This book is an adaptation of the preface to the 40-volume biographical encyclopedia (and in Arabic) of Muhammad Akram, about Muslim women who studied and taught hadith. He takes, presents, then reflects on the information in this encyclopedia. It demonstrates the central role of Muslim women in preserving the teaching of the Prophet r, which remains the primary guide to understanding the Quran as rules and norms of life.

"[...] while many Muslim women still do not dare to pray in mosques, let alone give lectures there, Akram's biography of Umm Ad-Darda', an eminent jurist from Damascus in the seventh century , is surprising. As a young woman, Umm Ad-Dardâ' used to sit with learned men in the mosque... She then taught hadith and jurisprudence, or [religious] law, at the mosque. She even lectured to men; among his students was the caliph [in person]...” Article by The New York Times.