Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropoligical reflections on cultural r... Lila Abu-Lughod American Anthropologist; Sep 2002; 104, 3; Research Library Core pg. 783 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction How Perceptions of Woman Influence Interpretation of the Qur'an objective in undertaking this research was to make a MMMY'reading' of the Qur'an that would be meaningful to women living in the modern era. By 'reading' I mean the process of reviewing the words and their context in order to derive an understanding of the text. Every 'reading' reflects, in part, the intentions of the text, as well as the 'prior text'1 of the one who makes the 'reading'. Although each 'reading' is unique, the understanding of various readers of a single text will converge on many points. In this Introduction I will give the background to this work. In particular, I will look at how the perception of woman influences the interpretations of the Qur'an's position on women. I will give an overview of my own perspective of woman and of the methods of interpretation I used in analysing the Qur'an which have led to some new conclusions. No method of Qur'anic exegesis is fully objective. Each exegete makes some subjective choices. Some details of their interpretations reflect their subjective choices and not necessarily the intent of the text. Yet, often, no distinction is made between text and interpretation. I put interpretations of woman in the Qur'an into three categories: 'traditional', reactive, and holistic. The first category of Qur'anic interpretation I call 'traditional'. Traditional tafasir (exegetical works) give interpretations of the entire Qur'an, whether from the modern or classical periods, with certain objectives in mind. Those objectives could be legal, esoteric, grammatical, rhetorical, or historical. Although these objectives 1 QUR'AN AND WOMAN may lead to differences in the tafasir, one similarity in these works is their atomistic methodology. They begin with the first verse of the first chapter and proceed to the second verse of the first chapter— one verse at a time—until the end of the Book. Little or no effort is made to recognize themes and to discuss the relationship of the Qur'an to itself, thematically. A brief mention of one verse's relation to another verse may be rendered but these are haphazard with no underlying hermeneutical principle applied. A methodology for linking similar Qur'anic ideas, syntactical structures, principles, or themes together is almost non-existent.2 However, what concerns me most about 'traditional' tafasir is that they were exclusively written by males. This means that men and men's experiences were included and women and women's experiences were either excluded or interpreted through the male vision, perspective, desire, or needs of woman.3 In the final analysis, the creation of the basic paradigms through which we examine and discuss the Qur'an and Qur'anic interpretation were generated without the participation and firsthand representation of women. Their voicelessness during critical periods of development in Qur'anic interpretation has not gone unnoticed, but it has been mistakenly equated with voicelessness in the text itself. The second category of Qur'anic interpretation concerned with the issue of woman consists primarily of modern scholars' reactions to severe handicaps for woman as an individual and as a member of society which have been attributed to the text. In this category are many women and/or persons opposed to the Qur'anic message (or more precisely, to Islam) altogether. They use the poor status of women in Muslim societies as justification for their 'reactions'. These reactions have also failed to draw a distinction between the interpretation and the text.4 The objectives sought and methods used, often come from feminist ideals and rationales. Although they are often concerned with valid issues, the absence of a comprehensive analysis of the Qur'an sometimes causes them to vindicate the position of women on grounds entirely incongruous with the Qur'anic position on woman. This shortcoming must be overcome in order to make use of a most effective tool for the liberation of Muslim women: demonstrating 2 INTRODUCTION the link between that liberation and this primary source of Islamic ideology and theology. The interpretations which reconsider the whole method of Qur'anic exegesis with regard to various modern social, moral, economic, and political concerns—including the issue of woman— represent the final category. It is in this category that I place this work. This category is relatively new, and there has been no substantial consideration of the particular issue of woman in the light of the entire Qur'an and its major principles. I propose to make a 'reading' of the Qur'an from within the female experience and without the stereotypes which have been the framework for many of the male interpretations. In the final analysis, this reading will confront some of the conclusions drawn on this subject. Because I am analysing the text and not the interpretations of that text, my treatment of this issue differs from many of the existing works on this topic. Background Methodology: A Hermeneutical Model A hermeneutical model is concerned with three aspects of the text, in order to support its conclusions: 1. the context in which the text was written (in the case of the Qur'an, in which it was revealed); 2. the grammatical composition of the text (how it says what it says); and 3. the whole text, its Weltanschauung or world-view. Often, differences of opinion can be traced to variations in emphasis between these three aspects. I argue against some conventional interpretations, especially about certain words used in the Qur'an to discuss and fulfil universal guidance. I render some discussions heretofore considered as gendered, into neutral terms. Other discussions, heretofore considered as universal, I render specific on the basis of their limitations and on the expression in terms specific to seventh-century Arabia. Some historical information with regard to occasions of revelation and the general period of revelation was considered here. Thus, I attempt to use the method of Qur'anic interpretation 3 QUR'AN AND WOMAN proposed by Fazlur Rahman. He suggests that all Qur'anic passages, revealed as they were in a specific time in history and within certain general and particular circumstances, were given expression relative to those circumstances. However, the message is not limited to that time or those circumstances historically. A reader must understand the implications of the Qur'anic expressions during the time in which they were expressed in order to determine their proper meaning. That meaning gives the intention of the rulings or principles in the particular verse. Believers from another circumstance must make practical applications in accordance with how that original intention is reflected or manifested in the new environments. In modern times this is what is meant by the 'spirit' of the Qur'an. To get at that 'spirit', however, there must be some comprehensible and organized hermeneutical model.5 The initial question behind my research was, why does the Qur'an specify males and females on some occasions (like 'Believing males and Believing females' [masculine plural followed by feminine plural forms]), while on other occasions it uses a more generic ('Oh you who believe ...' [masculine plural]) form? From my perspective on the Qur'an, every usage of the masculine plural form is intended to include males and females, equally, unless it includes specific indication for its exclusive application to males. The plural in Arabic is used to denote three or more rational beings. Thus the following Arabic sentences: A. Al-tullabft al-ghurfah (masculine plural form) means 1. three or more students in the room—including at least one male 2. three or more exclusively male students in the room. B. Al-talibatji al-ghurfah (feminine plural form) means 1. three or more female students in the room. As there is no form exclusively for males, the only way to determine if the masculine plural form (al-tullab ft al-ghurfah (A)) is exclusively for male (2) would be through some specific indication in the text. Thus: C. Al-tullab wa al-talibatfi al-ghurfah indicates that the use of the 4 INTRODUCTION masculine plural (al-tullab} refers exclusively to males since the inclusion of the female plural form distinguishes the female students present.6 All the verses which contained any reference to women, separately or together with men, were analysed with the traditional method oftafsir al Qur'an bi al Qur'an (interpretation of the