WOMEN IN ISLAMIC IDEOLOGY 63 of women under the Islamic system. Since the Quran took pre-Islamic Arabian society as its spatial context, the book abounds in references to the exploitation of women in patrilineal, polygamous and extended familial arrangements. However, there is no effort at pinpointing the precise connection between social factors and the situation of women, resulting in ad hoc references to the absence of divinely ordained values and ideologies in lieu of an explanation. The discussion, therefore, fails to focus on the roots of women's subordination. Nor does it provide the perspective needed for a proper understanding of estranged gender relations. Undoubtedly, the Quran provided its followers with prescriptions for a complete way of life, which were not merely the basis for an ideal society but also principles of conduct that often went against popular customs and preferences. But the end envisaged by this divine wisdom could not be realised, because it could not ensure the necessary changes in social structure. Engineer has made a significant omission by not taking into account the relations within the family, which would have been essential for a proper treatment of the subject he has chosen. Instead, quoting a few verses from the Quran, the author focuses his attention on the dimensions of the economic, social and spiritual justice bestowed on women by Allah. And in doing so, the book enters the realm of abstraction. According to Engineer, the Quran does not emphasise gender as a basic factor in the division of labour. Rather, the dominant status of the male in family relations can only be explained by the socio-economic and geographical context in which they emerged and persisted. From the point of view of the Quran : "They (women) have rights similar to those (men) over them in kindness and man are a degree above them." According to Engineer "men are a degree above' because they produce subsistence for the family—the dominant economic motive of the family in reference. And women rank subordinate because of their work in the household, which is distinct from productive work. One can no doubt ask whether the growing of food in the field, processing in the yard and cooking in the kitchen are just three different stages of one unified process or each one a complete process in itself. Besides locating the sphere of production outside the household. Engineer also ignores the role of women in reproduction. He could not escape the prejudices of conventional wisdom which tend to obscure the value of women's work and irrationally consider the productive domain as a male prerogative. He thereby misses the occasion provided by the above verse to discuss the reflection of the social ethos in the Quran and explains it away by holding that while the Quran accorded equal status to women, in its wisdom it chose not to permit it in its own social context. The implication should be clear. Even today, the social situation docs not permit ^ change in status to be accorded to wom^n. The bulk