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Women and Gender in the Qur'an
Stories about gendered social relations permeate the Qur'an, and nearly three hundred verses involve specific women or girls. The Qur'an features these figures in accounts of human origins, in stories of the founding and destruction of nations, in narratives of conquest, in episodes of romantic attraction, and in incidents of family devotion and strife. Overall, stories involving women and girls weave together theology and ethics to reinforce central Qur'anic ideas regarding submission to God and moral accountability.
Celene Ibrahim explores the complex cast of female figures in the Qur'an, probing themes related to biological sex, female sexuality, female speech, and women in sacred history. Ibrahim considers major and minor figures referenced in the Qur'an, including those who appear in narratives of sacred history, in parables, in descriptions of the eternal abode, and in verses that allude to events contemporaneous with the advent of the Qur'an in Arabia. Ibrahim finds that the Qur'an regularly celebrates the aptitudes of women in the realms of spirituality and piety, in political maneuvering, and in safeguarding their own wellbeing; yet, women figures also occasionally falter and use their agency toward nefarious ends. Women and Gender in the Qur'an outlines how women and girls - old, young, barren, fertile, chaste, profligate, reproachable, and saintly -enter Qur'anic sacred history and advance the Qur'an's overarching didactic aims.
Celene Ibrahim explores the complex cast of female figures in the Qur'an, probing themes related to biological sex, female sexuality, female speech, and women in sacred history. Ibrahim considers major and minor figures referenced in the Qur'an, including those who appear in narratives of sacred history, in parables, in descriptions of the eternal abode, and in verses that allude to events contemporaneous with the advent of the Qur'an in Arabia. Ibrahim finds that the Qur'an regularly celebrates the aptitudes of women in the realms of spirituality and piety, in political maneuvering, and in safeguarding their own wellbeing; yet, women figures also occasionally falter and use their agency toward nefarious ends. Women and Gender in the Qur'an outlines how women and girls - old, young, barren, fertile, chaste, profligate, reproachable, and saintly -enter Qur'anic sacred history and advance the Qur'an's overarching didactic aims.
232 pages, Hardcover
Published October 16, 2020
27 people are currently reading
800 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 8, 2020
"Women and Gender in the Qur’an" by Celene Ibrahim was a lovely, unique read that (mostly) allayed my fears of it being yet another proggie academic spiel with the nefarious consequence of undermining classical Islamic scholarship.
To be clear, this book itself is not necessarily grounded in classical scholarship. A major weakness that I noted was lack of reference to ahadith on the subject matter, as well as a lack of reference to classical tafseer. (I was unimpressed by the near-constant referencing of other academics tho.)
However, Ibrahim does an incredible job of framing Qur’anic narratives of women in ways that even I - who has a near-obsession with the topic - had not yet considered. She brings to life various stories, compares & contrasts examples of believing & disbelieving women, female sexuality & agency, and more. I deeply appreciate the work that she has done, providing significant food for thought & reflection. For the first time ever, I found myself marking off sentences & paragraphs for future reference, & eager to discuss various findings with other readers.
The most powerful takeaway from this book, for me, was in reminding me that the Qur’an that we recite so often, in our everyday life, holds such a wealth of spiritual enlightenment & knowledge for & about women - making us a central part of this Deen, in a time & community when we are so often marginalized.
My concerns about this book are primarily the lack of references to ahadith & tafseer, which I felt resulted in narrow understanding & shallow conclusions on certain topics (especially in the discussion regarding the Hoor al-Ayn & sexuality in Jannah). The author does allude to this in her conclusion.
I would recommend this book, but with the caveat that the reader should already be familiar with classical tafaaseer on the stories & general traditional explanations of the subject manner. It would be easy for someone unfamiliar to find themselves utterly confused otherwise.
4/5
To be clear, this book itself is not necessarily grounded in classical scholarship. A major weakness that I noted was lack of reference to ahadith on the subject matter, as well as a lack of reference to classical tafseer. (I was unimpressed by the near-constant referencing of other academics tho.)
However, Ibrahim does an incredible job of framing Qur’anic narratives of women in ways that even I - who has a near-obsession with the topic - had not yet considered. She brings to life various stories, compares & contrasts examples of believing & disbelieving women, female sexuality & agency, and more. I deeply appreciate the work that she has done, providing significant food for thought & reflection. For the first time ever, I found myself marking off sentences & paragraphs for future reference, & eager to discuss various findings with other readers.
The most powerful takeaway from this book, for me, was in reminding me that the Qur’an that we recite so often, in our everyday life, holds such a wealth of spiritual enlightenment & knowledge for & about women - making us a central part of this Deen, in a time & community when we are so often marginalized.
My concerns about this book are primarily the lack of references to ahadith & tafseer, which I felt resulted in narrow understanding & shallow conclusions on certain topics (especially in the discussion regarding the Hoor al-Ayn & sexuality in Jannah). The author does allude to this in her conclusion.
I would recommend this book, but with the caveat that the reader should already be familiar with classical tafaaseer on the stories & general traditional explanations of the subject manner. It would be easy for someone unfamiliar to find themselves utterly confused otherwise.
4/5
Want to read
April 4, 2021هذه المحاضرة الممتعة والثرية تعرف فيها المؤلفة عن كتابها
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FD-7...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FD-7...
