Muhammad Shahrur's millenial interpretation of women’s issues

Study approach

This paper was deliberately written to discuss Muhammad Shahrur's commentary on women. This study used a literature review approach, which analyzed the sources in a descriptive-hermeneutic manner. Tafseer/books from millenial interpreters discussing women were considered eligible for the study. I used Pontianak State Institute for Islamic Studies library and the internet to conduct the search using the library information system with ‘women interpretation’ as keywords.

Search strategy

I found several books of tafseer but few discuss women in the millenial era. These were: al-Kitâb wa al-Qur’ân: Qirâ’ah Mu’âshirah, al-Kitâb wa al-Qur’ân: Qirâ’ah Mu’âshirah (1990), Dirasat al-Islamiyat al-Mu'ashirah fi al-Dawlah wa al-Mujtama' (1996), al-Islâm wa al-Imân: Manzhûmah al-Qiyam (1996), and Nahwa Ushûl Jadîdah Li al-Fiqh al-Islâmy: Fiqh al-Mar’ah (2000). I then searched books eligible for millenial interpretation about women’s issues. Two Shahrur books met all the criteria above. The main sources of this study are two books written by Muhammad Shahrur, namely: Al-Kitāb wa Al-Qur’ān, Qirā’ah Mu’āshirah, and Nahw Ushūl al-Jadīdah Li al-Fiqh al-Islāmy; Fiqh al-Mar’ah. I then chose chapters that discuss women in both books. The search strategy involved looking at the table of contents in both books for women’s issues. Furthermore, a list of the most suitable items according to the aims of this study was obtained. The list of materials/items is as follows;

Data collection

The data were collected through the following steps; 1) bookmarking and recording narrative texts that serve as research data, 2) Making an inventory of words or texts related to women's issues. Shahrur's book entitled Al-Kitāb wa Al-Qur’ān, Qirā’ah Mu’āshirah consists of 4 chapters with 729 pages. Chapter 1 consists of 5 sections, chapter 2 consists of 4 sections, chapter 3 consists of 3 sections, and chapter 4 consists of 2 sections with an addition of a closing chapter consisting of 5 sections. The book contains women's issues related to limits (page 453), polygamy (page 597), clothing (page 604), male and female family relationships (page 604). Meanwhile, Shahrur's book entitled Nahw Ushūl al-Jadīdah Li al-Fiqh al-Islāmy; Fiqh al-Mar’ah consists of 6 sections with 381 pages; in these sections there are texts related to women's issues, namely; polygamy (page 301), marriage (page 307), clothing (page 331-343), jewelry (362-365), and dress code for females (page 374) (see Tables 1 and 2).

Analysis

Hermeneutics is a process of elaborating in terms of content and meaning what is hidden behind the text.¹⁶ This study aimed to interpret women’s issues in two of Shahrur's books, using hermeneutics data analysis. Paler states that hermeneutics is a process of elaborating in terms of content and meaning what is hidden behind the text.¹⁷ Michelle Byrne also states that the hermeneutics method is used to understand and interpret the text meaning,¹⁸ Based on Gadamer's elaborate understanding, interpretation and application, the analyses are inherent in the interpretation.¹⁹ After examining passages on polygamy, marriage, clothing, jewelry and dress code for females in Shahrur's books, I interpreted and analyzed these texts, and finally compared them to the verses of the Holy Qur'an and the application of Shahrur's theory of limits.