Qur'an based on the Qur'an itself). However, I elaborated these particular terms of this method: each verse was analysed: 1. in its context; 2. in the context of discussions on similar topics in the Qur'an; 3. in the light of similar language and syntactical structures used elsewhere in the Qur'an; 4. in the light of overriding Qur'anic principles; and 5. within the context of the Qur'anic Weltanschauung, or world-view. Language and Prior Text One unique element for reading and understanding any text is the prior text of the individual reader: the language and cultural context in which the text is read. It is inescapable and represents, on the one hand, the rich varieties that naturally occur between readers, and, on the other hand, the uniqueness of each. Prior text adds considerably to the perspective and conclusions of the interpretation. It exposes the individuality of the exegete. This is neither good nor bad in and of itself. However, when one individual reader with a particular world-view and specific prior text asserts that his or her reading is the only possible or permissible one, it prevents readers in different contexts to come to terms with their own relationship to the text. To avoid the potential of relativism, there is continuity and permanence in the Qur'anic text itself as exemplified even through various readings by their points of convergence. However, in order for the Qur'an to achieve its objective to act as a catalyst affecting behaviour in society, each social context must understand the fundamental and unchangeable principles of that text, and then implement them in their own unique reflection. It is not the text or its principles that change, but the capacity and particularity of the understanding and reflection of the principles of the text within a community of people. 5 QUR'AN AND WOMAN Thus, each individual reader interacts with the text. However, the assertion that there is only one interpretation of the Qur'an limits the extent of the text. The Qur'an must be flexible enough to accommodate innumerable cultural situations because of its claims to be universally beneficial to those who believe.7 Therefore, to force it to have a single cultural perspective—even the cultural perspective of the original community of the Prophet—severely limits its application and contradicts the stated universal purpose of the Book itself. THE PRIOR TEXT OF GENDER-SPECIFIC LANGUAGES The significance of masculine and feminine forms, whether used distinctively or to make generic indications, was an important part of my analysis. Perspectives on gender, particularly on the understanding of what constitutes feminine or masculine behaviour, and the roles of men and women in society, are based on one's cultural context. Gender-specific languages, such as Arabic, create a particular prior text for the speakers of that language. Everything is classified male or female. English, Malay, and other languages do not share this prior text with Arabic. This results in a distinction between the various readings of the Qur'an. This distinction becomes apparent in the interpretation of the text and the conclusions drawn from the function of the text with regard to gender. With regard to Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, I approach the text from the outside. This frees me to make observations which are not imprisoned in the context of a gender-distinct language. There exists a very strong, but one-sided and thus untrustworthy, idea that in order better to understand a foreign culture, one must enter into it, forgetting one's own, and view the world through the eyes of this foreign culture. This idea, as I have said, is one-sided. Of course, a certain entry as a living being into a foreign culture, the possibility of seeing the world through its eyes, is a necessary part of the process of understanding it; but if this were the only aspect of this understanding, it would merely be duplication and would not entail anything new or enriching. Creative understanding does not renounce itself, its own place in time, its own culture; and it forgets nothing. In order to understand, it is immensely important for the person who understands to be located outside the object of his or her creative understanding—in time, in space, and in culture.8 [emphasis mine] A new look at Qur'anic language with regard to gender is especially necessary in the light of the absence of an Arabic neuter. 6 INTRODUCTION Although each word in Arabic is designated as masculine or feminine, it does not follow that each use of masculine or feminine persons is necessarily restricted to the mentioned gender—from the perspective of universal Qur'anic guidance.9 A divine text must overcome the natural restrictions of the language of human communication. Those who argue that the Qur'an cannot be translated believe that there is some necessary correlation between Arabic and the message itself. I will demonstrate that gender distinction, an inherent flaw, necessary for human communication in the Arabic, is overcome by the text in order to fulfil its intention of universal guidance. Perspectives on Women 'Most men have at one time or another heard, or perhaps even believed, that women are "inferior" and "unequal" to men.'10 1 worked against the backdrop of common prejudices and attitudes among Muslims towards women which have not only affected the position of women in Muslim societies but also affected the interpretation of the position of women in the Qur'an. One such belief is that there are essential distinctions between men and women reflected in creation, capacity and function in society, accessibility to guidance (particularly to Qur'anic guidance), and in the rewards due to them in the Hereafter. Although there are distinctions between women and men, I argue that they are not of their essential natures. More importantly. I argue against the values that have been attributed to these distinctions. Such attributed values describe women as weak, inferior, inherently evil, intellectually incapable, and spiritually lacking. These evaluations have been used to claim that women are unsuitable for performing certain tasks, or for functioning in some ways in society. The woman has been restricted to functions related to her biology. The man, on the other hand, is evaluated as superior to and more significant than woman, an inherent leader and caretaker, with extensive capacity to perform tasks that the woman cannot. Consequently, men are more human, enjoying completely the choice of movement, employment, and social, political and economic 7 QUR'AN AND WOMAN participation on the basis of human individuality, motivation, and opportunity. This is actually an institutionalized compensation for the reverse situation: Woman alone gives birth to children, nurses them, and is their primary nurturer in their early formative years. Moreover, the social and economic roles that commonly have been defined as the province of the male have never been performed exclusively by men. Subconsciously, men are aware of this fact.... 7776 male has never had an exclusive social or economic role that woman could not participate in too.. . . . . . Awareness of woman's monopoly was psychologically repressed and overshadowed by institutionalizing and socially legitimating male values that had the effect of creating self-fulfilling prophecies (emphasis mine).11 DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN The Qur'an acknowledges the anatomical distinction between male and female. It also acknowledges that members of each gender function in a manner which reflects the well-defined distinctions held by the culture to which those members belong. These distinctions are an important part of how cultures function. For this reason, it would be unwise if the Qur'an failed to acknowledge and, in fact, sympathize with culturally determined, functional distinctions. As they are divided, so genders are also interwoven differently in each culture and time. They can rule separate territories and rarely intertwine, or they can be knotted like the lines in the Book of Kells. Sometimes no basket can be plaited, no fire kindled, without the collaboration of two sets of hands. Each culture brings the genders together in its unique way.12 The Qur'an does not attempt to annihilate the differences between men and women or to erase the significance of functional gender distinctions which help every society to run smoothly and fulfil its needs. In fact, compatible mutually supportive functional relationships between men and women can be seen as part of the goal of the Qur'an with regard to society.13 However, the Qur'an does not propose or support a singular role or single