al-Mar'a bayn al-Fiqh wa al-Qanun
- Author died
- 1384 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Warrāq lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
al-Mar'a bayn al-Fiqh wa al-Qanun (Woman Between Islamic Jurisprudence and Law) is a treatise by the Syrian Islamic scholar and jurist Mustafa al-Sibai (d. 1384 AH / 1964 CE) examining the status, legal rights, and social role of women in Islamic law in comparison with Western systems .
Origin and Publication
The work originated as a public lecture delivered by al-Sibai at the auditorium of Damascus University during the university's cultural season of 1961–1962, lasting over two hours . When the university arranged to publish the seasonal lectures in its annual compilation, al-Sibai expanded the lecture into a book, elaborating on summarized arguments, supplying textual proofs from Islamic law, citing documented conditions of Western women, and quoting Western writers to counter criticisms by orientalists and colonialists against Islamic legislation .
The book was first printed at the Damascus University Press in 1382 AH / 1962 CE . It was subsequently reprinted in multiple editions by al-Maktab al-Islami in Beirut and Damascus, including a fourth edition and a sixth edition in 1404 AH / 1984 CE . The author dedicated the work to Muslim women, young believers resisting modern cultural temptations, and his mother .
Content and Themes
Al-Sibai approaches the topic of women as a central issue of human society rather than a purely partisan debate, addressing the modern polarization shaped by contemporary propaganda . The book presents Islamic legislation as having elevated the standing and dignity of women centuries before modern reforms by granting them legal and financial rights while establishing gender-specific obligations designed to protect family stability .
Among its key arguments, the work underscores the obligation placed upon men to provide financial support (nafaqah) for women, relieving them of the necessity of outside labor so they can dedicate themselves to domestic life and child-rearing, while discouraging wanton display (tabarruj) and unrestricted mixing between genders . Regarding political participation, al-Sibai argues that Islamic teachings strongly discourage or prohibit women from engaging in politics, attributing this position not to an inherent lack of legal competence, but to the social harms and domestic disruption resulting from political involvement .
Structure and Documentation
In addition to the main expanded discourse, the author appended a dedicated supplementary section (al-Malaḥiq) containing historical and contemporary documentation . These appendices draw directly upon Western books, periodicals, newspapers, and reports to illustrate the condition of women in pre-Islamic civilizations and document the social challenges faced by women in modern Western societies .
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