Certain Qur'anic Ladies           

By: Zahra Ijlal 

Translated by: N. Towhidi

Certain high-spirited, praiseworthy ladies have been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an either by name or allusively as having had cited praiseworthy qualities:

- Havva (Eve) , the wife of Prophet Adam (AS) was among those who repent: "They said, 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves! If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." The Holy Qur'an, Al-Araf: 23

- Asiyah, the wife of Firawn (Pharaoh) was among the faithful and those who long for meeting their Creator:  "Allah draws an[other] example for those who have faith: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, 'My Lord! Build me a home near You in paradise, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his conduct, and deliver me from the wrongdoing lot.'  " The Holy Qur'an A l-Tahrim: 11

- Sara, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) was among those who accompany and serve Allah's Messengers: "His wife, standing by, laughed as We gave her the good news of [the birth of] Issac, and of Jacob, after Issac."  The Holy Qur'an ,  Hud; 71

- Hajar, the other wife of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) was, according to the Holy Qur'an among "Sanihat". Sanihat has been applied as among qualities of perfection for women who determine to serve the cause of Allah, step towards mosques and places of worship. According to the great Commentator of the Holy Qur'an, Allamah Tabatabaee, "Sanihat" is applied to those (women) who in a bid to obey Allah's commands, migrate and move ahead.

Hajar (SA) was a symbol of Sanihat, since in obedience to the Command of Allah, she migrated from Beitul-Muqaddas (Jerusalem) to Mecca, tolerating all the hardships of such an arduous travel, of being away from her home and separation from her husband and running several times between the Safa and Marvah mountains in search of water for her thirsty baby- Ismail (AS). It may be that if he divorces you his Lord will give him, in [your] stead, wives better than you: [such as are] Muslim, faithful, obedient, penitent, devout and given to fasting, virgins and non-virgins." The Holy Qur'an, Al-Tahrim: 5

- Hanna- the wife of Imran (AS) was among the honest, the doers of good and those who fulfill their vows. "When the wife of Imran said, 'My Lord, I dedicate to You what is in my belly, in consecration. Accept it from me; indeed You are the All-hearing, the All-knowing.' And when she bore her, she said, 'My Lord, I have borne a female [child]' – and Allah knew better what she had borne- 'and the female is not like the male. I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Your care against the evil of] the outcast Satan.'  " The Holy Qur'an, Al-I Imran: 35-36

Hanna- the wife of Imran and the mother of Her Holiness Maryam (Mary) with sincerity of intention vowed to offer the child she was carrying in the womb for the service of Allah in Beitul-Miqaddas. And on giving birth to her child- (Maryam) she proved her sincerity to Allah by fulfilling her vow.

- The wife of Prophet Ayoob (AS) was a true symbol of patience, self-sacrifice and self-less service to Allah's Messenger.

"Patient and truthful, obedient and charitable, and pleasing [Allah's] forgiveness at dawns." The Holy Qur'an, Al-I Imran, 17

Prophet Ayoob’s (AS) wife was a great example of self- sacrifice, so much so that she became deserving of being (allusively) referred to as a praise worthy woman by Allah in the Holy Qur'an. She received such honour because she stayed by the side of her husband – prophet Ayoob (AS) when His Holiness was so severely ill that the others refused to accompany and serve him and it was while prophet Ayoob (AS) had also been afflicted with severe poverty, besides the illness due to which people refused to visit him for even giving a help out of charity. Under such hard conditions, it was only his wife who stayed with him and served him and who would work and also ask the others for help to prepare food for her husband and not even once would she complain.

"So We answered his prayer and removed his distress, and We gave him [back] his family along with others like them, as a mercy from Us, and an admonition for the devout."  The Holy Qur'an, Al-Anbiya: 84

- Belqeis was an example of wisdom, erudite and adherence to the truth.

"I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given everything, and she has a great throne." The Holy Qur'an, Al-Naml: 23    

According to Allamah Tabatabaee, that part of the verse which says:"We gave her from everything."

Denotes that Allah had given her foresight wisdom, determination and a strong will-power.

From the above verses it can be inferred that Belqeis had been a wise intelligent woman who used to consult and who was inherently devoted to the truth, because on observing the reasons which proved the truthful Prophethood of prophet Suleiman (Solomon) (AS) she at once believed in Allah – The One God and repented from her infidelity, calling it injustice to one's own soul. The fact that she did not pass a hurried judgment following reading Suleiman (AS)'s letter and instead consulted the elite from among the administrative and military men (who suggested encountering Suleiman)  and who yet had the last word herself denotes her having being recognized as a wise ruler by those around her. Based on her wisdom, she embarked upon survey and consultation and on realizing the truth; she submitted to it and believed in Allah-The One God and His Prophet.