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No Truth Without Beauty: God, the Qur’an, and Women's Rights
In this comprehensive open access book, written for readers from any or no religious background, Leena El-Ali does something remarkable. Never before has anyone taken on every last claim relating to Islam and women and countered it not just with Qur’anic evidence to the contrary, but with easy-to-use tools available to all. How can a woman’s testimony be worth half of a man’s? How can men divorce their wives unilaterally by uttering three words? And what’s with the obsession with virgins in Paradise? Find the chapter on any of the seventeen topics in this book, and you will quickly learn a) where the myth came from and b) how to bust it.
The methodology pursued is simple. First, the Qur’an is given priority over all other literary or “scriptural” sources. Second, the meaning of its verses in the original Arabic is highlighted, in contrast to English translations and/or widespread misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
The methodology pursued is simple. First, the Qur’an is given priority over all other literary or “scriptural” sources. Second, the meaning of its verses in the original Arabic is highlighted, in contrast to English translations and/or widespread misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
- GenresIslamNonfiction
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 2, 2022
A COLLOSAL ENDEAVOUR INDEED!
This book has certainly done its job in getting one to “meet God half-way” as author Leena El-Ali puts it; it has led me to “[do my] bit and [make] the effort not just to read, recite or repeat- but to understand”.
For a while, I experienced a mixed feeling of guilty pleasure! There I was throughly reveling in someone else’s hard work, freeloading on all the diligence and toil that the author had carried out.
But the fact of the matter is I have been shown the way on how to actively make an effort to UNDERSTAND – to earnestly ponder the meaning of the verses of the Qur'an with careful thought and deliberation.
However, what is most astounding is perhaps the prospect that most of the misinterpretations stem from “the psycho-social baggage we have collectively inherited that starts from the premise that women were considered below par even by the Qur’an (which was obviously not the case)”. As I read the verses the author elaborates on again, I now unmistakably SEE how the patriarchal influence has affected people’s understanding of women’s rights in Islam.
The background information and the ease and clarity in which the text is written make this book a truly enjoyable read.
This book has certainly done its job in getting one to “meet God half-way” as author Leena El-Ali puts it; it has led me to “[do my] bit and [make] the effort not just to read, recite or repeat- but to understand”.
For a while, I experienced a mixed feeling of guilty pleasure! There I was throughly reveling in someone else’s hard work, freeloading on all the diligence and toil that the author had carried out.
But the fact of the matter is I have been shown the way on how to actively make an effort to UNDERSTAND – to earnestly ponder the meaning of the verses of the Qur'an with careful thought and deliberation.
However, what is most astounding is perhaps the prospect that most of the misinterpretations stem from “the psycho-social baggage we have collectively inherited that starts from the premise that women were considered below par even by the Qur’an (which was obviously not the case)”. As I read the verses the author elaborates on again, I now unmistakably SEE how the patriarchal influence has affected people’s understanding of women’s rights in Islam.
The background information and the ease and clarity in which the text is written make this book a truly enjoyable read.
May 22, 2022
A leap forward in promoting women’ rights!
Struggle for equality between genders is still on. Women, over the years, have been able to assert themselves and win back some of their rights from the world that had overly been dominated, since time primordial, by men’s priorities. In a patriarchal society, men have defined gender roles believing that women are ‘inherently weak and must have a status of subordination for a family’ sanctity and a society’ prosperity. Muslim societies are in particular accused of such inequality and subjugation of women that is said to be inspired by the very scripture they believe should drive each and every aspects of their lives. However the interesting thing is that the interpretation of the scripture, in this case Quran for Muslims, is almost always remained a domain exclusively reserved for Muslim men scholars.
