Women in the Quran: Difference between revisions

'''Women in the Quran''' are important characters and subjects of discussion included in the stories and morals taught in [[Islam]]. Most of the women in the Quran are represented as either mothers or wives of leaders or prophets. They retained a certain amount of autonomy from men in some respects; for example, the Quran describes women who converted to Islam before their husbands or women who took an independent oath of allegiance to [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2510?_hi=6&_pos=2 |title=From the article on Women and Islam in Oxford Islamic Studies Online |doi=10.1093/0198297688.003.0006 |publisher=Oxfordislamicstudies.com |date=2008-05-06 |access-date=2012-08-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525233720/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2510?_hi=6&_pos=2 |archive-date=2014-05-25 |url-status=livedead }}</ref>

While the Quran does not name any woman except for [[Mary in Islam|Virgin Mary]] directly, women play a role in many of its stories. These stories have been subject to manipulation and rigid interpretation in both classical commentary and popular literature from patriarchal societies.<ref name=EoQ>Encyclopaedia of the Quran. Leiden: [[Brill Publishers|Brill]], 2001. Print.</ref> The cultural norms existing within a [[patriarchy]] have shaped the way that these societies approached the text and created a pervading narrative that dictated the way [[future generations]] were set up to interpret these stories and the role of women within the Quran. Throughout history, different Islamic scriptural interpreters and lawmakers constantly reinterpreted the women presented in the Quran as a result of the dominating ideology and historical context of the time. In the wake of modernity and the rise of [[Islamic feminism]], many scholars are looking back to the original text, reexamining the accepted classical interpretations of women, and reimagining women's role within the Quran.<ref name=EoQ/>

==Adam's spouseHawwa==

[[Eve#Islam|Eve]] (''HawaHawwa''), Adam's spouse, is mentioned in [[Q2:30-39]]; [[Quran 7:11–25|7:11-25]]; [[Q15:26–42|15:26–42]]; [[Quran 17:61–65|17:61–65]]; [[Q18:50–51|18:50–51]]; [[Q20:110–124|20:110–124]]; and in verses [[Quran 38:71–85|38:71–85]], but the name "Eve" ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|حواء}}, ḤawāḤawwā') is never revealed or used in the Quran. Eve is mentioned by name only in [[hadith]].<ref>Beyond The Exotic: Women's Histories In Islamic Societies – Page 9, Amira El Azhary Sonbol – 2005</ref>

The Quranic narrative of Adam and Eve's creation and fall differs thematically from the more fleshed-out story in the Jewish and Christian traditions. Similar to the Christian and Jewish tale, Allah created [[Adam and Eve]] and a place for them to live, [[Jannah|Paradise]]. However, in the Quran, HawaHawwa's role is minimal, as she is the accomplice to human sin rather than the instigator. It is Adam who is forewarned by Allah that [[Devil (Islam)|Iblis]], Satan, is their natural enemy and the threat to their removal from heaven.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stowasser |first=Barbara Freyer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3YhpAgAAQBAJ&q=Women+in+the+Quran |title=Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation |date=1996-08-22 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-976183-8 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Quote|"So We said: O Adam! This is an enemy to you and to '''your wife'''; therefore let him not drive you both forth from the garden so that you should be unhappy; "| [[Quran, Sura 20 ([[Ta-Ha:117]]), ayat 117 {{efn|[http://tanzil.net/#20:117 Quran, 20:117]}}}}

The literal Quranic text in many ways removes the blame that is often placed upon Eve. Instead of being portrayed as the cause of Adam's fall, Eve is merely presented as equally compliant in the sin and then later, equally compliant in the punishment and atonement.<ref>Chand, M. (1991). Adam, Eve, & Satan in the Garden of Eden. The University of Singh Arts Research Journal, 30(1), 25–35.</ref> However early critical interpretation surrounding the creation and fall story was influenced heavily by the pervading Christian and Jewish notions of Eve.<ref>Pregill, M. (2008). Isra'iliyyat, myth and pseudepigraphy: Wabb b. Munabbih and the early Islamic versions of the fall of Adam and Eve. ''[[Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam]]'',</ref> Therefore, early medieval interpretations focus on depicting HawaHawwa as morally and mentally compromised. As in the Christian and Jewish tradition, HawaHawwa is seen as the one who tempts the prophet Adam into sin. The early work of Hadith-based scholar al-Tabari in particular showcases many passages that claim women's menstruation and the affliction of bearing children are a direct result of HawaHawwa's foolishness.<ref name=BFS>Stowasser, B. F. (1994). Women in the Quran, Traditions, and Interpretation. New York: [[Oxford University Press]]</ref>

{{Quote|"Were it not for the calamity that afflicted HawaHawwa, the women of this world would not menstruate, would be wise, and would bear their children with ease."|al-Tabari (I:529)<ref>Ṭabarī, Cooper, J., Madelung, W., & Jones, A. (1987). The commentary on the Quran [Jāmiʻ al-bayān ʻan taʼ wīl āy al-Qurʼān.English]. London; New York: Oxford University Press.</ref>}}

However, in modern times the explanation and general understanding of HawaHawwa have shifted and are deeply debated. Her status as the first woman in the world is relevant since she is looked upon as the model for her sex and Allah's archetype of a woman.<ref name=BFS/> Today both traditional and modernist thinkers look to HawaHawwa either to support or deny their argument regarding the equality of women in the religion. Specifically, those with a traditionalist view believe in the hadith and the interpretation that HawaHawwa was created from one of Adam's crooked ribs. And therefore when the Prophet explained women were created from the crooked part of the rib, "He was not blaming the woman, but was defining women's natural disposition and the preponderance of emotions over rationality."<ref>Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi, Qadaya al-mar'a al-muslima (Cairo: Dar al-Muslim, 1982), pp. 32–33 ''qtd''. Stowasser, B. F. (1994). Women in the Quran, traditions, and interpretation. New York: [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> In response, more liberal interpretations cite no direct and incontestable truth that HawaHawwa was created from a "crooked rib"; they claim such suggestions do not stem from verifiable sources. Rather, they strive to emphasize the purpose of the creation and fall story itself. This was not to decry the human nature of either sex but act as an example of Allah's guidance, punishment and ultimate forgiveness.<ref name=BFS/>

Oftentimes the names of these women are confused, however, the general scholarly consensus is that Noah's wife was Amzura while Lot's wife was Wā'ila.<ref name=EoQ/> This continual reversal of the two names underscores exactly how both women have ultimately served the same purpose in Islamic scriptural interpretation. In the case of Noah's wife many theorists surmise that she died in the flood and was not allowed on the ark because of her continual insinuation that her husband was crazy.<ref name=":0">Maḥallī,Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, Suyūṭī, & Hamza, F. (2008). Tafsīr al-jalālayn. Louisville, Ky.: Fons Vitae.</ref> In turn, Lot's wife is thought to have died alongside the people of [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]] since she betrayed her duty as a wife and conspired alongside the corrupt people.<ref name=EoQ/> In both examples the wives of Allah's prophets were the only ones punished for their disbelief and betrayal of their husbands. This is an important distinction, since Islamic theorists highlight that this establishes the spiritual individuality of women.<ref name=EoQ/> It is they who have the freedom to choose their religiosity, and it is they who in turn pay the price. Ultimately, the purpose of their mention in the Quran is to set an example of the consequence for active disbelief in Allah and his prophets.{{cn|date=November 2019}}

In the hadith Sarah is not mentioned directly but rather alluded to in [[Hagar]]'s expanded story.<ref name="auto">Trible, P., & Russell, L. M. (2006). Hagar, Sarah, and Their Children :Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives (1st ed.). Louisville, Ky.: [[Westminster John Knox Press]].</ref> Hagar's struggles, dealt with extensively in ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'', are important to the Islamic tradition since many Muslims paint her as the mother of all Arabs and one of the pre-Islamic pioneers.<ref>Trible, P., & Russell, L. M. (2006). Hagar, Sarah, and Their Children :Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives (1st ed.). Louisville, Ky.: [[Westminster John Knox Press]].<name="auto"/ref> While this may seem to castigate Sarah as the villain in Hagar's story, she is not seen or depicted in Islamic writing as the impetus for Hagar's exile. Unlike the more traditional Jewish and Christian explanations that paint a contentious relationship between Hagar and Sarah, Islamic interpretations are largely devoid of commentary on Sarah, choosing rather to focus on the hardships and successes of Hagar.<ref name=BFS/>

== Mother and sister of Moses ==

Moses's wife called Safura was the daughter of a MadyaniteMidianite flockherder whom Moses met before he became a prophet. The Madyanite flockherder allowed Moses and his daughter to wed in exchange for Moses performing eight to ten years of work.<ref name=BFS57/>

