To Beat or Not to Beat: On the Exegetical Dilemmas over Qur'ān, 4:34

Author(s): Mohamed Mahmoud

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society , Oct. - Dec., 2006, Vol. 126, No. 4
(Oct. - Dec., 2006), pp. 537-550
Published by: American Oriental Society

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064542

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 To Beat or Not to Beat:
On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'an, 4:34
MOHAMED MAHMOUD
TUFTS UNIVERSITY

THE VERSE AND THE PROBLEM

The Qur'an contains many verses that may be described as "problematic." Such verses
pose problems because of several factors, including what they mean or whether their mean
ing should be taken literally or figuratively. Sometimes the problem of consistency arises
when one verse contradicts another. 1 However, the focus of this paper will be a problem of
a different nature, namely that raised by Qur'an 4:34 concerning disciplining a wife who
commits nushuiz (disobedience) by beating her. I will argue that though the dominant
expressions of Islam in the past and in the present have had no problem with the patriarchal
premises and prescriptions of 4:34 (and, for that matter, with other Qur'anic verses of a
patriarchal nature), the beating measure has been met with moral unease and resistance by
many authorities both past and present. I further argue that the logical corollary of this
resistance is what may be described as a "virtual abrogation" or an "abrogative suspension"
of the beating measure. This is one of those rare instances when a believer feels that he/she
stands on a different and higher moral plane than that which the sacred scripture prescribes.
Verse 4:34 reads: "arrijalu qawwamiina 'ala 'nnisa'i bima faddala 'llahu ba'dahum 'ala
ba'din wa bima anfaqiu min amwdlihim fa-'ssalihatu qanitatun hafizatun li-'l-ghaibi bima
hafiza 'llahu wa 'llati takhaf-una nushiizahunna fa-'iziihunna wa 'hjuriihunna fi 'l-madaji'i
wa 'dribuihunna fa-in atacnakum fa-la tabghii 'alaihinna sabilan inna 'llaha kana 'aliyyan
kabiran" ("Men are qawwa-min [maintainers of, in charge of] women because God has
granted (men) favor [fad.Iala] over (women) and because of what (men) expend on (women)
of their property. So, righteous women are devout and guard [in their men's absence] what
God would have them guard. And those whose disobedience (nushiiz) you fear, exhort
them, and do not share beds with them, and beat them. If they obey you, do not seek a way
against them; God is All-High, All-Great").
The verse outlines the nature of the relationship between men and women within the
family institution and deals with the critical moment when this relationship is threatened
by wifely insubordination or disobedience (nushfiz). 2 Though the verse is thematically con
nected to the following one, it will be discussed separately because of the focus on the
beating problem.
The verse divides into five thematic sub-units of general affirmation, exhortation, crisis,
discipline, and reconciliation. From the outset, it affirms the principle of qawdma (guard
ianship, oversight): men are charged with a special responsibility vis-a-vis women and are

1. A good starting point in dealing with the key problems raised during medieval times is Ibn Qutaiba's
(d. 276/889) Ta'wil Mushkil al-Qur'an, ed. Ahmad Saqr (Beirut: al-Maktaba al-'Ilmiyya, 1981). Both al-Zarkashi
(d. 794/1391) in his al-Burhanfi 'Uluim al-Qur'iin and al-Suyiti (d. 911/1505) in his al-Itqanfi 'Uluim al-Qur'iin
devote separate chapters to mushkil (problematic verses) as a subject of Qur'anic sciences.
2. For a brief overview of medieval and present-day constructions of female nushiiz see Vardit Rispler-Chaim,
"Nusuz Between Medieval and Contemporary Islamic Law: The Human Rights Aspect," Arabica 39.3 (1992):
3 15-27.

Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006) 537

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 538 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

hence invested with the power of supervision and control over them. This guardianship rests
on a dual basis: the divine preference of men over women (bima fa.4dala 'llahu ba'.dahum
'ala ba'din), and the socio-economic role assigned to men (wa bima anfaqiu min amwdli
him). The verse then proceeds to characterize the "ideal woman"-a notion that seemingly
coalesces with that of an "ideal wife." Ideal women/wives are righteous (sdlihat), devout
(qdnitat), and faithful in their husbands' absence. This characterization may be read as
exhortative in nature in that it prompts women to be "ideal," to do what pleases God. The
verse then turns to crisis and discipline, when a wife deviates from this norm by engaging
in disobedience, and the measures that a husband should take to rectify the situation: rep
rimanding her, shunning her in bed, and beating her. Finally, the verse warns any husband
against abusing a wife who ceases to disobey. A wife's return to the "fold of obedience"
signals reconciliation and the husband can no longer deploy any disciplinary measures
against her.
I will deal with the beating problem in the light of the responses of classical and modern
tafsir and the responses of modern Muslim feminists. Since the tafsir material is vast, I will
confine myself to the classical commentaries of Muhammad b. JarIr al-Tabarl (d. 310/923)
and Mahmiid b. 'Umar al-Zamakhshari (d. 538/1143) and the influential modern al-Mandr
commentary of Muhammad 'Abduh (d. 1905) and Rashid Rida (d. 1935), as well as the
commentary of Abui al-A'la al-MawdildI (d. 1979). The treatment of the verse by the con
temporary Tunisian historian and modernist Muhammad al-Talbi will also be discussed.
The material and concerns of these commentaries provide us with a reasonably compre
hensive picture of the range of past and present-day Sunni exegetical responses. The paper
concludes with a close examination of the responses of some modern Muslim feminists to
verse 4:34 and in particular its beating measure.

RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

An appropriate starting point is the contextualization of the verse as presented by the
material of asbdb al-nuziul (occasions of revelation). In his commentary, al-Tabarl provides
us with six accounts, the most skeletal of which is the one he attributes to Ibn Juraij: "A
man slapped his wife. The Prophet wanted [to apply] qisas (retaliation). As they were in
this situation, the verse was revealed."3 According to another account, attributed to al-SuddI,
when the aggrieved woman's kinsfolk went to the Prophet he recited the verse to them.4
This suggests that the particular incident was not an "occasion of revelation" in the techni
cal sense, but rather an occasion of making known and circulating a verse that was already
in place. This, however, is unlikely, as a verse of such critical importance to gender rela
tions would have been known to the Medina community. By the time of al-Zamakhshari
this domestic abuse incident was considerably fleshed out, and so we come across the fol
lowing account: "Sa'd b. Abi al-Rabil was one of the heads of the Ansar, whose wife,
HabIba bt. Zaid b. AbI Zuhair,5 rebelled against him (nashazat 'alaihi) and so he slapped
her. Her father accompanied her to the Prophet and said, "I gave him my noble daughter in

3. Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabarl, Tafsir al-Tabari al-musamma Jami' al-Bayanft Ta'wil al-Qur'an (Beirut: Dar
al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1992), 4: 60 (henceforth, Tafsir).
4. Al-Tabari, Tafsir, 4: 60-61.
5. Al-Kalb! gives the wife's name as Habiba bt. Muhammad b. Maslama. See al-Husain b. Mas'uid al-Farra'
al-Baghawi, Tafsir al-Baghawi al-musamma Ma'alim al-Tanzil, ed. Khalid 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Akk and Marwan
Sawar (Beirut: n.p., 1987), 1: 422.

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 MAHMOUD: On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'Cn, 4:34 539

marriage and he slapped her." The Prophet said, "She must retaliate (li-taqtassa) from
him." And the verse was revealed. The Prophet said, "We wished something and God
wished something else. What God wishes is best. And the retaliation was revoked."6 This
incident has generally been accepted by classical and modern exegetes as the verse's direct
"occasion of revelation."
It is noteworthy that this later, more developed version places the domestic conflict
within a broader power context where the abusive husband is a man of political preemi
nence, a circumstance that could suggest that the husband's political weight might have
been a factor that tilted the final decision in his favor.7 Applying what he describes as an
"historical-anthropological" method, Muhammad al-Talbi foregrounds the overall social
and political context within which the particular "occasion of revelation" unfolded. Agree
ing with the view that dates the verse's revelation between the end of the year 3/625 and
the beginning of the year 5/627, he stresses that these were critical years during which
the very existence of the embryonic and fragile Muslim community came under threat, as
shown by the defeat at Uhud in 3/625. However, besides the external threat there was a
simmering internal clash that had to be resolved, namely the gender conflict. The views
and interests of women were expressed by a "feminist lobby" represented apparently by no
less than Umm Salama, one of the Prophet's wives. This was opposed by an "anti-feminist
lobby" represented by 'Umar b. al-Khattab, the strident, hectoring, and highly influential
Companion.8 In al-Talbi's view, the gender issue made it imperative that a decisive inter
vention take place: "the verse came to settle a damaging conflict that threatened [to throw
the community into] disorder."9 In short, the nushuiz of women, their questioning of and
rebellion against male authority, was threatening the "internal front" of the vulnerable,
beleaguered Muslim community and had to be firmly dealt with, even if this meant taking
the drastic measure of physically beating women into submission.
Al-Talbi is correct in emphasizing the fact that all the warriors during that crucial period
were men was a major underlying factor that would have swung the balance in their favor
and compelled the Prophet to take their side. Al-Talbi, however, overstates the case. The

6. Mahmuid b. 'Umar al-Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf, ed. 'Adil Ahmad 'Abd al-Mawjuld and 'Ali Muhammad
Mu'awwad (Riyad: Maktabat al-'Ubaikan, 1998), 2: 67.
7. Sa'd b. Abi al-Rabi' was an influential man who described himself as the "wealthiest of the Ansar" and was
apparently close to the Prophet. For his biographical notices see Muhammad Ibn Sa'd, Al-Tabaqdt al-Kubra, ed.
Muhammad 'Abd al-Qadir 'Ata (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1997), 3: 395-97; 'Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir, Usd
al-Ghaba fi Ma'rifat al-Sahaba, ed. 'All Muhammad Mu'awwad and 'Adil Ahmad 'Abd al-Mawjuld (Beirut: Dar
al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1996), 2: 432-33; Ahmad b. 'Ali b. Hajar al-'Asqalani, al-Isabaft Tamyiz al-Sahiba, ed. 'Adil
Ahmad 'Abd al-Mawjuid and 'Ali Muhammad Mu'awwad (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1995), 3: 49-50.
8. Apparently, within the nascent Muslim community the distinct groups of Meccans and Medinans displayed
different attitudes towards women. This was summed up in a statement in which 'Umar reportedly said, "As Qurash
ites, we men dominated our women. When we came to Medina, we found that the women dominated their men. Our
women mixed with their women and so they rebelled against their husbands. I went to the Prophet and told him that
women had rebelled against their husbands. The Prophet gave his permission that women be beaten. A crowd of
women took flight to the apartments of the Prophet's wives, making complaints against their husbands. The Prophet
said, 'Tonight seventy women, all of them complaining against their husbands, took flight to Muhammad's wives.
These [men] are not among the best of you"' (Al-Fakhr al-Razi, Al-Tafsir al-Kabir, Cairo n.d., 10: 90). 'Umar Ibn
al-Khattab's personal oppressive attitude towards women is borne out by a report attributed to al-Ash'ath b. Qais
who said that while he was once staying with 'Umar as his guest, 'Umar beat his wife. He then told him that the
Prophet said that a man should not be asked why he had beaten his wife. See Isma'il b. Kathir, Tafsir Ibn Kathir
(N.p.: Dar al-Andalus, n.d.), 2: 278.
9. Muhammad al-Talbi, Ummat al-Wasat: Al-Ishlm wa Tahaddiyat al-Mu'asara (Tunis: Saras li-l-Nashr,
1996), 120.

