Islam and domestic violence
Encyclopedia
The relationship between Islam and domestic violence is disputed. Even among Muslims, the uses and interpretations of shari’a, the moral code and religious law of Islam, lack consensus.
Conservative interpretations of Surah
, An-Nisa, 34
in the Qur'an
regarding marital relationships find that hitting a woman is allowed. Broader interpretation of the term does not support hitting a woman, but separating or leaving himself from her. Variations in interpretation are due to different schools of Islamic jurisprudence, histories and politics of religious institutions, conversions, reforms, and education.
Domestic violence among the Muslim community is considered a complicated humans right issue due to varying legal remedies for women by nation, the extent to which they have support or opportunities to divorce their husbands, cultural stigma to hide evidence of abuse, and inability to have abuse recognized by police or the judicial system.
In conservative communities, Muslim women are often considered inferior to their husbands, possibly controlled or oppressed, and lacking opportunities that would give them their own personal sense of identity, all of which adds to the complicated nature of unearthing and obtaining remedies for domestic violence.
The best solutions for stemming the tide of domestic violence is through national and international laws and human rights pressure, addressing the ability for women's rights to be asserted and offending men to be prosecuted.
Coomarswamy defines domestic violence as "violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or law…[It is] nearly always a gender-specific crime, perpetrated by men against women." It used is as a strong form of control and oppression.
Kofi Annan
, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that:
The second largest world religion, behind Christianity
, Islam
is one of the world's fastest growing religions and overall, it preaches peace and charity. Of their holy duties, Muslim
s pray five times a day. Like other cultures, though, there are "good, bad and the ugly" people within the society.
, hijab
or burqa
. The rules vary significantly by nation, from strict modesty observance to lax rules about being covered. Karin Ask and Marit Tjomsland write that "the veil, for the colonizers but also in the vision of contemporary Western political culture, is the most visible marker or the 'otherness' and 'inferiority' of Islamic societies."
In the United States, some Muslim women find wearing a veil is empowering as a symbol of Islamic religion or culture. Subject to anti-Muslim sentiment, some women find wearing a veil or hijab is degrading. About 48% of Muslim women in the United States don't cover their hair, while 43% wear head scarves all of the time.
In Iran a woman who is unveiled in public could be fined or put in jail.
(justice
) and Qist (fair play) (1996, 17)". Aisha Abd al-Rahman
, a woman Koranic scholar, explains that Islam is not based around differences between men and women, so issues between the sexes should not be brought up for consideration.
Conservative interpretations of the Qur’an find men to be the physical and intellectual
superiors of women, both ontologically, since woman is considered to have been created for his pleasure
, and moral-social, with the "completeness of mental ability, good counsel
, complete power in the performance
of duties and the carrying out of (divine) commands." Conservatively, women are considered unfit for any work or activity because of her physiology
and child-bearing ability. The women's role, then, is to oblige to be subjected to man, by which alone she can have any meaningful identity
. Rather than derived from Qur’an’s teachings, this attitude comes from Muslim exegetes
and Qur’an commentators, such as Tabari (d.923), Zamakhashari (d. 1144), Baydawi (d. 1286), al-Suyuti
(d. 1505), based upon their personal perspective.
Asma Barlas
, author of "Believing women in Islam,” asserts that as many recent studies reveal, women's status and roles in Muslim societies, as well as patriarchal structures and gender
relationships, are a function of multiple factors, most of which have nothing to do with religion
. She argues that the history of Western civilization should tell us that there is nothing innately Islamic about misogyny
, inequality
, or patriarchy
; and yet, all three often are justified by Muslim states and clerics in the name of Islam. Camilla Fawzi El-Sohl and Judy Mabro also support this position, saying the status of Muslim women "solely in terms of the Qur’an and/or other Islamic sources [are] all too often taken out of context." Also, it is imperative to examine that a lot of inequality
and discrimination
derive not from the teachings of the Qur’an but from the secondary religious texts, the Tafsir
(Qur’anic exegesis
) and the Ahadith (s. hadith), which are narratives purportedly detailing the life and practices of the Prophet Muhammad.
Barazangi claims that “this capacity [rereadings and reinterpretations of Qu’ran] for moral and rational derivation of a meaning from the eternal words and the immediate acting on the derived meaning to change one’s behavior is what qualifies a human being as a Muslim by choice, that is, a self-identified Muslim,” believing that interpretation should be open to more than select elite
males.
An-Nisa, 34
passage on the social interaction between husbands and wives defines the husband and wife relationship in Islam
, with interpretation subject to debate among Muslim scholars (or 'jurists').
Interpretations that support discipline
Conservative translations find that Muslim husbands are permitted to act what is known in Arabic as Idribuhunna with the use of "light force," and sometimes as much as to strike, hit, chastise, or beat.
