Women Established Waqf for Schools, Libraries, and Hospitals

Historical sources recall that women throughout Islamic history raced to establish schools and make them Waqf, following the saying of the Prophet: "Or knowledge that is benefited from." Consequently, many schools established by women proliferated in Islamic cities, including:

• "Bab Bashir," the wife of the Abbasid Caliph "al-Musta'sim", she established the al-Bashiriyyah School in Baghdad in 649 AH/1251 AD, modelled after the "al-Mustansiriyyah" School, in being Waqf for the four Sharia schools of thought and allocated numerous Awqaf for it.
• Adhra bint Shahinshah bin Ayub bin Shadi al-Khatun, she established the al-Adhra'wiyya School in Damascus in 580 AH/1184 AD. Ibn Shaddad described it as one of the largest schools.
• Fatima Khatun, daughter of Najm al-Din Abu al-Shukr, nicknamed, the Lady of Damascus "Sett al-Sham" and sister of "Salahuddin al-Ayyubi", she founded the Asshammiyya al-Barraniyya and the Asshammiyya al-Jawaniyya schools in Damascus.
• The maid "Banafsha" who held a high status with the Caliph Hasan al-Mustad'ii bi-Amr Allah, she established the Asshati'iyya School in Baghdad in 571 AH/1176 AD and entrusted the teaching to Imam "Ibn al-Jawzi," the famous scholar of Baghdad.
• Khatun bint Mu'in al-Din, the wife of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, she established the al-Khatooniyah al-Jawaniyya School in Damascus in 570 AH/1174 AD, which was built for the Hanafi school of thought.
• Babah Khatun, daughter of Asad al-Din Shirkuh, she founded the Adiliyya al-Sughra School, which was previously the house of "Zahra Khatun, daughter of King al-Adil" in Damascus.
• Ad-dar Asshamsi, daughter of Sultan al-Mansur Nur al-Din Umar bin Ali bin Rasul, she founded two Shamsiyya schools, one in the Dhi Udaynah area in Taiz and the other in the city of Zubayd.
• Maryam bint Shams al-Din bin al-Afif, the wife of Sultan al-Mudhaffar, from the rulers of the Rasulid State in Yemen, she founded the Sabiqiyya School, described by historical sources as one of the best-situated schools.
• Nabeelah, daughter of King Shams al-Din Yusuf bin Umar bin Abd Rasul, she founded the Ashrafiyya School in the city of Zubayd.
• Hurrem Sultan, wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, she established many Awqaf in Istanbul, including a school and a hospital, and built two charity organisations in Mecca and Medina to serve students of knowledge in the holy cities, endowing them with many properties.
• Nurbanu Sultana, one of the wives of Sultan Selim II, who was Jewish and converted to Islam, she built a college in Uskudar comprising a school, a mosque, and a hospital.
• Terhan Khadija Sultan, wife of the Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I, she built the "Dar al-Hadith" school.
• Mahr Shah Sultan, wife of Sultan Mustafa III, she built a school and several mosques in different neighbourhoods of Istanbul. She endowed them with many properties, and covered the salaries of the school teacher, the chief reciter, and the school guard. She also provided the students with salaries and the clothes they needed.

Waqf Hospitals

• Shaghab, the mother of Caliph al-Muqtadir, she inaugurated a hospital in the area of Suq Yahya on the Tigris River in Baghdad and declared it as Waqf. The hospital entered history as the first Bimaristan (hospital) built by a woman.

• Hurrem Sultan, wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, she endowed a hospital along with several shops to finance it, which included a medical school that she affiliated with the hospital.

• Bezm-i Alem Sultan, the second wife of Sultan Mahmud II, she established a hospital for the poor in Istanbul, where treatment was provided free of charge to patients. She endowed a Waqf to cover everything related to the hospital.

• Pertevniyal Sultan, wife of Sultan Mahmud II, she undertook renovations and expansions in the hospital for the poor Muslims in Mecca and Medina. She provided the hospital with all related services, and employed doctors, a midwife, a pharmacist, and a surgeon.

By International British Waqf

UK