The lioness of the tabieen, Hafsa ibn Seereen

"The era of the Tabi’een is often referred to as the golden age of the Islamic Sciences – a time during which scholars studied at the feet of the Sahabah of RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), traveled the world in search of ahadeeth, and began to compile what are now known to be the greatest books of classical Islamic knowledge.

Out of the many famous male tabieen like malik ibn anas, or Urwa ibn Zubair a female ta’biee sticks out: Hafsa bint Seereen.

Hafsa was the daughter of Anas ibn Maalik (radhiAllahu ‘anhu), and Safiyyah (R.). Due to her parents’ proximity to the Sahabah, Hafsa and her numerous siblings were raised in a household that was permeated with knowledge. Hafsa and her sister Kareemah were both known for memorizing the Qur’an at a young age; Kareemah at the age of nine, and Hafsa at twelve.
Though it is her brother Muhammad ibn Seereen who is better known today, in particular for his book on dream interpretation, it was Hafsa who was respected most highly in her time.

Living up to her namesake, Hafsa was a lioness amongst the scholars of Madinah. Hafsa was a qaari’ah (reciter of the Qur’an) and was well-versed in the various recitations of the Qur’an; she was a muhaddithah (narrator of ahadeeth); and she was a faqeehah (Islamic jurist) as well.
To be a scholar in any one of these fields was and is considered to be a major achievement; in Hafsa’s case, she excelled in all three.

Her knowledge and expertise was not limited to a select circle, or restricted only to women. The men of Iraq, scholars in their own right, publicly acknowledged Hafsa’s superiority.

Iyaas ibn Mu’awiyyah said:
‘I did not meet anyone whom I can prefer over Hafsah.’ He was asked: ‘What about Hasan al Basri and Muhammad ibn Sireen (her brother)?’ He said: ‘As for me, I do not prefer anyone over her. She learnt the Qur’aan by heart when she was twelve years old.’ (Al Mizzi, Tahdheeb al-Kamaal, xxxv. 152.)

Hishaam ibnu Hassaan said:
“I saw Al-Hasan (Hasan al Basri), and (Muhammad) ibnu Seereen, and I did not see anyone whom I thought was cleverer than Hafsah.” (Sifah As-Safwah, Dhikr Al Mustafiyaat min A’abidaat al Basrah, Vol 2, Page 709.)

Hishaam narrates that when Ibn Sireen (her brother) would find something difficult and ambiguous (ashkala ‘alayhi) regarding the Qiraa’ah (recitation), he would say, “Go and ask Hafsah how to recite.” (Sifah As-Safwah, Dhikr Al Mustafiyaat min ‘Aabidaat al Basrah.)

As a muhaddithah, Hafsa’s chains of narration were both short and strong, which resulted in her narrations being included in all six authentic books of hadith (as-Sihaah as-Sitta).

the male scholars of Medina used to visit her in search of knowledge. She focused on the education of the youth and is famously recoded as saying:

'O youth (Ya Ma’shar ash-Shabaab)! Take from yourselves while you are young, for certainly I do not see (real) action except in youth.' (Sifah As-Safwah, Dhikr Al Mustafiyaat min 'Aabidaat al Basrah)

Hafsa was just one of many intelligent, educated women in Islamic history, but she is also one of the few who achieved mastery in fields which are now considered to be predominantly male. Her accomplishments prove that in the earlier generations of Islamic history, it was not gender which merited renown, but excellence of intellect combined with wisdom and worship.”