In some exegesis
such as those of Ibn Kathir
and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence: the husband is to admonish the wife, after which (if his previous correction was unsuccessful) he may remain separate from her, after which (if his previous correction was still unsuccessful) he may hit her
or give her a light tapping. Contemporary Egyptian scholar Abd al-Halim Abu Shaqqa refers to the opinions of jurists Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
and al-Shawkani who state that hitting should only occur in extraordinary cases.
A translated passage by Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
and Muhsin Khan
in 2007 defines men as the protectors, guardians and maintainers of women, because Allah
has made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Upon seeing ill-conduct (i.e. disobedience, rebellion
, nashuz in Arabic) by his wife, a man may admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means.
Some Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that beatings, even where permitted, are not to be harsh or some even contend that they should be "more or less symbolic." According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali
and Ibn Kathir
, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light beating. Abu Shaqqa refers to the edict of Hanafi
scholar al-Jassas (d. 981) who notes that the reprimand should be "A non-violent blow with siwak
[a small stick used to clean the teeth] or similar. This means that to hit with any other means is legally [Islamically] forbidden."
Interpretation that does not support hitting
Indicating the subjective nature of the translations, particularly regarding domestic abuse, Ahmed Ali
’s translation of the word Idribu is to forsake, to avoid, or to leave. His translation of verse 4:34 is:
…As for women you feel are averse, talk to them cursively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them), and go to bed with them (when they are willing) (emphasis added).
prescribing ta'zir
punishments against abusive husbands.
Some jurists argue that even when beating is acceptable under the Qur'an, it is still discountenanced. Ibn Kathir in concluding his exegesis
exhorts men to not beat their wives, quoting a hadith from Muhammad: "Do not hit God's servants" (here referring to women). The narration continues, stating that some while after the edict, "Umar complained to the Messenger of God that many women turned against their husbands. Muhammad gave his permission that the men could hit their wives in cases of rebelliousness. The women then turned to the wives of the Prophet and complained about their husbands. The Prophet said: 'Many women have turned to my family complaining about their husbands. Verily, these men are not among the best of you."
According to Ahmad Shafaat, an Islamic scholar, "If the husband beats a wife without respecting the limits set down by the Qur'an and Hadith, then she can take him to court and if ruled in favor has the right to apply the law of retaliation and beat the husband as he beat her." However, laws against domestic violence, as well as whether these laws are enforced, vary throughout the Muslim world.
Some women want to fight the abuses they face as Muslims; these women want "to retain the communal extended family aspects of traditional society, while eliminating its worst abuses, by seeking easy ability to divorce men for abuse and forced marriages."
in the Qur’an for the type of regular and frequent acts of violence
that women experience from their abusive husbands. Furthermore, the contradicting actions of many Muslim husbands that lacks the expected level of control in two elements from the verse, admonishment and separation. The separation dictates not only the physical separation, but also abstinence
from marital sex.
Muhammad
condemns violence against women as he says: "How loathsome (Ajeeb) it is that one of you should hit his wife as a slave is hit, and then sleep with her at the end of the day."
The Qur’an states:
(2:231) And when you have divorced women and they have fulfilled the term of their prescribed period, either take them back on reasonable basis or set them free on reasonable basis. But do not take them back to hurt them, and whoever does that, then he has wronged himself. And treat not the Verses of Allah as a jest, but remember Allah’s Favours
on you, and that which He has sent down to you of the Book and Al-Hikmah [the Prophet’s Sunnah, legal ways, Islamic jurisprudence] whereby He instructs you. And fear Allah, and know that Allah is All-Aware of everything.
Although Islam permits women to divorce for domestic violence, they are subject to the laws of their nation which might make it quite difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce.
Most women's rights
activists concede that while divorce can provide potential relief, it does not constitute an adequate protection or even an option for many women, with discouraging factors such as lack of resources or support to establish alternative domestic arrangements and social expectations and pressures.
, divorce
, custody
and inheritance
) constitutes an important consideration as it functions both as specific legal rules and as a general religio-cultural framework for Islamic norms and values. Therefore, efforts to implement law reforms to enhance the rights and protection of women within the family are bound up in contestations over the role and the jurisprudence of religious law, and social acceptance of reforms is contingent on their perceived compatibility with religious beliefs. So in order to ascertain the practicing of protecting women’s rights across various countries, she proposes to ask a series of questions. Has the state signed and ratified the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and if so, is this authority used effectively to prohibit and punish domestic violence? Are there national laws and/or administrative sanctions prohibiting domestic violence? What measures, if any, has the state taken or authorized to deal with domestic violence
and the protection of victims (e.g., provision of social services and health care, education campaign)? On the other hand, Barazangi argues that before taking specific actions to improve the women’s rights in Islamic countries, women’s involvement in decision making
(that is, participating in the interpretation of the Qur’an as well as in discussing the human rights documents) is critically needed in many Muslim communities and societies, and second, self-identification with the Qur’an offers a way to eliminate the secondary status of women because it is based on defining the issues from within. She furthermore asserts that the attempt to transplant Western secular systems of education and Western feminists’ views into Muslim communities and societies through the academic institutionalization of the study of Muslim women ignores the spiritual and intellectual worldview of the people who identify with the Qur’an and will not lead to lasting “solutions” to the problem of the secondary status of women.
