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women and islamic law 225boundaries may be touched but not transgressed (cf. 24:31). Andwhen the Book states that ‘these are the limits (imposed by) Allah…’( Al-Nis§" 4:13) and warns people not to ‘disobey Allah and His messengerand transgress His limits…’ ( Al-Nis§" 4:14) it is clear that Hisintention is to declare the limit-based character also of Allah’s lawof succession—stated in the preceding verses: ‘God (thus) directs youas regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equalto that of two females…’, and such. ( Al-Nis§" 4:11–12).We will observe three fundamental principles in determining a lawthat moves between the boundaries of God:1. The legal instrument of analogy ( qiy§s) must only be employed ifcomparisons are based on what is empirically manifest (sh§hid) andnot, as traditional jurists claim, on what is hidden (gh§"ib): thatwhich has its root in the past and cannot be proven empirically.Acceptable empirical data are, for example, statistics about currentbirth rates, the percentages of women currently employed, or thedistribution of wealth and the per capita income of a society’s currentpopulation. These data constitute the external criteria (of credibility)from which textual analogies are drawn.2. Internal credibility is achieved through analogies and comparisonsbetween textual passages of the Book based on the dialectical notionthat underneath the thematic unity of verses and såras an ideationalpolarity of mutual opposition and duality exists.3. The verses of the Book are never repetitive or, worse, redundant.The divine text does not allow synonymity between words. In casesof textual ambiguity or grammatical inconsistency, it is always aword’s semantic meaning that explains and determines a word’soccurrence in the text (and not style, rhyme, or other rhetoricalconsiderations).4. We believe that ijtih§d must be performed in all legal areas and thatevery ijtih§d should tackle the explicit legal text passages (naßß) thatthe Book provides, following our maxima that ‘there is no ijtih§doutside a naßß text’.With the help of these principles we will now reenter the legislativearena and explore issues such as inheritance, polygamy, guardianship,dress codes for women, and other issues of family law.