Muslim Women in Law and Society: Annotated

Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page i Muslim Women in Law and Society This book is a translation of what can arguably be called the very first Arabic feminist manual on the role of women in Muslim society by the early twentieth-century Tunisian author and reformist al-Tahir al-Haddad (Taher Haddad). The extensive introduction places the book in its historical context and includes an overview of the various movements and reformists who dealt with the emancipation of Muslim woman prior to al-Haddad’s book. This is followed by a biography of al-Haddad and a discussion of the background and genesis of Our Woman in the Sharica and Society. Causing quite a furore when it was released, the book remains just as topical today as it was then. This book is undoubtedly the single-most original work written on the subject of Muslim woman in the early modern period. It constitutes a major source for a wide readership, which extends far beyond students with an interest in Arabic literature, as it will also be of considerable benefit to anthropologists, cultural and social historians, gender studies specialists, as well as anyone involved in Middle Eastern studies. Ronak Husni is currently Senior Lecturer in Arabic at Heriot-Watt University. She specializes in Arabic language and Literature, and has taught at various universities in Iraq and the UK. Daniel L. Newman is Reader in Arabic and Course Director of the MA in Arabic/ English Translation at the University of Durham, UK. His research interests include Linguistics and Arab and Islamic reformism in the early Modern Period. Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page ii Culture and Civilization in the Middle East General editor: Ian Richard Netton Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Exeter This series studies the Middle East through the twin foci of its diverse cultures and civilizations. Comprising original monographs as well as scholarly surveys, it covers topics in the fields of Middle Eastern literature, archaeology, law, history, philosophy, science, folklore, art, architecture and language. While there is a plurality of views, the series presents serious scholarship in a lucid and stimulating fashion. PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BY Folklore and Folklife in the CURZON United Arab Emirates Sayyid Hamid Hurriez The Origins of Islamic Law The Qur’an, the Muwatta’ and The Formation of Hanbalism Madinan Amal Piety into power Yasin Dutton Nimrod Hurvitz A Jewish Archive from Old Cairo Arabic Literature The history of Cambridge University’s An overview Genizah collection Pierre Cachia Stefan Reif Structure and Meaning in Medieval The Formative Period of Twelver Arabic and Persian Lyric Poetry Shi’ism Orient pearls Hadith as discourse between Julie Scott Meisami Qum and Baghdad Andrew J. Newman Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily Qur’an Translation Arabic-speakers and the end of Islam Discourse, texture and exegesis Alexander Metcalfe Hussein Abdul-Raof Modern Arab Historiography Christians in Al-Andalus Historical discourse and the 711–1000 nation-state Ann Rosemary Christys Youssef Choueiri Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page iii The Philosophical Poetics of 7 Al-Ghazali and the Alfarabi, Avicenna and Averroes Qur’an The Aristotelian reception One book, many meanings Salim Kemal Martin Whittingham PUBLISHED BY ROUTLEDGE 8 The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad 1 The Epistemology of Ibn Devotional piety in Khaldun Sunni Islam Zaid Ahmad Marion Holmes Katz 2 The Hanbali School of Law 9 Space and Muslim and Ibn Taymiyyah Urban Life Conflict or concilation At the limits of the labyrinth Abdul Hakim I Al-Matroudi of Fez Simon O’Meara 3 Arabic Rhetoric A pragmatic analysis 10 Islam and Science Hussein Abdul-Raof The Intellectual Career of Nizam al-Din al-Nizaburi 4 Arab Representations of the Robert G. Morrison Occident East–West encounters in Arabic 11 Ibn ‘Arabî – Time and fiction Cosmology Rasheed El-Enany Mohamed Haj Yousef 5 God and Humans in Islamic 12 Muslim Women in Thought Law and Society Abd al-Jabbar, Ibn Sina and Annotated translation of al-Ghazali al-Tahir al-Haddad’s Maha Elkaisy-Friemuth Imra’tuna fi ‘l-sharica wa ’l-mujtamac, with 6 Original Islam an introduction Malik and the madhhab of Madina Ronak Husni and Yasin Dutton Daniel