i6z Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam admirer of al-Salihiyya, enumerated its divine blessings. Among its virtues (fada ’il) was its reputation not only as the possible birthplace of Abraham, but also as the burial site (between Bab al-Faradls and the Qasiyun mosque) of some 700 prophets. ’ Owing to its religious legends, socioeconomic prosperity, and the presence of resident scholars, al-Salihiyya was an ideal haven for itinerant students. Women shared in the educational life of al-Salihiyya in a number of ways. A well-documented contribution of elite women throughout much of Islamic history was the endowment of madrasas, mosques, and ribats as expressions of piety and charity.5 Their activities in Damascus and its environs were no exception. One example is the Madrasat al-Sahiba, a prominent Hanball school, endowed by Rabl‘a Khatun (d. 643/1245), a sister of the Ayyubid sultan Salah al-Dln. Women were not usually appointed to endowed posts for teaching nor did they benefit from assigned stipends for studying at these institutions. Nevertheless, educational endowments transformed urban areas and positively impacted women’s endeavors. Scholarly traffic in the region of al-Salihiyya increased as a result of investments in education and was a boon to women’s participation in spite of the fact that women did not themselves undertake rib las as much as men did. Contact with scholars who sojourned in the cities of their residence allowed women to acquire and disseminate baditb. Itinerant scholars would obtain certification from muhaddithas of various locales and subsequently convey word of these women’s reputations to other areas of the Muslim world. The suburb of al-Salihiyya, in particular, witnessed substantial female baditb participation due to its development as a religious center. The modern editor of Ibn Tulun’s history of al-Salihiyya notes that women were encouraged to attend religious circles ( halaqat al-‘ilm) and assemblies for baditb ( majdlis al-hadith). He characterizes this activity as the beginnings of a Damascene feminist cultural movement, in which the majority of women were Hanball. This reference to feminism in the Mamluk period, albeit anachronistic, impresses on us the high level of women’s involvement in the field of 50 Ibn Battuta, Rihlatlbn Battuta (Cairo: al-Maktaba al-Tijariyya al-Kubra, 1964), 1:61-62. 51 Berkey, Transmission of Knowledge, 162-65, and Carl Petry, “A Paradox of Patronage,” Muslim World 73 (1983): 195-201. 52 Ibn Tulun, al-Qala’id, 156-57; see also the descriptions of al-Madrasa al-Mardaniyya, founded by Azlzat al-Din Ukhshah Khatun (at p. 61), and al-Madrasa al-Atabakiyya, endowed by Tarkan Khatun (at p. 102). 53 Muhammad Duhman, introduction to Ibn Tulun, al-Qald 'id, 5.