Blog

Education is very important for every child whether boy or girl. In some countries many communities still discriminate against the girl child education. A new report from UNESCO released in July determined that more than 130 million girls around the world are out of secondary school. Women and girls have been victims of ruthless power struggles for centuries in all societies and cultures around the world. Women's education leads to significant social development such as, an educated woman can be a better partner, a good mother, and best citizen.

To educate a girl is equally important as to educate a boy. Many Muslims (who do not have the right knowledge of Islam) across the globe think that Islam does not permit a girl to study or to go out of home to seek knowledge, whereas this is totally the wrong concept which Islam never supports. In order to clear this misconception we have the biggest example of Hazrat Khadija (Prophet Mohammad’s wife).

Khadijah Binte Khuwaylid, the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), was a wealthy tradeswoman and a very talented woman in history. She was the richest lady in Mecca at that time, who exported goods as far away as Syria. To manage her large business, she employed several males. The way she was carrying her business shows her high level of understanding and wisdom.

Confidence, courage, and strength these all come with the education in a person. So, to delve into one self and to use the skills and intellect one must be educated enough to think critically.

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), came at a time when the Arab society, like so many patriarchal societies at that time, was rife with abhorrent practices against girls. He preached Islam, liberating women and girls in every walk of life, education being a prime aspect. Allah revealed the first Quranic verse as,

Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clinging form. Read! Your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by means of the pen; taught man what he did not know. (96:1-5)

The above verses address humankind to seek knowledge and asking every individual “to read”. The emphasis is laid in the acquisition of knowledge. In the above verses, there is not a single statement or action denying girls’ right to education. Had these verses only been for men? No! The rights to education are for men and women both.

The Quran repetitively reminds people to ponder, think, analyze, by using their mind power to contemplate and understand. To use the power of mind one must be well educated to think in the right way. Here education does not mean particularly the worldly education or religious education only but the balance of both.

Some sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) are:

“Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim.”

“He who has a slave-girl and teaches her good manners and improves her education and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward; and any slave who observes God’s right and his master’s right will get a double reward.”

“If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.”

Such societies need to change their mentality that has this concept, that education can only be acquired by males whereas females are for home chores and Islam does not allow women to get them educated. Islam encourages to acquire knowledge and this gender bias and discriminations are not mentioned anywhere in Islam but these are the concepts created by the people.