Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence

by Kecia Ali

Overview

Whether exploring the thorny issues of wives’ sexual duties, divorce, homosexuality, or sex outside marriage, discussions of sexual ethics and Islam often spark heated conflict rather than reasoned argument. In this updated and expanded edition of her ground-breaking work, feminist Muslim scholar Dr Kecia Ali asks how one can determine what makes sex lawful and ethical in the sight of God.

Drawing on both revealed and interpretative Muslim texts, Ali critiques medieval and contemporary commentators alike to produce a balanced and comprehensive study of a subject both sensitive and urgent, making this an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and interested readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780743813
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	02/09/2016
Edition description:	Expanded
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	993,066
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Kecia Ali is Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University. She is a world authority on Islamic jurisprudence, and author of Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith and Jurisprudence.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements x

Acknowledgements for the 2016 edition xii

Note on texts, translation, and transliteration xiv

Preface to the 2016 edition xv

Introduction xxi

1 Marriage, Money, and Sex 1

"And according to what they spend from their wealth…" 3

Sex 6

Intermarriage 14

Conclusion 22

Coda 1 23

2 Lesser Evils: Divorce in Islamic Ethics 28

Untying the knot 29

Extreme circumstances 33

Prospects for reform 38

Conclusion 40

Coda 2 43

3 "What your right hands possess": Slave Concubinage in Muslim Texts and Discourses 50

Islam and slavery: overview of sources and history 55

Women, war captives, and withdrawal 58

Conclusion 64

Coda 3 67

4 Prohibited Acts and Forbidden Partners: Illicit Sex in Islamic Jurisprudence 72

Protecting chastity: the classical texts 76

Paternity, legal fictions, and non-marital sex in contemporary Muslim thought 83

Conclusion 89

Coda 4 91

5 Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Same-Sex Intimacy in Muslim Thought 96

History 100

Don't ask, don't tell 106

Same-sex marriage 112

Conclusion 117

Coda 5 118

6 "Reduce but do not destroy": Female "Circumcision" in Islamic Sources 126

Islamic or un-Islamic? 128

"Reduce but do not destroy" 134

Conclusion 139

Coda 6 141

7 "If you have touched women": Female

Bodies and Male Agency in the Qur'an 146

To whom am I speaking? 147

A difficult verse 151

Garments for one another 160

Conclusion 165

Coda 7 168

8 The Prophet Muhammad, his Beloved Aishah, and Modern Muslim Sensibilities 173

Apologetics and polemics 176

Searching for solace 182

Conclusion 185

Coda 8 188

9 Toward an Islamic Ethics of Sex 193

Afterword to the 2016 edition 200

Notes 208

Bibliography 253

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

02/22/2016
In this important revised edition of Ali's major treatise on a feminist approach to Islam, she offers a broad and comprehensive view of how sexual ethics have been defined in Islam throughout history, and how those understandings inform and define Islam today. There has long been a tension between religion and sexuality, Ali argues, with societies defining both norms and taboos within their communities. In the west, Islam has been viewed as a religion that limits the rights of women, in some regions influencing laws that forbid them to drive or to vote. Chapters place marriage, divorce, sexual activity, same-sex relationships, and female circumcision in historical perspective, helping readers to understand today's Islamic attitudes and mores. The chapter on the Prophet Muhammed's marriage to a very young girl really brings to forefront the importance of viewing events in the light of their cultural and historical context. Each chapter ends with a coda that brings her earlier text up to date. This is a significant addition the feminist understanding of Islam and its complex views of sexuality. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

‘An important and daring book. It not only deals with deeply controversial issues, but also suggests principled and ethical answers within an Islamic framework.’

Dr. Ziba Mir-Hosseini

"With unwavering focus, clarity and scholarly confidence, Dr. Ali advances our understanding of profound ethical questions far beyond the apologetics and polemics of current Islamic discourse."

Abdullahi An-Nàim - Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University

‘Relevant to most readers’ daily experience of discussion about Islam. The book is well worth reading.'

The Muslim World Book Review

‘For too long debates over sexuality and religion have lapsed into a ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ state of mind. Professor Ali is willing to ask the tough questions.’

Contemporary Islam Journal

‘Compulsory reading for anyone interested in grappling with the enormously challenging questions of sexual ethics in contemporary Islam.’

Ebrahim Moosa

"Ali is willing to ask the tough questions. A refreshing analysis of sexual ethics in Islam."

The Globe and Mail

"This book is a vigorous and engaging contribution to a very important dialog."

American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences

‘It’s great to have a new edition of this foundational work in Muslim feminism that, ten years down the road, widens and deepens the important questions raised by the first edition.’

Dr. Judith Plaskow

"With unwavering focus, clarity and scholarly confidence, Dr. Ali advances our understanding of profound ethical questions far beyond the apologetics and polemics of current Islamic discourse."

Abdullahi An-Na`im - Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University

"With unwavering focus, clarity and scholarly confidence, Dr. Ali advances our understanding of profound ethical questions far beyond the apologetics and polemics of current Islamic discourse."

Abdullahi An-Na‘im - Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University

‘It’s great to have a new edition of this foundational work in Muslim feminism that, ten years down the road, widens and deepens the important questions raised by the first edition.’

(Dr. Judith Plaskow, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Manhattan College)

‘An important and daring book. It not only deals with deeply controversial issues, but also suggests principled and ethical answers within an Islamic framework.’

(Dr. Ziba Mir-Hosseini, legal anthropologist, activist and a founding member of Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family)

‘Compulsory reading for anyone interested in grappling with the enormously challenging questions of sexual ethics in contemporary Islam.’

(Ebrahim Moosa, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Notre Dame)

‘For too long debates over sexuality and religion have lapsed into a ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ state of mind. Professor Ali is willing to ask the tough questions.’

(Contemporary Islam Journal)

"Ali is willing to ask the tough questions. A refreshing analysis of sexual ethics in Islam."

(The Globe and Mail)

"This book is a vigorous and engaging contribution to a very important dialog."

(American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences)

"With unwavering focus, clarity and scholarly confidence, Dr. Ali advances our understanding of profound ethical questions far beyond the apologetics and polemics of current Islamic discourse."

(Abdullahi An-Naim - Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University)

From the Publisher