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CHAPTER THREE
The changes in the status of women which have been discussed in
the course of the first two chapters will here be illustrated by
particular examples -drawn from the lives of women. to enable
assessment of their contribution to society in various roles. -
Three women are studied at some length: firstly, Khadijah bint
Khwaylid as an example of a woman whose life spanned both pre-
Islamic times and'the early Islamic period; secondly.
'Alsha
Siddiq who lived completely in Islamic times and provides the
best example of wife and teacher, and thirdly. F; 7timah al-Zahial
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who lived all but five years in the Islamic period, and will be
discussed particularly qua daughter. In addition, other women
will be included more briefly in a survey of the aspects of life
outside the traditional realm of daughter, wife and mother in
which Islamic women were able to participate.
The choice of examples is naturally restricted by the range
of the sources which cover in detail a far higher proportion of
men than women; for example, Taba4at Ibn Sad devotes seven volumes
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to men but only one to women. It can be argued that other female
personalities worthy of being recorded were omitted due to the
bias of the male historians. It would be wrong to conclude that
no other women made a significant contribution.
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