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Thesis Format
Monograph
Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Theology
Supervisor
Ingrid Mattson
Abstract
One of Muslim scholars’ modern endeavors is to identify Islam’s egalitarian and liberating views on women as espoused by its earliest sources— the Qur’an and hadith. ʿAbdulḥalīm Abū Shuqqa makes such an attempt in his six-volume, Arabic book titled “The Liberation of Women in the Age of Revelation” (Taḥrīr al-Mar’a fī ‘Aṣr al-Risāla) published in 1995. He shows evidence from the Qur’an and authentic hadith reports for women’s autonomy, involvement in communal worship, public life, politics, battlefields, and professional work, among other activities. In an attempt to analyze and bring what was considered a ‘breakthrough’ in the Islamic discourse on women to a wider audience, this thesis provides an annotated translation of four chapters from the book’s first volume that addresses Muslim women’s character in the Qur’an and hadith, supported by a critical introduction that discusses the reception of the book and situates it within contemporary Islamic discourses on women.
Summary for Lay Audience
In his six-volume, Arabic book titled “The Liberation of Women in the Age of Revelation” (Taḥrīr al-Mar’a fī ‘Aṣr al-Risāla), ʿAbdulḥalīm Abū Shuqqa revisits primary religious texts in an attempt to demonstrate how Islam can be an agent of liberation for women. This work explores women’s autonomy in the Qur’an and hadith, focusing on the egalitarian message that is spread through stories of women’s involvement in communal worship, public life, politics, battlefields, and professional work, among other activities.
In an effort to make this important work accessible to a wider audience, this thesis offers an annotated translation of four chapters from the first volume of this work. Here Abū Shuqqa addresses the character of Muslim women as described in the Qur’an and hadith. The thesis also contributes a critical introduction which situates Abū Shuqqa’s within contemporary Islamic discourses on women and discusses the book’s reception among Islamic scholars.
Recommended Citation
Noorwali, Ibtehal, "ʿAbdulḥalīm Abū Shuqqa’s The Liberation of Women in the Age of Revelation: A Translation and Critical Commentary" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6813.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6813
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