Feminist Approach to Quranic Interpretation: A Research Study of Kecia Ali’s Methodology

Abstract

This study explores Kecia Ali’s feminist approach that she employs while interpreting the Quran, which sets her work at the hub of classical Islamic doctrine and the present -day ethical challenges. Ali’s approach highlights a historically framed study of the Quran and Hadith, prioritizing factors like human dignity, justice, and gender equity. She analyzes the subjects of marriage, sexual ethics, polygamy, and female autonomy while critically employing conventional juristic texts to emphasize the way ethical reasoning can reinforce textual exegesis. This research reviews Kecia Ali’s methodological framework that embodies textual analysis, historical contextualization, and contemporary feminist ethics to perceive her strategy of addressing the conflict between classical Islamic principles and the futuristic moral necessities. With a comprehensive analysis of Ali’s methodology, this research adds to the extended discussion on female hermeneutics, interpretative ethics, and the growing role of the feminine perspective in Islamic scholarship. A qualitative and descriptive approach is adopted with a primary focus on the book Sexual Ethics in Islam by Kecia Ali, along with some other library resources.