CHILD MARRIAGE AS THE CURSE OF SOME DEGENERATED SOCIETIES
THE PAINFUL CASE OF YEMEN
“By getting men to reject the practice that subordinate women and girls and subject them to violence, we can get to the root of child marriage”
Wanjala Wafula, The Coexist Initiative
Samira is 11 years old, with big brown lovely eyes of one innocent child.She is so sweet and caring and she cant stop smiling. Her mother is helping her to dress best clothes because soon is the celebration. The young girl is excited because she cant imagine that soon will not play with her toys but with older men or, if she has some crazy luck, with the boy of her age, in bed. Samira is one of 15 million girls who are married every year, before age of 18. One of many girls whose childhood is replaced with instant marriage’s life wrapped into colorful clothes and jewelry, given to child’s heart to forget the pain which will come soon.
The story about the child marriages is something what follows the history of many backward societies.It is not only connected with Muslim communities but also with Hindu and the India, with the second-highest level of child marriages, according to official data from UN, is a typical example of country which is fighting to eradicate this shameful tradition through the strict laws and education of parents and children, especially in rural areas, which are still under local tribal rules. This shameful tradition hits also many parts of the Middle East region, West Asia, Africa,Latin America and Oceania.
The child marriage should be considered as a formal marriage or often an informal union entered by any person younger than 18. The legal approval for young people to get into marriage starts with being 18 years old but in many countries, parental decisions are above any law and they are taken as valid. This kind of marriages affects not only young girls but also young boys. Sometimes, parents of both sides decide for their children the marriage and children are never asked for permission and even if they did, their words aren’t important. In the case of potential teenage’s pregnancy, this marriage is a cover for family dishonor. Unfortunately, many societies don’t need pregnancy as a reason for those primitive heritage, all they need is an ironic excuse to protect so called girl’s safety and boy’s future. In many situations, child marriage is an union between young female, below 18 (mostly between 8 and 15 years old) and older man. The age difference between marriage partners is inappropriate and this act is a violent crime against children rights. It is not only against children rights but also it is a violation of human rights and abuse “female flesh” as a source of money for parents. They trade with their children’s destinies, following so called ” tradition” but it is nothing but demonic approach to the most fragile elements of any society, children. It is a result of system which is not developed and the people who are not educated. The lack of good economical conditions as well as the absence of real education is a base for this kind of phenomena, what I consider as a cancer of our world.
Every country which is dealing with the child marriages has its own folklore of promoting it, valuing it or simply covering it by plastic traditional explanations or delusional religious phrases. The truth is the next: the child marriage has nothing to do with God but with people who are so far away from God. Primitive rules should have been buried in the past. New times demand adjustments, not regressing but progressing. Many countries will defeat this disgraceful custom sometimes….some countries will never find a way out….without paying for it, by blood. Someone’s. Children’s blood.
Personally, I think that the case of Yemen is the most shocking. I am not referring here that others aren’t but as far as I am informed, in Yemen there are so many female children who suffer by being consumed in that form of marriage. They are not only suffering, they are dying every day because of many reasons and almost none is talking about it or even if does, it is always hidden among many other terrible news, never headlined. It is stated that Yemeni’s practice of marrying young girls worries the international human rights activists but the real situation is even worse. The big battle is over there, not only on the ground therefor the current security and political challenge turned Yemen into chaotic place, but also in the society where tribal rules try to overcome the legal rules. The same is about the girls. After so many information that so many young just married girls were taken into the hospitals due to very dangerous internal genital injuries, the law parts of Yemeni divided community started reconsidering the legal age for marriage union. The attempts to be set up by age of 17 were rejected after the tribal clerics repealed and sent this decision back to the parliament and threaten to possible ban-child-marriage-activists to apostate them. We all know that the highest religious authority is alpha and omega of this Muslim society so those kind of inter structural changes aren’t easy and welcomed by majority of backwards believers. Without prosperity and stuck in the ancient belief that young girl could be easier shaped to be a good wife, Yemeni male grounded society doesn’t accept any switch. The story of so many young brides, age 12 who are given to 20 years older grooms are the inspiration for western media to make heartbreaking reportage but it is ended up with readers’s bizarre feedback and the destiny of Yemeni’s then happy children now early made women stays in the cracks of our civilization. The experts warn that female children who are married before age of 15 have 5 times more chances to die on childbirth than older females. They are also innocent and without any real experiences and they are a potential victims of domestic violence, not only committed by their husbands but also by their family in law. Rawan, was an 8 years old Yemeni girl who was sold by her parents to 40 years old man, who raped her repeatedly to death. She died from internal injuries and bleeding. This man, her so called husband, wasn’t punished and her family wasn’t punished either. Only in Yemen. Noora Al Shami, one of the secret army of destroyed young Yemeni girls, also narrated to the Guardian her story. She was sold at age of 11 to the distant relative for $150 :“After succumbing to Al Ahdam’s advances for the first time, Noora’s body went into shock. ‘I was rushed to hospital – I was a child being treated as a sex object, but the abuse did not stop. Nobody was interested in my complaints, as I was legally a wife.’There were two miscarriages within a year, before Noora gave birth to a son called Ihab when she was 13. A daughter, Ahlam, followed when Noora was 14, and then Shihab, another son, when she was 15. All of the pregnancies were problematic.Al Ahdam became increasingly violent. ‘He thought nothing of hitting me, even when I was pregnant,’said Noora. ‘If his father hadn’t been in the house, it would have been even worse. His presence was some kind of restraint, but I was still very badly injured.’ The children suffered too. When Ahlam was two, Al Ahdam grabbed her by the feet and banged her on the floor. The child was taken to hospital bleeding.”This courageous woman didnt want to accept to be a victim for a whole life and after many years of domestic violence against her and her children, she joined to the Yemeni Women’s Union and to the project Oxfam,which helped her to get divorce and start independent life, educating herself for a teacher and fighting for her and future of her children but also for the future of many potential child brides. Those women will be the light for darkness of Yemen, which is burning into civil wars and poverty with no ends.
