Why are there no female Imams ?

[sakura1994]

can someone explain ?? .. I understand that the prophathood was only given to men by Allah , but when it come to imamhood why no female when the imams had daughters along with son ?

[Edit]

and does shia consider mariam mother of Isa as female prophat , cuz gabral r.a appear to her and give her blessing of Isa , so as someone who got angel appearing to her , do shia consider her to be female prophat ?

Edited May 5, 2016 by Haji 2003

[Ali Hamieh]

And the Imams weren't chosen by Allah (swt)? She (as) isn't a prophet, the fact that someone saw Angel Jibrail (as) doesn't mean that they're a prophet.

Why are you using bad spelling and asking an absurd question about Mariam(as)? I'm pretty sure you know more than that.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Ali Hamieh

[Shabbar-E-Shabbir]

God gave men Prophethood but gave all women Motherhood.

As a famous quote says, women are the mothers and educators of society. Man and Woman have been given their due status

 

[repenter-gone4awhile]

Im almost 100% certain that only prophets see and directly communicate with angels, while imams and other holy characters have an indirect form of communication.

So im not sure Maryam(as) "saw" Gabriel.

[StrugglingForTheLight]

19 minutes ago, repenter said:

Im almost 100% certain that only prophets see and directly communicate with angels, while imams and other holy characters have an indirect form of communication.

So im not sure Maryam(as) "saw" Gabriel.

“I heard Abu Ja'far ('a) say: The house of 'Alī and Fātimah is the room of the Messenger of Allah (s), and the roof of their house is the 'Arsh of the Lord of the worlds. And at the bottom of their house there is an uncovered opening to the 'Arsh, the mi'rāj of revelation; and the angels bring down revelation upon them in the morning and in the evening and every hour and twinkle of an eye.

The angels are in ceaseless groups, some descending and some ascending. And Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, disclosed to Ibrāhīm the heavens till he saw the 'Arsh and He increased his seeing power. And Allah increased the seeing power of Muhammad, 'Alī, Fātimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn ('a). They used to see the 'Arsh and they found no roof over their houses except the 'Arsh. Their houses were roofed with the 'Arsh of the Beneficent, and the ascensions of the angels and the Spirit in them, with the permission of their Lord, for every affair in peace. 'I said: “for every affair'.” He said: 'In every affair.' I said: 'Is that revelation?' He said: 'Yes'.

 

From Asab as-salah by Imam Khomeini.

 

Mariam was talked to by Angels in Quran. 

 

Edited April 13, 2016 by StrugglingForTheLight

[Semiramis]

The only reason why there is no female Imam is for the responsiblities God considered for each gender. Imam Ali said to Imam hassan: Women r like flowers. Do not put on them responsiblities which they can not bear. Allah also won't place a burden on a soul greater than it can bear. Alhamdulillah for the religion which respects women more with less responsibilities on their shoulders.

N about lady Mariam I'm sure u know more than this.

[Last Hope]

1 hour ago, Ali Hamieh said:

And the Imams weren't chosen by Allah (swt)? She (as) isn't a prophet, the fact that someone saw Angel Jibrail (as) doesn't mean that they're a prophet.

Why are you using bad spelling and asking an absurd question about Mariam(as)? I'm pretty sure you know more than that.

brother, that is not the way to answer an in - need person. spelling has no effect what so ever and that absurd question may be a question she was brought up with. made to believe in. 

take this question as an opportunity to do good to the society and help those in need. isnt this what we are all doing here, helping and getting helped?

dont ask about someone's intellect for you don't know their background stories. maybe she is a convert that just got to islam. maybe she isnt muslim, but is just asking.

I am by no means saying you're disrespectful, im sure you're a good guy who didnt mean it that way. but people get hurt so easily.

thank you. 

[sakura1994]

4 hours ago, Ali Hamieh said:

And the Imams weren't chosen by Allah (swt)? She (as) isn't a prophet, the fact that someone saw Angel Jibrail (as) doesn't mean that they're a prophet.

Why are you using bad spelling and asking an absurd question about Mariam(as)? I'm pretty sure you know more than that.

what's absurd about my question ?! .. and english is not my first language .

[sakura1994]

3 hours ago, StrugglingForTheLight said:

“I heard Abu Ja'far ('a) say: The house of 'Alī and Fātimah is the room of the Messenger of Allah (s), and the roof of their house is the 'Arsh of the Lord of the worlds. And at the bottom of their house there is an uncovered opening to the 'Arsh, the mi'rāj of revelation; and the angels bring down revelation upon them in the morning and in the evening and every hour and twinkle of an eye.

