Customer Reviews

My Soul is a Woman: The Feminine in Islam

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This book is powerfully written. Examining sacred texts and social conventions important to muslims. The hermenutical frame used is one of suspicion and brings forth many enlightening ideas about Islam and feminism. This book will cause aparadigm shift in your understang of Islam

Internationally acclaimed scholar Annemarie Schimmel shatters stereotypes as she reconstructs, with copious examples, an important but little-known chapter of Islamic spirituality - showing the clear equality of women and men in the conception of the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, and in the feminine language of the mystical tradition.

The Qur'an is clear that God is neither male nor female, "neither begotten nor does God beget", but rather beyond our understanding. We are not to equate any human physical attributes to God, and hence there is no debate in Islam about God's genitalia! Wonderful! Eve is not a secondary creation but created, like Adam, from a single soul. Eve is not responsible for the "sin" and Hagar is a strong believing woman of faith who understands God is "testing" Ibrahim/Abraham with taking her and the baby Ismail/Ishmael to the desert and leaving them there! And there's more. . .

Teachers/Librarians: 9th grade-adult, Social Studies/Humanities. Especially accessible for high school students are the ""Introduction and the chapters on "Women in Sufism" and "Women in the Qur'an and in the Tradition" [Hadith].
See also for your collection: Amina Wadud's Qur'an and Woman!

This book is powerfully written. Examining sacred texts and social conventions important to muslims. The hermenutical frame used is one of suspicion and brings forth many enlightening ideas about Islam and feminism. This book will cause aparadigm shift in your understang of Islam