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Summary: a new view on the qur'an
Review: "Qur'an and Woman" offers one of, if not the, first views on the Qur'an through a woman's perspective. Seeing as how one of the main criticisms of Islam and its followers is that it does not respect nor treat women with the same equality that it does with men, hearing how a woman herself views these ideas is very interesting.I liked how Wadud offered readers of the text new interpretations of certain passages, such as the one which declares that a woman must wait 3 months before sleeping with a new man after a divorce, but the husband may immediately. While some may see this as discriminatory, Wadud says that it is only to help the woman, so if it turns out that she is pregnant with her ex-husband's child, she will be able prove it is his without any challanges or confusion concerning new partners. I thought that sometimes though, she explained too much of the text away from what it could be clearly stating. Her whole process of "saying no" allows one to reject parts of the text that they do not feel fits what they want it to fit, and include parts that do. I think that that process is a little iffy.
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Summary: The Truth Shines!
Review: A book in which the TRUTH of the Qur'an shines through. After centuries of misreadings and forged lies, the truth that the Qur'an is a modern and vibrant law-book shows through. Sadly, the interpreters of the book have not been so truthful to Allah's word! 1,600 years ago, God revealed a truth unheard of to a desert Arab. Decades later, superstition, false hadeeths, and sand slowly hid the truth of Islam. Amina Wadud does an excellent job of showing the amazing words of Allah and how perfect Islam is not only for women, but for mankind! Allahu-Akbar!
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Summary: "a Woman's Perspective" doesn't have to be non-critical
Review: Amina Wadud's book contains a lot of useful information that is good for the general reader to know, but its so-called "woman's perspective" on statements in the Qur'an sometimes presents a distortion of what the Islamic scripture actually says about women. While it's quite true that rights granted to women by the Qur'an were in some cases taken away by later schools of Islamic law, and while it's true that many Muslim women throughout the world do not receive even the rights (for instance, inheritance) that are granted by traditional Islamic law, the important task of understanding Islam and its scripture is made more difficult when beliefs that arose in modern times are "read back into the Qur'an", as Amina Wadud frequently does in this book. A much sounder method of interpreting the Qur'an would be to accept its statements at face value, recognize that some statements regarding women reflect the customs of the time of Prophet Muhammad, and then "translate" or "apply" the general principles of the Qur'an regarding women in ways that are consistent with modern views -- or the views of the author. Certain statements in the Qur'an present women in an unfavorable light. Rather than ignore these statements or claim that they say something other than their clear, literal meaning, why do modern Muslim women such as Amina Wadud not simply admit that these statements occur in the Qur'an, and then make the argument that they refer to specific incidents in the life of the Prophet, or to conditions of the Prophet's time that no longer exist or are inconsistent with modern views on the equality of men and women? One example involves concubinage, a common practice in the Arabian peninsula during the time of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur'an, in a number of contexts, accepts not only the institution of slavery, but also the practice of men having sexual relations with their female slaves. Over and over, verses of the Qur'an place limitations on the freedom of Muslim men regarding sexual relations with women, and then add the statement "except for those your right hand owns", an idiom that all classical commentators agree refers to a man's female servants or slaves. This statement, permitting sexual relations with concubines, also appears in the Qur'an several times in reference to the Prophet himself. The earliest biographies of the Prophet give the names of several of his concubines, one of whom bore him a son who was named Ibrahim (Abraham). Amina Wadud (and Leila Ahmed and others) claim that since Maryam the Copt bore Muhammad a son she must be regarded as one of his wives. This is a modern view that does not appear in the classical Arabic sources. This was not the understanding of Muhammad's contemporaries, who accepted the practice. Rather than rejecting the meaning statements in the Qur'an had for Muhammad's contemporaries, why can't Muslim women writers such as Amina Wadud, and others such as Leila Ahmed, acknowledge what the Qur'an says about women(and accept the reports of the classical commentators regarding how these statements were understood in Muhammad's time), and then develop arguments for why practices allowed by God in the Islamic scripture should not be accepted in Islamic societies today? Such an approach to the interpretation of the Qur'an calls for a more sophisticated method of hermeneutics than is exhibited in Amina Wadud's book. As long as writers with different beliefs continue to read their own views into the text of the Islamic scripture, little progress can be made in the task of establishing a modern academic discipline of Qur'anic Studies.
