Seminar on Women and Family in Islam

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin, wa al-Salatu wa al-Salamu ‘ala Sayyidina Muhammadin, wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in

Associate Professor Dr Razwana Begum, President of PPIS

Community leaders

Fellow Asatizah and Ustazah

Respected researchers and dear friends

Assalamualaikum wr wb and good morning everyone

1. It is with great pleasure and honour to say that I am able to join you this morning in this seminar. In particular, to note the significant developments in the advancement of the role of women in our community. In fact, it is with our gratitude to Allah and our pleasure that we share this seminar room this morning with many distinguished Muslim women serving in various important roles and leadership positions – in the social and public sector, in academia and policymaking, and even in science and technology. Many of whom would be our speakers, our presenters, moderators. Thank you all for accepting the invitation to be part of this very important conversation. Not forgetting the men who are also in this room, who continue to support this important work and are allies in this very important agenda, with those who are working to advance the status of women in our community.
   

2. This is a progress that we should be proud of as a community, particularly for those who have been working very hard to secure this progress over many, many years.
   

3. This also allows us to foster better partnerships as we plan ahead. I would like to highlight, in particular, the role of PPIS, for all the wonderful things you’ve been doing for so many years, especially in uplifting women, nurturing children and strengthening families. We are very honoured to have PPIS as a partner this morning for this important initiative, with the purpose of deepening our conversations on what are our shared aspirations and how we can achieve them, in elevating our community through the family institution, and particularly through enhancing the role of Muslim women.
   

4. I am sure you will agree with me that there is so much more that we need and want to do and achieve together. Hence why we are gathered here this morning. We have the question of how far we want to advance this agenda, sometimes make for a difficult and uncomfortable conversation – as different people have different aspirations. And at a more fundamental level, different people have different ideas and interpretations of the role of women. even in our context of a first-world economy.
   

5. But on the ground, we also know there are many individuals who have adjusted accordingly to their circumstances. because they better understand their unique situations and they need to find solutions for their own problems – even as they face discomfort or doubt in relation to established religious positions. These are difficult choices and decisions. Some women and families have to make. Because without clear guidance or positions that empower them, they can be perceived as rebelling against their faith of tradition. So this was one of the reasons, in 2021, we issued a fatwa for women in uniform services. Purpose was to empower Muslim women, to decide for themselves based on Islamic principles, values and ethics and consider their own circumstances.
   

6. All in all, the complexities around women’s issues can result in a high degree of ambiguity and ambivalence, especially in the absence of consensus on what are our objectives and aims. If we were to imagine what the resolution of gender-based issues looks like, what do we see? And do we all see the same thing? What kind of changes and outcomes do we want? And do we all envision the same thing? I hope our seminar will allow us to discuss this as well.
   

7. Arising from this lack of clarity on the direction, we have therefore seen contradictory reactions from various segments of society to certain developments, or when certain changes are proposed.
   

8. To my mind, are becoming more urgent, more critical to resolve. Especially because of our shared concern around the family’s institution, which has become challenging considering key global trends. And these trends are becoming particularly pertinent for Singapore. But we cannot discuss the family institution and efforts to strengthen families, without first addressing the elephant in the room – i.e. the role of women, especially to what are lived-realities, and what are the norms and behaviours associated with religious understanding.
   

9. First is reorienting ourselves towards values. Second is resolving data and religious interpretation. And third is enhancing collaboration.

Values

10. First is values and values – there’s always been a perennial struggle between values on one hand and laws on the other. And also, between the principles, and the specific rulings. And I don’t think we have given this tension enough focus and attention but today we are seeing the consequence of these unresolved tensions. In fact, a lot of tension, not just in public circles, but also in scholarly ones, has been on the laws, Al Ahkam, or the Fiqh aspect of the Shariah.
    

11. In fact, a lot of tensions are not just in public circles, but also in scholarly ones. And the one thing we must establish accurately is that Sharia is the overarching framework. It decides what the Fiqh look like, not the other way round. And it is important to put the discussion on Fiqh into the jurisprudential context.
    

12. This is precisely how scripture and the Shariah deal with the family institution, and family relationships. Listen to how the Quran describes our relationship with our parents, for example. It doesn’t speak of obligation in the first place. Wa-bil-walidayni ihsana (وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا) The word Ihsan is not just kindness, it is beyond kindness. Allah SWT uses that to establish the foundational relationship between children and families. In other words, it is not just the materials needs of the parents, or sustenance of physical support but of the complete emotional, psychological, cognitive well-being of the parents, encapsulated within the idea of Ihsan. It represents the highest level of beauty, excellence, and utmost goodness in our actions.
    