Muhammad Shahrur as a Islamic millennial thinker and interpreter

Muhammad Shahrur is known as a millennial thinker, whom A. Lutfi Syaukanie classified as leftist and liberal.²⁰ He was born in the Salihiyyah intersection, Damascus, Syria, on 11 April 1938. At the age of 19, Shahrur obtained a Tsanawiyah diploma from the Abdurrahman al-Kawakibi madrasa in 1957.²¹ However, these schools are not religious schools. In other words, Shahrur did not receive sufficient religious education in his childhood and youth; at least in a formal sense. Syahrûr earned his Master's degree and three years later, in 1972, he successfully completed his Doctoral program. In the same year he was officially appointed as a lecturer in the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Damascus and teaches courses in Land Mechanics and Geology (Mikanika at-Turbât wa al-Mansya’ât al-Ardhiyyah).²²

During his career as a lecturer, Shahrur wrote several books which were not really his specialty. He made his best effort to combine his knowledge with Islamic teachings, especially with the Qur’an. After finding ideas, he began to combine them with verses from the Qur’an. His thoughts related to Islamic law, where he argues that there is an upper limit and a lower limit in Islamic law, finally became known as the theory of limits. While teaching, Shahrur actively wrote books. He tried to interpret the verses of the Qur’an, and in addition, he also proposed the theory of limits in law which basically states that law has an upper and lower limit. In his Al-Kitab, Shahrur derives the word Al-Quran from Al-Kitab, where the origin of the word is ka-ta-ba. It means an effort made by someone who collects various themes and composes sentences and links one event to another to form a complete piece of writing.²³ Therefore, the revelation received by Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) is called a kitab [book] because it contains various themes. In this book, Shahrur was heavily involved in linguistic interpretation. He divided the book into two sections: a) the first section is the kitab related to human behavior such as prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage. Human capacity to carry out this first section of the book is limited, and therefore humans have the ability to choose or be detached from it; b) the second section is the kitab in the form of ma'rifah which consists of natural law and human life such as death, the end of the world, etc.

In this context, it is necessary to understand that Shahrur did not join any Islamic institution, nor did he take any formal training or obtain a certificate in Islamic sciences. The works he has written, among others, are Al-Kitāb wa Al-Qur'ān–Qirā'ah Mu'āshirah (1990), Al-Daulah wa al-Mujtama'(1994), Al-Islām wa al-Īmān–Manzhūmah al- Qiyam-(1996), Nahw Ushl al-Jadīdah Li al-Fiqh al-Islāmy (2000), and Tajfīf Manābi' al-Irhāb (2008). Of these works, the ones that have received the most attention are Al-Kitāb wa Al-Qur'ān –Qirā'ah Mu'āshirah (Contemporary Study of the Book and Al-Quran) and Nahw Ushl al-Jadīdah Li al-Fiqh al-Islāmy (Contemporary Islamic Fiqh Methodology). His monumental work, Al Kitab wa Al Qur'an, Qira'ah Mu'ashirah (Contemporary Study of the Book and Al-Quran) is his greatest work.²⁴

He often involved himself in issues of shari'a liberalization and deconstruction of the the Qur'anic commentary. Several Islamic laws and the rules of the science of commentary and ushul fiqh were deconstructed with technical knowledge and relying on their Arabic origins. His environmental background, both education and socialization, also influenced his way of thinking.

Muhammad Shahrur’s millennial commentary approach

The term millennial commentary, of course, is not a term coined by Shahrur, but a term that the author attaches to Shahrur's thoughts on commentary. In my humble opinion, this term is appropriate after reading Shahrur's views on commentary, which are relevant to be applied with the millennial spirit of this era, an era where all forms of culture and lifestyle meet and influence each other. In this context, Shahrur himself agreed that legal products must be able to synergize with the socio-cultural context, including the times.

Shahrur came to the realization that the outcome of Islamic law is greatly influenced by the socio-cultural setting as a result of his language approach to the study of commentary. In order to bring the texts of the Qur'an—the foundation of fiqh—into line with the realities of society everywhere and at any time, Shahrur thought it necessary to reinterpret them. Shahrur mistrusted the Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah as a source of law due to his emphasis on the Qur'anic scriptures.