definition of a set of roles, exclusively, for each gender across every culture. The Qur'an acknowledges that men and women function as individuals and in society. However, there is no detailed prescription set on how to function, culturally. Such a specification would be an 8 INTRODUCTION imposition that would reduce the Qur'an from a universal text to a culturally specific text—a claim that many have erroneously made. What the Qur'an proposes is transcendental in time and space.14 Gender distinctions and distinct gender functions contribute to the perceptions of morally appropriate behaviour in a given society. Since the Qur'an is moral guidance, it must relate to the perceptions of morality—no matter how gender-specified—which are held by individuals in various societies. Yet, the mere fact that the Qur'an was revealed in seventh-century Arabia when the Arabs held certain perceptions and misconceptions about women and were involved in certain specific lewd practices against them resulted in some injunctions specific to that culture. Some prevailing practices were so bad they had to be prohibited explicitly and immediately: infanticide, sexual abuse of slave girls, denial of inheritance to women, zihar,]5 to name a few of the most common. Other practices had to be modified: polygamy, unconstrained divorce, conjugal violence, and concubinage, for example. With regard to some practices, the Qur'an seems to have remained neutral: social patriarchy, marital patriarchy, economic hierarchy, the division of labour between males and females within a particular family. Some women activists today openly question this neutrality. Why didn't the Qur'an just explicitly prohibit these practises? If the evolution of the text and its overall objective is consumed under one—albeit important—aspect of social interaction, say consciousness raising with regard to women, then the Qur'an is made subservient to that aspect, rather than the other way around. There is an essential acknowledgement of the relationship between men and women as they function in society, but it is not the sole nor primary objective of the text. In addition, certain practices encouraged by the Qur'an may be restricted to that society which practised them, but the Qur'an is 'not confined to, or exhausted by, (one) society and its history....'16 Therefore, each new Islamic society must understand the principles intended by the particulars. Those principles are eternal and can be applied in various social contexts. For example, in Arabia at the time of the revelation, women of 9 QUR'AN AND WOMAN wealthy and powerful tribes were veiled and secluded as an indication of protection. The Qur'an acknowledges the virtue of modesty and demonstrates it through the prevailing practices. The principle of modesty is important—not the veiling and seclusion which were manifestations particular to that context. These were culturally and economically determined demonstrations of modesty.17 Modesty is not a privilege of the economically advantaged only: all believing women deserve the utmost respect and protection of their modesty—however it is observed in various societies. Modesty is beneficial for maintaining a certain moral fibre in various cultures and should therefore be maintained—but on the basis of faith: not economics, politics or other forms of access and coercion. This is perhaps why Yusuf Ali translates verse 24:31 'what (must ordinarily) appear'18 (with regard to uncovered parts), to indicate that (ordinarily) there are culturally determined guidelines for modesty. This method of restricting the particulars to a specific context, extracting the principles intended by the Qur'an through that particular, and then applying those principles to other particulars in various cultural contexts, forms a major variation from previous exegetical methodologies. The movement from principles to particulars can only be done by the members of whatever particular context a principle is to be applied. Therefore, interpretation of the Qur'an can never be final. Key Terms and Concepts in the Qur'an In addition to analysing gender in Qur'anic Arabic, I also analyse certain key words and expressions with regard to humankind in general and to woman in particular, in order to reveal a contextual understanding. Words have a basic meaning—that which can be understood by it, in isolation—and a relational meaning—that connotative meaning derived from the context in which that term is used.19 The Qur'an has its own Weltanschauung.20 Despite the basic meaning of certain terms prior to the revelation of the Qur'an, some of the same terms hold different indications specific to their 10 INTRODUCTION usage in the Qur'an. Each word must be understood within its contextual constraints. As discussed above, I will also demonstrate that there is a distinct relationship between the Qur'an and gender specifications commonly understood as part of Arabic. What is more, particular emphasis must be made on language used to discuss the Unseen. The Unseen is a part of reality concealed or hidden from human perception. As such, all discussions that the Qur'an contains about matters from the Unseen involve the ineffable: the use of language to discuss what cannot be uttered in language. Such language cannot be interpreted empirically and literally. Finally, a correlation needs to be made between guidance and every theme discussed in the Qur'an. The Qur'an identifies itself as hudan: guidance. When it is shown that guidance extends beyond the normal boundaries which distinguish one human being from another, then it will be seen that it extends beyond gender distinction. A Word About Quotations and Translations of Qur'an Throughout this book I have chosen to use Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall's The Glorious Qur'an: Text and Translation, with several alterations. Each Qur'anic usage of the word insan, I have translated as 'humankind'. More importantly, I have exchanged archaic terms with more modern ones. Occasionally, when a verse is discussed at length, the original Arabic text has been transliterated and my own translation has been offered—especially of key terms. This is necessary for the particular interpretation I have made of the text involved. Finally, there are a few instances in which I have used the translation offered by A. Yusuf Ali in The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary. These are marked in the endnotes. With regard to the Qur'anic quotations in general, they are always noted in the text in parentheses by two numbers with a colon between them, like (1:1-7). The first number refers to the chapter, and the number(s) after the colon refer to the verse(s). In a few instances, I have given the name of the chapter in transliteration, but I have also included the number of this chapter. 11 QUR'AN AND WOMAN Chapter Outlines This Introduction contains background information and analysis of methodology. In Chapter 1, I will review some of the problems inherent in a haphazard analysis of the creation of humankind. I propose a cohesive thread in human creation which centres on the pairing essential to all creation. Therefore, both the male and the female are significant in the creation of humanity and have primal equality. In Chapter 2, I look at the various roles represented by some key Qur'anic female characters and analyse the implications of these to our perceptions of the 'proper' roles and functions of women in Islamic societies. This chapter presents the Qur'an's sociological implications for •women. Another dimension of this is taken up in Chapter 4. Chapter 3 draws relationships between the Qur'anic egalitarian emphasis when discussing the Hereafter and its overall equitable intent. The equity of recompense is meant at one and the same time as an inspiration towards the afterlife and as an explanation of the overall Qur'anic scheme of justice and equity. In Chapter 4 I make a philosophical analysis of gender in the Qur'an. Through it, I demonstrate the potential of the Qur'an to overcome the oversimplification that has characterized some traditional interpretations which have repressed the potential of woman. As such, the Qur'an can be applied to women within the complexities of developing civilizations. I will criticize some of the longstanding limitations put on or practised against women as a result of such a limiting perspective. 'The perspectives, circumstances and background of the individual. This concept will be discussed at greater length below. 2 One notable exception in English is Fazlur Rahman's Major Themes of The Qur'an (Chicago and Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980). In addition, see Mustansir Mir, Thematic and Structural Coherence in the Qur'an: A Study of Islahi's Concept ofNazm, (University of Michigan Microfilms International, 1987), which gives a comprehensive analysis of the significance of theme to Qur'anic organization and, consequently, its exegesis. 12 INTRODUCTION 3 See Majorie Procter-Smith, In Her Own Rite: Reconstructing Feminist Liturgical Tradition (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990), Chapter 1, pp. 13-35, on the significance of inclusion and exclusion of women in religious dialogue. 4 For example, Fatna A. Sabbah in her book Woman in the Muslim Unconscious translated by Mary Jo Lakeland from the French La Femme dans L'inconsdent musulman, (New York: Pergamon Press, 1984) discusses valid points with regard to this issue, but when she discusses the Qur'an, she fails to distinguish between the Qur'an and the Qur'anic interpreters. 5 For details of Fazlur Rahman's discussion of the above double movement methodology—'from the present situation to Qur'anic times, then back to the present'—for particular communities, see his Islam and Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1982), Introduction, especially pp. 4-9. 6 This is a direct contradiction of the classical models which propose that the masculine plural form means male (exclusively). Thus, language is used to make male the norm, and by implication, the female must be abnormal. 7 This is the Scripture wherein there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil), who believe in the unseen, establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them.... (Verse 2:2-3). 8 M.M. Bakhtin, Speech Genres and Other Late Essays, trans. Vern W. McGee, (eds.) Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986), pp. 6-7. 9 This recurrent problem in 'reading' the Qur'an causes readers to justify limiting to women statements made using feminine forms and figures; see Chapter 3 below concerning Bilqis. Although she is a good leader—that happens to be a woman—she is not taken as a universal example of leadership. Statements using masculine forms or figures are limited to men and extended to women only by qiyas (analogical reasoning). '"Alvin J. Schmidt, Veiled and Silenced: How Culture Shaped Sexist Theology (Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1989), Introduction, pp. xiii. 11 Ibid., pp. 59-60. 12 Ivan Illich, Gender (New York: Pantheon Books, 1982), pp. 106-7. 13 See Sayyid Qutb, Fi Zilal al-Qur'an, 6 vols. (Cairo: Dar al-Shuruq, 1980), Vol. II, pp. 642-3, where he discusses the shared benefits and responsibility between men and women in the Islamic social system ofjustice. 14 Fazlur Rahman, Islam and Modernity, pp. 5-7, discusses the moral values of the Qur'an in 'extra-historical transcendental' terms, that is, the moral value extracted from a particular verse goes beyond the time and place of the specific instance at which that verse and its injunction was occasioned. 15 The practice of stating that one's wife was as 'the back of my mother', which would make conjugal relations impossible, but would not totally free the woman for remarriage. 13 QUR'AN AND WOMAN 16 Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, The Concept of Knowledge in Islam and Its Implications for Education in a Developing Country (London: Mansell Publisher Limited, 1989), p. 7. '7See William Robertson Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, (cd.) Stanley A. Cook (London: A. & C. Black, 1907). '"Translation by A. Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, US ed. (Elmhurst, N.Y.: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an Inc., 1987). '9Toshihiko Izutsu, God and Man in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung (Tokyo: The Keio Institute of Culture and Linguistic Studies, 1964), p.17. 2( 'lbid, 'world-view' derived from a study of the concepts and key words used in a particular context; in this case, in the Qur'an. 14 CHAPTER 1 In the Beginning, Man and Woman were Equal: Human Creation in the Qur'an OW does the Qur'an describe the creation of woman? Do H *J L the Qur'anic accounts of the process of the creation of humankind distinguish woman from man in such a way as to confine her potential to a single biologically determined role? Does it imply created inferiority? Despite the distinctions between the treatment of men and the treatment of women when the Qur'an discusses creation of humankind, I propose that there is no essential difference in the value attributed to women and men. There are no indications, therefore, that women have more or fewer limitations than men. The Qur'an does not consider woman a type of man in the presentation of its major themes. Man and woman are two categories of the human species given the same or equal consideration and endowed with the same or equal potential. Neither is excluded in the principal purpose of the Book, which is to guide humankind towards recognition of and belief in certain truths. The Qur'an encourages all believers, male and female, to follow their belief with actions, and for this it promises them a great reward. Thus, the Qur'an does not make a distinction between men and women in this creation, in the purpose of the Book, or in the reward it promises. Creation and the Language of the Unseen As with other matters of the Unseen, the full details of creation are beyond human language and comprehension. As Kenneth Burke suggests, 'Language is intrinsically unfitted to discuss the supernatural 15 QUR'AN AND WOMAN literally'. Words about God and the Unseen 'must be used analogically' because these matters 'transcend all symbol-systems'.1 Yet, all we have with which to discuss these matters is the words of human language—the same words we use to discuss empirical matters. The Qur'an says, 'He it is Who has revealed unto you (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations. They are the substance of the Book—and others (which are) allegorical' (3:7). The complete meaning of allegorical verses cannot be empirically determined. Every discussion of the Unseen involves the ineffable. Eventually it ends upon itself: a discussion about the words used to discuss that which is unattainable in language. Therefore, my discussion of the creation of woman and man in the Qur'an is primarily a discussion of language. Creation of the First Parents All the Qur'anic accounts of the creation of humankind begin with the original parents: 'Oh children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you as he caused your first parents to go forth from the Garden.' (7:27). We assume that our 'first parents' were like us. Indeed this assumption is well founded in all but the major consideration of this chapter: their creation. All human beings after these two were created 'in the wombs of their mothers'. Serious implications have been drawn from the discussions, myths, and ideas about the creation of the first parents which have had lasting effects on attitudes concerning men and women.2 The Creation of Humankind According to Maududi,3 the entire process of human creation was in three steps: 1. the initiation of creation; 2. the formation or perfection; and 3. the bringing to life. He bases his analysis on verses like the following: Just recall the time when your Lord said to the angels, 'I am going to create a human of clay: when I perfect it in every way, and blow into it of my ruh* all of you should bow down before it.' (38:71-72).5 The Qur'an often uses some form of the word khalaqa6 to refer 16 HUMAN CREATION IN THE QUR'AN to the first step in the creative process, the initiation of creation. However, khalaqa has also been used for the second step, for the creation of each and every human, and also for the creation of everything7. Each human is created. Everything is created. The word sawwara—to 'form', 'shape', 'design' or 'perfect'—in this case, to give human specifications, describes the second step in the creative process. 'Perfection' means that Allah formed humankind exactly as He wanted it to be. 