatthe earlyliterature incorporates material thatfairly directly expressedtheviewsofwomen;cAisha's indignantresponse,for to thenotion that womenmight be religiously instance, "unclean"like dogs or donkeys."You equate us [women]withdogs and in one hadith, she exclaims "The Prophet wouldpray whileI lay donkeys!" beforehim on the bed [between him and the qibla]."16 There is also, evidencestrongly as willbe seen below,someperhaps though, suggesting, rather critical censorship.
* * *

15Ibn Sa'd 1,1:32.

16 al Islamilil Tiba'a Al-Bukhari, 1:289; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 6 vols. (Beirut:al-Maktab wa'l nashr,1969), 6:42.

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In a cave in Hira,a hillnearMecca, towhich he hadtaken toretiring for Mohamad,now forty solitary contemplation, yearsold, receivedhis first a visionoftheangelGabriel,commanding himto read. Shiverrevelation: him ing fromthe experience,he hurriedto Khadija, who comforted and mentally, himin a blanket and assuring himthat wrapping physically he was indeed sane. Later she tookMohamadto her cousinWarakawho and versed in the Hebrew scriptures, and he confirmed was Christian, occurredto her, sayingthatthe angel Gabriel had what had evidently theJudeo-Christian indeed also been sentby Allahto Moses. Thereafter, within whichMohamadwouldpresent was tobe theframework framework his prophethood.17 beKhadija, who hired Mohamad to tradeon her behalfreportedly him and who proposedto and married forhonesty cause ofhis reputation convert.Her faith when he was in her employ now became his first in the communwomanofstanding ofa mature,wealthy now-the faith others,particularly ity-must have been of some weightin influencing to acceptIslam.18 From ofherownimportant members clan,theQuraysh, the earliestyears women were among the converts,includingwomen whose clans were fiercely opposed to Mohamad,such as Umm Habiba, enemy.They were also daughterof Abu Safyan,Mohamad'sformidable Meccan opposiofa growing amongthe Muslimswho,underthepressure of Mohamadand his followers, tion and persecution (ca. 615 emigrated 9 C. E.) to Abyssinia. in Mecca (tolead eventually to theperiodofpersecution It was during to Medina) thatMohamadspoke the Muslims'and Mohamad'smigration the worship,along withAllah, of the three Meccan verses sanctioning of Allah,"Allat, Manat, and Al-'Uzza, a dethe "daughters goddesses, were which briefly appeased theMeccans.The verseshowever velopment Mohamad's "thrown" been by tongue upon abrogated,having shortly intenseand the was growing Satan at a time when Meccan persecution and wealthifhe ceased reviling Mohamadposition Meccanswere offering their goddesses. As they stand in the Koran now, the verses in their examended form (Koran,53:19-22) pointout (as theyare traditionally have while could mortals Allah's of the daughters having absurdity plained) whatthe confirm sons. As theystand,theversestherefore (thepreferred) anywayindicated,that the existenceof practice of female infanticide intoit)did notmeana survival period(ortheir goddessesin thelateJahilia valuationoffemalesabove or as muchas males.20 concomitant
18 and powerand as a woman"ofhonor Ibn Sa'd, 8:9. Khadijais describedin thesametext a hirerof men" (8:9). 19 in EarlyIslam"IslamicCulture13, no. 3 Gertrude Stern,"The FirstWomenConverts (July1939), 291-305, 293. 20W. Montgomery ClarendonPress,1953),102-5. at Mecca (Oxford: Watt,Muhammad

17Al-Bukhari, 1:1-4.

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and head of In 619 c.E. Abu Talib, Mohamad'suncle and protector, theirclan, and Khadija, both died, within days ofeach other.Mohamad "went down into the pit," to place Khadija in her tomb in the himself a Hujun, hillnear Mecca thatwas the burialplace ofherpeople. Neither from MohamadnorKhadija'sdaughters appeartohave inherited anything as her wealth a result of the that she lost Meccan it is and possible Khadija, persecution.21 he had granted to Islamthough Mohamad AbuTalib had notconverted and thereby made itpossiblefor him ofa clan member, thefullprotection His successoras head ofthe clan was to survivethe Meccan persecution. uncleofMohamad's, to UmmJamil, whowas married Abu Lahab, another Mohamad'sgreatenemy.Soon after Abu Talib died, ofAbu Sufyan, sister Abu Lahab sided withhis wife'sclan and refusedMohamadclan protecthencursedAbu Lahab and UmmJamil, tion.When a Koranicrevelation a stone forMohamadand came thelatter, carrying pestle,wentsearching to where he sat with Abu Bakr, by the Ka'aba. God, however,made toherso that Mohamadinvisible she sawonly AbuBakr.Asking himwhere Mohamadwas, she said, "I have been toldthathe is satirising me, and by I if I him had found would have smashed his mouth with thisstone." God, She was a poet, she thendeclared,and recited: We rejectthe reprobate. His Wordswe repudiate. His religion we loatheand hate.22 Bereft ofthe clan's protection, Mohamadactively began to seek converts and protectors with beyondMecca. He begana seriesofnegotiations Medina who, whileon pilgrimage to Mecca in 620 C.E. had people from converted to Islam,(theKa'aba, nowthesacredshrine ofIslam,was also a withmore holy shrinebeforeIslam). The following year theyreturned and in Juneof622 C.E. seventy-five converts, two Medinians,including womenwhosehusbandswere also present, came to a secretmeeting with Mohamadat 'Aqaba, wheretheypledgedto protect and obeyhim:he was to be receivedin Medina notas reviledleaderofa sectseeking protection but as honoredprophetand as designatedarbiterof the internal tribal dissensions of Medina.23 Meanwhile,Mohamadhad also set abouthis own remarriage-totwo
21 Omar Ridda Kahhalah, A'lam al-NisafiA'lamial-Arabw'al Islam,5 vols. in 3 (Damascus: Al-Matba'a "The FirstWomenConverts. . . "291. 1959),1:280;Stern, al-Hashimiyya, 22Ibn Hisham,Al-Sira ed. MustaphaAl-Saqqa, IbrahimAl-Ibyari, and Al-Nabawiyya, 'Abdel HafithShibli,2 vols. (Cairo: Mustaphaal-Babi wa-Awladuh, 1:356. 1 1375H/1955), thetranslation ofAlfred quote in thisinstance Guillaume,SiratRasulAllah (London:Oxford Press, 1955), 161. University 23Ibn Hisham,2:441.

