Ideal-Normative and Socio-Historical Approaches to Gender Equality Verses: A Study of Riffat Hassan's Thought

Gender equality issues never stop being discussed and always attract attention. This is driven by the many inequalities experienced by women from ancient times until now. Even though gender equality is increasingly being echoed, the position of women is always affected and biased by patriarchal culture. Often women are made second. Islam itself provides space for gender equality. This study aims to discuss Riffat Hassan's thoughts on realizing gender equality in the Islamic view. This study also uses a qualitative descriptive method with a narrative analysis approach. The data was collected by documenting various sources related to Hassan and her thoughts and was analyzed using interactive qualitative analysis. The results show that there are two approaches used by Riffat Hassan in interpreting the verses of the Koran: the ideal-normative and socio-historical approaches. In her view, the basis of a contested patriarchal culture is related to 1) God first created men, not women; women are believed to have been created from the ribs of men. Therefore, women are derivative and ontologically secondary; 2) women, not men, are the primary agents for human fall from heaven; and 3) women are not only created by men but also for men, so the existence of women is only a tool and has no fundamental meaning.


INTRODUCTION
The status and position of women in Islam is a topic that always generates heated debate.With it, Muslim elites' perceptions regarding women's position are very diverse and cannot be identified clearly.This proves that women are extraordinary creatures (Patoari, 2019).However, women are often seen as weak stereotypes and as complementary figures.Not only men have this view, but women who are insecure and lack confidence that women are not created differently from men (Saifee et al., 2012).Pradita (2020) emphasized that the women's movement exists because of several issues of inequality.Then voiced an understanding of the relationship between men and women.Currently, many women leaders carry out similar movements, raising gender equality, one of which is Riffat Hassan In relations between men and women, awareness of the need to reform patterns of relations between men and women in a more just and nuanced direction with equality continues and remains an exciting and essential issue to discuss (Lakoff, 1973;Holmgren & Hearn, 2009;Aspinall et al., 2021).There has been male domination in all societies throughout the ages, and so far, women have experienced unfair treatment in various aspects of life (Sudarso et al., 2019;Mawaddah et al., 2021;Vioni & Liansah, 2022).The exception is in matriarchal social life, where women are power holders (Setri & Setiawan, 2020).The amount of matriarchal social life is few compared to the patriarchy, so women always feel pressured.
The wrong mindset says that women's roles are limited to the kitchen, the well, and the bed, so things outside of that become unimportant in the end (Bemiller & Schneider, 2010).Even though women themselves can become educators, agents of change, motivators, or supporters, it cannot be denied that women have a domestic role in giving birth, raising, and educating children (Sumbulah, 2019).However, one should not continue to be afraid to work and achieve.They are locked up in views as housewives who are unpaid and never stop or other women who are too focused on external affairs and neglect family harmony.The balance between internal family affairs and self-achievement, which continues to increase, is increasingly difficult to achieve (Qudsiah & Gustiawati, 2017).
The discourse on women's liberation and empowerment is currently getting more attention; as a result, it presents the issue of gender equality.To differentiate between sex and gender, Mazure (Mazure, 2016(Mazure, , 2021) ) defines "sex" when referring to biology and "gender" when referring to self-representation influenced by social, cultural, and personal experience.Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding the Biology of Sex and Gender Differences ( 2001) recommends specifications for researchers to clarify the use of sex and gender.The word "sex" should be used in the study of human subjects as a classification, typically as male or female, in accordance with the reproductive organs and functions that result from the chromosomal complement.The word "gender" should be used in the study of human subjects to refer to a person's selfrepresentation as male or female or how that person is treated by social institutions based on how that person presents their gender.The word "sex" should be used in the majority of studies involving nonhuman animals.The division of sex (sex) is determined biologically and is attached to specific sexes and is permanent and cannot be replaced.Meanwhile, gender is built socially and culturally.Futhermore, gender is defined as a set of values, hopes, and beliefs played by men in social life.Islam itself provides space in the discussion of gender equality (Kazemi, 2000;Barlow & Akbarzadeh, 2006;Mir-Hosseini, 2006;Rizzo et al., 2007;Seedat, 2013).