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Articles
Conservative interpretations of Surah
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
, An-Nisa, 34
An-Nisa, 34
In the Qur'an, verse 34 of Surah an-Nisa concerns the issue of marital relations in Islam. This verse is interpreted by some Muslims as giving women complete control over their own income and property, while obliging men to be responsible for maintaining their female relatives...
in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
regarding marital relationships find that hitting a woman is allowed. Broader interpretation of the term does not support hitting a woman, but separating or leaving himself from her. Variations in interpretation are due to different schools of Islamic jurisprudence, histories and politics of religious institutions, conversions, reforms, and education.
Domestic violence among the Muslim community is considered a complicated humans right issue due to varying legal remedies for women by nation, the extent to which they have support or opportunities to divorce their husbands, cultural stigma to hide evidence of abuse, and inability to have abuse recognized by police or the judicial system.
In conservative communities, Muslim women are often considered inferior to their husbands, possibly controlled or oppressed, and lacking opportunities that would give them their own personal sense of identity, all of which adds to the complicated nature of unearthing and obtaining remedies for domestic violence.
The best solutions for stemming the tide of domestic violence is through national and international laws and human rights pressure, addressing the ability for women's rights to be asserted and offending men to be prosecuted.
Definition of Domestic Violence
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, domestic violence is: "the inflicting of physical injury by one family or household member on another; also: a repeated or habitual pattern of such behavior."Coomarswamy defines domestic violence as "violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or law…[It is] nearly always a gender-specific crime, perpetrated by men against women." It used is as a strong form of control and oppression.
Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared in a 2006 report posted on the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) website that:
Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemicPandemicA pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her.
Woman in Islam
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is one of the world's fastest growing religions and overall, it preaches peace and charity. Of their holy duties, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s pray five times a day. Like other cultures, though, there are "good, bad and the ugly" people within the society.
Clothing
Many Muslim women are required to wear a veilVeil
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space...
, hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
or burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
. The rules vary significantly by nation, from strict modesty observance to lax rules about being covered. Karin Ask and Marit Tjomsland write that "the veil, for the colonizers but also in the vision of contemporary Western political culture, is the most visible marker or the 'otherness' and 'inferiority' of Islamic societies."
In the United States, some Muslim women find wearing a veil is empowering as a symbol of Islamic religion or culture. Subject to anti-Muslim sentiment, some women find wearing a veil or hijab is degrading. About 48% of Muslim women in the United States don't cover their hair, while 43% wear head scarves all of the time.
In Iran a woman who is unveiled in public could be fined or put in jail.
Degree of equality
In Woman’s Identity and the Qur’an, Barazangi interprets that the Qur’an says men and women are equals because "as Fazlur Rahman (Islamic scholar) asserts: 'Equality of the sexes is institute in the Qur’an (4:1, 7; 60:12; 49:10; 96:1-4) for a Muslim society to achieve AdlAdl
ʻAdl is an Arabic word meaning 'justice'. In Islamic theology, ʻadl refers to God's divine justice.Adil, and Adeel are male names derived from ʻadl and are common throughout the Arab world, Pakistan, India and in most regions with significant Muslim populations.- In Islamic jurisprudence :ʻAdl, as...
(justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
) and Qist (fair play) (1996, 17)". Aisha Abd al-Rahman
Aisha Abd al-Rahman
Aisha Abd al-Rahman was an Egyptian author and professor of literature who published under the pen name Bint al-Shati .-Life and career:...
, a woman Koranic scholar, explains that Islam is not based around differences between men and women, so issues between the sexes should not be brought up for consideration.
Conservative interpretations of the Qur’an find men to be the physical and intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
superiors of women, both ontologically, since woman is considered to have been created for his pleasure
Pleasure
Pleasure describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria...
, and moral-social, with the "completeness of mental ability, good counsel
Counsel
A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...
, complete power in the performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
of duties and the carrying out of (divine) commands." Conservatively, women are considered unfit for any work or activity because of her physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
and child-bearing ability. The women's role, then, is to oblige to be subjected to man, by which alone she can have any meaningful identity
Identity (philosophy)
In philosophy, identity, from , is the relation each thing bears just to itself. According to Leibniz's law two things sharing every attribute are not only similar, but are the same thing. The concept of sameness has given rise to the general concept of identity, as in personal identity and...
