Women As Imams Classical Islamic Sources and Modern Debates on Leading Prayer : Classical Islamic Sources and Modern Debates on Leading Prayer

"There is a long and rich history of opinion centred on female prayer leadership in Islam that has occupied the minds of theologians and jurists alike. It includes outright prohibition, dislike, permissibility under certain conditions and, although rarely, unrestricted sanction, or even endorsement. This book discusses debates drawn from scholars of the formative period of Islam who engaged with the issue of female prayer leadership. Simonetta Calderini critically analyses their arguments, puts them into their historical context, and, for the first time, tracks down how they have informed current views on female imama (prayer leadership). In presenting the variety of opinions discussed in the past by Sunni and Shi'i scholars, and some of the Sufis among them, the book uncovers how they are, at present, being used selectively, depending on modern agendas and biases. It also reviews the roles and types of authority of current women imams in diverse contexts spanning from Asia, Africa and Europe to America. The research offers readers the opportunity to gain nuanced answers to the question of female imama today that may lead to informed discussions and to change, if not necessarily in practices then at the very least in attitudes. This ground-breaking book interrogates the cases of women who are reported to have led prayer in the past. It then analyses the voices of current women imams, many of whom engage with those women of the past to validate their own roles in the present and so pave the way for the future."-- Provided by publisher There is a long and rich history of opinion centred on female prayer leadership in Islam that has occupied the minds of theologians and jurists alike. It includes outright prohibition, dislike, permissibility under certain conditions and, although rarely, unrestricted sanction, or even endorsement. This book discusses debates drawn from scholars of the formative period of Islam who engaged with the issue of female prayer leadership. Simonetta Calderini critically analyses their arguments, puts them into their historical context, and, for the first time, tracks down how they have informed current views on female imama (prayer leadership). In presenting the variety of opinions discussed in the past by Sunni and Shi'i scholars, and some of the Sufis among them, the book uncovers how they are, at present, being used selectively, depending on modern agendas and biases. It also reviews the roles and types of authority of current women imams in diverse contexts spanning from Asia, Africa and Europe to America. The research offers readers the opportunity to gain nuanced. The answers to the question of female imama today that may lead to informed discussions and to change, if not necessarily in practices then at the very least in attitudes. This ground-breaking book interrogates the cases of women who are reported to have led prayer in the past. It then analyses the voices of current women imams, many of whom engage with those women of the past to validate their own roles in the present and so pave the way for the future Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Title page 4 Coppyright page 5 Dedication 6 CONTENTS 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10 PROLOGUE 12 INTRODUCTION 14 Preliminaries 14 Issues and aims 18 Methodology, theoretical framework 21 The sources and state of studies 24 The structure of the book 28 Notes 30 Part I THE PAST 34 Chapter 1 PRAYER LEADERSHIP, IMAMS AND WOMEN: DEFINING THE CONTEXTS AND SETTING THE I SSUES 36 Introduction 36 Prayer and women: Purity and leadership 37 The imam as prayer leader 44 Conclusion 55 Notes 55 Chapter 2 CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS: WOMEN LEADING WOMEN 64 Setting the narrative context: Umm Salama 64 Hadiths on female prayer leadership and Sunni jurisprudence 75 Shi‘i positions on female imama of women: Identity, shared issues and esoteric interpretations 90 Conclusion 96 Notes 100 Chapter 3 CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS: WOMEN LEADING MEN 110 Setting the context 110 Women as prayer leaders of men: Umm Waraqa and Ghazala 112 Legal arguments on women leading men in prayer 129 Ibn al-‘Arabi and female imama 135 Conclusion 137 Notes 140 Part II THE PRESENT 148 Chapter 4 PRESENT DEBATES AND PRACTICES 150 Introduction 150 Some current cases of women imams of women 153 Some current cases of women imams of mixed congregations 172 Contemporary arguments and debates on female imams of men 178 Uses of the past in contemporary debates 184 Conclusion 188 Notes 192 CONCLUSION 204 Notes 209 GLOSSARY 210 BIBLIOGRAPHY 214 INDEX 234 Acknowledgements -- Prologue -- Introduction -- PART ONE: THE PAST -- Chapter 1: Prayer leadership, imams and women: defining the contexts and setting the issues -- Prayer and women: purity and leadership -- The imam as prayer leader -- Chapter 2: Women leading women -- Setting the narrative context (Umm Salama) -- The Hadiths on female prayer leadership in Sunni jurisprudence -- Shi'i positions on female imama of women: identity, shared issues and esoteric interpretations. -- Chapter 3: Women leading men -- Women as leaders of men (Umm Waraqa and Ghazala) -- Legal arguments on women leading men -- Ibn al-'Arabi and female imama -- PART TWO: THE PRESENT -- Chapter 4: Present debates and Practices -- Some current cases of women imams of women and of men -- Contemporary arguments and debates on female imams of men -- Uses of the past in contemporary debates -- Conclusion -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index