Article 116

It is not permitted for a woman to take a ruling position; so she cannot be a *Khalifah*, nor an assistant, governor or *‘Amil*, nor undertake any action considered to be ruling. In the same manner she cannot be the head judge and nor a judge in the *Madhalim* court, nor the Amir of Jihad.

The evidence for this article is what Al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Bakra who said

لما بلغ رسول الله ﷺ أن أهل فارس ملَّكوا عليهم بنت كسرى قال: «لَنْ يُفْلِحَ قَوْمٌ وَلَّوْا أَمْرَهُمُ امْرَأَةً»

“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was told that the daughter of Kisra had been given the reign over the Persians he said: Never will succeed such a nation that make a woman their ruler.”. This explicitly mentions that a woman is not permitted to take a ruling position. Accordingly, women are not permitted to undertake anything at all from any of the actions of ruling, whether the *Khalifah*, assistant, governor, Supreme judge, judge in the *Madhalim* court, or *‘amil* in the district, due to the explicitness of the narration forbidding it.

As for women not taking the position of the *Amir* of *Jihad*, despite it not being a ruling position, this is because *Jihad* is not obligatory upon women and so she cannot assume leadership over those for whom *Jihad* is obligatory.

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