Sadly, what about the interpretation of religion what allows this shameful tradition? It is a fact that Islam doesn’t prohibit the child marriage because it allows the father to make decision for his young son or young daughter to be married before they reached puberty:“
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The scholars are unanimously agreed that the father may arrange a marriage for his young daughter without consulting her. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) married ‘Aa’ishah when she was six years old.
End quote from at-Tamheed, 19/98 “
Now we will see another explanations but we should have in mind that Islamic theologians argue among themselves what is real and what is fake:“
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It should be noted that ash-Shaafa‘i and his companions said: It is recommended for the father or grandfather not to arrange a marriage for a virgin until she reaches the age of puberty and he seeks her consent, lest she find herself trapped in a marriage that she resents. What they said is not contrary to the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah, because what they meant is that he should not give her in marriage before puberty if there is no clear and real interest to be served by that for which there is the fear that it will be missed by delaying marriage, such as the story of ‘Aa’ishah. In that case (i.e., if there is a clear and real interest to be served) it is recommended not to miss the opportunity to marry that husband, because the father is enjoined to take care of his children’s interests, not to neglect them.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 9/206 “
Ibn Shubrumah said that:“It is not permissible to arrange a marriage for a young girl who has not reached the age of puberty, because if we say that that is subject to her consent, her consent does not count (because she is too young to make such decisions), and when she does reach the age of puberty we believe that she should not be forced into a marriage.”
So many similar but also different thoughts which are helping the Muslims to keep this disgraceful tradition and to never really eliminate it. In their religious worlds, child marriage is usually compared with Prophet Mohammed practice. The Prophet Mohammed lived in ancient and barbaric age and many customs were more than brutal and violent according to out modern times but considering those rules as something which is allowed by God is a sign of ignorance, backwards social structure and degenerated generations.
The dark case of Yemen is not the only one. The child brides are around the globe. They are dreaming of lost childhood while they are waiting for their own children.Calling any God wont help them to defeat themselves from aggressive old husband. We can help them. We can be their voices and their strength to punish those societies and to eradicate this primitive practice. They are only children. They are children like ours.
This is a story of broken hearts, destroyed souls and body in pains. Yemen. Untold.
SARAH MAX RESEARCH 
Thank you so much, Sarah, for bringing such a dark topic to light ! Thank you for, in so
doing, helping those poor little girls !
What a shame that those men can live with themselves after committing such heinous crimes against those poor, innocent, and defenseless little girls who know nothing yet about the world except how to play with toys and kids their own age in the most innocent way ! In essence, this is a crime against humanity !
In modern society, all over the world, not just in the West, “rape” is defined as sex without consent and that’s exactly, and sadly, the case in those child-bride marriages ! This has to be eradicated from Yemen and from all other countries where this barbaric and primitive practice is still allowed !
The eradication of such practice can be more easily implemented once harsh laws are enacted and promulgated in order to punish the perpetrators. This would
act as a punishment for current perpetrators, and as a deterrent for any potential perpetrators !
Further, the International Community has to be involved, and has to come to the aid of those poor and helpless little girls by imposing severe sanctions on the counties that still allow and facilitate such atrocities!
This is appalling and that’s an understatement !
Thank you again, Sarah, for your detailed research and for taking the lid off this horrific practice !
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Sarah,
A MESSAGE FROM HELL
Islam teaches that Prophet Muhammad is the best example of proper ethical and moral behavior for mankind. Indeed, Muhammad is the model against whom our conduct is to be measured. In other words, if Muhammad did it, so should we.
Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.
Qur’an 33:21
If the Qur’an is true and Muhammad is the model of “a beautiful pattern of conduct,” we should be able to examine his life and see what this pattern of conduct (sunnah) looks like, so we can also model it.
The following accounts are just a small sample of how Muhammad reacted in a number of ethical situations. We have categorized them somewhat, though many of the examples quoted would fall into multiple categories. Most of these examples are taken from the earliest biography of Muhammad by ibn Ishaq.[1]
MUHAMMAD’S BEHAVIOR
ABUSE:
Muhammad could not tolerate any kind of abuse against him. The penalty for abusing him was death, as in the case of Ka’ab bin Ashraf who had been assassinated on the order of Muhammad.[2] Hypocritically, Muhammad had no qualms about being abusive towards non-Muslims.
• Before besieging the Banu Qurayza to slaughter them, Muhammad approached their forts with insults. Calling them “brothers of monkeys.”[3]
• Muhammad also encouraged his followers to do likewise and abuse them with their poems.[4]
ANGER:
We find in the life of Muhammad numerous instances of anger, many of which resulted in physical violent actions carried out by the prophet of Islam. For a small sample of the many accounts of violent angry outbursts by Muhammad, consider the following:
• A group of Jewish rabbis laughed and scoffed at Islam and the Muslims. Muhammad ordered them ejected from the mosque, whereupon some were dragged from the mosque by the hair on their heads and given a severe beating. [5]
• Muhammad ordered the killing of two girls, Fartana and her friend, for singing songs of a satirical nature about him. [6]
• Another young girl named Sara was mercilessly trampled to her death by a mounted soldier dispatched by Muhammad after she insulted him.[6]
• A woman named Asma bint Marwan was brutally murdered with Muhammad’s full knowledge, again for writing poetry deriding Muhammad. Muhammad solicited from among his men for someone to kill her, and one of his men volunteered. When told of the murder the following morning, Muhammad said “two goats will not butt their heads over her death.” This woman left five sons as orphans.[7] According to other accounts of this same incident, the soldier who killed Asma first removed a suckling infant from her breast before plunging his sword into her.