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540 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

primary condition that informs the verse, and for that matter all the verses comprising the
category of ahkam al-nisa' (laws concerning women), is a power relationship based on
male precedence and dominance. As such, the political marginality of women in Medina
was but a function of the overall power relationship within which they operated. Obedience
to male authority was not an abnormal requirement arising out of the exceptional adversity
of a community under threat but a necessary corollary of the nature of the gender power
relationship that was in place in the society of the founding community.

THE GENDER RELATIONSHIP AND QAWAMA

As indicated above, medieval and most modern exegetes have had no problems accept
ing this situation of male supremacy and dominance as the norm. As far as they are con
cerned, verse 4:34 expresses the "natural" order of things. At the heart of this dominance
stands the verse's notion of qawama which is sacralized by al-Tabarl in terms of a relation
ship of ta'dib, i.e., a relationship in which men are entrusted with the task of educating
and disciplining women in the ways of God. 10 According to this logic, the word of God
and his intentions are mediated by men. The authority of the Prophet, who acts as mediator
between God and humankind, is passed on to men who are the ultimate interpreters and
guardians of the traditions. The most fundamental obligation of obedience to God is real
ized through this mediative procedure, involving the Prophet vis-'a-vis the umma and
humankind on the one hand and Muslim men vis-'a-vis Muslim women on the other. The
logic of the situation is as follows: inasmuch as obedience to the Prophet is ultimately
obedience to God, a wife's obedience to her husband, in what does not violate the law, is
ultimately obedience to God. Al-TabarI's logic is echoed by al-Mawdtid1, who stresses that
"it is the duty of the wife to refuse to obey her husband, if and when he orders her to do a
thing that is against the commandment of Allah." Al-Mawdtidi goes on further to embrace
what he sees as a corollary of this, namely that "if the husband orders her not to observe a
certain voluntary religious devotion, she must obey him, otherwise her devotion will not be
accepted."11I This leads to the conclusion that outside the strictly prescribed domain of
what is obligatory, a wife anxious to draw near to God by means of supererogatory works
stands to incur the wrath of God if her husband does not approve of what she does.
As verse 4:34 makes clear, qawama is inextricably linked with a divine preference of
men over women on the one hand and men's financial provision for their wives on the other.
Though the verse expounds these conditions by two subordinate clauses, hence adducing
two distinct arguments (1) bimafa.d.dala 'llahu ba'.dahum 'ala ba'din and (2) wa bima anfaqii
min amwalihim), al-TabarI fuses the two and exclusively focuses on the provision aspect. 12
By contrast, al-Zamakhsharl sees the logical distinction and engages in providing justifica
tion for the Qur'anic preference of men. He provides a long list of qualities and preroga
tives that make men excel over women. What he catalogues can be divided into three
categories. The first comprises qualities that are perceived as "intrinsic" in that they define
the very essence of maleness in opposition to the essence of femaleness. These qualities
are: reason ('aql), prudence (hazm), firm will ('azm), and strength (quwwa). The second
category is of a "social" nature. This is the level where male dominance translates into
specific social practices that institutionalize its power. To this category belong: literacy

10. Al-Tabari, Tafsir, 4: 59.

11. S. Abul A'la Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an (Lahore: Islamic Publications, 1991), 2: 121.
12. Al-Tabarl, Tafsir, 4: 59.

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 MAHMOUD: On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'dn, 4:34 541

(kitdba), chivalry (furusiyya), the military skills of men (raimy, lit. the throwing of spears
and arrows), the emergence of prophets and scholars from among their ranks, and the
basing of descent (intisab) upon the male agnatic tie. The third category is made up of pre
rogatives that the sharl'a has conferred upon men. Among these are: their privileging with
the "greater imamate (al-imama al-kubra)" (the leadership of the Muslim community) and
the "lesser imamate (al-imama al-sughra)" (the leadership of communal prayer), fighting
the holy war (jihadd), the performance of the call to prayer (adhan), delivering the Friday
sermon (khutba), taking pious retreats in mosques (i'tikaf), the giving of testimony in the
penal offenses of huduid and qisas,13 acquiring a greater share in inheritance, the privi
leging of agnatization in inheritance (ta'sib), taking the burden of bloodwit (hamala),
performing collective oath (qasama), 14 possessing the powers of guardianship in marriage
(wilaya), and possessing the unilateral right to divorce and its repeal. Evidently, there is a
degree of correlation between some of the elements of these categories, and so the belief
that men are intellectually superior to women is usually adduced as the basis of the shari'a
stipulation that one male witness equals two female witnesses. Two curious qualities al
Zamakhshari includes combine the biological and the social, namely that men excel over
women by virtue of having beards and being able to wear turbans (... wa hum ashab
al-liha wa al-'ama'im). 1
Al-Zamakhshari's list was a systematic articulation of the medieval perspective of his
time. Though modern exegetes tend not to reproduce his list, they are still, on the whole,
informed by the patriarchal assumptions of this perspective. A case in point is what is
expressed by Muhammad 'Abduh and Rashid Rida in their modern commentary Tafsir
al-Mandr. They are at great pains to stress the supreme advantages of qawama and its
conformity with what is "natural." Drawing on a physical analogy, they maintain that a
man is like a "head" and a woman is like a "body," adding that men should not abuse their
privilege and power and women ought not to find such privilege and power burdensome or
offensive. A woman's "natural role" (wazifafitriyya) consists of pregnancy, childbirth, and
the bringing up of children. 16 For 'Abduh, a man's privilege and power over a woman rest
on "natural" (fitri) and "acquired" (kasbi) grounds. The "natural" argument claims that
men have a more mature disposition (mizaj), are more beautiful, and have superior thinking
capacity. 17 As for what is "acquired," men are far more resourceful when it comes to earn
ing a living and that is why they have been entrusted with the tasks of maintaining women,
protecting them, and managing their affairs. On account of this, men enjoy a "natural"
position of leadership and control (riyasa). When a marriage takes place and a man pays a
dower this entails a woman's voluntary acceptance of the husband's leadership. However,
'Abduh is anxious to emphasize in this connection that the leadership to which he refers is
supervisory in nature, where the subordinate party is by no means completely deprived of

