An Anthology of Qur'anic Commentaries, Volume II, On Women (Book report)
The title is a book in the Quranic field, edited by Karen Bauer and Feras Hamza, and published by Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies as one of the Qur'anic Studies Series. The following is a report of the book.[1]
Overview
• A unique resource for scholars and students of the Qur'an and its interpretations, Islamic studies, and gender
• Adopts a groundbreaking approach for the study of women in the Qur'an
• Brings historical commentaries spanning twelve centuries into dialogue with contemporary perspectives
• Showcases the intellectual variety of Muslim interpretations on women as social subjects
• Provides analytical introductions as a necessary aid to navigating this complex scholastic terrain
Description
Building on the success of Anthology, Volume I: On the Nature of the Divine, this second volume in the series focuses on a critical and contentious theme: Women in the Qurʾan and traditional Qurʾanic commentaries. It comprises analysis of the female subject in the Qurʾan, annotated translations of Qurʾanic commentaries spanning twelve centuries, interviews of contemporary Muslim scholars and extensive introductory materials, which frame the work throughout and render these technically complex materials accessible to the reader. On Women begins with a critical introduction to the study of women and gender in the genre of Qurʾanic commentaries. A unique prolegomenon then follows key Qurʾanic terms in a chronological sequence, showing how the Qurʾan's world view on women developed from the earliest Meccan revelations, when women were addressed only implicitly as a part of households or in the course of anti-pagan polemic, to the period of the final revelations in Medina, when women were addressed directly as pious and social subjects. The remainder of the volume translates, critically annotates, and analyses interpretations of six select Qurʾanic verses on women. These verses, chosen because of their relevance to women's lived experience, speak of the creation of humankind beginning with a single soul (Q. 4:1); the exemplary figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Q. 3:35-6); women's status in marriage (Q. 4:34); women's legal testimony and hence legal capacity (Q. 2:282); and 'veiling' as it relates to Qurʾanic norms of modesty (Q. 24:31). While highlighting variation, continuity, and plurality in the genre of Qurʾanic commentaries, Volume II goes beyond medieval interpretive paradigms to include perspectives marginalised by that tradition, such as the voices of women themselves.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Prolegomenon: The Qur'an on Women
The Commentators and their Commentaries
1 Creation of the First Woman (Q. 4:1)
2 Mary (Q. 3:35-6)
3 Marital Roles (Q. 4:34)
4 The Veil (Q. 24:31)
5 Women's Testimony (Q. 2:282)
Prosopographical Appendix
Bibliography
Author Information
Edited by Karen Bauer, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, and Feras Hamza, University of Wollongong, Dubai, and The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Dr Karen Bauer is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. She is the author of Gender Hierarchy in the Qurʾān: Medieval Interpretations, Modern Responses and editor of Aims, Methods and Contexts of Qur'anic Exegesis (2nd/8th-9th/15th Centuries.). She, as well, has written numerous articles on the history of Qur'anic interpretation, on women's status in Islamic interpretation and on the history of emotions in Islam.
Dr Feras Hamza is Head of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong in Dubai, UAE, and is also a Research Fellow in the Qur'anic Studies Unit at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. He co-edited (with Sajjad Rizvi and Farhana Mayer) An Anthology of Qur'anic Commentaries, Volume I: On the Nature of the Divine (OUP 2008) and is the general series editor for the multi-volume project Anthologies of Qur'anic Commentaries. He has authored several historical articles on the early Muslim community, as well as articles on the epistemological and methodological approaches in Qur'anic and tafsīr studies. He is currently working on a hermeneutics-based project entitled Time and Narrative in the Qur'an.