Thus, we see that Muhammad did not deal with anger in accordance with the norms of a civil society.
STEALING/THEFT:
• Muhammad caught word of a trade caravan from Syria coming to Mecca. He dispatched some of his followers to intercept the caravan to plunder its money and merchandise, saying “perhaps God will give it as a prey.”[8] The sole purpose of raiding the caravan was to steal property which was not his and distribute it to his followers to earn their loyalty.
• Muhammad admitted to a certain woman that the material wealth, which we can assume was the result of similar caravan raids and the plundering of nearby tribes in war, was used to attract unbelievers to Islam.[9]
MURDER:
Muhammad set the example for his followers, and his example shows him to be a cold-blooded murderer. This likely does not sit well with devout Mulsims, but his biography records many instances of Muhammad either participating directly in the murder of his adversaries or the explicit endorsement of such, at times for deeds as insignificant as writing insulting poetry. Consider the following.
• Muhammad gave thanks to Allah when the head of one Abu Jahl was delivered to him. Abu Jahl’s crime was making a mockery of Ibn Mas’ud, one of Muhammad’s followers.[10]
• Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf composed poetry of an insulting nature against Muslim women. For this deed, Muhammad solicited from among his men volunteers to kill Ka’b. They lured Ka’b into the night for a friendly discussion, and at a suitable place killed him.[11] Ibn Warraq adds that Ka’b’s head was delivered to Muhammad who praised their good works in the cause of God.[12]
• After the death of Ka’b, Muhammad ordered the indiscriminate murder, for any reason or no reason at all, of any Jew.[13]
• Al-Harith b. Sawayd was considered a hypocrite after initially embracing Islam and later rejecting it. For this Muhammad ordered Umar to kill him if he found an opportunity to do so.[14]
• Muhammad sanctioned the murder of Amr b. Jihash, who had plotted to kill Muhammad by throwing a rock from a rooftop. But even more disturbing is that an unnamed man was given money to kill b. Jihash, a paid murder along the line of today’s paid mafia hits.[15] Even if one agrees that b. Jihash deserved what he got for his involvement in plotting to kill Muhammad, is this a superior example of what one ought to do with one’s enemies?
• Side note: The story of Amr. B. Jihash b. Ka’b volunteering to throw a rock from the roof when Muhammad and his companions arrived at Banu Nadir stronghold is evidently a later addition made by Muhammad. Because from Ibn Ishaq’s account of the incident, we understand it was Gabriel who told Muhammad about this plan while he was sitting with Abu Bakr and his other companions. None of Muhammad’s companions could sense it and Muhammad needed his alter ego to invent the plot. It tells us the attempted murder was a made up story by Muhammad. [For more details see Ibn Ishaq: 652]
• Muhammad personally approved the murder of Sallam ibn Abu’l-Huqayq whom it was said had enmity toward Muhammad.[16]
• Muhammad viewed Abdullah bin Sa’d as an apostate after initially embracing Islam but later abandoning it. Muhammad wanted Sa’d murdered, but did not want to take responsibility for his murder, hoping that one of his helpers would volunteer for the deed.[17]
Thus, Muhammad sanctioned, condoned, and even personally ordered the murder of others, at times for even the most miniscule of insults against either Muhammad himself or Islam in general. Clearly, the example set by Muhammad should not become normative for society, lest we find ourselves in constant fear of our lives with no guarantee for life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.
VENGEANCE:
Most civilized societies live by something akin to what is known as the “Golden Rule:” To do unto others as you would have others do unto you. The example of Muhammad is just the opposite in this regard. His actions speak for themselves. Here are just a few examples from his biography.
• During the battle of Uhud, one of many battles during which Islam was spread by the sword, Muhammad’s uncle Hamza was killed. A woman named Hind d. ‘Utba mutilated the body of Hamza, cutting off his nose and ears, and cutting out his liver to exact vengeance for the loss of her father, brother, and her first-born son in the battle of Badr.[18] In response, Muhammad expressed an overwhelming desire to personally mutilate 30 men of the Quraysh tribe. His expressed desire incited his own men to state that in future battles, “we will mutilate them as no Arab has ever mutilated anyone.”[19] While this sort of a response by Muhammad may seem justified in terms of human reasoning, it seems quite out of character for the prophet of a god who is said to be “most gracious, most merciful.”
• In a fit of extreme anger and retribution at the end of the Battle of the Ditch, Muhammad personally beheaded up to 900 Jews in one night, tossing their headless bodies in a ditch dug around Medina. The women, children, and personal possessions of these 900 men were divided up between Muhammad and his followers.[20]
• Muhammad plotted to attack the people of Lihyan to avenge the death of some of his men at who were killed at al-Raji, though the surprise attack failed when the people of Lihyan heard about Muhammad’s plans and made preparations.[21]
• Muhammad ordered the flogging of some of his men who were accused of spreading rumors about his wife Aisha having an illicit relationship with a man who found her lost in the desert after her caravan left her behind.[22]
It is clear from these few examples that Muhammad was a very vengeful man who demonstrated to his enemies not patience, or love, or compassion, but anger and hostility which led in some cases to extreme violence from Muhammad. This sort of behavior is certainly not one of the foundations of civilized society.
