Assalamu alaikum shaikh, some people claim that "woman should not be allowed to study the deen past the point of basic knowledge, for fear she will use her knowledge against her husband." Can you kindly clarify has it any basis ? are women not allowed to learn about her Islamic rights ? Allah grants women those rights but many men(whether he is husband,father or brother etc) ignore those rights! I am astonished that , if women want her rights given by Allah from her husband or anyone ,is it blameworthy! Is it not allowed for women to enjoy her Islamic rights or even is she not allowed to acquire knowledge of deen? Please I am requesting to clarify it. Should women not know her Islamic rights in details or should she not be Islamic scholar?.

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

Women, just like men, are ordained to learn the matters of their religion that a Muslim cannot be ignorant about, with which they can perform their acts of worship in a valid manner, and in order that one would have a correct belief and know to deal in transactions in a lawful manner, and she is encouraged to learn what is more than this.

The Prophet taught women and his teaching was not limited to men only.

Al-Bukhaari entitled a Chapter as follows: Chapter: “Should Women Have a Particular Day for Teaching Them (Islamic) Knowledge?”

In this chapter he mentioned the Hadeeth narrated by Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri who said:

“The women said to the Prophet : “Men take all your time (and deprived us) so fix for us a particular day from your time. Hence, the Prophet promised them a day to meet with them on that day, he admonished them and commended them to do certain things. Among the things he said to them: "No woman who loses three children except that they will be a shield for her from Hellfire.” On that a woman asked: “If only two die?” He replied: “Even only two.”

Another Hadeeth reported by At-Tirmithi reads: “Women are twin halves of men.”

The meaning of ‘twin halves of men’, as the scholars said, is that they are the parallel of men and are like them in conduct, behavior and rulings. Seeking knowledge is one of the greatest acts of worship, and it is not restricted to only men in the Sharee'ah. As for preventing a woman from seeking knowledge that is only recommended [and not obligatory on her], then even a man himself may be prevented from seeking recommended knowledge if by seeking it he would neglect the rights of this family or other obligations, like the mandatory spending he must provide to his family.

Similarly, a woman may be prevented from seeking recommended knowledge if by doing so she would fall short regarding the rights of her family and other obligations.

The prevention in this case, is for giving priority to that which is mandatory over what is recommended, but to say that a woman should be prevented from seeking this kind of knowledge so that she would not ask for her rights, then this is something which is only said by an ignorant person or someone who oppresses women. Women should be given their rights stipulated in the Sharee’ah even if they did not know about them.

It is not from religion at all or good moral conduct to exploit their ignorance in order to prevent them from their rights. If anyone does that [among men] then he is a transgressor and he resembles the Jews who follow tricks in order to transgress the limits set by Allah.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 81237.

Allah knows best.