January 9, 2021
This was a refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable read. The goal of this book is to approach female figures (NOT fiqh) in the Holy Qur'an. She discusses this from four perspectives: sex and sexuality, female kinship, female speech, and the context of women in revelation (asbab ul nuzul). Her focus is very specific, not drawing large sociological, jurisprudential, or categorical understandings of women. The analysis is sparse, and the conclusions tentative.
I enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, it was relaxing to read a text that wasn't approaching the Holy Quran as an inherently doubtful book. At times, this led to her being overly optimistic, I think - such as in suggesting that Hazrat Lut was not actually offering his daughters to a drunken mob (more on that later). However, overall it was refreshing to read an academic book on women and Islam that doesn't automatically infer suspicious, misogynistic motives at every turn.
Second, she emphasised narratives and figures in a way that fleshed out some of the secondary characters in Qur'anic stories. This brought them to life and made me realise how much of the Qur'an's characters I ignore simply because I am primed to focus on prophets (who are male).
Third, her micro-conclusions and small discussions about translating words such as nisaa-ul-nabi and zawj were insightful. I found that I agreed with most of them. She also traced structural patterns in the Holy Qur'an that were interesting to read. (One of the interesting choices she made was to use the pronoun "she" for nafs since it is grammatically feminine and alive.)
My criticisms are as follows:
1) Lack of analysis - certainly she sketched out, referenced, and summarized stories, but did not always reach clear analysis. This is both understandable and disappointing. For she clearly tried to limit her scope in a way that made her conclusions very tentative, but it is disappointing in that sometimes she read verses very differently to (what I take to be) dominant ways of understanding them, without addressing that she was, in fact, answering dominant tafsir. (E.g. Hazrat Lut's story of offering his daughters, which she takes to be a case of "clear" rhetorical mockery.)
2) Inconsistent method - at times she takes absences, eg absence of negative portrayals of motherhood, to be meaningful and draws conclusions from them. But OTHER absences are not even considered, e.g. absence of a male seducer in the Holy Qur'an. Another example of inconsistency is in not referencing the (female) people of the "right hand" who men can have sexual relations with, or just some of the references to women (such as the infamous 4:24) that don't fit as neatly into her optimistic view of the Holy QUr'an. Of course, her study is focussed on female figures in narratives, not Shari'i commandments, but it does seem to be a bit of an oversight and I was very curious on her thoughts.
3) Disagreement - I simply disagreed with the entirety of the depiction of heavenly beings as not implying sexual relations in Paradise. I was not sure why she was so dead-set on this point. I think it is inconsistent to think that we can eat in Paradise but not have sexual desires. Both are seemingly unnecessary to immortal beings (we no longer suffer bodily corruption so why should we eat except for pleasure?). Yet she only censures one (sexual relations) and not the other.
Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book as increasing my knowledge and understanding of the Holy Qur'an and re-invigorating my motivation to study the Qur'an as its own sacred text instead of always worrying about what was said by mufassirun and extra-Qur'anic texts. For example, a consideration of the Queen of Sheba - presented in the author's lovely, engaging style of bringing narratives to life - has made me realise how the surah with her in it brings up leaders: an ant who protects its people, Hazrat Sulaiman, and the Queen of Sheba. Insightful leadership is not limited to men.
Moreover, it seems to me that role models for women are not limited to females, any more than men's role models are limited to males. Rather, in general both sexes are able to derive morals and lessons from each other. In some unique female experiences, such as childbirth, the Qur'an spends a large amount of time talking about the female experience. She has an interesting idea of building affective empathy: by reciting verses about Hazrat Maryam (a.s.) and in fact reciting her speech, male reciters are performing femininity in a way that builds their empathy and understanding. (I think this is true.)
She reframes the negative female figures - Hind, Zulekha (who reforms), sorceresses - as instances of showing female agency. Some of these female figures do reform, such as Zulekha. Others do not. The Qur'an does not see women as always pious or impious, but subject to similar pressures & indeed responsibilities as men. In the same vein, she explains how female piety is not always in one type of personality or set of preferences. Hazrat Maryam's mother wanted and prayed for a child, while Hazrat Maryam did not want one and indeed wished for death when she was delivering a child. Yet both are pious women.
Another neat point she brings up is that women are not shown to be uniquely desirous of children (or always desirous of them). Hazrat Maryam is the obvious example, which Hazrat Zacharias prays for a child to God.
From a personal perspective, this book has relaxed some of my suspicious fears about the Holy Qur'an's portrayal of women. Many of these fears, I realise, were rooted in my inattention to depictions of women. However, some of the fears continue to exist because they are related to fiqh, which she did not discuss.
I enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, it was relaxing to read a text that wasn't approaching the Holy Quran as an inherently doubtful book. At times, this led to her being overly optimistic, I think - such as in suggesting that Hazrat Lut was not actually offering his daughters to a drunken mob (more on that later). However, overall it was refreshing to read an academic book on women and Islam that doesn't automatically infer suspicious, misogynistic motives at every turn.
Second, she emphasised narratives and figures in a way that fleshed out some of the secondary characters in Qur'anic stories. This brought them to life and made me realise how much of the Qur'an's characters I ignore simply because I am primed to focus on prophets (who are male).
