When we discuss the great, pious women in Islam, we tend to focus on women who lived many centuries ago, such as the honourable wives of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the other Ambiyaa (‘alaihimus salaam), the Sahaabiyyaat (radhiyallahu ‘anhunna) and perhaps a few other women of the early centuries of Islam.
Indeed, the lives of these personalities are filled with great inspiration, contain profound lessons and teach us many important aspects that still apply to us today.
However, since they lived hundreds of years before us, and their society, environment and challenges seem totally different to ours in the twenty-first century, we sometimes incorrectly feel as though the lives which they led are not relevant to us today.
Therefore, it is also beneficial for us to discuss pious women of the recent past. On reading their incidents and examining their lives, we will realize that even in the modern age, it is possible to enact and uphold the sublime qualities which were possessed by the pious women of the past – hayaa, taqwa, good character, generosity, humility, etc.
It is with this aim in mind that the following booklet was prepared, discussing valuable lessons from the life of Makkiyyah Aapa (rahimahallah), the respected mother of Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (daamat barakaatuhum), the principal of Madrasah Ta’leemuddeen, Isipingo Beach.