Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective

Ms. Wadud has done a great service. I am sure that many Muslim women have wished, as I have, that I could go off and get a PhD in Islamic studies and think through the Qu'ran myself instead of relying on stern old men to spoon feed the keystone of the religion to me.This is a scholarly work and will take some effort to read, but it is well worth it. Ms. Wadud argues that the Qu'ran has to be taken as a whole and that any one part of it must be interpreted in the context of the intentions of the whole work. She limits her reading to that of the Qu'ran, stating that if hadiths (stories of the life of the Prophet, PBU) conflicted with the Qu'ran, she would defer to the Qu'ran in any case.I'm only about a third of the way through the book, but I am already moved to write a glowing review because I've already learned so much! For example, in the Qu'ran there is no mention of Eve coming from Adam's rib, something that implies that a woman came from a part of a man and is therefore lesser. Where some Qu'ranic scholars have not been able to decode the exact meaning of some passages, they have referred to the Bible, also considered a sacred text in Islam. Thus, in many translations (and certainly in Islamic lore) the story of Eve as one of Adam's rib prevails. But the Qu'ran actually speaks of creating a thing from dust and then splitting that thing in two, implying an overreaching duality in nature (which we should reflect upon) as well as establishing an equality between men and women from the moment of their creation.There is much more to say, but please just buy this book. It will change the way you see men and women and perhaps the way you see Islam.

A very important book in helping clarify how a reader is meant to approach the Quran, the sacred text that True Islam is based on. Of these approaches is the historical context in which the Book was revealed, the geographic location of Arabia and its environmental circumstances as well as approaching a verse in a text in relation to the entire message of the Quran and not to take a verse out of context and use it, as many ignorant people do, out of context to justify a double standard. It’s very brave of Dr Wadud to write this book, and I hope that women and men read it to Better understand why Islam (living in Submission to our Creator) is a mercy to mankind.

I found this book to be very well put together and everything was explained in a way that I can easily understand throughout the entire text. The arguments/rationale used are justly supported by text in the Quran. In addition, the writer goes above and beyond by laying out the grammatical significance of a word and how easily it can be misinterpreted. As a new woman venturing into the world of Islam, I’m pretty sure I will be returning to this book throughout my journey.

I bought this book many years ago and never got a chance to write a review. After reading it in that time, I was so impressed that I had to buy a few and gave one to each of my 5 sisters. I am so glad that women are writing about Islam with their own perspectives. I am tired of reading about women in Quran written by men and their views. I highly recommend this book.

No wonder this book has been as successful and widely read as it has.It has been a great help to me. It is a must read for anyone who is a serious searcher.It is especially of interest to those who have the wrong impression about the intent of the Qur'an, ergo pure unadulterated Islam towards women.Elaine Beers

This book brought a better understanding for me. It also answered some of my imposing questions that I was to shy to ask. I'm on the ladt section now and finding it to be more interesting the more I read. It's also a good study guide for me.

This comprehensive examination of what the Holy Quran actually says about women, gender roles, and jurisprudence regarding women's rights is amazing. Clear, concise, well organized, and very approachable- this is an excellent read for men and women, muslim and non-muslim alike.

One of my all-time favorite books ever. Excellent methodology and application for engaging gender issues in (any) religious tradition that has mixed results and interpretations in its history and practice of dealing with gender.

Même si je ne suis pas tout à fait d'accord avec l'auteure, le livre mérite au moins d'être lu

Freed me from the shakles of cultural mentality about islam,we really need to study Quran more and more.

This is a great book because it highlights how Quranic text which reverses patriarchy was not read as such. Instead it is was interpreted in the light of existing patriarchal explanations of christian tradition.It demonstrates various examples how verses have been mis-interpreted by men dominated world of Science of Tafseer who look at most things with patriarchal lens. It gave voice to my own understanding quran.Thanks so much to the Author.RegardsZak

Seit einigen Monaten beschäftige ich mich intensiver mit dem Islam und habe auch schon etwas zu dem Thema "Frauen und Islam" gelesen, z.B. das sehr gute Buch von Leila Ahmad "Women and Gender in Islam" und von Fatma Mernisse "The Veil and the male elite". Wenn ich diese beiden schon als extreme "Augenöffner" und faszinierenden Einblick in eine mir dato unbekannte bzw. von Vorurteilen verstellte Welt bezeichnen kann (gerade das Buch von Ahmad hat für mich ein Neu-Überdenken von viel Bekannten mit sich gebracht), so ist für mich das Buch von Amina Wadud die Steigerung davon. Sehr gut und lesbar geschrieben, wie ich finde (bloß zum Schluß hin fand ich es ein wenig redundand, aber das mag daran liegen, dass mir ihre Argumentationsweise da schon vertraut war), mit einem tiefgründigen, eigenständigen aber - aus meiner Sicht - überzeugenden exegetischen Ansatz liest sie den Koran neu (oder für mich erstmals - oder "alt"?!) und entfaltet dabei ein Schönheit, Tiefgründigkeit und Subtilität dieser koranischen Botschaft, seiner "Weltanschauung" - auch und gerade bezüglich "der Frauen" - dass es mich als Nicht-Muslima schier von den Socken gehauen hat.Es ist sehr traurig - und auch bezeichnend - dass die drei von mir hier genannten Bücher augenscheinlich in keinerlei deutscher Übersetzung vorliegen und daher ihrer Rezeption durch ein deutschsprachiges Publikum harren und weiterhin harren werden. Das Buch - und die Person Amina Wadud - sind unter Muslimen umstritten, sie ist nicht "Mainstream", zweifellos wird es viele geben (auf beiden Seiten der Extreme), die sich über diese grundlegende, fulminante und faszinierend tiefgründige Arbeit ärgern, sie als "unkorrekt" oder ketzerisch einerseits, "schönfärberisch" andererseits abtun. Aber ich würde sagen, es war eine der beeindruckendsten Lektüren zum Thema "G-tt" und Mensch, Spiritualität und Menschsein für mich der letzten Jahre. Wer eigenständiges Denken und Fühlen liebt und den Koran unter dem Blickwinkel seiner "Perspektive auf die Frauen" kennenlernen möchte, könnte hier genau richtig sein...

An essential book for those who want to understand the position of Muslim women in our contemporary societies.Amina Wadud reveals one by one the misinterpreted points of the Quran and the consequences for Muslim women and societies.Amina Wadud knows and handles very well Arabic grammar and relies on many sources and evidence to illustrate her point.Un livre indispensable pour qui veut comprendre la position de la femme musulmane dans nos sociétés contemporaines .Amina Wadud révèle un à un les points du Coran mal interprétés et les conséquences sur la femme musulmanes et les sociétés.Amina Wadud maîtrise la grammaire arabe et s'appuie sur de nombreuses sources et évidences pour illustrer son propos.