The Field of Love
Should we be surprised that Islam is sexist, phallocratic and misogynistic, the evidence is legion, even legions who wage war against reason and against faith. If the Koran supported these theses, either God would be subject to these indefensible attributes, or the Koranic text would be in the hands of men, in this case males. However, when it comes to understanding the Koran we read the Text with the eyes of Islam. The hermeneutic circle is thus perfect: the Koran says what God said, therefore what Man says about the Koranic text God said.
Here is an example of these circularities which, far from liberating the soul and the spirit, gag and blind us: “ Your wives are a plowing field for you; go to your field as (and when, sic) you want it and work for yourselves in advance. Fear Allah and know that you will meet him. And make gracious announcement to the believers! », S2.V223. This verse is offered to you by the standard translation(1) which does not translate the Koranic text, but a standardized exegesis, fossilized we should say as a thousand years of dust bury all hope of rebirth.
Whatever the case, nothing prevents an honest man from wondering about the Text which is the leaven of his life. In fact, this article is extracted from Volume 2 of our Literal Exegesis of the Quran : https://www.alajami.fr/oeuvres/. We therefore invite you to reflect on the literal meaning of this verse, not by playing on words and with words, as our exegete predecessors did for us, but by returning to a direct literal reading of the Koranic text. For initial comparison, here is the literal translation of this verse as given in our Literal Translation of the Quran : https://www.alajami.fr/produit/le-coran-le-message-a-lorigine/
Surah 2, verse 223: “ Your women are a wealth to you, so go to them as you wish, but first introduce yourself to yourselves; reverentially fear God, know that you will meet Him, and warn the believers. »
نِسَاؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌ لَكُمْ فَأْتُوا حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّى شِئْتُمْ وَقَدِّمُوا لأَنفُسِكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا مُلاقُوهُ وَبَشِّرْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (223)
By retaining for the term ḥarth the meaning of plowing fieldthe Exegesis pursued a double objective: to inscribe in the Text a sexist conception basing the right of enjoyment of man on woman, the woman then being dispossessed of her own body, and to maintain that the aim of sexual relations is the reproduction, plowing having the aim of sowing. These two opinions were borrowed from both Judaism and Christianity. Nevertheless, from the point of view of Qur’anic coherence, we cannot admit that the Qur’an could affirm here that woman would be nothing other than a field that man could plow as he pleases while he proposes a balanced and reciprocal conception of sexuality as we have explained for example in v187 : “ They are your clothing and you are theirs “.
Similarly, the Quran defines the couple as being based on a “ sweet love/mawadda » and the “ kindness/raḥma », S30.V21. It is therefore logical that the Koran always uses euphemistic formulas to designate sexual relations while the image aroused according to the exegetical understanding of the segment atū ḥartha-kum by plow your field is of great immodesty, even indecency. Furthermore, from an etymological and lexical point of view, the key word ḥarth covers two well-known correlated notions: a land plowed and sown, hence metaphorically the goods as we observed in v205 : “ devastating property/ḥarth “.
If in fact the term ḥarth designates in the concrete sense a plowingthe Koran uses it figuratively in the sense of goods Or ” wealth » as indisputably evidenced by the following verse: “ Who desires wealth/ḥarth of the Other World, We increase it in its wealth/ḥarthbut who only desires wealth/ḥarth of Here below, We give it to him, and in the Other World he will have no share. », S42.V20. It is easy to see why reference cannot be made to “labour/ḥarth of the Other World” unless we suppose that this is the Paradise of the plowmen! This in no way prevented the standard translation from putting its horses in the furrow: “ Whoever desires to plow (the field) of the future life, We will increase his plowing for him. Whoever desires to plow (the field) of this life, We will grant him (its enjoyments) ; but he will have no share in the Hereafter. », S42.V20.
– This being said, the segment “ as you wish/annā shi’tum » makes it possible to eliminate the idea assimilating sexual relations to an act solely intended for reproduction and thus therefore the notions of field, plowing, seedingthis while still placing the desired image on a sexual level. In addition, the invitation to associate with women is modulated by the following advice: “ but first introduce yourself to yourself/qaddimū li-anfusi-kum », men and women. This precious indication testifies to the gentleness and mutual respect necessary during said relationships, then in perfect conformity with the Koranic vision of the couple mentioned above. This literal observation indicates that by ḥarth we must also retain metaphorically the notion of goods/ḥarth that French better renders in the singular “ wealth ”, hence our “ your women are a wealth/ḥarth for you/la-kum “. Contextually, the term wealth is therefore not to be taken concretely but figuratively.
In accordance with the Quranic spirit, this is understood to mean that women are a grace for men in the primary sense of the term grace: gift given without it being due. Let us specify that instead of “ come to your wealth/ḥarth as you wish ”, for reasons of clarity we have made the repetition of the term “ wealth » designating women with “ they ”, the corresponding feminine plural personal pronoun: “ go to them as you wish “. Given the indication provided by the complement “ but first introduce yourself to yourself », this euphemistic Quranic approach is positive and benevolent.
It indicates that sexuality is a natural thing which must be experienced within the couple in a correct, reciprocal and freely consented manner without interference from normative social or religious beliefs.(2) Thus, we must understand, as we clarified in the previous verse, that the Koran does not interfere with sexual practices, but with ethics in this matter. This justifies that this verse, delicately approaching an intimate subject from an ethical angle of gentleness and sharing, concludes with a call to faith as a modulator of appetites: “ reverently fear God, know that you will meet Him, and warn the believers “.
– Literal analysis(3) will have shown that all of the speculations and developments specific to Islam operate to the detriment of the explicitness of the Koranic text.
Dr al Ajami
(1) By standard translation we mean the translation of the Quran massively distributed by Wahhabi Arabia and whose content is totally subject to the Wahhabo-Salafist conception of Islam. See also our article on this subject: https://www.alajami.fr/2018/01/21/traduction-standard-du-coran/. Remember that this translation is regularly and falsely described as Professor Hamidullah’s translation in order to deceptively give it a veneer of authority. Let us also indicate that more or less all current translations of the Quran are faithful to this interpretative line under penalty of being disqualified. On this subject, see our video: https://www.alajami.fr/2024/11/22/traduction-litterale-du-coran-par-le-dr-al-ajami/
(2) On this point, see S30.V21.
(3) Concerning our Literal Analysis methodology, cf. : https://www.alajami.fr/2018/01/20/analyse-litterale-du-coran/#:~:text=Au%20total%2C%20la%20d%C3%A9finition%20compl%C3%A8te ,breast%20of%20corpus%20clos%20Coranic%20%C2%BB.