Gender Relations in the Qur’anConceptualising Space and Male–Female Interaction
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About this book
Provides a systematic analysis of how the Qur’an envisions gender relations
- Provides a theoretical foundation for gender relations between non-maḥram men and women that is rooted within the Qur’ān
- Argues for a nuanced and expansive position to gendered space and roles
- Analyses all the examples of gender interaction in the Qur’ān
- Gives a comprehensive overview of clothing prescriptions in the Qur’ān
- Engages with classical scholarship to provide a contextual reading of contentious verses, such as testimony, inheritance and the creation narrative
A constricting attitude towards the relationship between non-maḥram (marriageable) men and women is often either politically enforced or self-imposed in Muslim societies, with notions of separation and segregation upheld as normative ideals. This book challenges such interpretations, delineating a more permissive and nuanced position rooted in the Qur’an. Responding to the oft-held notion of men occupying the public sphere while women are restricted to the private, the book explores whether the Qur’an adopts a conception of gendered space and gendered roles.
The book analyses the various forms of male–female interaction in the Qur’an, providing a comprehensive overview of gender relations and a critical dissection of restrictive readings. It also discusses clothing, offering a thorough overview of sartorial prescriptions in the Qur’an. Engaging with both classical and modern scholarship to provide a contextual reading, this book offers a comprehensive and expansive analysis of gender relations within a Qur’anic context.
Reviews
Redhwan Karim's analysis of gender relations in the Qur'an offers a finely argued challenge to canonical Muslim interpretations of some verses as incontrovertibly male-privileging. He makes interesting and original contributions, which can help recuperate the Qur'an’s universal ethical model for gender relationships. Hopefully, his book will be a powerful incentive for Muslims to do just that in their legal and moral reasoning.
This is a work of rigorous scholarship and analytical clarity. Through a careful engagement with the Qur’anic narrative, the author addresses the persistent question of whether the Qur’an mandates or assumes the seclusion of women. The result is an important and timely contribution to the study of gender in Islamic thought. This book is required read for anyone interested in what the Qur’an actually says about women’s participation in public life.
A lucid and meticulously argued analysis of the Qur’an and foundational Islamic texts, Karim emphasizes female agency and probes overly restrictive interpretations of cross-gender interactions in Muslim sources. In addition to being a helpful classroom resource, the scholarship is valuable for specialists in gender studies and mandatory reading for those in positions of contemporary Islamic religious authority.
Table of contents
Acknowledgements
Notes on Text
Table of Contents
Introduction: Framing Gender Relations in the Qur'ān
1. Gendered Space: Rethinking Spatial Boundaries
2. Beyond the Private Sphere: Conceptualising Gendered Roles
3. Male-Female Interaction and the Ethics of Encounter
4. The Condition of Clothing
5. Desire, Deterrence and the Limits of Permissibility
Conclusion: Towards a Qur'ānic Ethic of Gender Relations
Bibliography