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came, according females,Sawda and 'Aisha.The idea forthosemarriages to Ibn Hanbal, from Khawla,an aunt of Mohamad's(his mother's sister) to Islam. After whowas a convert Khadija'sdeathshe "served"Mohamad, Mohamad alongwithhis daughters. seeingto thehousework presumably her on her behalfin her marriage, had in the past interfered rebuking of his husband forhis celibate outlookand his neglect,consequently, ofKhawla(who seems dutiestowardhis wife;Ibn Hanbal further reports thatshe asked with sexual thusto have been rather matters) preoccupied Mohamadif,when"a womansees in hersleep whata mansees," purification was necessary:only, was the reply, as with a man, "if water is he had reWhen Khawla suggestedMohamad'sremarriage emitted."'4 if a virgin, wanted he 'Aisha she would whom suggest: spondedby asking said to have is he if a she said, and Sawda "Go," replied, nonvirgin. was notin Havingtwowivesconcurrently "bespeak thembothforme."25 so forMohamadhas thatitwas distinctly a new practice, but thefact itself contract led some scholarsto speculatethathe mayhave had a marriage shewouldbe hisonly herlifetime thatduring withKhadijawhichspecified wife.26 described to Abyssinia, emigrant Sawda, a Muslimwidowand former is in as "no longeryoung,"sentbackwithKhawlathe message"myaffair her consent: a point which confirms that, as your hands," indicating werefreeto disposeof widowsin theJahilia Khadija'scase had suggested, Theirmarriage took without their probably consulting guardians.27 persons afterKhadija'sdeath. place shortly of MoShe was the six-year-old 'Aisha'scase was different. daughter Abu Bakr.Khawlatookthe hamad'sclosestand mostimportant supporter, thematter toher whodeferred proposalto UmmRuman,'Aisha'smother, he would as 'Aishawas already was that, husband.His response betrothed, that There is no suggestion thatbetrothal. to release her from have first in of the because the discrepancy inappropriate anyonethought marriage her for a near to was betrothal evidently CAisha's age, boy prior age, though the boy'sparentsand foundthe Abu Bakrwentto seek her release from who was not a Muslim,anxiousto release her son motherin particular, to lead tohisconverting itmight because shewas afraid from thatbetrothal came thatshe was married Islam. 'Aishalaterrecalledthattherealization and hergameswithherfriends calledherin from to herwhenher mother and so "itfellinto toldherthatshe was notto go outbutmuststayindoors, She did not,she recalled,ask myheart,"'Aishasaid,"thatI was married."
24Ibn Hanbal, 6:409. 25 ofChicagoPress, Nabia Abbott, Aishah,theBelovedofMohamad(Chicago:University 1942), 3. 26MaximeRodinson, AnnCarter(New York:PenguinBooks,1971),55. Mohamad,trans. 27 Ibn Sa'd (n. 2 above), 8:36; Stern,Marriage(n. 9 above), 34.
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to whom.28 Mohamadthereafter continued his regular dailyvisitsto Abu Bakr's house, but the marriagewas not consummated until afterthe to Medina. Muslimshad migrated Once the agreementwith the Medinians at 'Aqaba had been conin smallgroupsoverthe following cluded, the Muslimsbegan to migrate threemonths to Medina. MohamadandAbuBakr,ofthemen,left last,and to escape a Meccan plot to murderMohamad,as the Meccans secretly, now fearedthatat Medina he would growtoo strong forthem.The two remained in hiding first in thehillsnearMecca, waiting for thesearchtobe themprovisions at night and givenup, 'Asma, 'Aisha'shalf-sister, taking helpingto load theircamelswhentheywere readyto depart.When they were gone and she returnedhome, a group of hostile Meccans came for themand,whenshe deniedknowledge oftheir searching whereabouts, 29 flewoff. slapped her face so hard,she related,thather earring A far different figurefromthe reviled and persecutedleader of a persecuted sect, Mohamad arrivedin Medina a prophetwith a large and a position ofsomepolitical The yearof religious following importance. the migration, or hegira(hidjra),622 C.E., is reckoned by Muslimsas the first did indeedinaugurate yearoftheIslamicera, and themigration a new which was in timetolivebythenewvaluesand thenew typeofcommunity few years-of laws-many of them to be elaboratedover the following Islam. Work was immediately begun on the buildingthatwas to be Mohamad's dwelling,the courtyard of whichwas to be both mosque and where he would conductsecular affairs. He meanwhilelodged on the floor ofthetwo-room homeofthecouplewhosehomewas nearest ground to the construction. Some sense ofthe material oftheirlives, roughness and theProphet's, is suggested their alarm once a jar of by when,breaking waterand fearing that itwouldfall onto the through Prophet, they mopped it up withtheirgarments, havingno clothto mop it up with.30 Mohamadthenhad his family, Sawda and his daughters, fetched from Mecca. Sawda's "house"(as it is generally was the first to be built termed) along the easternwall of the mosque, though"house" is rather a grand name forit: like those later to be built forMohamad'sotherwives, it consisted ofone roomofsometwelvebyfourteen withpossibly some feet, veranda-like enclosure ontothemosquecourtyard that giving had pillars of and a roof ofpalmbranches.Mohamadhad no separateroom, palmtrunks in turnthoseof his wives.31 sharing
28Ibn Sa'd, 8:40. 29Ibn Hisham, 1:487. 'Asma'smother, unlike'Aisha'smother (bothwivesofAbu Bakr), did notconvert to Islam and did notmigrate withthe Muslimsto Medina. Ibn Sa'd, 8:184. 30 Ibn Hisham, 1:498-99. 31 W. Muir,The LifeofMohamad (Edinburgh: J. Grant,1923), 175-76,201; Abbott, 50, 68, and passim.

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Abu Bakralso had hisfamily fetched from Mecca, and they joined him in a house in the suburbofSunh. When 'Aishawas no morethannineor and Mohamad ten,Abu Bakr,anxiousno doubtto createbetweenhimself the further bond of kinship,asked Mohamad why he was delayingin the marriage, and when Mohamadrepliedthathe was as consummating unable toprovidethemarriage Abu Bakrforthwith it yet portion, provided 32 himself. was consummated. Then, in theirhouse in Sunh, the marriage 'Aisha recalledthe occasionas follows: the Prophetcame to theirhouse, and theregathered abouthimmenandwomenofMedina,"andmymother came to me and I was swinging on a swing" and she brought me downfrom the swing,and I had some friends thereand she sentthemaway,and she wiped myfacewitha little water,and led me tillwe stoppedbythedoor,and I was breathless [from beingon the swing]and we waitedtillI regainedmybreath. Then she tookme in, and the Prophetwas sitting on a bed in our house withmen and womenofthe Ansar[Medinians]and she set me on his lap, and said, "theseare yourpeople, God bless you in themand theyin you." Andthemenand womenroseimmediately the marriage in our and wentout, and the Prophetconsummated house.33 Even to dwell in this much detail on an event that afterall was in the lifeofa manwhose lifewas packed withmomentous unimportant eventswill seem to some Muslimsto be in bad taste.But in thenatureof and "unimportant" theseprivacies detailsin the our subjectit is precisely have traditionally been allowedto entirely lives ofmen thatnevertheless mustbe at the thelivesofwomen,thatinevitably and circumscribe govern as itmustfinally be ourconcern toexamine, ofourconcern, forefront by,in for respectingthe part, lookinginto such details, Islam's potentiality personnessofwomen. was betweenMohamadand 'Aisha-who throughout The relationship even when he had added to remain Mohamad's undisputedfavorite, women to his harem-bears lookinginto a little beautiful,sought-after stressesMohamad'stendercare of further. Abbott, Aisha'sbiographer, and patiencewithher,and hisjoiningin even in hergameswithherdolls. ofnineortencan toa girl ofa manin hisfifties However,thattheattention to modernsensibilibe sexual and yetcaringis scarcely comprehensible the emotionalequalityfor ties, as are otheraspects of thatrelationship: exampleand, on his part(as well, ofcourse,as on hers)dependence,that in forinstance, betweenthem.This is suggested, seem to have pertained
Ibn Sa'd, 8:43. 33Ibn Hanbal (n. 16 above), 6:211.
32

