In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful, the Lord of the Worlds, the Sender of the Prophets and Messengers. The best of His blessings be upon the master and the seal of the Prophets, and upon his Household, the divinely selected and made infallible, especially the Argument - person of Allah on His lands - may Allah accept my soul and the souls of the humans in this globe as ransoms for his advent.

There has certainly been much research and study with books written on the subject of women's biographies, but there is much left to study and comprehend. The history of nations and tribes, and the life and rights of the women, most frequently show that those women were subject to oppression, coercion, and humiliation. They had no opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and capabilities.

There was a time when women had no respect or value. Indeed, women had so little worth that they were buried alive. God, the Almighty, bestowed the greatest gift upon women with the coming of Islam. Innumerable verses were revealed regarding them, including one entire chapter, Nisa ', named specifically for women.

The Holy Qur'an discusses the value of women and reminds us that women are not merely immature human beings. Rather, they are created with the same status as men, and with equal rights. The great Prophet of Islam Muhammad (S) has discussed women and their rights many times. Still, many people have tried to hide the truth, not wanting the capabilities and intellectual power of women to be disclosed. Thus, in their writings, they disregard women or mention them only briefly. In those books which have been written about Muslims, it is evident that the parts devoted to women have been written negligently and without much attention given to them.

In the collections of oral traditions (hadith) and historical commentaries, there has been an attempt to portray the discourses and contributions of women as being of little value. Attention has been focused only upon the comments and biography of 'A'ishah, one of the Prophet's wives, and this mostly as a result of political considerations.

For example, from among the books written by Sunnis, one of the oldest books which talks about the life of the companions of the Prophet (S) is al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by Ibn Sa'd (born in 230 AD), Seven volumes of this work are devoted to men, and only one volume to women. In the book Al-Isti’ab fi Ma'rifat al-As’haab by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (born: 463 AD), most of the volumes of his book describe men and only one third of volume four contains the biographies of women.

In the book Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma’rifat al-sahabah by Ibn al-Athir (born: 630 AD), four volumes cover men, and only half of volume five is about women. Also, in the book al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah by Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (born: 852 AD) the part which discusses women is only a small portion of the book compared to the portion which discusses men.

The Shi'ah books on the companions of the Messenger of God (S) and the Imams (‘a) have a similar approach. For instance, about 29 pages of the book of Rijal (i.e., biographies of transmitters of Hadith) by Shaykh al-Tusi in discussing the companions of the Messenger of God (S) are about the names of men and only two pages are about women's names. In introducing the women companions of the Prophet (S), Shaykh al-Tusi only lists 38 names. These aren't the names of a particular group, and no information is given as to Shaykh al­Tusi's reason in choosing these names. Therefore, it is difficult to say why this number of names is mentioned.

Especially when we consider that Al-Isti’ab lists the names of almost 400 women companions of the Prophet (S), and Usd al-Ghabah lists more than this number. These differences in number are even more pronounced in more modem books such as: Tanqih al-Maqal by 'Allamah Mamqani, Majma' al-Rijal by Mulla Quhpa'i, and Mu'jam Rijal by Ayatullah Khu'i. This is because they only had the sources of the scholars who had come before them such as: Barqi, Tusi, Najjashi, and... Ardabili, who has collected the names of transmitters of traditions in his book Jami' al-Ruwat, doesn't list any women at all.

Of course, some scholars have written books about prominent and knowledgeable women. Ibn Tayfur has listed a number of women who were superior in their eloquence with samples of their words in his book Balaghat al-Nisa'. 'Umar Ridha Kahhalah has an interesting, noteworthy collection in which both Muslim and non-Muslim women from different walks of life with varying nationalities have been introduced. However, proper attention has not been paid to the Shi'ah women.

For example, the mothers of the infallible Imams have not been mentioned. And, in discussing the companions of the Messenger of God (S), some women like mother of Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman have not been included. On the other hand, approximately 120 pages are given to 'A'ishah the daughter of Abu Bakr, while only 42 pages are devoted to the description of Fatimah Zahra' ('a) the daughter of the Prophet (S), and six pages to Khadijah ('a) the wife of the Prophet (S).

Zaynab Fawwaz is a scholarly woman of Egyptian-Lebanese ancestry who has written a one volume book called al-Durr al-Manthur fi Tabaqat Rabbat al­Khudur about the biographies of various women in different periods. Even though this book is considered to be one of the reliable books on Muslim women's biographies, because of its vast extent and not being limited to a specific classification or time, it is an incomplete and uncoordinated collection. Both Muslim and non-Muslim women are listed in it. Some of the women who are listed in it, are not really even worthy of mention. And, some of the important Muslim women have not been mentioned at all.

Shaykh Dhabihullah Mahallati has written a six-volume work entitled Rayahin al-Shari'ah about Shi'ah women scholars. In this book some of the women like Umm Sulayt have not been mentioned even though she is listed in all of the other genealogical books. And, others have been mentioned who were not Shi'ah and some who were not knowledgeable.

In the book Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith under the section on women a man is mentioned by the name of Umm'l Sayrafi who was the servant of Ibrahim Ibn 'Abdah al-Naysaburi. In studying the tradition from Kafi where this name is mentioned it becomes clear that this servant was a woman and not a man.

Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin introduces people like Sharajah al-Hamdaniyyah as one of the followers of Amir al-Mu'minin, Imam 'Ali ('a) and one of the great Shi'ah in his book A'yan al-Shi'ah even though she was actually a wicked woman. And, in the book Jami' al-Ruwat by Ardabili, women such as Umm­Sulayman and Hafsah Bint Sirin have been neglected even though they are listed in the books Tahdhib al-Ahkam and al-Istibsar.

The lack of an index listing the names of the companions in the book Mawsu'at Hayat al-Sahabiyyat by Muhammad Sa'id Mubayyad which has been more recently published makes this book difficult to use.

These problems in the aforementioned books along with the attention paid to women by the founder of the Islamic Republic, showed the need for a book about women who were transmitters of the words, traditions, and merits of the infallible Imams ('a) and Household of the Prophet (S). Perhaps this will help in introducing more of the pious, scholarly, self-sacrificing, brave, and knowledgeable women.

In contradiction to the general notion of the Muslim woman being an illiterate entity without much value who has been relegated to the comer of the house, it is our intention to show that Muslim women have been active since the time of the Prophet in the fields of culture and education, nursing, war and economics. They accompanied the Prophet to the battle field, nursing and caring for injured soldiers, providing water for the troops and even taking up arms when necessary. They were with Imam al-Husayn ('a) in Karbala'.

In this book, we have focused on Shi'ah1 women who have transmitted the traditions of the Prophet (S) and his family. These women have been exemplary Muslim women, such as Lady Khadijah, the first wife of the Prophet, who spent all of her wealth for the spread of Islam. In an environment of polytheism and idol worship, she was the first person to accept Islam. And, she withstood all the pressures and difficulties which this entailed in seeking the pleasure of God.

Other examples of women of exalted faith and integrity include Umm­Salamah (the wife of the Prophet), Umm Ayman (his servant) and Asma' Bint 'Umays (the wife of the great martyr and uncle of the Prophet, Hamzah). These women were close to the family of the Prophet (S), and played important roles in transmitting their traditions and the truth about Islam. Brave and devoted women such as Umm Salim and Layla al-Ghifariyyah accompanied the Prophet into war, helped in bringing supplies to the soldiers, and treated the injured. They were steadfast and effective assistants to the Muslim soldiers.

Women such as Arwa Bint al-Harith Ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib and Lady Zaynab ('a), with their eloquent and powerful messages, transformed the courts of Mu'awiyah and his son Yazid. They were the carriers of the messages of the Imams of their time. Umm Salim, the mother of Anas Ibn Malik, and Umm'l­ Fadl, the wife of al-'Abbas Ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib and the sister-in-law of the Prophet, are examples of women renowned for their faith. The Prophet visited and gave glad tidings to them that they would dwell in Heaven in the Hereafter.

The scholarly and devoted wives and daughters of the Imams ('a) were the followers of the Imams ('a) in all stages of life and endured the difficulties alongside them. They have been the transmitters of the Imams' ('a) words and speeches. Exalted women such as Narjis, the mother of the Twelfth Imam ('aj), and the mother of Ahmad Ibn Musa had positions of such high regard that they carried the secrets of Imamate (the leadership of the Imams).

And ultimately, there were women like Sa'idah al-Jariyah, who was the slave and servant of Imam al-Sadiq ('a), the sixth Imam. She was held in such high esteem that the Imam told her, "I have asked my Lord, that, as I have come to know you in this world, in the next world (the hereafter) you will be my companion."

The overall goal of this book was the introduction of such women as outstanding examples and supreme role models who played an important role in the transmission of Islamic laws and the words of the Messenger of God (S) and the Imams ('a). Since the purpose of this book was to become familiar with the Shi'ah women transmitters of traditions (Hadith), those women who accepted the leadership of Imam 'Ali ('a) or had love for the household of the Prophet (S) have been included.

Because, Imam al-Baqir ('a) has quoted the Prophet (S) as saying, "No one is saved from the Hell fire and its shaking, sound, and heat who has animosity towards 'Ali, disregards his divinely commissioned leadership (wilayah), and likes his enemies."2

Also, Imam al-Ridha ('a) has related from his fathers who related from the Prophet (S) that he said, "No one loves 'Ali except a believer. And, no one is his enemy except an unbeliever."3

As a token of our respect and esteem, we will begin with Lady Fatimah al­Zahra' ('a), the Prophet's daughter, the peer of Amir al-Mu'minin ('a), and the mother of the pure Imams ('a), by using her nickname of Umm Abiha (the mother of her father) and following names are chosen on Arabic alphabetical list, so on English alphabet it is not fixed, so we have Index for it.

For each of these women, their name, father's name, family name, date of birth, husband's name, children, and a short descriptive bibliography along with some of their merits have been given. Also included are the people they have related traditions from and those who have related traditions from them. And finally, sample traditions (Hadith) which they have related have been written. These traditions have been limited to three at the most for brevity.

We have tried to also provide documentation from the books of the Prophet's traditions to make the matter clearer and more comprehensible to all.

God willing this work will be accepted by God and the pure Imams ('a). The author respectfully requests guidance from those who may reveal and correct any errors found within.

• 1. The Shi'ah are those Muslims who believe that the leadership of the Muslims after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (S) was invested in Imam 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib ('a), and they hold the household of the Prophet in high regard. This word was used by the Holy Prophet himself during his lifetime (see for example al-Haythami, Majma' al­ Zawa'id 9,131).
• 2. Tanqih al-Maqal, vol. 3, p. 83.
• 3. 'Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha, vol. 2, p. 68.