The Concept of Qawama: A Study of Interpretive Tensions
The concept of qawama in Islam is viewed as a foundation of discriminatory treatment of women in the social and legal spheres. There are a range of interpretations of this concept propounded by traditionalists and modernists. This paper explores some of the interpretive tensions generated by these a...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2014
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| In: |
Hawwa
Year: 2014, Volume: 11, Issue: 2/3, Pages: 235-251 |
| Further subjects: | B
Qawama
Qurʾan
women’s right
Islamic law
interpretive tensions
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The concept of qawama in Islam is viewed as a foundation of discriminatory treatment of women in the social and legal spheres. There are a range of interpretations of this concept propounded by traditionalists and modernists. This paper explores some of the interpretive tensions generated by these approaches. The traditionalist approaches are incapable of responding to contemporary concerns, while the modernist approaches leave other interpretive questions unanswered. An inclusive perspective ought to be adopted, which accords due reverence to the normative status of verse 4:34 of the Qurʾan, without sacrificing contemporary realities. The generic ethical message in the Qurʾan, along with the Prophet’s exemplary attitude, provide a framework for ameliorating the adverse implications of qawama embedded in the strict interpretations. Such an interpretation of qawama would be based on the recognition of the relative hierarchy of men and women, neither by the renunciation of all facets of hierarchy in the institution of the family, as contended by some modernists nor by interpreting the verse as an absolute hierarchy, as postulated by the traditionalists. This paper is constructed on the premise that the concept of qawama is founded on Quranic verse 4:34, but how far this can be stretched or restricted is primarily a human domain. |
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| ISSN: | 1569-2086 |
| Contains: | In: Hawwa
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15692086-12341245 |