LUST, INCEST AND ADULTERY:
There is evidence that Muhammad engaged in lust, incest, and possibly illicit relationships. Muhammad’s adopted son Zaid had a wife named Zaynab who was Muhammad’s paternal cousin[23] and apparently quite attractive. History records that Muhammad went to visit Zaid one day, but he was gone and Zaynab, dressed very revealingly, greeted Muhammad at the door. Muhammad apparently excused himself for fear of succumbing to his carnal desire for her. His followers noted that Muhammad was captivated by Zaynab’s physical attractiveness, and it was noted that Muhammad desired to have her as his own wife. Zaid, wanting to remain faithful to Muhammad and do everything to please him, divorced Zaynab so that Muhammad could marry her. In modern societies, marrying one’s daughter and cousin would be viewed as incest. Clearly, the evidence points to the fact that Muhammad’s desire for Zaynab was based purely on lust and carnal desire for her.
Furthermore, there is at least the suggestion in the Hadith that Muhammad was perhaps engaging in illicit behavior with Zaynab before he married her. Abu Dawud records a woman named Hamnah, a sister of Zaynab, who one day sought Muhammad for counsel and found him and Zaynab alone at her house. One can only speculate why Muhammad would place himself in a situation where he knew he would be tempted to engage in carnal activity with Zaynab, alone in her home and away from the view of anyone else.
DECEIT:
Muhammad approved of deceit and condoned lying, as a means to an end. In his biography we find:
• Three tribes had gathered together to do battle with Muhammad: the Qurayza, Quraysh, and Ghatafan. One of the new converts to Islam, from the Ghatafan tribe, approached Muhammad to inquire how he might help in the battle effort. Since they were still unaware of his conversion Muhammad dispatched him among these three tribes with the explicit instruction to deceive them with a believable story, because war is deceit. The story worked, and distrust was sowed among the three tribes so that the battle against Muhammad’s people was averted.[24] While some may argue that this was a smart, strategic decision on Muhammad’s part to avoid what was sure to be overwhelming odds against the three tribes combined, it nevertheless underscores that Muhammad was not averse to using deceit to his advantage.
• In another situation, one of Muhammad’s converts had a significant sum of money scattered among the merchants of Mecca that he wished to collect. If he told these merchants the truth about his relationship with Muhammad, he would never recover his money. He approached Muhammad with permission to retrieve his money, and confessed to Muhammad, “I must tell lies.” Muhammad’s response was, “Tell them.”[25]
Thus, once again we find Muhammad less than an ideal example of ethical and moral behavior.
CONCLUSION:
After this brief examination of a few specific examples of moral and ethical behaviors of Muhammad, we must conclude that Muhammad does not provide the standard of moral excellence to which every person should aspire.
The moral characteristics we find exemplified in the life of Muhammad typically are found in power hungry despots whose interests are of a purely selfish nature.
After achieving political power in Medina, Muhammad’s life became a picture of unbridled power, which he used to fulfill every desire he had, from plundering nearby tribes just to take possession of their wealth, to influencing his followers to give up their wives so he could have them.
As the British historian Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Such was Muhammad.
REFERENCES:
1. Ibn Ishaq’s work Sirât Rasûl Allâh was translated into English in 1955 by A. Guillaume and is available in book form known as The Life of Muhammad.
2. Sahih Bukhari 3:45:687
3. Ibn Ishaq 684 When the apostle approached their (Banu Qurayza) forts, he said. “You brothers of monkeys, has God disgraced you and brought his vengeance upon you?” They (Banu Qurayza) replied “O Abul Qasim (Muhammad) you are not a barbarous person”
4. Sahih Bukhari 5:59:449
5. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 246-247.
6. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 551
7. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 676
8. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 289
9. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 639
10. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 304
11. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 368
12. Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not a Muslim (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2003), 94.
13. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 369
14. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 384
15. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 438
16. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 482
17. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 550
18. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 385-386
19. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 387
20. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 464
21. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 485-486
22. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 497
23. Maududi (1967), Tafhimul Quran, Chapter Al Ahzab
24. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), pp. 458-459
25. Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, A. Guillaume, translator (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 519
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WHO SAID WOMEN WERE STUPID?
Did Muhammad Teach that Women are Stupid and Inferior to Men?
Answer
A resounding YES!
