Sex, Marriage and Family in World Religions (35 page)

The Qur’an was revealed over a period of twenty-three years.2 The central point of that revelation was deep monotheism that rejected any partnership with God. The Qur’an is clear in asserting that Jesus is a prophet, not a divinity, who was born to the Virgin Mary (19:16–35). According to the Qur’an, Mary was a pious woman who “guarded her chastity,” and Jesus was born to her after Gabriel “breathed into her of Our Spirit” (21:91). The Qur’an attributes various miracles to Jesus (5:109), including that of speaking in the cradle to quell sus-picions about his mother Mary (19:27–33).

s e x , m a r r i a g e , a n d f a m i l y i n t h e q u r ’ a n The Qur’an states that God created all humanity from a single
nafs
(soul or spirit), created from like nature its mate, and from the two made humanity into nations and tribes so that they may get to know each other, that is, to enjoy and learn from each other’s diversity (4:1; 49:13). The only proper criterion for preference among people is that of piety, a quality achievable by anyone (49:13).

The Prophet himself stated, in a famous reported
hadith,
that women are the twin halves of men. Absent from the Qur’an is the view that woman was created from Adam’s rib.

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a z i z a h a l - h i b r i a n d r a j a ’ m . e l h a b t i The Qur’an defines the marriage relationship as one based on tranquillity, mercy, and affection (30:21). It states very clearly that in a marriage the couple must live together amicably or part in kindness (2:229). For this reason, traditional Muslim jurists considered abuse (whether verbal or physical) as adequate justification for divorce. This view is reflected in the personal status codes (family laws) of some Muslim countries, such as Kuwait and Jordan.

Other passages in the Qur’an, however, appear to paint a different picture of gender and family relations. For example, one verse states that men have a “degree” over women (2:228), while another appears to sanction wife beating (4:34). This has led some writers to argue that the Qur’an itself contains patriarchal views. But this view of the Qur’an contradicts the one we described earlier. Since the Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the divine revelation of an All-Knowing God, jurists have asserted that the revelation cannot be contra-dictory. Therefore, for pious Muslims, it becomes important to find a serious interpretation of all these verses of the Qur’an that makes them mutually consistent. This fact underlines the importance of thoughtful juristic interpretation in Islam. Our selections are designed to give the reader a glimpse of this effort.

f o u n d a t i o n s o f i s l a m i c j u r i s p r u d e n c e q u r ’ a n

There are four major sources of Islamic jurisprudence; of these the Qur’an is the primary one. The Qur’an was recorded by the Companions of the Prophet at the time of its revelation. In the days of the third
khalifah
(caliph), ‘Uthman, all the recorded passages were gathered and organized into a certain (nonchro-nological) order that has become the standard. Every verse, word, and letter in the collected passages was attested to by the Companions of the Prophet.

Hence, there are no substantive disagreements among Muslims about the text of the revelation itself. Disagreements arise only from interpretive efforts. For this reason a Muslim espouses the revelation as a whole. There is no room to pick and choose among verses, since all of them are considered the Word of God.

The Qur’an consists of various elements, such as parables, ethical pronouncements, general legal rules and specific ones, as well as spiritual guidance. Many of the revealed verses addressed certain circumstances or events at the time and must be understood in their light. These events or circumstances are called
asbab al-nuzul,
that is, reasons for the revelation. They shed light on the true meaning of the revelation, even if that revelation has significance beyond those special circumstances. For example, the verse “And when the girl-child who was buried alive is asked [on the Day of Judgment]: ‘For what sin was she slain?’” addressed the pre-Islamic custom of female infanticide and prohibited it utterly and completely (see section 3.1). Its significance, however,
Islam
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is not limited to that pre-Islamic practice, but reaches other practices that deny life on the basis of gender, such as gender-based abortion.

s u n n a h

Because the Qur’an is viewed by Muslims as the revealed word of God, it ranks as the highest source and final arbiter. But the second major source in Islamic jurisprudence is the
sunnah
of the Prophet (his example), including his
hadith
(statements). Where a Qur’anic verse is capable of different interpretations, the
sunnah
of the Prophet is consulted whenever possible to shed light on the proper application or interpretation of the verse. This approach is rooted in the belief that the Prophet was the ideal Muslim, and hence he offered the best guidance.

