Khadijah Tok Selehor and Her Contributions: An Analytical Study of Hadiths Found in Selected Writing

Abstract

Research on women scholars has gained the attention of many past and present, as there are numerous women, particularly in the Malay Archipelago, who contributed intellectually as recorded in the history. One of them is Khadijah Tok Selehor, a prominent Malay female religious writer from the 20th century. The study focuses on one of her writings which has not been previously studied from an academic and hadith authenticity standpoint. The objective of this study are to (i) explore the background of Khadijah Tok Selehor and discover her written works; and to (ii) analyze the hadiths presented in one of her books entitled Tuahlah Wanita Jika Membaca. This is a qualitative study using textual and document analysis, supported by takhrij al-hadith to validate each narration cited by the author. Thirteen hadiths attributed to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH were found. From these hadiths, four are sahih (sound), five are da’if (weak), one is mawdu’ (fabricated), and four could not be traced to any source. The study confirms that Khadijah made an important contribution to Malay Islamic writing, particularly in helping women access to religious knowledge. However, in order to maintain authenticity in religious discourse, the findings emphasise the significance of critically assessing hadith-based content in popular religious books. The study also suggests that the book could be re-edited using the tahqiq method, which includes improving translations and verifying hadith sources, to preserve the intellectual legacy of Malay female scholars.