Zainab bint Younus, Author at AlJumuah Magazine

A Tale of Two Women: The Milkmaid and the Empress | Zainab bint Younus

ONE LATE NIGHT, the second khalîfa ʿUmar ibn Al-Khaṭṭâb walked through the narrow streets of Madinah in silence, observing the state of his people. As he passed by one mud-brick home, two voices caught his attention. Both were female: one older and…

The Myth of Unbiased Islamic Scholarship | Part 4

There is the example of discussion on how often a husband is obliged to be sexually intimate with his wife; while it is unanimous that a husband who desires intimacy must be responded to immediately by his wife, the reverse is not…

Speaking Truth to Power: The Eloquence of the Prophet’s Granddaughter | Part 2

The Speech before the Khalifa The granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, had just spoken truth to power—in front of Yazîd ibn Muʿâwiyah, the khalîfa, the Umayyad ruler in Syria (Part 1). Zaynab bint ʿAli paused, and then delivered the speech that became…

Asiyah: Mother of a Prophet and a Revolution

A TYRANT RISES to power, ruling his nation with cruelty and hatred. In one fell swoop, he creates a giant chasm between two segments of society — those whom he belongs to, and those whom he has declared outsiders. For years, he…

The Almost-Polygynous Woman’s Checklist – 1 | Zainab bint Younus

DISCUSSIONS ABOUT POLYGYNY amongst Muslims tend to be quite stilted and repetitive – the same old tired mantras regarding a man’s “right” to take on other wives; that enduring the situation with patience is a first wife’s jihâd; that polygyny is a…

The Myth of Unbiased Islamic Scholarship | Part 3

"One example of how female reality can oppose male (scholarly) perception is in an anecdote regarding the great scholar, Al-Shaykhah Al-Muftiyyah Fâṭimah bint ¢Abbâs Al-Baghdâdiyyah. She used to debate with the ¢ulamâ' of her time, the majority of whom were men. One…

Advisor to Head of State: Umm Salamah

WOMEN IN POLITICS is a touchy subject – not just among Muslims, but even among non-Muslims. The Western world has had only a handful of female political leaders and their governments have only relatively recently included more female politicians, with sexism remaining…

Polygyny: What It Means When African American Muslim Women Share Their Husbands: Book Review | Zainab bint Younus

POLYGYNY IS THE pink elephant in the room for so many Muslims – a topic both titillating and embarrassing, one that comes up in questions from non-Muslims and in debate in Muslim gatherings, a subject that elicits strong emotional reactions from almost…

Marriage Bandits and the End of Secret Second Wives

MORE AND MORE awareness has been raised regarding the phenomenon of ‘marriage bandits’ – those men, often portraying themselves as ‘religious,’ who approach women with convincing proposals of marriage, charming them into shady arrangements resembling (barely) ḥalâl hook-ups rather than serious commitments.…

The Almost-Polygynous Woman’s Checklist – 2 | Zainab Bint Younus

DESPITE THE NEGATIVE perception of polygyny that is widespread amongst Muslims and non-Muslims alike, more and more Muslims – including women – are actively pursuing polygynous marriages. The reasons behind this are varied: For some women, their status as divorcees or single…