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Islamic Scriptures and Wife-Beating[edit]
Wife-Beating in the Qur'an[edit]
"Beat them" (4:34)[edit]
Domestic violence is a societal problem in many countries, but in the Muslim world it is divinely ordained and justified by the Qur'an in verse 4:34.
So that the meaning is clear, three translations of this verse are provided below. The word 'beat' in the arabic is daraba (beat, strike, hit[1]).
Yusuf Ali translation: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).
Pickthall translation: Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
Shakir translation: 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 desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great. )
All three translations agree with each other and establish that the Qur'an promotes wife-beating. The Qur'an states two methods must be used to make the wife become obedient and if they do not work, then wife-beating is permitted. It also states men have authority over women, and women are to be obedient, thus establishing an authoritarian structure with the husband as head of the wife. The reason given for this is that Allah created men superior to women and because men are maintainers of women.
In Arabic:
The beginning:
- ٱلرِّجَالُ (ar-rijaalu) - men
- قَوَّٰمُونَ (qawwaamoona) - maintainers
- عَلَى ('ala) - over
- ٱلنِّسَآءِ (nisaa'i) - women
The "beat them" part:
- فَعِظُوهُنَّ (fa'aithoohunna) - then (fa) admonish ('aithoo) them (hunna)
- وَٱهْجُرُوهُنَّ (wahjuroohunna) - and (wa) forsake (hjuroo) them (hunna)
- فِى (fy) - in
- ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ (almadaji'ai) - beds
- وَٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ (wadriboohunna) - and (wa) beat (driboo) them (hunna)
- فَإِنْ (fa'in) - then (fa) if (in)
- أَطَعْنَكُمْ (ata'anakum) - they obey (ata'ana) you (kum)
The root of the word وَٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ (wa-driboo-hunna) is ضرب (d-r-b). The letter ٱ (alif waslah) is not pronounced here but if it was without the و (-wa, meaning "and") prefix and at a beginning of a speech it would be read as "i", so the word would be "idriboohunna" (ٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ).
There are many other words, derived from this root, with a similar meaning, used in the Qur'an:
- Verse 2:60 "...strike (ٱضْرِب, drib) the rock with your staff..."
- Verse 2:73 "...strike it (ٱضْرِبُوهُ, driboo-hu) with a part of the cow..."
- Verse 8:12 "...so strike (فَٱضْرِبُوا۟, fa-driboo) on their necks..."
- and others.
The word "lighly" does not appear in the original Arabic version and it is only added by some translators.
Job beat his wife (38:44)[edit]
The Qur'an also states that the prophet Job (Ayyub) was permitted to beat his wife using a bunch of grass / twigs / rushes (dighthan[2]).
Tafsirs such as Ibn Kathir's explain the story behind this verse. The lesson from the Qur'an is that it is better to beat your wife in a relatively unpainful, yet still humilating way, than to break an earlier oath that you will beat her.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Wife-Beating in the Hadiths[edit]
Some Muslims deny the Qur'an permits wife-beating and claim surah 4:34 has been misinterpreted, but in the Hadiths there are several examples, from various Hadith narrators and collectors, of Muhammad ordaining wife-beating, thus confirming the correct understanding of surah 4:34. There are multiple hadiths in which Muhammad's companions beat or struck women, and conflicting evidence narrated from his wife, 'A'isha, on whether Muhammad himself used physical force against women. In the section following this one, we identify hadiths in which Muhammad attempted to moderate the level of violence.
In our first hadith, Muhammad causes his wife Aisha physical pain by striking her in the chest. The word used here is lahada, which means he pushed violently or struck her chest[3].
On the other hand, a hadith in Abu Dawud records 'A'isha saying that Muhammad never hit (daraba) a woman, in contrast to the hadith quoted above in which she says that Muhammad pushed / struck her painfully in the chest.
The evidence is straightforward regarding the actions of some of Muhammad's companions. In the next hadith, Abu Bakr (the first Rightly-Guided Caliph of Islam), also strikes (his daughter) Aisha violently with his fist.