He believes that the Qur'an is sufficient since it contains guidelines for addressing life's realities in its verses. Shahrur created the Theory of Limits to implement his proposal (Nazariyyat al-Hudud). Shahrur attempts to integrate the muhkamat al-Qur'an texts into the reality of life with its constraints through this Theory of Limits. He asserts that the laws of the Qur'an are adaptable and can be employed in any situation, regardless of place or time. As long as it stays within certain bounds and does not go beyond them, the law permits it to be done regardless of the state of the community

The theory of limits consists of a lower limit (al-hadd al-adna/minimum) and an upper limit (al-hadd al-a'la/maximum). There are six forms of application of this theory of limits in the study of legal verses, namely as quoted by M. Amin Abdullah from Shahrur's thoughts (see Table 3):²⁵

The six forms of the theory of limits proposed by Shahrur above have an impact on the istinbath of Islamic law. We take the example of the first theory of limits which only has a lower limit, namely regarding women's clothing and intimate parts. When interpreting QS. [24]: 31, "Or children who are still unaware of women's intimate parts”.²⁶ According to Shahrur, intimate parts are what make a person ashamed when seen, and intimate parts are not related to halal and haram, both from near and far.

He gave an example, “If someone is bald and doesn't like people seeing his bald head, then he will wear wigs, because he considers his bald head to be an intimate part.” Then he quoted the hadith of the Prophet, “Whoever covers the intimate parts of a believer, surely Allah will cover his intimate parts.” He commented, covering the intimate parts of the believer in the hadith, does not mean putting clothes on them so that they are not visible. Then he concluded that aurat (intimate parts) stems from shame, namely a person's dislike when something is seen, both from their body and behavior. Being shy according to him is relative, changing according to customs, times, and places.²⁷

Therefore, when there is a verse that tells to wear the hijab in the QS. [33]: 59, “O Prophet! Ask your wives, daughters, and believing women to draw their cloaks over their bodies. In this way it is more likely that they will be recognized ˹as virtuous˺ and not be harassed.”²⁸ He interprets that this verse is in the form of teaching, not sharia, and was revealed in Medina which indicates that it must be understood temporally with the aim of security from two disturbances, namely natural or weather disturbances and social disturbances that adapt to local traditions so as not to invite ridicule.²⁹

So Shahrur's conclusion for the hijab has a maximum and minimum limit. The maximum limit is to cover the entire body except the face and palms, while the minimum limit is that which only covers the juyūb which according to him includes the cleavage, body parts under the armpits, genitals, and buttocks. Apart from these, it does not include intimate parts and only adapts to community traditions.³⁰

Next, Shahrur also interpreted the verse, “Let them not show their adornments, except what normally appears” to mean there are two kinds of jewelry for women: object jewelry and place jewelry.³¹ Object jewelry is, for example, clothing and accessories, while place jewelry is the entire woman's body which is commonly seen as the abdomen, back, head, and legs. So, all parts of the body may be exposed based on the verse above. The hidden ones are the juyub (pubic area, buttocks, armpits, and breasts). In other words, a woman who only wears underwear out of the house is not considered to have violated Allah's provisions. Showing a stomach piercing is also permissible.

Moreover, he stated that a woman's vital intimate parts (armpits, breasts, and genitals) may be revealed to the seven groups of men mentioned in the QS. [24]: 31, namely brothers, fathers, daughters of a sibling, sons of a sibling, parents of one’s wives and their children. His opinion states that a Muslim woman may be completely naked in front of these men. He said, “If parents see their daughter completely naked, then it is not said that it is haram, but only a disgrace.”³²

He even said that the relationship between teenagers of the opposite sex without marriage, or living together is “halal”. Shahrur said that if it is in accordance with their will, without a contract, or without being accompanied by a sheikh or without permission, then it is lawful. He stated, “Read the Book of Allah, don't be afraid of it; all of you can do that without intermediaries and without teachers, and promiscuity is lawful, provided there is agreement between the two parties,” he said. He also stated that promiscuity between a man and a woman is a substitute for marriage, and without a written contract, is “halal, and in accordance with shar'i.”³³

