ii 6 Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam biographical notices, there are only five for whom he provides information about birth and/or death years.-7 The picture changes considerably over the next two centuries during which birth and death years were more systematically recorded, a practice that in turn allowed baditb transmitters to ascertain the quality of their isnads and to compete in the accumulation of the shortest isnads. Following al-FarisI, Karima’s biographers collectively praise her as an upright, learned woman. We also glean through other notices that she remained unmarried, devoted to religious study, and uncompromising in her standards of baditb transmission.' In a particularly telling anecdote related by al-Dhahabl, the scholar Muhammad b. ‘All al-NarsI (d. 510/ 1116) tells of how Karima brought out a copy of al-Bukharl’s Sahib for him to read and transcribe. He sat facing her and copied out seven pages and read them to her. When he wanted to compare his copy against hers by himself, she refused, insisting that she would review it with him.' In the same vein, al-Yafi‘I remarks that she was precise, had correct understanding of her transmissions, and was eminent in baditb circles (dhat dabt, fahm, wa-nabdha). In addition to extolling Karima, all of her biographers concur that her reputation in baditb circles was grounded in her accurate transmission of the Sahib of al-Bukharl and in the fact that her authority could be traced to al-Kushmlhanl. Ibn al-Athlr remarks that she had the best isnads for the Sahib of al-Bukharl and was not surpassed in this respect until the career of Abu al-Waqt (d. 553/1158). A reconstruction of Karima’s network of students and teachers places her in the scholarly elite of Khurasan, reveals her ties to ‘ulamd ’ of other major urban centers, and further clarifies her renown. Biographers consistently name the following three baditb scholars of Khurasan as Karima’s teachers: Muhammad b. MakkI al-Kushmlhanl, Zahir b. Ahmad al-SarakhsI, and ‘Abd Allah b. Yusuf b. Bamawayh 25 This is the count of women’s biographies as recorded in al-Sariflnl’s Muntakbab (an abridged version of al-Farisi’s Siyaq.) 16 Al-Yafi‘5, al-Dhahabl, and Ibn al-Tmad mention her unmarried status and her high standards for transmission. 27 For a biography of Abu al-Ghana’im Muhammad b. ‘All al-NarsI, see al-Dhahabl, Siyar, 19:274-76. 28 al-Dhahabl, Siyar, 18:234. The term used to denote the type of transmission in which a student reads the text to his teacher and they review it for errors is ‘ard, more commonly known as qira'a. See Ibn al-Salah, Muqaddima, 100. See also Subhl al-Salih, 'ilium al-Hadith wa-Mustalabu-hu, 93-95. 22 For his biography, see al-Dhahabl, Siyar, 20:303-11. (His name is given here as ‘Isa b. Shu’ayb al-Sijzi.)