Muslim Women, The Architects of Nations The Secret Sauce ICNA 2023

Sullivan

was a little while ago say that earlier.

I was tasked to talk about this topic of architects of the nation, being a woman,

soprano.

This concept in which you define that half of our population globally are women. And the other half, as was mentioned, raised. The other.

The question, however, that I always hear, are, where are we, in terms of the modern era, or even historically, so often, even our girls and women don't know our own story related to a woman who have been the architects of society.

And by architects here, I don't mean just the buildings, I mean, infrastructure related knowledge or speaking as authorities in their field. And

so jolla together we're going to walk down a little bit down history lane,

and learn together. And I wonder if some of these maybe you're familiar with, and then I'm going to bridge it back to the modern era.

First, I'm going to start with this story. I want you to, I want to ask you, people often say if there really were so many female women scholars historically, how can we go here?

Honestly, this is on us more than it is on history. Did you know that when the sun reaches someone, and

someone called me falling at Central Asia,

there were so many women's scholars were of the hats, meaning they were scholars of Islamic law.

They were most yet they were able to make sense, whoever Islamic legal rulings, so much so

that as well, World War Two the issue

and only signed by commodity and then scholar,

the community would push it back and say absolutely not.

Every fact will have to be co signed by Adam,

did you notice,

which teaches us something.

Not only were women part and parcel of the Islamic tradition in terms of learning and painting, but they were at the forefront and actually science in the work they were doing. And the society came to expect that. And we have no less.

Folks, I'm not making this up. This is our own history. And we owe it to ourselves and our children to study this. It is evidence from all of the records that we can find on the sonic scholars overwhelming

that not only were they plentiful and numerous, but they were also influential in our societies, that there was no distinction between men and women when it came to, to knowledge.

I say this, and I'm going to share it towards the middle of this talk, how I experienced modern wind scholarship today, in this era of classical traditional Islamic scholarship. It's an IP precisely

these women Subhanallah are carrying forth a legacy that's always been part of this.

Let us talk about this together a little bit more. Let's go to the time of the conference a little longer are they people send them

you have say that it before I leave.

Even he

studied his studies under a woman scholar Did you know this? I want you to know this. So you can argue federal law which

states studied under a woman named of a Munna it sounds. And he narrates again.

And so you do that

at your level? And

would also help women who were specifically part of the society, let me ask you this, does anyone know the name of the person that I'll say that I'm in charge of the entire marketplace? In Medina?

Anyone nobody?

It's an S Supanova. People don't realize how much of this is a part and parcel of our society for name was laid out.

And he put her in charge of this. Basically all of the financial bullies and everything that lives in it, yes or no? Who gets to put up a booth in the marketplace and sell and who's maybe not doing the selling honestly, and she was the one in charge of all of this. When you hear stories like this from the early generations, you start to understand how fully integrated in order and highest developers and knowledge they weren't. They were also parts of the governance of the societies in which they live.

You have an impact in ICS, for example, who had say that it's untenable

Penn was a great job audio, and the student assistant.

She studied it so well was it's an archer, who of course was they say that half of our literally half of the audience comes directly from, say, Dodge County level.

And her students

was a wonderful topic it was

that she was really, really well respected for Islamic knowledge. So much so that when something happened to mention that one day, the judge of Medina, issued a fatwa, and said, at this particular office, when I was living in that society, that kind of being stolen, something needed to happen this summer, when she heard that she sent her students and said, it will tell remind the judge, remind the judge, that you can't do that, if what you stole was under one holds the law.

And when the judge heard this, he said, Oh, that's right.

Nobody questioned her. Nobody questions.

Nobody said you're not knowledgeable, or excuse me now, what are you doing here?

But are women often feel this way? If you don't look like a chef? The question is, do you hold Islamic authority?

Our history is a noble legacy of both men and women scholars, both men and women being part and parcel of the society.

And I'm telling you felt when she was part of the Smith unit society that mentioned had a pulse on the community she knew was happening. She didn't get to get up and defend someone who was a team member. But she didn't want a miscarriage of justice to happen.

So she rose to a patient.

And she continued to teach them so she was 77 years old when she passed away.

You want to know what social activism is, you want a good role model for social justice? Follow on.

Now, save it

as a beautiful story, in which one day is walking into the city, as he often did. An elderly woman stopped

and loved the story. She stopped him and she said,

Oh,

I used to know you when you were a kid.

All made him a little local. But

you know, like an antique coming out to be like, Oh, little

Can you imagine for all of a sudden you're

right. I used to know you when you were just on a and you used to be a shepherd with your stick.

