Representation of Family from the Feminist and Islamic Perspectives in Arabic Novel Case Study: A Novel Titled "Zainab bint Al-Ajaweed" by Khawla Al-Qazwini

Feminist theories were formed as a result of women's protest against their status in society. They have influenced literature and have been reflected in the works of pro-feminist writers. Formation of this movement in the West and its spread have led feminism and its theories to find their way in the East and the Arab and Islamic countries. In line with this movement and in order to spread feminist views, writers such as Nawal El Saadawi from Egypt, Ghada al-Samman and others strongly expressed their opposition regarding women’s status. On the other hand, some writers of the opposite group have tried to consciously stand against the movement that targets chastity and identity of Muslim women and eastern societies and, in the form of literary works, have challenged radical feminist viewpoints on women’s issues based on Islamic views, principles and criteria. Khawla Al-Qazwini, Kuwaiti writer, is a committed Muslim writer who seeks to criticize western feminism according to Islamic principles and using the literary genre of novel written based on the lives of people in the society. In this study, family as the main social component in the work of " Zainab bint Al-Ajaweed" was reviewed and, since woman as the main element of family formation and family is the essential basis of human society and the required factor for social dynamism and stability is stable and proper relationship between spouses and children. Using descriptive-analytical method, the way Radical feminist views are reflected and Islam's opposition to it were analyzed. One of the most important findings of the study is that all characteristics of a powerful woman influenced by true Islamic teachings of the family are portrayed in Zainab’s character and the lives of other female characters who turn away from true Islamic criteria of family, an important and fundamental institution, have been ruined. Families influenced by feminism have lost two of their vital duties: satisfying their sexual needs within a special framework and family as a center of producing offspring and education and training. This is while in Islam man and woman are considered to complement each other and it has been shown that they have equal human status.