The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam

It is often said that two-thirds of the religion of Islam was handed down by women and one-third was shaped by women. "Of worldly things," the Prophet Muhammad said, "women and fragrance are made dear to me and the comfort of my eyes is made in prayer."

Muhammad was born to a widowed mother, tended by a female slave, and fostered by a Bedouin woman. Throughout his life, women were among his closest friends and companions, and they fought by his side for Islam. His marriage to Khadija, a wealthy businesswoman from Mecca, was long, fruitful and faithful. She was the first to convert to Islam, and she bore Muhammad four daughters whom he greatly adored. He relied on one of his later wives, Umm Salamah, for sage military and political advice, and he experienced Revelations in the presence of his wife Aisha. It is no exaggeration to say that the community of Muslims worldwide originated with women.

The Scimitar and the Veil is the first popular history and overview of Muslim women and their great accomplishments. It portrays over fifty extraordinary Muslim women, from the birth of Islam in the 7th century CE through the 19th century, including women who played a crucial role in Muhammad's life, as well as scholars of the Hadith, saints and mystics, queens and warriors, rebels and concubines, and outstanding poets, musicians, and storytellers.

Based on sources ranging from Swahili lore to Persian pageant plays to Muslim feminist writings to the explorations of Western scholars of Islam, The Scimitar and the Veil is written in a poetic, energetic, contemporary and sometimes humorous style that will appeal to a broad range of readings. Jennifer Heath has collected and crafted a great treasure of knowledge about the women of Islam into one fascinating provocative, and beautiful book.