Dear members,
Assalamu Alaikum. Heba Raouf Ezzat is a recognised scholar and her views
deserve special attention.
If any body has any copy of the Interpretation of the Quran by Zainab al
Gazali, published in 1994 ( as mentioned in the article )please let me know,
how i can get it
Shah Abdul Hannan
----- Original Message -----
From: Heba Raouf Ezzat
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 1:01 PM
Subject: Women and the interpretation of Islamic sources
Women and the interpretation of Islamic sources
Written by Heba Raouf Ezzat
Sep 04, 2007
Can a feminist reinterpretation of Islamic sources be set in the context
of Islamic theology? In other words: Can there be a feminist interpretation of
Quran and Sunna? Was there one in the past, and if not…can we initiate one in
the future? These questions have appeared on the agenda of women’s debates in
the Muslim world in the past two decades…stressing the “feminist” as
different…currently absent and …urgently needed.
Introductory issues
1- Women’s contribution to Islamic sciences dates back to early Islam,
and has not seized through the centuries, with interruptions here and there in
history due to different reasons in each case. This history of women’s
involvement in ‘Ilm and Fiqh was recorded by male scholars themselves in books
of history of Islamic sciences. The issue is not initiated by contemporary
Western feminism but has its roots in our culture. This is important to clarify
that the liberating potential of Islam is inherent in Islam itself and its
history and is not a result of forces outside the culture and civilisation of
Islam or a result of the contact with the West in the colonial era. The issue
is not necessarily “feminist” and other terminology can –and sometimes should-
be used instead of the confusion and the enforcement of the concept “feminist”
on the Islamic concepts and their semantic field as a key concept.
2- The text dealt with in Christianity (the Bible) differs substantially
from the Book (Quran) in Islam regarding the status of the text , its origin ,
its legacy , and its position in the religion. While Jesus is the logos of the
Christian faith , Muhammad is not the logos in Islam, but the revelation…the
Book…the Quran. This gives the text - as well the Sunna that put it into action
- a centrality in the process of jurisprudence and legislation that is quite
unique. This raises the question whether one can talk about an international
cross-cultural and cross religious, unified or common agenda for women in this
matter.
3-While in the back of mind of the Western discourse of the matter is
only related to the text , in Islam the interpretation can not be completed
without the a complex interaction with the Sunna , a thorough understanding and
critical reading of the fiqh , and a continuous process of Ijtihad and Tajdid
to place the divine and absolute within the relative and present. The knowledge
of related Islamic disciplines and methodologies is a must, along with a
profound updated knowledge of the social and political contexts. Not only
average Muslims are required to study carefully the Islamic sciences, but
Islamic scholars are also required to know the realities of life - a strict
condition of Fatwa and Ijtihad that is known to everyone.
4-Contemporary Muslim women have been involved in studying and teaching
the Islamic sources, and Islamic Universities have distinguished women
scholars…the most prominent Bint Al-Shati -the professor of Tafsir in Egypt and
Morocco who died recently, as well as many female professors at Al-Azhar and in
all Islamic Universities. It has been neglected in recent writings that started
giving attention to the role of women within the Islamic movements in
transmitting and studying the Islamic sources that they, too, contributed to
the knowledge and Ijtihad. Ann Sophie Roald (In K.Ask & M.Tjomsland 1998 ) for
example studied Bint Al-Shati, yet forgot Zainab A-Ghazali - the leading
Egyptian Muslim activist of the Muslim Brotherhood - who published an
interpretation of the Quran 1994. Though published by the famous Dar Al Shorouk
publishers, and forwarded by a praise by a (male) professor of Tafsir at
Al-Azhar University, Karam did not even refer to that volume when studying
Ghazali’s “feminist” ideas. (A.Karam , 1998) Women’s reading and interpretation
of the Islamic sources is then an ongoing process in the Islamic as well as
Islamist circles.
5-Taking the awareness about women’s problems and the unjust treatment of
women in Islamic societies with different Islamic pretexts as the criteria
according to which one classifies writings as “feminist” or not (sometimes
regardless of the sex/gender of the author], one can find indeed that male
scholars have been more outspoken and “revolutionary” than women scholars.
Hence insisting on “feminist” as description for the reading or interpretation,
places feminism as a frame of reference and a basically secular paradigm to be
the point of reference. Within the Islamic circle adjectives such as : “fair” ,
“just", “methodologically correct” and “nearer to the general aims of Islam
(Maqasid)” are more accurate.
Methodological reflections
Established Islamic methodology to approach the Islamic sources has been
challenged lately by secularist writings, either generally as a whole, or
focusing mainly on the issue of women. In this respecr Fatima Mernissi
(Morocco) can be considered to be the most sophisticated one. Her work
discusses –among other things- the compatibility of some narrators of the
Hadith and their hostile position towards women that affected their integrity
and credibility, deconstructing by that some crucial Hadith on women that were
narrated in Al-Bukhari and accepted as authentic Hadith. (Merrnissi,1996) .