The Evidence from the Quran
Quran. 2:228
The women who are divorced shall wait concerning themselves until they have their courses thrice, and it shall not be lawful for them to conceal that which God hath created in their wombs, if they believe in God and the last day; and their husbands will act more justly to bring them back at this time, if they desire a reconciliation. The women ought also to behave towards their husbands in like manner as their husbands should behave towards them, according to what is just: But the men ought to have a superiority over them. God is mighty and wise. Sale
“… And they (the women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in equity; but men have a degree of advantage above them. And ALLAH is Mighty and Wise.” Sher Ali
“… And women have their rights similar to their obligations in an equitable and just manner; yet men have a place above them. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” Amatul Rahman Omar
“… for, the same is due to them as from them; but the men should have precedence over them. God is mighty and wise.” Palmer
“… Women shall with justice have rights similar to those exercised against them, although men have a status above women. God is mighty and wise… ” N. J. Dawood
Quran. 4:34
“Men have authority over women because God has made the one SUPERIOR to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them…” Surah. 4:34 N. J. Dawood
“Men are SUPERIOR to women on account of the qualities with which God hath gifted the one ABOVE THE OTHER, and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them…” Rodwell
“Men stand SUPERIOR to women in that God hath preferred some of them over others, and in that they expend of their wealth…” Palmer
Quran. 2:282
“O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you. Let not the scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him, so let him write. Let him (the debtor) who incurs the liability dictate, and he must fear Allah, his Lord, and diminish not anything of what he owes. But if the debtor is of poor understanding, or weak, or is unable himself to dictate, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and TWO WOMEN, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her…” Hilali-Khan
Quran. 4:11
“Allah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance); to the male, a portion equal to that OF TWO FEMALES…” Hilali-Khan
Quran. 4:176
“… if there are brothers and sisters, the male will have TWICE THE SHARE OF THE FEMALE…” Hilali-Khan
The Evidence from the ahadith and commentaries
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet said, “Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?” The women said, “Yes.” He said, “THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE DEFICIENCY OF A WOMAN’S MIND.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 826)
According to Yunus – Ibn Wahb – Ibn Zayd (commenting on God’s word: “And he whispered”): Satan whispered to Eve about the tree and succeeded in taking her to it; then he made it seem good to Adam. He continued. When Adam felt a need for her and called her, she said: No! unless you go there. When he went, she said again: No! unless you eat from this tree. He continued. They both ate from it, and their secret parts became apparent to them. He continued. Adam then went about in Paradise in flight. His Lord called out to him: Adam, is it from Me that you are fleeing? Adam replied: No, my Lord, but I feel shame before You. When God asked what had caused his trouble, he replied: Eve, my Lord. Whereupon God said: Now it is My obligation to make her bleed once every month, as she made this tree bleed. I ALSO MAKE HER STUPID, although I had created her intelligent (halimah), and must make her suffer pregnancy and birth with difficulty, although I made it easy for her to be pregnant and give birth. Ibn Zayd said: Were it not for the affliction that affected Eve, the women of this world would not menstruate, AND THEY WOULD BE INTELLIGENT and, when pregnant, give birth easily. (The History of Al-Tabari: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1989], Volume 1, pp. 280-281; bold and capital emphasis ours)
“… And summon to bear witness, the debt, two witnesses, men, mature Muslim free men; or if the two, witnesses, be not men, then one man and two women, to bear witness, such witnesses as you approve of, on account of their piety and probity; the number of women is because of the fact, so that if one of the two women errs, forgets the testimony, GIVEN THEIR LESSER ASTUTENESS AND ACCURACY; the other, the one remembering, will remind her (read fa-tudhakkiraor fa-tudhkira), the one that has forgotten — the ‘reminding’ clause is the reason [for the choice of two women], that is to say, so that she may be reminded if she errs or strays into error, because this [forgetfulness] is the cause of it (a variant reading [for an, ‘that’] has the conditional in, ‘if’, with [the verb inflected as] tudhakkiru, ‘she will remind’, making it a new sentence, the response to which [follows])…” (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q. 2:282; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Men are in charge of, they have authority over, women, disciplining them and keeping them in check, because of that with which God has preferred the one over the other, that is, because God has given them the advantage over women, IN KNOWLEDGE, REASON, authority and otherwise, and because of what they expend, on them [the women], of their property…” (Ibid., Q. 4:34; bold and capital emphasis ours)
“… And they (women) have rights) and inviolability with their husbands (similar to those) of their husbands (over them in kindness) in kind companionship and intercourse, (and men are a degree above them) in relation to the REASONING FACULTY, INHERITANCE, BLOOD MONEY, as WITNESSES in court and also that which they owe them in terms of expenditure and service.” (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs, Q. 2:228; bold and capital emphasis ours)
“(Men are in charge of women) they are in charge of overseeing the proper conduct of women, (because Allah hath made the one of them) the men THROUGH REASON and the division of booty and estates (to excel the other) the women…” (Ibid., Q. 4:34; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Muhammad proclaimed that, as a result of their stupidity and religious deficiency, there wouldn’t be many women going to Islam’s paradise since the majority of them will end up in hell.
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
Once Allah’s Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) on ‘Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, “O women! Give alms, as I have seen that THE MAJORITY of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women).” They asked, “Why is it so, O Allah’s Apostle?” He replied, “You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion THAN YOU. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not THE EVIDENCE OF TWO WOMEN EQUAL TO THE WITNESS OF ONE MAN?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her religion.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301; see also Volume 2, Book 24, Number 541)
“Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Abbas… the Prophet replied… ‘I also saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that MOST of the inhabitants WERE WOMEN.’ The people asked, ‘O Allah’s Apostle! Why is it so?’ The Prophet replied, ‘Because of their ungratefulness.’ It was asked whether they are ungrateful to Allah. The Prophet said, ‘They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and ungrateful to good deeds. If you are benevolent to one of them throughout the life and if she sees anything (undesirable) in you, she will say, ‘I have never had any good from you.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 18, Number 161)
Imran b. Husain reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Amongst the inmates of Paradise THE WOMEN WOULD FORM A MINORITY. (Sahih Muslim, Book 036, Number 6600)
Muhammad also taught that women are fields that men could plow into whenever and however they want.
