Toward a feminism and Quranic hermeneutics on gender equality: a study of Shaykh Adam Abdullah Al-Ilory’s works

Abstract

Feminism is a branch of modern literary theory, pursuing equal rights and legal protection for women in politics, education, economic and culture. It also posits that men and women are equal, both of them deserve equal rights and values in the society. The struggle emanated from Europe and America, when women were considered to be inferior to their male counterparts. Recently, the agitation has spread all over the places, which includes Islamic societies. Amongst the notable scholars in Yorubaland called for women right was Shaykh Adam Al-Ilory, being a renowned Arabic and Islamic reformer and social critics. It is therefore the interest of this essay to examine the questions of feminism in the works and how he succeeded in the interpretation of Quranic passages to answer the women’s rights and gender equality. The study adopts descriptive and analytical method of research. The findings reveal that there are no evidences in the Al-Qur’ān that women should be subjected to oppression and disrespect against the attitude of some people due to the lack of understanding Quranic text. The paper therefore, suggests among others; that proper interpretation must be given to the Quranic texts regarding the women’s right. Islam must also be well understood from its source; that is Al-Qur’ān rather from personal opinions.