Justice and Beauty in Muslim Marriage: Towards Egalitarian Ethics and Laws

These thoughtful essays compiled by Islam studies scholars Mir-Hosseini (Journeys Toward Gender Equality in Islam), Al-Sharmani (Gender Justice and Legal Reform in Egypt), Rumminger, and Marsso offer a feminist take on Muslim marriage. Dispatches on the Quran, Mohammad’s views, and Muslim legal theory contend that many modern understandings of Islamic law do not reflect the lived realities of contemporary Muslims, especially Muslim women. The contributions challenge patriarchal discourse by outlining perspectives on Muslim marriage rooted in “equality, beauty, and goodness,” as when Shadaab Rahemtulla and Sara Ababneh suggest in “Reclaiming Khadīja and Muhammad’s Marriage as an Islamic Paradigm” that Mohammad was the weaker partner in his marriage to Khadīja, illustrating that husbands need not dominate their wives. The diversity of the selections lead to sometimes contradictory recommendations that are nonetheless thought-provoking; for example, Yasmin Amin recommends rejecting hadith that place unfair responsibilities on women, though elsewhere, Faqihuddin Abdul Kodir accepts the validity of such hadith but counters that they must be interpreted in a way that affirms the equality of men and women. The contributions are consistently insightful and stimulating, adding up to a provocative vision of what a more progressive approach to Muslim marriage might look like. This will leave readers with plenty to ponder. (Dec.)