Wife Beating in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions

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[[File:A scene from submission.jpg|right|thumb|278px|A scene from Submission, a film about domestic violence in Islam, by Theo van Gogh.]]
[[File:A scene from submission.jpg|right|thumb|278px|A scene from Submission, a film about domestic violence in Islam, by Theo van Gogh.]]
Wife-beating is instructed by the the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and has been an accepted part of Islam law since its inception. {{Quran|4|34}} states that men are in charge of women and that husbands may, among other things, beat their wives if they fear disobedience. Although prophet Muhammad suggested that men not beat their wives too harshly, he at the same time provided tacit approval of wife beating by not scolding Muslims for beating their wives, referred to women who spoke-out against abuse as "not the best among you", forbade Muslims from questioning men who beat their wives, allowed others to hit his wives (his wives are known as "the Mothers of believers"), reaffirmed the command of wife-beating in his farewell sermon, and himself struck one of his wives in the chest. In addition to Muhammad's actions, three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs are also reported to have beaten women. Because of its many endorsements within Islamic scripture, wife-beating is permitted by the majority of Muslim scholars and leaders. This has led to domestic violence being permitted under law in several Islamic states or being largely ignored by the authorities.
Wife-beating is instructed by the the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and has been an accepted part of Islam law since its inception. {{Quran|4|34}} states that men are in charge of women and that husbands may, among other things, beat their wives if they fear disobedience. Although prophet Muhammad suggested that men not beat their wives too harshly, he at the same time provided tacit approval of wife beating by not scolding Muslims for beating their wives, referred to women who spoke-out against abuse as "not the best among you", forbade Muslims from questioning men who beat their wives, allowed others to hit his wives (his wives are known as "the Mothers of believers"), reaffirmed the command of wife-beating in his farewell sermon, and himself struck one of his wives in the chest. In addition to Muhammad's actions, three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs are also reported to have beaten women. Because of its many endorsements within Islamic scripture, wife-beating is permitted by the majority of Muslim scholars and leaders. This has led to domestic violence being permitted under law in several Islamic states or being largely ignored by the authorities.
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{{Quote|{{Bukhari|8|82|828}}, See also: {{Bukhari|1|7|330}} and {{Bukhari|6|60|132}}|Narrated Aisha: Abu Bakr came to towards me and '''struck me violently with his fist''' and said, "You have detained the people because of your necklace." But I remained motionless as if I was dead lest I should awake Allah's Apostle although '''that hit was very painful.'''}}
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|8|82|828}}, See also: {{Bukhari|1|7|330}} and {{Bukhari|6|60|132}}|Narrated Aisha: Abu Bakr came to towards me and '''struck me violently with his fist''' and said, "You have detained the people because of your necklace." But I remained motionless as if I was dead lest I should awake Allah's Apostle although '''that hit was very painful.'''}}


In another hadith found in ''Sahih Muslim'', Abu Bakr informs Muhammad that he slapped [[Khadijah|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 and Muhammad's other best friend) respond by slapping [[Muhammad's Wives|Muhammad's wives]], Hafsa and (for the third time) Aisha.
In another hadith found in ''Sahih Muslim'', Abu Bakr informs Muhammad that he slapped [[Khadijah|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 and Muhammad's other best friend) respond by slapping [[Muhammad's Marriages|Muhammad's wives]], Hafsa and (for the third time) Aisha.


{{Quote|{{Muslim|9|3506}}|Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with them) reported:
{{Quote|{{Muslim|9|3506}}|Jabir b. 'Abdullah (Allah be pleased with them) reported:
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====References to Quranic verses====
====References to Quranic verses====
Pamela K. Taylor is the co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, former director of the Islamic Writers Alliance, and a strong supporter of the female Imam movement. On the Faith Panelist Blog, she writes:
{{Main|Wife Beating in the Qur'an}}Pamela K. Taylor is the co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, former director of the Islamic Writers Alliance, and a strong supporter of the female Imam movement. On the Faith Panelist Blog, she writes:


{{Quote|[http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/pamela_k_taylor/2009/02/aasiya_hassan_domestic_violenc.html Aasiya Zubair Hassan, Domestic Violence and Islam]<BR>Pamela K. Taylor, The Washington Post, February 27, 2009|The brutal and gruesome murder of Aasiya Zubair Hassan has prompted a great deal of soul searching in the Muslim community. National organizations, the local community, imams, Muslim social workers, activists and writers have all agonized over how the community did not do enough to protect Aasiya, despite evidence that her husband, the man charged with killing her, was known to be violent. They have called for imams to preach against domestic violence as against the standards of Islam, and for communities to stand in solidarity with Muslim women who complain of abuse, rather than counseling patience or questioning if there is anything they might have done to cause the abuse, or that they could change in order to avert future abuse.<BR>
{{Quote|[http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/pamela_k_taylor/2009/02/aasiya_hassan_domestic_violenc.html Aasiya Zubair Hassan, Domestic Violence and Islam]<BR>Pamela K. Taylor, The Washington Post, February 27, 2009|The brutal and gruesome murder of Aasiya Zubair Hassan has prompted a great deal of soul searching in the Muslim community. National organizations, the local community, imams, Muslim social workers, activists and writers have all agonized over how the community did not do enough to protect Aasiya, despite evidence that her husband, the man charged with killing her, was known to be violent. They have called for imams to preach against domestic violence as against the standards of Islam, and for communities to stand in solidarity with Muslim women who complain of abuse, rather than counseling patience or questioning if there is anything they might have done to cause the abuse, or that they could change in order to avert future abuse.<BR>
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Bakhtiar's argument is particularly strong.}}  
Bakhtiar's argument is particularly strong.}}  


