The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities

Muslim scholars are in general agreement that women are not entitled to hold the topmost public office of a nation. Is it due to Qur’anic texts and Prophetic traditions (ahadith) that women are barred from key positions or is it largely due to socio-cultural and economic settings of a country? The Q...

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Main Authors:	Osmani, Noor Mohammad, Faruq, Abu Umar, Ali, Muhammad Yousuf
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English
Published:	2009
Subjects:	HQ1101 Women. Feminism
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/1/Poltical_role_of_Muslim_Women.pdf

id	iium-4255
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-42552011-11-16T00:51:02Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/ The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities Osmani, Noor Mohammad Faruq, Abu Umar Ali, Muhammad Yousuf HQ1101 Women. Feminism Muslim scholars are in general agreement that women are not entitled to hold the topmost public office of a nation. Is it due to Qur’anic texts and Prophetic traditions (ahadith) that women are barred from key positions or is it largely due to socio-cultural and economic settings of a country? The Qur’an urges women to stay quietly at home and not to make dazzling public displays like that of the pre-Islamic period of Jahilyia [ignorance] (33:33). It also asserts that men are the protectors and maintainers of women (4:34). The only Prophetic tradition in this regard is that the Prophet is reported to have said, “No nation will ever prosper if a woman is assigned to its highest public office.” (Bukhari, no. 4073, 6570). On the other hand, since the Qur’an acclaims the Queen of Sheba for her just rule, such prominent scholars as Imam Abu Hanifah, Tabari and Ibn Hazm support that women could hold the topmost judicial position. Ibn Hazm also asserts that there is no theoretical prohibition for women to carry out the mission of Prophethood. Naturally, if they could be Prophets, they would also be the leaders, for the Prophets are the leaders. This research aims to explore this issue and examine it objectively by primarily analyzing Qur’anic ayats, Prophetic traditions, the heritage of Islamic Caliphs and the verdicts of Muslim jurists. The paper will critically evaluate the validity of the quoted hadith, and examine its circumstances in order to understand how and why the Prophet would have said such a hadith. This analysis is crucial to address present day realities, as a significant number of Muslim women have successfully led their nations toward prosperity by holding topmost offices. Finally, this presentation hopes to shed light on what the real political status of Muslim women should be today in light of the Qur’an, traditional texts and sound realities? 2009 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/1/Poltical_role_of_Muslim_Women.pdf Osmani, Noor Mohammad and Faruq, Abu Umar and Ali, Muhammad Yousuf (2009) The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities. In: AMSS 38th Annual Conference “Islamic Traditions and Comparative Modernitites”, 25-26 September, 2009, University of Virginia, USA. http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=9676
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	HQ1101 Women. Feminism
spellingShingle	HQ1101 Women. Feminism Osmani, Noor Mohammad Faruq, Abu Umar Ali, Muhammad Yousuf The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
description	Muslim scholars are in general agreement that women are not entitled to hold the topmost public office of a nation. Is it due to Qur’anic texts and Prophetic traditions (ahadith) that women are barred from key positions or is it largely due to socio-cultural and economic settings of a country? The Qur’an urges women to stay quietly at home and not to make dazzling public displays like that of the pre-Islamic period of Jahilyia [ignorance] (33:33). It also asserts that men are the protectors and maintainers of women (4:34). The only Prophetic tradition in this regard is that the Prophet is reported to have said, “No nation will ever prosper if a woman is assigned to its highest public office.” (Bukhari, no. 4073, 6570). On the other hand, since the Qur’an acclaims the Queen of Sheba for her just rule, such prominent scholars as Imam Abu Hanifah, Tabari and Ibn Hazm support that women could hold the topmost judicial position. Ibn Hazm also asserts that there is no theoretical prohibition for women to carry out the mission of Prophethood. Naturally, if they could be Prophets, they would also be the leaders, for the Prophets are the leaders. This research aims to explore this issue and examine it objectively by primarily analyzing Qur’anic ayats, Prophetic traditions, the heritage of Islamic Caliphs and the verdicts of Muslim jurists. The paper will critically evaluate the validity of the quoted hadith, and examine its circumstances in order to understand how and why the Prophet would have said such a hadith. This analysis is crucial to address present day realities, as a significant number of Muslim women have successfully led their nations toward prosperity by holding topmost offices. Finally, this presentation hopes to shed light on what the real political status of Muslim women should be today in light of the Qur’an, traditional texts and sound realities?
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Osmani, Noor Mohammad Faruq, Abu Umar Ali, Muhammad Yousuf
author_facet	Osmani, Noor Mohammad Faruq, Abu Umar Ali, Muhammad Yousuf
author_sort	Osmani, Noor Mohammad
title	The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
title_short	The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
title_full	The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
title_fullStr	The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
title_full_unstemmed	The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
title_sort	political role of muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities
publishDate	2009
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4255/1/Poltical_role_of_Muslim_Women.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:12:25Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:12:25Z
_version_	1777407565943013376

The political role of Muslim women: between traditional texts and changing realities

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