'Surely We created humankind in the best stature' (95:4), 'Allah it is Who ... fashioned you, and perfected your shapes' (40:64). Allah demonstrates in the Qur'an that the form given to humankind is that form best suited to fulfil its vicegerency on earth. In addition, one characteristic of human creation is the two distinct but compatible genders. The two constitute a part of that which 'perfects' the human created form. Thus, the creation of the human form was a conscious decision by Allah—'Who gave everything He created the best form' (32:7). The third and final step in the creation of humankind is that step which elevates them above the rest of creation: the breathing of the Spirit of Allah (nafkhat al-ruh] into each human—male or female.8 The Origins of Humankind Wa min ayatihi an khalaqa-kum min nafsin wahidatin wa khalaqa min-ha zawjaha wa baththa minhuma rijalan kathiran wa nisa'an (4:1). And min His ayat (is this:) that He created You (humankind) min a single nafs, and created min (that nafs) its zawj, and from these two He spread (through the earth) countless men and women. (4:1). The above verse9 presents the basic elements in the Qur'anic version of the story of the origins of humankind, that story commonly understood as the creation of Adam and Eve. To aid our understanding, we will look at these four key terms: ayat, min, nafs and zawj}0 AYAH An ayah (pi. ayat} is 'a sign' which indicates something beyond itself. Just as a waymark must not cause a traveller to rivet his eyes on itself, but direct him towards a certain place which is the real destination of his travel, so every 17 QUR'AN AND WOMAN phenomenon, instead of absorbing our attention as a natural phenomenon, and transfixing it immoveably to itself, should act always in such a way that our attention be directed towards something beyond it.11 A tree, in common understanding, is only a tree. In true understanding, a tree is an ayah which reflects the presence of Allah. A tree, and other phenomena of nature, are implicit ayat: empirical signs which can be perceived by humankind. The known world— the Qur'anic (alam al-shahadah) 'Seen' world—is made of implicit or non-linguistic ayat (2:164, 3:190), including our own creation (51:49). Explicit ayat are linguistic: verbal symbols or words. In addition to reiterating the significance of the implicit, non-verbal or conceptual ayat of the known world, words of revelation testify to specific information about the realm of the Unseen world (alam al-ghayb). Explicit ayat which give information about the Unseen cannot be discovered or fully perceived by ordinary human faculties.12 They are only known through revelation. The explicit or linguistic ayat of revelation are irrevocably linked with creation.13 In the Qur'an, both linguistic and non-linguistic ayat are considered Divine14 and both are intended to help complete the purpose of the Book, i.e. to provide guidance. MIN Min primarily has two functions in Arabic. It can be used for the English preposition 'from' to imply the extraction of a thing from other thing(s). It can also be used to imply 'of the same nature as'. Each usage o{min in the above verse (4:1) has been interpreted with one or both of these two meanings which yield varying results. For example, in al-Zamakhshari's commentary, the verse means that humankind was created in /of the same type as a single nafs, and that the zawj of that nafs was taken from that nafs. He uses the Biblical version to substantiate his opinion that the zawj was extracted from the nafs. In addition, other verses on this subject (7:189, 39:6) state that Allah ja'ala from the nafs its zawj. Ja'ala, which means 'to create something from another thing', gives min the meaning 'from', i.e. extraction. This meaning of min gives rise to the idea that the first created being (taken to be a male person) 18 HUMAN CREATION IN THE QUR'AN wis complete, perfect and superior. The second created being (a woman) was not his equal, because she was taken out of the whole, and therefore, derivative and less than it. When min is taken to mean 'in/of the same type' for both of its occurrences in this verse, it is often because of the verses in the Qur'an which use the same formula with the plurals of nafs (anfus) and zawj (azwaj), for example, 16:82 and 42:11: 'and Allah made (ja'ala) azwaj for you from (min) your anfus'; 30:21: 'and among His ayat is this: that He created azwaj for you from your anfus, to live with tranquilly.' These are then interpreted to mean 'your mates are the same type or kind as you are'. Finally, English translations choose the word 'from' for each of the above occurrences of min, thus suggesting another possibility. However, these interpretations of min do not clarify the meaning of the verse's most significant terms, nafs and zawj. NAFS The term nafs has both a common and a technical usage. Although the common usage of nafs translates as 'self, and its plural, anfus, as 'selves', it is never used in the Qur'an with reference to any created self other than humankind. As for the technical usage in the Qur'an, nafs refers to the common origin of all humankind. Despite the accidental consequence of spreading throughout the earth and forming a variety of nations, tribes and peoples with various languages and of various colours, we all have the same single origin.15 Grammatically, nafs is feminine, taking the corresponding feminine adjectival and verbal antecedents. Conceptually, nafs is neither masculine nor feminine, forming, as it does, an essential part of each being, male or female. For this reason it can (and does) also have masculine antecedents. The term nafs, which later in Islamic philosophy and Sufism came to mean soul as a substance separate from the body, in the Qur'an means mostly 'himself or 'herself and, in the plural, 'themselves', while in some contexts it means 'person' or the 'inner person', i.e. the living reality of man—but not separate from or exclusive of the body. In fact, it is body with a certain life-and-intelligence center that constitutes the inner identity or personality of man.16 In the Qur'anic account of creation, Allah never planned to be19 QUR'AN AND WOMAN gin the creation of humankind with a male person; nor does it ever refer to the origins of the human race with Adam.17 It does not even state that Allah began the creation of humankind with the nafs of Adam, the man. This omission is noteworthy because the Qur'anic version of the creation of humankind is not expressed in gender terms. ZAWJ The other term of significance in verse 4:1 is zawj. As a common term, zawj is used in the Qur'an to mean 'mate', 'spouse', or 'group', and its plural, azwaj, is used to indicate 'spouses'. This is the term used in refering to the second part in the creation of humankind, whom we have come to accept as Eve, the female of the original parents. However, grammatically zawj is masculine, taking the corresponding masculine adjectival and verbal antecedents. Conceptually, it also is neither masculine nor feminine,18 and is used in the Qur'an for plants (55:52) and animals (11:40), in addition to humans. We know even less about the creation of this zawj than we know about the creation of the original nafs. The Qur'an states only two things about its creation: that it is min the first nafs, and is zawj in relation to that nafs (4:1, 7:189, 39:6). It is perhaps this scarcity of detail that has caused Qur'anic commentators, like al-Zamakhshari, and other Muslim scholars to rely on Biblical accounts which state that Eve was extracted from (min) the rib or side of Adam.19 The absence of detail in the Qur'an indicates one or more of the following: 1. the reader already has enough details about a story to understand it and other details are unnecessary—even redundant; 2. these details are unimportant to the point which the Qur'an is making at the particular time; 3. the Qur'an is referring to something Unseen, for which human language is already deficient. Keeping these three reasons in mind, I reiterate that the Qur'an gives very little information about this primal zawj. The Dualism of the Creation I am interested in the Qur'anic use of zawj as one in a necessary or contingent 'pair' essential to the Qur'anic accounts of creation:20 20 HUMAN CREATION IN THE QUR'AN everything in creation is paired. 'And of all things We have created (zawjayn) pairs, perhaps you [will all] reflect [on this fact].' (51:49). Dualism becomes a necessary characteristic of created things.21 In this usage, a pair is made of two co-existing forms of a single reality, with some distinctions in nature, characteristics and functions, but two congruent parts formed to fit together as a whole. 'Each member of the pair presupposes the other semantically and stands on the very basis of this correlation.'22 A man is only a 'husband' in reference to a 'wife'. The existence of one in such a pair is contingent upon the other in our known world. These are the Qur'anic pairs. Night flows into day; the male is irrevocably linked with the female23 as man is compatibly linked with woman. With regard to creation, 'everything created in pairs' means that the counterpart of each created thing is part of the plan of that thing. 