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By MAHMOOD SANGLAY
Professor Sa’diyya Shaikh is the director of the Centre for Contemporary Islam at the University of Cape Town. She delivered her inaugural lecture on August 23, titled ‘Radical Critical Fidelity: Barzakhi Journeys in Islamic Feminism’.
Her lecture is a powerful and deeply thoughtful reflection on Islamic feminism, Sufism, and the quest for justice. It weaves together personal narratives, spiritual insights, and academic rigour to challenge the patriarchal interpretations of Islam that have historically marginalised women. Shaikh’s analysis, rooted in feminist hermeneutics, religious anthropology and Sufi theology reimagines Islamic tradition through a progressive lens that emphasises gender equality, human dignity and spiritual justice.
At the core of her argument is the idea of ‘radical critical fidelity,’ a form of engagement with Islamic tradition that is both deeply loving and boldly critical. This fidelity reflects a commitment to upholding the ethical and spiritual principles of Islam while simultaneously critiquing the patriarchal structures that have distorted these principles over time. Shaikh’s work offers an inspiring and inclusive vision for Muslims seeking to reconcile their faith with contemporary struggles for justice, making her lecture an important contribution to progressive Islamic thought.
Shaikh’s lecture situates Islamic feminism as both a knowledge project and a transformative practice aimed at addressing the gendered injustices embedded within the tradition. By employing a ‘hermeneutic of suspicion,’ Shaikh critiques male-centred interpretations of Islamic texts and advocates for the inclusion of women’s voices and experiences in shaping religious knowledge. For her, this is not just an intellectual exercise but a moral imperative: Islamic feminism must actively work to dismantle sexism and promote justice for women.
A key component of her argument is the concept of tafsir of praxis, a term she coined to describe the way in which ordinary Muslim women interpret and apply Islamic teachings in their everyday lives. This interpretive method emphasises the lived realities of Muslim women, particularly those who experience patriarchal oppression in their families and communities. By centring women’s lived experiences as a legitimate source of religious knowledge, Shaikh challenges the traditional gatekeepers of Islamic scholarship, who have often excluded women from positions of authority.
The tafsir of praxis is a powerful tool for feminist liberation within Islam. It shows how Muslim women, even in patriarchal environments, can draw on their faith to resist injustice and reclaim their agency. This progressive approach reframes Islamic tradition to align with modern ideals of human rights, equality and social justice, positioning Islamic feminism as a crucial framework for addressing the challenges facing Muslim women today.
Sufi theology and gender justice
Shaikh’s engagement with Sufi theology, particularly the works of the 13th-century mystic Ibn Arabi, forms the theological backbone of her feminist project. Drawing on Ibn Arabi’s understanding of God as both unknowable essence and manifested attributes, Shaikh constructs a vision of human beings as reflections of the divine. In this cosmology, all humans—regardless of gender—embody the divine attributes of beauty, mercy and justice, providing a spiritual foundation for gender equality.
Ibn Arabi’s theology allows Shaikh to present gender and sexuality as fluid, dynamic and interconnected with spiritual development. Rather than viewing gender as a fixed biological category, Shaikh argues that it is best understood as a spectrum, reflecting the multiplicity of God’s attributes. This theological approach enables a more inclusive understanding of human identity, one that recognises the diversity of gender expressions and challenges the rigid binaries that have long dominated Islamic thought.
By prioritising qualities of mercy and beauty, Shaikh’s Sufi feminist theology calls for the dismantling of patriarchal structures that uphold male dominance. Her work offers a critique of the power dynamics that have shaped Islamic law and thought, particularly those that perpetuate gender-based discrimination. Through the lens of Sufism, Shaikh envisions a spiritual and ethical framework in which relationships of mutual care, respect and equality replace the hierarchies of power that have historically marginalised women.
Islamic law and the call for reform
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Shaikh’s critique of Islamic personal law is central to her argument for gender justice within Islam. She argues that many of the discriminatory practices in marriage and divorce are rooted in a patriarchal understanding of human nature developed by classical Muslim jurists. These jurists, influenced by the social norms of their time, often viewed women as secondary to men, resulting in legal rulings that reinforced male dominance and limited women’s rights.
