Women in Islam: Encyclopedia II - Women in Islam - Domestic violence

Women in Islam - Domestic violence

According to most interpretations of Sharia (Islamic law), authorization for the husband to physically beat disobedient wives is provided only under certain conditions. First, admonishment is verbal and secondly a period of refraining from intimate relations is observed. Finally, if the husband finds the situation very serious, he may hit her:

"Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear nushûz, admonish them, and (then) leave them alone in the sleeping-places and (last) idribûhunna'(usually translated as "beat"); then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great." (Qur'an 4:34 English translation: MH Shakir)

Here the Qur'an prescribes the steps to be taken in the event of nushûz. Concerning the meaning of nushûz, Dr. Ahmad Shafaat writes:

The literal meaning of the word is "rebellion". But rebellion against whom and in what sense? We should certainly not think of this in terms the rebellion of the ruled against a ruler in a sultanate or dictatorship and conclude that it consists of the wife disobeying some of the husband's commands. This is because the same word nushuz is used in case of a husband in verse 128 of the same surah 4, where it is said: "If a woman fears nushuz on her husband's part..." So nushûz is something that can be feared by the husband on the wife's part or by the wife on her husband's part. It cannot therefore be understood in terms of the ruler-ruled relationship. To correctly understand the meaning of the word, it must be noted that both in the verse under consideration and in verse 128 the reference to nushuz is followed by a reference to the break-up of the marriage (see vv. 35, 130). If this context is kept in mind, then it becomes evident that nushuz means the type of behavior on the part of the husband or the wife which is so disturbing for the other that their living together becomes difficult. ...In short, nushûz is a behavior on the part of one marriage partner which comes out of ill-will and seriously disturbs the other partner.[3]

Thus, in the case of nushûz, the Qur'an prescribes three steps. First, the husband is to admonish the wife and reason with her as to why her actions are damaging the family. Secondly, when discussion between the two fails, they are requested to start avoiding each other and remain separate. Lastly, the Qur'an prescribes idribûhunna as the final step.

The word idribûhunna (from the root daraba ضرب) has several meanings in the Qur'an. Its commonest meaning in Arabic has been rendered as "beat", "hit", "scourge", or "strike". Other meanings for daraba used in the Qur'an (though not with a human direct object) include 'to travel', 'to make a simile', 'to cover', 'to separate', and 'to go abroad', among others.

For this reason, some contemporary Muslims consider "hit" to be a misinterpretation. They argue that this verse should be translated as "admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and separate from them."

Yet other Muslim commentators and Quranic translators feel that these translations are strained, and that the most straightforward interpretation, "hitting", should be adopted.

Certain modern translations of the Qur'an in the English language accept the commoner translation of "beat", but tone down the wording with bracketed additions.

Women in Islam - How severe a beating?

Most commentators have accepted that idribûhunna means "beat", but have imposed strict limits of the severity of the beating allowed, and have indicated that it is better NOT to beat than to beat. Furthermore, if the beating leaves bruises, the husband can be sued according to Islamic law.

The contemporary commentator Abul 'Ala Maududi makes the following comment in his Tafheem Al-Qur'an:

So far as the actual application of these measures is concerned, there should, naturally, be some correspondence between the fault and the punishment that is administered. Moreover, it is obvious that wherever a light touch can prove effective one should not resort to sterner measures. ...And even in cases where it is necessary, the Prophet (peace be upon him) directed men not to hit across the face, nor to beat severely nor to use anything that might leave marks on the body. (See Ibn Majah, 'Nikah', 3-Ed.)

The medieval jurist ash-Shafi'i, founder of one of the main schools of fiqh, commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable." Likewise, Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqee records in his monumental Tafsir Al-Qur'an Al-Azim:

Muhammad Asad notes, in his translation of the Qur'an, The Message of the Qur'an:

With all this, he stipulated in his sermon on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage, shortly before his death, that beating should be resorted to only if the wife "has become guilty, in an obvious manner, of immoral conduct", and that it should be done "in such a way as not to cause pain (ghayr mubarrih)"; authentic traditions to this effect are found in Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah. On the basis of these traditions, all the authorities stress that this "beating", if resorted to at all, should be more or less symbolic – "with a toothbrush, or some such thing" (Tabari, quoting the views of scholars of the earliest times), or even "with a folded handkerchief" (Razi); and some of the greatest Muslim scholars (e.g., Ash-Shafi'i) are of the opinion that it is just barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided: and they justify this opinion by the Prophet's personal feelings with regard to this problem.

Dr. Ahmad Shafaat says:

The wife has no religious obligation to take the beating. She can ask for and get divorce any time. The suggestion applies only in the case when the husband is seriously disturbed by a prolonged nasty behavior on the part of the wife but neither he nor the wife is as yet seriously thinking of breaking up... If the husband beats a wife without respecting the limits set down by the Qur'an and Hadith, then she can take him to court and if ruled in favor has the right to apply the law of retaliation and beat the husband as he beat her.

Several hadith condemn beating one's wife.

• "How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then embrace (sleep with) her? (Al-Bukhari, English Translation, vol. 8, Hadith 68, pp. 42-43).

• "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)".

• "Never beat God's handmaidens". (Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Hibban and Hakim, on the authority of Iyas ibn `Abd Allah; Ibn Hibban, on the authority of `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas; and Bayhaqi, on the authority of Umm Kulthum).

However, some suggest that these hadith were later abrogated, noting that on his last pilgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad is supposed to have said:

Fear Allah concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too have right over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. (Narrated in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Jabir.) [4]

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that:

"If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury. Rather, this 'beating' should be of the kind the Prophet (peace be on him) once mentioned to a disobedient maid-servant, when he said 'If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning twig)' [as reported by Ibn Majah, by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and by Ibn Sa`d in his Tabaqat]. [5].[6]

Al-Qaradawi's critics say that he should also have mentioned the verse following the verse regarding wife-beating. This verse calls for arbitration:

"And if you fear a breach between them twain (the man and his wife), appoint (two) arbitrators, one from his family and the other from her's; if they both wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation. Indeed Allah is Ever All-Knower,
Well-Acquainted with all things." (Qur'an 4:35) Sura An-Nisa:35

Critics argue that the Qur'an favors arbitration over beatings; others disagree.

Women in Islam - Domestic violence among Muslims

Even though the scholars who do accept that "beating" is allowed stress that it is a last resort, discountenanced, and must be done so as not to cause injury, in practice, some Muslim men feel that the Qur'an gives them licence to beat their wives as they choose. Domestic violence is regarded as an endemic problem by officials of many Western countries with large populations of diasporic Muslims. The incidence in many Muslim-majority countries (where women hide their bruises and nothing is ever reported to authorities) is uncertain, but believed to be great by Muslim feminists. In some recent high-profile cases, Muslim women have dared to publicize their mistreatment at the hands of their husbands, in hopes that public condemnation of wife-beating will end toleration of the practice (see Rania al-Baz).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Domestic violence", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki