The present work is mostly a translation of the book “Women’s Special Laws” which was written by Sayyid M. Husseini. In this work we have also used other books and official websites belonging to the Shī‘ah Religious Jurisprudents (Mujtahid).

The reader should note that the present book is extremely brief and is only an abridged summary of the full works by the Great Scholars. Other books on Islamic Law written by Shī‘ah scholars may be found. However, the advantage of the present work is that it is a book covering the Islamic laws specific to women according to the decrees of ten Shī‘ah scholars. So any woman may look up the questions she has, and find the specific answers given by the religious scholar whom she is following. 

These ten scholars include:

1)      Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini (Known as Imam Khomeini)

2)      Grand Ayatullah Muḥammad-Taqī Bahjat

3)      Grand Ayatullah Mīrzā Jawād Tabrīzī

4)      Grand Ayatullah Sayyid ‘Alī Khamenei

5)      Grand Ayatullah Sayyid ‘Alī Sīstānī

6)      Grand Ayatullah Ṣāfī Gulpaygānī

7)      Grand Ayatullah Fāḍil Lankarānī

8)      Grand Ayatullah Nūrī Hamadānī

9)      Grand Ayatullah Nāṣir Makārim Shīrāzī

10)    Grand Ayatullah Waḥīd Khurasānī

In closing, I submit that I have done my utmost to remain faithful to the scholars’ decrees. But I have also tried to simplify the language in order to make the book more useful for the readers.

A number of people shared their thinking with me. I benefited from the sound advice which Mr. Muḥammad Makki, his wife Mrs. Makki and my dear sister Mrs. Lorraine Wolhuters always offered. Mrs. Fatima Shameli also read the draft and tried to edit it. This book would have been significantly poorer without their ideas and stimulating advice.  

All praise belongs to Allah

Tayebeh Tabasi

August 11th, 2011