However, I often wondered how would women define the meaning of it, especially of those verses relating to women’ role and status in a society! And then I happened to read this book by Leena’ El-Ali and a whole new world of meaning opened before me about the Quranic position on gender and women from a woman believer’ perspective with convincing arguments and credence. From that perspective Islam turns out to be the most progressive, liberal and just religion that maintains an ideal level of equality, fair play, justice, respect and dignity for both genders and indeed for whole humanity without any discrimination based on our perceptions of any gender incompatibility. The message I get from it is that the women are equal in all respects, as capable of doing anything, if not better, what men can do, have even more perseverance and courage than men, given the mistreatment and disadvantages they suffered historically and still came out clean with all pieces intact. Period!
I would like to thank Ms. Leena El-Ali for writing this beautiful treatise which is a leap forward in promoting women’ rights. I would recommend it to be widely discussed at all forums, educational, social and communal, in Muslim majority countries as well as in the Western world to continue learning and correcting our perceptions and behavior regarding gender and what Quran says about it.
Struggle for equality between genders is still on. Women, over the years, have been able to assert themselves and win back some of their rights from the world that had overly been dominated, since time primordial, by men’s priorities. In a patriarchal society, men have defined gender roles believing that women are ‘inherently weak and must have a status of subordination for a family’ sanctity and a society’ prosperity. Muslim societies are in particular accused of such inequality and subjugation of women that is said to be inspired by the very scripture they believe should drive each and every aspects of their lives. However the interesting thing is that the interpretation of the scripture, in this case Quran for Muslims, is almost always remained a domain exclusively reserved for Muslim men scholars.
However, I often wondered how would women define the meaning of it, especially of those verses relating to women’ role and status in a society! And then I happened to read this book by Leena’ El-Ali and a whole new world of meaning opened before me about the Quranic position on gender and women from a woman believer’ perspective with convincing arguments and credence. From that perspective Islam turns out to be the most progressive, liberal and just religion that maintains an ideal level of equality, fair play, justice, respect and dignity for both genders and indeed for whole humanity without any discrimination based on our perceptions of any gender incompatibility. The message I get from it is that the women are equal in all respects, as capable of doing anything, if not better, what men can do, have even more perseverance and courage than men, given the mistreatment and disadvantages they suffered historically and still came out clean with all pieces intact. Period!
I would like to thank Ms. Leena El-Ali for writing this beautiful treatise which is a leap forward in promoting women’ rights. I would recommend it to be widely discussed at all forums, educational, social and communal, in Muslim majority countries as well as in the Western world to continue learning and correcting our perceptions and behavior regarding gender and what Quran says about it.
September 25, 2025
having an open access paper comprehensively explaining the rights of women in Islam is rare yet extremely necessary in today's age of extremist conservative uprising, yet No Truth Without Beauty ends up piling on more dubious claims to an already volatile subject matter.
while there were some nuggets of knowledge sprinkled throughout this paper that Muslim laymen should take care to remember, particularly regarding the historical context behind certain rulings (verse 33:33 being specific to the Prophet S.A.W's wives yet they still actively participated in public life, 2:282 being specific to societal circumstances where women were not used to performing financial transactions, that in Pre-Islamic times it was custom for women to expose their breasts before 24:31 commanded them to draw their headcovers over them, that the marriages of the Prophet S.A.W were largely for political reasons, etc), and i had certainly appreciated the author mentioning the hidden wisdom behind certain rulings (the purpose of mahr, the prohibition of triple talaq, women being financially independent but not financially responsible for anyone, etc), i ultimately felt that her eyebrow-raising claims far outweighed the contextually-accurate evidence she presents as explanations for certain woman-related matters.