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thefamous necklace his responseofsullen,woundedwithdrawal following thefollowing andarriving behindatthecampsite when'Aisha,left incident and escortedby a youngman, is suspectedby the community, morning overthematter distress Mohamad's also by Mohamad,ofinfidelity. finally of their ceased forthe duration became so intensethathis revelations at the end of thatperiodwas the revelation and his first estrangement, 'Aishamusthave felt herinnocence.34 versesdeclaring Complementarily, hisannounceofGod, for reasonably "equal" and unawedbythisprophet him to ment,forexample,thathe had receiveda revelation permitting hertheretort, mendrewfrom "It other notpermitted enterintomarriages desire!"35 seems to me yourLord hastensto satisfy your In other words, not merelyin one but in most of its aspects that is essentially inaccessibleto modernsensibilities, a factthat relationship it was defined its how social context, completely by particular emphasizes butin thesense tooofthat notonlyin thesense ofthemoresofthesociety ofits individuals. as the bare Nevertheless, structuring society'sspecific in the Hadith in whichit sometimes remind us ("Ofthe form figures may witha nineyearold [female]: ofmarriage the Prophet, consummation the be and of God on married CAisha when she was six and him, blessings peace it when she was nine"),36 its essentialsignificance consummated forthe was and continues Muslimcommunity to be its function as practical and of the original context legal precedent,the specificity being then comthese and, forthispurpose,quite irrelevant. pletelydiscounted Together what is the fundamental factshighlight questionin Islam in thatmajor ofwomen(as indeedin others) and thatis: whether domain,thetreatment is to be allowedto remain thereligion lockedintoreplicating permanently the outer formsof the specificsocietyinto which it was revealed, or whether thetruepursuit and fulfillment oftheIslamicmessageentails, on the contrary, the gradualabandonment oflaws necessary in its first age. Islamic philosophers such as Ibn cArabi, and certainstrands of Sufiand have from earliesttimesleaned toward the latter view. Qarmatithought, Islam was above all, it maythusbe maintained, a revolution thattransformed its societyin its everyaspect,ethically, and socially, religiously, and that initiateda new societycenteredon ideas of moraland social and justice. Therefore, theundertaking ofreforms, even of responsibility in the furtherance ofthoseideals-rather thanmerely adherrevolution, ence totheletter ofthelaw-would constitute thetruer continuation ofthe and would moreaccurately realize its message. processIslam initiated, cAisha'sremovalto Mohamad'sdwellingwhere Sawda alreadylived and wheretheywould soon be joined by morewives(roomsbeingadded
34Abbott,2, 7-8, 31-35. 35Ibn SaCd,8:112. 36Al-Bukhari (n. 8 above), 7:65.

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intoIslam the typeof forthemalongthe mosque's easternwall) initiated Islamic polygyny-virilocal polygyny-which,as noted above, some new or not,it ofMohamad's.Whether believe was an innovation scholars in itsattendant was deeplyconsonant (such consequencesand implications a nowto overseeand control and ability as the husband'sright practically thatIslam was withthe typeofmarriage and relations) wife'smovements on the 'idda (waiting The insistence as normative. period)and instituting ofpatertherecognition oftypesofunionthatmade difficult the banning itcould be argued,theconcernthatmen shouldbe able to reflected, nity to males, The granting fortheirchildren. sharein and takeresponsibility to offspring unconditional (as soon as the periodin which further, rights was over) and the they may be consideredto need femalenurturance womenand men of formales onlythe right enjoyedby Jahilia retaining the thatinaddition to connote atwill,seemdistinctly divorcing apparently was also one ofMohamad's father ofmale right, absoluteprivileging right, and ofpolygyny distinct objectives.When one adds to thesethelicensing male sexual access to women (fourwives, and as many of unrestricted not to it becomes difficult concubinesas a man desires and can afford), to womenin ofmen in relation concludethatthe absoluteempowerment of and thedisempowerment and offspring to sexuality all matters relating moresin the ofhis society's women(and thusthecompletetransformation one of Mohamad's betweenthe sexes) was also itself area of the relation verses do Koranic indeed and In explicitly, import, objectives. prime in to women's "they (for example, marriage equality rights recognize in husbands which those to have equihave, corresponding rights [wives] is sufto thiseffect table reciprocity" [2:229]), and the Koran'sdirective to womentheright mostschoolsofIslamiclaw to grant for distinct ficiently their divorceor stipulate to initiate be empowered,by marriage contract, thetypeofmarNevertheless, conditions, monogamy. including marriage was that for norm the as was Islam evidently society early setting up riage has impliedin FatimaMernissi one in whichwomenweredisempowered. to divorce the right her discussionof the subjectthatthe rulings giving and from stemmed on all Islamic like to women, rulings men, exclusively butonlyMohamad'spurely notsomelarger subjective concern, reflected, because a in thiscase hisbeingirked responseto hispersonalexperiences, their him(before oftribal leaders,divorced numberofwomen,daughters the Koran's to reconcile It is indeed difficult consummation).37 marriages' consistent withits otherwise relations on male/female pronouncements ofjustice and the equal worthof all human emphasison the centrality ofmalesand and responsibilities oftherights beings.It is onlyinthematter to the so intrinsic otherwise ofequal humanworth, thatthenotion females to be "guardsuspended:whenitdeclaresmen Koran,seemsmomentarily
37Fatima Mernissi,Beyondthe Veil (New York:John Wiley & Sons, 1975),31-41.