Third, her micro-conclusions and small discussions about translating words such as nisaa-ul-nabi and zawj were insightful. I found that I agreed with most of them. She also traced structural patterns in the Holy Qur'an that were interesting to read. (One of the interesting choices she made was to use the pronoun "she" for nafs since it is grammatically feminine and alive.)
My criticisms are as follows:
1) Lack of analysis - certainly she sketched out, referenced, and summarized stories, but did not always reach clear analysis. This is both understandable and disappointing. For she clearly tried to limit her scope in a way that made her conclusions very tentative, but it is disappointing in that sometimes she read verses very differently to (what I take to be) dominant ways of understanding them, without addressing that she was, in fact, answering dominant tafsir. (E.g. Hazrat Lut's story of offering his daughters, which she takes to be a case of "clear" rhetorical mockery.)
2) Inconsistent method - at times she takes absences, eg absence of negative portrayals of motherhood, to be meaningful and draws conclusions from them. But OTHER absences are not even considered, e.g. absence of a male seducer in the Holy Qur'an. Another example of inconsistency is in not referencing the (female) people of the "right hand" who men can have sexual relations with, or just some of the references to women (such as the infamous 4:24) that don't fit as neatly into her optimistic view of the Holy QUr'an. Of course, her study is focussed on female figures in narratives, not Shari'i commandments, but it does seem to be a bit of an oversight and I was very curious on her thoughts.
3) Disagreement - I simply disagreed with the entirety of the depiction of heavenly beings as not implying sexual relations in Paradise. I was not sure why she was so dead-set on this point. I think it is inconsistent to think that we can eat in Paradise but not have sexual desires. Both are seemingly unnecessary to immortal beings (we no longer suffer bodily corruption so why should we eat except for pleasure?). Yet she only censures one (sexual relations) and not the other.
Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book as increasing my knowledge and understanding of the Holy Qur'an and re-invigorating my motivation to study the Qur'an as its own sacred text instead of always worrying about what was said by mufassirun and extra-Qur'anic texts. For example, a consideration of the Queen of Sheba - presented in the author's lovely, engaging style of bringing narratives to life - has made me realise how the surah with her in it brings up leaders: an ant who protects its people, Hazrat Sulaiman, and the Queen of Sheba. Insightful leadership is not limited to men.
Moreover, it seems to me that role models for women are not limited to females, any more than men's role models are limited to males. Rather, in general both sexes are able to derive morals and lessons from each other. In some unique female experiences, such as childbirth, the Qur'an spends a large amount of time talking about the female experience. She has an interesting idea of building affective empathy: by reciting verses about Hazrat Maryam (a.s.) and in fact reciting her speech, male reciters are performing femininity in a way that builds their empathy and understanding. (I think this is true.)
She reframes the negative female figures - Hind, Zulekha (who reforms), sorceresses - as instances of showing female agency. Some of these female figures do reform, such as Zulekha. Others do not. The Qur'an does not see women as always pious or impious, but subject to similar pressures & indeed responsibilities as men. In the same vein, she explains how female piety is not always in one type of personality or set of preferences. Hazrat Maryam's mother wanted and prayed for a child, while Hazrat Maryam did not want one and indeed wished for death when she was delivering a child. Yet both are pious women.
Another neat point she brings up is that women are not shown to be uniquely desirous of children (or always desirous of them). Hazrat Maryam is the obvious example, which Hazrat Zacharias prays for a child to God.
From a personal perspective, this book has relaxed some of my suspicious fears about the Holy Qur'an's portrayal of women. Many of these fears, I realise, were rooted in my inattention to depictions of women. However, some of the fears continue to exist because they are related to fiqh, which she did not discuss.
February 3, 2025
Women and Gender in the Qur’an by Dr. Celene Ibrahim is a comprehensive, thorough indexing and thematic analysis of where, when, and how women and gender are mentioned and discussed in the Qur’an. Particularly, Dr. Ibrahim pays specific attention to the context and substance of the ways in which women and gender are mentioned in relation to female sex and sexuality; kin, procreation, parenting and family life more generally; women speakers, interlocutors, and witnesses; and women as exemplars and roleplayers in political contexts.
The book doesn’t engage the tafsir tradition, but that isn’t necessarily a knock on the book, as providing “commentary” in the traditional sense on a line-by-line or chapter-by-chapter basis is not something she claims to strive for. Rather, she takes the verses of the Qur’an and undercovers thematic parallels and symmetries, spiritual harmonies with other figures in the Qur’an, and even numerical patterns between verses in a very original and insightful way that I really enjoyed reading. In more than one instance, she writes about ways in which the Qur’an situates the human-being within the larger realm of creation, linking gender and biology to other cosmological phenomena and finding connections between them, indicating the mark of a their shared createdness from a single, uncreated Creator. Connections between the physical and metaphysical aspects of existence are incredibly beautiful and important to reflect on, especially in our overly empirical and materialistic age. Understanding gender and sexuality themselves as something Divine, and therefore significant and ripe for reflection, pondering, and understanding is an important point to make when many people only see gender as a purely social construct, and sex as a biological one.
