The Concept of Woman in Islam

• Main Authors: Liu Yu-cheng, 劉育成
• Other Authors: Huang Po-chi
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/89149979781927322755

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 宗教研究所 === 91 === The Studies of Woman in Islam is a very important part of the Islamic researches since the 15th century, whatever of the Occident or the Orient world. The major theme of the former concerned about the emancipation of women from every dimension of human life, such as workplace, rights to elections, and rights to education, etc. However, of the later, it is different from the former one; scholars of Islam primarily discussed not only the emancipation from some kind of limitation or discrimination but also the status and value both of male and female in the Islamic Ummah. Islam, emerged and established in the 7th century by the Prophet Muhammad, has already developed an institutional and systematic understanding of the humane world. During the one thousand and five hundred years, Islam has also merged many kinds of thoughts from different cultures into its own world. Therefore, while we start to discuss the problems of women in Islamic world, we have to take a look at the whole history of Islam first, then, we could hold a proper and just attitude to the woman in Islam. My thesis is concerning about the images and descriptions of Muslim Women, which were represented in the Quran, the most sacred book in Islam, and the Hadith, the sayings and behaviors of the Prophet Muhammad, recorded and edited by the Companions of the Prophet and some other religious experts after the death of Muhammad. Most important of all, I attempt to figure out what is the most initial and primordial concept of woman in Islam, and, the way how it is explained, and the process of transition and transformation of these concepts. In addition, I also examine several sorts of schools of thoughts concerning the Muslim women and Islam, including the Islamic traditionists, and modernists. Meanwhile, I juxtapose these two different sides of thought of woman and Islam, and try to give a much clearer picture of this scene between what we called conflict and convergence, whatever of peacefully or militantly. Through this mutual influence between the Quran, Hadith, Islamic traditionists and Islamic modernists, we could understand better the relationships of woman and Islam, or Islam and religion, or religion and woman, etc. Finally, I also try to point out the possibly real problems of woman issues encountered nowadays within the Islamic world.