Well-known Islamic da’iyah, Dr. Fatima Omar Nassif, died on 31 January, 2023, at the age of 80, after spending 50 years calling people to their Creator, may Allah have mercy on her.
Dr. Fatima was the first Saudi woman to be awarded by Abdul Maksoud Khoja for her pioneering work in the field of women’s education and charitable works in the Kingdom, and the first Saudi woman to receive the International Youth Award for Service to Islamic Work in 2010.
She received the Distinguished Personality Award in Voluntary Work from Darul Hikmah University in Jeddah in 1428 AH, and she also received the Da’wah, Education and Youth Award in the field of da’wah work in 1430 AH.
Dr. Fatima Omar Nassif was considered one of the most prominent female figures in the field of da’wah work in the Kingdom. She spent most of her time serving the Qur’an. She is the sister of Dr. Abdullah Nassif. She grew up in a religious family. Her mother is considered to have been a pivotal figure in the establishment of da’wah activity in the Western region. Dr. Fatima’s mother was educated by her father, the daa’iyah Sharafuddin Narwul, the founder of the first Islamic printing press in Mumbai. Dr. Fatima’s mother moved to the land of the Two Holy Mosques after her marriage and began her religious lessons teaching the Holy Qur’an to women and giving lectures pertaining to their religious affairs.
Dr. Fatima’s mother also established the first school for girls in the Kingdom under the supervision of Mr. Muhammad Nassif, Dr. Fatima’s grandfather, who was well-reputed in the fields of science and politics. Dr. Fatima Nassif obtained a bachelor’s degree in history from King Saud University. Then she obtained her master’s and doctorate degrees from the College of Sharia in Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Umm Al-Qura University).
She reminisced during the award ceremony hosted in her honor by Sheikh Abd al-Maqsud Khoja years ago, and said: “I wondered: for four years, I have studied these books on the history of the Arabs and the West, and historical events and so on…and I have not yet been able to study the Qur’an as well as a Muslim woman should. ” Thereafter, she enrolled in King Abdulaziz University’s branch in Makkah, which then became Umm Al-Qura University. She obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Islamic Studies in 1400 AH.
Then she obtained a master’s degree, and her study was on “Promoting Good and Forbidding Evil and Their Impact on Reforming Societies” in the year 1400 AH. Her doctoral dissertation was published on “Women’s Rights and Obligations in the Qur’an and Sunnah” in 1403 AH, which was subsequently printed in English, French, Bengali and Russian, as well as Arabic.
She had an important role in establishing the Department of Islamic Studies and the College of Home Economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. She taught at the university for 19 years. She also discussed and supervised many theses and scientific research papers. She was the supervisor of the female section for many years and left her mark on the hearts of generations of graduates in various disciplines, all of whom are now pioneers in their jobs.
She worked as the head of the Women’s Committee in the Commission for Scientific Miracles in the Qur’an and Sunnah and authored “Women’s Rights and Obligations in the Book and the Sunnah”, which has been published in Arabic, English, French, Urdu and Bengali. She also has a number of books to her credit: “Competence in Marriage” printed in 1410 AH, and “The Character of a Muslim in the Light of the Book and the Sunnah” in 1415 AH and “Natural Secretions in Women Between Purity and Impurity” in 1415 AH, and the book “The Muslim Family in the Age of Globalization” which was printed in 1427 AH.
Dr. Fatima participated in various local, regional and international conferences on women, family issues or scientific miracles. She was a member of numerous international and advisory committees and bodies and chaired the Women’s bureau of the Scientific Miracles Authority in the Holy Quran and Sunnah since 1424 AH.
Dr. Fatima Nassif received the highest votes in the election of the members of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, and was elected among thirty scholars from various Islamic countries. She was one of three female preachers members in the union until about a month ago. Dr Fatima was awarded the International Youth Award for Service to Islamic Work in 2010 at a ceremony in Bahrain.
All those who knew her loved and respected her for her personal qualities and her mission of carrying the call towards the Creator and the purification of souls to the masses. May Allah reward Dr. Fatima Omar Nassif for her advocacy and social work in the service of religion, then women and society, may Allah place it in the balance of her good deeds and raise her ranks in Jannah.
Dr. Bilal Philips