'Glory be to Him Who created all the azwaj, of that which the earth grows, and of their own nafs, and of that which they know not.' (36:36). Each created thing is contingent upon its zawj. In this contingency, the creation of both the original parents is irrevocably and primordially linked; thus, the two are equally essential. There is ample Qur'anic support for the contention that these pairs in creation are equally essential: 'And all things we have created by pairs (zawjayn)' (51:49). 'He Who created all the azwaj' (43:12). 'Glory be to (Him) Who created all the azwaj: of that which the earth grows, and of their own [human] an/us, and of that which they know notY (36:36). The Qur'an first establishes that all created things are paired, then reinforces this mutual necessity by depicting theoretical pairs in the rest of creation.24 Although the Qur'an establishes that humankind was intentionally created in the male/female pair—'Allah created you from dust, then from a little fluid [the sperm-drop], then He made you pairs' (35:11), and 'Verily He has created the (two) spouses (zawjayn): male and female' (53:45)—and distinguishes between them—'the male is not like female' (3:36)—it does not attribute explicit characteristics to either one or the other, exclusively. It is obvious that the child-bearing function belongs with the female. 'Allah created you from dust, then from a little fluid [the sperm-drop], then He made you pairs. No female bears or brings 21 QUR'AN AND WOMAN forth except with His knowledge.' (35:11-12). 'He It is Who did create you from/of a single nafs, and from/of it did make its zawj, so that he might take rest in her. And when he [a man] covered her (a woman), she bore a light burden' (7:189).25 'Allah knows what every female bears in her womb' (13:8). Although the Qur'an illustrates explicitly the correlation between the female and bearing children, all other functions connected with child care and rearing, if mentioned at all in the Qur'an,26 are never described as essential created characteristics of the female. Thus, the Qur'anic reference is restricted to the biological function of the mother—not the psychological and cultural perceptions of'mothering'. Femininity and masculinity are not created characteristics imprinted into the very primordial nature of female and male persons, neither are they concepts the Qur'an discusses or alludes to. They are defined characteristics applied to female and male persons respectively on the basis of culturally determined factors of how each gender should function. They have figured very strongly in interpretation of the Qur'an without explicit Qur'anic substantiation of their implications.27 In the Qur'an, the essential contingent male/female pairs in humankind function on a physical, social and moral level. Just as the essential male/female is contingent, so, too, are the physical beings; there is a tranquil link between the human pair, man and woman: 'Among His signs is this: that He created azwaj for you from your own an/us so that you may find rest in them' (30:21). Man is intended as a comfort to woman; woman is intended as a comfort to man. This statement does not make it a reality. However, the Qur'an clearly depicts a necessary link between the functional members of each gender, like an echo of the contingency between the essential pairs of all created things.28 In conclusion, the following verse depicts the structure of the created social order: O Mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single nafs, and from it created its zawj, and from that pair spread abroad [over the earth] a multitude of men and women.' (4:1). It establishes the origin of all humankind as a single nafs, which is part of a contingent-pair system: that nafs and its zawj. In practical 22 HUMAN CREATION IN THE QUR'AN terms, this essential pair is man and woman. In this verse, the use of the words 'men' and 'women' means that the physical manifestations of the essential paired reality are multiplied and 'spread abroad [over the earth]'. The earth is inhabited by many peoples, nations, and cultures. This verse transcends not only time but space as well. The Events in the Garden One other gender consideration with regard to the creation of humankind centres on the revelation about the Garden of Eden. The original parents are the two essential characters in the story of the forbidden tree. The third character, Satan, is significant in his interactions with these two. Through this scenario, the Qur'an demonstrates the following concepts: 1. fundamental guidance in the Qur'anic scheme; 2. temptation and deception which hinder humankind's efforts; 3. divine forgiveness; and finally, 4. individual responsibility. Therefore these events must be reviewed in relation to these concepts. It is clear from Qur'anic descriptions that the Garden was never intended as the dwelling place of the human species. Part of Allah's original plan in the creation of humankind was for man to function as a khalifah (trustee) on earth.29 In the Garden, humankind had no need to struggle for the basic necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter. 'It is (vouchsafed) unto you that you hunger not therein, neither are you naked, And you thirst not therein nor are you exposed to the sun's heat.' (20:118-19). However, in the Garden, and on earth, humankind share the same test: the choice between obedience and disobedience. Allah warns Adam and Eve against approaching one of the trees in the Garden. The Qur'an does not give special attributes to the tree itself: it is merely a symbol of the test. After the creation of Adam and Eve, Satan shows his true nature by not bowing when ordered to by Allah. He is arrogant and wilfully disobedient. At that time, the original parents—and in effect humankind30—are warned against Satan. 'He is an enemy to you' (7:22; 20:117; 12:5; and others). Failure to remain cognizant of this fact 23 QUR'AN AND WOMAN can cause one to fail at the test of obedience and ultimately can result in following Satan to the chastisement of Hell. When Satan approaches the original parents, 'he said: "Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest you should become angels or become of the immortals." And he swore to them (saying): 'Lo! I am a sincere advisor to you [both].' Thus did he lead them on with guile' (7:21). In the Qur'an, the nature of Satan's temptation of the original parents remains important: when Satan tempts you, he comes disguised as your true friend and might even suggest to you something for your own good. In fact, the offer he made to Adam and Eve was so great that they failed to remember the warning against him that they had been given. They failed to remember Allah's admonition and approached the tree. Upon recognition of the error that they had made, the original parents repented and asked for forgiveness (7:23). Their Lord not only accepted their repentance and forgave them, He demonstrated a very special feature of Himself: mercy and grace. He extended to them, and to humankind at large, the explicit guidance—revelation. This story ends with this moral: any human might disobey through forgetfulness, the general nature of human weakness, and the temptations of Satan, but he who recognizes his error, repents, and asks for forgiveness, can and will be forgiven. Moreover, guidance is always available to humankind to remind them of their commitment to Allah and the guile of Satan, the enemy. This is a special mercy from their Lord. However, whoever disobeys through arrogance and intentional rebellion has been promised due punishment and eternal damnation. He is like Satan, who disobeyed and persisted in his arrogant, disobedient ways. The story emphasizes that human beings are susceptible to Satan's temptation. Under such temptation, they are prone to forget the agreements they have made with the Creator (whether a specific agreement as in this case, to stay away from the tree, or a general agreement, as with all humankind, to remain servants true to the cause of righteousness), and as a consequence of forgetting, to disobey. The story reminds humankind in explicit terms that such forgetting can be forgiven. It is noteworthy that, with one exception, the Qur'an always 24 HUMAN CREATION IN THE QUR'AN uses the Arabic dual form to tell how Satan tempted both Adam and Eve and how they both disobeyed. In maintaining the dual form, the Qur'an overcomes the negative Greco-Roman and BiblicalJudaic implications that woman was the cause of evil and damnation.31 Moreover, it signifies the Qur'anic emphasis on the individual responsibility: '... God does not change the situation of a people until they change it themselves [fln/ws]' (13:11, 8:53), i.e. unless humans, individually and collectively, take the initiative, there can be no change for better or worse. 