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in the first ians over" womenand "a degree above" themin the context, in the and that of divorce second, case, of economic/inheritance rights, is to these conclusions to come However, (4:35, 2:229).38 apparently rights also to agree with Islamic clericsand ideologuesthatthe subjectionof wouldthenalso and inseparably womenis intrinsically partofIslam,which be to concede that believingMuslim women must renouncereligious as divinely ordained-a viewthatis most beliefor accepttheirsubjection thehistorically dominant clerics. Clerical to the Islam,however, gratifying in successful the of ofIslam,though form formidably process consolidating rivalinterpretations or suppressing ofIslam, itsdominancein eradicating neverbeen theonlypossiblereading ofIslam.Among has nevertheless the it has been and hostile have to, particularly implacably interpretations been those tendencieswithinearlySufiand Qarmatithought whichinthe Koran'sspiritual clined towardregarding messageand itspassionfor as the kernel of Islam and its laws as the husktobe discarded in the justice of Islam's own visionof the ideal society-namely,a society fulfillment based on equity and justice forall memberswithoutdistinction. Sigit is withinjust such readingsthat,potentially at least, the nificantly, beliefs withthesubjection ofreligious ofwomenwouldnotbe (as it yoking and indissoluble is in clericalIslam) an inevitable and potentially, yoking, within those readings,Muslimwomenwould notbe compelledto make the intolerable choice betweenreligiousbeliefand theirown autonomy and self-affirmation. Not any one but ratherthe sum of all its featuresmakes up the lineaments distinctive ofIslamicmarriage: itsinstitution, whichobviously betweenthesexeson dramatically newfooting, was to placed therelations lead logically, totheemergence ofcustoms suchas veiling and predictably, seclusion(or some device by whicha mancould insurethat"his"women his and thushis offspring were exclusively indeed hisown)to thecircumofwomen'slives and to greatchangesin theirroles in society. scribing Soon afterMohamad's marriageto 'Aisha, and his marriagethree laterto Hafsa,daughter months of'Umaribn al-Khattab (whowas, along with Abu Bakr, Mohamad's most powerful the verses ensupporter), suchofthewomenas seem goodto you,two couraging polygyny-"marry or threeor four"(4:4)-were revealed. Islamicapologists, to responding Westerncriticism, once argued thatthe verses instituted a curb on a traditional Islam and modernscholarship, previously rampant polygyny; on thecontrary, wereintended to encourage however, it. agreethat, they The verseswererevealedafter thebattle ofUhud(625c.E.), inwhich large numbersof the Muslim men were killed and manywomen therefore widowed.Islam'sdisruption oftheclansystem ofthewidowswould (many
8 The Koraniccitations and references are to The Quran, Arabictext witha new translationby MuhammadZ. Khan, 3d rev. ed. (London: Curzon Press, 1981).

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and so could notreturn to the supportof have been Meccan immigrants itself withtheresponfound their clan)meantthatthe Muslimcommunity men to marry morethanone forthem. Encouraging ofproviding sibility and confirmed the ofthewidows'support womanbothsettledthe matter the womenintothe new by absorbing youngsocietyin its new direction theirreverting to Jahiliatypesof lifeand so forestalling type of family unions. seems to have been alien to the Mediniansin particular. Polygyny in Medina between Mediniansand MecThere was littleintermarriage to theIslamic to marriage, and in particular attitudes cans. Theirdifferent Medinianwomen apparently mayhave been a chiefreason.39 polygyny, thanMeccanwomen:'Umaribnal-Khattab moreassertive werenoticeably stated that beforecomingto Medina "we the people of complainingly Quraysh[Mecca] used to have the upperhand overour wives,but when we found that their womenhad the we came amongtheAnsar[Medinians], thewaysof men,so ourwomenalso started learning upperhandovertheir herself One Medinianwomanis said to have offered women."40 theAnsari her in marriageto Mohamad-who accepted-then to have withdrawn who disapproved, whenherfamily, offer pointedout thatshe could never put up withco-wives.41 also decreed by Islam However, women's rightto inherit property, to abouthalfa man'sshare),was a womanis entitled speaking, (generally decree to Medinians.Medina's also a novel and apparently uncongenial made thelaw, involving for an community presumably agricultural being ofland, morecomplexin itsconsequencesthanforthe themthe division was in herdsand material Meccanswhoseproperty commercial goodsand in some cases appearsto women'sinheritance where(as earlierindicated) male thestark to someextent Islam. Mitigating before have been a custom women'sright thelaw decreeing decreed in the marital control situation, in important retaincontrol to inherit-and thusby implication waysover withthelawsdictating and even in conflict theirlives-appears surprising women'srightto own and maritalrelations.For, to rule guaranteeing and indeedpromote to is recognize tacitly manageproperty independently in all toautonomy andconsequently toeconomic women'sright autonomy, In consonance commands. thosedomainsoflifethateconomicautonomy in theKoran(already are thoseelements withthattacitrecognition noted) also andthat inmarriage toequality women'sright that appearto recognize thrust counterto its general,insistent even startlingly, run distinctly, and unequal andofthemale'sabsolute ofmaleright, theprivileging toward survivals boththeseas fortuitous It wouldbe possibleto regard authority. retainedin the ofthe old orderanomalously merely-aspects or features
39 Watt, Medina (n.
40 41

7:88. Al-Bukhari,

2 above), 381.

Ibn Sa'd (n. 2 above), 8:107-8.

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anomalies thattogether new: butin thattheyare consonant and recognize to economicautonomy and to equalityin nmarriagewomen'sright imply the two domains that between them defineand circumscribe an individual'slife-it would also be possibleto understand theirincorporation radical intotheKoranas having For inincorporatprofoundly implications. intoa system otherwise ing these two "anomalous"rulings givingmales and economicresponsibility, exclusive theKoranin effect control incorpoit was theninitiating ratesintothe system the seeds ofthatsystem's own future destruction.42 potential From about the timeof the battleof Uhud, as women'sfreedoms to and dissolveunionswere all but abolished,and as men were given form overthem,so their freedom toparticipate intheactivities oftheir authority Theirroleson thebattlefield ofUhud society began to be circumscribed. itself ofactivefemaleparticipation in give one a glimpseofthe tradition even in so apparently Jahilia malea domainas warfare. society, specifically One manfor instance wifeofMohamreported seeing'Aishaand another tuckedup, and their anklets ad's, theirgarments water showing, carrying to those on the battlefield; and otherwomen on the Muslim side are mentioned as tending to the woundedand removing dead and wounded from the field.43 On the opposing,Meccan side Hind bintCUtbah, wifeof the Meccan leaderAbu Sufyan, led somefourteen or fifteen womenofthe Meccan aristocracy onto the battlefield, out women'straditional playing rolein warofsinging Jahilia warsongsand playing on their tambourines.44 The Meccans won, and Hind, who had lost father and brothers to the Muslimsin previouswars,cutout theliverofthemanwhohad killedher father and cut off his nose and ears and thoseofotherdead on the field.45 ferociousness attributed to her,reported However,thisextreme in works in the 'Abbasid owes much of its compiled bloodinessto age, probably 'Abbasidhatredof the Umayyad foundedby Hind's son. dynasty, Such freeparticipation in thecommunity's lifewouldsoonbeginto be not because bannedbut as a resultofthe diminished, drastically directly processofchangeIslamhad setunderwayandas theimplications ofitsnew basis formale/female relations workedthemselves out. Mohamad'swives were the first whose lives would begin to be circumscribed. Early texts record the"occasions" oftherevelation oftheversesinstituting and veiling seclusion for Mohamad'swives,and theseinfact offer ofwomen's vignettes
42Forfurther ofdeveloping analysesofthepossibilities on thisissue, see interpretations Fazlur Rahman,"IslamicModernism: Its Scope, Methodsand Alternatives," and "A Survey ofModernisation ofMuslimFamilyLaw," InternationalJournal ofMiddleEast Studies1, no. 4 (1970): 317-33; 11, no. 4 (1980): 451-65. 43Al-Bukhari, 4:85-86. 44Nabia Abbott, "Womenand theStateon theEve ofIslam,"American Journal ofSemitic Languages 58 (1941): 259-84, 273. See also Ilse Lichtenstadter, Womenin Aiyamal-Arab (London: RoyalAsiaticSociety,1935). 45Ibn SaCd,3:1, 5-6.

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in thesociety Islamwas displacing, as wellas record thestepsby life-styles women'sspheresofaction.These texts, as willbe whichitwas toforeclose in theirlanguage passages, do not distinguish apparentin the following betweenveilingand seclusionbut use the term"hidjab"interchangeably "she tooktheveil"(which to mean"veil,"as in darabatal hidjab,meaning in turnmeant"she became a wifeof Mohamad's-Mohamad's wives but not his concubinesdonningthe veil); and to mean "curtain"(its literal in whichit is used in the meaning)in the sense (ofseparation/partition) to the Koranicversequoted below; and theyalso used itto refer generally and thedecreesofveiling/covering practiceofthe seclusionor separation instituted for Mohamad's wives/women, by this and other verses also quoted below.46 The wedding feastat Mohamad's marriageto Zeinab bint Djahsh, for therevelation of ofa number toone account, was theoccasion according these verses. Some oftheweddingguestsstayeda longwhilein Zeinab's thatthe whichannoyedMohamad. It was in thiscontext roomchatting, seclusionforMohamad'swiveswererevealed.Atthisor versesinstituting to another some othermeal, according account,the handsofsome ofthe men guests touched the hands of Mohamad'swives, and in particular seclusion The Koranicversesinstituting 'Aisha'shand touched'Umar's.47 have followed from sucha situation: "O ye do indeed read as iftheymight unlessyouare notthehouseoftheProphet whobelieve,"they read,"enter ofitsgetting toa meal,and thennotinanticipation invited ready.Butenter when you are called, and when you have eaten, disperse;lingernot in forthe Prophet. eagernessfortalk. This was a cause of embarrassment askfrom for . . .When youaskanyofthewivesoftheProphet something, and for their hearts" Thatis purerfor behinda curtain. (33:54). yourhearts theseand thefurther verses An accountgoingback to 'Aishaconnects cloaks womento drawtheir Mohamad'swivesand thebelieving enjoining for who theywere and thus aroundthemso thattheymaybe recognized accordoccasion.'Umaribnal-Khattab, notmolested(33:60)withanother amad to seclude his wives; Mohamad Moh. ing to CAisha,had been urging did not, and one nightCAishaand Sawda wentout (therewas no indoor and Sawdabeinga tallwoman, and thewomenwentoutatnight) sanitation a distance,and he called out to her she was recognizedby 'Umar from so. Againhe urgedMohamadto secludehiswives.cUmar's concern saying to thatMohamadshouldsecludehiswiveswas inordertoguard,according ofthe "hypocrites" one account,againstthe insults (a groupofMedinians who would abuse Mohamad'swives and then was lukewarm) whose faith several account(that In another slaves.48 had takenthemfor claimthatthey
46

47 Ibn

Stern,Marriage(n. 9 above), 111 ff. Aishah (n. 25 above), 20-24. Sa'd, 8:126; see also Abbott, 48Ibn Sa'd, 8:125-27; Ibn Hanbal (n. 16 above), 6:271.

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occasionsand reasonsare givenforthoseversesdoes not mean different thatthese were all partofthe backthattheyare all untruebut, rather, thatwere the kindsofsituations groundto the new edictsand represent comingto seem, to new Muslimeyes, unacceptable)'Umar urged Mohamadto seclude hiswivesbecause Mohamad'ssuccesswas nowbringing also as theplace The mosque, serving to the mosque.49 all kindsofvisitors was indeed a place of lively where Mohamad conductedsecularaffairs, theleadersofa tribe Mohamadonce receivedthere,for instance, activity. theminthecourtyard for to Islam. He putup threetents notyetconverted othertribes wantwhiletheystayedto conductnegotiations. Envoysfrom for him;and Mediningto deal withMohamadwouldcome therelooking thereafter a battle.One timea warrior ian chiefs spentthe night brought meanssleptin the the head ofan enemyto the mosque. People without wall.50 sataboutor laythereand put arborofthe north People also simply to 'Aisha,atone slave,according up tents.A blackwoman,an emancipated time"put up a tentor hut in the mosque" and would visitand talkwith Mohamad's wives.5' Many who came hoping for some favorfromthe one or anotherof his wives to enlisther Prophetwould approachfirst 52 assistance. seclusion, Mohamad created a distancebetween his By instituting wives and this thronging on theirdoorstep-the distance community and successful appropriateto the wives of a now powerful patriarchal leaderin a newlyunambiguously In introducing seclupatriarchal society. sion Mohamadwas in effect in nonarchitectural terms summarily creating theforms the harem established in (thegyneceum, quarters) already firmly the more anciently cultures of and Persia-and patriarchal Byzantium from thosearchitectural/social perhapsindeed he was borrowing practices ofwhichno doubthe was to some degreeaware.As a successful leaderhe had thewealthnowto givehiswivestheservants if presumably necessary were to observe them from those tasks that seclusion, releasing they womenofMohamad'sfamily and kinare describedas havingengagedin: for Abu Bakr's fetched Asma, instance, water,carriedgarden daughter, and kneaded and bread, produce, ground corn, Fatima, Mohamad's also groundcornand fetched water.53 daughter, The practice ofveiling, unlike was notapparently introduced seclusion, intoArabiaby Mohamadbut was to be foundthereamongsome classes, in the towns,thoughit was probablymoreprevalent in the particularly countries thatthe Arabshad contact with,such as Syriaand Palestine.In
Abbott, Aishah, 25. "Masdjid," Encyclopediaof Islam (Leiden: E. J. Brill,1913-). 51 Al-Bukhari 8 (n. above), 1:257. 52 Watt,Medina (n. 2 above), 285. 53Ibn Sa'd (n. 2 above),8:182-83;HenriLammens, Fatimaetlesfilles de Mahomet (Rome: Instituti Biblici, 1912), 53-54. ScriptaPontificii
50 49