(Excessively) attractive has been made, for the people, the love of lusts (that) include WOMEN, children, and hoarded treasures of gold and silver, and branded horses and cattle and crops. (All) this is the provision of the worldly life and with Allah is the best abode. S. 3:14 Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
Your women ARE A TILLAGE for you; so come unto your tillage AS YOU WISH, and forward for your souls; and fear God, and know that you shall meet Him. Give thou good tidings to the believers. S. 2:223 Arberry
The hadiths provide the reason why this passage was “sent down”:
Narrated Jabir:
Jews used to say: “If one has sexual intercourse with his wife from the back, then she will deliver a squint-eyed child.” So this Verse was revealed:– “Your wives are a tilth unto you; so go to your tilth when or how you will.” (2.223) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 51)
And:
Bahz bin Hakim reported on the authority of his father from his grandfather (Mu’awiyah ibn Haydah) as saying:
I said: Messenger of Allah, how should we approach our wives and how should we leave them? He replied: Approach your tilth when or how you will, give her (your wife) food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her.
Abu Dawud said: The version of Shu’bah has: That you give her food when you have food yourself, and that you clothe her when you clothe yourself.
Grade: Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani)
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 2143
In-book reference: Book 12, Hadith 98
English translation: Book 11, Hadith 2138 (Sunnah.com)
According to renowned Muslim scholar/historian/commentator al-Tabari, one of Muhammad’s companions and the son of the second caliph named Ibn Umar claimed that this verse was “revealed” to justify having anal sex with a person’s wives, captives and/or sex slaves:
Others said, “Rather, it means that you may have intercourse whenever you want and in whatever manner you want.” Of those who narrated this:
It was narrated Yaqub, Narrated by Hushaim, narrated by Ibn A’wn, narrated by Nafi’ who related that whenever Ibn Umar read the Quran he would not speak, but one day I read the verse, “Your wives are as a tilth unto you: so approach your tilth when or how you will” (Sura 2:223). So he said, “Do you know about whom this verse was revealed?” I replied, “No.” He said, “This verse was revealed about PENETRATING WOMEN IN THEIR ANUS.”
It was narrated by Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah Ibn Muslim Abu Muslim, narrated by Abu Umar Al Dariri, narrated by Ismail Ibn Ibrahim (owner of) Al Karabisi, narrated by Ibn A’wn, narrated by Nafi’ who said, “I used to (inquire) from Ibn Umar whenever he read the verse in the Quran, ‘Your wives are as a tilth unto you: so approach your tilth when or how you will’ (Sura 2:223), he would say, ‘Meaning to have intercourse with women IN THEIR ANUS.”
It was narrated by Abdel Rahman Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdel Hakam, narrated by Abdel Malik Ibn Maslama, narrated by Al Darawardi who stated that it was related to Zaid Ibn Aslam that Muhammad Ibn Al Munkadir used to forbid penetrating women through their anus so Zaid responded, “I bear witness against Muhammad that he informed me that he performed this.”
It was related about Al Harith Ibn Yaqub that he narrated about Abi Al Habab Sa’id Ibn Yassar that he asked Ibn Umar and said, “O Abu Abdul Rahman! We buy slave girls, so may we commit ‘Nahmid’ with them?” So he replied, “And what is this ‘Nahmid’?” He responded, “(penetrating) the ANUS.” Ibn Umar said, “Wow, Wow! Does a believer do that?” It was narrated by Abu Kilaba, narrated by Abdel Samad, who said that it was narrated by his father who narrated from Ayub, narrated from Nafi’, narrated by Ibn Umar who said that (Sura 2:223), ‘Your wives are as a tilth unto you: so approach your tilth when or how you will,’ WAS REGARDING THE ANUS. (Arabic Source; translation ours)
The hadiths even tell us how Allah and his angels feel about a woman that refuses to allow her husband to enter her when and how he wants:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Apostle said, “If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e. to have sexual relation) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 460)
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, when a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond, the One Who is in the heaven is displeased with her until he (her husband) is pleased with her. (Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3367)
In fact, women are so low according to Muhammad that he even placed them on the same level as dogs and asses.
Narrated ‘Aisha:
The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, “Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey AND A WOMAN (if they pass in front of the praying people).” I said, “You have made us (i.e. women) dogs. I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in my bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away, for I disliked to face him.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 9, Number 490)
Abu Dharr reported: THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH SAID: When any one of you stands for prayer and there is a thing before him equal to the back of the saddle that covers him and in case there is not before him (a thing) equal to the back of the saddle, HIS PRAYER WOULD BE CUT OFF BY (passing of an) ASS, WOMAN, AND BLACK DOG. I said: O Abu Dharr, what feature is there in a black dog which distinguish it from the red dog and the yellow dog? He said: O, son of my brother, I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as you are asking me, and he said: The black dog is a devil. (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1032)
Abu Huraira reported: THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH SAID: A WOMAN, AN ASS AND A DOG DISRUPT THE PRAYER, but something like the back of a saddle guards against that. (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1034)
DID MUHAMMAD PERMIT WOMEN TO BE BEATEN?
As a result of Muhammad classifying females as basically stupid and inferior to the males, and essentially turning them into property and fields that men possessed, Muhammad even went as far as to allow for them to be beaten.
