By Yasir Saeed Alvi
Abstract
Islamic feminists highlight the gender egalitarian and socially just nature of Islam and its founding principles. They have continued to argue their interpretation in line with what the religion provides for. They interpret the tenets without deviating from the fundamentals of Islamic principles, posing a challenge to the authority of patriarchal interpretations of the rights of women in Islam. The scope of this article will be to look at the question of gender justice while simultaneously analysing the existing fiqh on conjugality in light of the arguments furthered by Islamic feminist scholars. For the purpose of arguing in line with the said scholars, this article will highlight the fundamental difference between fiqh and shariah to determine the role played by what is commonly known as the human-element in faith, which will act as a base for additional arguments against human-element heavy interpretations of the Shari’ah. The article intends to acknowledge and bring out the feminist shades of Islamic law while briefly commenting on the impact of patriarchal control over the faith.
Introduction
Islamic Feminism maintains the understanding that Islam is inherently gender-just and that chauvinist elements made their way into the faith after the death of the Prophet Muhammad as a result of the unregulated control over the religion, predominantly by men. Islamic feminism is in no way an attempt to reform the religion or read something new into the faith, rather it is simply aimed at looking at the tenets of Islam in light of the Qur’anic message of human equality and social justice. Additionally, it is aimed at identifying the patriarchal traces that do not actually belong in the faith in order to expel them from it for the sheer reason that these have insinuated themselves into Islam. Islamic feminist scholarly research has proven to be noteworthy in understanding the religion of Islam and has allowed people to look at the equal rights of the sexes within the realm of Islamic logic and rationale. Islamic ‘patriarchalists’ have, however, successfully maintained their interpretation of Islam to be the only widely accepted one throughout the world and have ensured that any other interpretation is viewed to be un-Islamic and alien to the religion. This is where the issue arises- when this interpretation utilised by patriarchalists, whose version has been popularised through generations comes in direct conflict with the allegedly “Western” feminist interpretation, it naturally leads to giving preference to the male-centred view owing to the deep rooted patriarchy in the minds of people which is most certainly not the calling of Islam.
Islam and Feminism: Mutually Inclusive or Exclusive?
In order to term the attempts made by Islamic feminist scholars as fairly legitimate, it is imperative to set a background to the foundation of Islamic feminism. The pre-Islamic Arab society was extremely misogynistic and granted little to no value to its women, a female child brought shame to the tribe, burying newborn daughters alive was a norm and women were openly sold in markets, men bought women to sexually exploit and rape them, once they became disinterested in those women, they would exchange them for a different one. Such was the state of women, however, with the advent of Islam, revelations made to the Prophet granted equal rights to everyone utilising the term “insan” or a human being instead of a man or woman. It referred to a gender-neutral sense of equality aimed at providing rights and privileges to everyone regardless of their sex, from this it followed that women get the same level of integrity as men.
This was further evidenced in the teachings of the Prophet or what is known as Hadith. There is sufficient substantiation to the fact that during the time of Prophet Muhammad women were not only well-treated, they were given the privileges that every oppressed section of the society deserves. There must be no doubt about the fact that Islam radically reformed the Arab society in favour of its women. Female infanticide was abolished by the Qur’an which reads- “And when one among them receives the glad tidings of a daughter, his face turns black for the day, and he remains seething. Hiding from the people because of the evil of the tidings; “Will he keep her with disgrace, or bury her beneath the earth?”; pay heed! Very evil is the judgement they impose!” [Qur’an Surah al-Nahl: Verse 58-59]. It also says that such people will be questioned and held accountable on the day of judgment for their evil actions. The birth of a female child was declared to be a blessing twice the value of a male child by the Prophet who said that when born, she will bring two lights to the world as against one by a male child. Islam laid down that a father who raises their daughter(s) well, feeds and clothes them and gives them proper education, will earn enough rewards to be saved from the hell-fire. In addition to affirmative language for females, it was maintained that women had the right to work and earn their own money which could not be claimed by their husbands i.e. they had an absolute right over it, as against their right over their husband’s money. Islam also provided women, the right to marry a person of their choosing as per their free will, the security of mehar or dower as against the patriarchal practise of dowry in various parts of the world and even the right to initiate a dissolution of a marriage. Sexual offences committed against women were punishable with harsh punishments under the Shari’ah and such men were socially boycotted. Divorced women and widows who were looked down upon by the then society were given the right to remarry. A universal commandment was made by the Prophet to treat women, particularly wives, with kindness and dignity.
These commandments may today be seen as very basic in nature, however, what is important to be noted here is the social context in which they were revealed, providing for an absolutely radical reformation of the pre-Islamic misogynistic societies. This has furnished an adequate understanding that Islam provided for a radically feminist social order putting the sexes at an equal footing enabling a gender just and egalitarian society. It is widely evidenced that during the time of the Prophet, women scholars were encouraged and they even gave sermons and provided clarifications on various issues. The Prophet himself used to discuss issues brought before him with his wife Aisha bint Abu Bakr, who was a renowned scholar herself, saying that she would come up with more logically sound conclusions. Aisha bint Abu Bakr and her sermons and clarifications provide for an important source on understanding the life of the Prophet. However, after the demise of the Holy Prophet, the influence of female scholars of Islam gradually started declining and got concentrated in the hands of men alone. This enabled a male-centred interpretation of the Shari’ah allowing for patriarchal ways to look at the rights of women, this in turn allowed female subordination in the name of Islam.
“Ijtihad, the exercise of rational thinking and independent investigation of religious sources, is the basic methodology of Islamic feminism.” It enabled female scholars of Islam to come up with feminist versions of interpreting the holy scriptures to highlight and put to the world the inherent gender just provisions of Islam and Shari’ah. It is imperative to call attention to the difference between Shari’ah and Fiqh– the former refers to what has been the analysis of the revelations of the Qur’an and Sunnah/Hadith, since it has been refined it cannot be changed or altered in any way possible and is hence permanent in nature. While fiqh on the other hand is one of the three components that make up Shari’ah, it is a derivation of reasoning and deduction of various scholars of Islam and is therefore open to reformation and evolution as per the requirements of time and place. Another simplified way to look at the two is to say that Shari’ah is the divine law while fiqh contains a significant amount of human element. For the scope of this article, it is important to look at the significance of the said human element. Fiqh has been open to critical interpretation of scholars of Islam, of whom men form the majority dominant group that has the legitimacy of patriarchal hierarchies where men sit at the top, holding the most authority over the religion and its interpretation. The version of Islam that comes out of such an interpretation favours a sense of dominance of males over females enabling the subversion of the Islamic tenets of Ta’addul or justice and Tasamuh or tolerance and equality. This is what makes way for patriarchy to seep into the faith, an unequal system of oppression by one dominant sex over another, this in itself is in opposition to the ideals of human equality in Islam as discussed above. Hence, it can be inferred that “equality and justice cannot be fully actualized within a patriarchal system.”
Conclusion
At its essence, Islam introduced a transformative vision of gender justice and equality, challenging the entrenched patriarchy of pre-Islamic societies. Yet, over time, male-dominated fiqh interpretations have distorted these foundational ideals, enabling patriarchal structures to overshadow the egalitarian spirit of the faith. Islamic feminism, through ijtihadand critical reinterpretation, endeavors to reclaim the true principles of Islam—rooted in justice, equity, and human dignity—restoring balance and challenging systems of oppression that contradict its core values.
Author Profile
Yasir Saeed Alvi is a Political Science Major from University of Delhi and is reading law at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, India. His interest areas consist of Criminal Jurisprudence, Law and Marginalisation, Real Estate Law, Constitutional Law and Gender Studies.
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