| Summary: | Polygamy, which was practiced without limitations in the past, had been restricted to four
wives after the arrival of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. However, some scholars have
different views on this issue, supposedly influenced by the literal and cultural background
of patriarchal tradition on treating women as the object of polygamy. This article attempts to
examine the construction of patriarchal interpretation in a gender-biased interpretation, its
factors and its implications. This study adopts a qualitative approach and employs a content
analysis approach. Interviews with relevant scholars are also used to explore in-depth
information regarding this subject. The object of research is based on a full set (30 juz/
chapters) of 11 books of tafsir written in Indonesia. These books are Tafsir Al-Furqan, Tafsir
Quran, Adz-Dzikra: Terjemah dan Tafsir al-Quran, Al-Quran dan Terjemahnya, Tafsir Quran
Karim, Tafsir al-Azhar, Tafsir Rahmat, Tafsir al-Quran al-Majid an-Nur, Tafsir al-Mishbah, AlQuran and its Exegesis of the Department of Religion, and Tafsir al-Hijri. This study found that women have been exploited through polygamy practices. Our findings show that biased gender interpretation, especially because of the patriarchal mindset, brought a greater impact
on the Quranic interpretation.
This study suggested that reinterpretation towards Quranic verses particularly dealing with gender issues needs to be strengthened in accordance with justice and humanistic values.
Contribution: This article offered two approaches for the study of the Quran in order to
establish gender equality and justice in marriage practice. Firstly, the adaptive and
humanistic interpretations of the Quran need to be strengthened and should raise common
consciousness in Muslim society. Secondly, there is a need to study the Quran in an
integrative, holistic and hermeneutical understanding of the Quranic text. This method can
explore the deepest meaning of the Quran so it can rise gender-sensitive, humanist and
moderate interpretations.
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