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This dissertation offers an analysis of the exegetical treatment of the Qur'anic evidence for the prophecy of women. Specifically, it tries to answer contentious questions whether or not there were women prophets according to the Qur'an, and whether or not women were regarded as eligible for this office. Scholars are sharply divided in their opinions on these issues, and the majority rejects both possibilities. This study will show that even though their conclusions happen to coincide with that of the Qur'an, their arguments lack genuine Qur'anic support. / For they failed to consider the fact that, one has to identify, first and foremost, the Qur'anic concept of prophecy, which, through juxtaposition of its verses, can be identified as "God's sending of a human being with a book/scripture in order to deliver a message of glad tidings and warnings to people." To evaluate this, certain important scenarios have to be addressed in searching for the concept of prophecy; namely, the purpose of the prophecy; the question of God sending the individuals; and the idea of sending down books/scriptures. / At the same time another group of scholars who argue in favor of women's prophecy have concentrated on the fact that certain women, such as the mothers of the Prophets Isaac, Moses and Jesus, have actually received inspiration from God; a fact that makes them, in their opinion, prophets. The Spanish-born theologian Ibn Ḥazm (d.1064) belongs to this group, and he is considered their chief representative. Thus, this study focuses on him and his theory. He tried to prove women's prophecy through a philological approach and by establishing how communication did take place between God and certain women. Despite the conclusion of this study (using the Qur'an as a measure of prophet/messenger) that the Qur'an does not recognize the prophecy of women, it nonetheless, finds no credible proof that women, in consequence, are debarred from any other type of leadership in Islam.

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This thesis seeks to sketch the outer contours of the epistemological universe in which the science of us&dotbelow;ul al-fiqh was elaborated in classical Islam. The task is accomplished by analyzing arguments both for and against qiyas and ta`lil as presented by two major jurists of the 5th century of the Hijra representing opposite ends of the Islamic theological spectrum: (1) the H&dotbelow;anafite Mu`tazilite jurist Abu l-H&dotbelow;usayn al-Bas&dotbelow;ri (d. 436/1044) and (2) the Z&dotbelow;ahirite Abu Muh&dotbelow;ammad `Ali ibn H&dotbelow;azm al-Andalusi (d. 456/1064). After detailing each author's stance regarding the justifiability of qiyas and ta`lil, the thesis analyzes the underlying theological and epistemological premises and assumptions that can be extrapolated from each author's position. This analysis focuses on three fundamental sets of questions, namely: (1) What can be inferred from each author's position regarding the nature and provenance of knowledge in general, and of the relative status of certain (qat&dotbelow;`i, yaqini) versus suppositional (z&dotbelow;anni ) knowledge in matters of Shari`a? (2) What, according to each author, was the moral-legal status of acts before the promulgation of the Shari`a, and what can be inferred from this about the nature and provenance of moral-legal norms as conceived in the Islamic world view? Finally, (3) What can we conclude, on the basis of each jurist's arguments for or against qiyas and ta`lil, about the purposefulness of Divine acts in general and of the Shari`a in particular?

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