Aishah bint Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah was born in Cairo in 761 H, corresponding to 1360 CE. She studied under many teachers of high repute. Her studies are documented in detail. Thus, we know, for example, that she studied five out of eight sessions of Al-Fawaid Al-Ghailaniyah under her maternal grandfather Abu Al-Hazm. She also studied the two first volumes of Al-Fawid by Ibn Bushran under Ibn Jumma’ah and Al-Muwaffaq. She was certified by several scholars, such as Ibn Qadi Al-Jabal and Al-Khallati as well as a few Syrian and Egyptian scholars. She apparently learnt calligraphy and became adept in it.

As a scholar Aishah bint Ali was versatile. She was mainly well versed in Hadith, and her Hadiths are related by Al-Zain Radwan in a collection of Hadiths with chains of transmission limited to nine or 10 reporters only. Scholars have praised her for her sharp intelligence, and her understanding of Fiqh was noted with admiration. She seems to have an exceptionally good memory. She could memorize a poem or a text after reading it once only. She utilized this in her study of the Seerah, or life of the Prophet. Her knowledge of the Prophet’s history was exemplary. In fact, she could read from memory large chunks of the Prophet’s Seerah at ease. Moreover, she learnt by heart much poetry. All this made her a really good scholar.

Aishah bint Ali was also noted for her piety. She was highly devout, attending to her worship most regularly. She died in 840 H, at the age of 79. May God grant her His mercy.

Shahdah Bint Ahmad Ibn Al-Faraj

Shahdah bint Ahmad Al-Daynooriyah was known as Fakhr Al-Nisa’, or Women’s Pride. She was a scholar of high standing, a good writer who was well known for her piety and generosity. She was born in Baghdad, perhaps in the last third of the fifth century of the Islamic era. She read under some of the best scholars of her time, such as Nasr ibn Ahmad Al-Batrawani (d. 494 H) who was famous for his knowledge of the Qur’an and the Hadith, Talhah ibn Muhammad Al-Zaynabi, Ali ibn Al-Husain, Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Shashi and many others.

Her studies are documented in great detail. Thus, we know for example that she read under Tarrad ibn Muhammad Al-Zaynabi four books by Ibn Abi Al-Dunya, a famous scholar of the second century, as well as the book known as Al-Amwal by Al-Qasim ibn Sallam and the Hadiths reported by Sufyan ibn Uyainah.

The same sort of documentation of her studies under other teachers and scholars is provided. These details make a very long list, which is a testimony for the breadth of her studies. Similarly, we have a detailed record of what she taught her students, and we read among them some of the highly celebrated names. Thus, we learn that an imam of very high standing as Ibn Al-Jawzi has read under her Muhammad Al-Ajiri’s book concerning seeing God on the Day of Judgment. Likewise, Ali ibn Hibatullah read under her the first volume of the unfamiliar Hadiths by Malik ibn Anas, while Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Abu Bakr Al-Maqdisi learnt from her the fifth volume of a book called Al-Muntaqa min Hadith Al-Husain ibn Shadhan. Again the list is very long.

Such detailed recording of education specifying not only the names of the teachers and the students, but also what exactly each student read under a particular teacher is a main feature of Islamic scholarship. It contributes to reliability and accuracy which are main qualities of our culture.

Shahdah bint Ahmad died on Sunday 13 Muharram 574 H, corresponding to 1179 CE. May God bless her with His grace.

Arab News Islam 3 March 2003