In the Name of Allah the most compassionate the most Merciful peace and blessings upon Muhammad(SAW) and his household (ameen)

When it comes to Islamic studies, women are often viewed as sitting on the sidelines making minimal contributions. But, this is far from reality.

Though their achievements are overshadowed by their male counterparts', female Muslim scholars have actually made major contributions to the advancement of Muslim societies throughout history. 

They studied Islam in depth, issued their very own fatwas, wrote binders of academic work, acted as religious authorities, and even taught some of the most celebrated male scholars.

Here Are The Earliest islamic Female Scholars

Aisha bint Abu Bakr
She has been regarded as Islam’s ideal woman scholar. She she was the first female memoriser of holy Quran, she was not only one of the earliest reporters of the authentic Hadith Her sound scholarship in Islamic disciplines include, but was not necessarily limited to hadith, tafsīr, fiqh, literature, and poetry. Today Muslim women may take ‘Ā’isha not only as a pious example, but follow her intelligence, curiosity, and reasoning.

Others:
Hafsa bint Umar

Fatimah (Fatimah bint Muhammad)

Zaynab bint Ali

Umm Darda as Sughra

Al-Shifa' bint Abdullah

Hafsa bint Sirin

Umm Salamah

A'isha bint Talhah

Habeeba Husain

Later/Modern Islamic Female Scholars

1. Nafisa Bint Hassan (762-824)
The great-great granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca and spent her later life in Cairo, where a mosque now bears her name. 
She was raised with an extensive Islamic education and learned from great scholars, memorizing the Qur'an and learning ahadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) and Islamic jurisprudence at a young age. 

Bint Al-Hassan was renowned for her excessive devotion to worship, having reportedly fasted during the day, prayed all night, and performed Hajj around thirty times in her life.

She taught two of the most prominent scholars of all time, Abu Abdullah Muhammad Idris Al-Shafi’i and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, whose teachings lead to the Shafi'i School of Jurisprudence and the Hanbali School of Jurisprudence, respectively. 

2. Umm Al-Darda Al-Soghra (7th century)

"I've tried to worship Allah in every way, but I've never found a better one than sitting around debating other scholars" - Umm al Darda
She grew up to become a jurist, Islamic scholar, and teacher of hadith and fiqh, and eventually began lecturing both men and women in the Damascus Mosque.

According to the Saudi Gazette, Umm Al-Darda became a reliable authority for ahadith and several prominent Islamic figures and scholars, including the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik Bin Marwan, as well as the celebrated scholar, theologian, and judge Hasan Al-Basri. She viewed the exchange of knowledge as a form of worship and said:

"I have sought worship in everything. I did not find anything more relieving to me than sitting with scholars and exchanging [knowledge] with them."

3. Shuhdah al-Baghdadiyyah (10th century)

Known as Fakhr an-Nisa (Pride of Womankind) and "The Writer of Baghdad," Al-Baghdadiyyah was born in Iran and died in Iraq.

Having studied under the guidance of her father, the famous traditionist Abu Nasr al-Dinawari, as well as several reputed scholars, Al-Baghdadiyyah was known for accurately transmitting and explaining ahadith.

She gave lectures at universities and mosques in Baghdad and her teachings of the hadith were held in high regard.

Apart from her extensive knowledge on the Prophet's sayings, she was known for her impeccable skills in calligraphy.

"Her style of writing (mansub) gained much popularity and was taken up generation after generation," Dean of Cambridge Islamic College, Muḥammad Akram Nadwi, writes. 

"In her time, there was no one in Baghdad who had handwriting like hers."

4. Fatima al-Samarqandi (12th century)

Taught by her father, distinguished jurist Mohammed Al-Samarqandi, she grew up to become a respected scholar and jurist who issued her own fatwas. 

She mastered Hanafi jurisprudence and the sciences of hadith, with her legal judgments and transmissions of hadith considered greatly reliable. 

She taught Islamic sciences to both male and female students, with students travlling all the way to Syria just to learn from her, according to Dr. Umar Farooq Abdallah.

She notably served as a personal counselor for Nur-al-Din Zangi, one of the most famous rulers in Islamic history.
Despite being pursued by kings and princes, she went on to marry one of her father's students, Alaa al-Kasani, a top Hanafi jurist. 
Interestingly, Al-Samarqandi played a major role in Al-Kasani's work, having corrected and edited his legal opinions.

"His esteem for her was so great that he would not sign the legal opinions he issued until Fatima signed them first," Dr. Abdallah writes. 

5. Fatima Al-Fudayliyya (18th century)

Known as Al-Shaykha Al-Fudayliyya, she mastered in the art of calligraphy and excelled in different Islamic sciences, with a special interest in hadith.

Having studied from reputed scholars, she became a reliable source on hadith, with students attending her lectures and receiving certificates from her. 
Among her prominent students were Sheikh Omar Al-Hanafi and Sheikh Muhammad Salih. Towards the end of her life, Al-Fudayliyya settled in Mecca where she founded a public library.

Lastly here in Nigeria we have many Ustazas and female scholars across Nigeria and one of them is the recently passed away Halima Shitu the first female Kano Hisbah commander.(may Allah be pleased with her)

You can make research on all these names, they will surely go a long way to inspire you!

Scholars are those who guide those who have strayed, are patient in every calamity that befalls them, give life to the spiritually dead with Allah’s book and enlighten those spiritually blind with the light of Allah, teach people how to succeed here and here after. They are teachers, they are guiders!
These are the people that should be a role model to our sisters, daughters, and friends, we surely all want our children to be footballers, bankers, doctors, lawyers, governors and etc. But no one wants his son/daughter to be a religious scholar? And Allah has decribed those who have knowledge with the best description in the Quran where He said they have higher ranks while his beloved prophet also described scholars with the most beautiful words, references to these are in the Quran and hadith


Quran

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا۟ فِى ٱلْمَجَٰلِسِ فَٱفْسَحُوا۟ يَفْسَحِ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْۖ وَإِذَا قِيلَ ٱنشُزُوا۟ فَٱنشُزُوا۟ يَرْفَعِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ دَرَجَٰتٍۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
(58:11)

"...Allah will elevate those of you who are faithful, and raise those gifted with
knowledge in rank And Allah
is All-Aware of what you do".


Hadith of The Prophet (SAW)

"The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets (peace be on them). The prophets (peace be on them) do not leave behind (inheritance) gold coins nor silver coins. They only leave behind knowledge, so whoever takes hold of it has taken an ample share". [Abu Dawood]