L. Newman Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page iv Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page v Muslim Women in Law and Society Annotated translation of al-Tahir al-Haddad’s Imra’tuna fi ‘l-sharica wa ’l-mujtamac, with an introduction Ronak Husni and Daniel L. Newman Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page vi First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Ronak Husni and Daniel L. Newman All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-93831-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–41887–9 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–203–93831–3 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–41887–4 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–93831–7 (ebk) Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page vii Contents Preface and acknowledgements xi Notes on transliteration xiii List of abbreviations xv Introduction 1 The precursors: the role of woman in nineteenth-century reformist thought 1 al-Tahir al-Haddad: a reformer’s life 19 ‘Our woman in the Shari ca and in Society’ 24 Translation 27 Introduction 29 PART 1 The law 33 1 Woman in Islam 35 Preface 35 Consideration of woman as an individual 37 Woman’s civil rights: testimony and justice 38 Managing her affairs 39 Woman’s right to live her own life 40 Inheritance 45 Islam and Zina 52 Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page viii viii Contents 2 Marriage in Islam 57 Choosing a spouse 57 Duty 59 Intercourse 60 Procreation 61 Polygamy 63 The Prophet’s wives 64 3 Prior to divorce 66 Companionship 66 Arbitration 67 4 Divorce in Islam 68 The meaning of divorce 68 Final divorce 69 The right to divorce 71 Divorce courts 72 Financial compensation in divorce cases 77 5 Opinions of Tunisian cUlama’ on woman and marriage 80 Answers of Sidi al-Hattab Bushnaq81 Answers of Sidi cUthman Ibn al-Khuja 84 Answers of Mufti cAbd al-cAziz Jacit 90 Answers of Mufti al-Tahir Ibn cAshur92 Answers of Mufti Bilhasan al-Najjar96 Answers of Mufti Ahmad Bayram 102 Conclusion: return to Islam 104 PART 2 Woman in Muslim society 109 6 Educating girls to be wives and mothers 111 Vocational training 111 Looking after the home 113 Intellectual education 114 Moral training 115 Being a good spouse 118 Healthcare and hygiene 119 Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page ix Contents ix 7 The authority in the household 121 Forced marriages 123 Traditions as obstacles to marriage 124 Unprepared marriages 126 Underage marriages 127 Marriage with disability 128 Financial capability 128 The victims of passion in marriage 129 8 Scenes from married life 133 Social misery 137 Current of modernity 142 9 Official education for Muslim girls 155 Our position on women’s education 157 Women’s education 161 Raising girls 165 Conclusion 170 Notes 172 Bibliography 198 Index 209 Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page x Ronak-FM.qxd 5/11/07 2:29 PM Page xi Preface and acknowledgements It would be fair to say that there is not exactly a dearth of books on women in Islam, both past and present. This, then, poses the question whether one needs another one on a market that, according to some, is nearing saturation point despite the seemingly unquenchable thirst for what is a controversial, but above all highly topical subject. Naturally, we would argue that there is, but this view is based on a number of objective factors. First of all, the present work is not yet another overview of the various Islamic texts dealing with the subject of women, their rights and duties. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it presents an insider’s view of the condition of Muslim women. First published in 1930, this seminal book of which we have produced a translation was written by the Tunisian author and reformist al-Tahir al-Haddad (Taher Haddad). It is arguably the most original work written on the subject in the early modern period. It deals with a topic that was as sensitive then as it is today in a way that was both novel and creative, while its impact has endured to the present day. It is our hope that this book will increase attention for this most courageous of reformers who may justifiably lay claim to being the first Muslim feminist. Indeed, it must be observed that al-Haddad has largely been ignored in the English-speaking world, as witnessed by the small number of studies devoted to him and his thought.

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