{{quote|"And the wife of Pharaoh said:, ("[He will be)] a consolationcomfort of the eye for me and for theeyou. Kill himDo not. Peradventurekill him; perhaps he may be of use tobenefit us, or we may chooseadopt him foras a son." And they perceived not." | Quran, Sura 28 ([[Al-Qasas]]), ayat 9 {{efn|[http://tanzil.net/#28:9 Quran, 28:9]}}}}

Asiyah represents the ideal of virtue as one of the four most outstanding women of the world and one of the four "ladies of heaven" that include: [[Mary in Islam|Mary]], the mother of Jesus; Khadija, Muhammad's wife; and Fatima, Muhammad's daughter.<ref name=EoQ/> SheAsiyah married Pharaoh as a sacrifice for her people, but never consummated it.<ref name=EoQ/> She died a martyr's death after the tyrannical Pharaoh had killed many of the believers in the palace and she tried to avenge their deaths.<ref name=BFS59>Stowasser, B. F. (1994). Women in the Quran, Traditions, and Interpretation. New York: [[Oxford University Press]]. 59</ref>

In the Quran, the mother of the [[Virgin Mary in Islam|Virgin Mary]] (and thus Isa's grandmother) is not named in the Quran, but referred to in two passages of the narratives section as the [[wife of Imran]], Imran being [[Joachim in Christianity]].<ref name=EoQ/> In Judeo-the Christian tradition she is identified as [[Saint Hanna|Hannah]]. According to the Quran she invoked God for a child:<ref>"Maryam", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''</ref>

It is important to note that whileWhile the name Imran is attributed to both the father of [[Mary in Islam|Mary]] and the father of Moses and Aaron, interpreters explain that these two people are not to be confused.<ref name=EoQ/> They are separated by a long time period—1,800 years according to some sources—and are called different names. The father of [[Mary in Islam|Mary]] is called Imran b. Mathhan/Matan while the father of Moses and Aaron is called Imran B. Yashar or Imran b. Qadith.<ref name=EoQ/>

== MaryMaryam (MaryamMary) ==

Nevertheless, [[Mary in Islam|Mary]] is still revered by manyall Muslims, mostly women, throughout the Islamic world. She is praised in the Quran: "Behold! the angels said: 'O Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee – chosen thee above the women of all nations.'"{{efn|[http://tanzil.net/#3:42 Quran, 3:42]}}

[[Mary in Islam|Mary]] also appears in [[Quran 3]], where she and her story are closely connected to that of her guardian, the prophet [[Zechariah in Islam|Zakariyya]]. The angel's words about the birth of John to Zakariyya ([[Sura 3|Sura 3:39]]) are almost identical to those on Jesus's ([[Sura 3|Sura 3:45]]). Similarly, both respond by questioning the message ([[Sura 3|Sura 3:40;47]]) and receive the same answer.

Only a few "are consistently presented as key figures in the hadith accounts of contexts of specific revelations ('occasions of revelation', [[Asbab al-nuzul]])".<ref name=BFS/> Stowasser states: "The Quranic legislation directed at the Prophet's wives, then, is entirely of Medinan provence and belongs into the last six or seven years of the prophet's life."<ref name=BFS/> [[Sura 33|Sura 33:50]] outlines the lawful "categories of females" that are able to marry Muhammad: "wives with whom the Prophet contracted marriage involving a dower; female prisoners of war (slaves) who fell to him as part of his share of spoils; both paternal and also maternal cousins who had migrated with him to Medina; and "a believing woman, if she gives herself to the Prophet and [He] also wishes to marry her(Al-Quran 33:50)."<ref name=BFS/>

The Quran mentions the wife of Abu Lahab in [[Sura|Sura 111]] [[Al-Masad]], but not by name. [[Hadith]] claims that her name is Umm Jamil bint Harb and the sister of [[Abu Sufyan ibn Harb|Abu Sufyan]]. It is said that she interruptedinsulted and ridiculed Muhammad, would set up thorns in his path to bleed and once placed the stomach of a camel on his back as he was prostrating while he and [[Abu Bakr]] praying in the [[Ka'ba]] and, unaware that Muhammad was present, spoke badly of him and his religion. Therefore, the Quran describes how she will be punished, alongside her husband, in Hell for hurting Muhammad.

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140525233720/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2510?_hi=6&_pos=2 Women and Islam in Oxford Islamic Studies Online]