13. On these offenses see the entries "Hadd" and "Kisas." in the Encyclopaedia of Islam.
14. On qasama see entry "Kasam" in Encyclopaedia of Islam.
15. Al-Zamakhshari, al-Kashshaf, 1: 496. On the encouragement to grow beard and on the significance of the
wearing of turbans, see entries "sha'r" and "tulband," respectively, in Encyclopaedia of Islam.
16. Muhammad Rashid Rida, Tafsir al-Manar (Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifa, 1993), 5: 68-69.
17. Ibid., 5: 69. As regards beauty, 'Abduh contends, "It may sound peculiar to say that men are more beautiful
than women. However, beauty is closely associated with the fulfilment and perfection of creation. Physically, humans
are but animals that are subject in creation to the same pattern. As such, we see that all male animals are more perfect
and more beautiful than female animals. We can see this in cocks and hens, in rams and ewes, and in lions and lion
esses." Echoing what al-Zamakhshari says about beards as a quality of male excellence, 'Abduh adds that men's
beards and moustaches constitute a characteristic of physical perfection.

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 542 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

power. Furthermore, he maintains that divine preference operates on the level of the collec
tive class of men as opposed to the collective class of women, acknowledging that there are
individual women who are more superior to individual men. However, what 'Abduh says
in this respect is of an equivocal nature as he remains committed to an outlook that sepa
rates men and women in an essentialist manner and firmly vests riyasa in men. 'Abduh's
notion of riyasa is taken up by Rida as the heart of qawama and hence the ultimate basis of
all the sharl'a stipulations pertaining to women which we came across in al-Zamakhshari's
list. 18
Two issues that might be raised in connection with the qawdma institution, particularly
in the modem context, concern the woman's financial autonomy on the one hand and the
legal implications of a reversal in her economic role on the other. What happens if the wife
is a working woman who contributes to the family's maintenance or if the husband is no
longer in a financial position to provide and it is the wife who is the sole provider? Does
this place her in a position of co-qawama or full qawama? Neither 'Abduh nor Rida raises
these issues in the course of their discussion of qawdma.'9

ON DETERMINING THE NATURE

AND SCOPE OF NUSHUZ
A central problem with which Muslim authorities have had to grapple is the nature and
extent of the act of nushuiz to which the verse refers. An initial problem arose in the light
of the formulation, "wa 'lliti takhdfu-na nushuizahunna" ("And those whose disobedience
you fear"): is khauf (fear) in this context merely a matter of assumption (zann) or anticipa
tion (rajd') on the husband's part? Furthermore, does such an assumption or anticipation
carry sufficient weight to implement the recommended measures to rectify nushuiz? Al-TabarI
tells us that some authorities have maintained that khauf in this context is synonymous with
'ilm (knowledge): one's reaction follows the actual occurrence of the act of nushutz. Other
authorities modified this, equating knowledge with a husband's "reasonable suspicion" on
account of symptoms of "improper" conduct on his wife's part.20
In connection with this, the commentators of al-Manar pose two questions: if khauf in
this context indicates "knowledge," why does the Qur'an not use this word? Furthermore,
why does the Qur'an not employ an explicit expression such as, "those who commit
nushiiz"? The answer they give is based on what they perceive as the Qur'anic ideal of con
jugal life which is characterized by "love, affection, agreement, and harmony." Accord
ingly, the Qur'an does not wish to ascribe nushuiz to women as an act that they are found to
commit. Instead, the verse uses a construction that subtly implies that "[nushuiz], being a
break with what is normative and a departure from what is natural, is not to take place."21
According to this rationale, the implicit message of the Qur'anic expression is to stress the
lofty status of women and the duty of men to treat them well.
The medieval and modern exegetes unanimously agree that nushuz is an act of disobe
dience on the part of the wife. Al-TabarI's material, however, adds the elements of haughty

18. Ibid., 5: 70.

19. Avoiding these issues has been the position of many modem exegetes. A notable exception is the Lebanese
Muhammad Husain Fadl Allah, in whose view qawama derives from the twin conditions of divine preference and
financial provision; hence a woman can never be in a position of qawama. Min Wahy al-Qur'an (Beirut: Dar
al-Zahra', 1986), 7: 154-55.
20. Al-Tabari, Tafsir, 4: 64.
21. Rida, Tafsir al-Manar, 5: 72.

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 MAHMOUD: On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'an, 4:34 543

arrogance (isti'ld') and hatred (bughd).22 It is clear from this material and his own defini
tion that arrogance and hatred are perceived as active qualities that can translate into mani
fest acts of disobedience. According to a tradition attributed to Mujahid (d. 104/722),
nushuiz is specifically associated with a woman's refusal to share her husband's bed.23
Al-Tabari's own definition incorporates this element and adds a broader category involving
a woman's sharp disagreement with her husband-a disagreement that he views as being
motivated by aversion.24 A tradition attributed to 'Atad lays stress on this element of aver
sion and accordingly nushuiz is a woman's or a man's wish to leave the other partner. When
we turn to the commentary of al-Mandr, we find that 'Abduh situates nushuiz within the
context of his notion of riyasa, arguing that by committing the disruptive act of nushiuz and
challenging her husband's authority, a woman is not only engaged in serious disobedience
but is also acting against her own "nature."25
The evidence of the exegetical material suggests a consensus that disobedience is an
open category including acts of both religious and non-religious, mundane nature.

