To mark International Women鈥檚 Day, we have created a list of five essential resources surrounding our recently published book聽An Anthology of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries, Volume II: On Women, edited by聽Dr Karen Bauer听补苍诲听Dr Feras Hamza.
1. The Book:聽On Women
On Women聽comprises extensive introductory material, annotated translations of Qur示anic commentaries spanning 12 centuries, interviews of contemporary Muslim scholars and introductions to the texts themselves, which frame the work throughout and render these technically complex materials accessible.
The book begins with a critical introduction to the study of women and gender in the genre of Qur示anic commentaries. A chapter then follows key Qur示anic terms in a chronological sequence, showing how the Qur示an鈥檚 world view on women developed from the earliest Meccan revelations to the period of the final revelations in Medina.
The remainder of the volume translates, critically annotates, and analyses interpretations of six select Qur示anic verses on women, chosen because of their relevance to women鈥檚 lived experience. While highlighting variation, continuity, and plurality in the genre of Qur示anic commentaries,听On Women聽goes beyond medieval interpretive paradigms to include perspectives marginalised by that tradition, such as the voices of women themselves.
2. An Interview with amina wadud
In October 2020, the authors of聽On Women, Dr Karen Bauer and Dr Feras Hamza, interviewed the renowned feminist amina wadud about verses 4.34 (on spousal relations), 4.1 (on the creation of humankind) and 24.31 (on the veil). An edited version of this interview appears in the book.
3.聽On Women聽Launch Event
The book’s launch took place at the聽Aga Khan聽Centre, London, on 8 November 2021 and featured the editors and a panel of聽,听, Dr Yasmin Amin and聽聽in discussion about the book鈥檚 themes.
4. Interview with the Editors
In this accessible interview, Drs Bauer and Hamza discuss how the tradition of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic commentary viewed women in the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, how it continues to influence many Muslim women鈥檚 lives today, and why it was so important to feature contemporary women’s voices in their book.
5. Other Titles by the Editors
If you鈥檙e a researcher or student looking at the genre of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic commentary, you might like to find out more about our first title in the Anthologies series,听An Anthology of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries – Volume I: On the Nature of the Divine, which was also edited by Dr Hamza alongside Dr Sajjad Rizvi.
Dr Bauer鈥檚 previous book,听Muslims believe that the Holy 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More: Medieval Interpretations, Modern Responses, was a runner-up in the British鈥揔uwait Friendship Society Book Prize in 2016 and explores how medieval and modern Muslim religious scholars interpret gender roles in Qur’anic verses on legal testimony, marriage and human creation. Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Professorial Associate at the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, described it as 鈥渁 must-read for anyone trying to understand how and why gender hierarchy became intrinsic to Muslim religious tradition and the challenge that the idea of equality presents to the tradition鈥.
Dr Bauer’s 2013 edited volume聽Aims, Methods and Contexts of Quranic Exegesis (2nd/8th-9th/15th Centuries)聽is dedicated to the study of聽迟补蹿蝉颈谤听as a genre and illustrates that the study of context, genre constraints and hermeneutics is important, because聽tafsir聽represents not the one true understanding of the聽蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, but rather a certain type of understanding and certain types of knowledge about the Muslim sacred Book.