i had a feeling the author was going to reject a massive chunk of hadith corpus the second she brought the topic up in chapter two: i don't necessarily disagree with everything she says in that chapter (it in fact reminded me to pick up Jonathan Brown's book "misquoting Muhammad" after having it in my tbr for months), and she surprisingly accepts the importance of hadith instead of rejecting the entire science entirely like others, but she nevertheless fails to provide valid reasons for dismissing hadiths she considers "unfriendly to women". i don't know much about hadith discourse and the supposed questionable authenticity of most hadiths so i won't comment on that, what i do find strange however is that she continues to rely on hadith as evidence to support her claims. she says that hadith itself is controversial due to its dubious authenticity as part of her rationale to reject hadiths she deems misogynistic (bent rib hadith, women forming the majority of hell's inhabitants, marriage being half of faith, etc) yet she also cites hadiths that conveniently align with her personal notions of women liberation (the woman who gave back her husband's garden for a divorce, women attending the mosque, referencing As-Shifa bint Abdullah as governer over the marketplace despite some scholars considering this narration to be weak)? how is she sure that the latter hadiths are authentic and the former are weak or fabricated? some of the hadiths she cites are literally graded as weak on sunnah.com, she provides the reference for you to check and everything, which really baffled me. it's as if she picks and chooses hadiths out of whim instead of evidence.
i fully agree that hadiths should be interpreted within the lens of the Quran (and it is a tragedy that the Muslim community has done it the other way round), yet i do not see this as valid justification to throw away hadiths that at first glance seem to contradict the Quran's affirmation of gender equality when we can always look to the context of the hadith, the specific Arabic wording used to, or the guidance of scholars who explain it in a way that aligns with the Quran. the bent rib hadith does not imply women's inferiority or inherent flawed attributes, instead it teaches men that the worth of women is not dependent on their personal perceptions, thus they should accept women as they are instead of attempting to change (i.e. "straighten") her. the hadith mentioning women as the majority of Hell's inhabitants specifically refers to a group of women who are ungrateful and arrogant (as indicated by other hadiths and in ibn Hajar's fath al-bari). i don't even know why the author rejected the "marriage is half of faith" hadith when all it indicates is the importance of marriage and the great blessings it can come from (i felt it was clear that marriage was not literally half of faith since faith cannot be measured that way, it was just used as a literary device to symbolize the importance of marriage).
one of the more glaring issues that cemented the paper as following the (secular) liberal feminist methodology of interpreting Islamic texts was the author's declaration that the hijab was never mentioned in the Quran, hence hijab is not an obligation upon Muslim women. she justifies her opinion by bringing up the fact that the word "hijab" was never mentioned in reference to the headcover of Muslim women, yet this reasoning is already erronous because 1. using "hijab" to mean headcover is a relatively recent term so the Quran and earlier scholars obviously won't use it to refer to the veil and 2. she conveniently skims over the word khumur in the verse 24:31 in which Allah commands women to "draw their khumur over their chests", and the word "khumur" literally means headcover... so why did she only limit her explanation of the verse to mean that women must only cover their chests instead of also including that women should cover their heads as well? she accepts that Islam commands women to cover their breasts yet makes no mention of the khumur as being transformed from a custom to a religious ruling? perhaps this is the most blatant case of the author picking and choosing what to include as "Islamic" and what to exclude, since it would've been easiest to accept the entirety of the verse that commands women to keep their khumur on as they also cover their breasts.
all in all, this paper was rife with disputable claims and blatant misinterpretations that go against the consensus of the scholars (even the earliest ones) and even her own methodology of casting suspicion on hadiths, with a few gems of actually accurate and useful knowledge scattered throughout. this paper is similar to all those other works from progressive Muslim liberal feminists who seek to reinterpret the entire Quran through a lens that prioritizes their own internalized Western feminist values instead of acknowledging that, although Islamic scholarship is not faultless, it is far from their portrayal of the field as exclusively male-dominated and thereby inherently misogynistic.
while there were some nuggets of knowledge sprinkled throughout this paper that Muslim laymen should take care to remember, particularly regarding the historical context behind certain rulings (verse 33:33 being specific to the Prophet S.A.W's wives yet they still actively participated in public life, 2:282 being specific to societal circumstances where women were not used to performing financial transactions, that in Pre-Islamic times it was custom for women to expose their breasts before 24:31 commanded them to draw their headcovers over them, that the marriages of the Prophet S.A.W were largely for political reasons, etc), and i had certainly appreciated the author mentioning the hidden wisdom behind certain rulings (the purpose of mahr, the prohibition of triple talaq, women being financially independent but not financially responsible for anyone, etc), i ultimately felt that her eyebrow-raising claims far outweighed the contextually-accurate evidence she presents as explanations for certain woman-related matters.