Her work was attacked by many Islamic scholars, not because of its
feminist nature but because it challenges the established, widely accepted,
methodology. Others such as Nawal Saadawi (Egypt) or Farida Banani (Morocco)
are more general in their arguments. These writings state that Ijtihad is
needed to initiate new ideas and perspective that are more compatible with the
modern notions of human rights, while at the same time accepting and advocating
intellectually Western notions and concepts on “gender” and “patriarchy”
without much revision or criticism.
A researcher with a secular paradigm when dealing with the Islamic
sources rejects established Islamic sciences’ methodology and usually bases
his/her analysis on approaches that deal with “texts” regardless of the origin
of these texts - revealed or human. Any contribution will always be classified
as a secular critique to the transcendental and will hence be rejected and
refuted by the mainstream Islamic schools of thought and jurisprudence - even
if insightful and worth discussing.
The political situation and polarization is dominant in a lot of
discussion spaces. The arguments of secularisits are not read and understood by
Islamic scholars, while any effort or new Ijtihad on the Islamic side is
usually accused of being for propagandist, not serious, for political purposes
and temporary. Especially in the issues of women the political is very much
linked with the methodology, the selection of topics and the way these are
addressed from both sides according to the hot issues on the political agenda.
The lack of a real intellectual environment for dialogue blocks change on the
grass root level for the best of the majority of women.
A second point is that attempts to bridge the gap between social sciences
and Islamic sciences have been going on in many academic circles in the Muslim
world. Disciplines like economy were given more attention than other
disciplines such as political science and sociology.
It is very important to realize that any reform in women issues by
combining a contemporary reading of the sources with a knowledge of social
sciences requires Ijtihad on both sides. Till now only attempts to reform the
reading of the text have been in process, while the Ijtihad on the social
sciences level has been almost non-existant. A simple example for that is the
attempt to seek new fatwas allowing women to participate in politics by voting
as well as become political representatives. Little has been done to introduce
a new political theory that would revise the centrality of the state major
actor, or revise the whole issue of ploitical representation and its problems.
Democracy , as people have to be constantly reminded, can take many
forms, not necessarily representative democracy, and not necessarily in a party
system. Authoritarianism or totalitarianism are not the only option to the
former statement, but a vriety of forms for political governance that are
definetly NOT the simple non-sophisticated talk about an “Islamic State” that
is always more of a State than it is …Islamic. The Ijtihad has to be on all
tracks, otherwise one will end up defending just and equal women participation
in a political system that is not just nor fair or equal itself –structurally
speaking .
Discussing the issue of women and politics one finds different
approaches. Following you will find two different ones. The first is called
here the selective anti-Sunna method as it is based on the selection of the
source (reference), denying and refusing the whole of Sunna and Hadith. It is
short and brief as it saves itself the path of Ijtihad and argumentation.
The selective anti-Sunna Method
“Can a woman take the leadership role? Is it prohibited? The answer will
be different if you look at the Quran, or if you look at the the Hadiths, that
most of them were written about 200 years after the Prophet's death. When God
tells us a story in he Quran, He does not do so just for entertaining us, but
to teach us a lesson.
"We narrate to you the most accurate history through the revelation of
this Quran. Before this, you were totally unaware." 12:3. "In their history,
there is a lesson for those who possess intelligence......" 12:111.
The role of an important woman in the history of the old world, as much
as Muslims are concerned, is shown in the story of Belquees, the Queen of
Sheba. See 27:22-44. God mentioned her history in the Quran to let us know that
a woman in a ruling position is not offensive as far as God is concerned. She
represented a democratic ruler who consulted with her people before making
important decisions, See 27:29. She visited Solomon, talked to him , made
decisions for herself and her people, not hiding behind walls, or shying behind
another man. After witnessing what God gave Solomon, she became a submitter
(Muslim), while still the Queen of Sheba. "She was told, "Go inside the
palace." When she saw its interior, she thought it was a pool of water, and she
(pulled up her dress) exposing her legs. He said, "This interior is now paved
with crystal." She said, 'My Lord, I have wronged my soul. I now submit with
Solomon to God, Lord of the universe".
Here we witness one of the first Muslim women in charge of a nation,
ruling them as a queen of Sheba. Can we learn a lesson from the Quran? we
should. The lesson is that, God in the Quran never put restrictions on a woman
in a ruling position. Contrary to what the traditional Muslim scholars and
Hadiths teach, a woman in a leading political position is not against God's
system or against the Quran. It might be against the chauvinistic views of the
men who wrote the corrupted history of Hadiths.
What did the books of man, the Hadith books ,teach about women in
leadership positions? Completely the opposite, and then they claim that Hadiths
do not contradict the Quran.. Of course the reason is that, the Prophet
Muhammed would have never contradicted the Quran, but those who invented these
stories about him did.
