A WOMEN IN THE PRIVATE SPHERE IN THE NOVEL RĀ'IḤAH AL-WARD WA UNŪF LĀ TASYUMM: A STUDY OF GENETIC STRUCTURALISM AND MAQASID AL-SHARIAH

Abstract

This study examines the representation of Egyptian women in the private sphere as portrayed in Rā'iḥah Al-Ward Wa Unūf Lā Tasyumm (1984) by Iḥsān 'Abd Al-Quddūs through Lucien Goldmann’s genetic structuralism and the perspective of maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. Employing a qualitative-interpretive approach with a library research design, the study analyzes the novel using Goldmann’s dialectical method to uncover its literary structure, the author's worldview, and the relationship between literary reality and the social reality of Egyptian society. The findings are subsequently interpreted through the framework of maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. The results reveal that the novel is structured through a series of oppositional relations that reflect gender inequality within the domestic sphere. These relations exhibit a homologous correspondence with several social issues experienced by Egyptian women, including female subordination, limited educational awareness, economic dependency, restricted access to divorce, child marriage, and domestic violence. The study further demonstrates that the novel articulates the worldview of the Egyptian intellectual middle class, which critically questions the persistence of patriarchal values within family life. From the perspective of maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, these issues indicate obstacles to the realization of the protection of life (ḥifẓ al-nafs), intellect (ḥifẓ al-'aql), lineage (ḥifẓ al-nasl), and property (ḥifẓ al-māl). This study argues that literature functions not only as a reflection of social reality but also as a medium for critiquing social practices that contradict the principles of justice and human welfare.