Classical Exegeses on Key Qur’ānic Verses Concerning Women

Abstract

Abstract Despite sweeping generalizations about the classical exegetical tradition’s perspectives on women and gender, few scholarly works have closely engaged classical exegetical texts on women and gender. This chapter explores primary sources of premodern Qurʾānic exegesis (tafsīr) of four verses that are critical to conceptualizations of gendered identities, hierarchies, and roles in the Muslim tradition: Qur’ān 4:1 on the origin of human creation; Qur’ān 2:228 on the reciprocal rights of husbands and wives, including men’s “degree” over women; Qur’ān 4:34 on the consequences of women’s nushūz; and Qur’ān 4:128 on the consequences of men’s nushūz. By illustrating the pluralism that is inherent to the genre of tafsīr, this chapter argues for a more nuanced engagement with classical exegesis that disrupts binary views of this tradition as either patriarchal or egalitarian.