Feminism and Gender Equality in Islam Perspective of Al-Qur’an Tafsir (Study of Qur’anic Verses on Term Nafs Wahidah)

Abstract

Discussions about equality between men and women from pre-Islamic times until Islam came, namely the time of the Prophet Muhammad, continued to be a serious conversation . In Islam, one of the things that sparked this discussion is the study of the word nafs wahidah regarding the origin of the creation of women, which is mentioned in QS. al-Nisa' (4): 1, QS. al-Nisa' (4): 41, QS. al-A'raf (7): 189, QS. al-Nahl (16): 72, QS. al-Rum (30): 21, QS. al-Zumar (39): 6, and QS. alSyura (42): 11. Some of these verses about self-righteousness which in the discussion of this article are called "paragraphs of equality" because they are arguments for gender equality between men and women. From the word nafs wahidah , classical commentators tend to interpret it as that woman was created from the rib of a man which in turn has implications for gender inequality. Over time, modern commentators and figures have sued the interpretations of the classical commentators. Because of this reason, this research wants to answer a question; how is the interpretation of the mufassir and modern figures on the verses of equality in the Qur'an?. As a methodical step, this article uses a qualitative descriptive analysis method based on library research (library research ) . In the end, this research resulted in a conclusion that the mufassir and modern figures interpret the word nafs wahidah not as Adam (male) but more precisely as "one self" where Hawa (woman) was also created from him. There is no difference between the two except the level of piety they have. This paper also examines the problem of the relationship between men and women in the public sphere. The presence of a variety of interpretations that subordinate women's creatures, gave rise to various negative perceptions present from women themselves. Even though men and women are both complete human beings who are given the mandate as caliph fi al-arḍ . Through these interpretations, it triggers the meaning of Islamic source texts that are masculine in nature, forms the superiority of men over women, dampens the abilities and potential that exist within women. In fact, since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, there have been many contributions from women in the public sphere, both in the scope of ritual worship, knowledge, education, economic work, as well as social and other cultures.