68 Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam ijtihad on this matter was used to buttress early and classical rulings that deterred women from attending congregational prayers in mosques. 1 That ‘Amra’s legal authority derives from her relationship with a single Companion should not detract from the fact that she commands it at all. She is among the rare women to whom classical biographers refer as a faqiha (i.e., one possessing the critical faculties for legal reasoning and judgments, and not just a vehicle for the transfer of knowledge). 1N ‘A’isha’s other female kin, such as her sister Umm Kulthum, did not acquire the same status as ‘Amra, nor did ‘Amra’s sisters, who were also said to have been in ‘A’isha’s care. Therefore, ‘Amra’s reputation was based on a historical memory that she had an extraordinary ability to assimilate ‘A’isha’s traditions and disseminate them with an understanding of their practical and legal implications. It is in this light that hadith critics praise her as one of the most trusted sources, along with ‘Urwa b. al-Zubayr and Hisham b. ‘Urwa, for ‘A’isha’s traditions. ‘Amra’s achievements can profitably be compared to those of ‘A’isha bint Talha b. ‘Ubayd Allah, another niece of ‘A’isha bint Abl Bakr, who is credited with thirteen traditions." Unlike ‘Amra, the ‘alima and faqiha , ‘A’isha bint Talha emerges primarily as a litterateur. Although biographers acknowledge that she was knowledgeable in the hadith of her aunt, her attraction for historians and hadith seekers alike lies in her knowledge of poetry, her literary talents, and, not least, her charisma and beauty. In this vein, Abu Zur‘a al-Dimashql (d. 280/893), the third-century hadith critic, is reported to have made the following judgment: “People narrated from her due to her personal merits, and her urbanity and renown in literary circles (li-fada’iliba wa-adabiha).”11 Even though biographers 17 For a summary of legal discourse on the topic of women going to congregational prayer in mosques, see ‘Abd al-Karlm Zaydan, Mufassal fi Abkam al-Mar’a wa’l-Bayt Muslim (Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Risala, 1994), 1:209-15. 18 al-Dhahabl, Siyar , 4:507; Ibn al-Tmad (d. 1089/1679), Sbadharat al-Dhahab (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathlr, 1986), 1:395. 19 Ibn Sa‘d, al-Tabaqat, 8:353. 20 The following sources contain her biographies: Ibn Sa‘d, al-Tabaqat , 8:342; Abu al-Faraj al-Isbahanl (d. 356/967), Kitab al-Aghani (Beirut: Dar al-Thaqafa, 1990), 11:165-85; Ibn ‘Asakir (d. 571/1176), Ta’rikh Dimasbq (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1995), 69:248-60; al-Dhahabl, Siyar , 4:369-70; al-Safadl, al-Wafi , 16:343-45; al-MizzI, Tabdhib, 35:23738; ‘Abd Allah b. As‘ad al-Yafi‘I (d. 768/1367), Mir 'at al-Jinan wa-‘Ibrat al-Yaqzan (Beirut: Mu’assasat al-A‘lam! li’l-Matbu‘at, 1970), 1:211-12. ‘A’isha bint Talha was the daughter of Umm Kulthum, the sister of ‘A’isha bint Abl Bakr. 21 al-MizzI, Tabdhib , 35:238. Ibn ‘Asakir cites Abu Zur‘a al-Dimashql’s appraisal in his Ta’rikb Dimasbq , 69:248. For an overview of the multiple connotations of adab from early Islamic history to the modern period, see El2, s.v. “Adab.”