13. The verse goes on to say Wakhfid lahumaa janaahaz zulli minar Rahmah (وَٱخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ) (Surah Al-Isra 17:24). And lower the wings of humility, because of compassion in your heart, the mercy in your heart towards your parents. Look at the beautiful metaphorical description of the Quran in describing our relations with others.
    

14. And when the Quran speaks of mothers in particular and reminding every child of the sacrifice of the mother, the Quran says, hamalathu ummuhu wahnan 'alaa wahnin (حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ) (Surah Luqman 31:14). In another verse, hamalathu ummuhu kurhan wa wadha'athu kurha (حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا) (Surah Al-Ahqaf 46:15). And kurha (كُرْهًۭا) is again, hardship, extreme pain during pregnancy and during delivery. Again, it doesn't start off with your obligations towards your mother. It doesn't start off with what you must do and what is your responsibility, but it reminds us of the most fundamental relationship of a mother carrying you in her womb before you are delivered to this world.
    

15. This beautiful expression, wahnan ‘ala wahn (وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ)—weakness upon weakness, or hardship piling upon hardship—is a divine recognition of the biological and emotional gravity of motherhood. It reminds us that our very existence is built upon the layered sacrifices of women who bore us in physical frailty yet carried us with immense mental, psychological and spiritual strength.
    

16. When we look at the story of the mother of Nabi Musa (a.s.), when he was separated from his mother because of certain conditions. When Allah SWT describes the moment that Nabi Musa (a.s) was returned to his mother, Allah SWT describes kay taqarra ‘aynuha wala tahzana (كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ) (Surah Al-Qasas 28:13). So that her eyes might be comforted and she might not grief. Again, the very fundamental relationship of a child and her mother.  These are moments of tadabbur which bring to us these values more than just Ahkam and laws, and we need to situate these values in the right place. We can go on and speak about values as it relates to the relationship between a husband and wife.  
    

17. We know the foundational framework in Surah Ar-Rum.  "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy..." (Surah Ar-Rum, 30:21)
    

18. Before we talk about duties and obligations, we talk about mawaddah, sakinah, rahmah.
    

19. fa-imsakun bi-ma'rufin aw tasrihun bi-ihsanin (فَإِمْسَاكٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ تَسْرِيحٌ بِإِحْسَانٍ) "Divorce is twice. Then, either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with good treatment..." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:229)
    

20. Even at the point of a technical separation, it’s interlaced with values of ma’ruf and ihsan. It is not about the separation of two human beings who have been together and just put them separately, but to ensure that that separation is done as not acrimoniously as possible – surrounded by the values of ma’ruf and ihsan.
    

21. Before you enter the entire discussion around qu’ud, or the shares – or some call it the whole arithmetic, the quarter, the half and one-third – the Quran starts with, at the point of distribution of your estate, "And when relatives, orphans, and the needy are present at the time of division, provide for them out of the estate and speak to them words of appropriate kindness." (Surah Al-Nisaa', 4:8) 
    

22. There are family members, relatives, orphans and the poor who do not inherit and are not in the list of names in Shariah court’s inheritance certificate. Feed them from the estate and speak to them nice words.
    

23. The issue is not that we do not know that these values exist or that these values are important. We know them. We talk a lot about them, but the question is, what do we do with these values, and how do they rank in terms of priority, and how do they shape and inform our interpretation of the laws and practices?
    

24. My sense is this has still not been resolved, and I think this is a challenge I would like to throw to all of us – especially the jurists and the philosophers and the scholars amongst us – to think of a framework in which the values matter more than the Ahkam, because we continue to suffer from the problem of a wrong prioritisation that have led to serious problems on the ground, in many matters. Because of the obsession over the laws and completely placing these values in our blind spot in the way we understand Islam. So a reorientation is necessary, but how do we do it and what does it look like is something that we need to discuss.

Data and religious implication

25. The second interconnected matter with values is data and religious interpretation. Now, there are a lot of data today that generally suggests there are new trends in women participation and involvement in public life, in the economy, education.
    

26. The question is, even as the data keeps coming in to remind us that things are changing, has our understanding and interpretation of issues evolved, together with it? And if not, why?
    

27. One of the key challenges we have is what do we do with this data and how does data affect interpretation? At the same time, we know that part of the foundational methodology of interpretation of Shariah or jurisprudence, is to understand the context or the circumstances, we call them Fiqh Al-Waqi'. And we also know that one of the very important principles before we even attempt to interpret, is to understand what we're dealing with, is tasawwur al-mas'al. This is to really grasp the problem, to really grasp the issue.
    

28. So what we need is a more sophisticated understanding of how we deal with context, what we do with data, and how does it affect our interpretation of Muslim law.
    

29. And I hope that a seminar like this and future efforts and initiatives by all of us in this room will help us form what I would like to call an interpretive ecology between the Fuqoha’ An-Nass and the Fuqoha’ Al-Waqi'. Those who really understand the Nusus, scripture, and how to derive laws from the scripture; and those who really understand context – sociologists, social workers, family development officers, all of you here in this room, because you understand what is happening on the ground.
    