Talking about gender equality is always associated with feminism.However, the relationship between feminism and religion is debated (Anyidoho, 2018;Zubair & Zubair, 2017).Women are very close to the atmosphere of domestication and patriarchal domination.So Muslim woman scholars or intellectuals seek to expel women from the center of men.Once again, women do not need to be imprisoned in the culture of kanca wingking (Javanese language) (Hastuti et al., 2021).It is tough to accept that the westernized framework of feminism can be adopted in the discourse on gender equality from an Islamic perspective (Edwin, 2013).So, it is the feminist Muslim woman who wants to combine the discourse on women's liberation from a patriarchal culture based on the Koran.As is known, Islam has announced the status of women who are born as leaders (Supriyadi et al., 2019).
This gender equality movement received full attention from Riffat Hassan.She has deep thoughts in studying the verses of the Koran about the conceptual relationship between women and men.This paper analyses Riffat Hassan's life background and beliefs on understanding the verses of the Koran through an ideal-normative and socio-historical approach.The Koran accommodates and appreciates women and does not discriminate against them.

METHOD
The method used in this research is a descriptive qualitative method with a thematic analysis approach.This aims to find out the search and deepening of a meaning resulting from various texts with specific themes of "what" and "how" (Riessman, 2005).Riffat Hassan examines gender equality in Islam, and this study analyses her way of interpreting the verses of the Koran using two approaches: idealnormative and socio-historical.The data used in this study comes from various literature, such as books and journals related to Riffat Hassan's thoughts.Data collection through documentation and analysis with the concept of data presentation Miles and Huberman.
With these three steps of data analysis, the results of the reduction data are obtained as needed.Then the data is presented systematically and easily understood.Finally, a conclusion is given based on the data that has been compiled (Miles et al., 2014).

Riffat Hassan's Life Sketch
Riffat Hassan is a Pakistani Muslim feminist scholar, to be precise in Lahore, which is a large old city and currently the capital of Punjab province.It is unknown exactly when Hassan was born, but several sources state that she was born in 1943 (Robikah, 2021).Hassan comes from a descendant of the Sayyid family, a prominent, respected, and respected family in the city.Hassan lives with his five brothers and three sisters.As for her father, who is a traditionalist and has patriarchal principles, a social system that places the role of men above all else, he believes and states that the best age for sex roles for every girl is to marry when they are under sixteen years old.This is contrary to Hassan's principle.Meanwhile, Hassan's mother does not agree with traditional Islamic culture; she rejects cultural principles that affirm the submission and inferiority of women to men.Due to her own life, her mother disobeyed her husband.He cares more about his daughter than his son.She says educating girls is more important than educating boys because girls born in Muslim communities will always face various obstacles (Husniyah, 2018).
Her father's views meant that Riffat Hassan never had a good relationship with her father, as did her mother's attitude, which did not want to compromise with traditional Islamic culture.In her teens, Hassan flatly refused his father's wish to send her to an all-girls school.Even her father emphasized to Hassan to follow the custom that girls must get married at 16.This courage cannot be separated from the support and protection of her mother, whom she categorizes as a radical feminist, which makes Hassan alienated from her family and society (Hassan, 1991).
In addition to the family factor, the birth of Riffat Hassan's feminist thought cannot be separated from the condition of Pakistan, which was indeed classified as a country full of upheavals, especially in formulating the concept of an Islamic state between the Mawdudi sect which supports Pakistan as a traditional theocratic state, with the camp supporting the formation of a state Islam which is oriented towards Fazlurrahman's modern thoughts.In the context of such upheaval, the role of women becomes a central issue, between the "castration" of women's creativity and confining it to domestic areas on the one hand.On the other hand, there are demands to give freedom to women (Esha, 2010).
At seventeen, Riffat Hassan continued her studies for three years at St. Mary's College University of Durham, UK.She won the cum laude predicate in English literature and philosophy.Then, at the age of twenty-four, she earned a doctorate specializing in philosophy with a focus on Muhammad Iqbal, a Pakistani poet, and philosopher.Hassan also worked as a deputy director at the Federal Department of Information.After seven years in England, Hassan finally moved and settled in the United States.
