• Fatima al-Fihri and her sister Maryam were 9th century Tunisian women who moved with their family to Morocco.
• After Fatima's husband, father, and brother died, the two sisters inherited a large fortune.
• They were both very religious and well-educated, and they each decided to use their money to create mosques and schools.
• Fatima built Al-Qarawiyyin, named after their hometown Kairouan. Maryam built Al-Andalus.
• The mosques dually served as libraries and institutions for higher learning from their very beginning, and Al-Qarawiyyin is recognized by UNESCO and Guinness World Records as the oldest university still operating today.
• Fatima was involved in every detail of building Al-Qarawiyyin and fasted daily for two years until construction was complete.
• The mosques attracted students and scholars across the world and also housed Muslim refugees who needed a place to gather, learn, and reconnect with their faith.
• Fatima attended the school herself, and her diploma is still on display today. She continued taking classes as a lifelong learner.
• We learn from Fatima & Maryam al-Fihri to cherish Islam's focus on education and to share the privilege of knowledge by creating opportunities for others to learn and grow.

• Hafsa bint Umar was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab (r), one of Prophet Muhammad's (p) most beloved companions.
• Hafsa was highly educated, had a strong personality like her father Umar, and was a hafidha (had memorized the entire Qur'an).
• When Hafsa's first husband died, her father complained to the Prophet that she had been refused marriage by two of his companions. The Prophet reassured him by saying Hafsa would marry someone even better than them, and he offered himself in marriage to her.
• Although she didn't have children, the Prophet (p) declared Hafsa one of the 'Mothers of the Believers,' elevating her status as a widow, which had previously been looked down upon in pre-Islamic society.
• Prophet Muhammad (p) would give all written verses of the Qur'an -- on parchment, bone, and leather -- to Hafsa for safekeeping.
• After the Prophet (p) died, these written verses of the Qur'an were compiled into a single book, making it the very first written copy of the entire Qur'an. Hafsa was entrusted with this original copy until she died.
• It was Hafsa's copy of the Qur'an that was reproduced and distributed throughout the world, and it is her copy that we still use today.
• We learn from Hafsa to never doubt our status based on what society might think. We learn to use our intellect for the preservation of good.

May Allah grant Hafsa bint Umar the highest level of Heaven and allow us to be preservers of good within our own right.
Ameen!