Many of the connections are stated plain in the Qur’an, but Dr. Ibrahim’s able to bring special attention to them and draw out thematic parallels and reflections due to her specific angle of questioning and her choice to comprehensively look at every mention of women and gender in the Qur’an. In doing so, she brings forward understandings and nuances that are easy to overlook, especially because of the non-linear structure of the Qur’an. She also approaches the Qur’an authoritatively and doesn’t try to “disprove” or “uncover” anything hidden; it’s a straightforward synthesis of what the text says, followed by her commentary on an aggregate level.
I found this book to be really beneficial and a great place for Muslims and non-Muslims alike who may be interested in the topic. The scope is fairly limited, and it doesn’t get into many legal issues, nor does she make authoritative claims on Islamic practice, which I think adds to the strength of the book, as it doesn’t read as something polemical or with an agenda.
The book doesn’t engage the tafsir tradition, but that isn’t necessarily a knock on the book, as providing “commentary” in the traditional sense on a line-by-line or chapter-by-chapter basis is not something she claims to strive for. Rather, she takes the verses of the Qur’an and undercovers thematic parallels and symmetries, spiritual harmonies with other figures in the Qur’an, and even numerical patterns between verses in a very original and insightful way that I really enjoyed reading. In more than one instance, she writes about ways in which the Qur’an situates the human-being within the larger realm of creation, linking gender and biology to other cosmological phenomena and finding connections between them, indicating the mark of a their shared createdness from a single, uncreated Creator. Connections between the physical and metaphysical aspects of existence are incredibly beautiful and important to reflect on, especially in our overly empirical and materialistic age. Understanding gender and sexuality themselves as something Divine, and therefore significant and ripe for reflection, pondering, and understanding is an important point to make when many people only see gender as a purely social construct, and sex as a biological one.
Many of the connections are stated plain in the Qur’an, but Dr. Ibrahim’s able to bring special attention to them and draw out thematic parallels and reflections due to her specific angle of questioning and her choice to comprehensively look at every mention of women and gender in the Qur’an. In doing so, she brings forward understandings and nuances that are easy to overlook, especially because of the non-linear structure of the Qur’an. She also approaches the Qur’an authoritatively and doesn’t try to “disprove” or “uncover” anything hidden; it’s a straightforward synthesis of what the text says, followed by her commentary on an aggregate level.
I found this book to be really beneficial and a great place for Muslims and non-Muslims alike who may be interested in the topic. The scope is fairly limited, and it doesn’t get into many legal issues, nor does she make authoritative claims on Islamic practice, which I think adds to the strength of the book, as it doesn’t read as something polemical or with an agenda.
January 9, 2021
This was a refreshing read in more ways than one. The style of writing and the organization of the themes were both very clear and easy to follow. I really loved the narrow focus. Could be "too narrow" for some, but it is not a study of historical events, hadith scholarship, or even jurisprudence. This book is a self-proclaimed, "female-centric" reading of the Quran and looks at female figures, their speech, their actions, how they relate to each other, how they converse with God and with people, and what sort of implications their representation has both within the text itself and for the reader, reciter, and listener.
Ibrahim even considers the speech of a female ant in the wake of Solomon's army, and creates a narrative parallel between this ant and the Queen of Sheba. She has some very novel observations that I loved reading about, and some clarifications about the certain verses that subvert dominant interpretations. Overall, a really great resource with an extensive list of references to secondary literature that can inspire further reading.
Obviously unable to cover EVERYTHING relating to women in the Quran, but I think it's definitely a good, focused, start in this sort of study.
Ibrahim even considers the speech of a female ant in the wake of Solomon's army, and creates a narrative parallel between this ant and the Queen of Sheba. She has some very novel observations that I loved reading about, and some clarifications about the certain verses that subvert dominant interpretations. Overall, a really great resource with an extensive list of references to secondary literature that can inspire further reading.
Obviously unable to cover EVERYTHING relating to women in the Quran, but I think it's definitely a good, focused, start in this sort of study.
July 11, 2021
The book started off great with a powerful introduction on female figures in the Quran and their agency but then turned out to be extremely disappointing with it's simplistic and reductive narratives of women mentioned in the Quran, completely stripped off of social and religious nuances throughout.
The writing was particularly frustrating as the author would start with a promising heading or sub heading but then would abruptly end without elaborating her point.
For a book that's written in 2020, it's pretty basic which I wouldn't have minded that much had it not been for some inaccuracies and misleading interpretations of certain Quranic incidents.
And although the title says, "Women and GENDER in the Quran", it has a rigid patriarchal hetero normative tone.
The writing was particularly frustrating as the author would start with a promising heading or sub heading but then would abruptly end without elaborating her point.
For a book that's written in 2020, it's pretty basic which I wouldn't have minded that much had it not been for some inaccuracies and misleading interpretations of certain Quranic incidents.
And although the title says, "Women and GENDER in the Quran", it has a rigid patriarchal hetero normative tone.
November 15, 2024
3.5 stars. A very informative introduction.
October 24, 2021
The absolute worst part of this book is she never mentions God as “He.” She only says God, repeatedly. I would avoid recommending this book to anyone purely for this reason.
At face-value, this is a good list of the mention of women in the Quran: when they are mentioned, speak, are spoken to/about, or are the reason for revelation of a specific verse. She also briefly explores the timeline of when the verses related to certain figures are revealed in relation to where the Prophet Mohammad pbuh was in his mission. She does a great job of highlighting the diversity of female characters and juxtapositions of different stories.