Taylor cites Laleh Bakhtiar, an Islamic modernist who argues that Islam does not instruct violence against women and that the word ''daraba'' in {{Quran|4|34}} means 'to send away'.  Bakhtiar's influence has generally been confined to the Western academy (outside of Islamic studies departments) and has, alongside Taylor's work, been all but comprehensively ridiculed by the wider Islamic world. Her decision to translate {{Quran|4|34}} to suit her modernist interpretation in her English translation of the Quran triggered immense controversy, and many Islamic scholars issued statements denouncing her 'alteration' of scripture, resulting in the Islamic Society of North America banning the sale of her work in Islamic bookstores in Canada.
Taylor cites Laleh Bakhtiar, an Islamic modernist who argues that Islam does not instruct violence against women and that the word ''daraba'' in {{Quran|4|34}} means 'to send away'.  Bakhtiar's influence has generally been confined to the Western academy (outside of Islamic studies departments) and has, alongside Taylor's work, been all but comprehensively ridiculed by the wider Islamic world. Her decision to translate {{Quran|4|34}} to suit her modernist interpretation in her English translation of the Quran triggered immense controversy, and many Islamic scholars issued statements denouncing what they described as her 'alteration' of scripture, resulting in the Islamic Society of North America banning the sale of her work in Islamic bookstores in Canada.


Taylor describes Bakhtiar's argument as 'particularly strong'. While this may be Taylor's view, no serious scholar has endorsed Bakhtiar's interpretation (see [[Wife Beating in the Qur'an]]).
Taylor describes Bakhtiar's argument as 'particularly strong'. While this may be Taylor's view, no serious scholar has endorsed Bakhtiar's interpretation (see [[Wife Beating in the Qur'an]]).
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Her answer is that we have misunderstood 4:34, and that we have to look at what the Prophet actually did after that month's separation -- which was to offer his wives the choice of divorcing him or remaining with him while resolving to avoid the behaviors he found so objectionable. While, she translates "daraba" as "to go away from them," (which is the most common usage of the term in the Qur'an), it seems that it might be better rendered as "to strike a bargain with them."}}
Her answer is that we have misunderstood 4:34, and that we have to look at what the Prophet actually did after that month's separation -- which was to offer his wives the choice of divorcing him or remaining with him while resolving to avoid the behaviors he found so objectionable. While, she translates "daraba" as "to go away from them," (which is the most common usage of the term in the Qur'an), it seems that it might be better rendered as "to strike a bargain with them."}}


These conversations between Laleh Bakhtiar and "many, many scholars" most likely had never occurred, since Bakhtiar's approach to surah 4:34 fails once you realize Muhammad ''did'' violently push his wife Aisha, and allowed the companions to hit his wives, and reiterated the wife-beating command in his farewell sermon. Furthermore, her claims about the common usage of the relevant verb in the Qur'an are false. It is much more commonly used to mean to strike violently. Her claim also fails on grammatical grounds, as explained in other articles. Unfortunately for women, any Muslim scholar worth his salt would be aware of this and would have little difficulty in dismantling her weak arguments.
While second-hand anecdote presented by Taylor may well be true, there are several hadith accounts (quoted and discussed above in the present article) which directly contradict Aisha's report about Muhammad never striking a servant or woman - interestingly, the hadiths which record Muhammad striking women, including Aisha herself, and allowing his companions to do the same are found in more reliable hadith collections (that is, ''Sahih Muslim'' and ''Sahih'' ''Bukhari'') than the collection in which the hadith from Aisha quoted by Taylor is found (''Sunan Abu Dawud''). It is also probable that Islamic scholars would reject the idea that Muhammad ever struck his wives, as this would perhaps undermine his theological status as the ''Insan al-Kamil'' (lit. 'the perfect man') - this, however, amounts to theological dissonance rather than a historically-sound objection.


===Muhammad's farewell sermon===
Taylor also suggests that the usage of the word ''daraba'' in {{Quran|4|34}} can plausibly be read to mean 'separate from them' or even 'strike a bargain with them'. She presents in evidence of this suggestion that the word ''daraba'' is most often used throughout the Quran in the former sense. This particular claim does not withstand scrutiny, as the word is [[Wife Beating in the Qur'an|most often used in the Quran to mean 'strike']]. Countless traditional Islamic scholars and linguistic authorities - one of whom, it should be mentioned, Taylor is not - have shown such readings, time and again, [[Wife Beating in the Qur'an|to be bereft of linguistic merit]].
Ignoring Muhammad's comparison of women to domestic [[animals]], some may point to the [[The Farewell Sermon|authentic farewell sermon]] and his instructions to “beat them, but not severely,”. See the discussion on Muhammad's attempts to moderate the severity of the beatings above. However, what one considers to be a severe beating is subjective, in contrast to an outright ban, and within the context of Islam the definition of a “severe beating” is wholly dependent on what Muhammad or his followers saw as severe. A beating "without severity" leaves far too much room for domestic violence against women, and later scholars had to add more stringent limitations to further mitigate Muhammad's words.
==External Links==
==External Links==


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