The angels are in ceaseless groups, some descending and some ascending. And Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, disclosed to Ibrāhīm the heavens till he saw the 'Arsh and He increased his seeing power. And Allah increased the seeing power of Muhammad, 'Alī, Fātimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn ('a). They used to see the 'Arsh and they found no roof over their houses except the 'Arsh. Their houses were roofed with the 'Arsh of the Beneficent, and the ascensions of the angels and the Spirit in them, with the permission of their Lord, for every affair in peace. 'I said: “for every affair'.” He said: 'In every affair.' I said: 'Is that revelation?' He said: 'Yes'.

 

From Asab as-salah by Imam Khomeini.

 

Mariam was talked to by Angels in Quran. 

 

so is mother marian R.A a female prophat ?

[StrugglingForTheLight]

3 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

so is mother marian R.A a female prophat ?

No but she is just as high and exalted as Prophets are.

[sakura1994]

3 hours ago, Shabbar-E-Shabbir said:

God gave men Prophethood but gave all women Motherhood.

As a famous quote says, women are the mothers and educators of society. Man and Woman have been given their due status

 

men get to be fathers too , so I don't see how having motherhood is equal for men having direct conection to their creator and women don't . 

I think I still haven't got my answer about why their no female imams , even now I see many people against female becoming imam of masjids or leading prayer , or giving kutbahs and lectures , you say mothers are educators of soceity but you don't believe in women being educator to society , the society you take about is the mother being educating her children not the general society , so single female who have no children can't be educator of society or even leaders of any communitiy of muslims cuz they will always think it's too much for women to lead  . 

[Ali Hamieh]

5 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

what's absurd about my question ?! .. and english is not my first language .

It's quite known that Mariam as isn't considered a prophet anywhere, also you've spelled prophet normally before that's why I'm asking.

I'm sorry if it annoyed you a bit but I was genuinely asking that.

[Akbar673]

43 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

 

I think I still haven't got my answer about why their no female imams , even now I see many people against female becoming imam of masjids or leading prayer , or giving kutbahs and lectures , you say mothers are educators of soceity but you don't believe in women being educator to society , the society you take about is the mother being educating her children not the general society , so single female who have no children can't be educator of society or even leaders of any communitiy of muslims cuz they will always think it's too much for women to lead  . 

Are you asking from a feminist point of view or a simple factual point of view? 

Allah, in his infinite knowledge, chose the Imams (as). Whatever reason he chose men instead of women is known to him. 

Are there women qualified currently to lead the Ummah, in whatever capacity a woman is allowed in Shia Islam, in the absence of the 12th Imam (as)? I believe there are. There are quite a few qualified Mujtahidehs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zohreh_Sefati

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Amin

So in answer to your question of why are there no female Imams from the 12 Imams (as)? Well, that's because Allah chose those 12. 

Are there qualified female Shia scholars who have earned the level of Ijtihad? Yes, there are.

[Gaius I. Caesar]

34 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

men get to be fathers too , so I don't see how having motherhood is equal for men having direct conection to their creator and women don't . 

I think I still haven't got my answer about why their no female imams , even now I see many people against female becoming imam of masjids or leading prayer , or giving kutbahs and lectures , you say mothers are educators of soceity but you don't believe in women being educator to society , the society you take about is the mother being educating her children not the general society , so single female who have no children can't be educator of society or even leaders of any communitiy of muslims cuz they will always think it's too much for women to lead  . 

It's not too much for women to lead, however we don't have a female Imam and the Imams (as) are slightly different from the imams you are thinking of. We do have Fatima az Zahra (sa), wife of the Imam Ali (as) and mother of Imam Hassan (as) and Hussain (as), daughter of Muhammad (saws). She is an infallible like her father, husband and sons and actually delivered a khutbah at a mosque once (Sermon of Fadak). Even her daughter Zainab bint Ali (sa) delivered a khutbah before the caliph at the time, Yazid (la).

So what exactly are you talking about, I think it is insulting that you think we believe that women are not important or that is scandalous if they work outside of home. It is an insult to the sisters here that do work outside of home as well.

[sakura1994]

3 hours ago, Akbar673 said:

2 hours ago, Gaius I. Caesar said:

It's not too much for women to lead, however we don't have a female Imam and the Imams (as) are slightly different from the imams you are thinking of. We do have Fatima az Zahra (sa), wife of the Imam Ali (as) and mother of Imam Hassan (as) and Hussain (as), daughter of Muhammad (saws). She is an infallible like her father, husband and sons and actually delivered a khutbah at a mosque once (Sermon of Fadak). Even her daughter Zainab bint Ali (sa) delivered a khutbah before the caliph at the time, Yazid (la).

