Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiyatuhunna

Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiyatuhunna (The Education and Upbringing of Females) is a treatise by the Moroccan scholar Muhammad Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (d. 1407 AH / 1987 CE), written while he was a lecturer at the College of Da‘wah and Usul al-Din at the Islamic University of Madinah and published in its scholarly journal Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1. The work addresses contemporary debates surrounding women's education, social status, and moral upbringing in Muslim societies Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1.

Structure and Arguments

Al-Hilali classifies contemporary perspectives on female education into three distinct orientations:

• The Restrictionist View: A reactionary doctrine advocating that females should receive no formal education beyond reciting the Qur'an without comprehension, and barring them from learning to write Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1. Proponents of this view argue that literacy corrupts female character, citing an unauthenticated report: لا تسكنوهن الغرف ولا تعلموهن الكتابة، وعلموهن المغزل وسورة النور ("Do not house them in upper rooms, do not teach them writing, and teach them spinning and Surat al-Nur") Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya….
• The Westernized View: An unconditional adoption of Western European models that advocates absolute equality between men and women in all spheres, discarding Islamic modesty, and adopting Western social habits Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1.
• The Middle Islamic Path: The position championed by al-Hilali, which synthesizes the valid aspects of education while rejecting excess and neglect Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…. It advocates educating women in disciplines that prepare them for household management, raising virtuous children, and supporting men in livelihood and civic needs while adhering to Islamic moral boundaries and hijab Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1.

Refutations and Analysis

In refuting the prohibition of female literacy, al-Hilali demonstrates that the hadith prohibiting teaching women to write is fabricated and unauthentic according to hadith specialists Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…. He cites the historical precedent of literate women among the Prophet's wives, female Companions, and hadith transmitters documented in biographical works such as Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, Mizan al-I‘tidal, Lisan al-Mizan, and the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…. He argues that literacy is merely a neutral tool whose outcome depends entirely on moral training, and that truly understanding Surat al-Nur requires grammar, morphology, and literacy Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1.

Al-Hilali simultaneously criticizes later historical customs that went to un-Islamic extremes by confining women entirely to their homes, depriving them of legal rights such as inheritance, trade, and legal representation, and preventing the sunnah of looking at a prospective bride prior to marriage Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya….

In his critique of Westernization, al-Hilali draws upon his personal observations during his years residing in Germany (in Bonn and Berlin) during World War II Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1. He discusses social crises in Western societies, including low urban marriage rates despite state incentives, the financial exploitation of women by marriage confidence tricksters (Heiratsschwindler), the dissolution of long-term engagements, and the burden placed on women to earn their own dowries Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+2. He concludes by defending Islamic marriage regulations, the prohibition of illicit seclusion (khalwah), and Islamic inheritance shares, which he correlates with the financial obligations Islam places upon men for the maintenance and defense of their households Talim al-Inath wa Tarbiya…+1.