30. One method is for the two groups to come together and discuss – and that's what we're trying to do this morning. But in the future, we are also trying to develop Asatizah and religious scholars and leaders who equally understand the context and data and know how to interpret data.
    

31. In other words, they are able to process what's going on and relate it to scripture and text and evidence, and then derive conclusion from the intertwining of the two. And we're doing this by setting up institutions. These are very early days, but we hope you can get involved in one way or another in supporting these institutions.
    

32. We have the Fatwa Lab under the Office of the Mufti. We also have the Singapore College of Islamic Studies (SCIS) with its research agenda, with its teaching of modules in the social sciences, which will enable our future graduates and scholars to be able to interpret religion, in light of data and new evidence and circumstances whilst always maintaining the focus and emphasis on the values and principles of Islam.
    

33. We know the very important emphasis on the interpretation of the text or scripture that should not cause harm. This is where the understanding of data becomes extremely important. There have been many cases, and I am sure that in the course of our discussions today, you will get examples of where the application of certain rulings or understanding of religion have led to some problems – whether it's about families or about individuals in society or in the community.
    

34. Another important question is what kind of data do we need? We know that there are a lot of issues that are of interest to us – marital health, domestic challenges, mental wellbeing, caregiver burnout. We need data on this. We need to understand how the situation is unfolding on the ground. What are the key trends, and how does it affect us in the way we prepare our community to deal with these issues and questions so that we are able to continually support the family institution and ensure that the family institution remains strong, even in light of these big challenges.

Collaboration

35. The progress of our Singapore Muslim community has always rested on our ability to pool our resources together, and not to work on our own. It is my belief that today we have greater courage and confidence, provided by the increasing number of highly qualified Muslim women like yourselves in this room today, in various fields who can create real and meaningful change.
    

36. Two years ago, in 2024, I decided that we should expand the Fatwa committee. Since its formation, there has always been five members of the committee. I felt we need greater and one of the reasons to push for the expansion of the committee, was because I felt we need greater women representation. Not because it makes the community look better in public. But because our Muslim female scholars deserve to be in the committee and help to decide on issues affecting our community. So today, we are very pleased that we have three female members out of eight members today, which includes the Chairman.
    

37. I’m also working, as you know, on the establishment of the Singapore College of Islamic Studies (SCIS). What I'm sure of, because I meet them and interact with them a lot, is that there are a lot more women than men involved in establishing the college. Which also means there are a lot more women than men involved in planning for the education of future asatizah in Singapore.
    

38. I have another statistics to share with you. The Syed Isa Semait Scholarship and the MUIS Scholarship have been awarded to undergraduates since 2022. Up until now, we have 17 scholars, who are carefully selected because the whole aspiration is for them to be in religious leadership positions in the future. 11 out of 17 are actually our tolibah from madrasahs, our girls from madrasahs, and now they are all in universities. These statistics tell us that we must take the role and contribution of women in policymaking for our religious sector and religious issues very seriously. And a very important matter is that we have more talent to serve in very important positions of leadership in the future.
    

39. In light of these developments, I’m very glad that within the Office of the Mufti (OOM), we have recently established the Womens’ Desk. The work in this domain has been ongoing for many years, but we have now formally introduced this dedicated team of female Ustazaat. They will lead the issues that focus on the matters that we've discussed here.
    

40. Through the Women's Desk, our goal is to combine the OOM's research and resources with the expertise of social workers, Family Development Officers (FDOs), and key community organisations like PPIS, and like the event this morning.
    

41. A crucial pillar of this collaborative ecosystem is our female religious educators—our Ustazaat—who are the heartbeat of Islamic learning and spiritual support in Singapore. We are pleased to announce the launch of the Ustazaat Network. For too long, many of our Ustazaat have worked individually across independent classrooms and platforms. The Ustazaat Network changes this by connecting them into a cohesive fraternity, bridging ground-level spiritual care with policy-level thinking so their invaluable insights can help lead and guide our community forward.
    

42. These collaborative efforts are not standalone projects—they are part of a deliberate journey. We hope and envision that this expanding network of religious scholars, social practitioners, and community partners will culminate in a major milestone we are planning for next year: the 2027 Symposium on Women and Family in Islam. Today's seminar serves as a vital curtain-raiser, where the conversations, insights, and partnerships forged in this room will directly shape the agenda for the Symposium.
    

43. It is our hope that the partnerships we forge today will grow even stronger as we work toward next year. By aligning our interests and structuring our resources, we will demonstrate a fundamental truth: that collaborative, compassionate thought leadership on women and family issues is a primary priority for our religious life.