Women and Gender in Islam, Leila Ahmed Argues

Women, Gender and Islam Aziza Shanazarova 2018 Stanford Institute on Islam August 8, 2018 Sources of Sharīa’/Islamic Law The primary sources, accepted universally by all Muslims, are: 1. The Qur’ān 2. Sunna and Ḥadīth ~ revelation from God ~ traditions and practices of ~ holy book of Muslims Muḥammad ~ 114 suras ~ model to be followed by Muslims ~ Muḥammad – the best exemplar for Muslims The secondary sources of Islamic law: 3. Ijmā’ 4. Ijtihād ~ consensus amongst Muslim ~ independent interpretation of jurists on a particular legal issue problems not precisely covered by ~ “My followers will never the Qur’ān, Ḥadīth and ijmā’ agree upon an error or what is based on ra’y (personal judgment) wrong” and qiyās (analogical reasoning) ~ at the end of the 3rd/10th century “gates of ijtihād” were closed Veiling in Islam And tell the believing women to reduce “ َوقُل ِّل ْل ُم ْؤ ِّمنَا ِّت يَ ْغ ُض ْض َن ِّم ْن أَ ْب َصا ِّر ِّه َّن some] of their vision and guard their] ْ ُ َّ private parts and not expose their adornment َويَ ْحفَظ َن ف ُرو َج ُه َّن َو ََل ي ُ ْب ِّدي َن ِّزينَتَ ُه َّن إَِّل َما except that which [necessarily] appears َظ َه َر ِّم ْن َها ۖ َو ْليَ ْض ِّر ْب َن ب ِّ ُخ ُم ِّر ِّه َّن َعلَ ٰى ُجيُوبِّ ِّه َّن ۖ thereof; that they should draw their khimār َو ََل يُ ْب ِّدي َن ِّزينَتَ ُه َّن إِّ ََّل ِّلبُعُولَتِّ ِّه َّن أَ ْو آبَائ ِّ ِّه َّن أَ ْو over their breasts and not expose their آبَا ِّء بُعُولَتِّه َّن أَ ْو أَ ْبنَائِّه َّن أَ ْو أَ ْبنَا ِّء بُعُولَتِّه َّن أَ ْو adornment except to their husbands, their َ ِّ ِّ َ َ ِّ َ ,fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons إِّ ْخ َوانِّ ِّه َّن أ ْو بَنِّي إِّ ْخ َوانِّ ِّه َّن أ ْو بَنِّي أ َخ َواتِّ ِّه َّن أ ْو their husbands' sons, their brothers, their نِّ َسائِّ ِّه َّن أَ ْو َما َملَ َك ْت أَ ْي َم انُ ُه َّن أَ ِّو التَّابِّ ِّعي َن َغ ْي ِّر brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their أُو ِّلي ا ْ ِّْل ْربَ ِّة ِّم َن ال ِّ ر َجا ِّل أَ ِّو ال ِّ ط ْف ِّل الَّ ِّذي َن لَ ْم women, that which their right hands يَ ْظه ُروا َعلَ ٰى َع ْورا ِّت النِّ َس ا ِّء ۖ و ََل يَ ْضر ْب َن possess, or those male attendants having no َ َ َ َ ِّ physical desire, or children who are not yet بِّأ ْر ُج ِّل ِّه َّن ِّليُ ْعلَ َم َما يُ ْخ ِّفي َن ِّمن ِّزينَتِّ ِّه َّن ۚ َو تُوبُوا aware of the private aspects of women. And إِّلَى َّ َِّّللا َج ِّميعًا أَيُّهَ ا ْل ُم ْؤ ِّم نُو َن لَعَلَّ ُك ْم تُ ْف ِّل ُحو َن – let them not stamp their feet to make known Sura al-Nur 31 what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.” O believers! Do not enter the houses of the يَا أَيُّ َها الَّ ِّذي َن آ َمنُوا ََل تَ ْد ُخ لُوا بُيُو َت النَّبِّ يِّ إِّ ََّل Prophet except when you are permitted for a أَن يُ ْؤ َذ َن لَ ُك ْم إلَ ٰى َطعا ٍم َغ ْير نَا ِّظري َن إنَاهُ meal, without awaiting its readiness. But ٰ ِّ َ َ ِّ ِّ ولَ ِّك ْن إِّ َذا ُد ِّعيتُ ْم فَا ْد ُخلُوا فَإِّ َذا َط ِّع ْمتُ ْم فَانت َ ِّش ُروا when you are invited, then enter; and when َ ْ ٰ you have eaten, disperse without seeking to َو ََل ُم ْستَأنِّ ِّسي َن ِّل َح ِّدي ٍث ۚ إ ِّ َّن َذ ِّل ُك ْم َكا َن يُ ْؤ ِّذي remain for conversation. Indeed, that النَّبِّ َّي فَيَ ْستَ ْحيِّي ِّمن ُك ْم ۖ َو ََّّللاُ ََل يَ ْستَ ْحيِّي ِّم َن behavior] troubles the Prophet, and he is] ا ْل َح ِّق ۚ َوإِّ َذا َسأَْلتُ ُمو ُه َّن َم تَا ًعا فَا ْسأَلُو ُه َّن ِّم ن shy of [dismissing] you. But God is not shy ٰ َ ْ ُ ُ [of telling truth. When you ask [his wives َو َرا ِّء ِّح َجا ٍب ۚ َذ ِّل ُك ْم أط َه ُر ِّل قُلوبِّ ُك ْم َوقُلوب ِّ ِّه َّن ۚ for something, ask them from behind a َو َما َكا َن لَ ُك ْم أَن تُ ْؤذُوا َر ُسو َل َّ َِّّللا َو ََل أَن curtain (hijāb). That is purer for your hearts تَن ِّك ُحوا أَ ْزوا َجهُ ِّمن بَ ْع ِّد ِّه أَب َ ًدا ۚ إ َّن َٰذ ِّل ُك ْم َك ا َن and their hearts; and it is not allowed for َ ِّ you to hurt the Messenger or to marry his ِّعن َد َّ َِّّللا َع ِّظي ًما – Sura al-Ahzab 53 wives after him, ever. Indeed, that would be in God’s sight an enormity. O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to