Authors: Ahmed E. Souaiaia
ISBN-13: 9780791473986, ISBN-10: 0791473988
Format: Paperback
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Date Published: January 2009
Edition: New Edition
Ahmed E. Souaiaia is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa and the author of The Function of Orality in Islamic Law and Practices: Verbalizing Meaning.
Argues that the rights of women in Muslim society are based on the preserved cultural standards of elites, not the ethical philosophy of the Qur'an.
Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
1 Legal Absolutism and Ethical Relativism 15
To Know or Not to Know: The Basis of Acts 17
Cognition through Models and Paradigms 22
2 The Domain of Ethics and the Law 25
Chronology of Islamic Thought 27
Ethics, Morality, and the Law 29
Determining God's Position 29
Core and Marginal Sanctions 33
Emotion and Law in the Qur'anic Discourse 34
Threats, Incentives, and Piety 34
Crime and Punishment 36
3 Basis for the Practice of Polygamy 43
On the Methodological and Historical Assumptions 43
Methodological and Disciplinary Precedence 45
Polygamy in the Historical Context 48
The Philology of Polygamy 50
4 Women in Islamic Law of Inheritance 59
The Qur'anic and Interpretive Dichotomy 60
The Legal and Exegetical Treatment of the Verses on Inheritance 62
Women, Justice, and Interpretation: The Principle of Awl 68
Explicitnes, Consensus, and Interpretation 72
Shares and Heirs in the Comparative Context 72
Shares and Heirs per Blind Survey 79
Description of Data Collection 79
Explanation and Interpretation of Data 80
5 Women in Modern Times 87
Discussion 87
Linking Polygamy and Inheritance: Disadvantaging Women by the Numbers 87
Discussing the Status of Women 88
Other Contested Perspectives 89
Bespoke Justice versus Tyranny of Majoritism 103
Inclusion and Exclusion of Women 119
Conclusion 121
Appendix A Timeline of Scholars and Major Figures 127
Appendix B Glossary of Key Arabic Terms and Their Derivatives 133
Notes 149
Bibliography 177
Index 191