In one of the most famous Hadiths that is often raised in the face of any
Muslim woman seeking higher education or higher position in her career is one
by a man called Abu Bakra who narrated a Hadith reported in Bukhary that states
that any community ruled by a woman will never succeed. The fallacy of this
Hadith is not only proven in history but in the fact that Abu Bakra himself was
reported in the Muslim history books to be punished publicly for bearing false
witness. Despite this known story of his bearing false witness, Bukhary did not
remove his Hadith from among his collected Hadiths according to the rules that
Bukhary himself claimed to follow. Such a bearer of false witness should never
be allowed or accepted as a witness ever, according to the Quran (24:4).
The tajdid method
Access to political positions is dealt with in the dominant feminist
discource as a gain that women should target for power and influence. “Power”
is also the reason why Islamists deny them that right so they would have no
authority over the supposedly wiser males. It is usually forgotten that
political positions are not gains to be sought but rather responsibilities to
be carried. They necessitate specific competence which, according to Ibn
Taymiyya, is based on two factors: strength and integrity. Strength is
dependent on the nature of the jurisdiction. Strength in judgments is based on
the knowledge about the Qur’an and the Hadith and the ability to implement
them. Personal integrity all depends on the fear of God.
It is also neglected that whoever takes that power is obliged to abide by
the laws of the Shari’a - be that person a man or a woman. Their decisions
concerning the public law and the codes of ethics should be issued through the
mechanisms of Shura. They are obeyed in as far as they do; otherwise, there is
no obedience to those who disobey God and “Obedience is conditioned by the
virtues” and “If the ruler judges unfairly or in contradiction to the
established rules, his judement is rejected.” Reading literature on the topic
reveals that the disagreement arises in Fiqh from the different readings and
interpretation of the Islamic sources that we can discuss as following:
Scholars disagree on the possible meaning of the verse, which goes, “Men
are in charge (qawwamun) of women, because of what God has graced some of them
over the others and because they spend of their property (for the support of
women).” (IV:34). Some interpretations argue that being “in charge” is
exclusive for men since they possess superior attributes over women with
respect to the management of affairs, the physical and psychological strengths,
etc. To them, this makes it unfeasible that a woman takes over any public
jurisdiction that can make her “in charge” or even let her share such
responsibility. In their view, the text states explicitly that responsibility
is given to men.
It is also argued that even if the responsibility stated in the
above-mentioned verse is meant to be in the specific family context, the
argument is still valid, since a woman is necessarily then incompetent in
managing wider public affairs.
Other scholars maintain that the relationship between men and women in
general is based on equality and that the Qur’an here only refers to the family
in a regulative manner not to the human nature or the competence of women in
general. This does not indicate that women are less competent, but rather
suggests the more appropriate party who can be replaced by the other if
necessary in cases of the absence of the father due to any reason.
Views are at variance concerning the Prophet’s Hadith narrated by
al-Bukhari in the authority of Abu Bakra who said, “When the Prophet was
informed that in Persia, the daughter of the King (Kisra) succeeded to the
throne, he said, ‘No success is destined for a folk whose ruler is a woman’.”
Some literature debate that this includes all women in all public jurisdiction.
The statement is seperated from its context and taken as a divine rule. Other
opinions see that, in general, this is exclusive to the caliphate -the highest
position in an Islamic political system.
Some contemporary scholars deny the authenticity of the hadith
altogether, describing it as “fake”, maintaining that it is at best a “Hadith
Ahad” - a Hadith narrated by a sole narrator-, a case which excludes it as a
source of Sharia’ in serious matters of legislation and constitution. The first
party have done no attempt to interpret the above-mentioned Hadith in the light
of the other relevant Qur’anic verses (the simple next step in interpretation
that is usually forgotten here!), or the other Prophetic tradition on the
issue. The second group basically adhered to the same approach except that they
made it specific and have not associated it with competence but with certain
positions.
The following remarks can be given about the Hadith discussed:
-It has to be interpreted in the light of the other Hadiths on Persia and
King Kisra. It was reported in the context of a narration reported by Ibn Hajar
al-’Asqalani quoted in Sahih al-Bukari. It was reported that Kisra tore off the
message sent to him by the Prophet and that the Prophet accursed him. Then the
Kisra’s son first killed him and then his brothers and the killer was
ultimately poisoned himself. Therefore, Poran prohibited. Otherwise, how can
women manage to perform their religious obligations without necessarily mixing
with men? Alleged resulting
“Fitna” cannot thus be taken as an argument since the legitimate rulings
are established on the Qur’an and the Sunna.
To sum up, public jurisdiand political porequire special competence in
both men and women , They remain at the end the full occupation of a minority
of people and among them some women are definetly eligible. Arguments to the
esatblished rules of interpretation. It is my conclusion that only few women
can practically manage both the responsibilities of family and jurisdiction at
a time. If they have the compatibility or can gain it they have full choice
–even a responsibility- to participate on these political levels in a Muslim
society.
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Islam is the only solution.
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