Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis

Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis

Feminist Hermeneutics of Women's Verses in the Qurʾān: Case Study of Wadud and Mernissi Through the Lens of Shiite Exegesis

Document Type : Original article

Authors
Maryam Velayati Kababian 1
Farzaneh Babaei 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Hadith Sciences and Education, University of Quran and Hadith, Tehran, Iran.
2 Master in Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/naghdeara.2025.522657.1293
Abstract
Contemporary Islamic thought has witnessed the emergence of significant feminist hermeneutical projects aimed at reinterpreting the Qurʾān. Prominent among these are the works of Amina Wadud and Fatima Mernissi, who have sought to deconstruct patriarchal readings of scriptures concerning women. This study undertakes a critical examination of their interpretations of verses related to women, specifically evaluating their methodological premises and conclusions through the lens of classical and modern Shiite exegesis (al-tafsīr al-Shīʿī). The study is situated within the broader discourse on gender and scripture, addressing a critical gap by systematically contrasting these influential feminist readings with an established, theology-rich interpretive tradition that has often been overlooked in their analyses.
The primary objective is to identify points of convergence and, more significantly, divergence between the approaches of Wadud and Mernissi and those of authoritative Shiite commentators such as Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Ṭabarsī, and Bānū Noṣrat Amīn Esfahānī. The central research question probes the extent to which these feminist hermeneutics can be reconciled with the foundational principles of Shiite tafsīr, which are deeply rooted in the teachings of the Imams, reason (ʿaql), and established transmitted sources (naql). The necessity of this research lies in its potential to foster a more nuanced inter-traditional dialogue and to critically assess the claims of universal applicability often made by modern hermeneutical approaches.
The study employs a comparative-analytical methodology. It first delineates the core hermeneutical strategies of each thinker: Wadud’s thematic and holistic approach, which seeks to extract overarching Quranic values like justice and equality, and Mernissi’s historical-critical method, which subjects the patriarchal hadith tradition to rigorous sociological and psychological scrutiny of its transmitters. These frameworks are then juxtaposed with the methodological principles of Shiite tafsīr, which prioritize the Quran's self-interpretation, the elucidations of the Prophet and the Imams, and intellectual reasoning.
The analysis reveals a complex landscape of limited agreement amidst fundamental disagreement. A key finding is a shared conclusion on a specific issue: both Wadud and Mernissi, alongside Shiite commentators, reject the literalist interpretation of woman's creation from Adam's rib, classifying such narratives as Isrāʾīliyyāt (narratives of Judeo-Christian origin) that are incompatible with the Quranic depiction of a shared primordial origin for humanity from a single soul (nafs wāḥidah). This agreement on the ontological equality of men and women in their creation and spiritual potential represents a significant common ground.
However, the research identifies profound divergences that stem from their core methodological and theological commitments. From the perspective of Shiite exegesis—which this study adopts as its analytical framework—the most critical point of contention concerns the origin of gender roles. Wadud, in particular, argues that gender-specific roles are primarily sociocultural constructs, with the Qurʾān addressing only biological functions like childbearing without endorsing them as inherent, fixed traits. Shiite theology, in contrast, posits that certain complementary roles and inherent dispositions (e.g., heightened emotional intelligence in women, greater physical endurance in men) are teleological and inherent to the divine wisdom (ḥikma) embedded in creation. Therefore, from this viewpoint, Wadud's dismissal of these roles as purely cultural is seen as a rejection of a divinely ordained balance (taqwīm) and leads to a flawed understanding of gender relations.
Furthermore, the study critiques the selective use of sources. It argues that both feminists, particularly Mernissi, focus almost exclusively on Sunni hadith compilations and early Islamic history narrated through a Sunni lens, largely ignoring the vast corpus of Shiite hadith and interpretive works. This results in an incomplete historical and textual analysis. For instance, Mernissi’s historical critique of misogynist hadith, while powerful, is applied selectively to figures like Abū Hurayra and Abū Bakra, without engaging with the Shiite tradition’s own rigorous system of hadith criticism (al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl) or its positive narratives about female authority and intellect, exemplified by the towering status of Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ.
The conclusions of this study, framed within its Shiite theological perspective, are twofold. First, it affirms that the hermeneutical projects of Wadud and Mernissi, while groundbreaking in challenging patriarchal interpretations, are significantly influenced by the specific socio-legal conditions of Arab Muslim societies and a methodology that selectively engages with Islamic sources. Second, and consequently, it finds that their interpretations, by often disregarding the theological and metaphysical foundations of gender roles in Shiite Islam, ultimately prove inadequate for constructing a sustainable framework for women's rights within an Islamic paradigm. Despite their aim of empowerment, their approaches are judged within this study's framework as potentially undermining the ontological and legal status of women as conceived within a Shiite worldview, failing to provide a practical, theologically coherent solution for the believing Muslim woman.
Keywords
Feminist Hermeneutics
Women in the Qurʾān
Hadith Criticism
Modren Shiite Theology
Gender Equality
Isra'iliyyat

Subjects

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Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis
Volume 6, Issue 1 - Serial Number 11
September 2025
Pages 271-294

  • Receive Date 19 May 2025
  • Revise Date 09 September 2025
  • Accept Date 16 September 2025