RECTIFYING THE NUSHUZ SITUATION

When a wife engages in this serious act of defiance, the husband has to act in accor
dance with specific Qureanic recommendations. The three recommendations of verse 4:34
are expressed as simple co-ordinatives; the first is preceded by the conjunction fa (and
thereupon) and the second and third are connected by the conjunction wa (and). As such, it
is possible to read the three recommendations as three options simultaneously open to the
husband and hence the choice of any particular course(s) of action is left to his discretion.
However, medieval and modern exegetes read these recommendations "sequentially," the
order of the recommendations indicating a progressive implementation of the corrective
measures.26 The aggrieved husband ought to start rectifying the situation by admonishing
his wife; if this does not work, he should refuse to share her bed; should this fail as well,
then, and as a last resort, he can beat her. Al-Mawdiudi highlights the Prophet's extreme
reluctance to allow beating. Yet, as the verse has to be justified, he adds, "But the fact is
that there are certain women who do not mend their ways without a beating."27
In expounding on the act of admonition, some authorities highlight the religious, stress
ing the husband's duty to make his rebellious wife think of God's wishes. Other scholars
refer only to practical advise and warning. The authors of al-Manar combine both by main
taining that some women may be influenced by being reminded of God's displeasure and
anger, while in the case of others a threat of deprivation from material comfort might turn
out to be more effective.28
The "sexual deprivation" measure expressed by "wa 'hjuruihunna fi 'I-maldaji`' (and
abandon them in bed) proved confusing to the exegetes. For one thing, if a woman's dis
obedience is motivated by her dislike or hatred of her husband, such an abstention on his
part would be most desirable as far as she is concerned. Though the majority of scholars

22. Al-Tabari, Tafsir, 4: 64.

23. Ibid., 4: 65.
24. Ibid., 4: 64.
25. Rida, Tafsir al-Manair, 5: 72.
26. In his widely read translation Abdullah Yusuf Ali incorporates this sequential reading: "Admonish them
(first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last), beat them. . ." The Holy Qur'dn (Elmhurst, N.Y., 1987), 190.
27. Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, 2: 121.
28. Rida, Tafsir al-Manar, 5: 72.

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544 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

held that the measure has to do with refusing to have sex with the wife, as the Qurzanic
phrase clearly implies, some of them put a different construction on the phrase. They con
tended that the phrase is not about forbidding the performance of the sex act itself but
rather a particular manner of its performance-the husband can have sex with his disobe
dient wife but should signal his indignation by not speaking to her during the act.29
Al-Tabarl tries to solve the problem by offering a radical reinterpretation of the key term
"hajr" (abandonment, avoidance, abstention, separation). Looking into the word's etymol
ogy, he concludes that it is to do with "binding or tying up as in the tying up of a camel
from its loin and wrists." Hence, he argues, the measure recommended when the verse says
"wa 'hjuruihunna" is to tie up the disobedient wife. 30 This is a reading that al-Zamakhsharl
caustically dismisses as simply distasteful.31 Agreeing with the latter, the commentators of
al-Manar declare that scholars like al-Tabari knew little of the psychology of women and
what motivates them to engage in nushuiz: a woman may love her husband but be foolish
enough to disobey him, a woman may disobey her husband to test his affection, a woman
may disobey her husband to make him satisfy her material needs, and a woman may unwit
tingly disobey her husband because her family misguides her.32
Another problem that the scholars had to address was of a very practical nature: should
the husband abandon the wife's bed in the literal sense of not sleeping next to her? Appre
ciating the practical difficulties involved, most scholars contented themselves with the
husband sharing the wife's bed while turning his back to her. Rida adopts a similar position
and elaborates on it. He maintains that what the verse intends is sexual abstention without
leaving the bed. He further argues that leaving the bed and the bedroom is not part of the
punishment; indeed such an act would so much aggravate the situation that the prospect of
reconciliation would recede. For Rida, being physically together in bed is an essential
requirement in restoring the rapport between husband and wife.33 The image we find in the
medieval material of a sulky and resentful husband turning his back on his wife disappears
in the world of Rida's modern exegesis where the emphasis is placed on communication.
But what if this measure fails? If we follow the exegetical tradition and read the verse
sequentially this would be the point when the husband is permitted to beat his adamantly
and tenaciously disobedient wife. The permission is simply expressed by the verb "'adribii
hunna" without any qualifications. As in many instances of Qur'anic exegesis the unspeci
ficity of a Qur'anic construction is made specific by the extra-Qur'anic material. In dealing
with this verse, the exegetes follow two strategies to qualify the verb "'adribuihunna": a
"limitation" strategy and a "virtual abrogation" strategy. What is described here as a "limi
tation" strategy is a reading of the beating measure that has achieved a near-consensus status
among exegetes and jurists. Pushed to its logical extreme, this can turn into what may be
described as a "virtual abrogation" strategy. Let us turn now to precisely what this entails.
The "limitation" strategy was based on a tradition that qualifies the beating of a disobe
dient wife as "light" or "not grievous" (ghair mubarrih).34 In al-Tabari's material the tra
dition figures as an exegetical tradition attributed to Sa'id b. Jubair, al-Sha'bi, Ibn 'Abbas,
Qatada, 'Ata', 'Ikrima, Muhammad b. Kalb, and al-Hasan. Ibn 'Abbas is credited with two

29. Al-Tabari, Tafsir, 4: 66-67.

30. Ibid., 4: 68-69.
31. Al-ZamakhsharI, al-Kashshaif, 2: 70.
32. Rida, Tafsir al-Manar, 5: 72.
33. Ibid., 5: 73.
34. Abdullah Yusuf Ali integrates this qualification, translating "'adribiihunna" as "beat them (lightly)." The
Holy Qur'dn, 190.

