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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 Page 1 of 6 Bryan Plude January 10, 2015 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. Page 2 of 6 Bryan Plude January 10, 2015 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? Page 3 of 6 Bryan Plude January 10, 2015 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: Page 4 of 6 Bryan Plude January 10, 2015 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 Page 5 of 6 Bryan Plude January 10, 2015 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 Page 6 of 6