. Rather than derived from Qur’an’s teachings, this attitude comes from Muslim exegetes
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
and Qur’an commentators, such as Tabari (d.923), Zamakhashari (d. 1144), Baydawi (d. 1286), al-Suyuti
Al-Suyuti
Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti also known as Ibn al-Kutub was an Egyptian writer, religious scholar, juristic expert and teacher whose works deal with a wide variety of subjects in Islamic theology. He was precocious and was already a teacher in 1462. In 1486, he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of...
(d. 1505), based upon their personal perspective.
Asma Barlas
Asma Barlas
Asma Barlas is an academic educated in Pakistan and the United States. She is the Director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity of the department of politics at Ithaca College, New York. Her specialties include comparative and international politics, Islam and Qur'anic...
, author of "Believing women in Islam,” asserts that as many recent studies reveal, women's status and roles in Muslim societies, as well as patriarchal structures and gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
relationships, are a function of multiple factors, most of which have nothing to do with religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. She argues that the history of Western civilization should tell us that there is nothing innately Islamic about misogyny
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
, inequality
Social inequality
Social inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
, or patriarchy
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
; and yet, all three often are justified by Muslim states and clerics in the name of Islam. Camilla Fawzi El-Sohl and Judy Mabro also support this position, saying the status of Muslim women "solely in terms of the Qur’an and/or other Islamic sources [are] all too often taken out of context." Also, it is imperative to examine that a lot of inequality
Social inequality
Social inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
derive not from the teachings of the Qur’an but from the secondary religious texts, the Tafsir
Tafsir
Tafseer is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to esoteric or mystical interpretation. An author of tafsir is a mufassir .- Etymology :...
(Qur’anic exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
) and the Ahadith (s. hadith), which are narratives purportedly detailing the life and practices of the Prophet Muhammad.
Barazangi claims that “this capacity [rereadings and reinterpretations of Qu’ran] for moral and rational derivation of a meaning from the eternal words and the immediate acting on the derived meaning to change one’s behavior is what qualifies a human being as a Muslim by choice, that is, a self-identified Muslim,” believing that interpretation should be open to more than select elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
males.
Qur'an An-Nisa
SurahSura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
An-Nisa, 34
An-Nisa, 34
In the Qur'an, verse 34 of Surah an-Nisa concerns the issue of marital relations in Islam. This verse is interpreted by some Muslims as giving women complete control over their own income and property, while obliging men to be responsible for maintaining their female relatives...
passage on the social interaction between husbands and wives defines the husband and wife relationship in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, with interpretation subject to debate among Muslim scholars (or 'jurists').
Interpretations that support discipline
Conservative translations find that Muslim husbands are permitted to act what is known in Arabic as Idribuhunna with the use of "light force," and sometimes as much as to strike, hit, chastise, or beat.
In some exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
such as those of Ibn Kathir
Ibn Kathir
Ismail ibn Kathir was a Muslim muhaddith, Faqih, historian, and commentator.-Biography:His full name was Abu Al-Fida, 'Imad Ad-Din, Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir, Al-Qurashi, Al-Busrawi...
and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
, the actions prescribed in 4:34 are to be taken in sequence: the husband is to admonish the wife, after which (if his previous correction was unsuccessful) he may remain separate from her, after which (if his previous correction was still unsuccessful) he may hit her
or give her a light tapping. Contemporary Egyptian scholar Abd al-Halim Abu Shaqqa refers to the opinions of jurists Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his family origin , was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith...
and al-Shawkani who state that hitting should only occur in extraordinary cases.
A translated passage by Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali, , born 1311AH -1408 Hijrah , is a contemporary Islamic scholar from Morocco, most notable for his English translations of Sahih Bukhari and, along with Muhammad Muhsin Khan, the Qur'an, entitled The Noble Qur'an.-Biography:Al-Hilali was born in Al-Fidah, Morocco, in...
and Muhsin Khan
Muhammad Muhsin Khan
Muhammad Muhsin Khan born 1345 Al-Hijri is a contemporary Islamic scholar of ethnic Afghan origin, most notable for his renowned English translations of Sahih Bukhari and the Qur'an, entitled The Noble Qur'an, which he completed along with Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali.-Biography:Muhammad Muhsin...
in 2007 defines men as the protectors, guardians and maintainers of women, because Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
has made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Upon seeing ill-conduct (i.e. disobedience, rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
, nashuz in Arabic) by his wife, a man may admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means.
Some Islamic scholars and commentators have emphasized that beatings, even where permitted, are not to be harsh or some even contend that they should be "more or less symbolic." According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Hafiz Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, FRSL was an Indian Islamic scholar who translated the Qur'an into English. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely-known and used in the English-speaking world....
and Ibn Kathir
Ibn Kathir
Ismail ibn Kathir was a Muslim muhaddith, Faqih, historian, and commentator.-Biography:His full name was Abu Al-Fida, 'Imad Ad-Din, Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir, Al-Qurashi, Al-Busrawi...