In 1974, Riffat Riffat Hassan became a Professor of the Muslim Student's Association (MSA) branch of the University of Oklahoma in Stillwater.This marked the beginning of her career as a feminist theologian.She took this path because of her self-awareness and sense of responsibility for the task she felt, so he thought that she might have started something that was most important in his life's journey (Hassan & Mernissi, 1995).As a professor, she is always asked to be a resource person at annual seminars on women in Islam.At that time, he wondered why only the female theme was given to Hassan.The reason is that it would be inappropriate if the female informants did not discuss issues related to women.
Even so, in the end, Riffat Hassan also accepted the offer.From there, she took valuable lessons in overcoming social problems that occur in gender-biased Islamic thought.When she became a teacher in the department of religion at a university in America, she made the Koran a reference material in teaching, at first he did not specialize in verses about women, but after paying close attention to these verses, this raised various questions in her mind, "Why do these verses seem to discriminate against and position women unfairly?"(Hassan, 1987).
In 1976, Riffat Hassan earned her professorship and career as Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, United States.Then, in 1979, she was asked to join a trialogue project between Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scholars.It was on this occasion that Hassan wrote a book entitled "Women in the Quran," which contains verses that are considered definitive in the context of the relationship between men and women, which has been the basis of male superiority over women (Hassan & Mernissi, 1995).
Riffat Hassan is a productive Muslim feminist, with most of her works being embodied in the form of articles (Mutrofin, 2015).From the results of these works, she was recognized by many groups as a feminist thinker because of her contribution to the movement of feminism in Pakistan.Among her works are "The Roles and Responsibilities of Women in Islamic Legal and Ritual Traditions" (1980), "Equal Before Allah Men and Women Equality in Islamic Tradition" (1987); Feminist Theology and Women in the Muslim World"; Jihad fi Sabilillah: A Muslimah's Journey of Faith from Struggle to Struggle"; "Issues of Female-Male Equality in Islamic Tradition"; "Women's Rights in Islam"; and "Muslim Women and Post-Patriarchal Islam."

Riffat Hassan's Exegeses Approach
To build and strengthen a feminist theological paradigm closely related to women's issues, Riffat Hassan uses a two-level approach: ideal-normative and socio-historical (Husniyah, 2018).In the idealnormative approach, Hassan observed the perfect normative side described by the Koran regarding women.She tried to make the relevance between what was told by the Koran and the empirical facts that occurred in society.These basic principles must be appropriate in the socio-historical context, making the Koran the highest guideline and source of value regarding issues of gender equality and relations between men and women that respect human rights.She stated that all the main points of Islamic teachings would be obtained only through a complete and comprehensive understanding of the Qur'an.
The socio-historical approach is carried out after looking carefully and critically at the actual normative ideals of the Qur'an, then connecting it with the empirical-historical reality of how women are conditioned in Islamic society.Unfortunately, according to Riffat Hassan's empirical data, there is still a "gap" in the case of women between the ideal-normative and the historical-empirical-realistic.Since childhood, Hassan has been taught that women must be submissive and obedient without being allowed to determine their attitude; for example, they were forced to marry early.She also lives with a family with a conflict crisis, even though she comes from a respected traditional Islamic family.Her father is also a representative of a patriarchal society which demands a distinction between men and women from birth (Sumbulah, 2023).This also turns out to be a situation experienced by almost all women wherever they are.If this is the case, then it means that something wrong in women's history led to unfair and treaty behavior towards women.The fundamental values in the Koran, especially those that discuss the spirit of freedom, justice, equality, and respect for human rights, can be translated and actualized in the reality of human life (Engineer, 2004;Yusuf, 2018).And this is the main reason that made Hassan determined to do reinterpretation and even deconstruction to find verses of the Qur'an that contain an anti-women bias.
