Razia Sultan

Who was Razia sultan? A brave sultan who belonged to slave dynasty and

was the first Muslim women to occupy the throne in India.

She was so talented, wise, and a great warrior that encouraged her father which resulted that she became the next sultan of slave dynasty.

She succeeded her father in 1236

Great father of Razia

Iltutmish- a father, who ordered grand celebrations to welcome the birth of his first daughter after many sons.

He took personal interest in her education and training and by the time she turned 13, Razia was acknowledged as an horse rider who would accompany her father in his military expeditions.

Iltutmish words: “this daughter of mine is better than my sons”.

After death of father

One of Iltutmish sons, Rukn Ud Firuz occupied the throne. He ruled Delhi for seven months .

In 1236, Razia sultan defeated her brother with the support of the people in Delhi.

Work of Razia Sultan She set up laws and orders to make the country more

stable.

She tried to improve the infrastructure of India by encouraging trade, buildings roads and digging wells.

She established schools, centres for research and public libraries that included the work of ancient philosophers along with the Quran and the traditions of Muhammad.

Hindu works in the sciences, philosophy and astronomy were studied in school.

Falling in love The reason behind end of her was her unacceptable

love.

Yaqut, an African slave turned nobleman who was close to Razia.

Malik Ikhtiar, the governor was against such relationship of Razia.

This was because the story goes that Altunia and Razia were childhood friends. As they grew up, Altunia fell in love with her and rebellion was the only way to get her back.

Yaqut was murdered and Raziya was imprisoned.

End of Razia When she was trying to curb a rebellion against

her by the Turkish governor of Batinda, the Turkish nobles who were against such female throne, took advantage of her absence at Delhi and dethroned her. Her brother Bahram was crowned.

To save her own head, Razia decided to marry Altunia, and marched towards Delhi with her husband.

On october 13, 1240, she was defeated by Bahram and they were put to death the next day.

The significance of Razia Sultan. • It shows that though she struggled, she still managed to become the queen with the

support of people in Delhi and her strong will.

Her gender didn’t disadvantage her from succeeding and achieving her potential.

Her role goes against the traditional view of women because traditionalist were against a female throne because they believed that women do not have enough authority to rule a whole country.

Her role illustrates that women should have the confidence to stand up for what's right and use our free will , granted by Allah, wisely.

Women should realise that their efforts are as vital as those of men.

Her role illustrates that there shouldn’t be any form gender discrepancy in society as both women and men are equal in the sight of Allah

Traditionalism vs Modernism Yusaf Ali Qaradawi believe men are higher and have

such authority over women and therefore Muslim women

are different and unequal.

In traditionalist societies, women are seen to be different and therefore

treated unequally in cases of marriages, divorce and rights

to education.They also believe that women

don’t have the strength to rule over a country or over

men.

Amina Wadud rejects the idea that the Quran relegates women to an

inferior position within the family or society.; she therefore interprets the verse below to mean men must use

their inheritance and earnings to tend to the needs of women as females play an essential and

difficult role in assuring the continuation of the human species.

‘The childbearing responsibility is of grave importance: human existence depends upon it. This responsibility requires a great

deal of physical strength, stamina, intelligence, and deep

personal commitment’. Yet, while this responsibility is so

obvious and important, what is the responsibility of the male in this family and society at large? For simple balance and justice

in creation, and to avoid oppression, his responsibility must be equally significant to the continuation of the human

race’ (73)

Khalid Yusuf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqyIn4DCm3U

What do you think of his view?

How can we use Razia in our exam? Even though she is not stated in the Quran, she can still be

analysed and used as an inspirational figure to argue against the traditionalist views claiming that ‘women do not have the strength to rule over a country’.

During the mid 13th century , women were more restricted due to the society they lived in with all the negative ideologies against the rights of women and their roles as a house wife, whereas in contemporary society women have the rights of freedom of expression.

We can use her as an modernist example as she did not restrict her self by following the humanly constructed laws that minimised women rights but rather used her own Ijtihad. (Interpretations).