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as was itsuse withsocialstatus, thoseareas, as in Arabia,itwas connected all ofwhomto somedegree and Assyrians, amongGreeks,Romans,Jews, It is nowhereexplicity prescribedin the practicedor had practicedit.54 aside ofwomen'sclothing, Koran; the onlyversesbearingon the matter womentoguardtheir thosealreadyquoted,instruct partsand from private Mohamad'slifeboth over theirbosoms(24:32). Throughout a scarf throw thatthe veilingand seclusionwere observedonlybyhiswives.Moreover, formula "[she] tookon theveil"is used in theHadithto meanshe becamea Mohamad'sdeathand sometimeafter for that wifeoftheProphetsuggests intothe Hadith, ofthematerial at the timeofthecirculation incorporated to Mocustoms of as still were seclusion and peculiar thought veiling how theyspreadto therestofthecommuhamad'swives. It is notknown raised of wealth,the resultant nity.The Muslim conquests, the influx wivesbeingtakenas exampleprobably statusofArabs,and the Prophet's combinedto bringabout theirgeneraladoption. There is no record of the reactionsof Mohamad's wives to these silence giventheirarticulateness a remarkable (particularly institutions, a silencethat of all manner on well Traditions the topics, as attest) 'Aisha's, also the had the did who those that fact to the recording drawsattention was it that scholar One probablythe suggested power of suppression. Mohamad's which of seclusion to theimposition precipated wives'reaction in the culminated which situation the tense and threatof mass divorce wives Mohamad's in which verse Koranic is the This VerseoftheChoice.5 and as wives of or divorce of continuing were presentedwiththe choice as this in wives as his them of life, the specialconductexpected accepting in heaven. well as, eventually, special rewards In the month The threateneddivorcewas no mere domesticaffair. of divorce threat the his from wives, duringwhich Mohamad withdrew concerned became at gravely hangingover them,the community large seriousconsequencessince Moover the issue because of its potentially membersofthe cementedcrucialties withimportant hamad's marriages leaders tribal in Medina and with beyond it. The Muslim community caused greaterconcernto the rumorof a possible divorce reportedly Abu Bakrand 'Umar, invasion: Ghassanid thanan anticipated community and second caliph first become would of 'Aisha and Hafsa, (who fathers called on and and became deeply perturbed afterMohamad's death) the the of the seriousness situation, Given their daughters. reprimanded scholars as several breach the of cause the to as are, accounts traditional Thus the "occasion"forthebreachwas, trivial. have noted,astonishingly
54"Hidjab," Encyclopedia Marriage, ofIslam,newed. (Leiden: E. J.Brill,1960-);Stern, Press, 1964), 34; "Veil," AncientGreek Dress (Chicago: Argonaut 108-10; E. Abrahams, JewishEncyclopedia(New York:Funk & WagnallsCo., 1901). 55Stern,Marriage, 114-15.

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more for to one account,thatMohamad'swiveswere clamoring according accountblamesthe worldly goodsthanhe had meansto provide.Another thatdeveloped between 'Aisha and Zeinab over the equitable bickering animal.Yet another betweenthemofsharesofa slaughtered distribution claimsthatHafsa had caughtMohamadwithMiriam,his Egyptianconbut on 'Aisha'sday. After promising cubine, in her (IHafsa's) apartment, and told Mohamadthatshe wouldnottell'Aisha,Hafsabrokeherpromise the entireharemwas up in arms her. 'Aishaconfronted him,and shortly over the matter.56 arenotparticularly Suchscenesand troubles, however, distinguishable thatseem to have been partoftheir and rivalries thelivelyactivities from do not seem to be groundsfor mannerof livingand therefore ordinary versesthemselves, The a serious crisis. moreover, political precipitating the obedient notionof whichspecifically submissiveness, support enjoin some generalprotestamongstMohamad'swives: wives:ifyoudesirethelifeofthisworldand to thy Say 0 Prophet, come then,I shallmakeprovision for itsadornment, youand send if manner. But desire Allah in handsome and His you you away and the Home of the then Allah has Hereafter, prepared Messenger outyour a greatreward. thoseofyouwhocarry for obligations fully, Wives ofthe Prophet,ifany ofyou act in a mannerincompatible ofpiety,her punishment will be douwiththe higheststandards That is for Allah. And whoever bled. of you is completely easy and actsrighteously obedientto Allahand his Messenger, We shall double her rewardand We have preparedan honorable provision ifyousafeguard her. WivesoftheProphet, for your dignity, youare not like any otherwomen. So speak in a simple,straightforward mannerlest he whose mindis diseased shouldform an ill design, and alwayssaythegood word.Stayat homeand do notshowoff in the mannerof the womenof the daysof ignorance.[33:29-34] The choicewas putfirst to CAisha, Mohamadadvising hertoconsult her a decision.Replying before thatshe had no need toconsult making parents her parents("you knowtheywould neveradvise me to leave you"), she chose to stay. The otherwives followedsuit. Verses conferring on Mohamad's wives (in compensationperhaps) the title of Mothersof the Believers and forbidding themto remarry after his death also probably belong to thisperiod.57
* * *

56Ibn Sa'd, 8:131-39. See also Abbott, Aishah(n. 25 above), 45, 49-54; Stern,Marriage (n. 9 above), 114. 57Abbott,Aishah,56-58.

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The trend toward thesubjugation ofwomenand theclosureoftheroles and independenceavailableto themin theold ordercontinued inexorably trailof defiance,an almost on its course, leavingan almostsmothered of the waysofindependence. erased memory In 630 c.E. the MuslimstookMecca in an almostbloodlessconquest. to makehis submission and came to the Muslimencampment Abu Sufyan toIslam. His wifeHindbint and calledon theMeccanstoconvert returned thenrealizing denouncedhimpublicly, CUtbah, enragedbyhis surrender, her gods. Some sources the cause was lost, she turnedon and shattered to death womencondemned have itthatHind was amongthethreeorfour to Islam:butthismay and thatshe onlysavedherself converting byhastily In embellishment ofher story.58 well be no morethanan anti-Ummayad led the Meccan womenas theytookthe oath of any event she spiritedly the men, Mohamad allegianceto Islam. Havingreceivedthepledge from thewomen.He leads, and Hind responds:"You turnedto receiveitfrom shallhave but one God." /"We grant you that."/"You shallnotsteal." / from him." /"Thatis is a stingy "Abu Sufyan man,I onlystoleprovisions /"Does a freewomancommit You will not commit not theft. adultery." to thepractice of /"You willnotkillyourchildren" [a reference adultery?" thatyou did notkillat the /"Have you leftus any children infanticide]. battleof Badr?"59 oftheKa'aba was Withthe Muslimconquestthekeyoftheholyshrine handedoverto theMuslims.Atthetimeoftheconquestthekeywas in the hands of Sulafah,a woman. Muslim sources represent her, as theydo tohaveheld thekeyat one point,as having womanknown Hubba, another last Sulafah been onlyfor byhersonand Hubba byherfather, safekeeping: of Mecca. However,thoughindeed no otherwomanis menpriest-king rolein Islamicrecords minimal tionedas keeperofthekey,their probably In a society ontotheearlier Muslimassumptions reflects society. projected and priestand periodin whichtherewere kahinahs soothsayers) (female esses, Hubba at least maywell have been in some sense a successoror ofher father's transmitter powers.60 Two years afterthe conquest, aftera briefillness, Mohamad died. Lyingsickin Maimuna's(one ofhis wives')roomand visitedthereby his wherehe was due thefollowing day,and the otherwives,he began asking outwhenhe was due at cAisha's. theyrealized,to figure trying, following, thereand a fewdayslater,on June Finallyhe askedto be allowedto retire 11, 632 C.E., he died and was buriedin her room:so that'Aisha'sroomis His death was now, afterthe Ka'aba, the most sacred spot in Islam.61 unexpectedand, in the crisisit caused, Abu Bakrsettledthe questionof
8 Abbott,"Women ... on the Eve ofIslam" (n. 44 above), 275-76. was referred to above. 59Ibn Sa'd, 8:4. Hind's replyto the phraseabout adultery 60Abbott,"Women .. . on the Eve ofIslam," 264-66. 61 Aishah,68-69. Abbott,

