"assalamu alikum ,my question is regarding women's education ,im 21 yrs old and im associated with tabligh, my mum is now looking a girl for me and when i put in masura with tabligh elders regarding marriage with that girl,they rejected because that girl is educated and also when i talk with tablighi guys they say dont go for educated girls they will be arrogant not obey their husband,so look for uneducated girl and education of girl not necessary in that meaning ,but mind is not accepting it ,since im in abroad now in singapore ,if i got married i need my wife to be educated and also allow her to work to run the family and a ulama said me that if u committed zina ,ur wife would also commit zina ,and he quoted an ayath in quran that pure woman is for pure man(similar meaning i guess from surah noor),so pls tell me woman should be educated wordly and if i didnt commit zina ,she too will not commit right ,pls answer my question at earliest as i have to say my parents (note:in my family womans are educated for 3 generations and rich so they wont allow me to get married to uneducated girl from poor family)pls clarify the status of woman education in islam"

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The texts of the Sharee’ah that prove the excellence of knowledge and the scholars are not peculiar to men; rather, they include both sexes. Allaah Says (what means): {Say, “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”}[Quran 39:9] Moreover, Anas ibn Maalik narrated that the Prophet said: “Seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim, male and female.” [Ibn Maajah]

For more benefit on the woman’s right to seek knowledge, please refer to Fataawa 86220 and 87020.

This includes religious sciences as well as worldly sciences; but a woman should learn the worldly sciences that suit her nature upon which Allaah created her. For instance, she may learn medicine, nursing and the like. Nonetheless, her prime concern should be learning her religion. First she should begin with learning the individual obligations, like the correct creed, the prayer, fasting and so forth. Then she may learn other things that benefit her in her religion and her worldly matters.

On the other hand, the correct and proper criterion in choosing a wife is religion as articulated in the Sharee’ah. If, in addition to this, she is educated, then this is even better. Therefore, it is not correct to say that the educated women are proud of themselves and do not obey their husbands; rather, amongst them, there are those who are Muslims [submit themselves to Allaah], believers, and devoutly obedient.

Furthermore, if a husband commits Zina (fornication or adultery) this does not necessarily mean that his wife would do the same. As regards the verse in Chapter An-Noor [Quran 24:26], then we already clarified in Fatwa 88697 that {Bad women are for bad men and bad men are for bad women} means that this is a religious ruling and not a predestined matter. Therefore, it is not permissible for a chaste man to marry an adulteress, nor is it permissible for a chaste woman to marry an adulterer or fornicator, but a husband might have committed Zina (adultery or fornication) and his wife is chaste, and verse versa. So, please refer to the above Fatwa.

Allaah Knows best.