In response to these injustices, Shaikh advocates for a reformation of Islamic legal structures. She calls for a reinterpretation of Islamic law that aligns with the deeper theological principles of justice and equality. Her approach draws on Sufi concepts of personhood, particularly the idea that all human beings, regardless of gender, are equal reflections of the divine. By foregrounding this ontological equality, Shaikh argues that Islamic law must evolve to reflect the spiritual and ethical values of Islam.
This call for reform is not a rejection of tradition but rather a reclamation of its core principles. Shaikh insists that legal reform must go beyond simply amending individual rulings; it must address the structural inequalities that have shaped the legal system itself. This progressive vision of Islamic law seeks to create a legal framework that upholds the rights of all individuals, particularly women, and reflects the egalitarian ideals at the heart of Islamic cosmology.
One of the most innovative aspects of Shaikh’s lecture is her use of the concept of ‘friendship’ as a framework for reimagining social and ethical relationships. Drawing on the Quranic name of God as Al-Wali (the Divine Friend), Shaikh explores the potential of friendship as a mode of relationality that transcends traditional power hierarchies. For her, friendship embodies the qualities of mutual respect, accountability and love, offering a model for ethical relations in both personal and societal contexts.
Shaikh argues that friendship, when applied to social and religious relationships, can serve as a powerful tool for dismantling systems of oppression. By reframing relationships in terms of friendship, rather than domination, she envisions a society in which individuals relate to one another through bonds of care and justice. This progressive notion of friendship challenges the patriarchal structures that have historically governed gender relations and offers a more inclusive and compassionate alternative.
The concept of friendship also extends to Shaikh’s relationship with Islamic tradition itself. She describes her engagement with the tradition as a form of ‘radical critical fidelity,’ in which she remains deeply committed to Islam while simultaneously critiquing its patriarchal elements. This approach allows her to engage with the tradition in a way that is both loving and transformative, reflecting her broader vision of Islam as a source of justice and liberation.
Pluriversality and decolonial feminism
Shaikh’s lecture also engages with broader intellectual movements, including decolonial feminism and the concept of pluriversality. The latter concept refers to ways of being and doing that emphasise the dynamic interconnection of humans and the other living beings. She critiques the Enlightenment-era dualisms that have shaped much of Western academic thought, particularly the division between sacred and secular knowledge. For Shaikh, this binary approach has marginalised religious ways of knowing and contributed to the subjugation of indigenous and religious knowledge systems.
In response to this, Shaikh advocates for a pluriversal approach to knowledge. This approach is consistent with decolonial feminist thought, which seeks to challenge the hegemonic claims of Western secularism and make space for alternative epistemologies. By integrating Islamic feminism with these broader intellectual movements, Shaikh situates her work within a global conversation about the decolonisation of knowledge and the need for more inclusive frameworks of understanding.
Shaikh’s embrace of pluriversality reflects her commitment to intellectual and spiritual openness. She calls for a more fluid and dynamic approach to knowledge, one that resists rigid categorisations and allows for the coexistence of multiple truths. This progressive vision of knowledge-making is also consistent with her broader goals of gender justice, legal reform, and spiritual transformation.
Prof Shaikh’s lecture presents, in some ways, a radical interpretation of Islamic tradition. Her integration of Islamic feminism, Sufi theology and calls for legal reform challenges patriarchal structures and reimagines Islam as a source of liberation and justice for all individuals. Through her emphasis on friendship, dynamism, and ontological equality, Shaikh’s work offers a compelling vision for the future of Islamic scholarship and practice.
Her lecture invites Muslims to engage with their faith in ways that are both spiritually rooted and socially transformative. By drawing on the rich theological resources within Islam, particularly the works of Sufi mystics like Ibn Arabi, Shaikh provides a framework for developing a progressive Islamic ethics that is inclusive, egalitarian and responsive to the challenges of the modern world. This lecture stands as a significant contribution to the growing body of progressive Islamic thought, offering both critical insights and a hopeful vision for the future of Islam.
