Rewriting Women in the Qur’an: Gender, Ideology and Translation

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate how Shabbir Ahmed’s English rendering of selected verses from Surah al-Aḥzāb reshapes the portrayal of women. Drawing on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model and Lefevere’s theory of translation as rewriting, the analysis demonstrates that Ahmed’s textual and discursive strategies introduce shifts that bring women’s visibility, qualities, agency, and equality to the forefront. This portrayal aligns with feminist principles, even though Ahmed does not explicitly label his translation as such. The study underscores the broader role of translation in shaping perceptions of gender within religious texts.