, the consensus of Islamic scholars is that the above verse describes a light beating. Abu Shaqqa refers to the edict of Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
scholar al-Jassas (d. 981) who notes that the reprimand should be "A non-violent blow with siwak
Miswak
The miswak is a teeth cleaning twig made from a twig of the Salvadora persica tree . It has a long, well-documented history and is reputed for its medicinal benefits...
[a small stick used to clean the teeth] or similar. This means that to hit with any other means is legally [Islamically] forbidden."
Interpretation that does not support hitting
Indicating the subjective nature of the translations, particularly regarding domestic abuse, Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali was an Indian novelist, poet, critic, translator, diplomat and scholar, who was responsible for writing Twilight in Delhi. Born in Delhi, India, he was involved in progressive literary movements as a young man...
’s translation of the word Idribu is to forsake, to avoid, or to leave. His translation of verse 4:34 is:
…As for women you feel are averse, talk to them cursively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them), and go to bed with them (when they are willing) (emphasis added).
Undesirablity of beating
Scholars and commentators have stated that Muhammad directed men not to hit their wives' faces, not to beat their wives in such a way as would leave marks on their body, and not to beat their wives as to cause pain (ghayr mubarrih). Scholars too have stipulated against beating or disfigurement, with others such as the Syrian jurist Ibn AbidinIbn Abidin
Muhammad Amin ibn Abidin lived in the city of Damascus in Syria during the Ottoman era. He was the authority of the fiqh of the Hanafi madhhab . He was a state employee with the title of Amin al-fatwa. This meant that he was the mufti that people would go to when they had legal questions in...
prescribing ta'zir
Tazir
In Islamic Law, tazir refers to punishment, usually corporal, that can be administered at the discretion of the judge, called a Qadi, Kadi, as opposed to the hudud...
punishments against abusive husbands.
Some jurists argue that even when beating is acceptable under the Qur'an, it is still discountenanced. Ibn Kathir in concluding his exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
exhorts men to not beat their wives, quoting a hadith from Muhammad: "Do not hit God's servants" (here referring to women). The narration continues, stating that some while after the edict, "Umar complained to the Messenger of God that many women turned against their husbands. Muhammad gave his permission that the men could hit their wives in cases of rebelliousness. The women then turned to the wives of the Prophet and complained about their husbands. The Prophet said: 'Many women have turned to my family complaining about their husbands. Verily, these men are not among the best of you."
Incidence of domestic violence among Muslims
Domestic violence is considered by many to be a problem in Muslim-majority cultures, but because women hide their bruises and don't report domestic abuse to authorities, the incidence in many Muslim-majority countries is uncertain, but believed to be great by Muslim feminists.According to Ahmad Shafaat, an Islamic scholar, "If the husband beats a wife without respecting the limits set down by the Qur'an and Hadith, then she can take him to court and if ruled in favor has the right to apply the law of retaliation and beat the husband as he beat her." However, laws against domestic violence, as well as whether these laws are enforced, vary throughout the Muslim world.
Some women want to fight the abuses they face as Muslims; these women want "to retain the communal extended family aspects of traditional society, while eliminating its worst abuses, by seeking easy ability to divorce men for abuse and forced marriages."
| Nation | Abuse | Laws and prosecution |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... |
Some accounts indicate sexual violence, beating, and subtler forms such as suppression through wearing burkas, headscarves, not being allowed to speak to men, among other actions. Naved and Perrson write in their article "Factors Associated with Physical Spousal Abuse of Women During Pregnancy in Bangladesh" that women who are pregnant are more likely to be abused. A study on Pakistan Rural Access and Mobility Study (PRAMS) data showed that 67% of perpetrators were husbands or partners". Bangladesh was found to be one of the countries with a high rate of domestic violence resulting in death during pregnancy by a United Nations study. Statistics from four United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... studies show that 16-19% of the women (age less than 50) were victims of domestic abuse within the previous 12 month period. 40-47% of the women had been subject to domestic violence during some period of their life. The studies were performed in villages (1992, 1993), Dhaka Dhaka Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city... (2002) and Matlab Matlab Upazila Matlab is an Upazila of Chandpur District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.-Geography:Matlab is located at . It has 76,266 registered housing units and a total land area 409.22 km².-Demographics:... (2002). Since the majority of women in Bangladesh are practicing Muslims, this indicates that many Muslim women are victims of physical domestic violence in this country. From a World Health Organization World Health Organization The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health... (WHO) study, of which Bangladesh was 1 of 10 participating countries, it was found that less than 2% of domestic abuse victims seek support from the community to resolve abusive situations, primarily because they know that they won't receive the support they need to remedy the issue. |
The Domestic Violence (Protection and Prevention) Act, 2010 was passed on 5 October 2010 to prosecute abusers and provide services to victims. To implement the law, research is needed to identify steps required to support the law. |
| Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... |
From a United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... national study in 1995, 13% of the women (age 15-49) were victims of domestic abuse within the previous 12 month period. 34% of the women had been subject to domestic violence during some period of their life. In a 2004 study of pregnant women in El-Sheik Zayed 11% of the women (age 15-49) studied were victims of domestic abuse within the previous 12 month period and, also, during some period of their life. A program to end widespread female genital mutilation in Deir el-Bersha Deir el-Bersha Deir el-Bersha is a Coptic village in Middle Egypt. It is located on the east bank of the Nile in the al-Minya governorate, to the south of Antinopolis and almost opposite the city of Mallawi.-Overview:... , with outreach by religious leaders to their communities, resulted in a contractual village commitment by parents, young men and people who previously performed the mutilation procedure to end the practice. |
