An Analysis of Women's Leadership in Islamic Law

Perspectives and Contemporary Dialogues

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore, in-depth, the concept of women's leadership from the perspective of Islamic law. The aim is to provide a clear understanding of Islamic guidelines regarding women's leadership and its limitations. Leadership is understood as behavior aimed at influencing the activities of group members to achieve shared goals, designed to benefit both individuals and organizations. This study is a literature review using a descriptive-analytic method with a historical-philosophical approach, combining data analysis and documentation verification to ensure valid results. The findings show that women's leadership, from the perspective of Islamic law, is a flexible concept that is continuously dialogued with the changes of the times. Islamic law does not provide strict or definitive practical guidelines regarding women’s leadership, as this matter falls under mu'āmalah (human social relations), which requires further elaboration through ijtihad (independent reasoning) and humanitarian considerations. Based on this reasoning, there is no textual or contextual prohibition against women assuming leadership roles. Moreover, leadership is not inherently gendered, as gender is only an identity distinction. Gender refers to differences between men and women in terms of social, cultural, psychological, and other aspects, always linked to equal rights between men and women