Legal verses about women in the context of contemporary controversies

From creation until now woman has always been the subject of discussions and explanations, and maintained her position in daily discussions in every period of time. This situation continued during and after the revelation period, and is referred in verses as following: "They ask thy instruction concerning the women say: Allah doth instruct you about them" (Nisa 127) The reason for the subject of woman is still under discussion and appears in a new garment is closely related to the effect of globalization on Muslims. All of the current customs about women have a direct connection to the changes Muslim communities went through last centuries as a result of Westernization. In fact, to explain away the current practices as outdated and to try to conform them to the Western style or to present practices established by Qur'an as historical patterns, or to see Prophetic traditions as only historical models instead of the exemplary practice which Muslims have existential connection to is a result of the situation described above. The concept of becoming modern and staying Muslim while doing so can be seen as the fundamental motivation behind new controversies about the verses on women. This work is written to raise awareness about this subject by means of establishing the principals of these ideas which steer contemporary interpretations. However, because of the scope of the subject it is seen necessary to give a holistic evaluation about the contemporary discussions about verses based on the relevant literature and examples. In the end a representative a few examples are chosen to finish the study. In the thesis, contemporary ideas and interpretations are studies by making comparisons with previous scholars' interpretations, and it is tried to determine the points about which contemporary scholars made mistakes.