The Qur’an itself states that “if you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to God and His Messenger” (4:59). Thus this verse emphasizes the importance of the Prophet’s
sunnah.
But the
sunnah
is different from the revelation. It represents the words of the Prophet, a human being. Furthermore, the Prophet himself prevented his companions from recording his words during the early days of the revelation in order to keep the revelation distinct from them. When the words of the Prophet were finally recorded, this was done either during the latter part of his life or after his death. Some of the later reports about the Prophet suffered from errors caused by lapses in memory, inaccurate reporting, or even biased or interested reporting. Thus, determining the reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of reported precedents or incidents in
sunnah
or
hadith
became a matter of paramount importance.

A good example of the pitfalls of reported
hadith
is a story recounted by ‘A’ishah, the woman the Prophet married after the death of Khadijah. She heard that Abu Hurayrah (d. 677), a Companion of the Prophet, was quoting the Prophet as having stated that “bad omens lie with women, horses, and houses.”

‘A’ishah then got very upset and protested about these reports, saying: “May God forgive Abu Hurayrah. He [the Prophet] never said that; he said, ‘People of
Jahiliyyah
[pre-Islamic period] used to say that bad omens lie with women, horses, and houses.’”3 By missing the first part of the
hadith,
the reporter totally reversed its meaning. For this reason the study of
hadith
requires a great deal of care and training. So, as to the substance of a
hadith,
a good rule of thumb is that if it contradicts the Qur’an or common sense, then it cannot be true (or we are misinterpreting it).

i j t i h a d

This is the third source of Islamic jurisprudence and is subordinate to both the Qur’an and
sunnah
. The word
ijtihad
means literally “to exert an effort.” It is used to refer generally to the jurisprudential activity in which scholars engage either to interpret the Qur’an and
sunnah,
where an interpretation is required, 154

a z i z a h a l - h i b r i a n d r a j a ’ m . e l h a b t i or to reach a ruling involving no clear Qur’anic pronouncement or prophetic precedent. For example, in today’s world a Muslim must answer questions about the religious permissibility of cloning or organ transplantation. To reach an answer the Muslim must refer to relevant general principles in the Qur’an and relevant incidents or sayings in the
sunnah
that could, perhaps by the use of analogical reasoning, shed light on the issue. Over the centuries Muslim jurists have engaged in extensive
ijtihad
and have accumulated a very rich tradition.

During his lifetime the Prophet encouraged this sort of activity so long as it was based on serious and objective effort.

i j m a ’

A fourth source of Islamic law is
ijma’
or consensus. The Prophet is reported to have said that Muslims would not reach consensus on an error. Thus where consensus exists Muslims have become bound by it. The only remaining question becomes, What counts as consensus? For example, would the consensus of scholars suffice, or should the consensus include the general public? Would that include women as well? Does the consensus of an earlier society bind those after it? Muslim jurists have grappled with these sorts of questions and provided different answers.

t h e s t r u c t u r e o f r e l i g i o u s a u t h o r i t y Muslims do not have either a clergy or a religious structure similar to a church hierarchy. The Qur’an is available to every Muslim to read and think about.

Muslims pray to God directly five times a day, and there is no need for a mediator between them and Him. More specifically, Shi’is as well as Sunnis do not have clergy, despite the fact that the American media has fallen into the habit of calling some Shi’i religious figures “clerics.” So-called clerics are either religious community leaders or scholarly imams. Modern Shi’i imams are simply serious religious scholars. A select few among them achieve over time such level of Islamic knowledge, wisdom, and piety that their peers view them as worthy of emulation
(muqallad)
. These imams then develop a following. No follower, however, is bound automatically by the choices of another, even the
muqallad
imam. In the final analysis each Muslim is responsible before God for his or her own choices.

