550 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 10:4 · Book Review Four Works on Women in Islam Al Mar'ah al Muslimah fi Tunis bayna Tawflhat al Qur'an wa Waqi' al Mujtama' al Tiinisi By Rashid al Ghanii.shE Kuwait: Dar al Qalam, 1988. This book is a penetrating study of several of the Qur'anic verses and hadiths used to construct and justify a "skewed" understanding of femi­ ninity: "He created you from a single soul, and then He created from it/like-nature its mate" (4: l); " ... mighty is your snare" (12:27); "Fair in the eyes of men/people is the love of things they covet: women and sons ... " (3:14); the concept of shahawiit (earthly desires); and the hadith "she was created from a rib." The disc�on is based on a close reading of several tafiisfr. One no­ tices immediately that many of these sources dignify women and do not advocate the conventional view prevaling in contemporary Muslim so­ cieties. The book makes no apology to any author or source that presents a stereotypical view of women; instead, it criticizes their methodology on the ground that they followed the traditions of the Bible and the Jews. In the second section, the discussion departs from a direct analysis of texts to elaborate on an Islamic typology of modem Muslim women. The author, now writing as an activist, no longer argues with others, but is concerned with getting his own understanding across. Therefore he is not concerned with nonnative understanding, but rather seeks the best Islamic judgment, within the context of present circumstances and world culture, Book Reviews 55 1 on this issue. The book is totally progressive, straight to the point, and does not make compromises to please traditionalists. Al Mar'ah bayna Ta'lim al Din wa Taqiiiid al Mujtama' B y Hasan a1 Turdbl: Jeddah: a1 Ddr al Sa'tidijd li al Nashr wa T a w - , 1984. This transcribed speech evokes a picture of a Society in which men and women act corporately to build a sound Islamic environment. The au- thor uses hadith and Islamic concepts to construct this vision. The book's methodology is not text-based, with the result that hadiths and verses are cited without any mention of previous analysis or argument on legal rul- ings deduced from them. Rather, it cites them within a Social context and as highlights in an expansive vision of women's tole. The booklet shows that women lived "normally" and without rigidity in the Prophet's society. Al Mar'ah bayna al TaqiiLd al Rikidah wa al Wididah B y Muhammad a1 Ghazrilr: Kuwait: Ddr a1 Shurtiq, 1990. This is one of two nxent books by a1 G M i which Arabic-speaking Islamists frequently use as a litmus test for the question: "Do you agree with his books on Surmah and women?" The book is divided into four parts: a) a discussion of general Islamic concepts advocating O ~ ~ M ~ S S and a holistic vision when it comes to for- mulating a general undetstanding of Islam. He decries reductionism and litemlists and criticizes severely some legal opinions on social life and women; b) the high status and achievements of Muslim women in history and how these prior accomplishments connect them with modem life. The idea that there is ample space in the Islamic heritage for women to emu- late what has gone before, but that Muslims in general are now hung up on some outdated opinions, is stated indirectly; c) an analysis of family life at home and relationships, which draws a picture of a modem moral Islamic social environmenc and, perhaps the most contmversial, d) "Con- cepts to Be Corrected," in which he disc- critical concepts in the area of gender relations, such as qawimah (ultimate tesponsibility for the family), covering the face, wife beating, divorce, attending mosques, pub- lic participation, women heads of state, women's dtess, and other husband-wife relations. He presents expansive opinions in these mattes and disregards those that he feels are unworthy of discussion because they run counter to the genetal discourse of w a n and hadith. He also introduces boldly the opinion, which goes against accepted legal rulings, that a woman can rule an Islamic state. His understanding 552 The American Journal of Islamic So& Sciences 10:4 of the hadith used to prevent this practice is that it is specific (khdw) to an historical event: the elevation of a young girl to the Persian thnme. As progressive the book is in discussing these subjects, it falls short in one important subject-wife beating-and provides no decisive opinion. One would expect the author to at least define nushziz (exceeding one's proper boundaries) and to reflect on the vague meaning of darubu, which appears in the Qur'an in many different contexts. It is the book's style, however, that makes it so controversial. As with most of his other works, a1 Ghazdi