Reviving the Legacy of Female Scholarship in Islam

Rediscovering a Forgotten Tradition

An Evening with Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi (UK)

Friday, September 11, 2026
ADAMS Sterling
6:30 PM – 9:45 PM

For centuries, Muslim women played a vital role in preserving, teaching, and transmitting Islamic knowledge. They taught in mosques and universities, educated scholars and jurists, and transmitted thousands of hadith to future generations. Yet much of this remarkable history remains less widely known today.

Join Qurtuba Community Education for a special evening with internationally renowned scholar Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi (UK) as he explores the rich and often overlooked legacy of female scholarship throughout Islamic history.

Drawing upon decades of groundbreaking research—including his monumental 43-volume work, Al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam—Shaykh Akram will illuminate the lives and contributions of women who helped shape the intellectual tradition of Islam over the past fourteen centuries. Their stories challenge common misconceptions, deepen our appreciation for our scholarly heritage, and offer enduring lessons for Muslim communities today.

Whether you are a student of knowledge, educator, parent, or simply interested in Islamic history, this promises to be an inspiring and thought-provoking evening.

What You Will Learn

The historical role of women in preserving and transmitting Islamic knowledge.
The remarkable contributions of female hadith scholars throughout Islamic history.
Common misconceptions about women’s scholarship in Islam.
Lessons contemporary Muslim communities can draw from this rich scholarly legacy.
How reviving this tradition can strengthen Islamic learning today.

About the Speaker

Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi is one of the world’s leading contemporary scholars of Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence. He is the Director of Research at the Oxford Institute for Research in Islamic Sciences and Principal and Co-Founder of Al-Salam Institute (UK).

Originally from India and now based in England, Shaykh Akram received his traditional training at Nadwat al-’Ulama in Lucknow before earning a PhD in Arabic Literature from Lucknow University. He later served as a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, where he conducted extensive research on Hadith and the Islamic scholarly tradition.

An accomplished author with more than 30 published works in Arabic, English, Urdu, and Persian, he is internationally recognized for his scholarship in Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic language, and the classical Islamic sciences. He is especially renowned for Al-Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam, a landmark 43-volume biographical encyclopedia documenting the lives and contributions of female hadith scholars across fourteen centuries of Islamic history.

Schedule

6:15 PM — Doors Open

6:30 PM — Program Begins

~7:25 PM — Break for Maghrib Prayer

Lecture Continues

~9:00 PM — Break for ʿIsha Prayer

Moderated Q&A led by Ustadha Kouthar Muttardy, Resident Female Scholar, ADAMS

9:45 PM — Program Concludes

About the Moderator

Ustadha Kouthar Muttardy is the Resident Female Scholar at ADAMS. A Northern Virginia native, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from George Mason University and a Master of Arts in Education from Marymount University. She has served the community for more than twenty years as a K–12 teacher, teacher trainer, and curriculum development specialist.

Alongside her professional work in education, Ustadha Kouthar has pursued traditional Islamic studies since high school, studying tajwid, tafsir, aqidah, seerah, hadith, and both Hanbali and Shafi’i fiqh. She completed her Islamic Studies Teacher Certification through Ribaat Academic Institute in 2020 and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Islamic Studies.

Who Should Attend?

Everyone is welcome. Men and women alike will benefit from exploring the remarkable contributions of women scholars to the Islamic scholarly tradition and the enduring lessons they offer for our communities today.

Reserve Your Seat

Admission is free, but registration is requested as seating is limited.

We look forward to welcoming you for an evening of learning, inspiration, and renewed appreciation for one of the richest traditions in Islamic scholarship.