Evidence from the Quran
“… 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.” S. 4:34 Pickthall
“… But chide those for whose refractoriness ye have cause to fear; remove them into beds apart, and scourage them…” Rodwell
“… And as for those women whose ill-will you have reason to fear, admonish them [first]; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them…” Muhammad Asad
“… If you fear high-handedness from your wives, remind them [of the teachings of God], then ignore them when you go to bed, then hit them…” Abdel Haleem
“… But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance – [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them…” Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)
“… As for those from whom you fear disloyalty, admonish them, and abandon them in their beds, then strike them…” Tala A. Itani
“… And those whom you are afraid of their disloyalty (in their marital duties), then advise them, and keep away from them in beds, and (if that or nothing else worked) then spank them (fairly and not out of anger)…” Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
“… Those from whom you fear rebelliousness, admonish them and desert them in the bed and smack them (without harshness)…” Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
Evidence from the ahadith and commentaries
Narrated ‘Ikrima: Rifa’a divorced his wife whereupon ‘AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. ‘Aisha said that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating). It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah’s Apostle came, ‘Aisha said, “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!” When ‘AbdurRahman heard that his wife had gone to the Prophet, he came with his two sons from another wife. She said, “By Allah! I have done no wrong to him but he is impotent and is as useless to me as this,” holding and showing the fringe of her garment, ‘Abdur-Rahman said, “By Allah, O Allah’s Apostle! She has told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her but she is disobedient and wants to go back to Rifa’a.” Allah’s Apostle said, to her, “If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa’a unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you.” Then the Prophet saw two boys with ‘Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), “Are these your sons?” On that ‘AbdurRahman said, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “You claim what you claim (i.e. that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, number 715)
Here is another version of this narration:
5487. ‘Ikrima related that Rifa’a divorced his wife and then ‘Abdu’r-Rahman ibn az-Zubayr al-Qurazi married her. ‘A’isha said that she [came] wearing a green veil (khimar) and complained to her and showed her some greenness [from bruising] on her skin. The women at that time used to help one another. When the Messenger of Allah came, ‘A’isha said, “I have never seen any woman endure what the believing women endure! Her skin is greener than her clothes!” ‘Abdu’r-Rahman heard that she had gone to the Messenger of Allah so he came with two of his sons by another woman. She said, “By Allah, I have no wrong action in respect to him, but he is of no more use to me than this,” and she took hold of the fringe of her garment. ‘Abdu’r-Rahman said, “By Allah, she lies, Messenger of Allah! I am completely strong and potent enough, but she is disobedient and wants to go to Rifa’a!” The Messenger of Allah said, “If that is the case, you are not lawful to him (or proper for him, i.e. Rifa’a) until ‘Abdu’r-Rahman has experienced your sweetness.” He saw the two boys with him and asked, “Are these your sons? “Yes,” he answered. He said, “This is someone about whom you claim what you claim, but, by Allah, they resemble him as a crow resembles another crow!” (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 80. The Book of Dress)
Note carefully what Aisha says here. Muhammad’s child bride basically acknowledges that female Muslims were being oppressed and treated more severely than any other women that she knew of. Also note that instead of reprimanding the husband for hitting his wife so severely so as to bruise her body, Muhammad was more upset over the woman’s accusation that her husband was impotent!
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only time that Muhammad condoned and even sanctioned the beating of women. In the following narrative a man beats his wife for praying too much and Muhammad says nothing to rebuke him!
Narrated AbuSa’id al-Khudri:
A woman came to the Prophet while we were with him.
She said: Apostle of Allah, my husband, Safwan ibn al-Mu’attal, BEATS ME when I pray, and makes me break my fast when I keep a fast, and he does not offer the dawn prayer until the sun rises.
He asked Safwan, who was present, about what she had said. He replied: Apostle of Allah, as for her statement “he beats me when I pray”, she recites two surahs (during prayer) and I have prohibited her (to do so).
He (the Prophet) said: If one surah is recited (during prayer), that is sufficient for the people.
(Safwan continued:) As regards her saying “he makes me break my fast,” she dotes on fasting; I am a young man, I cannot restrain myself.
The Apostle of Allah said on that day: A woman should not fast except with the permission of her husband.
(Safwan said:) As for her statement that I do not pray until the sun rises, we are a people belonging to a class, and that (our profession of supplying water) is already known about us. We do not awake until the sun rises. He said: When you awake, offer your prayer.
Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 2459
In-book reference: Book 14, Hadith 147
English translation: Book 13, Hadith 2453 (Sunnah.com; capital and underline emphasis ours)
This next one is quite interesting since it shows that there were times when Muhammad and Allah were at odds with each other:
(Men are in charge of women…) [4:34]. Said Muqatil: “This verse (Men are in charge of women…) was revealed about Sa‘d ibn al-Rabi‘, who was one of the leaders of the Helpers (nuqaba’), and his wife Habibah bint Zayd ibn Abi Zuhayr, both of whom from the Helpers. It happened Sa‘d HIT HIS WIFE ON THE FACE because she rebelled against him. Then her father went with her to see the Prophet. He said to him: ‘I gave him my daughter in marriage and he slapped her’. The Prophet said: ‘Let her have retaliation against her husband’. As she was leaving with her father to execute retaliation, the Prophet called them and said: ‘Come back; Gabriel has come to me’, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘We wanted something while Allah wanted something else, and that which Allah wants is good’. Retaliation was then suspended”. Sa‘id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Zahid informed us> Zahir ibn Ahmad> Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Junayd> Ziyad ibn Ayyub> Hushaym> Yunus ibn al-Hasan who reported that a man slapped his wife and she complained about him to the Prophet. Her family who went with her said: “O Messenger of Allah! So-and-so has slapped our girl”. The Prophet kept saying: “Retaliation! Retaliation! And there is no other judgement to be held”. But then this verse (Men are in charge of women…) was revealed and the Prophet said: “We wanted something and Allah wanted something else”. Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> Abu’l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl al-‘Askari> ‘Ali ibn Hashim> Isma‘il> al-Hasan who said: “Around the time when the verse on retaliation was revealed amongst the Muslims, a man had slapped his wife. She went to the Prophet and said: ‘My husband has slapped me and I want retaliation’. So he said: ‘Let there be retaliation’. As he was still dealing with her, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other…). Upon which the Prophet said: ‘We wanted something and my Lord wanted something different. O man, take your wife by the hand’ ”. (‘Alī ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul; bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)
Pay careful attention that this commentary plainly says that Q. 4:34 was “revealed” to justify and permit men to slap their wives in their faces, which refutes the assertion that Islam forbids a man from hitting his spouse severely, especially in her face.