And

so he stops and he listens to what she has to say. And she says a lot about fear.

In your goals, police are taking care of people and you know that the one who does not fear the threats or punishment in the hereafter will realize that it's not far away. And the one who fears of death of your son is six opportunity in this life. So like any auntie, she gave him a couple of strong words. The man standing next to say that

and she said the woman you spoken so harshly to me.

What are you doing? What are you doing?

And then say that Ahmed said no, no.

Do you not know who she is?

Do you know who she was? Does anyone know who she is? Who is she? I hear her appearing?

Excellent.

So you did all that it says let her be? Who am I? To have I owe much to stop her from speaking and listening to her when a lot in the seven heavens listen to her and sent down verses of the closet.

We read this chapter and get your notes connected to her

but some yellow hole in the future

with a sticky it'll fall below Yes. Now it's

no longer sunny sleep.

They're on the allowance for the statement of the woman who disputed You awful comments on the body of Salam concerning her husband and complained to

Allah her the earth between both of you and indeed a lot is on hearing or seeing

her name? No her name. Her name is Helena.

And when she went to the prophets of Allah audio center with a concern the prophets of Allah does not speak on His own time. Now

he can't speak with his own importance even Allah subhanaw taala to send down the legislation about the question she had her parents

and Allah did and we have verses specific to her story.

So years later, when she approached to save the omelette, it gives him two pieces of advice. He says, Who am I to not listen to, even though I'm a beautiful people am I not to listen to a lot was awesome to me and said to put down for somebody.

So

when you realize this, you start to understand, we're the status of women, you've always been in the story of the architects of the nation.

One time saving all that was up.

And in the football, he tried to cap the salaries.

And in the middle of a football, you're not supposed to speak in a football, but it was so upsetting to a particular woman. And in the middle of the flipside, she says to say that

is what you say more acceptable than what an officer or agent, so he stops. And so she see it says the first from the point on

a t

shirt.

And if you can keep in that even a heap of gold, you cannot take for anything.

It will say, Look closer to the sisters and brothers didn't say the look well.

He stopped, he listened. And he said the woman is right or wrong.

And he fix the room.

Why am I sharing these stories with you?

What does this have to do with the architect of a nation?

I want to go through a list of a few names and they are just scratching the surface just scratching the surface. I'm going to walk you through history with a few minutes. Let's go to the fifth century. You have Kadima

who mashallah was from medicine. And she went to, to teach and study to the point that she became called a shapefile

that you know about

her ijazah get the license of teaching from her was so difficult because she was so particular in her teaching. And she kept teaching until she was about 100 years old, leaving the height of so many women and men learned under.

Let's keep walking to the sixth century. You have lots of insight that came from China, who was an accomplished scholar. By the time she's 91 of the greatest teachers. Then she traveled all over the world to study and people from all over the world came to study with her. Let's jump to the 10th century.

What about Ludhiana Slavia? When I was in Cairo recently, just last year, I walked into a place that had artifacts is all dusty, very dusty. The 50s are old stuff like antique.

And I saw what I thought was an apostrophe. And I said what husserlian And the shopkeeper said I don't.

I said, Can you just get off nicely with the citizen? And sure enough, he does stuff and it's beautiful now Sterling, and he said, What do you want with this? Nobody uses that anymore. People don't even use the compasses anymore.

And I said do you not know?

Do you not know about that yet? So yes, if you ever see me speaking from my house, with from zoom, you'll see the askeleen behind me.

I was so excited to purchase this product love. I love who I am, what century it's from. But she was somebody who was a scientist and an engineer and she designed us for

allowing so many people to be able to navigate the waters figure out the directions figure out prayer figure out application. Did you know about

architects and nations let's go to sustain 10 century little bit

was a scribe and the translator and mathematician and a poets. And she was selected by the Amiga at that time to hand write scribe write regular text to the sounds and preserve that and be entrusted with the railroad tracks.

Let's go to Nigeria 13th century that is not a shining light and the support to the caliphates a military experts in a heartbeat.

And somebody who was so concentrating on making sure that going from village to village and village to village is teaching women and girls. We look her up on the foundation. That's our motto as well. And she's considered to be a reviver of our century 15th century Howdy.

My name is Maria. And even as a young child should memorize

and pursue theology, law, history grammar, so much so that in pirate Mecca where she lived in both places, she wrote books that are still used today. But I know what you're going to say. Dr. Ron Yeah, it's a nice, beautiful story of our history.

What about today?

Before the war, when I was very young, I had the opportunity to travel to Syria. Elissa

Don't don't give Siri about safety and security.

As a 14 year old, I took that first trip and I kept going back and forth back and forth from high school, college, medical school and even into my residency until the war broke out.

There I started becoming scholars in the state. And again, if you ever see me on

my bookshelf in the background with Astra llevas, you'll see shelves, shelves, of books about

anything you need,

written by a woman scholars are live today. Elia had today just recently passed away.

I say that to you to understand when I was in Syria, what I saw as a young woman, was this impressionable age or these role models, hundreds of 1000s, who completed their beaches and put it on and allowed me to do as well.

1000s look completed all Oshana out of 10 canonical recitations. I'm good enough solder to do the same.

Blimey, I actually studied, and we're balanced in our tradition. I say this, what am I main aspects of teaching Islamic law. That's what I taught that takes you to college for some years. Mike still teacher when I was in Syria, was also a physician, and anesthesiologist who had her practice in the day, and then will come teach us stuff in the evenings.

And you see women like this, were balancing Dean and Tamiya and family

who are wives and mothers, along with other aspects, but they know their priorities, and they never mix up his priorities, you start to understand how to become an architect of a nation. So I'm going to share with you

the secret sauce, you're ready. You want to know your secret sauce?

Here it is. It's something called the concentric circles.

Think about a series of circles of nested one within another within another within another.

What is the core of that circle? Who is at the core of circle? who

do

a lot and

your relationship with God is right at the core that never changes. It doesn't matter what season of life you're in, right? Your sisters or brothers.

The next layer outs of priorities, these are the circles of priorities. The next point or else before there are the parents.

And after marriage becomes a spouse and children, because there is nobody who's going to be able to answer about them on the Day of Judgment except you. No one else has a spouse to your spouse. No one else is a parent to those children. So that's why they're the next four out once you have them to love.

Then parents, then siblings, extended family, the community, your local communities, the OMA humanity.

These circles nested one within another is their secret sauce. You know why? Because this is how you tell priorities. To the young people in the room. Please, stop humping your fences, and trying to save the dolphins when your room is a mess.

Just saying.

And those words are like amazing community work. Please stop. If your marriage isn't short.

On the Day of Judgment, when we stand in front of Allah subhanaw taala alone with no one next to us and no one's able to answer for us, we will answer for ourselves. And we will be asked based on priorities.

And when you see women who have their priorities straight, now you understand how to be architects of nations. And there is nothing shameful by sticking to one or two core circles. In fact, our teachers say their season is in stages of what you know what stage and season you're in and another stage, you can do something else. Let me tell you this in closing.

If you feel that your priorities aren't straight, where a teacher says, go back to the court, go back to the court, have a couple more levels back into the court and you'll get it all straightened out. There was nothing shameful of spending time when I say meet women. They say well, I'm just a housewife. You're just a housewife. That is the most amazing job you could possibly be raising them this season of your life with the children. That everyone is a multitasker and if you are working and raising children, I sure hope you're doing well. Because we're loving Sisters, we are not Superwoman. And when we start to just society tries to tell us that we are that's the beginning of

all feelings. We need help.

And you may not be

Hello, and I want to tell you something as Muslims

in the studio

Psychology and getting counseling. I often find people talking about a good life crisis. You hear that term, or you hear about women talking about an empty nest syndrome, sisters, brothers, these terms should never be part of the particular you know why.

Because if you as a woman, all of your identity that you think we say now that my children are grown and they love the house, I don't even know who I am anymore. That should never be the case. Because your core identity never changes.

To either you're a servant to Lhasa Padilla, tada. And once the children grow and leave and notice that you say, 100 people would you like me to Next, you will never feel a sense of emptiness syndrome, because you always have something to do in the next season or the next variation of life. This is what I saw with my teachers in this modern era. May Allah bless them all and they have taught us and enclosing here what I'd like to say, as a status shift and change. I want you to ask yourself, always geography.

What would you like me to be doing now? What will please you what will get me into Jannah in this stage of my life, and what I wanted to aspire to continue in a different stage so that I don't harm or hurt anybody else in the process. And when you get these priorities straight, you know what Allah subhanaw taala wants from you, you'll be able to become an architect of nations will also come outside and water us to know our priorities, to get them straight, to be able to succeed in the dunya the Africa and to be people who are successful in both of those.

We are served up the daughter a happy and contented in this world and more importantly, in the next say, Hola Hola. Hola. Hello people possible not

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