Gender and Succession in Medieval and Early Modern Islam: Bilateral Descent and the Legacy of Fatima

Abstract

Alyssa Gabbay’s new book consists of both descriptive and prescriptive research that analyzes the examples of bilateral descent in the medieval and early modern Islamic world (3). Aside from exemplifying three manifestations of bilateral descent, the book emphasizes Fatima as a possessor of female agency and an impressive precedent for recognizing bilateral descent in Sunni and Shiʿi societies.Alongside the introduction and the epilogue, the volume is organized into three main parts, each comprising two chapters. Gabbay’s study first examines the Sunni and Shiʿi texts belonging to Islam’s high textual tradition, including hadith collections, Qurʾan commentaries, and histories, while depicting Fatima fulfilling each function. The book continues with the questions of how other women fulfilled these functions in medieval and premodern Islamic societies (6). In her exploratory survey, Gabbay uses various other sources, such as biographical dictionaries, historical chronicles, endowment deeds, and poetry related to dynasties and empires (the Byzantine, Sassanid, Fatimid, Mughal, and Ottoman).The book’s first part, “Mothers,” conceptually explains how women can transmit their lineage to their children as men do. Reflecting on the concept of lineage, the first chapter deals with the diversity of medieval views and approaches to it. The chapter particularly focuses on the portrayals of Shiʿi images of Fatima as radiant and chaste, a source of her father’s progeny, and a carrier of her father’s characteristics, which can be aligned with the idea of the lineage transmitted by both mother and father. Associating these concepts with pre-Islamic examples and the ones of Mary and Jesus, Gabbay argues that motherhood and femininity discourses are key to the legitimacy of succession and sovereignty. In connection with the previous one, the second chapter illustrates the acceptance of bilateral descent in the writings of Muslim religious scholars, historians, and poets from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. It displays prominent noblewomen’s cases as conveyors of their lineage and charisma and asserts that men also associate their ancestry with their mothers.The second part, “Heiresses,” deals with inheritance as another significant aspect of bilateral descent. This part focuses on the idea that women can inherit blood and property from their families of origin. In this way, they can hold, pass on, and secure a certain degree of economic autonomy, stature, and agency both for themselves and for their offspring. Following this line of thought, in the third chapter, Gabbay fleshes out Fatima’s claim regarding Fadak, in the example of which she emphasizes Fatima as an impetus for Shiʿi inheritance practices. Moreover, Gabbay interprets Fatima’s khutbah as a protofeminist text, in which she appears as the one who stands for her own stature and the other females’ rights. The fourth chapter sheds light on the cases of women’s waqf (trust) activities, particularly with regard to noblewomen in the premodern Middle East and Central Asia. Herein Gabbay unearths how people manipulated legal institutions to take advantage of their descendants, particularly in the case of daughters, to seek an opportunity for influence, authority, and esteem. As Gabbay claims, through these practices women created a semimatrilineal inheritance system by which wealth and authority were shared through female-centered lines (104). These traditions increased women’s control over properties, made them independent legal actors, and ensured that their image was associated with piety and generosity in the public’s eyes.The book’s third part, “Successors,” analyzes the notion of women’s participation in politics and statecraft. By reconstructing available sources in the first chapter, Gabbay shows examples where daughters can replace their fathers as authority figures. In that regard, she addresses the daughters’ continuation of their fathers’ missions of leading their respective communities. In the subsequent chapter Fatima overcomes the roles that perpetuate “traditional” feminine traits, such as being a chaste, obedient, and devoted wife and mother, by coming into prominence as an outspoken activist, leader, and political authority. Later in this chapter Gabbay focuses on Iran, Byzantine, and pre-Islamic Arabia and demonstrates female succession in pre-Islamic practices. The book’s last chapter delineates the activities and portrayals of women replacing their fathers or other male members of the family in premodern Islamic societies. Herein, as in the other parts, Fatima’s spiritual and temporal leadership traits are embodied in these women. As Gabbay states, historical accounts and poems approve of kinship, female intelligence, and leadership skills and combine these qualities with chastity. Women’s sovereignty is justified through this fusion and acceptance as far as the succession matter is concerned. Gabbay also illustrates the flexibility of gender conceptions in the case of exceptional women rulers. In her concluding remarks she sheds light on present-day reflections of bilateral descent while referring to the charismatic attributes of contemporary women leaders.In her book Gabbay presents and analyzes several alternative aspects of patriarchal narratives. Despite the academic challenges of a vast and fractured geographic area and period, she formulates her analysis using multiple religious, historical, literal, and economic sources. Given the book’s structure, its parts link to one another through overlapping arguments and commentaries, all in conjunction with a broad range of personal and social information. However, the book falls short of conveying the reflections of bilateral descent in the case of nonnoble women.One significant aspect of this book is Gabbay’s ability to reread and reevaluate the symbolism of texts in favor of affirmative representations of Fatima and other women as agents, effective characters, activists, and charismatic leaders rather than weak, passive, and incompetent women. Another quality of the work rests in Gabbay’s ability to readdress centuries-old social problems from an academic perspective and seek to offer possible solutions for more egalitarianism and changes for the advancement of the situation of women in contemporary societies. The didactic nature of the book, which makes it important for contemporary Islamic societies, also deserves mention.Gabbay’s research represents a valuable contribution to gender studies, including thought-provoking discussions on essential issues within the field. Furthermore, she does an excellent job of presenting the theme with ease even to nonspecialists. The book represents a much-needed informative and engaging reading for students, researchers, or those who wish to gain awareness about various aspects of gender and Islamic studies.