i had a feeling the author was going to reject a massive chunk of hadith corpus the second she brought the topic up in chapter two: i don't necessarily disagree with everything she says in that chapter (it in fact reminded me to pick up Jonathan Brown's book "misquoting Muhammad" after having it in my tbr for months), and she surprisingly accepts the importance of hadith instead of rejecting the entire science entirely like others, but she nevertheless fails to provide valid reasons for dismissing hadiths she considers "unfriendly to women". i don't know much about hadith discourse and the supposed questionable authenticity of most hadiths so i won't comment on that, what i do find strange however is that she continues to rely on hadith as evidence to support her claims. she says that hadith itself is controversial due to its dubious authenticity as part of her rationale to reject hadiths she deems misogynistic (bent rib hadith, women forming the majority of hell's inhabitants, marriage being half of faith, etc) yet she also cites hadiths that conveniently align with her personal notions of women liberation (the woman who gave back her husband's garden for a divorce, women attending the mosque, referencing As-Shifa bint Abdullah as governer over the marketplace despite some scholars considering this narration to be weak)? how is she sure that the latter hadiths are authentic and the former are weak or fabricated? some of the hadiths she cites are literally graded as weak on sunnah.com, she provides the reference for you to check and everything, which really baffled me. it's as if she picks and chooses hadiths out of whim instead of evidence.
i fully agree that hadiths should be interpreted within the lens of the Quran (and it is a tragedy that the Muslim community has done it the other way round), yet i do not see this as valid justification to throw away hadiths that at first glance seem to contradict the Quran's affirmation of gender equality when we can always look to the context of the hadith, the specific Arabic wording used to, or the guidance of scholars who explain it in a way that aligns with the Quran. the bent rib hadith does not imply women's inferiority or inherent flawed attributes, instead it teaches men that the worth of women is not dependent on their personal perceptions, thus they should accept women as they are instead of attempting to change (i.e. "straighten") her. the hadith mentioning women as the majority of Hell's inhabitants specifically refers to a group of women who are ungrateful and arrogant (as indicated by other hadiths and in ibn Hajar's fath al-bari). i don't even know why the author rejected the "marriage is half of faith" hadith when all it indicates is the importance of marriage and the great blessings it can come from (i felt it was clear that marriage was not literally half of faith since faith cannot be measured that way, it was just used as a literary device to symbolize the importance of marriage).
one of the more glaring issues that cemented the paper as following the (secular) liberal feminist methodology of interpreting Islamic texts was the author's declaration that the hijab was never mentioned in the Quran, hence hijab is not an obligation upon Muslim women. she justifies her opinion by bringing up the fact that the word "hijab" was never mentioned in reference to the headcover of Muslim women, yet this reasoning is already erronous because 1. using "hijab" to mean headcover is a relatively recent term so the Quran and earlier scholars obviously won't use it to refer to the veil and 2. she conveniently skims over the word khumur in the verse 24:31 in which Allah commands women to "draw their khumur over their chests", and the word "khumur" literally means headcover... so why did she only limit her explanation of the verse to mean that women must only cover their chests instead of also including that women should cover their heads as well? she accepts that Islam commands women to cover their breasts yet makes no mention of the khumur as being transformed from a custom to a religious ruling? perhaps this is the most blatant case of the author picking and choosing what to include as "Islamic" and what to exclude, since it would've been easiest to accept the entirety of the verse that commands women to keep their khumur on as they also cover their breasts.
all in all, this paper was rife with disputable claims and blatant misinterpretations that go against the consensus of the scholars (even the earliest ones) and even her own methodology of casting suspicion on hadiths, with a few gems of actually accurate and useful knowledge scattered throughout. this paper is similar to all those other works from progressive Muslim liberal feminists who seek to reinterpret the entire Quran through a lens that prioritizes their own internalized Western feminist values instead of acknowledging that, although Islamic scholarship is not faultless, it is far from their portrayal of the field as exclusively male-dominated and thereby inherently misogynistic.
