Second issue: Women's leadership

There are several verses in the Quran and sayings of the hadiths which had been differently interpreted between the ancient scholars (salafi) and the contemporary scholars (khalafi). This happened due to the different ways the verses or the sayings of the hadiths were translated. The salafi tended to interpret them by means of "generality of its wording"[1] whereas the khalafi used the method of understanding the whole context and "specificity of the occasion".[2] One of the authentic hadiths narrated by the companion, Abu Bakar shows a good example of the difference in the interpretation of hadith.

Abu Bakra at the time of the Battle of the Camel said that when the prophet Muhammad heard that the Persians were ruled by a woman, he said: 'A people which has a woman as leader will never prosper'.[3]

The salafi scholars rejected the female leadership based on this hadith but according to Syeikh Muhammad al-Ghazzali in his book, Ibn Hazm supports the female participation in politics as well as other positions except that of caliph. This view is highly supported by some other scholars such as Jamal Badawi and Islamist women. According to Muhammad al-Ghazzali, this hadith was expressed to the young Persian Princess who had been elected as the leader through inheritance and not through consensus or 'syura'.[4]

The subject of this hadith is clearly not about the matter of gender but more pertaining to the particular nation. There are various opinions about female leadership in Islam but as far as we are concerned through some reviews, Islam does not prohibit women to participate in politics and other leaderships as long as the candidates are qualified enough to bear the responsibilities.[5]