Wife Beating in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions

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===Muhammad's farewell sermon===
===Muhammad's farewell sermon===
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.
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.


==Conclusion==
==Conclusion==


Wife-beating is divinely sanctioned in the Qur'an and Hadiths, and is viewed as a method for husbands to keep their wives under control. Despite some of the statements made by Muslim apologists, wife-beating is institutionalized in Islam. Muhammad was easily persuaded by Umar to allow his followers to beat their wives. Although there is evidence of his concern at the consequences and attempts to mitigate them, he failed to commit to an outright ban, showed indifference to at least one heavily beaten woman, on one occasion violently pushed 'A'isha, and allowed Abu Bakr and Umar to slap his wives and hit other women.
Wife-beating is divinely sanctioned in the Qur'an and Hadiths, and intended as a method for husbands to keep their wives under control. Despite some of the statements made by Muslim apologists, wife-beating is institutionalized in Islam. Muhammad was persuaded by Umar to allow his followers to beat their wives. He seems to have been concerned at the consequences of his instructions and attempted to mitigate them, and the Qur'an first mentions two other measures that husbands must try before beating their wives. However, Muhammad failed to commit to an outright ban. In the Qur'an, and reiterated in his farewell sermon, wife-beating is not merely permitted, but is part of a command. Muhammad showed indifference to at least one heavily beaten woman, gave the mildest of remarks about other men when their wives complained, on one occasion painfully pushed 'A'isha, and allowed Abu Bakr and Umar to slap his wives and hit other women.


The article also shows the deceptive means Muslim apologists use to cover up the fact the Qur'an and Hadith sanction wife-beating by using other verses of the Qur'an in an attempt to support their view that Islam promotes equality between men and women, that wife-beating is forbidden, and that surah 4:34 has been [[Misinterpreted Verses|misinterpreted]]. The problem with their argument is it only reveals the inconsistencies of the Qur'an, and their arguments have been easily [[Refutations|refuted]], by Islamic scholars and the Hadiths. This is an unfortunate situation for women in the Islamic world, who could have been better protected had Muhammad and the Qur'an clearly prohibited domestic violence.
The article also shows the deceptive means Muslim apologists use to cover up the fact the Qur'an and Hadith sanction wife-beating by using other verses of the Qur'an in an attempt to support their view that Islam promotes equality between men and women, that wife-beating is forbidden, and that surah 4:34 has been [[Misinterpreted Verses|misinterpreted]]. The problem with their argument is it only reveals the inconsistencies of the Qur'an, and their arguments have been easily [[Refutations|refuted]], by Islamic scholars and the Hadiths. This is an unfortunate situation for women in the Islamic world, who could have been better protected had Muhammad and the Qur'an clearly prohibited domestic violence.
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