April 12, 2022
Leena’s clear and straightforward writing requires no religious background to be fully understood and critically analyzed. She delicately invites us to enjoy the process of interpreting what muslims define as Islamic and what the essential messages of the Quran are. One thing that made me enchanted about her work is the way she weaves the events and ideas related to the very birth of the Quran and their connection to the ideals and practices we see today. This book takes us on a journey throughout the Quranic verses so that we can check their messages and compare them to the (mis) conceptions about the female being in this world. The author demonstrates the extent to which the Prophet himself faced resistance to his “extraordinarily emancipatory agenda with regard to women”, which shows that the path towards equality is a hard one even when the direct word of God urged humanity to be fair and balanced. That’s why we are urged to critically listen to the voice emanated by the Quran. Leena opens the gates for the reader to explore the very words of the Quran as she adds tools for logical thinking, and, eventually for expanding our perceptions on gender. This book is basically about the cornerstone for equality and the paths towards it. It is a reminder that the very core of the Quran dwells in human rights.
August 17, 2022
This is an exceptional book on Islam and Women. The author Leena El-Ali has analyzed the difficult issues resulting from patriachal viewpoints and presented her arguments with great clarity, transparency and honesty. Some people may not agree with her analysis; however she has successfully placed her arguments on the issues that can be discussed and debated, and surely cannot be rejected outright.
Many of the interpretations presentent in the book have been eye-openers to me. I can confidently say, as the author wrote in the Preface, ‘the book has served as a bridge between scholarly works and the average reader who may not have the time, inclination or ability to read these books directly, yet feels the need for answers.’
I greatly appreciate Leena El-Ali’s noble intention to spread the message to the millions of Muslims around the world by making the electronic version of the book free. I hope this will make a much-needed impact in getting rid of many common misconceptions in the society about women issues in Islam.
Many of the interpretations presentent in the book have been eye-openers to me. I can confidently say, as the author wrote in the Preface, ‘the book has served as a bridge between scholarly works and the average reader who may not have the time, inclination or ability to read these books directly, yet feels the need for answers.’
I greatly appreciate Leena El-Ali’s noble intention to spread the message to the millions of Muslims around the world by making the electronic version of the book free. I hope this will make a much-needed impact in getting rid of many common misconceptions in the society about women issues in Islam.
April 7, 2025
This book is an insightful and thought-provoking exploration of the roles of women in Islam. It dives deep into various Quranic verses that are often misunderstood or misinterpreted, offering clarity and a fresh perspective. The author does a remarkable job of presenting complex concepts in a way that is accessible to all readers, making it a great resource for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
The way the book addresses the role of women in Islam, while also unpacking the confusing Quranic verses, is both enlightening and empowering. It encourages deeper reflection on the true meaning behind these verses and offers a more nuanced understanding of women’s place in the faith. This is a must-read for anyone looking to better understand Islamic teachings about women and to clear up misconceptions surrounding the Quran.
The way the book addresses the role of women in Islam, while also unpacking the confusing Quranic verses, is both enlightening and empowering. It encourages deeper reflection on the true meaning behind these verses and offers a more nuanced understanding of women’s place in the faith. This is a must-read for anyone looking to better understand Islamic teachings about women and to clear up misconceptions surrounding the Quran.
August 2, 2022
Remarkable, brilliant and highly informative. Leena clarifies and puts to rest all the misconceptions about women's rights (lack of) in Islam. Her method of connecting the dots in laying open the Quranic verses and making the case, is brilliant. She has upturned centuries of misogynistic and patriarchal interpretation of the Quran. It took a woman to unearth the rights of women and display them in the light of the Quran. Thank you Leena, for writing this book.
March 12, 2024
A controversial and deep read book about women in Islam.
A must read for everyone to understand the complex beauty of religion.
A must read for everyone to understand the complex beauty of religion.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews