Many people already know that Masjid anNabawi (also referred to as the Haram) has male scholars, imams, and teachers. But did you know that it also has many female scholars, teachers, and reciters as well?
The Haram offers free daily halaqas (”circles,” aka classes) for anyone and everyone, the most common ones teaching the recitation (tajweed) and memorization (hifth) of Quran. There are several halaqas that run every day at different times–in the morning, between Asr and Maghrib, and between Maghrib and Isha. Anyone with an iqaama (ID proving lawful residence in Saudi Arabia) can sign up, and they’re not just in Arabic–there are English and Urdu ones, as well. And for the thousands of visitors that don’t have iqamas, there are many lectures and opportunities to recite to a teacher without signing up for an actual class. There are also newly offered online classes, as well. All of these are taught by people who’ve memorized the Quran and have possibly completed other courses of study as well. And these teachers are not just men, they’re women, too.
Men teach other men/boys in the men’s section, and women teach other women/girls/young boys in the women’s section.
And they’re not just halaqas, or classes–there are also designated times and places throughout the women’s section where a female scholar would come and answer any questions women may have. These scholars often speak multiple languages in order to communicate with the Muslim women from all over the world.
Some of them even use sign language! When a group of women with hearing loss visited from Canada, the office for the women’s section sent a scholar who signs to introduce them to the Haram and lead them to Rawdah. There are also halaqas to teach Quran led by women for women and children with special needs–there is an effort to encourage students with hearing loss, blindness, down syndrome, or other difficulties to learn the Quran as well.
While the (male) Imams of the Harams (both in Madinah and Makkah) get a lot of attention and praise worldwide about their beautiful recitations of the Quran, many don’t realize, or overlook, that there are also highly qualified female reciters with beautiful voices, as well. It’s just impossible for the whole world to know, as they tend to only recite in the presence of women or male relatives, out of modesty.
I remember listening to one of my teachers’ beautiful recitations inside the Masjid–it was so serene and peaceful that birds would come stand near her on the carpets. She recited with such a strong voice that it carried into the men’s section, so the men’s office called the women’s office to ask her to recite more quietly or to sit further away from the barrier between the sections as it was distracting the other men.
Here, I say “scholar,” but these women often don’t refer to themselves as such, out of humility. Once, when I was in middle school, I asked a woman, who was showing visitors different significant parts of the Masjid and answering their questions, whether she was a scholar or not. She said, “I can’t say that I am a scholar, or else shaytan (the devil) will try to convince me that I already know enough so I don’t have to learn any more. I have a lot left to learn, so I can’t call myself a scholar.”
So although it’s often overlooked, competent Muslim women of knowledge exist and are hard at work every day, some doing it for their own self-fulfillment, some earning money for the families, and all of them doing it with love. Nevertheless, it’s hard to frequently visit the women’s section of Masjid anNabawi without witnessing the impact of these amazing female role models.
“Do not scatter the (recitation of) Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the chapter.”
“People who have memorized the Qur’aan should be known by the night when people are sleeping and he is awake, and by the morning when people are not fasting but he is, by his sadness when they are happy, by his crying when they are laughing, by his silence when they are slandering, and by his piety and humility when they are arrogant. He who has memorized the Qur’aan should be tearful, sad, wise, patient, and clam, and he should not be rude, inattentive, loud or cruel.”
— Ibn al-Qayyim [Al-Fawaid - A collection of wise sayings. Page 247]
