Women’s Role as Mufassir and Their Contributions to Qurʾanic Exegesis

The role of the Qurʾan as the primary legal source in Islam is inevitable among Muslims. Previous and present scholars have discussed the study of the Qurʾan in various fields, and many efforts have been done to understand its content from multiple languages. In addition, Qurʾanic exegesis or tafsīr is another important branch that contributes a lot in understanding the Qurʾan. However, it has been long debated that Qurʾanic exegesis was dominated by men since the seventh century. Due to the challenge debated by feminists, women began to question males’ interpretation and gradually produce their own interpretation by affirming the concept of ‘women-friendly’. Therefore, this study aims to analyse their arguments and to discover the contributions of women in Qurʾanic exegesis from the eighteenth century to the present day. By applying the qualitative method, this study found that all tafsīr written by female mufassirs have different formats, purposes, methods, and approaches. There is also need and demands of women scholars in Qurʾanic exegesis, because undeniably, there are differences found in the interpretations of male and female scholars. However, it is vital to highlight that the main responsibility to understand the Qurʾan and apply its content in daily life should not be determined by gender, but it lies within an individual’s obligation.