The second example of the theory of limits, which only has an upper limit, is regarding the verse of cutting off hands for thieves. Shahrur argued that the words qata'a could mean physical or non-physical cutting. By looking at the basis of the word qata'a, it turns out to have many meanings and not all meanings refer to physical cutting. In addition, in the Qur’an not all the words qata'a mean physical cutting. An example of qata'a which means physical cutting is found in QS Al-Maidah: 33,³⁴ while the meaning of not physical cutting is in QS. Ali-Imran: 127,³⁵ QS. Al-anfal: 7,³⁶ and QS. Al-Baqarah: 27.³⁷

It is at this stage that Shahrur then concludes that the words qata'a in the context of theft can be interpreted as physical or non-physical cutting. By looking at the maslahah (the aims and objectives in Islamic law) between physical and non-physical cutting, Shahrur considers that physical cutting in the verse is the maximum law (upper limit) that can be set, while non-physical cuts, for example, putting the perpetrator in prison. This means that in this verse the concept of hudud al-a'la (upper limit) applies and the human ijtihad is under the hudud al-a'la.

Further, the third example of the theory, which has both an upper and a lower limit, that is, the minimum and maximum limits have been set by the Qur’an, while ijtihad is in between the two minimum and maximum limits. For example: QS. An Nisa verse 11, concerning the Division of Inheritance. The maximum limit for men is twice that of women, while the minimum limit for women is 0.5 of men. Ijtihad moves between the two maximum and minimum limits by looking at the various aspects that exist.

Regarding polygamy, Shahrur is very strict. With the Theory of Limits, there are two important limitations of terms, namely the limitation on quantity (al-Had al-Kamy), which is four wives, and the limitation on quality (al-Had al-Kalfy), namely the second, third, and fourth wives are widows who have children. Shahrur allows polygamy under two conditions, namely first, the second, third, and fourth wives are widows with children whose husbands left them. Second, the husband must have an uneasy feeling that he will not be able to deal justly with his children. If the two conditions above are not met, polygamy will fail. This means that the prospective wife must be a widow, not a virgin and must have children, as well as the prospective husband must be fair in all aspects, especially the social aspects of life/society. Shahrur applies these two conditions based on the structure of language norms in the Qur'an Surah an-Nisa verse 4. Shahrur takes these two conditions based on the “structure of language rules” in the word of Allah “And if you are afraid you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, then marry two, three or four women whom you like.” Shahrur also sees how Allah honors a widow by using the gentle words “ma tabalakum” (women you like) instead of “mashi'tum min an-nisa” which is respect for marriage.

Regarding the law of adultery, which falls into in the fourth limit theory, the provisions of the lower and upper limits are at one point or there is no other alternative and there can be no more or less. This means that the provision of the maximum limit is also the minimum limit, so that ijtihad is not possible to take heavier and lighter laws. For example: QS. An-Nur: 2, regarding the punishment for adultery. In that verse the punishment for adultery is a maximum and a minimum limit at the same time, because in that verse there is an order not to do “ra'fah”, which means there is no waiver. Furthermore, regarding the fifth limit theory, a provision that has a lower and upper limit at the same time, but both cannot be exceeded; if exceeded it means violating God's rules, which applies to male and female relationships. If a man and a woman commit acts approaching adultery but have not committed adultery, then both of them have not fallen within the limits of Allah's hudud.

Finally, the rule which has an upper and lower limit, where the upper limit is positive and cannot be exceeded, while the lower limit is negative and can be exceeded applies to material relationships among human beings, both men and women. The upper limit is positive in the form of usury, while the lower limit is negative in the form of zakat (alms). The upper limit that cannot be exceeded is usury, the lower limit that can be exceeded is zakat (zakat as a negative limit because it is the minimum limit for assets that must be paid). In this case, zakat can be exceeded by charity, while usury cannot be exceeded because it is an upper limit that cannot be exceeded.

This study is limitated as it has only discussed women based on Shahrur's theory of limits as tool of analysis, while the book Nahw Ushūl al-Jadīdah Li al-Fiqh al-Islāmy; Fiqh al-Mar’ah. This study limitation also raises opportunities for future researchers to conduct studies on other content such as inheritance (الإرث) and testament (وصية).