It is clear from the above discussion that, while for Muslims the Qur’an is pure divine revelation, the commentators and interpreters are human. Further, the
hadith
itself is reported by humans capable of error who happened to be with the Prophet. Thus it is quite important in Islam to delineate the boundaries between divinely revealed and human statements. The first is indubitable and final for Muslims; the second is subject to a great deal of examination and even refutation. To guard against error, Muslim jurists resorted to an extensive use of reason through historical as well as logical analysis.

Islam
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e x t r a - q u r ’ a n i c i n fl u e n c e s o n i j t i h a d As human activity,
ijtihad
was subject to influences surrounding the jurists themselves. To the extent these influences sway the jurists’ interpretations, Muslims are not bound by them. Muslims are only bound by the revelation, not the patriarchal or cultural assumptions of jurists. Further, Muslims in different countries would want to develop their own jurisprudence that takes into account local cultural assumptions, so long as these assumptions do not contradict Qur’anic principles. For example, a society used to making offerings to idols cannot continue such practice if it chooses Islam, because Islam rejects all forms of idol worship. On the other hand, there is no one “decreed” Islamic dress. All Muslims may follow their countries’ dress customs, so long as the dress is modest.

There were three major extraneous influences on Muslim jurists throughout history: religious, patriarchal, and cultural. While religious and patriarchal influences can be viewed as part of cultural influences in a society, they transcend any one culture and deserve to be treated separately.

r e l i g i o u s i n fl u e n c e s

Islam was revealed in a society that was familiar with the other two Abrahamic revelations, Christianity and Judaism. As mentioned, Islam embraced these earlier messages rather than rejecting them. It also accorded their followers a special status as the People of the Book. This state of affairs has had consequences in various areas, ranging from the acceptance of interfaith marriages with non-Muslim women to the inclusion of some Judeo-Christian ideas in Islamic jurisprudence. For example, the traditional biblical version of the fall of Adam in Genesis was echoed by some Muslim jurists, despite the differences between it and the Qur’anic version (see Docs. 3–1 and 3–2).

p a t r i a r c h a l i n fl u e n c e s

Patriarchal influences were rampant in the Arabian Penninsula, where Islam was revealed. True, there were some pockets, such as the Madinan society, which treated women more favorably, but Islam came to reverse the dominant patriarchal trend. It did so in many ways, not the least of which was protecting female children from infanticide, guaranteeing women their right to inherit a specified share of their family’s wealth, and protecting them economically by giving women both the right to work and education as well as the right to demand maintenance from the closest capable male in their family (or society, in the absence of family).

Patriarchal thinking found expression within Islamic jurisprudence at various levels, including interpretation of the Qur’an, validation and interpretation of
hadith,
and selective adoption of cultural customs. In all these cases the 156

a z i z a h a l - h i b r i a n d r a j a ’ m . e l h a b t i influence is at times subtle, at others flagrant. To purge Islamic jurisprudence of this cultural patriarchal tradition, some Muslim jurists have embarked on a gender-sensitive reading of the Qur’an and are reexamining the tradition with fresh eyes that are not beholden to the distorted vision of an ancient patriarchy.

c u l t u r a l i n fl u e n c e s

Based on Qur’an 49:13, which is viewed by Muslims as celebrating diversity, Muslim scholars permitted Muslims in various countries to import into their laws cultural norms and customs that do not contradict Islamic law. Thus, there are custom-based legal differences among Muslim countries. Some of these differences are reflected in Islamic jurisprudence itself. It is a well-known story about Imam al-Shafi’i that when he migrated from Iraq to Egypt he revised his school of thought to accommodate the Egyptian society. This fact is generally captured by the Islamic juristic principle that “laws change with the change of time and place.” Clearly this principle does not encompass basic Islamic principles that are unchangeable
(thawabit),
but derivative ones that are capable of adaptation.

Unfortunately, many patriarchal cultural influences seeped into Islamic jurisprudence but were not recognized as inconsistent with the Islamic worldview.