Both approaches are used by Riffat Hassan dialecticallyintegratively and functionally.This means that the two are interrelated and cannot be separated, so when Riffat looks at it from an ideal-normative side, he also looks at it from an empirical-realistic side.Meanwhile, at the normative level, he refers to the Qur'an as the guideline and source of the highest values in Islam.In contrast, at the historical level, he looks at how inequality in the treatment of women occurs in Islamic society.For example, Hassan believes Islam highly appreciates and supports the role of women.However, in misogynistic verses, there is a partiality towards men because the interpreters are men.In the map of studies on feminism, Hassan's thoughts are categorized as rationalist in responding to feminist issues.Her philosophy is based on the theological doctrines of God's justice and mercy, so for her, God's words in the Koran can only be interpreted at the level of justice that becomes the "world of understanding" of the Koran.This view certainly means applying the criteria of justice to the Qur'an rather than simply taking it for granted that the Qur'an must be fair (Minkaryo, 2016).Riffat Hassan's strong belief in the authority of the Qur'an as a source of values and teachings in Islam has made Riffat always prioritize the Qur'an and position Hadith and other sources as 'relative' sources and can be debated.The hadith itself cannot be immediately accepted and used as a reference because it sometimes does not have a guarantee regarding its decoration, in contrast to the Al-Qur'an, which is guaranteed to be maintained directly from Allah SWT.This is as stated in QS.Al-Hijr: 9: "Indeed, We have sent down the Qur'an, and we are still maintaining it."The purpose of feminist theology in the Islamic context, as meant by Hassan, is to process difficulties (taharrur liberation) from the unfair inequality of positions of women and men by referring to the holy book Al-Quran as the highest guideline and source of value in overcoming these problems (Haningsih, 2005).Hassan's views align with Engineer's (1990) liberation theology views stating that Islam is a revolutionary teaching that abolishes all forms of slavery, which was also practiced in the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the following decades.This is an approach for a researcher who wants to look at issues by continually referring to things that are normative ideals so that she will see how the Al-Qur'an outlines basic principles that are more normative and idealistic, especially how the Al-Qur'an views women from the perspective of their behavior, how their relationship is with their God, with other people, and with themselves.
Furthermore, Riffat Hassan also tries to develop three principles of methods used in rescue operations, mainly when he performs counter-exegeses (Sulastri, 2022).The three methodological principles include: a) analyzing semantically in checking the accuracy and suitability of word meanings (language accuracy) of various concepts in the Qur'an; b) examining the philosophical stability of existing interpretations of detention; and c) using ethical principles, which are based on the principle of justice, a reflection of God's justice or universal justice.The three principles can be further described in the following description: Firstly, Hassan looks for the true meaning of a word (primary meaning) of a particular concept by looking for the original root word, then from that understanding, it is adapted to the context of society.This aims to examine the concepts of meaning in interpreting the language of the Qur'an.She concludes that the word comes from the Hebrew word adamah, which means land.She primarily functions as a generic term for humans, so it cannot be sure that Adam was the first human being with the male gender because the word is masculine only from the linguistic side and is not about gender (Sumbulah, 2023).
Secondly, understanding the Al-Quran as an integral component because it is a unified meaning that is arranged dialectically in such a way as to avoid contradictions, and this can be used as a test and assessment of other sources of value.Apart from the accuracy of language, Riffat Hassan's rejection of the classical commentators' conclusions regarding the creation of Adam and Eve is based on philosophical consistency by looking at various verses related to Adam, which in her research, these words are interrelated with thirty other verses, which in the context of creation, as a whole refers to three terms to refer to humanity, namely al-insan, al-nas, and al-basyar which do not refer to men (men), so that, he continued, there is not enough argument to state that Adam is a human being first created by God with the male gender (Hasyim, 2001).
Thirdly, the interpretations that emerge must be tested against ethical principles that emphasize the aspect of justice.Thus, an interpretation will be judged methodologically correct if it is in line with the principles of justice.Conversely, an interpretation result will be considered wrong if it is not in accordance with the principles of justice because it can cause unfair inequality and oppression for humans, especially for women.Likewise, with the ethical side, classical interpretation has reduced egalitarianism and perfected what becomes the "world" of the Koran.At the same time, in Islamic theological doctrine, the Koran is a holy book describing justice.Therefore, bringing up the nafs wahidah as Adam ultimately implies gender inequality and even strengthens the growing myth that God's main creature is male and not female because women were created from Adam's supporting bones, so ontologically, women are hereditary creatures (Alfitri, 2014;Hasyim, 2001).