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where he should be buried by recallingthatMohamad had said thata Abu Bakralso,at hisrequest, shouldbe buriedwherehe expires.62 prophet was buriedthere,as was 'Umar,whoalso requestedit,although 'Aishahad that for Once was last buried to herself. 'Umar there,she hoped keep space builtbetweenherand thetombs:she had felt at home,she had a partition her roomwithherhusbandand father, butwith'Umarthere said, sharing she feltin the presenceofa stranger.63 Mohamad'sdeaththere werea seriesofrebellions invarious Following the time of of Mohamad's had Arabia, which, parts death, by largely to Islam. "False prophets" converted appearedas leadersofrevolt against theIslamicstate.Atleastone armedrebellion was led bya woman, and one was a woman.SalmabintMalikwas thewomanwho ofthe"falseprophets" led thearmedrebellion.She had been captured in a battle bytheMuslims in 628 c.E. and givenbyMohamadto 'Aisha.She served led byhermother her fora time,and latermarried a relative ofMohamad's.At Mohamad's death she withdrew from the Muslimsand returned to her people, who were among those rebellingagainstIslam. The Muslims had put her mother to deathbytying herfeetto twobeastswhichthentoreherin two. to avenge her death or die herself, Salma, determined led her men into on her mother's camel. She was killedonlyafter "a hundred battle,riding others"had fallenaroundher.64 The prophetess was Sajah bintCAws, oftheTamim,whosemother was of the Banu Taghlib, a largelyChristianized tribe. The Tamim were dividedaboutrebelling from Islam:thosewanting to rejectIslamsupportIn a civil war her faction ing Sajah. lost,and she, withher army,had to leave Tamimiterritory. She headed forYamama,the capitalof another "falseprophet," and appearsto havemadea treaty withhim; Musaylamah, but nothingis knownof her afterthat. Her teachingshave not been to as Rabb al-Sirab,"The Lord of the preserved:her deitywas referred Salma and Sajah, though, were apparently a rebel and a prophet who in Hadramaut rebellion happenedto be women.Another mayhavebeen a rebellionof womenas women:a rejoicing by themat Mohamad'sdeath because ofthe limitations Islam had brought themas women."Whenthe Prophet of God died," reads a third-century (Islamic) account of this rebellion,"the news of it was carriedto Hadramaut": Therewerein Hadramaut sixwomenofKindahand Hadramaut, who were desirous for the death of the Prophetof God; they therefore (on hearingthe news) dyed theirhandswithhenna and
62 63

Clouds. "6

Ibid., 3,1:245, 264. 64Abbott,"Women ... 65 Ibid., 281-84.

Ibn Sa'd, 2,2:71.

on the Eve of Islam," 279-80.

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ofHadramaut To themcame theharlots playedon thetambourine. women joined the and did likewise, so that some twenty-odd six. . . . [The textthenliststhe namesofsome women,including ifthoudostpass twoit describesas grandmothers. ] Oh horseman, by, conveythis message fromme to Abu Bakr the successorof blackas chaff, Ahmad[Mohamad]:leave notin peace the harlots, that whoassertthatMohamadneed notbe mourned; longing satisfy whichburnsin mybreastlikean unquenchforthemto be cut off, able fire.i6 thewomen,and withmenand horsesagainst Abu Bakrsental-Muhagir came to thewomen'sdefense, the men ofKindahand Hadramaut though the women'shands. This accountis intriguing. Why al-Muhagircut off have been threatening of"harlots" shouldtheopposition enoughto Islam to merita forcebeing sentagainstthem?Moreover,threeofthe women and four listedwere ofthe nobility, belongedto the royalclan ofKindah. thattheywere possibly oftheirmen suggest Theirstatusand the support and thatin singingand dancingtheywere priestesses,not prostitutes, the new religion. to throw off to incitetheirtribesmen They attempting a were evidentlysuccessfulenough in gathering supportto constitute ofhavinga forcesent againstthem.67 threat worthy Moreoversome women, and not onlypriestesses,doubtlessunderrestrictions on womenand itscurtailstoodand dislikedthenew religion's thema deathwouldhavebeen for mentoftheir independence.Mohamad's a muchdesiredresult. and the demise ofhis religion ofrejoicing, matter was understood That the religion by some womenat the timeas beingat least ratherdepressingforwomen is suggestedby a remarkof one of Sukaina,who,askedwhyshe was Mohamad'sown great-granddaughters, and her sister,Fatima, alwaysso solemn,replied thatit was so merry because she had been named afterher pre-Islamicgreat-grandmother her Islamicgrandmother.8 while her sisterhad been named after The Prophet'swives continuedto live in theirmosque apartments, as the Mothersof the Believers. Financially reveredby the community tohave dependedon private means,on their families, theyseemed at first earned skills.Sawda,for their earnedthrough oron incomesthey instance, from inherited work.Theyapparently herleather nothing an incomefrom thatMohamadhad saidthatsuchmodest Mohamad,Abu Bakrmaintaining revenues as he had was to go to charity. Later,withtheimmense property fromthe Arab conquests,'Umar, as caliph, initiated (in 641 C.E.) state pensions,placed the Mothersofthe Believersat thehead ofthe list,and their awardedthemgenerous already prominent pensions.Thisconfirmed
66 67

