Free Inside the Gender Jihad: Women's Reform in Islam by Amina Wadud Page B

God as a circle, the center of which is everywhere and the circum- ference of which is nowhere, reflects the metaphysical reality of the universe, which I agree with, provided it is considered at the level of the three-dimensional sphere. The tawhidic paradigm is more than our physical make-up. We live in a complex universe. Within each person is an essence ( dhat ) reflecting our union with the cosmic design and the harmony in all creation. We can acknowledge this transcendent reality, in ourselves and all others – and act upon it – or we can ignore it, to emphasize our superiority over others, rather than our relational reciprocity. That is a significant idea

    What’s in a Name? 31

    underlying the diagram above. When a person seeks to place him- or herself “above” another, it either means the divine presence is removed or ignored, or that the person who imagines his or her self above others suffers from the egoism of shirk .
    At the metaphysical level of reality, Allah is present in all circumstances; then at the level of human free will, Allah’s presence must be acknowledged. This way of conceptualizing the Buberan formula provides a means for understanding the sacred union between self and other, so the I–Thou relationship of horizontal reciprocity is sustained. Continual application of this transcendent component gives superiority only in Allah. To experience the metaphysical reality of this three-dimensional relationship of wholeness, the two-dimensional human relationship must reflect awareness, remem- brance, and participation in the presence of Allah within and between them. The basic construction of humankind is composed of its male and female pair. The tawhidic paradigm becomes the inspiration for removing gender strati- fication from all levels of social interaction: public and private, ritual and political. Not only does it mean that I and Thou are equal, but it also means that I and Thou are one within the oneness of Allah . Social, liturgical, and political functions become determined by the capacity of both women and men in a larger realm of education, dedication, and contribution with no arbitrary exclusion of women from performing any of these functions.

    EACH HUMAN IS CREATED AS A MORAL AGENT ( KHALIFAH ) OF ALLAH
    In search of an Islamic construction of human dignity, I continue to examine certain major Qur’anic constructs. For example, I consider the Qur’anic description of an exchange between the angels – creatures of pure light without free will – and Allah, Lord of the Worlds, Master of the Universe, and Creator of all existence. In that exchange Allah announces, “Verily I will create a khalifah , vicegerent on the earth” (2:30). 28 The angels voiced their concern that this creature might cause havoc on the earth by way of chaos and destruction. Allah responds first from Its sover- eignty with the statement, “I know what you do not know” (2:30), then completed His intention by creating the first human being. The angels readily agree that they only know what Allah gives them to know (2:32). As they submit to the superiority of Allah’s knowledge they also glorify Her. As human readers, we can speculate on what Allah knows. Here, I do not. For the current analysis I make, what is more important is that human creation

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    follows this cosmic dialogue. In my earlier analysis of the Qur’anic
    statement, “ Wa min kulli shay’in
    khalaqna zawjayn ” (and
    from all
    [created] things we made pairs) (51:49), there is an essential consequence relative to male–female mutual dependency in human creation. The Qur’anic statement indicates that “things” are created in pairs. I especially note that human creation is included in this system of created duality. I have discussed at length the perfection of human creation 29 and its gender inclu- siveness in the Qur’anic design. 30 Here, that gender inclusiveness is taken for granted for my