No Truth Without Beauty

Leena El-Ali is an international affairs, development, and investment professional with three decades of experience in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, entrepreneurship, and emerging market finance.

“Leena El-Ali’s work under review is a substantial, extensive elaboration on gender parity in the Qurʾān. ... This highly user-friendly work is divided and subdivided into 5 parts, 21 chapters, and a summary of each part devoted to the following themes: the nature and the rights of women, some problematic issues and carnal matters. Appended to the work are a note on contraception and abortion and an index. ... El-Ali’s sweep over the relevant material is astounding.” (Abdur Raheem Kidwai, The Muslim World Book Review, Vol. 45 (3), 2025)

• Part I First the Qur’an, then Islam.- 1. A Spiritual Journey.- 2. Hadith Corpus.- 3. Hadith Content.- 4. Women and the Development of hadith Literature.- AT A GLANCE: First the Qur’an, then Islam.- Part II The Nature of Women.- 5. Women Were Not Created of Inferior Celestial Material.- 6. Eve Is Not Blamed for the Fall from Eden, Nor Are Women Guilty by Association.- 7. Women Are Not a Constant Source of Social Discord – Nor Naturally Conniving!.- 8. Women Were Created with the Exact Same Spiritual and Intellectual Capacity as Men, So of Course They Can Lead.- 9. When Men Deprive Women of Their Free Will, They Are Not Protecting Anyone: They Are Obstructing God’s Plan.- 10. God Does Not Prefer Sons Over Daughters (!).- AT A GLANCE: The Nature of Women.- Part III The Rights of Women.- 11. Women Were Not Meant to Be Subordinate to Men.- 12. Inheritance: No, Women Did Not Get the Short End of the Stick.- 13. Nuptials: Women DoHave the Right to Choose Their Own Spouse, and How the Qur’anic Nuptial Agreement Advocates for the Bride.- 14. Marriage: A Sublime Institution, Not Mere Social Contract.- 15. Divorce: Men Do Not Hold all the Cards – The Qur’an Actually Levels the Playing Field Through Mandated Process and Etiquette.- AT A GLANCE: The Rights of Women.- Part IV Some Inconvenient Truths.- 16. Clothing: There Is No Dress Code for Women Beyond Covering their Private Parts, as with Men.- 17. Segregation: There Is No Restriction on Men and Women Mingling.- 18. Witnesses: A Woman’s Testimony Is Worth the Same as a Man’s, Except in Two Cases Where It May Count for More or Less.- AT A GLANCE: Some Inconvenient Truths.- Part V Carnal Matters.- 19. Sexual Misconduct: What the Qur’an Tells Us About Pre-Marital vs Extra-Marital Sex.- 20. Domestic Violence: The Qur’an Does Not Instruct Husbands to Hit Their Wives for “Disobedience” or Anything Else.- 21. Virgins:There Are No 72 Virgins Waiting for Anyone in Paradise.- AT A GLANCE: Carnal Matters.