Marital and Sexual Ethics in Islamic Law: Rethinking Temporary Marriage

An excellent contribution to the field of Qur’anic Studies and to the fieldof Muslim feminist ethics, this book is a valuable contribution. Throughthe controversial, if I may say so, sensational legal route of temporarymarriage, or mutʿa in Islam, Iqbal introduces the significance of tafsīrin Qur’anic interpretation in a systematic manner. Furthermore, thebook has a relevant social aspect that will be of great interest to youngAmerican undergraduates, particularly young Muslims in the West. Abrief, clear, and straightforward section on methodology precedes a neatdivision of chapters. Nineteen exegetes discuss how they interpret Q.4:24,which justifies temporary marriage or mutʿa. Even though the claim islargely addressed to Shiʿi Muslims, the exegetes surveyed in this bookare diverse: Shiʿī, Sufī, Zaydī, Ashʿarī, and Ismāʿilī.