Sarai/Sarah’s Autonomy in the Hebrew Bible and in the Qur’an

Danielle Harden

Essay/Blog 6

      Sarai/Sarah in the Hebrew Bible is a woman of incredible autonomy compared to the nameless woman seen in the Qur'an. In a way, it is difficult to compare the agency of Sarai/Sarah in the Hebrew Bible to that in the Qur’an. In the Hebrew Bible, the readers are provided with chapters of Sarai/Sarah’s story (Genesis 16, 17, and 18) and only a few lines in the Qur’an (Q 11:69-83). While Sarai/Sarah may be assertive in the Qur’an, her autonomy is greatly reduced when compared to the Hebrew Bible.

            In Genesis, It is Sarai/Sarah who commands Abraham to conceive with Hagar (her Egyptian maid) to make up for her infertility (it is assumed that she is the infertile one) and in hopes of Hagar being a surrogate mother for Sarai/Sarah (16:2-3). Furthermore, when Hagar looks upon Sarai/Sarah with contempt, Abraham tells Sarai/Sarah that “your slave-girl is in your power; do with her as you please” (Gen 16:6). Sarah’s agency is further established when she laughs at the “good news” from God. Biblical scholar Susan Niditch explains that, “In these scenes the women see God and confront God; they demand and receive some answers” (35). Sarai/Sarah’s enormous autonomy is again validated when her commands are literally “one” with the voice of God when she commands that Abraham banish Hagar and her son Ishmael.

            In the Qur’an Q 11:69-83), Sarah/Sarai is only referred to as Abraham’s wife and remains nameless. She was a moment of assertiveness when she directly questions the power of God and states that she and Abraham are old and birth “would be a strange thing” (Q 11:75). Here though, we only see her in relation to Abraham’s presence and does not have a presence independent of him.  Whereas in the Hebrew Bible, Sarai/Sarah uses surrogate birth to “regularize her status in a world in which children were a woman’s status…” and regularly gives commands to a passive Abraham (Niditch, 35). While Sarah/Sarai laughs in both narratives, we are not given nearly as much insight into her character in the Qur’an. Because of this lack of insight, her character seems to be changed from a woman with great autonomy, to one whose presence is only in conjunction to that of her husband.