'The Qur'an states repeatedly that every man and woman individually and every people collectively are alone responsible for what they do.'32 The one exception to the Qur'anic use of the dual form to refer to the temptation and disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden singles out Adam: And verily We made a covenant of old with Adam, but he forgot, and We found no constancy in him. . . . And the devil whispered to him saying: 'Oh Adam! Shall I show you the tree of immortality and power that does not waste away?' Then the two of them (Adam and his wife) ate of the fruit (of the forbidden tree)... And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray (20:115-21). This passage comes after some verses which refer to the impatience of the Prophet for the Qur'anic revelation. The Prophet used to try to memorize the verses as they were revealed for fear of forgetting. However, the Prophet need not have worried. Here, in the story of Adam, the point of forgetfulness is mentioned. It is Satan who seduces man to forget. Allah forgives Adam, accepts his repentance and gives him guidance. This reveals Allah's mercy and His guardianship over his servants and over the guidance. Adam is isolated in these verses because of a particular point that is being made. This is an example of the omission of details in the Qur'an. Nevertheless, this much is clear: woman is never singled out as the initiator or temptress of evil. Conclusion The Qur'anic account of the creation of humankind relates to other themes in the overall Qur'anic Weltanschauung: tawhid, guidance, individual moral responsibility and equality. For example, the phe25 QUR'AN AND WOMAN nomenon of pairs in creation supports the major Qur'anic principle oftawhid: the unicity of Allah. The Qur'an states explicitly that 'nothing is like Him' (42:11). Philosophically, since all created things are paired, He who is not created is not paired: the Creator is One. The Qur'anic version of human creation establishes a special link between the Creator, Allah, and the created, humankind. That link is the basis for the existence of the Qur'an and for the guidance which is connected to the creation. At the moment Adam came to earth, the basis of the relationship established between the Creator and His created human beings was completed through guidance or revelation. 'He said, "Go down hence (Satan and humankind), both of you, one of you a foe unto the other. But if there come unto you from Me a guidance, then whoever follows My guidance, he will not go astray nor come to grief." ' (20:123). The unique and dynamic relationship between the Creator and His creature is also represented in the ruh of Allah which is blown into each being, male and female. Both the ruh and the guidance aid in the struggle to pass the test on earth, to resist Satan's temptation and to conclude in an eternal happiness. Although the male and female are essential contingent characters in the creation of humankind, no specific cultural functions or roles are defined at the moment of creation. At that moment, Allah defines certain traits universal to all humans and not specific to one particular gender nor to any particular people from any particular place or time. The divine ay at, in both their words of revelation and empirical forms in nature, are available to all. The empirical ay at can be perceived by every person anywhere and at any time. The specific ayat which Allah has revealed to a chosen few at particular times under particular circumstances are meant for all. The Qur'anic version of the story of the Garden signifies individual responsibility. The nafs represents that individuality. Therefore, whatever good is performed is reflected on to that nafs and whatever bad is performed has its consequences on that nafs.33 The Qur'anic account of the creation of humankind is important, above all, because it points out that all humans share a single point of origin. That point is represented in the Qur'anic accounts of creation by its use of the term nafs. Just as we have one point of origin, 26 HUMAN CREATION IN THE QUR'AN so do we also have one destination: from one to many and back to one again. What remains to be seen then is the Qur'anic treatment of the dynamics involved in the interactions between the many. Kenneth Burke, The Rhetoric of Religion (Boston: Beacon Press, 1961), p. 14, footnote. 2 Most important of which is the assumption that human creation began with a man: which gives all men a priori superiority over all women. 3 S. Abul A'la Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, edited by A.A. Kamal and translated by Ch. Muhammad Akbar, 6th edn., 13 vols. (Lahore, Pakistan: Islamic Publication Ltd., 1983), Vol. 4, p. 11. 4 P1. anvah, loosely translated as 'spirit', will be discussed below in greater detail. translation taken from his tafsir. ^Khalaqa: to create, to bring something into existence from a state of nonexistence. 7 Verse25:2—'Who created each and everything and then ordained its destiny.' 8 This is the closest that the Qur'anic version of creation comes to the Biblical version of man in 'God's image'. 9 And others like it with similar wording and only a few slight changes. See verses 7:189 and 39:6. See also verse 6:98—'ansha'na-kum min nafsin wahidatin: We formed you (all) from a single nafs.' Ayah pi. ayat, nafs pi. anfus and nufus, zatvj pi. azwaj. These words will be {(> transliterated throughout the text because of their distinctive untranslatable quality. They will all be discussed in detail in this section. H Toshihiko Izutsu, God and Man in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung (Tokyo: The Krio Institute of Culture and Linguistic Studies, 1964), p. 134. 12 This is why early Muslim philosophers distinguished revealed knowledge from empirical knowledge. 13 See verses 87:3, 20:50, and 7:29-30. More importantly, Adam becomes the first Prophet, carrier of the explicit ayat. Guidance is promised to humankind and when it becomes lost, obscured, or corrupted over time, it is revitalized. Hence, with Adam begins the tradition of prophecy which continues until Muhammad, who is given the explicit ayat in the form of the Qur'an, which remains intact as the legacy of revelation for all who come after. 14 There are numerous verses which start 'And among His ayat...' and proceed to mention known phenomena of good and bad merit as well as some Unknown phenomena. 15 Verses4:land49:13. 16 Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes in the Qur'an (Chicago and Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980), p. 112. 27 QUR'AN AND WOMAN 17 See also Muhammad Ahmad Khalaf-Allah, Al-Fann al-Qasasift al-Qur'an alKarim (Cairo: Maktab al-Anjali Masriyyah, 1965), p. 185, where he discusses the Qur'an's reasons for not using the term 'Adam' to discuss the origins of humanity. 18 See verses 4:20 and 2:102, where zawj is used to indicate females, and 2:230 and 58:1, where it is used to indicate males. 19 Not to be overlooked, however, is a similar story in ahadith—all of which have a single link in their isnad, thus diminishing their strength. See Riffat Hassan, 'Made from Adam's Rib: The Woman's Creation Question', Al-Mushir Theological Journal of the Christian Study Centre, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Autumn 1985, pp. 124-56 for a detailed analysis of these. 20 It is also important to the Qur'anic account of the Hereafter and will be discussed in Chapter 3. 21 See Qutb, Vol. 2, p. 648. 22 Izutsu, God and Man, p. 85. 23 'And that He created the two spouses (zawjayn), the male and the female.'(53:45). 24 For example, 'Glory be to Him Who created all the sexual pairs, of that which the earth grows, and of themselves, and of that which they know not!' (36:36). 25 See also verses 13:8, 31:14, and 41:47 for other references to females and procreation. 26 This is discussed at greater length below. 27 See discussions below on how the actions of particular individuals have been interpreted as feminine, and therefore exclusively for females, especially when I discuss the Queen of Sheba and the two women of Madyan. 28 Qutb, Vol. 2, pp. 618-19, discusses the necessary functional link between man and woman. 29 See verses 2:30 and 38:26, where Allah speaks to the angels and informs them that He plans to create a khalifah (trustee) on the earth. 30 The significance of Adam as a metaphorical representative of humankind stems from verses 38:71-2. The creation of the first nafs establishes the existence of the entire human race. Each being after Adam must have a nafs. Thus Adam was created as the basic human. Much of what we must understand about human qualities the Qur'an demonstrates in a rudimentary form with Adam: creation, trusteeship, test of this world, the role of Satan, guidance, obedience to Allah. 