A&S Research Proposal Template

Haneen Abu Al Neel

Professor Ladelle McWhorter
The Lifestyle of women in the latter phase of Islam via Quranic Surahs (verses)

In this research, I am aiming to tackle the issue of the ideal lifestyle of women, desired and
described by the Prophet Mohammed on behalf of God. To do that, I will use the heart of Islam,
The Quran as I will find the expectations of Muslim women there. The Quran is a series of
revelations to the Prophet starting in 610 that were written down by his closest followers and
companions after his death in 632. Following the foundational part of the preaching of Islam in
Mecca, the Muslims had to flee violence to Madina in 622. Naturally, as the audience changed
and Islam prospered to further spread outside the Arabian Peninsula, Islam teachings got more
specific and complex to pertain to the growing diversity of Islam Followers compared to the
preceding Jahiliah (Pre-Islamic) period. The word lifestyle of women in my research
corresponds to the forbidden actions, mannerisms, and image in society. This research aims to
determine the accuracy of the accusations against Islam as having hindered womens growth in
society. If this hypothesis is proven to be true, a whole new perspective for Muslims and nonMuslims to look at Islam is built.
In order to fully understand what the scope of this research is, it first must be understood
that there are some common negative arguments in Islam regarding womens rights.
Widespread beliefs in Islamic communities are that women must wear Hijab (veil), their
testimony is not worth that of mans, and as for inheritance they get only half of what their
brothers get. Such interpretations of Islams view on womens status vilifies Islam within the
non-Islamic populations. Finally, the main argument I am looking to explore the accuracy of
is the idea of women being completely financially, religiously, and personally dependent on
and subordinate to men.
Second, there is the historical context to add to the picture. When the revelations started,
the most vibrant place for trade and travel was Mecca. There was the long silk-road along the
Hijaz line of mountains now in Jordan, and this road used to allow merchants coming from
what is now Yemen to go to what is now Syria. Among the many items traded were spices
and silk. The actual market for all this trading was in Mecca, the most cosmopolitan place in
the Pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula. Mecca was controlled by the strongest tribe at the time,
Quraysh, who were following a polytheist faith.
Finally, one needs religious context on how Islam started. The Prophet Muhammed was
born in Mecca and belong to the Bani-Hashim (sons of Hashim). His clan had very little
wealth, and much less social power. The Prophet used to sit in solitude meditating the nature
of Earth and life. The angel Jibreel is believed to have come down to give him his first
revelation, that he will be the prophet of his people. From that point on, the angels visits
started regularly re-occurring, pertaining to current political events, guiding the Prophet and
his followers, as well as telling the stories of adversities facing them. The Qurans miracle is
believed to be in the beauty of its poetic phonetics and syntax. The miracle is verified by
Qurayshs inability to create anything like the Quran, albeit being known for the best poets
in the region. Therefore, right behavior is to be found there and the interpretation of the text
is crucial.
The main point of this research project is to either settle or create a strong foundation for the

debate about oppression or emancipation of women in Islam. The issues I will be tackling are
highlighted in the following guiding questions; can women speak to men with no restrictions?
Can women act as main reference and source of knowledge? Can women be religious and/or
social leaders? How should a woman think of herself? What are the characteristics attached to
her by the language of the Quranic verses directed at her? Through answering those subquestions, the issues of ethics and mannerism expectations of Muslims in Quran are revealed.
For this research to become productive, there need be a reference point in history to draw the
conclusion from. Hence, I will be referring to the Jahiliah (Pre-Islamic) period compared to the
latter Islamic period (in Madina, which is now in the KSA). Understanding the intended ethics of
the Muslims leads to a more holistic conclusions about the logic of Islam, keeping the early
teachings in mind. The findings of this research will determine the accuracy of argument
claiming Islams oppression of womens voices and activity level in several arenas, thus, it will
dictate the perspective through which the world look at Islam through; progressive or not.
Finally, the conclusion of this research might either help the Muslim community around the
world by defying stereotypes, or further catalyse such claims.
I will be looking at all the Surahs revelations in Madina to make note of and follow the
development of the way womens image is perceived, and reproduced by Islamic ideology. I will
be looking at the Surahs in a chronological order. I will be specifically looking at the language
used to describe and instructions directed at women. After gathering that information, I am going
to place the regulations and directions of the lifestyle of women in the historical context in the
Islamic Umma that time as well as compared to the Jahiliah times. As Islam teachings follow the
most recent revelations/ Surahs, I will be focusing on revelations happening after the Prophet and
Muslims flee violence to Madina in 622. I will specifically focus on Surahs of great relevance,
such as the following Surahs; Nisaa (women) and Tahrim (banning). After reading and
analyzing them, I will put them into historical and geographical context, both before Islam and
after it, make sense of the logic. The results will finally be written in a conclusion on the final
research paper, and in the abstract.

Bibliography
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http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/book/quran-both/sura-1.
"Log In." - Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Accessed March 02, 2016.
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/Timeline.html?topic=th1.

Yalman, Suzan. "The Birth of Islam | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The
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