Bint al-Huda al-Sadr’s Personality Model for Muslim Women

With the Western World’s interactions with the Islamic thought, Muslim intellectuals faced new challenges regarding women and human rights. Committed Muslim scholars have always attempted to draw a clear accurate picture of a pure Islamic attitude towards women in family and society. Bint al-Huda al-Sadr amalgamated theoretical thinking with sociopolitical pragmatism. This study attempts to provide a clear picture of the theoretical and conceptual framework of her thought and her view of the role and position of women by analyzing the themes of her articles on women and their challenges in the contemporary society. The analysis first yielded 270 basic themes and 53 organizing themes; after comparing, integrating, and processing them, three inclusive themes and 26 organizing themes were finally extracted. A Muslim woman, Bint al-Huda al-Sadr believes, is first and foremost identified with her husband and children at home. With an independent and, indeed, distinctive identity from men, the woman shoulders specific familial responsibilities. Her most important duty is to appropriately and purposefully rear children. A successful discharge of this duty requires her social presence and life. A Muslim woman must discern the authentic Islamic culture and teachings, according to which she should impede and resist the spread of Western culture.