Civilizational Analysis of Women's Identity in the Discourse of Chastity and Modesty in the Quran and Its Role in Social Stability and Transformation

The issue of women's identity and its relationship with moral order and civilizational sustainability is among the most fundamental topics in Quranic studies and contemporary social thought. Historical developments show that the status of women in dominant discourses has always been a site of contention. In pre-Islamic ignorant culture (Jāhiliyya), women were defined within the framework of tribal relations and male ownership. In the modern era, with an emphasis on individualism and the primacy of the body, women's identity became increasingly reduced to physicality and the right to dispose of one's body. In postmodern readings, women's identity, within the horizon of meaning's fluidity and discursive constructions, has been emptied of any ontological stability. In this context, the Holy Quran, by presenting a conceptual system including modesty (iḥfāẓ), chastity (ḥayāʾ), dignity (waqār), God-consciousness (taqwā), and purity (ṭahāra), offers a distinct image of woman that requires a civilizational and systematic re-reading. The aim of this research is to provide a civilizational analysis of the Quranic discourse on chastity and modesty and to explain its role in reconstructing women's identity and shaping a stable social order. The article seeks to demonstrate that modesty in the Quran is not merely an individual moral recommendation or a jurisprudential ruling limited to dress; rather, it is part of the "civilizational software" of Islam, playing a fundamental role in regulating human relations, safeguarding individual dignity, and strengthening the foundation of the family. From this perspective, women's identity in the Quran is defined not in opposition to social presence, but within the framework of moral responsibility and conscious agency, thus enabling their active participation in the process of civilization-building. The main question of this research is: How does the Quranic discourse on modesty, within its historical context, critique and negate the objectifying structures of Jāhiliyya, while simultaneously avoiding the reduction of women's identity to modern body-centeredness or postmodern fluidity? The central question is: What conceptual and normative mechanisms are employed in the Quran to elevate women from the position of "object of gaze and possession" to that of "moral and social subject"? Furthermore, this research seeks to clarify the relationship between modesty and the psychological security of society, moral capital, and the transmission of intergenerational values, and to examine the possibility of presenting a theoretical model for addressing the identity challenges facing contemporary women. The research method is civilizational-discursive analysis with a descriptive-analytical approach. Within this framework, verses related to women and modesty are studied in a conceptual network and analyzed using authoritative commentaries and theories from civilizational studies. Employing an intratextual approach, the research examines the semantic evolution of women's status in the Quran at three levels: "the negation of degrading structures," "the redefinition of identity based on monotheism and God-consciousness," and "legal and social institutionalization." Additionally, using a comparative approach, the fundamental differences between the Quranic discourse and Jahili, modern, and postmodern discourses are analyzed to reveal the distinctiveness of the Quranic approach to understanding the body, gender, and women's social presence. The findings of the research indicate that by explicitly criticizing the ostentatious display (tabarruj) of the Jāhiliyya era, the Quran elevates women's bodies from the level of tribal symbolic capital to the level of a divine trust, grounding her value in human dignity and individual piety. Concepts such as khimār (head covering), jilbāb (outer garment), and ghaḍḍ al-baṣar (lowering the gaze) are mechanisms for the mutual regulation of gaze and behavior in society, demonstrating that modesty is a bidirectional responsibility and part of the general moral system, not a one-sided obligation. Furthermore, the portrayal of women such as Mary (AS), the mother of Moses, and the Queen of Sheba in the Quran presents models of women's rational, spiritual, and social agency, indicating the possibility of combining modesty with active engagement. Consequently, modesty in the Quranic logic does not lead to isolation but provides a framework for responsible and meaningful presence. The final conclusion of the research is that modesty in the Quranic discourse is a civilizational construct and regulator of human relations, playing a role in channeling instincts, establishing moral boundaries, strengthening the family, and enhancing social capital. By linking women's identity to meaning, piety, and responsibility, this discourse on the one hand preserves her individual dignity and, on the other hand, provides the ground for her active and conscious participation in the civilization-building process. Thus, a civilizational re-reading of modesty can offer a theoretical model for reconstructing the identity of Muslim women in the contemporary world; a model that balances freedom, dignity, commitment, and social order, and possesses the capacity to respond to the existential crises of the modern age.