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 MAHMOUD: On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'dn, 4:34 545

traditions that set further qualifications: a husband should not injure his wife to the point of
breaking a bone and in beating her he may use a toothpick. 35 Moreover, the same tradition
figures in al-Tabarl's material as a prophetic tradition.
The commentators of al-Manar rely on al-Tabari's material, insisting that the beating
should not be harmful. Both commentators, however, go to great lengths in trying to justify
beating as a disciplinary punishment. 'Abduh claims that it is neither contrary to reason
nor unnatural to beat women, but he quickly adds that this is a measure that can only be
justified under exceptional circumstances, when the moral fiber of society is seriously under
mined. His logic takes it for granted that women are more susceptible than men to the
influences of moral depravity. 36 For Rida, nushuiz opens the floodgates of chaos and beating
is a legitimate and sometimes necessary measure to restore order. Engaging in one of his
typical polemics, he dismisses out of hand those who oppose wife beating, dubbing them as
"imitators of Westerners" and goes on to open fire on Westerners whose conduct is in any
case far from exemplary because they engage in beating their wives.37
The material of al-Maanmr does, however, contain another significant exegetical line.
Though 'Abduh argues that beating can be justified under certain circumstances his real
argument lies somewhere else. On the authority of al-BukhMri and Muslim, he quotes a tra
dition in which the Prophet dissuades his companions from beating their wives by saying,
"Would you beat your wife [during the day], as you would beat your slave, and then have
sexual intercourse with her at night?" In commenting on this tradition, 'Abduh stresses the
profound intimacy involved in the relationship between men and women and describes
this relationship in terms of striving to realize a state of "total union" (ittihad tamm). He
strongly protests that it is unacceptable for a man to humiliate his wife "who is part of him"
by "beating her with his whip or hand."38 'Abduh goes on to argue that a decent man would
not identify with such harsh conduct. On the authority of al-Baihaqi, he relates a tradition
attributed to Umm Kulthiim, daughter of AbM Bakr, in which she says that in the early days
of Islam men were not allowed to beat their women but when they [the men] complained to
the Prophet, he gave his permission while adding, "Though the best of you would not beat
their wives (wa lan yadrib khiyarukum)." 'Abduh argues that this is a permission that
amounts to virtual prohibition and states that he had been guided to this ultimate prohibi
tion before coming across the Prophetic traditions indicating it.39
If the emphasis on limiting wife beating by insisting on its light nature discloses a
degree of resistance to the beating measure, then the insistence that the best of Muslims
cannot beat their wives is a virtual abrogation of what the verse allows. As we have seen,
the evidence of the exegetical material clearly demonstrates that neither the moderation
nor the virtual abrogation are modern in their provenance. Though we do not have enough
information about the scale of wife beating during the Prophet's time, the exegetical mate
rial provides us with a glimpse of the gender tensions within the Medina community. The
degeneration in certain situations of such tensions into physical violence is attested by a
report attributed to Asma', daughter of AbM Bakr, involving the senior companion al
Zubair b. al-'Awwam: "I was the fourth among the wives of al-Zubair b. al-'Awwam.
When he became angry with any of us he would beat her with a mishjab (a piece of wood

35. Al-Tabari, Tafsir, 4: 70-71. The word used for toothpick here is siwak which is a small branch or stick.
36. Rida, Tafsir al-Mandr, 5: 75.
37. Ibid., 5: 74-75.
38. Ibid., 5: 73. The whip image is probably borrowed from a tradition attributed to the Prophet in which he
says, "Hang your whip where your wife could see it" (al-Zamakhshari, al-Kashshdf, 2: 70).
39. Rida, Tafsir al-Manar, 5: 76.

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546 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

upon which clothes were hung) till it broke."40 If we juxtapose what Asma' reports with the
report of Umm Kulthiim that 'Abduh cites we catch a glimpse of an overall picture of a
situation where the problem had reached a point where the Prophet had to intervene and
speak against the practice. What Umm Kulthum's report seems to suggest is that the beat
ing measure could have been a reversal of an earlier decision. This indicates that the beat
ing practice might have been so entrenched that the Prophet realized that his earlier
injunction was ineffective and a better approach to the problem would be the suggestion of
alternative measures while keeping beating as a last resort or (if one does not read the verse
sequentially) keeping it as one among other measures that are equally open to the incensed
husband. Though the Prophet had to bow to the rooted practice, it makes sense that he
would encourage his followers to conform to his earlier injunction by reiterating that not
beating one's wife carries a higher moral worth.

THE FEMINIST INTERVENTION

What we face is an anomalous situation where Qur'anic authority and Prophetic author
ity are pitted against each other and where those who oppose beating rely on a Prophetic
tradition to bring about an effective abrogation of a Qur'anic measure. It is however impor
tant to bear in mind that 'Abduh does not represent this total break with the Qur'anic mea
sure. For a radical articulation of a virtual abrogation of the beating measure one must turn
to the feminist intervention. Though verse 4:34 has recently aroused the intense interest of
many Muslim feminists,41 I will focus on three treatments that interrogate the prevalent
readings of the text and challenge them by advancing their own re-readings, namely those
of the Pakistani Riffat Hassan, the American Amina Wadud, and the Moroccan Fatima
Mernissi. I believe these treatments provide a reasonably accurate picture of some of the
significant ways in which modern Muslim women have grappled with this verse.
The starting point for Hassan is the question of whom the verse addresses. She contends
that it addresses all men and women of the Muslim community rather than men or hus
bands and proceeds to deal with the key term "qawwamuin," stressing that linguistically the
term means "breadwinners" or "those who provide a means of support or livelihood." She
further contends that the verse's opening statement does not refer to qawama descriptively
but normatively. Qawdma as such is the "Islamic concept of division of labor in an ideal
family or community structure." This "division of labor" is inextricably bound up with a
woman's unique function of childbearing and rearing: "The fact that men are qawwdmuin
does not mean that women cannot or should not provide for themselves, but simply that in

40. Al-Zamakhshari, al-Kashshaf, 2: 71. Commenting on this incident al-Talbi says, "What the daughter of the
first caliph says does not indicate that she deplores or disapproves of her beating" (Ummat 'l-Wasat, 120). What
al-Talbi contends is informed by a "modernist" prejudice in the light of which he makes the following sweeping
judgment about the Arabs of the Prophet's time: "The mentality of these people is not like our mentality; their
moral standards are not like ours. Their hearts were harsher" (p. 119). Undoubtedly, the generality of women were
more vulnerable and had less legal protection during that time. However, it would be inaccurate and presumptuous
to claim that they were "less sensitive" and hence accepted the physical violence of their husbands. When it comes
to Asma' in particular, we come across a report according to which she complained to her father about al-Zubair's
abuse. See Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Qurtubi, al-Jdmi' li-Ahkam 'l-Qur'dn (Beirut: N.p., n.d.), 5: 172.
41. See, e.g., Sa'diyya Shaikh, "Exegetical Violence: Nushiz in Qur'anic Gender Ideology," Journalfor Islamic
Studies 17 (1997): 49-73; Maysam J. al-Faruqi, "Women's Self-Identity in the Qur'an and Islamic Law," in Windows
of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America, ed. Gisela Webb (Syracuse: Syracuse Univ. Press,
2000), 82-97; and Asma Barlas, "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'in
(Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 2002), 184-89.

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 MAHMOUD: On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'ain, 4:34 547

view of the heavy burden that most women shoulder in childbearing and rearing, they
should not have the additional obligation of providing the means of living at the same
time." This conditional qawama gives rise to the preference to which the same statement
refers. Hassan insists that this preference does not apply to all men vis-'a-vis all women but
rather to some men who are "more blessed with the means to be better providers than are
other men."42 Another point on which she insists is that "the function of breadwinning
must be performed by men (not just husbands) in the Muslim ummah."
Basing her position on this biological-social division of labor, Hassan advances a radi
cal reconstruction of the verse's notion of nushiuz. Nushuz has nothing to do with domestic
disobedience on the part of a single wife against her husband, rather it is "a mass rebellion
on the part of women against their role as childbearers . .. If all or most of the women in a
Muslim society refused to bear children without just cause as a sign of organized defiance
or revolt, this would mean the end of the Muslim ummah." Consequently, Hassan also
reconstructs the verse's disciplinary measures to fit her particular reading. The first step
that men should take is to search and understand the rebellion's causes and to counsel
women. Failing this, men should take the more drastic step of isolating the rebellious
women from others. Declaring that the word .daraba in the context of this verse does not
mean "beat" but rather "hold in confinement," Hassan maintains that the final step is a con
finement of rebellious women for a longer period of time.
What Hassan puts forward is one of the most forced readings of the verse. For her argu
ments to work, one has to disregard the verse's language and its specific context. Though
the verse opens with a declarative sentence that is gender neutral in its address, the rest
of the verse is specifically addressed to men who encounter the nushuiz of their women
and can only make sense as such. Hassan's suggestion that nushuiz means in this context a
reproductive mass rebellion is an extremely far-fetched proposition that cannot be justified
on the grounds of the verse's evidence or the historical context of the Muslim community.
This untenable stance leads her to the other far-fetched suggestions that the verse's measure
of "wa 'hjuriihunna fi 'l-madaji'i" refers to a setting of rebellious women apart from others
and that "wa 'dribiihunna" refers to a measure of prolonged collective incarceration.
Though Hassan has offered valuable insights as regards many issues that face modern
Muslim women, her treatment of this verse exhibits a hermeneutic excess that has on the
whole been shunned by most other Muslim feminists.43
Turning to Wadud, we find that in her reading of the verse and what happens when
nushiuz takes place, she proceeds from a different position. She does not read the verse's
recommendations as disciplinary measures against a recalcitrant wife but rather as sequen
tial steps "for resolving disharmony between husband and wife."44 As the Qur'an uses the
term nushuiz for both the male and the female, Wadud argues that it cannot mean "disobe
dient to the husband."45 One would agree with Wadud that the term nushuiz could be under
stood in terms of disharmony. This, indeed, is an understanding that did not escape some
early commentators, as reflected in al-Tabarl's material. An exegetical tradition attributed
to Ibn Zaid mentions the term khilaf (disagreement, disharmony) in connection with nushiiz
and, as we have seen in the tradition attributed to 'Ata', he defines nushuiz in terms of a

42. Riffat Hassan, "Feminism in Islam," in Feminism and World Religion, ed. Arvind Sharma and Katherine
K. Young (Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1999), 264.
43. See ibid., 265.
44. Amina Wadud, Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (Oxford:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1999), 74.
45. Ibid., 75. On the Qur'anic use of nushuz in connection with men see below.

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548 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

woman's or a man's wish to leave her or his spouse. It is, however, important to bear in
mind the Qur'anic concept of the overall power structure within which men and women
operate. Whereas a man's nushuiz is an act of marital "disharmony" that the Qur'an recom
mends to be settled amicably through reconciliation (sulh), a woman's nushuiz is an act of
"disobedience" that is addressed through a different set of measures. The emphasis by com
mentators on the element of "disobedience" in defining nushuiz is not a case of unwarranted
exegetical prejudice but is reasonably justified by the verse's evidence which explicitly
contrasts a wife's nushuiz with her obedience to her husband (fa-in ata 'nakumfa-la tabghui
'alaihinna sabilan "If they then obey you, look not for any way against them").
Wadud describes the first measure recommended by 4:34 as "a verbal solution." This
can take place between husband and wife or can involve arbiters as recommended by
verses 4:35 or 4:128. In suggesting this reading, Wadud overlooks the significance of the
verb 'izuhunna, which clearly places the husband in a position of authority (already affirmed
by the principle of qawama) allowing him to admonish his wife. The second measure of
refusing to share the wife's bed is read by Wadud as a "cooling-off period which would
allow both the man and the woman, separately, to reflect on the problem at hand." When
dealing with the beating measure, Wadud expresses a position of profound ambivalence.
She points out that the verb .daraba "does not necessarily indicate force or violence" as
illustrated, for example, by the phrase "daraba 'Llahu mathalan" ("God sets forth as a par
able or example"). Does this mean that she reads the verb figuratively rather than literally?
It is not clear why she raises the point in the first place, as she does not seem to deny the
literal sense of the word. She goes on to argue that the fact that the Qur'an uses the first
form of the verb daraba rather than the second intensive form of darraba is a clear illustration
of the verse's concern to put an end to excessive domestic violence. In her final assessment,
the verse's reference to beating "should be taken as prohibiting unchecked violence against
females . . . [T]his is not permission, but a severe restriction of existing practices."46 The
fundamental dilemma that Wadud faces is clear. Despite her feminist-informed rejection of
any form of discrimination or violence against women, she ultimately finds herself in the
position of advancing a reading of the verse that does not seem to discount at least some
degree of domestic violence. In arguing primarily against "excessive" violence rather than
against any form of violence against women, she effectively reproduces the "limitation"
strategy position rather than one which truly resonates with her feminism.
Mernissi deals with verse 4:34 in the context of a broader claim that Islam was origi
nally an egalitarian project that was intent on liberating women but was derailed by the
vested interests of Meccan men, led by 'Umar b. al-Khattab, who were more at ease with
pre-Islamic traditions.47 She finds in Umm Salama, one of the Prophet's wives, an outspo
ken and dauntless early feminist. Umm Salama's protest that the Qur'an addresses only
men is credited to the revelation of verse 33:35 which announces to Muslim men and
women the good news that God has prepared for them forgiveness and great reward. Mer
nissi reads in this verse a manifesto of gender equality. This equality, however, was not to
be realized because of the opposition it encountered-an opposition so intense that the
voice of Heaven had to yield to its pressure. Mernissi deals with violence against women in
the context of this Qur'anic retrogression from an Islamic ideal that is best represented by
the Prophet's conduct as described by Ibn Sa'd: "The Prophet never raised his hand against

