Sayyida Zulaykha and Female Sexuality: Renewing Our Understanding

Women on the Straight Path

What does the story of Sayyida Zulaykha and Nabi Yusuf alayhi salam in the Qur'an really tell us about women, passion and acting on it?

In this episode we explore the events of the attempted seduction as described in the Qur'anic text, and examine three interpretive methods for understanding those events. We look at classical tafsir literature, poetry and modern feminist attempts at interpretation about women and passion and ask:

Are these interpretations really misogynistic? Really? Do modern feminist interpretations of the Qur'an really see those events in the way they are intended to be understood?

If these verses are so 'anti-women', why did al-Jami write an 8000 line poem on the love between Sayyidna Yusuf and Zulaykha?

Why do some feminist interpretations of Sayyida Zulaykha make the case that a woman's sexual "agency, autonomy and authority" are so praiseworthy, when it resulted in the imprisonment of an innocent young man ?

We also consider how to apply the methodology of spiritual purification to renew and fix our distorted ideas about women and female empowerment, then look at two brief examples of wise women and how to use our feminine gifts with wisdom by putting them in their rightful place.