bolstered me with her love and unflagging energy. I’ve also been fortified by the good-humored support of my in-laws Mark Deevey, Shazia Khan, and the Alvis. Our Princeton clan, Faria Abedin, Simin Syed, Sofia Dasti, and their families, have been a source of comfort, strength, and community. My sons, Sulaiman and Yusuf, alternately tolerated my long library hours and battled my single-minded focus on my book. In the process, they have enriched my life beyond measure. My greatest debt is to my husband, Rashid Alvi, for reading more drafts than he cares to remember. He has been a true partner in this endeavor, and his belief in Muslim women's education is indelibly imprinted here.

Finally, I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their extensive, thoughtful comments and to Marigold Acland, Sarika Narula, and the team at Cambridge University Press for helping bring this manuscript to press.

On the authority of Ra’ita, one of Muhammad’s Companions:

I said to ‘Abd Allah b. Mas‘ud [her husband], “you and your children have kept me so busy that I can’t give charity ( sadaqa ). I am unable to give anything as sadaqa because of [what I spend on] you.” Ibn Mas‘ud said to her, “By God, I don’t want you to do this if you don’t get a reward for it.” So she went to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of God, I am a woman who is skilled in the work of my hands and [I] sell what I make. My children, my husband, and I have no income other than that. And they’ve kept me so busy that I can’t give sadaqa .... Do I get a reward for what I spend?” [T]he Prophet of God said to her, “Spend on them and you will be compensated accordingly.”

Ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855)