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Summary: Different perspective on the Qur'an
Review: Amina Wadud's contrapuntal reading of the Qur'an from a woman's perspective is not only interesting, but enlightening. Wadud argues that the Qur'an does not suggest that women should be treated as second class citizens, rather it has been the male reading of the Qur'an that has created idea. To combat this Wadud evaluates the text as a whole and certain passages. She shows that the Qur'an places women as equals, and even sometimes shows them to be more admirable than men. Wadud does encounter a problem with some passages, which she responds to by saying "no" to them. For anybody looking for a female perspective on the Qur'an this is a very good. Wadud confronts those issues facing Muslim women today, and gives textual support for equality.
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Summary: Different perspective on the Qur'an
Review: Amina Wadud's contrapuntal reading of the Qur'an from a woman's perspective is not only interesting, but enlightening. Wadud argues that the Qur'an does not suggest that women should be treated as second class citizens, rather it has been the male reading of the Qur'an that has created idea. To combat this Wadud evaluates the text as a whole and certain passages. She shows that the Qur'an places women as equals, and even sometimes shows them to be more admirable than men. Wadud does encounter a problem with some passages, which she responds to by saying "no" to them. For anybody looking for a female perspective on the Qur'an this is a very good. Wadud confronts those issues facing Muslim women today, and gives textual support for equality.
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Summary: Must read
Review: Few people, including many celebrated authors, and indeed many (of us) Muslims indeed, have ever taken the time to systematically read the Qur'an. To read for understanding, and take note of the religious laws stated therein. Compound that with the fact that each translation into English of the Qur'an is different, and it is hard to know exactly what the Qur'an actually says about women, unless one is an Arabic reader. This book goes a long ways in debunking the popular myth and stereotype that are perpetuated by both "Orientalists" and the large mass of ignorant Muslims (who have never learned to seek knowledge for themselves). So for those who really want to learn what the Qur'an teaches about women, if you dare to shatter your valued stereotypes...read this slim volume. If you are willing to wade even deeper, read Stowasser's Women in the Quran, Traditions, and Interpretations.
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Summary: More Books to read
Review: I did like Dr. Wadud's book and I think it is a must read for Muslim women along with Fatima Mernissi's books. But injustice against women is part of a bigger crisis caused by rigid exegesis of the Quran in the Bedouin countries of Islam and by political Islam. The whole picture is analyzed by another courageous, progressive, Muslim thinker and that is Judge Said al-Ashmawy. Along with Mernissi, I recommend two of his books for starters: "Against Islamic Extremism" in English and "The Truth About Hijab" in Arabic. "The Truth About Hijab" relates the public confrontations he had with Azhar scholars in 1994. He defended women's right to free themselves from Hijab tradition since Muslim men no longer posses or need to distinguish their women slaves ("your right hand possession") from free women ("thus be recognized and not molested"). Hence, there is no need now to distinguish free Muslim women from slave Muslim women since slavery was abolished all over the world over 100 years ago except in Saudi Arabia. The later started to abolish it gradually under international pressure in 1962 as they believed that is halal in their Bedouin version of Islam (Read al-Ashmawy, Iqbal Baraka, Mohamed Shahrour and Mernissi's books). The Quran recommends decency in women's clothing, covering "Faraj", "Jaib" or sexual area but states nothing about women covering their heads. The Holy Quran has new regulation for these naked Bedouins in hot Arabia and it is for them specifically: "O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury.".These Bedouins needed to learn these new Islamic customs: 1. garments are not vanity and nakedness is not humility. 2. Free women need to identity themselves from slave concubines. It is clear that the Quran does not try to give specific laws for all occasions but it gives fundamental principles which enable us to establish the basic guidance for our behavior in all aspects of our life. It is a question of using common sense and reason on the basis of guiding principles. In this sense, Islam guides us to freedom and ethical behavior and no more sex slaves and curtain covers any more. But, in any case, any Muslim woman who likes to apply the holy text out of context and "word for word" and would like to communicate to people from behind a curtain - as the Quran states 1400 years ago in "ask them from behind a curtain" or "stay in your houses" - is welcome to move and live, happily ever after, among the Taliban or live in Saudi Arabia. In both cases, they should not walk naked like Bedouins anymore or "put their cloth aside" as the Quran permits for the elderly. Nudity is nolonger the etiquette of our days and law breakers - anywhere in the world- would be confined for "public exposure" if they adhear to these literal habits and manners of naked Bedouins living in the detached arabian deseret 1400 years ago. It is very sad that the Muslim world is going backwards.