The Egyptian Penal Code was amended to no longer provide impunity Impunity Impunity means "exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines". In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress... (legal protection) to men who married the women that they raped. |
| Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... |
From a United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... study of Central Java, 2% of the women (age 15-49) were victims of domestic abuse within the previous 12 month period. 11% of the women had been subject to domestic violence during some period of their life. |
|
| Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia... |
In Iran the nature of domestic violence is complicated by both a national culture and authoritative state that support control, oppression and violence against women. A World Health Organization World Health Organization The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health... (WHO) study in Babol Babol Babol is a city in and the capital of Babol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 198,636, in 55,943 families.... found that within the previous year 15.0% of wives had been physically abused, 42.4% had been sexually abused and 81.5% had been psychologically abused (to various degrees) by their husbands, blaming low income, young age, unemployment and low education. In 2004 a study of domestic violence was undertaken by the Women's Center for Presidential Advisory, Ministry of Higher Education Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (Iran) The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology is the government ministry of science, research and technology in the Islamic Republic of Iran... and The Interior Ministry Ministry of Interior (Iran) The Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in charge of performing, supervising and reporting elections, and policing, among other responsibilities related to the interior.... of capital cities in Iran's 28 provinces. 66% married women in Iran are subjected to some kind of domestic violence in the first year of their marriage, either by their husbands or by their in-laws. All married women who were participants in this study in Iran have experienced 7.4% of the 9 categories of abuse. The likelihood of being subject to violence varied: The more children in a family or the more rural the family lived, the greater the likelihood of domestic violence; Educated and career women were less likely to be victims of abuse. 9.63% of women in the study reported wishing their husbands would die, as a result of the abuse they have experienced. The prevalence of domestic violence has been cited as a cause of high rates of suicide, mostly through self-immolation Self-immolation Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest... , among Kurdish Kurdish people The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey... women in Iran. |
Existing laws (Iranian Code of Criminal Procedure articles 42, 43, 66) intend to prohibit violence in the form of kidnapping, gender-based harassment, abuse of pregnant women and "crimes against rights and responsibilities within the family structure," but due to cultural and political culture do not protect women, prosecute their abusers and provide services to victims. The government has laws that support violence against women in the case of adultery, including flogging, imprisonment and death. Laws to better enforce existing laws and protect women against violence were placed before the Iranian parliament the week ending 16 September 2011, focusing on both protection and prevention of violence against women, including focus on human trafficking, better protection and services for abuse victims, rehabilitation (especially concerning domestic abuse) and better processes to manage questioning of female offenders. One of the keys to ultimate success is altering community cultural views regarding the use of violence against women. |
| Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... |
In Morocco, the most common reason women seek to end a marriage Marriage Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found... is to extricate themselves from a situation in which they are vulnerable to domestic violence Domestic violence Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation... , as 28,000 acts of domestic violence was reported between 1984 and 1998. |
In 1993 as a response to the women’s rights activism against aspects of Moroccan Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... family law that are discriminatory or otherwise harmful to women, King Hassan II had instituted some modest reforms of the Mudawwana, and in 1998, he authorized Prime Minister El-Yousoufi to propose further changes. When the King Hassan died in 1999, the throne passed to his son, Muhammad VI, who committed to bolder reforms to improve the status of women. Opponents of the plan argued that this reform conflicted with women’s duties to their husbands and contravene their shari’a-based status as legal minors. However, the controversy marked by the huge competing demonstrations intimidated the government, which led to the withdrawal of the plan. |
| Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... |
A 1987 study conducted by the Women's Division and another study by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan , or HRCP, is an independent, non-profit organization, founded in 1987, which is not associated or affiliated with the government or any political party. It is committed to act with impartiality and objectivity in all matters... in 1996 suggested that domestic violence takes place in approximately 80% of the households in the country. In Pakistan, domestic violence occurs in forms of beatings, sexual violence, torture, mutilation, acid attacks and burning the victim alive (bride burning Bride burning Bride-burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in India and Pakistan. It is not the same as ancient and long abolished custom of Sati, where widowed women were forcefully placed on a burning pyre of the dead husband and burnt to death.This has been treated as culpable homicide and if... ). According to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences is located in Islamabad, Pakistan. Objectives of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences are to provide a tertiary level patient