(Meditations on menstruation). Learning the Rulings (Fiqh) of Women’s Issues Well Oftentimes in our communities and in our own personal study of Islam, our attention is drawn to ‘hot topics’ – ideas and issues that are exciting, current, or much discussed, but may have little practical benefit in our lives, and may overlook what is actually obligatory upon us to know. Our discourse is often so saturated with discussions on contentious modern issues, high-level creedal matters, or philosophical ruminations that there is little room left for the more fundamental and important, as defined by Allah Himself in a hadith qudsi1 : “A servant draws not near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him.”2 Knowing the fiqh rulings related to our everyday practice of religion is considered fard ‘ayn - personally obligatory – in that every single Muslim, regardless of age, educational background, or gender, must learn them sufficiently well to act upon them. While we may incline towards other things, we are taught repeatedly in our sacred texts that it is enacting our acts of worship precisely and complying with clear religious injunctions that should take precedence. These matters may seem petty and trivial in light of larger and weightier matters, but they are actually the first crucial steps towards spiritual development and change, both individually and collectively. We especially see a neglect of fiqh come into play with rulings related to ritual purification –specifically menstruation, postnatal bleeding, and related women’s issues. As women, to whom these rulings have direct practical relevance, such negligence affects not only the validity of our acts of worship but also our ability to meaningfully contribute to our community from a position of knowledge. Having familiarity with these rulings also helps us reach a level of confidence in our religious practice, such that we are not overwhelmed with doubts and second- guessing our acts of devotion, and can feel hopeful that they are acceptable and sound in Allah’s sight. Here too is a unique opportunity for women to learn and teach about matters specifically related to them in a manner that male teachers, who would be naturally bereft of first hand experience, cannot do. Women who feel strongly about an over- dependence on male scholarship should feel it most acutely in matters such as these, where women should naturally take the fore, and feel even more motivated to begin a serious study of fiqh. Traditionally, this knowledge has been considered so critically important for women that classical books of fiqh teach that a woman has the right to seek it out even if her husband forbids her to do so.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 06:06:42 +0000
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