Patriarchy as a “Reading Strategy”: Understanding Patriarchal Interpretations of the

Qur’ān 4:34 in the light of Stanley Fish’s Concept of “Interpretive Communities”,

Dr. Adis Duderija

Forthcoming publication, International Qur’anic Studies Association

SUMMARY

The aim of this chapter is to employ the concept of “interpretive communities” as developed
by Stanley Fish, a noted contemporary literary critic, as a tool for accounting for the
patriarchal biases in selected Qur’anic exegetical works of the verse 4:34 , both past and
present, primarily in socio-historical terms.

I divide elements contributing to the patriarchal nature of community of interpretation

as follows:

i.) personal opinion of the exegete regarding the nature of masculinity and femininity

coupled with shared socio-cultural norms and mores regarding the nature of

masculinity and femininity

ii.) approach to gender based beliefs and customs in normative texts

iii.) lack of integration of gender1 as an analytical category employed for purposes of

interpretation.

By focusing on the sociological, historical (and to a lesser extent textual aspects of

interpretative communities insofar as how they interacted with the other two) characterized

and held together by patriarchy, I argued that when conceptualized through the concept of

Fish’s “interpretive communities” the patriarchal exegesis of Qur’ān 4:34 can be explained as

a result of adoption of patriarchy as a “reading strategy” which trapped and compelled the

(neo-) traditional exegetes in espousing patriarchal interpretation of the text in question. As a

corollary, Fish’s theory predicts that a continued subscription to patriarchal values and ethics
1
On the meaning of the word gender as employed in this article see p. 15-16 in this article.
as a basic belief and value system that this community of interpretation shares also ensures

that these patriarchal interpretations will endure and will continue to do as long as the

patriarchal nature of these interpretive communities are considered as valid (and normative).

We saw this element of Fish’s theory exemplified in the works of the contemporary neo-

traditional Muslim scholars Maudūdī and Tabātābāī.