Abstract

Abstract How to approach the Qurʾan to say ‘no’ to Q.4:34? This article explores the question by analyzing and evaluating the approaches to the Qurʾan by Muslim feminists and the Sudanese Sufi scholar, Mahmoud Muhammad Taha (d. 1985). The article argues that Taha’s hermeneutical approach to the Qurʾan which categorizes the ethical verses in the Qurʾan as universal and the legal verses in the Qurʾan as historical, provides a coherent framework for saying ‘no’ to this verse. On the other hand, Muslim feminists, such as Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas and Riffat Hassan, approach the Qurʾan by way of reinterpreting those verses in the Qurʾan which have a literal meaning reflecting gender inequality. These feminists reinterpret these verses considering the overall ethical worldview of the Qur’an and the ethical verses which contain notions of equality and justice. However, in the reinterpretation of these verses considering the ethical worldview, these feminists, in our view, rather end up misinterpreting the Qurʾan.

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