WORKING OUTDOORS

According to ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, when Abu ad-Dahdah, one of the Prophet’s Companions, heard the revelation of this Quranic verse: “Who will give a generous loan to God? He will pay him back two-fold, and he shall receive a rich reward,”(57:11) he asked the Prophet, “O Messenger of God, does God want a loan from us?” When the Prophet replied in the affirmative, Abu ad-Dahdah took him by the hand and said, “I, at this moment, lend my orchard to God.”

Abu ad-Dahdah’s orchard was a sizeable one with six hundred date palms, and, at the time he donated it to the cause of Islam, his wife, Umm ad-Dahdah, was staying in it with her children. Nevertheless, having made his pledge to the Prophet, Abu ad-Dahdah came to the orchard, called his wife, and told her that she would have to leave, as it had been loaned to God. Umm ad-Dahdah’s reaction was that he had made a good bargain. That is, God would reward him many times over hereafter. So saying, she left the orchard with her children, carrying all her bags and baggage. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 4, p. 308)

From this incident, we can gather that Umm ad-Dahdah worked on the date orchard. Many such incidents in the early phase of Islam (the exemplary phase) show that women were certainly not confined indoors. They went out to attend to many necessary outdoor duties. However, one point should be made clear: these outdoor activities of women were not engaged in entertainment but as a matter of necessity.