On sources:
I did not appreciate the unnecessarily difficult vocabulary. Or the way the multitude of footnotes were at the end of every chapter, making me have to flip a lot while reading. The footnotes alone tell a story, and seeing Amina Wadud and other “feminists” as a reference to this book made me recoil.
I also did not appreciate the way she uses only the Qur’an without the support of the hadith and sunnah in her thesis. I dont think that a lot of her interpretations are valid because of this limitation.
More on pronouns:
In many cases she argues that using the arabic pronoun “hunna” doesnt always refer to females, and sometimes refers to nufoos meaning soul/psyche so it could mean male or female and hence changes the entire meaning of the ayah, which to me is a reach and not sure what evidence she has for that. She also does the opposite, translating ruh to female when it more likely aligns to a non-gendered pronoun…the inconsistency drove me crazy and in the end I’m not sure what point she was trying to make, besides taking a stab at the so-called “patriarchal” interpretation of the Qur’an.
Just like it’s obnoxious when a man is touting his man-ness, this just feels like she’s touting her woman-ness. When there’s a his or her called for, she only uses her, as in “the perfect human being knows her duties.”
It’s wrong that she provides her own translation or interpretation of tafseer without any credibility or source in the matter. She decides to change words or pull at their roots to make them seem more gender inclusive without any reference or resource. She even goes so far to reject certain tafseers for her more favorable approach. This gets problematic when she rejects the consensus of tafseer on concepts like hur ul-een or uruban atraba, attempting to make them more gender-neutral when they are clearly feminine, or twisting them to vague interpretations of general youth instead of female descriptions.
Conclusion:
I would only recommend this book to someone who not only has a firm understanding of Islam and modernity, but is able to remain objective and question everything. As a woman, I would not recommend this book to any girl who doesn’t have the proper guidance or mentor to navigate the feminist approach to certain topics.
At face-value, this is a good list of the mention of women in the Quran: when they are mentioned, speak, are spoken to/about, or are the reason for revelation of a specific verse. She also briefly explores the timeline of when the verses related to certain figures are revealed in relation to where the Prophet Mohammad pbuh was in his mission. She does a great job of highlighting the diversity of female characters and juxtapositions of different stories.
On sources:
I did not appreciate the unnecessarily difficult vocabulary. Or the way the multitude of footnotes were at the end of every chapter, making me have to flip a lot while reading. The footnotes alone tell a story, and seeing Amina Wadud and other “feminists” as a reference to this book made me recoil.
I also did not appreciate the way she uses only the Qur’an without the support of the hadith and sunnah in her thesis. I dont think that a lot of her interpretations are valid because of this limitation.
More on pronouns:
In many cases she argues that using the arabic pronoun “hunna” doesnt always refer to females, and sometimes refers to nufoos meaning soul/psyche so it could mean male or female and hence changes the entire meaning of the ayah, which to me is a reach and not sure what evidence she has for that. She also does the opposite, translating ruh to female when it more likely aligns to a non-gendered pronoun…the inconsistency drove me crazy and in the end I’m not sure what point she was trying to make, besides taking a stab at the so-called “patriarchal” interpretation of the Qur’an.
Just like it’s obnoxious when a man is touting his man-ness, this just feels like she’s touting her woman-ness. When there’s a his or her called for, she only uses her, as in “the perfect human being knows her duties.”
It’s wrong that she provides her own translation or interpretation of tafseer without any credibility or source in the matter. She decides to change words or pull at their roots to make them seem more gender inclusive without any reference or resource. She even goes so far to reject certain tafseers for her more favorable approach. This gets problematic when she rejects the consensus of tafseer on concepts like hur ul-een or uruban atraba, attempting to make them more gender-neutral when they are clearly feminine, or twisting them to vague interpretations of general youth instead of female descriptions.
Conclusion:
I would only recommend this book to someone who not only has a firm understanding of Islam and modernity, but is able to remain objective and question everything. As a woman, I would not recommend this book to any girl who doesn’t have the proper guidance or mentor to navigate the feminist approach to certain topics.
July 15, 2021
I would like to believe that if one looks for ways out of a spiritual labyrinth, none of the apparently futile experiences are chance encounters. If you rest your anchor in a seemingly benevolent promise, the other felicity conditions will ensure that you unmask the facade while saying a resounding,” Alhamdulillah!”
There, I chose to use ‘futile’, ‘ apparently’, ‘seemingly’, and ‘to unmask’ to begin my review of Women and Gender in the Qur’an.
If I had read WAGITQ twenty years ago. I would have lost my footing as a believer in a possibility of a just and equitable world.
If I had read it even now but alone, this mambo jumbo of repetitive and circular arguments that underscored how 'women’ have gained a mention in the holy book as the only consolation needed and deserved by their collective existence...well, I could have lost faith in my processing of the content.
But blessed be the company of some individuals (the read-along participants with @sofia_reading on Instagram) who, with open hearts, tried to conceptualize the framework, and when there was no consistency found in the build-up of the narrative, still earnestly engaged with the text and became each other’s comfort zone to help dispel the effects of the weekly read portions.
