This study examines the issue of women’s rights in marriage in both the Eastern and Western parts of the Islamic world during the 5th–8th centuries AH. It provides an analytical study of selected examples from books of fatwas (legal opinions) and nawāzil (legal case collections), as jurisprudential and social sources that reflected daily life and interpersonal relationships in Islamic societies.

The research seeks to uncover the extent of women’s awareness of their rights in matters of marriage, their choices, and their positions on issues such as guardianship (wilāya), dowry (ṣadaq), marital conditions, divorce, maintenance (nafaqa), and the means by which they claimed these rights before the courts.

The significance of this study lies in its use of unconventional jurisprudential sources — such as nawāzil and fatwas — which document real-life cases, free from bias or abstract historical narration. This makes them a precise mirror of Muslim women’s realities during that era. The texts show that women were aware of their rights, practiced them within the framework of Islamic law, and turned to judges or market inspectors (muḥtasibs) to ensure those rights whenever they faced injustice or violation. This challenges the stereotypical image of women as marginalized or absent from legal and social life.

The study concludes that Muslim women, in both the East and West, actively demanded their rights and showed great awareness of them, especially regarding conditions stipulated in marriage contracts — such as housing, prohibition of polygamy, financial support, or dowry — reflecting their understanding of the importance of documentation to safeguard their future. It also reveals considerable similarities between Eastern and Western Islamic regions in major issues, with minor differences attributed to local customs and social circumstances.

Finally, the research demonstrates that the Islamic judicial system during those centuries was fair to women and responsive to their claims, highlighting the justice and flexibility of Islamic law in addressing family and women’s issues. It confirms that Muslim women were neither weak nor marginalized, but rather active, aware of their rights, and responsible for asserting them.