Islam has given scholars a special status, considering them the most knowledgeable and understanding of people. Allah says: "Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge" (Fatir: 28). Islamic culture has placed men and women on equal footing regarding the command to seek knowledge in all its fields. Jabir ibn Abdullah reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) stood on the day of the breaking of the fast ('Id) and offered prayer. He began the prayer before the sermon. He then addressed the people. When the Prophet (ﷺ) finished the sermon, he descended (from the pulpit) and went to women. He gave them an exhortation while he was leaning on the hand of Bilal. Bilal was spreading his garment in which women were putting alms. (Reported by Al-Bukhari).

It was narrated from Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said, “Messenger of God, the men have a monopoly of what you say, so appoint us a day on which we may come to you to teach us some of what God has taught you.” He told them to gather on such and such a day in such and such a place, and when they did so he came to them and taught them some of what God had taught him. Then he said, “No woman among you will be predeceased by three of her children without that being a curtain from hell for her." One of the women asked whether that applied if there were two, repeating the question twice, and he replied, “Two also, two also, two also." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

One instance of valuing a woman's education is when the Prophet (ﷺ) made teaching part of a marriage dowry. As he said to Sahl ibn Sa’d, “Go, for I have married her to you with what you have of the Qur’an.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari).

Methodology of Women's Education in Islamic Culture

With a little effort, you can easily compare the methodology of women's education rooted in Islamic principles. Islamic culture has always valued women, granting them a status that approaches moral sanctity and full rights derived from Islamic legislation. This care for women is not found in modern feminist and globalized values, which promote women working and mingling with men in educational institutions, falsely claiming equality.

During the golden ages of the Muslim state, this culture protected women, though periods of decline deprived both men and women of their rights, as is typical during times of weakness.

Muslims preceded the West in women's education by centuries. The Prophet (ﷺ) dedicated a specific day and place to teach women. In contrast, Europe didn't institutionalize women's education until about two centuries ago.

Islam has always maintained a clear methodology and rules for women's education, which successive generations followed until the nation weakened due to cultural invasions that temporarily eroded the Islamic cultural features.

Guidelines for Women's Education in Islamic History

Women’s education in Islam is based on several foundations:

1. Equal Responsibilities: The religious obligations of men and women are identical, except in a few cases related to their natural differences. All legal rulings mentioned in the Qur'an include both genders. Allah says: "It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair" (Al-Ahzab: 36), and "Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward" (Al-Ahzab: 35), and "The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise" (At-Tawbah: 71).

2. Equal Accountability: Allah says: "And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged [even as much as] the speck on a date seed" (An-Nisa: 124), and "And their Lord responded to them, 'Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another. So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes or were harmed in My cause or fought or were killed - I will surely remove from them their misdeeds and admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow as reward from Allah, and Allah has with Him the best reward'" (Al-Imran: 195).

3. Education as a Duty: Women are required to seek knowledge just as men are. Allah says: "And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious" (At-Tawbah: 122). Allah also emphasizes studying history and geography: "Have they not traveled through the land and seen how was the end of those before them?" (Muhammad: 10).

4. Selective Education: Women must prioritize learning what benefits them in their responsibilities. There are personal obligations (fard ‘ayn) and communal obligations (fard kifayah). Fields like medicine are communal obligations, ensuring women don’t have to expose themselves to male doctors. However, not all women need to become doctors. Humanitarian and religious studies are personal obligations for every Muslim woman to ensure she worships correctly, raises her children well, and maintains her marital duties. Educational curricula for women should be different from those for men, though this doesn't exclude learning all kinds of sciences.

5. Gender-Specific Teaching: Historically, women's education occurred in exclusive settings. Women did not attend lessons or gatherings with men, even in mosques, but had private lessons in palaces, homes, and separate mosque sessions away from any form of mingling.

Dangers of Coeducation on Society

Many global studies have highlighted the risks of coeducation in schools. Dr. Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Habdan, in his research "Coeducation in Education: Ethical Corruption and Educational Harms," ⁽¹⁾ discusses such dangers. A study from Harvard University comparing single-sex to coeducational schools found that single-sex schools achieved:

• Higher educational objectives.
• Better self-esteem and quality of life.
• Improved performance in science and reading.
• Reduced stereotypical views of gender relations.
• Lower rates of absenteeism and behavioral issues.
• Better study habits and less time wasted watching TV.

Researcher Bonnie Fairbairn from the University of Western Ontario in Canada states that coeducation deceives women with slogans of equality, while the truth is that real equality lies in separation. This is because both genders have distinct characteristics and advantages that mixed schools and universities do not focus on, prioritizing the abilities of male students over female students.

After reviewing numerous studies that confirm similar findings, it is stated that women's universities and schools achieve better results across various fields, particularly in science, mathematics, and technology.

The same conclusion is reached by many researchers, including Lisa Ryerson, President of Wells College, who adds to the previous results by saying that women's universities increase self-confidence and ambition among their students, unlike coeducational universities.

Furthermore, Professor Nancy Beadie, in her comparative study on sources of success in 19th-century academies, published in the American Journal of Education in 1999, asserts that the key to success lies in the presence of non-coeducational schools. Based on this, she suggests further research into the possibility of establishing schools following this model in the current era, in line with market demands.

This is not the only Western study in this field that has concluded the dangers of coeducation on moral, social, and academic levels. In fact, there are hundreds of scientific studies that have reliably determined the catastrophic consequences of mixing genders in education.

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(1) Published on the 'Noor Al-Islam' website, October 15, 2009.

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