Celene Ibrahim , with her Harvard and Princeton background,conversion to Islam in 2016 , and a published book in 2020 , comes across as a respected white female academican amongst the traditional Muslim school of thought . These are the same echelons that have considered Islamic Feminism as a pointless endeavor when “‘ Islam has given ALL the rights to women .“ If you can put two and two, and get four, then perhaps it can be understood why Ibrahim offered a reductionist assumption for the gender representation from the Qur’an and agreed with the mainstream cliches of a homogenous religious civilization. The poster author for the remnants of the colonial hangover : a white upper-class, Harvard - Princeton educated female convert, hijab clad, believing in a homogenous and heteronormative society .
The elaborately built-up narratives failed to acknowledge how and why their interpretation could help human and gender agency in the quest for social justice. Ibrahim’s book is a proponent of an internalized patriarchal dimension of Islam ,which does not recognize the marginalization and oppression ( justified in the name of this gendered reading of the Qur’an) that have been experienced by Muslim women across the world. Here is a book titled , Women and Gender in the Qur'an, which does not mention a single instance of patriarchal readings, interpretation and oppression of women throughout the Muslim history . How does a modern-day Muslim read it without doubting the integrity of the penmanship ?
I got reminded of the robust scholarship of the likes of Fatima Mernissi, Asma Barlas, Riffat Hassan, and Amina Wadud, who register their Muslim identity and their belief in gender equality with equal fervor and rigor, and the criticism and challenges their academic pursuits have endured. On the other hand, this legitimacy and reverence offered to Ibrahim became a litmus test for me to know how conveniently WAGITQ validates the steadfast conservative traditionalism.
When more than one revert individual from the session pronounced their disapproval of WAGINTQ with the comment that they may not have embraced Islam if they had read this work as the representation of women in the Qur’an.
This too, says it all!
November 16, 2022
Reading some of the reviews below I was really wondering who the intended audience of this book was. It wasn't traditional enough for the traditionalist and it wasn't reformed enough for the reformists. I think thats where most of the disagreement with this book stems from.
That being said, the author was explicit in her methodology, which is something I think is imperative in an academic work. Was she consistent with is? I think i'd have to read it one more time to figure that out. I know it would have been nice to include hadith discussion, but the book was focusing specifically on the Quranic narrative. Can the Quranic narrative even exist independent of the hadith literature? That's a whole different discussion, but I can at least appreciate the author being consistent for the most part. The author also clearly stated that the Quran mentions a gender binary and that was the framework that she would be using in her analysis. Applying the modern secular understanding of gender would not be true to the actual text of the Quran and would require more metaphorical analysis than I perceive the author was comfortable with.
This being an academic work, and with the author mentioning her influences from the likes of Kecia Ali and Farid Esack, she tread very carefully on certain topics. In the chapter on female sex and sexuality, the author described the Quranic language as it pertains to sex. She even mentioned the story of Lot which is thought to allude to male-male sex acts. The language surrounding that story would have fit well into this chapter in how the Quran mentions legitimate and illegitimate sex. It could open a discussion of the lack of female-female sex acts explicitly mentioned in thr Quran. My assumption is because of the authors allegiances she avoided the discussion and not because it was beyond the scope of the book as she said. Keeping with the secular academic framework, the author also avoid using the language "Allah says..." but rather goes with "the Quran says...", thus avoiding a discussion on the ontology of the Quran. This is understandable from a secular framework, but I wonder how difficult that must be for a practicing Muslim to adhere to. I would also inquire as to the implications that has on one's Interpretations of the verses. The author also uses some farfetched metaphors in her interpretation. Like the example of the moon being split asunder as the imagery of chromosomes being split. It's just hard for me to buy that. She also mentions that having children is not a a moral act according to the Quran... That seems to go against the Quranic narrative of seeking something good from the union between man and women.
Overall, the analysis that she brought about the variety of archetypes of female characters of the Quran was really insightful. The implication points to no one singular Quranic mandate on how women are meant to function in society, but are judged based on their taqwa just as men are. The juxtaposition of different female characters at opposite ends of the spectrum was very interesting. Would recommend this book to any Muslim who is interested in academia, but has traditional leanings. Going through it with a teacher is highly recommended.
Last point to mention, this book is a testament to the fact that it is very difficult to be balanced in secular academia of one has a traditional perspective. You won't be ablento make either party happy. Just goes to show allegiance should be to the Truth and not to a particular ideology in order to be authentic.
That being said, the author was explicit in her methodology, which is something I think is imperative in an academic work. Was she consistent with is? I think i'd have to read it one more time to figure that out. I know it would have been nice to include hadith discussion, but the book was focusing specifically on the Quranic narrative. Can the Quranic narrative even exist independent of the hadith literature? That's a whole different discussion, but I can at least appreciate the author being consistent for the most part. The author also clearly stated that the Quran mentions a gender binary and that was the framework that she would be using in her analysis. Applying the modern secular understanding of gender would not be true to the actual text of the Quran and would require more metaphorical analysis than I perceive the author was comfortable with.