So what exactly are you talking about, I think it is insulting that you think we believe that women are not important or that is scandalous if they work outside of home. It is an insult to the sisters here that do work outside of home as well.

I think females are only able to work right now thanks to the westernization of the islamic world and the secularism , other then that women weren't forced to stay at homes and needed mahrm to step outside their houses , and in some muslim countries females still need mahrm to travel and go outside their houses . 

I think quran give honor to women but men twisted the book and still oppress women in name of religion .

[Gaius I. Caesar]

4 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

I think quran give honor to women but men twisted the book and still oppress women in name of religion .

Maybe on the Sunni side, but our Imams (as) spoke highly of women and taught us about the Qur'anic rights of women.

[von Lohengramm]

Salam,

I'm personally glad there were no female Imam's. Look at what Ahlulbayt (as) went through. Imagining a woman going through all that would be unthinkable. 

[sakura1994]

2 hours ago, Vestige said:

Salam,

I'm personally glad there were no female Imam's. Look at what Ahlulbayt (as) went through. Imagining a woman going through all that would be unthinkable. 

ok this maybe right but what about now , can we now have female imam , I mean like imam of masjid give kutbah and lectures to the people ?

[von Lohengramm]

14 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

ok this maybe right but what about now , can we now have female imam , I mean like imam of masjid give kutbah and lectures to the people ?

There are women lecturers and even women mujtahids that have existed and still do exist. It’s just not that common.

[sakura1994]

2 hours ago, Vestige said:

There are women lecturers and even women mujtahids that have existed and still do exist. It’s just not that common.

is their woman mujtahid that give tafsir of quran ? ... if you know of one can you give me their name !

[von Lohengramm]

5 minutes ago, sakura1994 said:

is their woman mujtahid that give tafsir of quran ? ... if you know of one can you give me their name !

I don't know about tafsir written by Shi'a women, but Ayatollah Zohreh Sefati is well-accomplished in jurisprudence - https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Zohreh_Sefati

[Akbar673]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayatollah

 

Quote

 

Female Ayatollahs

There are a few women who are equal in ranking to the ayatollahs, and are known as Lady Mujtahideh. The most outstanding in recent history was Nosrat Amin, also known as Banu Isfahani.^[1] Current examples of the Lady Mujtahidehs are Zohreh Sefati and Lady Ayatollah Aatieh Hassani also known as Imam'ah Al-Hassani daughter of Grand AyatollahGholamreza Hassani.

Historically, there have been several Mujtahidehs in Shi'ism, most famously the women in the family of Allama Hilli, as well as the Baraghani family of 19th century Qazvin.

 

 

[Gabby1016]

7 hours ago, Ali Hamieh said:

It's quite known that Mariam as isn't considered a prophet anywhere, also you've spelled prophet normally before that's why I'm asking.

Judaism and Christianity both have female prophets. The virgin Mary is a prophet in my religion.

When I bought a Quran....the first thing I read was Surah Maryam, because as a Christian I was curious how she was seen in Islam. I think I understand why she isn't considered a prophet in Islam, because she didn't bring any laws. However,  she did see an angel, and she was given a revelation from him, so I don't understand why she isn't considered a messenger.

[StrugglingForTheLight]

I think the issue is by English definition of the word "Prophet", Imams, Mariam, Sarah, and Fatima can all be considered Prophets in the sense they were all talked to by God and Angels and were it direct contact with God. 

We see this Islamically can even apply to non-chosen people, normal people, can also reach the status of being talked to by God like in munajatal shabaniya it asks God to make us of the people  "you whisper to them secretly and they act for you openly".

Islamically the word "Nabi" implies either two things "receiving information/news" or "giving information/news". The word "mursaleen" means those sent (with something),  and the word "Rasool" means Messenger.

The word Rasool implies the universal message of God has to be conveyed and revived in society. The word Nabi implies that person has received a revelation particularly for the people to be informed about, and refers particularly to being given scripture to be revealed to them.

The difference between a Messenger and a Nabi is subtle. The latter is not always a Messenger, but a Messenger is always a Nabi. A Nabi actually sometimes comes where there is already the message of God's religion conveyed, but he simply reveals a revelation that compliments it and addresses the issues of that time and place.

However when there is no clear message among the people, the Messenger is obligated to teach it and revive it. When it's already there, then a Prophet possible reveals a revelation that is not about conveying the universal message of the religion but to compliment it. 

The wisdom of sealing Prophethood is that people after Mohammad unite on a revelation from God that God safeguarded, mainly the Quran, and it be a proof of Islam and the guidance.

This is while revealing revelations after Quran that add to the Quran or Surahs of Quran, like Anbiya in Bani-Israel added to the Tawrat and formed chapters to the Torah, would if God doesn't force people to submit, result in differences of what revelations are truly from God after the people. 