uses an accessible literary language that is in itself delightful. The book does not tire the reader with detailed legalistic arguments or systematic analyses. Rather, it provides mature Is- lamic opinions based on many sources, among them the Qur'an and hadith, Muslim history, world history, fiqh, and the sayings of great people. At some points the style becomes sarcastic, as in this paragraph: Our Prophet advises women to go mosques 'simple' and without perfume or asking for attention (tabarruj), but a1 Qastilh-, one of a1 Bukhiiri's commentators, opines that women should go to mosques in their kitchen attire and smelly from cooking! (p. 6 ) Tahrir a1 Mar'ah fi 'Asr a1 Risilah B y 'AM a1 Halim AbC Shaqah. Kuwait: Dcfr a1 @lam, 1990. This ground-breaking work consists of four volumes (two subsequent volumes yet to be released) that discuss women and their social roles based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. The author restricted himself to the ha- dith collections of imams a1 B&ri and Muslim so as to minimize the number of citations (in a few places he used hadiths reported by others). Three properties make this an outstanding work the author a) rarely states his own opinion directly in the form of discussion or in presenting a prototype of women's place in Islam. Instead, he lets the Islamic texts speak for themselves; b) offers a new categorization of Islamic texts, mainly hadith. In this way, argument over meanings is reduced to a mini- mum; and c) rebuts restrictive legal opinions citing opposing legal opin- ions. "he emphasis is placed not on the author's opinion, but rather on previowfiqahd' whose rulings might still hold some relevance for us today. By so doing, he decimates the acclaimed hegemony of the restric- tive opinions and establishes the fact that the more authentic and more widely supported legal opinions are those that are the more expansive. The four volumes are arranged by theme: "The Muslim Woman in the Qur'an and Sunnah"; "The Participation of Muslim Women in Social and Political Life at the Time of the Prophet"; a debate with opponents; and Book Reviews 553 "Women's Clothing and Adornments." Although these topics are subjects for scholars and students of Islamic law, the author tries to put them in a social context. The book is inttoduced by two contemporary giants in Islamic studies: al Ghazrili and a1 QaraGwi, as the author is not so well known. Both of them highly tecommend this book, and a1 QamdSwi spends a good portion of his inttoduction stressing the author's integrity and repu- tation as an Islamic worker, fully qualified to deal with these topics. The book is easy to read, despite the fact that some redundnacy seems to have been unavoidable due to the chosen methodology. There is a possibility of a great deal being lost in translation, for most of the cited hadiths cannot be understood properly without the accompanying commentary that appears in the Arabic original. A translation of its in- tended abridgement could be very useful. It should also be noted that, in the few places where the author makes some analysis on femininity, there was an 0cCasi0~1 lack of sophistica- tion as well as stereotyping (see vol. 1:276-7, 284-5, 288, 314-5; vol. 2:16,69,350,391-3). While discussing one issue, he fell into the trap of analytical reaction to restrictive opinions, for he stated "it is considered for Muslim women that wearing extemal adornment, in most of her cir- cumstances, is a shar'i requirement (wujib)" ( vol. 4:253). The book also shows the difficulty encountered by t h m specializing in the Islamic heritage when it comes to integrating scientific concepts into their analysis. It feat- a long citation fmm a psychology book (reference is missing) dealing with gender differences (vol. 1:281-4). It comments on the cited studies and experiments, giving them a mea-sure of absoluteness. The work does not introduce a new methodology for the reading of Islamic texts. These four books will have great impact because of their contents and the status of their authors. Regarding their contents and the logic of dis- cussion, it should be noted that all 8te Islamic and authentic. With all of their o p e ~ e s s , they do not attempt to meet the western model in the middle, but rather look upon it with disdain. As for the authors' status, a1 Tursibi is known internationally as an Islamic leader, and a1 Ghankhi is on his way to acheiving the same stature. Muhammad al Ghazdi en- joys the highest respect of his peers in the area of Islamic heritage and is an authority in his own right. Abfi Shaqah has laid down the supports for what these three leading personalities have presented and proposed. Mazen Hashem Alhadara Center for Interdisciplinary Research San Dimas, California