The Disqualification of Women's Witness: Early, Classical and Modern Qur'anic Exegesis on Women’s Intellectual Capacity (Naqiṣāt al-‘Aql)

Abstract

For a long time, religious texts have included gender discrimination as a fundamental aspect of their structure and history. Despite being justified by references within religious texts, it is necessary to analyze and emphasize that discriminative behavior is not promoted by the texts themselves, but rather their interpretation by scholars. This research aims to examine the dynamics of gender discrimination within Qur'anic exegesis, identifying the root causes and proposing solutions to minimize discriminatory interpretation. The study utilizes a historical approach to comprehend discrimination dynamics within classical, enlightenment, and modern works of exegesis of verse 282 of Sura Al Baqarah (Q2:282). After conducting interpretative analysis of these texts, the investigation reveals that discrimination against females is evident in the disqualification of their witness, which is a prevalent argument among mufassir throughout history. The article further identifies two primary causes of discriminatory interpretation and proposes two alternative exegeses to put an end to gender discrimination within Qur'anic exegesis. The study concludes that discrimination against women has been deeply ingrained in Qur'anic exegesis since classical times, which has subordinated women in almost every aspect of life, whether consciously or unconsciously.The article makes a worthwhile contribution through its examination of early, classical and modern tafsir, supplemented with reference to the scholarly literature on Qur'anic verses, such as Q2:282, which strengthen its contribution.