In the following hadith, Abu Bakr informs Muhammad he slapped Khadijah’s daughter, and Muhammad responds by laughing and tells Abu Bakr his wives are asking him for more money. Abu Bakr and Umar (the second Rightly-Guided Caliph of Islam) respond by slapping Muhammad's wives, Hafsa and (for the third time) Aisha.
In the next hadith, Ali (the fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph of Islam) gives a slave-girl a violent beating in front of Muhammad.
At one time Muhammad gives a decree instructing men to not beat their wives, but changes his mind once Umar informs him that some of the women have become embolden towards their husbands.
Another hadith graded Hasan (the 2nd highest level of authenticity) says that a man should not be asked why he beat his wife:
In the following hadith, a woman complains to Muhammad about her husband and shows him where he had beaten and bruised her. Muhammad listens to the husband’s side of the story and comes to the conclusion the reason why his wife is complaining is because he cannot sexually satisfy her and she wants to go back to her ex-husband, when all she is really saying is that he is abusing her. Instead of scolding her husband for beating her, Muhammad says she cannot re-marry her ex unless she has sexual intercourse with her husband first.
Also in this hadith, Aisha states that she has not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women, meaning Muslim women were suffering more than their pagan and Abrahamic counterparts.
In the authentic version of the "Farewell Sermon", Muhammad compares women to domestic animals and once again orders men to beat their wives.
Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency. If they do, then Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with the custom. Treat women well, for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves. You have taken them only as a trust from Allah, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of Allah, so understand and listen to my words, O people.
Narrated Amr ibn al-Ahwas al-Jushami: Amr heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say in his farewell address on the eve of his Last Pilgrimage, after he had glorified and praised Allah, he cautioned his followers: "Listen! Treat women kindly; they are like prisoners in your hands. Beyond this you do not owe anything from them. Should they be guilty of flagrant misbehaviour, you may remove them from your beds, and beat them but do not inflict upon them any severe punishment. Then if they obey you, do not have recourse to anything else against them. Listen! You have your rights upon your wives and they have their rights upon you. Your right is that they shall not allow anyone you dislike, to trample your bed and do not permit those whom you dislike to enter your home. Their right is that you should treat them well in the matter of food and clothing.In summation, we find in the Hadiths:
- Muhammad provided tacit approval of wife beating by not scolding Muslims for beating their wives
- Muhammad forbid Muslims from questioning men who beat their wives
- Muhammad allowed others to hit his wives (the very women whom all Muslims adore and refer to as "the Mother of believers")
- Three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs beat women
- Muhammad reaffirms the command of wife-beating in his parting sermon
- Muhammad himself struck his wife in the chest
It is clear from all of the above that wife-beating has been an accepted part of Islam since its inception. Muhammad was not against domestic violence and indeed permitted wife-beating in Islam.
Attempts to moderate the severity of the beatings[edit]
It seems that Muhammad was concerned that the Muslim men were beating their wives too severely. Some hadiths record his efforts to control the severity of the beatings.
In another hadith, Muhammad advises a recently divorced woman against marrying someone who he knows to be 'very harsh with women'.
In the following hadith, Muhammad says not to beat your wife's face.
Mu'awiyah asked: Messenger of Allah, what is the right of the wife of one of us over him? He replied: That you should give her food when you eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, do not strike her on the face, do not revile her or separate yourself from her except in the house.
Abu Dawud said: The meaning of "do not revile her" is, as you say: "May Allah revile you".Another version of the same hadith is worded more generally, saying, "do not beat them". If this version is a more accurate reflection of what Muhammad said, it could be that it occured in the temporary period in which Muhammad forbade beating (see Sunan Abu Dawud 11:2141 quoted above).
A lengthy hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud includes an instruction to beat your wives, but not severely, if they allow anyone whom you dislike to lie on your beds, which were rolled out on the floor in bedouin tents. 'beat them, but not severely' is in the arabic 'fa-idribuhunna darban ghayra mubarrihin"', and literally means 'beat them, a beating without violence, severity, sharpness, vehemence[4]'. It is very similar to Muhammad's farewell sermon quoted above and includes the following:
Al-Tabari's tafsir for verse 4:34[5] seems to be the earliest record of the idea that wife beating should be done with a miswak / siwaak (a small stick-like item used as a toothbrush). These do not appear in the main sahih hadith collections, but are of interest nonetheless.