46. Ibid., 76.

47. Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam, tr. Mary
Jo Lakeland (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1993), 142.

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 MAHMOUD: On the Exegetical Dilemmas Over Qur'an, 4:34 549

one of his wives, nor against a slave, nor against any person at all."48 Quoting a Prophetic
statement prohibiting the beating of women, she comments, "The Prophet abhorred vio
lence toward women and stubbornly adhered to that attitude."49
Mernissi reconstructs nushuiz as an act of defiance and self-fulfillment that goes beyond
the domestic realm to encompass public space. As such, nushuiz becomes a feminist state
ment against the religious and social norms that stifle a woman and curb her freedoms.
Two of Mernissi's rebellious heroines who embody nushuiz as an act of public defiance are
SakIna bt. al-Husain, the Prophet's great granddaughter, and 'Aisha bt. Talha, the grand
daughter of Abii Bakr. Sakina is a model nashiz (one who commits nushuiz) on account
of the conditions she stipulated in her marriage contract with Zaid b. 'Amr, one of her
husbands, insisting that he would not marry another woman or prevent her from acting in
accordance with her own free will. She attended the Quraish Nobility Council, invited
poets to her house, never put on the veil, and set the tone for fashion in her time. 50
In her celebration of the rebellion of Muslim women, Mernissi takes the radical step of
appropriating the term nushiuz and investing it with a positive significance. She, however,
makes the erroneous claim that the word nushiuz is a gender-specific term that signifies
women's rebellion. This, however, is not the case, as the Qur'an uses the term in verse 4:
128 in connection with men as well: "If a woman fears nushutz or disinclination on the part
of her husband, no blame attaches to them if they seek mutual reconciliation, as reconcil
iation is best; and souls are inclined to avarice. If you do good and be godfearing, surely
God is knowing of what you do." The Qur'an hence envisages two situations of nushuiz
while recommending different measures for each.
Another term that Mernissi appropriates is bid'a (innovation). Nushu-z as an act of rebel
lion against oppression can be identified with a creative urge to affirm one's individuality
and uniqueness and this makes it intimately entwined with bid'a. In opposition to the
orthodox tradition which has always viewed bid'a with suspicion, she redefines the term as
"the capacity of the individual to change his or her fate, life and thoughts about people and
things, and to act critically in accordance with one's own assessment of the situation."51
The key terms in her redefinition are "change" and "critical" and what she ultimately wants
to achieve is to shake Islamic societies to the core and radically transform them, a revolu
tionary goal that cannot be realized without the mobilization of the creative, subversive
powers of women. The transgressor of verse 4:34 who is subjected to male guardianship
and male violence is called upon to affirm her individuality, her autonomy, and her right
to rebel.
What Mernissi articulates is the most radical position on the issue of nushuz. She
decenters what the verse and the exegetes say and boldly proceeds to embrace and cele
brate the act of nushuiz itself as an act of supreme liberation that brings about not only the
liberation of women but that of the entire umma.

CONCLUSION
The beating measure of verse 4:34 has presented past and present-day exegetical schol
ars with a most troubling and difficult ethical dilemma. Since the measure could not have
been "edited out" of the Qur'anic text, the next best achievable step was to "bracket" it.

48. Quoted in ibid., 156.

49. Ibid., 155.
50. Fatima Mernissi, Women's Rebellion and Islamic Memory (London: Zed Books, 1996), 114-15.
S 1. Ibid., III .

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550 Journal of the American Oriental Society 126.4 (2006)

This "bracketing," in turn, generated two competing readings: one which stressed the light
and lenient nature of beating a wife who commits nushuiz, and a more radical reading that
rejected any physical abuse against women and effected a virtual abrogation of the beating
measure. The extra-Qur'anic ethical frame of reference that these readings invoked was no
less than the Prophet's own statements (whether these statements are authentic or not does
not matter in this respect). The first reading (what has been described here as a "limitation"
strategy) has come to prevail and to embody the overwhelming consensus of Muslim
authorities in the past and the present. This appeal may be due to the fact that this reading
was perceived as the best compromise that preserves the integrity of the Qur'anic utterance
while going some way toward addressing the ethical concerns raised by beating one's wife.
The compromise nature of this reading, however, makes it ultimately untenable since it
still allows a degree of domestic violence. A real rejection of domestic violence is only
possible through the adoption of the reading of virtual abrogation. If the virtual abrogation
reading becomes the basis of a new consensus among Muslims today, this offers the possi
bility of the establishment of virtual abrogation as an active and effective hermeneutic tool
in transforming the Islamic tradition.

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