Riffat Hassan's Construction Thinking
Judging from her background, Riffat Hassan has a root of thought supported by various points of view: genealogical, theological, sociological, psychological, academic, and even political.These points of view are combined into a principle of feminist theology (Zulaiha, 2016).Hassan's thoughts on gender equality raise several questions regarding the assumption of gender inequality in society, especially among Muslims.These questions are how women were created (the concept of the creation of men and women); are women responsible for the fall of man (the concept of the fall of man from heaven); and why women were created (the purposes for which women were made)?In addition to these theological issues, Hassan also alluded to gender inequality related to sociological and theological issues in the realm of Islamic law, i.e., polygamy and the segregation system, which according to her, are very gender biased.
According to Riffat Hassan, there are three assumptions in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, which are the roots of people's belief in gender inequality, positioning men as superior to women (Hassan, 2013).These assumptions include; 1) God created men first than women.Women are believed to have been created from the ribs of men; therefore, women are derivative and ontologically secondary.2) Women are the cause of the process of human fall from heaven.3) Women are not only created by men but also by men, so the existence of women is only used as a tool and has no fundamental meaning.In interpreting the verses regarding these three matters, there is a gross mismatch between the verses and their application.This is the contribution of Muslim women scholars.
For Riffat, fighting for the fate of women is part of jihad fisabilillah, which absolutely must be upheld.And it was proven to her son named Mona.Riffat always said that a Muslim must support the principle of jihad fisabilillah by dedicating himself to fighting for justice and truth (Hassan, 1993;Husniah, 2018).

The Concept of the Creation of Woman
Rifaat's thoughts on the creation of women as Muslim women are, of course, based on the Al-Qur'an and Hadith.In feminist discourse, the notion of women's creation is a critical and fundamental issue that must be discussed first.Because the idea of equality and inequality between men and women is rooted in the concept of the creation of women, according to Rifat, if God created men and women to be equal, they could not be unequal in the future.In Islamic tradition, it is known and believed that there are four ways of human creation (Nurani, 2018), namely from the ground, from Adam's rib (creation of Eve), and through the mother.The process of fertilization without a father is created through biological fertilization.If you pay close attention, the scriptures about the creation of Adam do not specify how Adam was created.Adam is often referred to as the first human being in Islamic theology and is mentioned 25 times in the Qur'an, but only once the Creation of Adam is mentioned, as seen in verse 59 of Surah Al-Imran.
Rifaat said the Qur'an uses the word Adam to refer only to when humans are self-aware, knowledgeable, and morally autonomous.In explaining the creation of humans, the terms used are al-bastard, alinsan, and al-nâs.This is the same as what was quoted by Rifaat in Iqbal's state of mind.Contrary to this opinion, Rifat views Adam as a man without truth.So the word Adam is indeed a masculine noun, but only linguistically, it does not have a gendered meaning.The word Hawa (known as Adam's wife) is also not mentioned in the Quran.The word Hawa uses the word zawj to refer to Adam's consort.If Adam is not a man, then zawj is not necessarily a woman.Then why is Eve interpreted as a wife and Adam as a man using the feminine word zawjah (Mernisi and Hassan, 1995)?
For example, in QS.Al-Nisa [4]: Riffat reinforces the meaning of this verse by saying that the word Adam is a Hebrew term and Adamah means land, which is a common term for humanity.Rifaat also noted that there is no reference in the Qur'an that Adam was the first human, nor was Adam a man.Adam was only particular about the creation of Adam and Eve.The woman's story from Adam's rib is contained in three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Anam, 2019).

The Concept of Equality between Men and Women
When talking about gender equality, Riffat criticizes the source of the Koran.He argued that men and women were equal before God.In worship, both have the same reward.Islam is not a religion that prioritizes relationships with God but also with humans (Mutrophin, 2013).Much of God's justice and compassion for women is depicted in the Koran (Rif'at and Nurwahidin, 2022).And it turns out that this patriarchal system has caused suffering for every woman.This contrasts the actual conditions of women's lives with injustice and oppression that arbitrarily demeans women.
Several women have become prominent figures recorded in Islamic history, including Sayyidah Khadijah, Aisyah, and Rabi'ah al-Bishry (a famous female Sufi).However, the Islamic tradition, which even today still tends to be misogynistic and anti-women's bias, hinders women's freedom.This fact makes Riffat believe that women must be secondary, subordinate, and inferior to men.
