The Effectiveness of Women in the Era of Prophethood and the Rightly Guided Caliphate: Selected Models and Indicative Scene - فاعلية المرأة في عصر النبوة والخلافة الراشدة نماذج مُختارة ومشاهد دالة

Abstract

This study examines the manifestations of women’s agency within Islamic civilization, particularly during the Prophetic era and the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphate. It seeks to explore the spheres of women’s presence and contributions in political, social, economic, cultural, and educational life. The study proceeds from the image of women presented in the Noble Qur’an, including the Qur’anic discourse that establishes their status, clarifies their rights and responsibilities, and corrects pre-Islamic perceptions that diminished their dignity or restricted their role. It also draws upon events from the Prophetic biography and its practical models, which embodied this Qur’anic vision in the lived reality of the first Muslim community.The study relies on sources that addressed rulings related to women, the nature of their participation in the early Muslim society, and the patterns of their agency across multiple fields. It also sheds light on inspiring models of women, foremost among them the Mothers of the Believers and the female Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, by highlighting their central roles in consolidating Islamic values, contributing to the building of society, serving knowledge and daʿwah, and participating in the fields of care, consultation, and public engagement.The study concludes that women in the Prophetic era and the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphate were neither absent from the movement of society nor isolated from the spheres of agency. Rather, they were present in a manner governed by the principles and objectives of Shariah, and they participated in building the Muslim community according to their qualifications, circumstances, and areas of capability.