The image of an Islamic scholar engaged in memorization, collection or engagement with the many traditions (hadith, singular) of the Prophet Muhammad is invariably that of a male. After all, one of the most important collections is that of the Persian Muhammad b. Ismail al-Bukhari (d. 870 CE). But over the centuries there have been thousands of Muslim women who studied these traditions. For example, one of these scholars, Zaynab bint al-Kamal, is reported to have taught some 400 hadith works in 13th century Damascus. Many of these women are known, but most have not been recognized outside biographical sources.

Earlier this year Dr. Mohammed Akram Nadwi from the Cambridge Islamic College published a 43-volume work, al-Wafa’ bi-asma’ al-nisa’ (Biographical Dictionary of Women Narrators of Hadith) on over 10,000 female hadith transmitters and scholars. The text is currently in Arabic, but there is an English translation of the first volume available on Amazon.

For a talk in Arabic on Youtube about his book, click here.