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Woman:
Chastisement & Other Issues |
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The West considers itself as being the
cradle of the modern civilization and the countries of the West are the
claimant of being the protector, promoter and defender of liberty,
freedom, equality and fundamental human rights. The West is also very
proud as being the emancipator of the women although crime and violence
related to women is significant in number in the West, which is highly
developed, compared to backward poor countries in other regions of the
world. The position of the women in the West can be comprehended from the
behaviour of its leaders towards the women. Let us recall the separation
of Princess Diana Spencer with Prince Charles, heir apparent of Queen
Elizabeth II, future figurehead of the Church and father of two kids, for
being “unfaithful to wife” and maintaining extra-marital relation with
his mistress Camilla widely known as “Camillagate”. French President
Mitterrand is reported to have a daughter outside the wedlock. Think about
the behaviour Senator Hillary Clinton, then US first lady, received from
her husband President Bill Clinton who maintained illicit sex relation
with Monica Lewinsky. It was during the presidency of Bill Clinton that
homosexuality was allowed in the U.S. army. The Christian Church has no
role and little to say in such matters. Even the Priests are involved in
sex related crime and scandals. In May- June 2002 media widely covered the
involvement of Catholic Church in the sexual abuse scandal indicating that
Priests molested young parishioners and a theology student in U.S.A.
Australia was engulfed in a U.S. style sex abuse scandal in which a top
Archbishop is involved. Sex scandal of the Priests rocked the United
States and embarrassed President George Bush Jr. raised the issue of
Pedophilia scandal with Pope John Paul when he visited Vatican on 28th
May 2002. Arabic language daily Al
Quds Al Arabi, London quoting Daily Mirror reported that British man has
on an average of five extramarital lovers. Alan Clark, defense secretary
during the Thatcher government publicly admitted that he had slept with
three generations- a girl, her mother, and her grandmother- in the office
of the British Defense Ministry. According to F.B.I. report 1990 everyday
on average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S. A subsequent report
mentioned that everyday on average 1900 cases of rapes are committed in
U.S.A. Their classmates at student parties rape 87 percent young American
women in the university during freshman year. The condition of women is
no better in Third World countries. Xinhua from Kampala reported on 16
March 2002 that Ugandan Vice President Specioza Wandira Kazibwe separated
from her husband due to beatings she received from her husband. If this is
the position of an officiating Vice President of a country, you can
imagine the place of common women with average background in the society. Now let us look back to
the state of women in Bangladesh. According to the United Nations
Population Statistical Report 2001, Bangladesh secured second position
among the countries of the world for violence against women. How come this
is the condition of women in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country?
Indeed the status of women in Islam is very high. The first person who
accepted Islam is a woman, ummul
muminin Khadija Bint Khuwaylid (may Allah be pleased with her). Women
if not Prophets are the mothers of the Prophets although according to some
Islamic scholars Hajrat Maryam (peace be on her) was a Prophet as angel
Gabriel visited her (Feminism & Islam: Legal and Literary
Perspectives. p 301. Edited by eminent Saudi female scholar Dr. Mai Yamani,
Research Associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law at the
School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. New
York University Press, New York. First Edition. Also in The Struggle of
Muslim Women. p.70. Dr. Kaukab Siddique. American Society for Education
and Religion, INC, U.S.A.). On 1st April
2002 A.P. from Dubai quoting
Gulf News reported that Dubai Court of Cassation, the highest Court in the
United Arab Emirate (U.A.E.) has ruled that ‘a husband has right to beat
his wife in order to discipline her provided the beatings are not so
severe that they damage her bones or deform her body’. There must be
some wrong in our understanding of the relevant verse of the Quran
otherwise how a court in a Muslim country can rule that a husband has
right to beat his wife which is against human dignity and the all-purpose
objective of Islam? The issue therefore needs to be addressed afresh. In Islam all human beings, men and women, are equal [Al Quran 3(Surat Al Imran):195 and Al Quran 33(Sura Al Ahzab): 35]. Adam and Eve were created from a single soul [Al Quran 4(Surat An Nisa): 1 and Al Quran 7(Surat Al Araf): 189] which contradicts the largely held Christian view that Eve was created from the rib of Adam and therefore women are inferior to men. Eminent Arab Islamic scholar and sociologist of repute Dr. Hammudah Abd al Ati (a former Associate Professor of Sociology at Utica College of Syracuse University) translated verse 189 of Surat Araf as: It was Allah who created mankind out of one living soul, and created of that soul a spouse (The Family Structure in Islam. p 55. American Trust Publications, U.S.A. in collaboration with Imam Muhammad bin Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Edition 1977.). The Islamic belief is that Allah decided to send khalifa or the vicegerent on the earth [Al Quran 2(Surat Al Baqarah): 30] which contradicts the Christian view that Adam and Eve were expelled from the heaven due to the wrong committed by Eve at the instigation of the iblis or the Satan rather the Islamic faith is that both Adam and Eve committed mistake at the persuasion and influence of the Satan [Al Quran 2(Surat Al Baqarah): 36 and Al Quran 7(Surat