Al-Tabari's tafsir for verse 4:34
The phrase 'non-severe beating' is 'darban ghayra mubarrihin'. See the word definitions explained above regarding its appearance in the Abu Dawud hadith and Muhammad's farewell sermon.
Tabari also has Qatada clarifying that it means ghayr sha'in (without being disgraceful, outrageous, obscene, indecent).
Note that there is a widespread apologetic fiction that 'darban ghayra mubarrih' means "a light tap that leaves no mark". The origin of this claim is obscure, but there is no justification for such a translation.
Putting the hadiths together, it seems that Muhammad condemned those who beat their wives as severely as their slaves. At one time it seems that he forbade beating, before changing his mind. It seems that by the time of his farewell sermon he emphasised that beatings should not be severe.
If Tabari's hadiths are to be believed, Muhammad at some point stated further that the beating should only be with a miswak or the like. It is, however, rather far fetched that verse 4:34 can be interpreted in this way. The idea that a husband should attempt to regain obedience from his wife by tapping her with a toothbrush after failure to achieve the desired result by admonishing her and banishing her from his bed is surely too nonsensical to have been the intended meaning of the verse when Muhammad first uttered it.
Furthermore, even if Muhammad and verse 4:34 had instructed husbands to use an entirely painless beating on their wives (clearly that is not the case, as well as being an oxymoron), it would still be a humiliation and contribute to the general attitude in Islamic sources that wives must obey their husbands, who can discipline them, and controlling attitudes generally towards women in Islam.
Early and Modern Muslim Scholars on Wife-Beating[edit]
Muslim scholars have written a lot of commentary in relation to wife-beating in the Qur'an. Here we will only quote a few scholars:
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
If the wife does not fulfill one of the above-mentioned obligations, she is termed "rebellious" (nashiz), and the husband takes the following steps to correct matters:
(a) admonition and advice, by explaining the unlawfulness of rebellion, its harmful effect on married life, and by listening to her viewpoint on the matter;
(b) if admonition is ineffectual, he keeps from her by not sleeping in bed with her, by which both learn the degree to which they need each other;
(c) if keeping from her is ineffectual, it is permissible for him to hit her if he believes that hitting her will bring her back to the right path, though if he does not think so, it is not permissible. His hitting her may not be in a way that injures her, and is his last recourse to save the family.
(d) if the disagreement does not end after all this, each partner chooses an arbitrator to solve the dispute by settlement, or divorce.Reliance of the Traveller
Then he attempts a new direction, appealing to her femininity and emotions, by making her feel that he doesn't want her or love her. When this doesn't work, he says to her: With you, I have reached a stage which is only appropriate for inhumane people - the stage of beating.
Beating is one of the punishments of religious law. What kind of people are beaten? Virgin adulterers, both men and women, are beaten as a means of discipline. Who else is beaten? A person who committed an offense and was sentenced by the judge to beatings. Who else is beaten? Someone who committed a crime. By beating his wife, the husband is saying: You've committed a grave sin that merits beatings."MEMRI: Special Dispatch, No. 2229, February 5, 2009
MEMRI: Special Dispatch No.2868, March 19, 2010
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 10680
Statistics on Domestic Violence in the Muslim World[edit]
Given the fact wife-beating is divinely ordained in Islam, one must wonder how this effects the Muslim world. Here are some statistics on domestic violence in the Muslim world:
<dl><dt>Afghanistan</dt></dl>83% of Jordanian women approve of wife beating if the woman cheats on her husband
60% approve of wife beating in cases where the wife burns a meal she's cooking
52% approve of wife beating in case where she's refused to follow the husband’s orders[10]
. . .
Altogether, 33.7 percent of women said they considered suicide as a solution to their problems.[16]
