Download The Hidden Message of Gender Equality in the Qur`an Take away

Bryan Plude
January 10, 2015
The Hidden Message of Gender Equality in the Qur'an
Take away message (not to be spoken): The Qur'an represented a radical shift in attitudes
toward and treatment of women in its time and still contains important messages of equality
between sexes today. Unfortunately, these messages have been lost in patriarchal, maledominated interpretation.
------------------The Qur'an, as with the Bible, is misunderstood, misquoted or selectively quoted by
many. Bible literalists use it to rail against same sex relationships. Qur'an literalists use it to
justify war, jihad and acts of terrorism. In today's environment of fear and misunderstanding, it is
incumbent on us to learn more about our Muslim neighbors, to have some understanding of one
of the world's most practiced religions.
This sermon provides a small entry into that understanding by looking at how the Qur'an
addresses women.
My Qur'an professor, Dr. Ghazala Anwar is one of a courageous group of Qur'an scholars
who are reinterpreting the male-dominated, patriarchal interpretations of this scripture, often at
great risk to themselves. She is a small woman, but one whose courage far exceeds her size. A
native Pakistani, she still has family there. She was forced to leave Pakistan for teaching that the
Hadith, a body of literature about the life of the Prophet Muhammad, does not represent the
words of the Prophet. She confided to our class that she does not publish, because to do so might
endanger the lives of her family, or possibly her own. Yet she is a devout Muslim.
I came to my Qur'an class, titled Feminist Readings of the Qur'an, having only a lay
person's knowledge of Islam and the Qur'an, one informed by the news and not much else. News
which is full of Islamophobia although I hope that my news sources were somewhat more
balanced than mainstream media. What I encountered in my class was compelling scripture
which contained teachings about human relations which were every bit as avant garde as those
of Jesus 600 years before Muhammad.
But let me back up so that we can be on the same page when I begin to speak about the
Qur'an.
Muhammad was born in Mecca in about 570 CE. He was orphaned at a young age and
raised by his uncle. At age 25, he married a powerful merchant woman, Khadija, 15 years his
senior. She was his only wife and strongest supporter until her death when he was 50. At age 40
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Muhammad reported that he began receiving visitations from the angel Gabriel, who recited to
Muhammad the first teaching from God. Qur'an means recitation. These recitations went on for
23 years, right up until the prophet's death in 632 CE, and comprise the work which is known as
the Qur'an.i
Mecca, at the time of Muhammad, was a trading city, at the crossroads of multiple
caravan routes. It was ruled by the Quraysh, who worshiped many gods.ii The Ka'ba, the ancient
black stone cuboid, now the most holy site in Islam, was filled with icons of gods and goddesses.
Muhammad burst onto this scene to proclaim the return to the one true God, the God of
Moses and Abraham, the God of Jesus. His message was not welcome.
The culture of this time period on the Arabian peninsula was patriarchal. Polygamy was
the norm, as was slavery. Slave women were sexually available to the patriarch. By-the-way,
we see these things in the Old Testament, too. In Genesis 16 we read how Sarah, who was
unable to bear a child for Abraham, offered up her slave, Hagar. No word about whether Hagar
thought this was a good idea. We would probably call it rape. Hagar bore Abraham a son,
Ishmael, and Sarah got jealous and ordered them sent away. God intervened and, according to
Islamic belief, Ishmael fathered the Arab lineage. Muhammad is thought to be a descendant of
Ishmael and thus a continuation of the line of prophets from pre-Islamic times.iii
Now let us turn our attention to the Qur'an. We'll compare some stories between the
Bible and the Qur'an, and how the two Scriptures regard women.
Adam and Eve and the Forbidden Fruit
The biblical story of Adam and Eve tells a story of a woman, beguiled by a serpent who
convinces her to eat the forbidden fruit.
As told in Genesis 3, Eve is walking in the Garden of Eden and the serpent speaks to her,
telling her to eat fruit from the tree which God has forbidden. Eve succumbs and also convinces
Adam to eat the fruit. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, this was the original sin which led to
the fall of humans from right relationship with God. Listen to these words:
Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and
ate; and she also gave some to her husband.
Eve, the woman, was squarely to blame.
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Contrast this with the story told in the Qur'an.
Surah 7:20-22 reads: Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly
before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: "Your Lord only
forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live forever."
21 And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser.
22 So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame
became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their
bodies.iv
In this telling, Adam and Eve are equally responsible for disobeying God. The Qur'an
tells a story in stark contrast to the Greco-Roman and Biblical-Judaic implication that the woman
is the cause of evil and damnation. v
Conception and Birth of Jesus
The Qur'an also takes a different, woman centric, look at the conception and birth of
Jesus. Nothing much is said in the Bible about how Mary might have felt when informed that
she is to give birth to an immaculately conceived son, let alone what she might have experienced
in childbirth. In Luke 1, we learn that she was greatly troubled when the angel came to her. In
Matthew 1, the angel does not even bother to speak with Mary, and instead goes to her husband,
Joseph, after Joseph had resolved to "divorce her quietly" to avoid putting her to shame.vi
The Qur'an, on the other hand, does not even mention Joseph. The entire chapter , or
Surah, describing the conception and birth of Jesus, is named after Mary. In this Surah, the angel
appears to Mary as a man. Frightened, she tells him to stay away if he fears Allah. After
identifying himself, he tells her the news that she is to bear a child. "How shall I have a son,
seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?", she protests.vii No problem, says
the angel, that is easy for me. "(We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from
Us: It is a matter (so) decreed."viii And so Mary conceived and went off by herself to a remote
place.
In this action, going off to a remote place, can we imagine what Mary was feeling? Fear?
Shame perhaps? Who is going to believe her that she hasn't been messing around? Whereas
Luke tells us that Mary said “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to
your word.”ix How's that for a man's point of view?
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Then Mary comes to childbirth.
The Bible doesn't have anything to say about Mary in this. Mark and Luke make no
mention of the birth of Jesus. Matthew takes up the story after Jesus is born, with the arrival of
the wise men. Luke says only that "she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands
of cloth, and laid him in a manger."x
By contrast, the Qur'an gives a very woman centric account of the birth of Jesus.
7:23 And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried (in her
anguish): "Ah! would that I had died before this! would that I had been a thing forgotten and out
of sight!"xi
But Allah comes to comfort her in her pain, offering water and food.
24 But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): "Grieve not! for thy Lord hath
provided a rivulet beneath thee;
25 "And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates
upon thee.xii
// These examples provide evidence that women are important and equal in the eyes of
God in Islam. The feelings of the woman asked to bear a son out of wedlock are taken into
account. The pain of childbirth is witnessed and comfort is offered. These and other passages
provide evidence for some modern Qur'anic scholars of the universal theme of equality for
women in this scripture.
There are, however, verses in the Qur'an which are problematic, verses which have been
used to subjugate women.
Surah 4:34 is one of the worst of these. In part, it reads: "As to those women on whose
part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds,
(And last) beat them; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of
annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all)."xiii
This verse has been used by many Muslims to sanction wife beating. xiv Feminist
Muslims and Qur'an scholars Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas and others take exception. First, the
arabic word daraba, translated as to beat or strike, has other meanings. Here are some of them
and some alternate interpretations:
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Daraba may also mean to set an example, which changes the meaning of this passage
entirely. The husband should set an example.
Daraba also means to prevent. In this interpretation, what is meant is that the husband is
to prevent the wife from leaving the house.
And even if we assume that daraba refers to striking or hitting, there are different
interpretations. The word daraba, spelled with one r, as used in this verse, does not have the
same meaning as darraba, with two r's. With one r, the meaning is to strike lightly. With two r's
darraba means to strike repeatedly or intensely. In this sense, to strike lightly would be to place
a severe restriction on wife beating which was common at the time of revelation. There is also
evidence from elsewhere in the Qur'an that this act is meant to be symbolic and not cause harm.
Finely, there is counsel elsewhere in the Qur'an for husbands to deal kindly with their wives.xv
Looking only at this passage, the meaning is ambiguous. Looking at the larger picture of
the values espoused in the Qur'an, the traditional, patriarchal interpretation of this passage
contradicts the Qur'ans view of sexual equality and its teaching that marriages should be based in
love, forgiveness and harmony.xvi
Conclusion
While feminist interpretations of the Qur'an are still in a minority, the scripture supports
such interpretations. Muhammad was well ahead of the prevailing attitudes of his time and even
those of today in many places. As was Jesus. Today, in this country, the Bible is still used by
some to subjugate women, contrary to the practice of Jesus and the early Christian movement,
where women were in the innermost circle of disciples. Justice, equity and compassion have
been understood by great religious leaders. For those who follow, it is an ongoing struggle and
goal.
To this I say Amen and Blessed Be.
i
Ingrid Mattson, The Story of the Qur'an: Its History and Place in Muslim Life (Blackwell, Malden, MA, 2008).
Ibid., 6.
iii
Ibid., 4-7.
iv
Yusuf Ali, Quran.com, 7:20-22, accessed 5/24/2014 http://quran.com/7
v
Amina Wadud, Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (New York, Oxford
University Press, 1999), 25.
vi
Matthew 1:19, Bible Gateway, accessed 5/24/2014,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A18-25&version=ESV
vii
Yusuf Ali, Quran.com, 19:20, accessed 5/24/2014 http://quran.com/19
ii
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viii
Yusuf Ali, Quran.com, 19:20, accessed 5/24/2014 http://quran.com/19
Luke 1:38, Bible Gateway, accessed 5/24/2014, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A2638&version=ESV
x
Luke 2:7, Bible Gateway, accessed 5/24/2014,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke+2%3A7&version=NRSV
xi
Yusuf Ali, Quran.com, 19:23, accessed 5/24/2014 http://quran.com/19
xii
Yusuf Ali, Quran.com, 19:24-25, accessed 5/24/2014 http://quran.com/19
xiii
Yusuf Ali, Quran.com, 4:34, accessed 5/24/2014 http://quran.com/4
xiv
Asma Barlas, Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an (Austin, University
of Texas, 2002), 188.
xv
Asma Barlas, 188-189
xvi
Asma Barlas, 188-189
ix
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