An analysis on the hadith-oriented opinions of Shaykh al-Hurr al-‘Amili concerning women

Familiarity with the Muslim scholars’ viewpoints is the prerequisite of all kinds of judgment about the perspective of Islam on women. One of the influential scholars in the discussions of women is Shaykh al-Ḥurr al-‘Āmilī, to the extent that some of the problems of the women are deemed a bequest from this Akhbārī scholar. It is attempted in the present writing to study the hadith-oriented viewpoints of Shaykh al-Ḥurr al-‘Āmilī in the issue of women and investigate its effects on this issue. By analyzing the hadith-oriented opinions of Shaykh al-Ḥurr al-‘Āmilī in the matter of the women and by comparing his views with those of his predecessors we conclude that the increase of the number of traditions in his books, the arrangement type of traditions, the classification type of traditions and the commentary on the traditions have remarkably affected the issues of the women. These changes can be seen especially when such problems as: male domination, women being confined in their home, encouragement for temporary marriage (mut‘ah) and polygamy are exacerbated.