A’ISHAH BINT ABI BAKR AS A PARADIGM OF A WOMAN OF MEDINAN SOCIATY

(a view of feminist thought of Fatima Mernissi)

Abstract

UDK 141.72:28

Islamic feminism claims that it is not Islam but rather the Muslim men who deny the rights to women, thus it seeks to find example of an ideal Muslim sociaty and democracy in its Medinan period. From within that sociaty, A’ishah bint Abi Bakr, wife of Muhammad s.w.s., is taken as a paradigm of a socially active Muslim woman. One of the most renowned feminists in the Muslim world, Fatima Mernissi, takes A’ishah r.a. as a central figure in the book in which she presents her view of the position of a Muslim woman in the past, at the same time identifyng principles upon which the “ideal Medinan sociaty” was founded. Mernissi’s contribution to Islamic feminism is original in a way that she attempts to defend her position through classical and traditional sources, by dealing mostly with “reasons for the Revelation” (Asbab al-nuzul) and the Hadith. Her methodology leads towards a historization of the holy Text, however the author of this article believes that the method of contextualisation is more appropriate. The author of the article is of the opinion that understanding the spirit of the Qur’anic legislation, rather than insisting upon individual Shariah regulations (following Fazlu Rahman’s distinction between the Sunnah of faith and the historical Hadith). However, the central figure of Mernissi’s work, Aisha bint Abi Bakr, as a role model is a great opportunity for Islamic feminism. Islamic feminism should take inspiration from the spirit of the Qur’an and the life of the Messenger if it is to secure it legitimacy in contemporary intellectual developments of the Muslim society.