Even though it has been emphasized in the Koran about equality between men and women, Muslim society has never considered men and women equal.It tends to side with interests that are beneficial to men.For Hassan, the basis of Muslim society's rejection of gender equality is rooted in the belief that women are inferior in creation.She was created from a crooked rib and made a mistake by helping the devil thwart God's plan for Adam (Hassan, 2013).Allah has made one higher than the other, so from this context, men are the rulers of all women's affairs.Because men have spent their wealth on women, pious women are characterized by being obedient and careful in protecting their husbands' rights when their husbands are away.Men can warn and act decisively if there is a deviation in the ways described in the Al-Quran.
Feminist activists assume this verse is a specialization for men as husbands.Even though according to Riffat Hassan, the first main issue that must be noted is that the verse is addressed to al-rijal (men) and al-nisa (women), but the verse is addressed to all men and women in Islamic society (Sa'dan, 2017).The keyword in the first sentence of this verse is "qawwamun," which can be interpreted in various ways.Maḥallī (2008) interprets the word "qawwamun" as mastering so that it can be construed as a protector, maintainer, and ruler of women.
This verse also explains the functional division of labor necessary to maintain a fair balance in society.Men are not given the advantage of fulfilling the obligation to conceive and give birth but are given the task of providing a living.Meanwhile, women are given the gift to fulfill the commitment to create and give birth but are freed from providing a living.The two functions are different but complement each other reasonably without superiority (Jaya, 2020).Surah al-Baqarah verse 187 explains about men and women in a marriage, which means, "They (women) are clothes for you and you (men) are clothes for them (women)."This has stated closeness, togetherness, and equality between men and women.

The Concept of Polygamy
One of the issues often raised in the discussion of feminism is the concept of polygamy.Because this concept is one of the reasons for stating that the Koran mistreats women because men get the opportunity to be polygamous or have more than one wife, while women are not allowed to.According to Riffat Hassan, there is only one verse in the Qur'ân that discusses polygamy, i.e., Surah Al-Nisa verse 3: "And if you fear that you will not be able to do justice to (the rights of) orphaned women (if you marry them), then marry (other) women you like: two, three, or four.Then if you are afraid that you will not be able to do justice (marry) only one person or the enslaved people you have, that is closer to not doing wrong." This verse has been misinterpreted by most of the mufassirin so that in the end, the verse seems to legitimize a man to do polygamy just like that, without paying attention to the context when the verse was revealed and the spirit (spirit) of polygamy.According to Hassan, polygamy is permissible in Islam, but it is not a recommendation, let alone a mandatory thing.As was the case when the Prophet did polygamy by marrying many widows, but this was not for lust as the orientalists accused him, but.The Prophet did this, none other than to elevate and care for orphans and widows because, at that time, there were many wars, and many men died and left their children (Hassan, 1987;Ismail, 2017).There is also an example in the issue of purdah (hijab).Riffat Hassan relates this to the system of segregation.She considers this a fairly complex problem.This is because Islamic society is generally divided into two areas, namely private and public.This means that as long as everyone is still in their respective territories, there will be no problems.Hassan calls it a segregation system, i.e., separation of the two sexes between men and women, and this kind of arrangement is considered the right and wise thing (Husniyah, 2018;Jaya, 2020).
In other contexts, the Qur'an also talks about the principle of modesty.Riffat thinks that when a woman leaves the house, she does not have to cover her face with a veil.Hijab does not have to be a garment that covers the entire body but covers parts of the body that are appropriate to protect so as not to cause lust.Because if it is written that it is obligatory to cover the face, why in the Koran does a man have to lower his gaze when meeting the opposite sex?This is, of course, closely related to the different social conditions of each region.According to Riffat, the aim of the hijab is for women to maintain modesty, not to domesticate women in matters of gender (Hassan, 1990).

CONCLUSION
Riffat Hassan as a Muslim theologian, seeks to liberate women from the bias of patriarchal culture, which causes women's inequality and injustice.She uses ideal-normative and socio-historical approaches in interpreting the verses of the Koran regarding gender equality.Apart from that, she also uses counter-exegeses.She believes that men and women are equal in their creation and are complementary in roles.Women are not only burdened with their domestic roles but are empowered and able to do many things.