Abstract
Ayatollah Yusef Sanei was a prominent contemporary Shia scholar whose particular methodological approach led him to issue some of the most progressive Shia fatwas on the subject of women’s rights. However, the ideas he expressed in the last decades of his life have scarcely been addressed in the English language scholarship. This article explores Sanei’s broader jurisprudential approach and how he applied it to analyzing and often challenging traditional Shia rulings related to gender issues. The article first differentiates Sanei’s approach towards jurisprudence from established methodologies, particularly in relation to his consideration of the Sunna as secondary to the Qurʾān, his rejection of the practice of using consensus as an independent basis of legal rulings, his idea that Sharia rulings may change over time, and his strong emphasis on the Qurʾān’s messages of justice and human dignity. The article illuminates how this combination led Sanei to challenge traditional ideas about men’s authority over women, a fixed socio-political role for women, and men’s superiority in the areas of divorce rights, testimony and worth in blood money (dīya), while concurring with earlier scholars on the unequal division of inheritance. Notwithstanding this latter exception, the article demonstrates that Sanei drew upon jurisprudential approaches in arguing in favor of equality between men and women in many areas.
Highlights
IntroductionAyatollah Yusuf Sanei (d.2020) was a pro-reform Iranian cleric and a source of emulation (marja taqlıd)
Ayatollah Yusef Sanei was a prominent contemporary Shia scholar whose particular methodological approach led him to issue some of the most progressive Shia fatwas on the subject of women’s rights
Sharia rulings may change over time, and his strong emphasis on the Qur ān’s messages of justice and human dignity
Summary
Ayatollah Yusuf Sanei (d.2020) was a pro-reform Iranian cleric and a source of emulation (marja taqlıd). Drawing on a rich array of primary source material in Persian, including Sanei’s books, articles, and interviews, this article explores his ideas about women’s rights. Sanei’s ideas pertaining to women’s rights to those of classical Shia scholars as well as selected contemporary traditionalist Shia clerics such as Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Gerami to demonstrate how Sanei, as a reformist Shia scholar, distanced himself from their rulings. The article demonstrates that Sanei used jurisprudential approaches to argue in favor of equality between men and women in all these areas except inheritance. While some Iranian feminist scholars such as Haideh Moghissi and Farideh Farhi may find aspects of Sanei’s ideas—such as those pertaining to hijab and segregation between men and women as well as rulings on inheritance—problematic, Sanei’s ideas, as this article demonstrates, are progressive, especially when considered in comparison to traditionalist Shia clerics.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
