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. Cover 1 Women and Gender in the Qur’an 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 18 Notes on Transliteration and Translation 20 Abbreviations 24 Introduction 28 Bearing Revelation 28 Women and Girls in Qur’anic Narratives 29 From Adam’s Spouse (Ḥawwāʾ) to Heavenly Companions (Ḥūrīs) 30 Women Personalities in Islamic Sacred History 32 Deciphering Qur’anic Narratives 33 The Tentative Mufassira 35 Power and Privilege in “Qur’anic Studies” 36 Muslima Theology and Feminist Qur’anic Exegesis 37 1. Female Sex and Sexuality 46 Sex and Telos 47 Recognizing Anatomical Difference 52 Qur’anic Depictions of Intercourse 53 Qur’anic Terms for Spouses 54 Regulating Sexuality and Licit Partnerships 56 Guarding against Illicit Sexual Desire 57 Vice, Virtue, and the Viceroy’s Wife 58 Negotiating Marriage Arrangements 59 A Marriage Made in Heaven 60 Sexual Slander 61 Sexual Assault 62 Sexual Misconduct, Advocacy, and Redemption 64 Beauty: Virtue, Not Aesthetics 66 Otherworldly Sexualities 67 Sex, Gender, and Angelic Beings 67 Ethereal Creations and Virginity in an Eternal Abode 68 Sexed Bodies and Sexual Pleasure in Paradise 69 Sexual Difference, Sexual Intercourse, and Regulating Desire 73 2. Female Kin, Procreation, and Parenting 90 God and Procreation 91 Family in Life, Death, and Eternity 93 Guidance for Parents and Caregivers 95 Gendered Dimensions of Child–​Parent Relations 97 Motherhood in Qur’anic Metaphors 99 Forebears in Qur’anic Narratives 100 Jesus’s Grandmother and Other Qur’anic Matriarchs 101 Additional Positive Depictions of Mother Figures 102 Parenting and Piety in Qur’anic Narratives 103 Additional Narratives of Parental Negligence 104 Father–​Daughter Relations in Qur’anic Narratives 105 Foster Mothers and Foster Daughters 108 Sister Figures in Qur’anic Narratives 109 The Womb and Beyond 112 3. Women Speakers and Interlocutors 122 Queenly Speech and Exemplary Leadership 122 The Secret Cries 125 God’s Revelations to a Woman 128 God Hears Women’s Grievances 130 God Recognizes Women’s Piety 132 God Speaks to the First Woman 133 Endemic Chauvinism and Female Speech 135 God Addresses the Women of the Prophet Muḥammad’s Family 136 Damned Women 141 Lying Speech from a Woman 143 Affective Dimensions of Female Speech 144 The Words of Women 145 4. Women Exemplars for an Emerging Polity 154 Early Negative Female Exemplars 155 Persecution of Prophetic Families 156 Women Figures Incurring God’s Wrath 157 The Regal Proselyte 158 An Abrahamic Polity, from Mecca to Medina 159 Kindred Prophetic Missions 160 “Chosenness” and Continuity 161 Women, Law, and Polity 163 Not Your Mother’s Back 163 A Test of Loyalty: “When the Believing Women Come” (Q 60:10) 164 Punishments for Slandering Upright Women 165 The Qur’an and the Female Presence 166 Conclusion 172 Women and Girls in the Stories of Revelation 173 Qur’anic Stories in a Gendered Social World 174 Future Directions 175 Appendices 178 Bibliography 196 Index of People and Places 214 Index of Qur’an Citations 218 Index of Subjects and Terms 224 "Female figures play pivotal roles in narratives of Islamic sacred history, and the Qur'an celebrates the aptitudes and competencies of many such figures in the realms of spirituality and piety, in political maneuvering, and in family relations. Some women figures use their agency in morally corrupt ways; however, the Qur'an presents many more examples of pious women, including those who birth, protect, guide, and inspire prophets. This book outlines how female figures-old, young, barren, fertile, chaste, profligate, saintly, and reproachable-enter Islamic sacred history and advance the Qur'an's overarching didactic aims. The analysis considers all the major and minor female figures referenced in the Qur'an, including those who appear in narratives of sacred history, in parables, in verses that allude to events contemporaneous with the Qur'an, and in descriptions of the eternal abode. Hundreds of Qur'anic verses pertain to women and girl figures. Female personalities appear in the Qur'anic accounts of human origins, in stories of the founding and destruction of nations, and in narratives of conquest, filial devotion, romantic attraction, and more. This work gives attention to these wide-ranging depictions and to themes related to sexual relations, kinship relations, divine-human relationships, female embodiment, and women's social roles. Analysis focuses on lexical features of the Qur'an, intra-textual resonances, and thematic juxtapositions. The book explores Qur'anic dictates involving gender relations and highlights female spiritual competencies"-- Provided by publisher 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. Stories related to gendered social relations permeate the Qur'an, and nearly three hundred verses involve specific women or girls. These stories weave together theology and ethics to reinforce central Qur'anic ideas regarding submission to God and moral accountability. This volume 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