Al Araf): 20-22]. Human beings have been created in the best of mould [Al Quran 95(Sura At Tin): 4]. The question therefore does not arise that women’s intellectual capacity is less than that of men. Men and women are equal before Allah and they are created from the same substance in order to console, to complete and to fulfill each other. In this connection the comment made by the renowned Egyptian Islamic scholar and the greatest Islamic jurist of our time Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi, Dean of the Faculty of Shariah, Qatar Islamic University worth mentioning. Dr. Qaradawi in his book The Status of Women in Islam wrote: “With the advent of Islam, circumstances improved for the woman. The woman’s dignity and humanity were restored. Islam confirmed her capacity to carry out Allah’s commands, her responsibilities and observation of the commands that lead to heaven. Islam considered the woman as a worthy human being, with a share in humanity equal to that of man. Both are two branches of a single tree and two children from the same father Adam and mother Eve. Their single origin, their general human traits, their responsibility for the observation of religious duties with the consequent reward or punishment, and the unity of their destiny all bear witness to their equality from the Islamic point of view” (available in website www.witness-pioneer.org). If this is the status of woman in Islam, how misperceived husband justify the beating of wife? There must be some error of in our perception and understanding of the revealed text of the Quran and therefore the issue needs to be examined anew for the scholars of the earlier generation might have missed a point which needs to be clarified. In this connection the Farewell Pilgrimage message of Prophet Muhammad (saws) is very pertinent in which he (saws) called upon those who are present on the occasion to convey his (saws) message to those who are not present adding that those who will come to know about his (saws) message later might understand the inner meaning and significance of his (saws) message more than who are present (Muhammad: Glimpses of the Prophet’s Life & Times. p 200. Zahir Ahmed. Royal Book Company, Karachi, Pakistan. Also Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets. p 345. Prof. Syed Ali Ahsan. Dhaka and The Jurisprudence of the Prophetic Biography & A Brief History of the Orthodox Caliphate. pp 651-652. Dar Al Fikr, Damascus). Imam Muhammad bin Idris al Shafi, the founder of the Shafi School of Thought or madhab had modified and changed many of his earlier views on settling in Egypt after leaving Iraq due to changed socio, cultural, political and economic condition. (Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity. p 17. Tariq Ramadhan. The Islamic Foundation, U.K.). Indeed time and space is important elements of the Islamic jurisprudence (The Quran and the Sunnah: The Time-Space Factor. Taha Jabir al Alwani and Imad al Din Khalil. IIIT, U.S.A.). One problem with the scholars of the earlier period of Islam is that their understanding of the Quran had been less than critical owing to the fact that they stopped at the literal meaning of each verse without making serious efforts to compare and reconcile verses that seemed to contradict one another. The conceptual confusion occurred in the early period of Islam when the classical jurists took the text of the Quran for what it appeared to be not for what it was meant to be. The mere repetition of out dated interpretations and sterile thinking has however failed to bring about desired social changes or to put an end to the prevailing cultural conflict and tension. The development in the
field of science and technology has however brought to light newer and
deeper meanings of the revealed text which in many ways differs from the
earlier interpretations. Information technology has also made more
information easy accessible to the scholars of this generation which was
not readily available to the academics and researchers of the earlier
generation. This has also helped the scholars of this generation to a
great extent to draw new ijtihad. The broad objective of
Islam is to establish peace. One of the meanings of ‘Islam’ is peace.
Islam is committed to establish peace not only at the global level, to
establish solidarity and brotherhood at the level of ummah
and to establish unity and cohesion in the state and society but also
deeply committed to promote harmony in the family. The objective of the
conjugal relation is to ensure love and compassion between the spouses [Al
Quran 30 (Sura Ar Rum): 21], avoid conflict and tension in the family and
to ensure balanced growth of the children as responsive citizens with firm
faith competent to face the challenge of the new millennium. Women not
only best understand the needs of the family and act as the main
transmitters of the culture and values to the children. They bring
different perspective to life. But beating of the wife by the husband can
in no way promote understanding and kindness between husband and wife but
would increase hatred, friction and bitterness in the already acrid
relationship. In such situation the family cannot play any constructive
and meaningful role for the development of the society for a bird cannot
fly with one wing only. In fact a couple having intimate relations is for
humanity what the sun for the nature is. How then the scholars of the
earlier generation justified beating of the wife by the husband which
contradicts the general objective of Islam for maintaining peace, harmony
and tranquility in the family? Moreover, the matrimonial union is Islam is
an agreement by choice and the relationship can be terminated by judicious
use of free will and there is no question of coercion. The most misunderstood
verse of the Quran which has been interpreted by the scholars of the
earlier generation that justify the beating of the wife by the husband is
4 (Surat An Nisa): 34-35 and the Arabic root verb is daraba.
