Modern Rereadings of the Qur’ān through a Gendered Lens

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the tension between patriarchal and egalitarian readings of critical verses in the Qur’an that have to do with women and gender. It provides an overview of classical male exegeses and modern Muslim women’s (re)readings of these verses. These verses include Qur’ān 2:223, 2:228, 2:253, 4:34, 4:128, 33:35, and 9:71. The chapter describes the methodologies employed by modern gender scholars and their critique of the androcentric views expressed by prominent premodern male exegetes, such as al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923), al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210), and Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373). It furthermore provides an account of recent critiques of the egalitarian position that have been launched by a few gender scholars. The chapter concludes by assessing the cogency of prohierarchical and proegalitarian arguments and finds the egalitarian position to be far more plausible and defensible based on a holistic reading of the Qur’an.