ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a meaning of the Al-Mujādilah in response to the sound figure, or Bildmatrix of jadala, primarily in terms of the structure and meaning of the Quran while the hadith is scrutinized for its reflection on pre-canonical readings that retain the voice of the interlocuting community. The feminist reading considers an alternative scenario for the events referred to in the Quran in pointing out the androcentric assumptions implicit in the hadith. Salah El Sheikh's discussion of dialectic methodology includes the use of the Quran as proof text wherein the language and activity of sign is taken as proof for forensic investigation of theological significance. To assess the role and importance of the characters, Mieke Bal's model for feminist narratological analysis presents an approach with which to probe the process of communication that is implicit in an Islamic narrative of revelation and made explicit as a feature of communication between actors in the text of the Al-Mujādilah.