Then the study of Quran would be in a way made more obtuse and people outside of Islam will say you guys can't even agree on what Surahs are from God in the first place. 

Of course sincerity to God and you can find the truth, but this was a greater mercy and has a greater wisdom in sealing Prophethood. 

This is not the end of guidance and chosen leaders or possessors of the authority from the nation, but that rather continues.

 

Edited April 14, 2016 by StrugglingForTheLight

[S.M.H.A.]

 

You will find the answers you are looking for here.

http://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team/imamat-versus-prophethood-part-1#do-imams-meet-angels

http://www.al-islam.org/shiite-encyclopedia-ahlul-bayt-dilp-team/imamat-versus-prophethood-part-2#imammuhaddath

*****

Word Imam that is generally used by Alhe Sunnah - they refer to the Four Jurists as Imams and the Friday prayer leader as the Imam.

We only reserve it for the 12 Imams of the Ahlul Bayth[as].

 

Edited April 14, 2016 by S.M.H.A.

[gentleman.]

On ۱۳۹۵/۱/۲۶ ه‍.ش. at 6:22 AM, Gabby1016 said:

Judaism and Christianity both have female prophets. The virgin Mary is a prophet in my religion.

When I bought a Quran....the first thing I read was Surah Maryam, because as a Christian I was curious how she was seen in Islam. I think I understand why she isn't considered a prophet in Islam, because she didn't bring any laws. However,  she did see an angel, and she was given a revelation from him, so I don't understand why she isn't considered a messenger.

Revelation has several meaning and levels. In sora' Nahl, verse 68: "And your Creator and Nurturer revealed To the Bee stating:" Make nests in The mountains and in the trees and in What they erect for vines."

so bee also should be a prophet!!

About the issue, why we don't have any Prophet between women in the view of Muslim... as far as I know, since prophethood is an Executive responsibility, he have to be a man.

Some points:

1.A prophet should be in touch to all people that women can't

2.because of her body conditions, such as Menstruation and Gestation, she can't be in the society all of the times

3. It is Inevitable for a prophet to face wars, hardships and such else. And women can't be a commander of the Battleground or some situations like this.

These points came to my mind,a  Little slave of God, So imagine which truths are in this issue that only God knows!

[amina_ibrahim]

On 13-4-2016 at 5:55 PM, sakura1994 said:

can someone explain ?? .. I understand that the prophathood was only given to men by Allah , but when it come to imamhood why no female when the imams had daughters along with son ?

[Edit]

and does shia consider mariam mother of Isa as female prophat , cuz gabral r.a appear to her and give her blessing of Isa , so as someone who got angel appearing to her , do shia consider her to be female prophat ?

First of all, I have no idea what you mean but to get to the point, we don't consider mariam (a) to be a prophet.

Females are not chosen because if they were, it would become difficult for them, as they wouldn't be able to perform everything an imam is required to perform. 

Examples:

See the previous answer of gentleman.

This is just so you get the concept, women are only not chosen to be an imam because the role of being imam would be too difficult to fulfill.

It isn't because there's differentation in gender or any of that, it's just because it's too difficult for a women to be able to keep up with her role as imam. 

So that's my answer,

Have a good day!

Edited April 16, 2016 by amina_ibrahim
I wasn't sure if my examples were right, but I'm sure gentleman.'s examples are quite right

[StarryNight]

On 4/14/2016 at 6:52 PM, Gabby1016 said:

Judaism and Christianity both have female prophets. The virgin Mary is a prophet in my religion.

When I bought a Quran....the first thing I read was Surah Maryam, because as a Christian I was curious how she was seen in Islam. I think I understand why she isn't considered a prophet in Islam, because she didn't bring any laws. However,  she did see an angel, and she was given a revelation from him, so I don't understand why she isn't considered a messenger.

Dear Gabby,

I'm indeed intrigued. I was Catholic for almost half of my life, raised in a Catholoc school, would attend mass every single Sunday and never did I hear that our beloved Virgin Mary was a prophet. In Catholic church she is regarded as the mother of God, which made me question a lot of the Catholic teachings since around age 8, therefore I would spend many of my school recesses speaking to the nuns at my school about my concerns. I thought Virgin Mary being a prophet was a new addition to the Catholic church so I checked the Catholic encyclopedia to see if I was missing something. 

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15464b.htm

I know she received revelation but nobody calls her a prophet in Catholic church.

I too, read the chapter of Virgin Mary while studying Islam and it was the first chapter I read to my mom after I became Muslim. It saved me from a lot of trouble :p because she was content as long as we regard it as a holy figure too.

Edited April 28, 2016 by StarryNight