To arrive at the clear meaning of the verse of the Quran we shall try to
reconcile the verses of the Quran and try to explain one verse of the
Quran with the help of another verse of the Quran for that is the most
methodical approach of the interpretation of the Quran. We shall then
refer to the seerah or the life
of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) for necessary guidance in this matter. We
shall also examine the literal and etymological meaning of the word daraba in its different derivatives as appeared in various verses of
the Quran. To grasp the precise
meaning of the verse of the Quran we shall use English rendering of the
Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pikthall; Muhammad Asad, Sayyid
Qutub, T. B. Irving and joint
English translation of the meaning of the noble Quran by Dr. Muhammad
Muhsin Khan and Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali. We shall now quote the most misunderstood verse of the Quran, which has been used for cruelty against women. Abdullah Yusuf Ali translated verse 34-35 of Surat An Nisa is as: 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 you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly) [Arabic word used in the verse is wadribuhunna]; but if they return to obedience seek not against them means (of annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all). If you fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family, and the other from hers; if they seek to set things aright, Allah will cause their reconciliation; for Allah has full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa): 34-35] (The Holy Quran: English translation of the Meanings and Commentary. pp 219-220. Revised & Edited by The Presidency of the Islamic Research, IFTA, Call and Guidance. King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex. Saudi Arabia.). If one closely reads and
examines the aforementioned verse of the Quran keeping in view overall
spirit of the matrimonial relationship of mutual love, affection and
fellow feeling between the spouses and inbuilt structure of family on
compassion and benevolence, one must necessarily conclude that intolerant
attitude of the husband like recourse to beating the wife cannot be a way
for continuation of peaceful and harmonious conjugal life rather such
cruel attitude of the husband is bound to create mutual suspicion and
promote mistrust among the
partners that might ultimately result in the disintegration and breakup of
the family. Moreover, if the third step to resolve marital dispute is daraba,
translated as beating as mentioned in the verse quoted above, the fourth
step cannot be arbitration for if the husband take the extreme step of
beating wife, the arbiters will have little scope for mediation. Logic
also suggests that the spouses would also naturally prefer to keep their
differences secret to avoid disgrace, embarrassment and humiliation in
front of the society unless they take the farthest step for divorce. What
then is the inner meaning of the word daraba
which is an instrument to bring about reconciliation and peace between the
enraged spouses? Although the English translation of the word wadribuhunna
(root verb being daraba) has
been made as beat them lightly, the word lightly is not mentioned in the
revealed text of the verse quoted above and therefore the question of
beating wife by the husband does not arise irrespective of the level and
degree of the beating if the husband is keen and really interested in the
continuation of the marriage. Now if we read the
aforementioned verse [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa):34-35] together with 2 (Surat
Al Baqarah): 231 wherein the husband has been advised not to take back
wife to injure, it becomes clear that the meaning of the word daraba
cannot be beating. Al Quran states: When you divorce women and they
(are about to) fulfill the term of their (iddat),
either take them back on equitable terms or set them free on equitable
terms, but do not take them back to injure them … [Al Quran 2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 231]. Again in verse 33 (Sura Al Ahzab):
49 Allah has ordained husbands to release wives in a graceful manner. Al
Quran states: … give them a present and release them in a handsome
manner [Al Quran 33 (Sura Al Ahzab): 49]. In another verse Al Quran
states: … The parties should either hold together on equitable terms or
separate with kindness … [Al Quran 2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 229]. If
separation between the spouses has to be made with grace and kindness, how
the basis of reconciliation of disputes between the husband and wife can
be beating? It is therefore
evident from the above comparative study of the verses of the Quran that
the meaning of the idiom daraba,
which is an instrument of reconciliation of marital disputes, cannot be
beating of wife by the husband. Further, women are the embodiment of
beauty, by nature emotional and fragile and therefore question of
resorting to beating wife by husband to resolve rupture and rift in
conjugal life does not arise. Does the word daraba
then signify any allegorical, metaphorical or symbolic meaning beyond its
literal and etymological connotation? Now if we fall back to the life of
the Prophet Muhammad (saws) as to what he (saws) did to resolve his (saws)
differences with his (saws) wives. There is no record that Prophet (saws)
ever slapped, beat, stroke or punched any of his (saws) wives. “Never
did the Prophet (saws) raise his (saws) hand to any of his (saws) wives;
all the testimonies show him (saws) as attentive and respectful to the
person and the personality of the women who surrounded him (saws)”
(Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity. p 341 Tariq Ramadhan).
Prophet (saws) “not only did never raise his (saws) hand to strike any
of his wives, but he (saws) condemned wife-beating” (Feminism &
Islam: Legal and Literary perspectives. p 312). Famita Mernissi , a
sociologist of international reputation and a teacher at the University of
Mohammad, Rabat, Morocco in her book The Veil and The Male Elite: A
Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam wrote: “The Prophet
never raised his hand against one of his wives … The only time when the
Prophet was confronted with a domestic revolt, a rebellion by some of his
wives, not only did he not beat them, but he preferred to leave his home
and, to the great surprise of the city, to move for almost a month to a
room adjoining the mosque”(The Veil and The Male Elite: A Feminist
Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam. pp 156-157. Fatima Mernissi.
Perseus Books, Cambridge, Massachusetts).
Who else knew more than Prophet (saws), who (saws) is the official
interpreter of the Quran [Al Quran16 (Surat Al Nahl): 44], the meaning and
significance of the instruction of this verse? Prophet (saws) understood
the implication and spirit of the verse and therefore he (saws) did not
resort to beating. What Prophet Muhammad (saws) did is that he (saws)
resorted to al-mashrabah, moved
away from his residential quarters for a month or so without inflicting
any physical injury to enable the noble ladies ponder and try to
understand the consequences of living in isolation from the husband, the
mental pain and agony which a wife has to experience in the absence of the
husband and realize the gravity and seriousness of recalcitrance and
defiance. The most candid meaning of the root verb daraba
in the dialect and language of the Quran therefore implies and signifies
to “leave”, to “moving away”, to “separate” (Chastising Women:
A Means to Resolve Marital Problems. Eminent Saudi intellectual Dr.
AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, President, International Institute of Islamic
Thought (IIIT), USA and formerly Rector of International Islamic
University, Malaysia. Original article in Arabic and translated into
English by Dr. Mazen A. Al Najjar). It is significant that the text of the
Quran does not use the word daraba
to denote physical or corporal punishment rather the Quran uses jalada
(to lash, to whip, to flog etc). Al Quran states: The woman and the man
guilty of fornication flog each of them with a hundred stripes …
[24 (Sura An Nur): 2]. We shall now have a glimpse over the whole Quran and identify the verses of the Quran where the word daraba has appeared in the Quran with its different meanings, connotations and derivatives in all seventeen distinct nuances or representations. The idiom daraba in the land denotes to travel or to depart [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa): 101. Arabic word used in the verse is waiza darabtum]. With respect to ear, the verb daraba means to block or to prevent hearing [Al Quran 18 (Surat Al Kahf): 11. Arabic word used in the verse is fadarabna]. And with regard to revelation, daraba means to stop, to halt, to abandon and to take away [Al Quran 43 (Sura Az Zukhruf): 5. Arabic word used in the verse is afanadribu]. Obviously, for the truth and false, daraba means to make both of them evident and to distinguish them from each other [Al Quran 38 (Sura Sad): 44. Arabic word used in the verse is fadribbihi]; whereas, for veils, daraba connotes to draw them over and to cover the bosom [Al Quran 24 (Sura An Nur): 31. Arabic word used in the verse is walyadribna]. In the seas or rivers, daraba is to strike a path through the water and set the water aside [Al Quran 20 (Sura Ta Ha): 77 Arabic word used in the verse is fadrib and Al Quran 26 (Sura Ash Shuaraa): 63 Arabic word used in the verse is anidrib]. But for humiliation and shame, daraba is to signify that both of them are pitched over people [Al Quran 2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 61. Arabic word used in the verse is wadribat]; however, for a wall, daraba means to be erected, that is, to indicate partition or separation [Al Quran 57 (Sura Al Hadid): 13. Arabic word used in the verse is faduriba]. With regard to the finger tips, necks, faces and backs, daraba means to cut, to slash and to strike [Al Quran 8 (Surat Al Anfal): 12 Arabic word used in the verse is fadribu and Al Quran 47 (Sura Muhammad): 4 Arabic word used in the verse is fadarba and Al Quran 47 (Sura Muhammad): 27 Arabic word used in the verse is yadribuna] ; whereas, for the rest of the verses [16 (Surat Al Nahl): 76, 16 (Surat Al Nahl): 112, 66 (Sura At Tahrim): 11; 43 (Sura Az Zukhruf):57; 17 (Surat Bani Israil): 48; 2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 26, 16 (Surat Al Nahl): 74; 2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 60; 3 (Surat Al-i-Imran): 112; 4 (Surat An Nisa): 94 and 37 (Sura As Saffat): 93], daraba means to impel, to shock, to slap, or to damage so as to precipitate the desired impact which is relevant to each respective situation, action or interaction (Chastising Women: A Means to Resolve Marital Problems. Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman). Now if we rewrite the
translation of the verse 34-35 of Surat An Nisa by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in
the light of the meaning of the word daraba
as explained by Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman and quoted above, the meaning
of the verse becomes: 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 you fear disloyalty
and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share their beds,
(and last) leave the nuptial nest
[or move away from the nuptial nest or separate from the nuptial nest];
but if they return to obedience seek not against them means (of
annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all).
If you fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters,
one from his family, and the other from hers; if they seek to set things
aright, Allah will cause their reconciliation; for Allah has full
knowledge, and is acquainted with all things [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa):
34-35]. It is therefore clear from
what has been discussed quoting revealed text of the Quran, life of the
Prophet (saws) and opinion of the contemporary eminent Islamic scholars,
academicians, researchers and jurists that there is no scope of beating of
Muslim wife by the Muslim husband. The other issue which
needs to be addressed is al-rijal
qawwamuna ala al-nisa [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa): 34-35 quoted above]
commonly mistranslated as man is the leader of woman, man is superior or
placed higher than woman, man is placed above woman, man is the director
of woman, man has authority over woman, man has right to supervise woman
etc. Marmaduke Pikthall translated the verse as ‘men are in charge of
women’. Some even translated the verse as: men are the governors of the
women. Such translation is against the basic tenets and precepts of Islam.
Islam does not permit any one to rule over another. No power other than
Allah Almighty can rule over human beings. Men are not permitted to rule
over women or women over men. When a judge issues judgment all he is doing
is implementing Law of Allah. In their joint translation of the noble
Quran Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali
translated the verse as ‘men are the protectors and maintainers of women
because Allah has made one of them to excel the other’. Post-modernist Islamic
scholars are highly critical of such translation of the verse as it is
against the general principle of equality of men and women. Eminent German academic and intellectual Murad Wilfried
Hofmann thinks that such interpretation of the verse of the Quran is
creating obstacle on the way of the progress of dawah,
Islamic call and guidance, in the West. “No other factor is harming the
chances of Islamic dawah as much
as the occidental assessment that women in Islam are second class
citizens, marginalized, suppressed and mummified. The trouble is that this
assessment is not without foundation because Muslim women in many parts of
dar al Islam are still deprived
of their Quaranic rights and status. In other words: Many Muslim women are
still living much as they did during the jahiliyah.
It is therefore from these jahiliyah
practices that they must be emancipated. … It is vital … to contradict
the misconception concerning women in Islam. Otherwise Islamic dawah in the West is almost hopeless” (Islam 2000. pp 44-45. Murad
Hofmann. amana publications. Maryland).In this connection the remarks made
by Tariq Ramadhan, Professor of Philosophy and Islamic Studies, University
of Fribourg, Switzerland is very significant. He said: “The notion of
the chief of the family who alone decides for, and sometimes against, the
rest of the family … those cultural habits of a certain number of
countries with Muslim majorities that attribute to Islam attitudes which
in fact Islam reprobates” (Islam, the West and the Challenges of
Modernity. p 38 Tariq Ramadhan). The belief that in essence, in attributes
and in conception, men are superior to women is so deep-rooted that even
some women came to believe that they are defective. “Such beliefs have
little to do with Islam but are products of historical process that not
only pre-date Islam but gained momentum after the death of Prophet (saws)
due to socio-political realities of the time” (Feminism & Islam:
Legal and Literary Perspective’. p 295). The remarks made by Dr.
Hassan Turabi, the eminent intellectual and academician (former Dean of
the Faculty of Law, Khartoum University)
and ideologue of the Sudanise Islamic movement and a former Deputy
Prime Minister of Sudan, which has been endorsed by such prominent ulema
as Shiekh Muhammad al-Ghazali of Egypt, is very interesting and
noteworthy. He pointed out:
“The[se] male tendencies and the appending customs and ways are manifest
in many societies where male arbitrariness runs amok with no religious or
human limitation”. “Take, for instance, the
Arab, Persian and Indian societies. Although the message of Islam has
spread in these societies from early times, the teaching and inculcation
of Islamic cultural values was not coextensive with the horizontal
expansion. Consequently some pre-Islamic values and prejudices have
continued to persist despite the domination of Islamic forms. In some
cases there was manifest historical religious decline and relapse to the
earlier social ethos and mores”. “This phenomenon has sometimes occasioned an even more serious development. New or degenerate Muslim societies would sometimes, out of ignorance, attribute their un-Islamic legacy or custom to Islam itself. By attaching an Islamic value to these practices they seek to give them legitimacy and sanctity, the values of Islam being accepted as sacred and supreme. This explains the unabated influence on the minds of many otherwise good Muslims of attitudes abhorrent to Islam, especially in the sensitive areas of sex relations where passion is strong and custom is sacrosanct” (Women in Islam & Muslim Society, p 37. Dr. Hassan Turabi. Milestones Publications, London, U.K.). Tariq Ramadhan further
commented: “In the final analysis one must acknowledge that the
situation of women in many Muslim societies causes a real problem. This is
not only with regard to Western values but equally in the light of points
of reference that are strictly Islamic” (Islam, the West and the
Challenges of Modernity. p 323). Commenting on the verse Murad Hofmann wrote: “If Muslims throughout history had not adopted the Quran to their macho instincts but, on the contrary, had adopted their behaviour to the Quran, women would not have become what can be seen in some places as second class citizens. In particular, it has never been justified to translate al-rijal qawwamuna ala al-nisa as instituting male superiority. This sentence does no more than oblige men to take care of women, with full responsibility, inasmuch as the women needs it and her husband is capable of it. Man is not a step above her, but moves protectively a step in front of her” (On the Role of Muslim Intellectuals. p 71. Murad Wilfried Hofmann. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences. Vol. 14. No. 3. Fall 1997.). T.B. Irving translated the
verse [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa): 34-35] as:
“men are the ones who should support women”. The celebrated
commentator of the Quran Muhammad Asad translated the verse as: “men
shall take full care of the women”. Explaining the justification of the
translation of the verse Mohammad Asad commented: “The grammatical form qawwam is more comprehensive… and combines the concepts of
physical maintenance and protection as well as of moral responsibility:
and it is because of the last named factor that I have rendered this
phrase as “men shall take full care of women” (The Message of The
Quran. p109. Note 42. Translated and Explained by Muhammad Asad. Dar Al
Andalus Limited, Gibraltar). Sayyid Qutub translated the verse as: “Men
shall take full care of women with the bounties with which God has
favoured some of them more abundantly than others, and with what they may
spend of their own wealth” (In The Shade Of The Quran. p 112 Vol. III.
Sayyid Qutub. English rendering by Adil Salahi and Ashur Shamis. The
Islamic Foundation, U.K.). Commenting on the verse Sayyid Qutub pointed
out: “God has created human beings as males and females, following the
dual rule, which is central to the system of creation. He has given the
woman the great tasks of childbearing, breast-feeding and looking after
her children. These are not tasks, which can be fulfilled without careful
preparation, physically, psychologically, and mentally. It is only just
therefore that the other part, i.e. the man, should be assigned the task
of providing the essential needs and the protection required for the woman
to fulfill her highly important duties. … the Quran states that in
Islamic society men are required to look after women. It is an assignment
of duties on the basis of natural abilities and the fair distribution of
responsibilities. Each party is assigned the duties most suited to its
nature” (ibid pp 131-132). The implication of the verse is that men are
to protect women as long as they need and desire protection. Eminent
Egyptian Islamic thinker, journalist and educational reformer Dr. Fathi
Osman translated the verse as: “Men, take full care of women, for what
God has granted some of them distinctively from the other, and what they
may spend out of their possessions”. Explaining the verse Dr. Osman
commented: “The distinctiveness between man and women is related to the
woman’s pregnancy, delivery, and nursing, which make it necessary that
the man should have the responsibility to provide for her needs and the
needs of the children, at least when she is hindered with such a
distinctive function, that of reproduction” (Rethinking Islam and
Modernity. p 44. Edited by Abdelwahab El-Affendi. The Islamic Foundation,
U.K.). Writing on the issue
Dr. Gamal A. Badawi, Chairman of the Islamic Information Foundation,
Halifax, Canada and an outstanding Islamic scholar who is actively
involved in spreading the message of Islam in the West commented: “In
consideration of the physiological and psychological make-up of man and
woman, both have equal rights and claims on one another, except for one
responsibility, that of leadership. This is a matter which is natural in
any collective life and which is consistent with the nature of man. … [qawwamuna]
refers to the natural difference between the sexes which entitles weaker
sex to protection. It implies no superiority or advantage before the law.
Yet, man’s role of leadership in relation to his family does not mean
the husband’s dictatorship over his wife. Islam emphasizes the
importance of taking counsel and mutual agreement in family decisions [as
mentioned in verse 233 of the Surat Al
Baqarah]” (Woman in
Islam. Dr. Gamal A. Badawi. Article published in Islam: Its Meaning and
Message. pp 138-139. Edited by Professor Dr. Kurshid Ahmed, Chairman of
the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan. The Islamic
Foundation, U.K.). Dr. Hammudah Abd al Ati pointed out: “This degree may
be likened to what sociological parlance calls instrumental leadership or
authority in the household due to role differentiation on the basis of
sex” (The Family Structure in Islam. p 148).
The remarks made by Dr. Hasan Turabi, ideologue of the Sudanise
Islamic movement, are relevant to this issue. He said: “The man is in
charge of the family, but that amounts only to responsibility for
financial maintenance or for direction or discipline exercised in a
reasonable manner. Both spouses should share in the management of family
affairs, and have equal authority over their sons and daughters” (Women
in Islam & Muslim Society. p 20. Dr. Hasan Turabi. Milestones
Publications, London, U.K). “It seems … that the role this particular
Quranic verse has played in an example of the adaptation of the Quran to
existing pre-Islamic attitudes. It is high time to go other way and adapt
male behaviour to the requirements of the Quran” (Islam 2000. p 47.
Murad Hofmann.). In fact a woman is not her husband’s mere subordinate
but partner, companion and aide. The problem of the status of woman in
Islam is not with Islam but with the Islamic thinkers’ understanding of
Islam which is colored with patriarchal notions. Our religious scholars
sometimes resort to fanciful, whimsical, far-fetched and distorted
justifications and interpretations of the divine and sacred law, the shariah.
We must therefore make a clear distinction between the primary sources of
Islamic law which is Quran and sunnah
and the secondary source which is fiqh
or the jurisprudence. The secondary source reflects views and concepts of
Muslim thinkers of a particular time and not necessarily of Islam. Views,
deductions and inferences of the scholars, however eminent, of the earlier
generation cannot be unequivocally attributed to Islam; these are in fact
the views and commands of individual Muslim intellectuals and not Islam.
Such views should not be accepted at its face value and need to be
analyzed and reviewed in the light of the revealed text of the Quran and
the authentic hadith, the
primary sources of Islamic law. A review of the fiqh does not however in any way diminish their value and sanctity
but fulfill the requirement of the time. Another thing which
deserves attention is that if al-rijal
qawwamuna ala al-nisa [Al
Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa): 34-35 quoted above] is interpreted to mean and
signify that men have a privilege over women because husbands are the
maintainers of wives, what will happen if a lady, for some reason or
other, is never married and leads a single life or that she is a divorcee
or that husband, for financial reason, is incapable to maintain wife and
also that wife is rich enough to maintain husband. The spirit of Islam is
not separation between the spouses just because of financial incapacity of
the husband. Who will lead the family if the husband is seriously ill? Now if we rewrite the
translation of the verse 34-35 of Surat An Nisa by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in
the light of the meaning of the word daraba
as explained by Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman and quoted above, and al-rijal
qawwamuna ala al-nisa as explained above by Muhammad Asad, Sayyid
Qutub and others the meaning of the verse becomes: Men
shall take full care of women with the bounties with which God has
favoured some of them more abundantly than others, and with what they may
spend of their own wealth. 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 you fear disloyalty and
ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share their beds,
(and last) leave the nuptial nest [or move away from the nuptial nest or
separate from the nuptial nest]; but if they return to obedience seek not
against them means (of annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above
you all). If you fear a
breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family,
and the other from hers; if they seek to set things aright, Allah will
cause their reconciliation; for Allah has full knowledge, and is
acquainted with all things [Al Quran 4 (Surat An Nisa): 34-35]. In this connection it is
pertinent to discuss verse 2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 228 which is sometimes
been confused and man is placed higher over woman in respect of status. Al
Quran states: Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three
monthly periods. And it is not lawful for them to hide what Allah hath
created in their wombs, if they have faith in Allah and the Last Day. And
their husbands have the better right to take them back in that period, if
they wish for reconciliation. And women shall have rights similar to the
rights against them, according to what is equitable; but men have a degree
over them … [Al Quran
2 (Surat Al Baqarah): 228]. Marmaduke Pickthall translated this
verse: … And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over
them in kindness, and men are a degree above them … . In their joint
English rendering Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din
Al-Hilali translated the verse: … And they (women) have rights (over
their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their
husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is
reasonable, but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them … .
Sayyid Qutub translated the verse: … Women shall, in all fairness, enjoy
rights similar to those exercised against them, although men have an
advantage over them … . Muhammad Asad translated the verse: … The
rights of the wives (with regard to their husbands) are equal to the
(husbands’) rights with regard to them, although men have precedence
over them (in this respect) … . Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Dr.
Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali in their translation of the verse clearly
indicated that this higher degree is nothing but the husband’s higher
degree of responsibility over the wife (Translation of the meanings in
English of The Noble Quran. p 49. King Fahd Complex For The Printing Of
The Holy Quran. Saudi Arabia). Abdullah
Yusuf Ali indicated that “man’s rights and liabilities a little
greater than the woman’s” (The Holy Quran: English translation of the
Meanings and Commentary. p 99. Note 255. Revised & Edited by The
Presidency of the Islamic Research, IFTA, Call and Guidance. King Fahd
Holy Quran Printing Complex.Saudi Arabia). What Sayyid Qutub meant by the
words men have an advantage over women is that “man who initiates the
divorce and would therefore have the prerogative to take wife back, a
decision that could not be left to her to take. This advantage, indeed a
useful and proper one, is by no means universal, as some have erroneously
concluded, but is simply dictated by the nature and the circumstances of
the dispute” (In The Shade Of The Quran. pp 277-279. Vol. 1. Sayyid
Qutub. English rendering by M. A. Salahi and A. A. Shamis. The Islamic
Foundation, U.K.). But Muhammad Asad interpreted the verse as: “A
divorced wife has the right to refuse a resumption of marital relations
even if the husband expresses, before the expiry of the waiting-period,
his willingness to have the provisional divorce rescinded; but since it is
the husband who is responsible for the maintenance of the family, the
first option to rescind a provisional divorce rests with him” (The
Message of The Quran. p 50. Note 216.Translated and Explained by Muhammad
Asad.). Thus it is clear that this verse cannot be taken to mean men’s
intrinsic and natural superiority over women. Both are human, thus equal.
The difference between man and woman, if any, is earned and achieved in
terms of professional excellence and righteousness [Al Quran 49(Sura Al
Hujurat): 13 and Al Quran 3(Surat Al Imran): 195 and Al Quran 99 (Sura Al
Zilzal): 7-8]. Dr. Hammudah Abd al Ati
pointed out: “The question of the Muslim wife’s obedience and the
husband’s authority has been viewed from what seems to be a limited
perspective. It is taken by most writers to be based almost entirely on
two statements in the Quran and some supplementary Traditions of the
Prophet (SAWS). The Quran [Al Quran 2(Surat Al Baqarah):228]
states that women have rights even as they have duties in an equitable
manner, but men have a degree above women. Again, it states [Al Quran
4(Surat An Nisa):34] that men are the guardians, protectors, or custodians
of women because God has made some of them excel others and because men
expend of their means to maintain women. … Conclusions reached by such
observers are hardly acceptable at their face value; they should be
subjected to careful scrutiny and structural analysis. Generalizations
have been made about the inferiority and subordination of women throughout
history. Yet the new sociological insights into the nature of the power
structure within the family may cast some serious doubts on the
unqualified validity of such generalizations. Men may have believed
themselves super ordinate or superior and acted according to their own
definition of the situation. Women also may have behaved at least
externally, as though they were submissive and subordinate. But whether
they were actually so in all respects and always is an open question. …
Moreover, there is a grammatical point that may be suggestive. The verse
states that men are guardians, etc of women because God has made some of them excel others. The Arabic original
of the italicized objective pronoun (them) is the plural masculine. If
taken literally, it would mean that God has made some men excel others.
But if it is interpreted in conjunction with the first part of the verse,
where men and women are mentioned, the pronoun them,
though strictly masculine, can be taken so as to refer to both men and
women. In this case, excellence is attributed to some generalized men and
women. This would be based on the grammatical rule of taghlib,
according to which a plural consisting of singulars differentiated on some
levels may be identified by one of its components and still include the
rest. For example, the sun and the moon may form a plural which can be
called the two moons. It would seem that the referents of the objective
pronoun them, of whom some
excel, include members of both sexes for at least two reasons. First, if
excellence is conferred by God on some men to the exclusion of other men
and also of all women (a
necessary conclusion of taking the original pronoun literally as a plural
masculine), it would be difficult to explain why the Quran clearly
designates men in general as guardians of women, or why it allocates right
and duties to the male sex on the merit of only some
members thereof. Secondly, the object of the verb excel is defined neither
by the masculine nor by the feminine pronoun, nor is the content of
excellence specified in the verse. There is no direct indication of who
is excelled or in what
excellence is. Furthermore, it is a grammatical rule that the pronoun
refers to the nearest preceding noun unless otherwise indicated. The
nearest referent of the pronoun them
in the verse is actually women, not men. If the interpreters of the Quran
adhered to this rule of Arabic grammar, they would have concluded that God
has made some of them, i.e.
women, excel. But they, instead took the verse to mean that God has made
some men excel. They went further to specify or define those who are
excelled as women, and further still to conclude that men as such, not
only some of them, excel and hence are superior to women as such, not only
some of them. Such an interpretation and conclusion seem to draw no
substantiation from the verse. They must have been reflections of the
prevailing social conditions and mental dispositions. Not originating in
any textual authentic declarations, they must have been adopted by men who
actually believed themselves superior to women, in an age when external
appearances probably lent support to such a belief and in places where
instrumental authority overcast expressive authority.
The verse, which is some what equivocal, was adduced perhaps to
rationalize those contemporary conditions and to give those men at least
the appearance of evidence in support of their views, so that they would
not be taken as contrary to the principles of religion.” “In view of this
analysis, a reinterpretation of the verse may be worth attempting. Men are
guardians, etc of women because men and women are not completely alike;
they are differentiated and differentiable in various respects. Some of
them, men and women, are endowed with what others, men and women, lack”
(The Family Structure in Islam. pp 173, 175,179-180 Dr. Hammudah Abd al
Ati). Another issue which needs
to be clarified is hijab,
headgear or the covering of the head by the women which is sometimes
confused with covering of the face by the believing women. In verse 33 (Sura
Al Ahzab): 59 believing Muslim women have been advised that they should
cast their outer garments (min
jalabibihinna) over their persons when out of doors. Al Quran states:
O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they
should cast their outer garments over their persons (when out of doors):
That is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not
molested and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful [Al Quran 33 (Sura Al
Ahzab):59] This general instruction should not however be confused with
specific instruction for the ummul
muminin, the mothers of the believers contained in the verse 33 (Sura
Al Ahzab): 53 wherein Muslim males were advised to talk to the wives of
the Prophet Muhammad (saws) from behind a screen. Al Quran states: O you
who believe! Enter not the Prophet’s house until leave is given you for
a meal (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation: but when
you are invited, enter; and when you have taken your meal, disperse
without seeking familiar talk. Such (behaviour) annoys the Prophet he is
shy to dismiss you, but Allah is not shy (to tell you) the truth. And when
you ask (his ladies) for anything you want, ask them from before a screen:
that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs. …
[Al Quran 33 (Sura Al Ahzab): 53]. Now let us read the general instruction towards the believing
women as mentioned in the verse quoted above [Al Quran 33 (Sura Al Ahzab):
59] together with verse 24 (Sura An Nur): 30- 31 which tells women not to
display their beauty and adornment except that which is apparent. The
general instruction of Islam is that man should lower his look when his
eyes fall on the face of a woman and vice versa. Al Quran states: Say to
the believing men that they should lower their gaze … And say to the
believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty
[others have translated as: guard their sexual organs, protect
their private parts. mindful of their chastity]; that they should not
display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear their
of (Arabic word used is illa ma
zahara minha), that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and
not display their beauty … [Al Quran 24 (Sura An Nur): 30-31]. Traditionally illa
ma zahara minha has been interpreted allowing only women’s face,
hands and feet to be uncovered. This is the view of Imam Abu Hanifa. Imam
Malik and Imam Shafi hold the same view. Imam Abu Yusuf of Hanafi School
of Thought is however of the view that women, within the limits of
illa ma zahara minha, can also keep their hands uncovered up to elbow
(Hedaya. Babul Qarahiya). But others oppose the view saying that face of
the woman attracts man most and therefore face should be totally covered.
But this view is not tenable. The instruction of the verse quoted above is
that both men and women are required to keep their eye cast down, so that
when they meet each other,
neither should men stare at women nor women at men. The natural question
that arises is why man should lower his gaze if the face of woman is
totally covered? From the text of the verse it is clearly evident that the
face of the woman is not to be covered and therefore man has been advised
to lower his look. Eminent Islamic scholar
Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi however pointed out: A difference is to be noted
here between the expressions, “lower their gaze” and “guard their
sexual organs”, signifying that while the sexual organs must be totally
guarded without any leeway, the lowering of the gaze is only partial,
because necessity and the general interest of the people require that some
looking at the members of the opposite sex is allowed. “Lowering the
gazes” does not mean that in the presence of the opposite sex the eyes
should be shut or that head should be bowed toward the ground, since this
would be impossible…. Here “lowering of the gazes” means to avert
one’s gaze from the faces of the passers-by and not to caress the
attractive features of the members of the opposite sex with one’s eyes
(The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam. pp 152-153. Dr.Yusuf Al Qaradawi.
American Trust Publications. Indinapolis, USA.). Dr. Qaradawi pointed out
that what is not allowed is lustful look (ibid p 153).
The Prophet (saws) taught Muslims, if they had to sit by the road,
to lower their gaze as women pass by, Dr. Hasan Turabi wrote quoting
Muslim (Women in Islam & Muslim Society. p 23). A man should not gaze
at a woman or a woman at a man so fixedly that temptation is stimulated.
Instead, whenever any such thing strikes the mind, one must desist from
looking on. The Prophet (saws) advised Ali (r): “O Ali, you must not
gaze at a woman. You are allowed the first look but not the subsequent”.
Dr. Hasan Turabi however pointed out: “Ali’s report does not
mean that looking at a person of the opposite sex is absolutely forbidden.
It is only when one seeks sexual pleasure or finds and relishes it.
Indeed, in the model society of Islam, Muslims used to assemble freely and
frequently; they were mostly acquainted with each other, men and women;
they conversed and interacted intensively. But all those activities were
undertaken in a spirit of innocence and in the context of a virtuous
society (ibid. pp 29-30). Varying on the condition
of the climate, heat, wind and dust, women however do cover their face in
different regions. Eminent thinker and intellectual and former German
diplomat Murad Wilfried Hofmann pointed out that veiling women totally is
“a custom that is not Arab but Byzantine and Iranian in origin. Women of
leisure and high social standing had obviously found out that they could
underline their class by taking to the veil. Making them seem slightly
remote, this device would make them appear more rare and precious. And of
course, cultivating the veil simultaneously enhanced the Oriental
proclivity for jealously. At any rate, it is a fact that at the time of
Prophet and immediately afterwards, Muslim women were not totally veiled
(and Bedouin women in Saudi Arabia are still not). Indeed, women pilgrims
to Makkah must not be veiled because their predecessors, contemporaries of
the Prophet, were not when they went out on pilgrimage” “On the one hand, it is not without logic that Saudi women go voluntarily beyond the Quranic obligation to cover themselves. If the purpose of covering a woman’s hair, bosom and arms is to save her from becoming a sex object, to protect marriages from unabashed solicitation, and to avoid a vain and ruinous beauty fashion competition among women, then why should such strong points of sexual fixation as eyes, mouth and ankles remain on public display?” (Journey to Islam. pp 78-79. Murad Wilfried Hofmann. The Islamic Foundation, U.K.). Nonetheless it should be
kept in mind that a person is identified by the face. Modern psychologists
and public relations experts study face to ascertain the character and
mental makeup of the individual. Face is the reflection of personality.
Forcing women to totally veil or cover their face in fact tantamount to
destruction of the personality of the women. A woman however has the
inalienable fundamental rights to live in a society which allows her to
blossom. Woman like man can however expose her personality not through
nakedness but through decent adornment and covering of the body. Al Quran
states: O you children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover
your shame as well as to be an adornment to you, but the raiment of
righteousness- that is best. Such
are among the Signs of Allah that they may receive admonition! O you
children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you in the same manner as he got
your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose
their shame: for he and his tribe see you from a position where you cannot
see them: We made the Satans friends (only) to those without faith” [Al
Quran 7 (Surat Al Araf): 26-27]. |
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1st July 2002 |