The Concept of Family in the Thought of Ibn ʿĀshūr

Islamic Traditions and Modern Patriarchy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine how Islamic traditions have been interwoven with modern values regarding gender issues in twentieth-century Islamic reformist thought. I focus on the works of Tunisian scholar Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir Ibn ʿĀshūr (1879– 1973). As a high-ranking ʿālim (an Islamic religious scholar) at the prestigious Zaytuna Mosque, he applied the traditional Islamic scholarly methods in his writings, including tafsīr (Qur ʾanic exegesis). Meanwhile, as a reformist scholar influenced by the new values of his time, he attempted to modernize Islamic thought. In pre-modern times, Qurʾanic exegetes interpreted some verses as declaring the husband’s superiority over his wife. Islamic jurists also provided rules for unequal rights in marital relationships. However, neither group defined the concept of family. Ibn ʿĀshūr, in his famous book on Islamic legal theory, Maqāṣid al-sharīʿa al-Islāmiyya, emphasized the importance of the formation of family as the basis of society to preserve offspring, which was considered one of God’s intents (maqāṣid). He used the framework of the family in his tafsīr to discuss the divided marital roles, namely, that the wife would manage the household while the husband would provide for his family members. Although he indicated that their rights were equivalent, if not equal, he believed that man and woman each had an innate ability and a corresponding role in the family. In my opinion, such a gender view that confines women in a family home, expecting them to devote themselves to their families voluntarily, should be distinguished from those of traditional patriarchy, in which a man has absolute authority. This article shows how Ibn ʿĀshūr represented modern patriarchal gender norms based on the concept of family through his arguments, which used the traditional way of classical disciplines to maintain the legitimacy of Islamic religious scholarship. 1973). As a high-ranking ʿālim (an Islamic religious scholar) at the prestigious Zaytuna Mosque, he applied the traditional Islamic scholarly methods in his writings, including tafsīr(Qur ʾanic exegesis). Meanwhile, as a reformist scholar influenced by the new values of his time, he attempted to modernize Islamic thought. In pre-modern times, Qurʾanic exegetes interpreted some verses as declaring the husband’s superiority over his wife. Islamic jurists also provided rules for unequal rights in marital relationships. However, neither group defined the concept of family. Ibn ʿĀshūr, in his famous book on Islamic legal theory, Maqāṣid al-sharīʿa al-Islāmiyya, emphasized the importance of the formation of family as the basis of society to preserve offspring, which was considered one of God’s intents (maqāṣid). He used the framework of the family in his tafsīr to discuss the divided marital roles, namely, that the wife would manage the household while the husband would provide for his family members. Although he indicated that their rights were equivalent, if not equal, he believed that man and woman each had an innate ability and a corresponding role in the family. In my opinion, such a gender view that confines women in a family home, expecting them to devote themselves to their families voluntarily, should be distinguished from those of traditional patriarchy, in which a man has absolute authority. This article shows how Ibn ʿĀshūr represented modern patriarchal gender norms based on the concept of family through his arguments, which used the traditional way of classical disciplines to maintain the legitimacy of Islamic religious scholarship.