After mentioning the drowning of Pharaoh, Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar Ibn Kathīr (d. 774 AH/1373 CE) ؒ states that the king, Pharaoh, along with his entourage, generals and soldiers, were destroyed, and that none remained in Egypt except the general populace. He then cites what Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 257 AH/871 CE) mentioned in his work Futūḥ Miṣr wa Akhbārihā (also known as Tārīkh Miṣr), namely:
أنه من ذلك الزمان تسلط نساء مصر على رجالها بسبب أن نساء الأمراء والكبراء تزوجن بمن دونهن من العامة فكانت لهن السطوة عليهم، واستمرت هذه سنة نساء مصر إلى يومنا هذا
“Ever since that time, the women of Egypt have exercised dominance over its men. This occurred because the women of the fallen generals and eminent figures married men of lower social standing from the general populace. As a result, they held authority over them. This has continued to be the condition of Egyptian women until this day.” Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāyah wa-n-Nihāyah, account of Pharaoh’s drowning.
The wording recorded by Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam in Futūḥ Miṣr wa Akhbārihā is as follows:
وكان نساء أهل مصر حين غرق من غرق منهم مع فرعون من أشرافهم ولم يبق إلا العبيد والأجراء لم يصبرن عن الرجال فطفقت المرأة تعتق عبدها وتتزوجه، وتتزوج الأخرى أجيرها، وشرطن على الرجال ألا يفعلوا شيئا إلا بإذنهن فأجابوهن إلى ذلك؛ فكان أمر النساء على الرجال
“When those of Egypt’s nobles who accompanied Pharaoh drowned, no one remained except slaves and labourers. Since the women could not remain patient without men, a woman would free her slave and marry him, while another would marry her hired labourer. These women would stipulate conditions upon their husbands that they were not to undertake anything without their permission, and the men would comply with them in this regard. Thus, women came to command men.” Futūḥ Miṣr wa Akhbārihā, section on Egypt’s rulers after Dalūkah.
He further reports:
قال عثمان: فحدثني ابن لهيعة عن يزيد بن أبي حبيب أن القبط على ذلك إلى اليوم، اتباعا لمن مضى منهم؛ لا يبيع أحدهم ولا يشتري إلا قال: أستأمر امرأتي
“ʿUthmān said: Ibn Lahīʿah informed me, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb, that the Copts continue this practice to this day, following those who came before them. None of the men among them would buy or sell anything except that he says: ‘Let me consult my wife.’” Futūḥ Miṣr wa Akhbārihā, same section.
References
Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, Futūḥ Miṣr wa Akhbārihā, also published as Futūḥ Miṣr wa-l-Maghrib, section “Egypt’s Rulers After the Old Woman Dalūkah”, pp. 48–49 in the electronic text.
Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāyah wa-n-Nihāyah, account of Pharaoh’s drowning; parallel text in Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ, vol. 1, p. 262;d.