This being an academic work, and with the author mentioning her influences from the likes of Kecia Ali and Farid Esack, she tread very carefully on certain topics. In the chapter on female sex and sexuality, the author described the Quranic language as it pertains to sex. She even mentioned the story of Lot which is thought to allude to male-male sex acts. The language surrounding that story would have fit well into this chapter in how the Quran mentions legitimate and illegitimate sex. It could open a discussion of the lack of female-female sex acts explicitly mentioned in thr Quran. My assumption is because of the authors allegiances she avoided the discussion and not because it was beyond the scope of the book as she said. Keeping with the secular academic framework, the author also avoid using the language "Allah says..." but rather goes with "the Quran says...", thus avoiding a discussion on the ontology of the Quran. This is understandable from a secular framework, but I wonder how difficult that must be for a practicing Muslim to adhere to. I would also inquire as to the implications that has on one's Interpretations of the verses. The author also uses some farfetched metaphors in her interpretation. Like the example of the moon being split asunder as the imagery of chromosomes being split. It's just hard for me to buy that. She also mentions that having children is not a a moral act according to the Quran... That seems to go against the Quranic narrative of seeking something good from the union between man and women.
Overall, the analysis that she brought about the variety of archetypes of female characters of the Quran was really insightful. The implication points to no one singular Quranic mandate on how women are meant to function in society, but are judged based on their taqwa just as men are. The juxtaposition of different female characters at opposite ends of the spectrum was very interesting. Would recommend this book to any Muslim who is interested in academia, but has traditional leanings. Going through it with a teacher is highly recommended.
Last point to mention, this book is a testament to the fact that it is very difficult to be balanced in secular academia of one has a traditional perspective. You won't be ablento make either party happy. Just goes to show allegiance should be to the Truth and not to a particular ideology in order to be authentic.
September 10, 2021
Celene Ibrahim’s Women and Gender in the Qurʾan is an impressive contribution to Islamic female scholarship and gender studies. Ibrahim’s work covers female figures in the Qur'an and centers women perspectives in her analysis of the Qur'anic stories. Among her findings is that there is no archetypal woman in the Qur'an and that there are various portrayals of women from positive to negative examplars. Ibrahim notes that the Qur'an provides different examples of women in order to construct a moral and ethical framework for its audience. "God hears women's grievances," she notes.
This comprehensive book explores key themes relating to female sexuality, women's speech, and exemplary women in the Qur'an. Divided into four chapters on female sexuality, female kinship, women speakers and Qur'anic female figures, the book also includes an excellent appendices on the sacred verses relating to female speech and female figures.
In the book's first chapter, "Female Sex and Female Sexuality," the author explores licit and illcit sex, sexual assault, sexual slander, heavenly pleasures, and sexual redemption pertaining to women. Her discussion and arguments on the hur al-ayn (women of Paradise), physical beauty, and heavenly sexual pleasure are not very compelling as there are numerous authentic hadiths explicitly describing sexual relations in Paradise. Like many Western academics, Islamic depictions of sex and sensuality seem to trouble Ibrahim in her intellectual struggle to reconcile female sensuality with spirituality.
Overall, the book is well-researched and deals with contemporary issues pertaining to women of faith. The author deserves much credit for writing such a commendable book to uplift modern day Muslim women. Scholarship should be responsive to contemporary issues, whether they be intellectual, social or spiritual. In this regard, Ibrahim has achieved a tremendous job speaking to Muslim women and secular academics alike. Interestingly, Ibrahim situates her work as “Muslima theology” rather than "feminist."
The book is a recommended read for every Muslim woman. Men should read it too.
This comprehensive book explores key themes relating to female sexuality, women's speech, and exemplary women in the Qur'an. Divided into four chapters on female sexuality, female kinship, women speakers and Qur'anic female figures, the book also includes an excellent appendices on the sacred verses relating to female speech and female figures.
In the book's first chapter, "Female Sex and Female Sexuality," the author explores licit and illcit sex, sexual assault, sexual slander, heavenly pleasures, and sexual redemption pertaining to women. Her discussion and arguments on the hur al-ayn (women of Paradise), physical beauty, and heavenly sexual pleasure are not very compelling as there are numerous authentic hadiths explicitly describing sexual relations in Paradise. Like many Western academics, Islamic depictions of sex and sensuality seem to trouble Ibrahim in her intellectual struggle to reconcile female sensuality with spirituality.
Overall, the book is well-researched and deals with contemporary issues pertaining to women of faith. The author deserves much credit for writing such a commendable book to uplift modern day Muslim women. Scholarship should be responsive to contemporary issues, whether they be intellectual, social or spiritual. In this regard, Ibrahim has achieved a tremendous job speaking to Muslim women and secular academics alike. Interestingly, Ibrahim situates her work as “Muslima theology” rather than "feminist."
The book is a recommended read for every Muslim woman. Men should read it too.
December 5, 2025
“Al-Rahman Al-Rahim” - The Most Merciful and Compassionate. Two of Allahs divine names. Every surah opens with this remark except one. One thing I took note of was the author pointing out the Arabic word for “womb”. “Womb”” is Rahim, or “wombs”- arham. This Arabic word has a strong connection to the word for mercy and compassion (Rahma), Allah SWT honours motherhood in the Quran through this specific linguistic approach. A mother’s womb will bleed and stretch for you, it is a womb of mercy and compassion.
The author pointed out many faults in interpretation that does NOT come from the Quran but from biblical sources.
In biblical scriptures Eve(Hawwa R.A) ate from the apple first and influenced Adam A.S to eat from it as well, causing the original sin. For centuries women were blamed for the original sin and have to suffer with childbirth as punishment. The final message of God rejects this patriarchal version used to blame women. In the Quran Allah states that both Adam and Hawwa (may Allah be pleased with them) were EQUALLY guilty for eating the forbidden fruit, and Adam was given a higher amount of responsibility as the man of the household. In the end, Adam and Hawwa repented to Allah, and Allah SWT forgave them.
Another example the author made was the idea that women were made from the rib of man. This has no source in Islamic tradition, only ONE Hadith compares women to a rib, but only in reference to treating women right. The Quran gives another perspective: We were created from ONE soul, and from that its partner(zawj). This reflects the equality of every soul, before we were appointed our genders and lives- we were all from One soul.
The author reflects the status of different female characters mentioned in the Quran. We can find all kinds of in the Quran and I think the author reflected well around this topic.
However one thing I found dragged the reading experience was the amount of notes at the end of each chapter, I find it unnecessary and too much having to go back and forth. All in all it’s a great book with good perspective however this is NOT a fiqh book and should not be used as though.
The author pointed out many faults in interpretation that does NOT come from the Quran but from biblical sources.
In biblical scriptures Eve(Hawwa R.A) ate from the apple first and influenced Adam A.S to eat from it as well, causing the original sin. For centuries women were blamed for the original sin and have to suffer with childbirth as punishment. The final message of God rejects this patriarchal version used to blame women. In the Quran Allah states that both Adam and Hawwa (may Allah be pleased with them) were EQUALLY guilty for eating the forbidden fruit, and Adam was given a higher amount of responsibility as the man of the household. In the end, Adam and Hawwa repented to Allah, and Allah SWT forgave them.
Another example the author made was the idea that women were made from the rib of man. This has no source in Islamic tradition, only ONE Hadith compares women to a rib, but only in reference to treating women right. The Quran gives another perspective: We were created from ONE soul, and from that its partner(zawj). This reflects the equality of every soul, before we were appointed our genders and lives- we were all from One soul.
The author reflects the status of different female characters mentioned in the Quran. We can find all kinds of in the Quran and I think the author reflected well around this topic.
However one thing I found dragged the reading experience was the amount of notes at the end of each chapter, I find it unnecessary and too much having to go back and forth. All in all it’s a great book with good perspective however this is NOT a fiqh book and should not be used as though.
August 29, 2023
This is a wonderful introductory book to understand the gender and women in Quran. Celene Ibrahim does an extensive research and analysis to beautifully represent the womanhood, roles and places of women mentioned in Quran.
However, I do not think she gives satisfactory answers to her very exciting research questions. The book does not go too far from description and does not shed light on complex issues thats has been discussed in our communities for decades. Dr. Ibrahim mentioned some of these issues but didn’t put her weight or even got deeper on the roots of the issue.
Secondly, although the book clearly centered around Quran, you can see the gap of Hadith. There are some places where she mentioned sources outside of Quran such as the Aisha’s event but some of the key arguments and confusions require more support to explain who said what and their reasoning.
Considering secular researchers’ arrogant courage to write about women and Islam, I expect more arguments, explanations, deeper analysis from Muslim scholars.
It is still a great resource to have available. I recommend everyone to read to get familiar to Quran and read about women from a woman’s perspective.
However, I do not think she gives satisfactory answers to her very exciting research questions. The book does not go too far from description and does not shed light on complex issues thats has been discussed in our communities for decades. Dr. Ibrahim mentioned some of these issues but didn’t put her weight or even got deeper on the roots of the issue.
Secondly, although the book clearly centered around Quran, you can see the gap of Hadith. There are some places where she mentioned sources outside of Quran such as the Aisha’s event but some of the key arguments and confusions require more support to explain who said what and their reasoning.
Considering secular researchers’ arrogant courage to write about women and Islam, I expect more arguments, explanations, deeper analysis from Muslim scholars.
It is still a great resource to have available. I recommend everyone to read to get familiar to Quran and read about women from a woman’s perspective.
April 29, 2021
brilliantly written with parable from the Quran to stand on.
June 9, 2023
Celene Ibrahim's book is a genuine effort to delve into the issues of women and gender in the Quran. It explores female figures in the Quran and the role of Prophet Mohammad's family, among other topics. If you're interested in Islamic studies and gender studies, this book is a must-read. However, if you're expecting a deep and groundbreaking analysis of gender roles in the Quran, it's more of an introductory book that covers the basics of female figures and women's roles.
Some people have criticized the book for not including references to hadiths or other resources from Islamic history. But considering the vastness of Islamic literature, it would have been impossible to address the topic fully in just 200 pages. Instead, the book focuses on analyzing the Quran as a text and exploring the roles of women within it.
One great aspect of the book is its wide bibliography, which provides additional resources for readers who want to explore the topic further.
Some people have criticized the book for not including references to hadiths or other resources from Islamic history. But considering the vastness of Islamic literature, it would have been impossible to address the topic fully in just 200 pages. Instead, the book focuses on analyzing the Quran as a text and exploring the roles of women within it.
One great aspect of the book is its wide bibliography, which provides additional resources for readers who want to explore the topic further.
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March 17, 2025This book was too much of a time dedication and mental exercise to not write something about it. My brain hurts but I am proud, no chatgbt here!!!
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