31 For an excellent review of this dilemma, see Alvin J. Schmidt, Veiled and Silenced, Chapter 3: Woman as 'Evil', pp. 39-68. 32 Rahman, Major Themes in the Qur'an, p. 19. 33 As is continually repeated in the Qur'an, for example: verses 10:108, 27:40, 29:6, 31:12, 35:18, 41:47, and 48:10, among others. When I discuss the equity of recompense in Chapter 3,1 will also review this in greater detail. 28 Ibn$Hazm$on$Whether$Women$can$be$Prophets$ Prophethood of Women by Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (d. 1064 AD) Excerpted from al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa-al-Ahwa'i wa-al-Nihal Volume V, pp 17-19.1 Reading Questions: • • • • On what basis does the author defend the prophethood of women? Is there anything interesting/ new for you in the way he makes use of the Quran? Is there a difference between a messenger and a prophet? Does the author defend also that women could be messengers? Why/ why not? Bonus: How would you offer evidence from the Quran for the possibility that women messengers could have existed? *** This [prophethood of women] is an issue about which we know of no debate except here in Cordoba [Spain] and in our time. A group of people went on and denied that prophethood could be for women and called anyone that claims as such to be an innovator. Another group said that Prophethood is possible for women. A third group abstained from discussing this issue. We find no proof for those who claim that Prophethood is impossible for women other than that some of them denied it based on the Quranic verse: “All the messengers We sent before you [Muhammad] were men.” [See: Q. 12:109, 16:43, 21:7] This is a verse none can deny, but nobody claimed that God, blessed and exalted, sent women messengers. The issue here is about prophethood (nubuwwa) and not messengership. Henceforth the need to understand the meaning of the word 'Prophethood' in the language in which God spoke to us (i.e. Arabic). We find that this word is taken from inba' (prophecy) which means i'lam (informing). So whomever God, blessed and exalted, tells him about what will happen before it comes to pass, or reveals to him informing him about a certain matter, then he is a nabi (prophet) without any doubt. Prophethood should not be understood as ilham (inspiration) which is natural as God said in Sura Bee: And your Lord inspired the bee, saying, ‘Build yourselves houses in the mountains and trees and what people construct. Then feed on all kinds of fruit and follow the ways made easy for you by your Lord.’ From their bellies comes a drink of different colors in which there is healing for people. There truly is a sign in this for those who think. (16:68-69) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 1 Excerpted and edited to a readable English from http://www.jannah.org/sisters/nubuwwa.html. Quran translations are from Muhammad Asad’s translation unless otherwise noted. $ 1$ Ibn$Hazm$on$Whether$Women$can$be$Prophets$ Prophecy should neither be understood as mere opinion or illusion which none would assure its truthfulness except an insane person. It neither should be understood as sorcery, which is part of what the evil spirits try to get by listening to the heavens and as such get stricken by shooting stars. As God says in the verse: And thus it is that against every prophet We have set up as enemies the evil forces from among humans as well as from among invisible beings that whisper unto one another glittering half-truths meant to delude the mind. But they could not do this unless your Sustainer had so willed: stand, therefore, aloof from them and from all their false imagery! (6:112) Such sorcery was ended with the advent of the messenger of God, Muhammad peace be upon him. Nor is prophecy part of fortune telling, which can be learned. Nor is it part of dreams which none can assure their truthfulness or falsity. Revelation which is nubuwwa (prophethood) is meant from God to inform that to whom it was revealed of what God wants to tell him. This should be understood differently from all the other cases mentioned above. God makes the person fully aware and fully knowledgeable of the truthfulness of what was revealed to him - exactly like his knowledge of what he can sense and the (obvious) deductions of his reason, with no doubt in them. This revelation can be transmitted by one of either ways: through an angel that comes to the person or through a message directly revealed to him and this is a knowledge from God to whom He gives, with no transmitter or teacher. If they deny that this is the meaning of Prophethood then let them teach us its meaning, yet they will not be able to bring any single proof text for it. God revealed in the Koran that He sent angels to women to deliver to them truthful revelations from God. For instance they gave glad tidings to the mother of Isaac (Sarah) of Isaac. God says in the verse: And his wife, standing [nearby], laughed [with happiness]; whereupon We gave her the glad tiding of [the birth of] Isaac and, after Isaac, of [his son] Jacob. Said she: "Oh, woe is me! Shall I bear a child, now that I am an old woman and this husband of mine is an old man? Verily, that would be a strange thing indeed!" Answered [the messengers]: "Do you deem it strange that God should decree what He wills? The grace of God and His blessings be upon you, O people of this house! Verily, ever to be praised, sublime is He!" (Q. 11:71-73) This is a direct address from the angels to the mother of Isaac about the blessing God will bless her with -Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob – as well as their testimony about the power of God and her astonishment of the matter of how God makes things possible. This could not be an address from an angel except to a prophet - in one way or another. We find also that God sent Gabriel to Mary (peace be upon her) mother of Jesus - (peace be upon him) with a message and told her: I am but a messenger of your Sustainer, [who says,] `I shall bestow upon you the gift of a son endowed with purity.' (Q. 19:19) $ 2$ Ibn$Hazm$on$Whether$Women$can$be$Prophets$ This is a true prophethood with a true revelation and a message from God. Zachariah (peace be upon him) used to find with her provisions and he asked God to grant him a trustworthy son. [In the Quran,] we find also that God revealed to mother of Moses that she shall throw her son into the Yam (river) and she shall neither worry or have grief and promised her He shall return Moses to her and make him a prophet and a messenger. With no doubt this is a true revelation and a logical consequence of our premises. If she was not sure of the revelation that God would return her son to her, if this was a mere vision or a feeling she had, she would be, by throwing her son in the Yam, committing a crazy act and a heinous crime against herself. If one of us did such an act he would be an extreme transgressor or a crazy person that deserves the agony and the psychological consequences he has to go through in a bimaristan (mental institution). Such logical analysis none could deny. Therefore it becomes certain and clear that that which came to the Mother of Moses regarding throwing her son in the Yam was a revelation, like that which was revealed to Abraham (peace be upon him) in his dream. He was ordered to slaughter his son. If Abraham was not a true prophet, and had he slaughtered his son for a dream he saw or a doubt he had in himself, it would be true that whoever does such an action would not be of the Prophets but an insane person. This nobody would doubt. Hence their (the women's) Prophethood becomes obviously true. We find that while mentioning the prophets in Sura Mary, God mentioned Mary amongst them and then said: These were some of the prophets upon whom God bestowed His blessings - [prophets] of the seed of Adam and of those whom We caused to be borne [in the ark] with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel and [all of them were] among those whom We had guided and elected; [and] whenever the messages of the Most Gracious were conveyed unto them, they would fall down [before Him], prostrating themselves and weeping. (19:58) This is a description of all of them. One should not single her out as a special case to be treated separately. Now some say that [in a verse Mary is qualified as] 'and his mother a woman of truth’ (See Q. 5:75). That qualification does not deny her the right to be a prophet as God also said: 'Joseph, man of truth!'(See Q. 12:46) and as is known he is a true prophet and a messenger; and it becomes now clear Mary is also a prophet. 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