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Summary: Quran and Woman: Equity and Dignity
Review: I give this book 5 stars because as I was reading it I wished every Muslim woman (and man) would read it. The book is written by a professor of Islamic studies who (as she writes in the preface)" approached this research as if my life depended on the understandings I gained from studying the Quran". The book is aimed at proving the equality of men and women in the religion of Islam by going to the source: the Qur'an. It challenges the false concepts held by many Muslims (concepts that do not reflect Quran and Islam) such as:" men are superior to women", men are in charge of women", "men are natural leaders", " men rule the family and should get obedience from women", " women should not leave the house unless it is necessary"," woman's voice is taboo", etc. The author breaks down specific verses and key words that have been used to oppress and limit women, to show that their real meaning defies such oppression and limitation.
The book covers many aspects of equality manifested in the story of creation and the events in the Garden, the Quranic view of woman in the world with discussion of distinctive female characters in the Quran, the Hereafter including companions in the Hereafter e.g. "the virgins of paradise". The book also discusses controversies around the rights and roles of women and the relationship between men and women: male authority: polygamy, marital disharmony, divorce, inheritance, women as witness, etc. I think the author should have discussed two other important topics: veiling and segregation.
Although the book is only 118 pages, and is well organized into chapters and subtitles, it was a little difficult to get through: the writing style is somewhat academic, some concepts I think needed more elaboration to be clear, and I had to open my dictionary several times. There are many footnotes and I would have preferred that they be incorporated in the text. Having said that it was certainly worth the effort and I certainly enjoyed "studying" this book. I have felt like a bad Muslim before for not surrendering to these concepts of male superiority, and I thank the author for liberating me( and I am sure many other women) from these feelings. A must read for all Muslims.
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Summary: A necessary step in the right direction
Review: I loved this book the moment I read it, Pity I came across it by chance in October 2001. Amina reconfirms that the Quran does not prescribe a rigid social structure. Although gender reform is often resisted in the Arab and Muslim world, this book will help in the debate of many interacting and overlapping issues that our region is witnessing. While the book is aimed at the academic reader, it is straightforward for the average reader to grasp.It helped provide me with some answers and opened the door to a new perception of things. That is why I set my mind in 2002 to translateit into Arabic because I deem it necessary and important to open this kind of debate in my part of the world. I am now in the process of securing a publisher and when the book is out, it will be interesting to witness the discussions it will raise. Amina Wadud did a great job, I can only praise her for her endeavour, not any easy one.
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Summary: Must read, re-read, re-read it some more
Review: I purchased Wadud-Muhsin's book several years ago when I found it in a local bookstore in Malaysia. For a while, I left it sitting on my bookshelf along with the many piles of books promised to be read. When I actually read it, I was surprised to find a packet full of information and scholarly analysis in one thin book. I use the book often as a "research spine" of my studies, so often that I have to get a new one to replace the old copy. Wadud-Muhsin provided a clear, coherent analysis, along with references from the Qur'an, and the Hadith, and other viewpoints from Islamic scholars. It clears the misguided air on the rights of women in Islam.
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