Saadia Yacoob delves deeply into the categories and logic of her primary sources, contextualizes them within the relevant social history, and probingly explores their ethical and political implications. Beyond the Binary marries philological depth with theoretical sophistication while remaining surprisingly accessible and engaging.--Marion Holmes Katz, author of Wives and Work: Islamic Law and Ethics before Modernity In this field-changing book, Yacoob shows that for classical Muslim jurists, legal personhood was intersectional, relational, and situational. She pushes back against modern conservative insistence on an Islamic femininity defined in binary opposition to masculinity while also challenging feminist analyses that overemphasize gender as a stable component of identity.--Kecia Ali, author of Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam
