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Wife Beating in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|1=[https://tafsir.app/tabari/4/34 al-Tabari 4:34]|2=I said to Ibn ‘Abbaas, what is a non-severe beating? He said, Hitting with a siwaak and the like.}} | {{Quote|1=[https://tafsir.app/tabari/4/34 al-Tabari 4:34]|2=I said to Ibn ‘Abbaas, what is a non-severe beating? He said, Hitting with a siwaak and the like.}} | ||
In Arabic, the phrase 'non-severe beating' is ''darban ghayra mubarrihin''. | In Arabic, the phrase 'non-severe beating' is ''darban ghayra mubarrihin''. This is the same phrasing and set of words found in the Abu Dawud hadith and in the various versions of Muhammad's farewell sermon. In his tafsir, al-Tabari also quotes Qatada clarifying that the phrase means ''ghayr sha'in'' (that is, 'without being disgraceful/outrageous/obscene/indecent').<ref>[https://tafsir.app/tabari/4/34 al-Tabari 4:34]</ref> This is in sharp contrast with the translation/interpretation employed in Islamic evangelical discourse, which construes ''darban ghayra mubarrihin'' as a more absolute prohibition, in some instances translating it as 'a light tap that leaves no mark' - a translation that, as a heavily metaphorical interpretation, has no linguistic merit. | ||
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 emphasized that beatings should not be severe. | |||
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 | |||
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. | 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. | ||