يا أَيُّها النَّبي قُل ِِّلَ ْزواج َك وبَنَاتِ َك ونِسا ِء ا ْل ُم ْؤ ِمنِي َن َ ِ ُّ َ ِ َ َٰ َ َ bring down over themselves [part] of their يُ ْدنِي َن َعلَ ْي ِه َّن ِمن َج ََلبِيبِ ِه َّن ۚ ذَ ِل َك أَ ْدنَ َٰى أَن ي ُ ْع َر ْف َن outer garments. That is more suitable that فَ ََل يُ ْؤذَ ْي َن ۗ و َكا َن ََّّللاُ َغف ُورا ر ِحيما – they will be known and not be abused. And َ ً َّ ً Sura al-Ahzab 59 ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. Veiling in non-Muslim religions • Assyrian, Greek and Persian laws required free and high class women to cover their heads in public; slaves and prostitutes were prohibited from veiling. • The veiling of women’s hair is part of Jewish laws on modesty: women’s hair was considered too sexy. • Apostle Paul ordered Christian women to veil: “For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil.” • Wedding veils Iran before the 1979 Revolution Post-Taliban Afghan Women Pre-Taliban Afghanistan The Egalitarian Conception of Gender Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim إ َّ ْ ْ ْ women, the believing men and believing ن ال ُم ْس ِل ِمي َن َوال ُم ْس ِل َما ِت َوال ُم ْؤ ِمنِي َن women, the obedient men and obedient َوا ْل ُم ْؤ ِمنَا ِت َوا ْلقَانِت ِي َن َوا ْلقَانِتَا ِت women, the truthful men and truthful َ women, the patient men and patient َوال َّصا ِدقِي َن َوال َّصا ِدقا ِت َوال َّصابِ ِري َن women, the humble men and humble َوال َّصابِ َرا ِت َوا ْل َخا ِش ِعي َن َوا ْل َخا ِشعَا ِت women, the charitable men and ْ ْ َ charitable women, the fasting men and َوال ُمتَ َص ِدِقِي َن َوال ُم تَ َص ِدِقا ِت fasting women, the men who guard their َوال َّصائِ ِمي َن َوال َّصائ ِ َما ِت َوا ْل َحافِ ِظي َن ,private parts and the women who do so ُ ْ َ َّ and the men who remember Allah often ف ُرو َج ُه ْم َوال َحافِظا ِت َوالذا ِك ِري َن ََّّللا َ and the women who do so - for them َكثِي ًرا َوالذَّا ِك َرا ِت أَ َع دَّ ََّّللاُ لَ ُهم َّم ْغ ِف َرةً Allah has prepared forgiveness and a َ – .great reward َوأ ْج ًرا َع ِظي ًما Sura al-Ahzab 35 In Women and Gender in Islam, Leila Ahmed argues: “I contend, first, that the practices sanctioned by Muhammad within the first Muslim society were enunciated in the context of far more positive attitudes towards women than the later Abbasid society was to have, a context that consequently tempered the androcentric tendencies of Islamic practices. … Second, I argue that the decision to regard androcentric positions on marriage as intended to be binding for all time was itself an interpretive decision, reflecting the interests and perspective of those in power during the age that transposed and interpreted the Islamic message into the textual edifice of Islam. Finally, I argue that the social context in which this textual edifice was created was far more negative for women than that in Arabia, so the spiritually egalitarian voice of the religion would have been exceedingly difficult to hear. The practices and living arrangements of the dominant classes of the Abbasid era were such that at an implicit and often an explicit level, the words woman, and slave, and object for sexual use came close to being indistinguishably fused. Such practices, and the conceptions they gave rise to, informed the dominant ideology and affected how Islam was heard and interpreted in this period and how its ideas were rendered into law.” (Ahmed, p. 67) • The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud • mins: 12-17 Fatima Mernissi: Active Female Sexuality Main argument: the Islamic view of women as Mernissi’s reading of al-Ghazzali: active sexual beings resulted in stricter regulation and control of women's sexuality “Women are dangerous distraction that must be used for the specific purpose of • Women are destructive to the social order because they are sexually active providing the Muslim nation with offspring and quenching the tensions of the sexual • Women is fitna/temptation; Sexuality per se is not a danger; instinct.

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