Within the Hebrew Bible and the
Qur’an Sarah is not only represented very differently, but is represented in a
very different amount. Sarah has a significantly larger role in the Hebrew
bible than she does within the Qur’an. Sarah has more autonomy within the
Hebrew Bible, but God is still in control of her life.
Within chapters 16 of Genesis we
discover that Sarah is having difficulties by having Abraham’s children. Sarah
believed it was beyond her control, “You see that the Lord has prevented me
from bearing children”, (Gen 16:2). This verse shows us a situation where Sarah
does not have autonomy. As three men visit Abraham and Sarah, the three men
foretell that Sarah will have a son “Now you have conceived and shall bear a
son; you shall call him Ishmel” (Gen 16:11). Sarah denies this fact, commenting
that her and Abraham are too old. The Lord after this asked why she was unsure,
Sarah laughed, which she denied because she was afraid. The Lord was correct;
“Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age” (Gen 21:2).
Sarah is hardly mentioned within
the Qur’an. The only time Sarah is even referred to is within the verse of
“only your wife will suffer the fate that befalls the others” (Q 11:81). This
is during the time of the angels telling Lot of his wife beforehand.
Sarah by far has more autonomy within
the Hebrew Bible, especially because her role is more significant within this
version. But within both versions many situations, such as that of becoming a
mother, are out of her hands and in control of God’s. Her role is so small
within the Qur’an that it is hard to know much about her.
I liked your essay and agree with our points. The only thing that I would change is that Sarah was mentioned in the Qur'an as she was the one that laughed when they told her that she ould have a son. But I do think that you are correct, she has mroe autonomy in the Hebrew bible.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Sarah has much more autonomy in the Hebrew Bible. Her name isn't even mentioned in the Qur'an, but her presence is mentioned briefly in the story about Lot and his wife. The way she is mentioned is a bit confusing, and I did think at first that it was Lot's wife being referred to, since neither wife is mentioned by name. This does help me to understand some of the differences in the two cultures, though. Women have had less agency in the Islamic culture than women have had in the culture of Judaism for a very long time, and they have had to fight for any autonomy or agency at all in both cultures. They are both patriarchal, with a bit more respect for women in Judaism. Quite a bit more, it seems. Nowhere close to anything like equality, though. These are the aspects of society that we are here to change!
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