Even Muhammad’s own son-in-law and first cousin, Ali ibn Abu Talib, didn’t hesitate to beat up women. Notice how he treated Aisha’s slave girl:
“As for ‘Ali he said: ‘Women are plentiful, and you can EASILY change one for another. Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.’ So the apostle called Burayra to ask her, and ‘Ali got up and gave her A VIOLENT BEATING, saying, ‘Tell the apostle the truth’, to which she replied, ‘I only know good of her…’” (The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995], p. 496; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Not only did Ali beat women he also believed they were quite expendable, easily replaceable!
Another Muslim was even known for being such a great woman beater!
Fatima bint Qais reported that her husband divorced her with three, pronouncements and Allah’s Messenger made no provision for her lodging and maintenance allowance. She (further said): Allah’s Messenger said to me: When your period of ‘Idda is over, inform me. So I informed him. (By that time) Mu’awiya, Abu Jahm and Usama b. Zaid had given her the proposal of marriage. Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: So far as Mu’awiya is concerned, he is a poor man without any property. So far as Abu Jahm is concerned, he is A GREAT BEATER OF WOMEN, but Usama b. Zaid… She pointed with her hand (that she did not approve of the idea of marrying) Usama. But Allah’s Messenger said: Obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger is better for thee. She said: So I married him, and I became an object of envy. (Sahih Muslim, Book 009, Number 3526)
Fatima bint Qais reported: My husband Abu ‘Amr b. Hafs b. al-Mughira sent ‘Ayyish b. Abu Rabi’a to me with a divorce, and he also sent through him five si’s of dates and five si’s of barley… Thereupon Allah’s Apostle said: Mu’awiya is destitute and in poor condition and Abu’l-Jahm is very harsh with women (or he beats women, or like that), you should take Usama b. Zaid (as your husband). (Sahih Muslim, Book 009, Number 3527)
Instead of reprimanding Abu Jahm for beating women and for being harsh with them, Muhammad simply mentions these negative qualities in order to dissuade Fatima from marrying him!
The late Iranian Islamic scholar Ali Dashti provides some further examples of Muslim wife abuse as he explains Q. 4:43:
According to Tafsir ol-Jalalayn, the superiority of men lies in their greater intelligence, knowledge and administrative ability. Zamakhshari, Baydawi, and several other commentators go into more detail and construct metaphysical theories; they liken men’s auuthority over women to that of rulers over subjects, and maintain that prophethood, prayer-leadership, and rulership are reserved for men because men are stronger, MORE INTELLIGENT, and more prudent…
There is one passage, however, which apparently endorses a pre-Islamic Arab custom. This is the sentence at the end of the verse 38[34] permitting a husband to beat his wife: “And those women whose insubordination you fear, admonish them, then leave them alone in the beds, then beat them!” Men with their greater bodily strength have certainly resorted to this unjust and unchivalrous expedient since the earliest times, and they still do so in the twentieth century. Nevertheless its authorization by the law of Islam provides ammunition for critics.
Every community’s laws reflect it life-style, customs, and morals. In addition to the testimony of verse 38[34] of sura 4, there is historical evidence that the Ancient Arabs considered the husband to be the owner of his wife and fully entitled to inflict pain on her. Abu Bakr’s daughter Asma, who was the fourth wife of Zobayr b. ol-‘Awwam (one of the Prophet’s first ten converts and principle companions), is reported to have said, “Whenever Zobayr was angry with one of us, he used to beat her UNTIL THE STICK BROKE.”
The Islamic law on this subject has at least the merit of gradation. First admonition, next cessation of intercourse, and only in the last resort violence should be used to make the wife obey. In the opinion of several commentators and lawyers, the beating should not be severe as to break a bone, because in that case the legal right to retaliation in kind and degree might be invoked. Zamakhshari, however, writes in his comment on the verse that “some authorities do no accept gradation of the punishment of the insubordinate wife but consider infliction of any of the three penalties to be permissible.” This was of course the interpretation given to the words by fanatical Arab theologians such as Ebn Hanbal and Ebn Taymiya. Nevertheless, the meaning of the words is clear and moreover confirmed by what follows in verse 39[35]: “And if you fear a breach between the two, send an arbiter from his kinsfolk and an arbiter from her kinsfolk in case they desire reconciliation.” (Dashti, Twenty-Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad, translated from Persian by F.R.C. Bagley [Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, CA 1994], pp. 114, 115-116; bold and capital emphasis as well comments within brackets ours)
To make matters worse, Muhammad even went so far as to say that no man should ever be questioned as to why he beats his wife!
Riyad as-Salihin
The Book of Miscellany
‘Umar reported that:
The Prophet said, “No man shall be asked for the reason of beating his wife”.
[Abu Dawud]. (Sunnah.com; underline emphasis ours)
And:
Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Marriage
It was narrated that Ash’ath bin Qais said: “I was a guest (at the home) of ‘Umar one night, and in the middle of the night he went and hit his wife, and I separated them. When he went to bed he said to me: ‘O Ash’ath, learn from me something that I heard from the Messenger of Allah: “A man should not be asked why he beats his wife, and do not go to sleep until you have prayed the Witr.”‘ And I forgot the third thing.”
Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)
English reference: Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1986
Arabic reference: Book 9, Hadith 2062 (Sunnah.com; underline emphasis ours)
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