Moral Ascent

The Qur’an’s Upward Trajectory
Justice, Equality, Morality and Dignity

We Americans must look in our own backyard before criticizing Islam’s patriarchy. Prior to 1968, in the state of Texas a married woman could not own property or start a business without her husband’s permission. It took the Marital Property Act of 1967 to grant married women the same property rights as their husbands — only 59 years ago. The Qur’an gave property rights to women 1,400 years ago. As the saying goes, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

But I must. Why? Because of the Qur’an’s upward trajectory.

The principle is best illustrated through slavery. If a society practiced unrestricted slavery and a reformer said, “Free slaves after seven years,” that is improvement — but the Qur’an’s trajectory points toward abolition, not perpetual slavery. The penalty for unintentional killing (4:92) is to free a slave; for breaking an oath, one must feed ten needy people with the same food fed to one’s own family, or clothe them, or free a slave (5:89); unlawful Marital Renunciation is met with divine admonition requiring manumission before the resumption of marital relations (58:3). 

The Qur’an uses the powerful metaphor of fakku raqabah — “the untying of the neck” — framing manumission not merely as a transaction but as a profound spiritual act of liberation, equating the freeing of a soul with the believer’s own path to salvation. The Qur’an was not endorsing slavery. It was systematically dismantling it — one expiation at a time. Dear reader, keep your eye on the prize! 

Aisha College trains students to honor the Qur’an’s intention, not freeze it. Our Holy Book and our blessed Prophet ﷺ do not belong imprisoned in the 7th century — they belong alive in every century. The Qur’an is the answer to every problem Monday morning sends if,  and this is an important if, she invites the trajectory to inform her and keep her in step with the living demands of her era. This is precisely the Qur’an’s genius: its upward trajectory is Allah’s eternal guarantee that divine guidance never becomes obsolete, never grows rigid, never falls out of step with the world Allah continues to create.

We remind our students that Allah is closer than the jugular vein (50:16), a party to every moment, every event, every victory and every loss. Our cosmology holds that there is only One Power in the universe — Allah, the Inward (Al-Bāṭin), the Outward (Al-Ẓāhir), the All-Knowing (Al-‘Alīm), the All-Powerful (Al-Qadīr), the All-Encompassing (Al-Muhīt). 

The Qur’an’s trajectory toward justice is not subtle — it is unambiguous. Human reason, while not divine, can clearly perceive its upward intention: that the least, the lowest, and the left out are to be the central concern of every generation. To freeze our Holy Book at the 7th century’s achievements is to dishonor it. Social justice is not a one-and-done transaction — every generation is accountable for the distance it travels upward within its own lifetime. Nowhere is this accountability more urgent than in the mosque, where half of Allah’s creation has been systematically silenced, segregated, and excluded from spiritual leadership for fourteen centuries.

Aisha College teaches that on Judgment Day, Allah will ask: “Did you continue upward — or did you stop? Did you amend the civil codes toward greater equality — or were you indifferent to gender injustice? Did you dismantle patriarchy, eradicate misogyny, and abolish the genital mutilation of young girls? Did you restore women to the pulpit from which men removed them — not Allah? Did you ordain female imams and return spiritual equality to the house that Allah built for all? Did you spend your lifetime pursuing gender parity — or did you leave it for someone else?”

Our First Century — Women Led, Fought, Taught, and Prayed

The spirit of the College is sustained by the spiritual leadership of our first century Muslim women.

DURING THE PROPHET’S ﷺ LIFETIME:

  1. Khadijah bint Khuwaylid financed the entire Islamic movement with her wealth.
  2. Aisha bint Abu Bakr taught thousands of Sahaba and transmitted over 2,000 hadiths.
  3. Nusaybah bint Ka’ab (Umm Amarah) fought at Uhud, shielding the Prophet ﷺ with her own body.
  4. Sumayya bint Khayyat became Islam’s first martyr, tortured to death for refusing to renounce her faith.
  5. Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib killed an enemy spy during the Battle of the Trench.
  6. Umm Waraqah bint Abdullah led prayers in her household with the Prophet’s ﷺ explicit permission.
  7. Fatimah bint Muhammad embodied spiritual excellence and was called “leader of the women of Paradise.”
  8. Asma bint Abu Bakr risked her life bringing food to the Prophet ﷺ and her father during Hijrah.
  9. Umm Sulaym carried a dagger at the Battle of Hunayn while pregnant, ready to defend Islam.
  10. Umm Atiyyah participated in seven military campaigns, providing medical care to the wounded.
  11. Rufaydah al-Aslamiyyah established Islam’s first field hospital and trained female nurses.
  12. Hafsah bint Umar memorized the Qur’an and safeguarded the first written manuscript.
  13. Umm Salamah advised the Prophet ﷺ on critical decisions, including at Hudaybiyyah.
  14. Umm Haram bint Milhan received the Prophet’s ﷺ dua that she would participate in naval jihad.
  15. Umm Ayman (Barakah) nursed the Prophet ﷺ and fought at both Uhud and Khaybar.
  16. Umm Sharik sacrificed everything to spread Islam in Mecca under persecution.
  17. Al-Khansa was recognized as one of the greatest Arab poets, praised by the Prophet ﷺ himself.
  18. Umm Kulthum bint Uqbah made Hijrah alone as a young woman, fleeing persecution.
  19. Umm Hakim bint Harith fought at the Battle of Yarmuk and killed seven enemy soldiers.

AFTER THE PROPHET’S ﷺ DEATH:

  1. Layla al-Akhyaliyyah was a renowned poet and scholar of the early Islamic period.
  2. Nusaybah bint Ka’ab (Umm Amarah) fought at Yamamah, receiving eleven wounds and losing her hand.
  3. Khawlah bint al-Azwar disguised herself as a male warrior during the Ridda Wars and Syrian conquests.
  4. Umm Haram bint Milhan died as a shaheedah on a naval expedition in 649 CE, fulfilling the Prophet’s ﷺ dua.
  5. Zaynab bint Ali confronted Yazid’s tyranny at Karbala and delivered powerful speeches defending justice.
  6. Umm Hakim bint Harith continued fighting after the Prophet’s death, including at Marj al-Saffar.

These women were not exceptions; they were the foundation. Our first generation succeeded because of women’s spiritual, financial, intellectual, and military leadership. The time has come in 2026 CE (1447-1448 AH) to empower female imam leadership. May Allah shower us with new blessings.