F. Beeston, "The So-called Harlotsof Hadramaut,"Oriens5 (1952): 16-22, 16. Ibid., 16 ff. 68Walther(n. 1 above), 78.

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status. 'Aisha, as Mohamad'sfavorite wife,received the state'shighest as havingspecial knowledge ofhis ways,sayings pension:acknowledged she was consulted and character, on theProphet's and sunnah,orpractice, Otherwivesalso wereconsulted gave decisionson sacredlaw or custom.69 and authoredTraditions, and prolific as thoughnone were as prominent cAisha. cUmar's as theperiodin whichmanyof reign(634-44 C.E.) is regarded the majorinstitutions ofIslamhad their forcUmar was responsible origin, a seriesofreligious, for the civil,and penalordinances, initiating including ofstoning for He was harshtoward womenin both punishment adultery.70 withand physically assaulted privateand public life:he was ill-tempered his wives,and he soughtto confine womento their homesand to prevent theircontinuing to attend mosques.71 He was unsuccessful in this and instituted a separateimamfor each instead, segregated prayers appointing sex. He appointeda male imamfor thewomen,in thisalso departing from theProphet's itis known for thatMohamadhimself a precedent, appointed woman, Umm Waraka,to act as imamforher entirehousehold,which as can be ascertained, menas well as women.72Moreover, included,so far after Mohamad'sdeath cAisha and Umm Salama acted as imamsforother women.73 'Umar also prohibited Mohamad'swivesfrom goingon pilgrimMohamad'spractice.The prohibition, which age, also a departurefrom was liftedin the last year of 'Umar's reign, must have provokedthe discontent oftheMothers oftheBelievers."History," however, seemingly has notrecordedsuchdiscontent, as ithas notrecorded on anyopposition thepartofMohamad'swidowsto 'Umar'sattempt to prevent womenfrom These silences,consistently thosekinds attending mosques.74 surrounding ofissues,are beginning nowto be speaking silences.Withtheinstance of theharsh,swift oftherebellious womenofHadramaut before punishment ofIslamwouldhave us, we have no groundto imaginethatthe guardians rather woulddoubtless haveconsidered hesitated, itsimply their they duty toerase rebellion inwomenfrom thewritten of as as page history ruthlessly the worldin whichtheylived. theyeradicatedit from thenextcaliph,continued toallowMohamad's wivestogo on 'Uthman, and revoked'Umar'sarrangement ofseparateimams.Men and pilgrimage women once again were together in the mosques, the womenhowever, a separate group, would now be held back while men left.75 forming restoration ofsome liberties However, cUthman's to womenwas but the
69 Aishah (n. 25 above), 11, 84, 95-97. Abbott,
70"Omar ibn
71 72

88. Abbott, Aishah,

al-Khattab," Encyclopediaof Islam (1913-).

75

73Ibn Sacd, 8:355-56, "Rayta,""Na'ila," "Hujaira." 74Ibid., 8:150; see also Abbott, Aishah,94.

Ibn Sa'd (n. 2 above),8:335; Stern, "The First WomenConverts. . ."(n. 19above),299. Ibn SaCd,5:17.

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ofa tidethat in thecontrary was moving brief direction. inexorably staying 'Aisha was stillto take an active and eventually public part in politics, a partthatbelongedin reality to a dying order.When actingout, though, 'Uthmanwas murdered,she delivered,veiled, a public address at the that his death would be avenged, and mosque in Mecca, proclaiming one around her ofthetwofactions opposingthe succesgathered thereby at theBattleofthe was to lead to confrontation sionofAli.Theiropposition Camel-named afterthe camel on which'Aisha sat, in the thickof the her men, as had done her Jahilia forebears. and directing battle,inciting her camel thus of her had cut the down, role, Ali, realizing importance The to the battle to end. defeated and her men fall into disarray causing Ali. Nevertheless, the treated was magnanimously CAisha bythevictorious in that has controversial remained she in this battle role played important Islamic history(it was the firstin which Muslim blood was shed by ofmany.The chargesthatthe opposiMuslims)earned her the reproach that thestart, tionhad made from by goingintobattle,'Aishahad violated the seclusionimposedby Mohamad,who had orderedhiswivesto stayat home (women'sproperplace in thisnew order),seemed the morefully from 'Aishathendid retire vindicated publiclifeand thus by her defeat.76 so richly andimportantly thewomanwhohascontributed became,as befits thatwere to governMuslimlife, the of the Traditions to the founding New Woman. exemplary were still to be met with in the Women scholarsand authorities and in the following, thoughin farfewernumber. following generation rareforany of the teachersof Hadith to Graduallyit became extremely blamed forthe This is the periodtypically a woman.77 have learnedfrom Islam. Nabia Abbott from followed on women'slivesthat restrictions aptly summarizesthis view when she states that it was now that women's and submissiveness "intoone ofpassivity in Islamwas crystallized position comparableto that alreadyimposed on the women of her Jewishand ofIslam, centuries and that Christian bythesecondand third neighbours" ofwomenhad progressed "theseclusionand degradation beyondanything is thattheseclusion The implication decades ofIslam."78 in thefirst known not is theresult ofIslamichistory ofmost ofwomentypical and degradation This is also the ofIslam but ofits misinterpretation by latergenerations. Islamic society,theyargue, women view of New Muslims:in thatfirst functionsand performed participatedin the life of the community be barred to were later attendedthe mosque, led prayers-whichthey
76Abbott,Aishah, 131, 160-69. 77 See in MuslimStudies,ed. S. M. Ignaz Goldziher,"Women in Hadith Literature," 2 vols.(Chicago:AldinePublishing trans.C. R. Barberand S. M. Stern, Co., 1966-68), Stern, 2:366-68; Stern,"The FirstWomen Converts. . ." 22. 78Abbott, "Womenand theStatein EarlyIslam, "Journal ofNear EasternStudies1 (April 1942): 106-26, 115, 123.
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Islam in reality and therefore in from, encouragedwomento participate life.However,thewomenand socialand and professional thecommunity's Islamic society,Mohamad'scontemporaries, were not men of thatfirst themselvesmolded by the ordinancesand practicesof Islam, though no doubt;thosethathad moldedthemwere to themconsciously adhering and practices oftheJahilia thatIslamwas transformthe attitudes society activeand indepening,a societyin whichwomenhad been remarkably in the precedingpages, even ifoftenfleetdent. We have encountered womenin therolesofpriestesses, Jahilia ingly, soothsayers, prophetesses, warrior-leaders after thewoundedon the headingarmies,nurseslooking battlefield and venturing intothethick ofbattle,poets,authors ofsatirical verse taking forits object formidable male opponents, keepers,in some unclearcapacity, ofthe keysofthe holiestshrineofMecca, encountered themas rebellious thatincludedmen, women,and as leadersofrebellions indeed as commanding and armies,and, of course,as womeninitiating at will, and mingling even the terminating marriages freely, Prophet's wives, untilbanned by Islam, withthe men of theirsociety.It is that women'srolesin the society heritage, beingsupersededand transformed accountsforthoseelementsofactiveby Islam that,it is here suggested, ness and independenceto be foundin the women of the first Muslim more prosociety. In this reading then, the closure and increasingly nounced subjugation thatcame to women'slives in the nextgeneration were nottheresult ofmisinterpretation butrepresent rather theworkings out in history oftheimplications oftheorderIslamhad introduced (albeit an orderintendedfrom the first, as one vein within Islamicthought has Thatclosuretherefore bears that alwaysargued,to be itself transitional). relationto its initial,founding institutions and specifically to the lineamentsof Islamic marriage, ofplantto seed. Institute Bunting Radcliffe College

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