Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation

by Barbara Freyer Stowasser

Islamic ideas about women and their role in society spark considerable debate both in the Western world and in the Islamic world itself. Despite the popular attention surrounding Middle Eastern attitudes toward women, there has been little systematic study of the statements regarding women in the Qur'an. Stowasser fills the void with this study on the women of Islamic sacred history. By telling their stories in Qur'an and interpretation, she introduces Islamic doctrine and its past and present socio-economic and political applications. Stowasser establishes the link between the female figure as cultural symbol, and Islamic self-perceptions from the beginning to the present time.

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion, Womens, Feminism, Middle East

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, compiling in one useful resource the stories of all the women mentioned in the Quran, taking a look at the development of the tafsir that surrounds each one of them from the earliest Sunni traditions such as Tabari and Razi to later ones like ibn Kathir to more modern ones like Sayyid Qutb, and some discussion on the wives of the Prophet Muhammad too.

I'd picked up this book for a different purpose and though it didn't entirely answer that query, it's bibliography has pointed me in direction I need to go. However it did answer other questions I'd had regarding Hagar, which got me very excited! It's not a riveting read but it is concise. There's little in the way of analysis, so it's just the bare facts being presented, making it an useful reference point on the women mentioned in the Quran. It's also very well referenced.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro letto con TROPPA fretta di finirlo perché mi serve per un elaborato universitario, ma so che ci ritornerò su quando avrò un po’ più di tempo da dedicargli. Nonostante questo ho potuto apprezzare lo studio approfondito dell’autrice su questo argomento, che rende noti tutti i particolari sulle donne nel Corano, testo che consiglio di tenere a portata di mano durante la lettura per comprendere a fondo i passaggi che vengono citati. Penso sia un libro davvero interessante che può dare spunti di riflessione per un sano confronto tra culture che si considerano diverse (spesso non si comprende quanto siano simili!) e che potrebbe appassionare tanti. È stato per me un testo anche molto attuale dal punto di vista delle tematiche ma anche dallo stesso punto di vista dell’autrice, nonostante sia stato scritto nella metà degli anni ‘90. Lo consiglio vivamente, anche per chi non è esperto della materia ma è interessato.

[Nicholas Waldrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a introduction to women in Islam.
Stowasser lays out the book in a brilliant way. Going chronologically. Women of the Quran (Eve to Mary) and then the Prophets wives (In the Qur’an and Hadith) and finally to Modern interpretation.
Each chapter is generally layed out in a logical manner: Intro, Quran, Hadith, Interpretaion. She does a brilliant job summarizing the different interpretations. Normally highlighting the early-medieval exegests (with all the variations) to modern traditionalist and feminist ones.
Additionally she add as interpretations from schools that no longer exist and even Suif ones too; which adds something cool.

[Mariam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer on the historical contours of Islamic thought and practices regarding women. It’s organized well, well-referenced, concise yet broad in scope, and very thought-provoking. Limitation: discussions on modern life lean heavily towards modern Egypt as that is the author’s field of expertise. Otherwise a good, academic introduction. It was eye-opening and provided historical and ideological context for the cultural and scholarly ideas and movements behind many beliefs and practices seen today and in the past. Thanks for the gift Marwa :)

[Roberto Macias · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a complex subject matter, so let me start by giving full disclosure. I am, as an atheist, biased against religious belief in general. I always attack christians and their idea that they get morals from the bible, having read the bible, this is fairly easy, because however you interpret it, a god that tells you to kill your soon (Abraham ordered to kill Izak), or if the "good man" gives up his daughters for rape instead of the angels (Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah), that is just plain wrong.
Reading the Quran is not as straightforward as the bible (yes, I know translations are also a matter with it, but I've read some 8 different translations in at least 3 languages, and its a nasty book), and I am not familiar with the interpretations and scripture.
Instead of going for the usual exegetic works which would give me the more familiar view of Islam, I thought I'd go for a different take, something written by a woman, attempting just that, to keep the text alive and bring forth an interpretation based on more modern values. In this the book succeeds through and through, it told me which passages were the most important in the normal interpretation, how they are usually interpreted, and gave heuristic analysis of them.
Beyond that the fact remains, the book was written by a patriarchal society. The author states it is a revealed text which sets out to establish universal morals. But reading the book under this apologetic lens excuses some misogynistic passages purely on semantics. I'll be honest, the Bible is far more nasty than the Quran. By miles. Against non-believers, other tribes, and women, your own children... Even the sweet old Jesus who everyone seems to think was a mellow loving guy, is very angry, most of the time.
Beyond that, the Quran still has a passage where a man is allowed to beat his wife if she's not obedient (there's a semantic discussion whether the obedience should be to Allah or the husband), and it promises virgins as a reward in heaven (I didn't find the 70).
The author of "Women in the Quran" goes into deeper analysis of the different periods and compares it to later passages where your "partner/couple/kin" (for lack of a better word) will join you in heaven. In the end, her desire to reconcile her belief of Islam with her being a woman shines through.
In a nutshell, the book succeeds at guiding you to some of the more important passages in Quranic interpretation, but for me it sounded like an apologetic text. I do admire her extensive research and am thankful that she did it. I would, however, appreciate a secular analysis of the Quran, if it were written by a woman, then all the better.
As always with such books, if you read it, do so with a grain of salt.

[Leena El-Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of very helpful and precious information. The lay-out isn't the easiest to follow as it's clearly written for academics or specialists in the field, but it's a great resource for a researcher. I'm glad I found it and appreciated its meticulousness.

[Saadah]

This book can be read online at http://www.islamicbulletin.org/free_d...
Very helpful book but need to be careful before totally accept its contents.