care and serve as referral hospital and also to conduct teaching and training of doctors and other health workers at various level... in 2002, over 90% of married Pakistani women surveyed reported being kicked, slapped, beaten or sexually abused when husbands were dissatisfied by their cooking or cleaning, when the women failed to bear a child, had given birth to a girl instead of a boy, or had an illicit affair. Between 1998 and 2003 there were more than 2,666 women killed in honor killing Honor killing An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community... s by a family member, twice the number of men killed during that period. A Non-governmental organization Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are... (NGO) half-way house Women's shelter A women's shelter is a place of temporary refuge and support for women escaping violent or abusive situations, such as rape, and domestic violence.... in Lahore Lahore Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a... , Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... offers security, skills training and legal aid to women who have fled domestic violence. |
Domestic violence Domestic violence Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation... is not explicitly prohibited in Pakistani domestic law and most acts of domestic violence are encompassed by the Qisas Qisas Qisas is an Islamic term meaning "retaliation," and follows the principle of an eye for an eye, or lex talionis, first set forth by Hammurabi, and subsequently included in the Old Testament and later legal codes... (retaliation) and Diyat Diyya Diyya is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom.-Islamic and Arab tradition:The Qur'an specifies the principle of Qisas Diyya (plural: Diyyat; ) is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and... (compensation) Ordinance. Nahida Mahboob Elahi, a human rights Human rights Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national... lawyer, has said that new laws are needed to better protect women: "There needs to be special legislation on domestic violence and in that context they must mention that this is violence and a crime." Police and judges often tend to treat domestic violence as a non-justiciable Justiciability Justiciability concerns the limits upon legal issues over which a court can exercise its judicial authority. It includes, but is not limited to, the legal concept of standing, which is used to determine if the party bringing the suit is a party appropriate to establishing whether an actual... , private or family matter or, an issue for civil courts Lawsuit A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint... , rather than criminal Criminal law Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey... courts. In Pakistan, "police often refuse to register cases unless there are obvious signs of injury and judges sometimes seem to sympathise with the husbands." |
| Palestine Palestine Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.... |
One study found that half of Palestinian women have been the victims of domestic violence. | |
| Saudia Arabia | In some recent high-profile cases such as that of Rania al-Baz, Muslim women have publicized their mistreatment at the hands of their husbands, in hopes that public condemnation of wife-beating will end toleration of the practice. | Only in 2004, after international attention was drawn to the case of Rania al-Baz, was there the first successful prosecution for domestic violence. |
| Syria Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.... |
One recent study, in Syria Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.... , found that 25% of the married women surveyed said that they had been beaten by their husbands. Another study found that 21.8% of women have experienced some form of domestic violence; 48% of the women who experienced some form of violence had been beaten. |
|
| Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... |
From a United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... study in East and South-East Anatolia in 1998, 58% of the women (age 14-75) had been subject to domestic violence during some period of their life; some of the women in the sampling had never been in a relationship which might have otherwise resulted in a higher statistic. |
Honor killing Honor killing An honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community... s are now punishable by life imprisonment and Turkish law no longer provides impunity Impunity Impunity means "exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines". In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress... (legal protection) to men who married the women that they raped. |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Aasiya Zubair Hassan Aasiya Zubair Aasiya Zubair, also known as Aasiya Hassan was with her husband Muzzammil Hassan, the founder and owner of Bridges TV, the first American Muslim English-language television network... 's brutal death brought awareness to domestic abuse of American Muslim women. A Washington Post article comments "For any anti-domestic violence agenda within the Muslim community to be effective, we must come to term with this verse. We must be very clear that it can in no way be used to justify domestic abuse, and that it does not mandate the abject subjugation of women within the marital relationship. We must be firm that even under the most patriarchal Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination... interpretations, it does not give men the right to terrorize women, to harm them physically or emotionally, and to seek to dominate and control their lives." |
|
| Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area... |
In Tunisia, domestic violence is illegal and punishable by five years in prison. | |
Reflections: religious and cultural influences
It is important to understand that such violence is not part of the religion, but rather more of a cultural aspect. There is no authorityAuthority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
in the Qur’an for the type of regular and frequent acts of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
that women experience from their abusive husbands. Furthermore, the contradicting actions of many Muslim husbands that lacks the expected level of control in two elements from the verse, admonishment and separation. The separation dictates not only the physical separation, but also abstinence
Abstinence
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
from marital sex.
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
condemns violence against women as he says: "How loathsome (Ajeeb) it is that one of you should hit his wife as a slave is hit, and then sleep with her at the end of the day."
Victim support programs
In Malaysia, the largest government-run hospital implemented a program to intervene in cases where domestic violence seems possible. The woman is brought to a room to meet with a counselor who works with the patient to determine if the woman is in danger and should be transferred to a shelter for safety. If the woman does not wish to go to the shelter, she is encouraged to see a social worker and file a police report. If the injury is very serious, investigations begin immediately.Divorce
Though some Muslim scholars, such as Ahmad Shafaat, contend that Islam permits women to be divorced in cases of domestic violence. divorce may be unavailable to women as a practical or legal matter.The Qur’an states:
(2:231) And when you have divorced women and they have fulfilled the term of their prescribed period, either take them back on reasonable basis or set them free on reasonable basis. But do not take them back to hurt them, and whoever does that, then he has wronged himself. And treat not the Verses of Allah as a jest, but remember Allah’s Favours
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
on you, and that which He has sent down to you of the Book and Al-Hikmah [the Prophet’s Sunnah, legal ways, Islamic jurisprudence] whereby He instructs you. And fear Allah, and know that Allah is All-Aware of everything.
Although Islam permits women to divorce for domestic violence, they are subject to the laws of their nation which might make it quite difficult for a woman to obtain a divorce.
Most women's rights
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
activists concede that while divorce can provide potential relief, it does not constitute an adequate protection or even an option for many women, with discouraging factors such as lack of resources or support to establish alternative domestic arrangements and social expectations and pressures.
Solution
Lisa Hajjar in her article “Religion, State Power, and Domestic Violence in Muslim Societies: A Framework for Comparative Analysis” states that the use of shari’a as the legal framework for administering Muslims’ family relations (marriageMarriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
and inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
) constitutes an important consideration as it functions both as specific legal rules and as a general religio-cultural framework for Islamic norms and values. Therefore, efforts to implement law reforms to enhance the rights and protection of women within the family are bound up in contestations over the role and the jurisprudence of religious law, and social acceptance of reforms is contingent on their perceived compatibility with religious beliefs. So in order to ascertain the practicing of protecting women’s rights across various countries, she proposes to ask a series of questions. Has the state signed and ratified the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and if so, is this authority used effectively to prohibit and punish domestic violence? Are there national laws and/or administrative sanctions prohibiting domestic violence? What measures, if any, has the state taken or authorized to deal with domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
and the protection of victims (e.g., provision of social services and health care, education campaign)? On the other hand, Barazangi argues that before taking specific actions to improve the women’s rights in Islamic countries, women’s involvement in decision making
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
(that is, participating in the interpretation of the Qur’an as well as in discussing the human rights documents) is critically needed in many Muslim communities and societies, and second, self-identification with the Qur’an offers a way to eliminate the secondary status of women because it is based on defining the issues from within. She furthermore asserts that the attempt to transplant Western secular systems of education and Western feminists’ views into Muslim communities and societies through the academic institutionalization of the study of Muslim women ignores the spiritual and intellectual worldview of the people who identify with the Qur’an and will not lead to lasting “solutions” to the problem of the secondary status of women.
See also
Islamic related articles- AHA FoundationAHA FoundationThe AHA Foundation is a nonprofit organization for the defense of Muslim women's rights. It was founded by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in 2007 and is based in New York, NY in the United States....
, non-profit for women's rights in western countries - Gender roles in IslamGender roles in IslamIn Islam, the sexes are considered equal before God in the complementarian sense. Allah says in verse 13 of chapter 49 in the Holy Qu'ran: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of...
- Glossary of Islam
- Honor killingHonor killingAn honor killing or honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community...
- Islamic feminismIslamic feminismIslamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework...
- Submission, a film by Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali about Islam and domestic violence
- Peaceful Families ProjectPeaceful Families ProjectThe Peaceful Families Project is among the pioneering Muslim organizations working to end domestic violence in Muslim families and communities...
, Muslim organization - Taliban treatment of womenTaliban treatment of womenWhile in power in Afghanistan, the Taliban became notorious internationally for their treatment of women. Their stated aim was to create "secure environments where the chasteness and dignity of women may once again be sacrosanct," reportedly based on Pashtunwali beliefs about living in purdah.Women...
- Women and Islam
Journal
- International Journal for the Psychology of ReligionInternational Journal for the Psychology of ReligionThe International Journal for the Psychology of Religion is a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to research on the psychology of religion...
Other:
- Christianity and domestic violenceChristianity and domestic violenceThe correlation between Christianity and domestic violence is subject to debate, partly because there have been few studies to correlate the two, and complicated by a culture of silence and acceptance among abuse victims. There are some Bible verses that abusers use to justify discipline of their...
- Domestic violenceDomestic violenceDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
- Violence against womenViolence against womenViolence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
- Women's rightsWomen's rightsWomen's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
(See also External links below)
External links
- Muslim Power and Control Wheel
- FaithTrust Institute (formerly Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence), a multifaith, multicultural training and education organization in the United States with global reach working to end sexual and domestic violence.
- QuranicPath | Collection of 4:34 Translations which do not use "beat/scourge/hit" (violence)
Articles