Zahra Ayubi's Gendered Morality is a brilliant analysis of the ways in which gender hierarchies are constructed in classical Islamic philosophy. The book is based on three key Persian philosophical treatises on ethics (akhlāq texts) that range from the 12th to the 15th centuries. They include Kimiya-i Saʿadat or The Alchemy of Happiness by Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111); Akhlaq-i Nasiri or The Nasirean Ethics by Nasir ad-Din Tusi (d. 1274); and Akhlaq-i Jalali or The Jalalean Ethics by Jalal ad-Din Davani (d. 1502). Despite the texts’ differing theological orientations and the authors’ varied social locations, all three of these treatises were written for an elite male audience. As such, Ayubi posits that these texts serve as exemplary illustrations of the ways in which Muslim male scholars constructed ideas of the self (nafs) based on principles of cosmic justice and wholeness, while simultaneously reaffirming a tenuous, restrictive and gendered humanity. The study masterfully weaves metaphysical, cosmological, and philosophical queries together, as well as social and anthropological realities of justice, social norms, and values.

The book is divided into four main chapters with an introduction and a conclusion. The first chapter historically situates akhlāq literature, as well as Ayubi's analytical approaches and methodological justifications. The main crux of the arguments are divided between Chapters 2 to 4, which are thematically organized across three central relations that are key for ethical refinement: that is the individual (metaphysical self), the self in marriage, and the self in social contexts.

The central philosophical texts here concern the role of the metaphysical soul (nafs) and the moral ethics that are required to refine the soul so that the one achieves the state of khalīfa (viceregent) of God on earth. Of course, this potential for intellectual and ethical refinement was limited to men, as Chapter 2 makes known. In this regard, the male soul, which has the potential for self-refinement also seems to have power over those who are lesser souls. Here then, women are viewed as secondary tools to the goal of the male's self-refinement, but what about the refinement of females? Do they have this potential according to these ethicists?

According to these authors, though still human, women are inferior to men. They lack intellect and are overly emotional, a state that the male ethicists believe is divinely ordained. Women were often only discussed in relation to their roles in the domestic spheres. For instance, they are treated as biological objects in relation to their husbands, who are viewed as ethical (rational and spiritual) subjects, as discussed in Chapter 3. The latter dynamics are especially evident in discussions of child rearing and managing a home, and in marriage and divorce. Here then, the woman is seen merely as a tool for the development of a “rational masculinity.” It is during such moments that the tensions between the inclusive humanity of men and women is affirmed, while at the same time a metaphysical ethical hierarchy of the masculine (over the feminine) is solidified. This gendered anxiety between hierarchy and equality, that is, the tension between power and justice, is a prevailing theme throughout Ayubi's discussion.

The final thematic analysis of Chapter 4 remains one of the most fascinating discussions of the book. Here, Ayubi problematizes masculinity as a static and stable category in philosophical discussions. Ethical treatises were invested in constructing the ideal male elite or the “ultimate-male,” as these texts were painstakingly invested in how elite males were supposed to interact with men in private and public spheres (i.e., civic, court, community). The examination of same-sex interactions between males (or “homosocial relationships”) were normalized as universal and the ideal, though such relations were available only to males who were of a particular social status, intellectual ability, and “ethical comportment.” Ayubi found that it is not just the female that is marginalized by ethicists, but rather al-Ghazali, Tusi, and Davani all constructed a very narrow and particular elite male as the ideal ethical human being in a Muslim context, which not only reflects a particular misogyny, but also creates a hierarchy of masculinity that has been taken for granted.

In light of these findings, the conclusion calls for a feminist philosophy of Islam based on the potential for metaphysical “radical equality” that was highlighted throughout her discussion. The study successfully calls for a “philosophical turn” that must employ critical gender analysis when reading these texts not only in the context of Islamic philosophy, but more broadly in the study of Islam. Aybui makes the case that such a critical and gendered analysis of ethical treatises are necessary, as opposed to totally disregarding their claims or ignoring these texts, because akhlāq literature provides a unique and critical lens for gender in Islamic studies. Whereas legal (fiqh), Qurʾanic commentary (tasfīr), and other Muslim textual sources, have treated the women singularly, such as through negative tropes of sinfulness or sexuality. In akhlāq literature one finds that the ethicists had to contend with women's humanity (i.e., as part of creation) all the while negotiating and normalizing women's hierarchical and inferior location in society, particularly in relation to men. Still, this hierarchy was a process that needed to be defined and constructed. It is precisely the examination of this philosophical process in which ethicists constructed such norms that the author finds productive for furthering a feminist Islamic philosophy.

The book is impressively researched, written, and theorized, all the while being skillfully accessible and well structured. It models how granular textual analysis can lead to productive retuning of questions of gender that have been neglected in the field of Islamic philosophy and its implications for the study of Islamic social notions of gender, hierarchy, and egalitarianism. Aybui has translated her primary sources herself from Persian with a gender critical lens for the first time, which proves to be one of the many valuable contributions of this masterful scholarship. It is also this textured analysis of primary sources that makes Ayubi's inquiry persuasive. All this is to say, that the book is a must read for scholars and students interested in Islamic philosophy and gender in Islamic studies. Individual chapters will serve as ideal teaching resources for courses on Islam, Islamic philosophy or gender and Islam, especially for primary source analysis. In unpacking these gendered and hierarchical dynamics around ethics and comportment, Aybui has deftly applied feminist and gender analysis to deconstruct these ever-popular ethical texts.