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Culture and female patronage in the Arab Middle Ages

Culture and female patronage in the Arab Middle Ages
859 A.C.E. (date of foundation). University of al-Qarawiyyin (Fez, Morocco): culture and female patronage in the Arab Middle Ages. It is significant that the Muslim historian Ibn Abi Zar (14th century) attributed the founding of al-Qarawiyyin's madrasa, considered to be the world's first institution of higher learning—still in existence today—to a woman: Fatima al-Fihriya or Fatima al-Fihri (800-880 AD). Photograph of the central courtyard by Leyla Sellami (2018). Wikimedia Commons. Licence Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0
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Culture and female patronage in the Arab Middle Ages

IV Reed pens, paintbrushes and women

Although not as well-known as some of the other periods discussed, the Arab Middle Ages were no exception in the presence of women scribes.

During the Abbasid Caliphate (132-656 AH/750-1258), for example, women scribes attained high status in various political, social and cultural spheres. One example is Fatima bint al-Aqraʻ al-Baghdādīyah (d. 480 AH/1087), the first Iranian calligrapher whose name has been recorded. Her Naskhi calligraphy was held in such high esteem that her work was selected as a benchmark and she was commissioned to draft an official peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire, as well as other official documents of the caliphate. Additionally, she was renowned for her expertise in Hadith (narratives and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad) and her profound religious scholarship. Another celebrated female calligrapher from Baghdad whose handwriting served as a model for its beauty was YaqṭīnRiḍā bint al-Fatḥ. Fakhr al-Nisāʼ, Shuhdah al-Dīnawarīyah (d. 574 AH/1178), like Fatima bint al-Aqraʻ, was known for her excellent and artistic calligraphy and her contributions as an erudite scholar and pedagogue in the fields of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and Hadith. The exceptional proficiency in the prophetic tradition bestowed upon ʻummʻInab al-Wahbānīyah the epithet Musnidatal Bagdad, «Scribe of Bagdad»; for the same reason, Bint al-BaghdādīAbī al-Naṣr Ahmad al-Dīnawarī was known as Musnidat al Iraq, «Scribe of Iraq». The latter was a disciple of renowned Hadith masters and a teacher of men who also attained mastery in this field.

The aforementioned examples illustrate that during the Abbasid Caliphate, women were not merely engaged in writing for personal gratification; rather, they developed their abilities and skills in a professional capacity. Their involvement in administration, the intellectual realm, and education indicates that society reposed confidence in women’s capacity to perform these tasks effectively.