Islam and domestic violence: Difference between revisions

=== Quran interpretations that do not support domestic violence ===

Indicating the subjective nature of the translations, particularly regarding domestic abuse, [[Ahmad Ali|Ahmed Ali]]'s English translation of the word ''idribu'' is "to forsake, avoid, or leave."{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}} His English translation of [[Quran 4:34]] is:

 

Laleh Bakhtiar postulates that ''daraba'' is defined as "to go away."<ref name=Bakhtiar>Bakhtiar, Laleh.[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/world/americas/25iht-koran.4.5017346.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all ''Verse in Koran on beating wife gets a new translation.''] NYTimes.com</ref> This interpretation is supported by the fact that the word ''darabtum'', which means to "go abroad" in the sake of Allah, is used in the same Surah (in 4:94) and is derived from

the same root word (''daraba'') as ''idribuhunna'' in 4:34.<ref name=4:94>Unknown author.

 

=== Jurisprudence and reality ===

In deference to Surah 4:34, many nations with Shari'a law have refused to consider or prosecute cases of "domestic abuse."<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fluehr-Lobban | first1 = Carolyn | last2 = Bardsley-Sirois | first2 = Lois | year = 1990 | title = Obedience (Ta'a) in Muslim Marriage: Religious Interpretation and Applied Law in Egypt | url = | journal = Journal of Comparative Family Studies | volume = 21 | issue = 1| pages = 39–53 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Maghraoui | first1 = Abdeslam | year = 2001 | title = Political authority in crisis: Mohammed VI's Morocco | url = | journal = Middle East Report | volume = 218 | issue = | pages = 12–17 }}</ref><ref>Critelli, Filomena M. "Women's rights= Human rights: Pakistani women against gender violence." ''J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare'' 2010; 37, pages 135-142</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Oweis | first1 = Arwa |display-authors=etal | year = 2009 | title = Violence Against Women Unveiling the Suffering of Women with a Low Income in Jordan | url = | journal = Journal of Transcultural Nursing | volume = 20 | issue = 1| pages = 69–76 }}</ref> In 2010, the highest court of United Arab Emirates (Federal Supreme Court) considered a lower court's ruling, and upheld a husband's right to "chastise" his wife and children physically. Article 53 of the United Arab Emirates' penal code acknowledges the right of a "chastisement by a husband to his wife and the chastisement of minor children" so long as the assault does not exceed the limits prescribed by Shari'a.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/10/19/uae-spousal-abuse-never-right|title=UAE: Spousal Abuse Never a ‘Right’ - Human Rights Watch|work=hrw.org}}</ref> The [[Council of Islamic Ideology]], a constitutional body of Pakistan that advises the government on the compatibility of laws with Islam, has recommended authorizing husbands to ‘lightly’ beat disobedient wives.<ref>[http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/338423-CII-recommends-light-beating-for-wife-if-she-def CII recommends 'light beating' for wife if she defies husband] 26 May 2016.</ref> In Lebanon, KAFA, an organization campaigning against violence and the exploitation of women, alleges that as many as three-quarters of all Lebanese females have suffered physically at the hands of husbands or male relatives at some point in their lives. An effort has been underway to remove domestic violence cases from Shari'a driven religious courts to civil penal code driven courts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/86247/lebanon-move-to-take-domestic-violence-cases-out-of-religious-courts|title=IRIN Middle East - LEBANON: Move to take domestic violence cases out of religious courts - Lebanon - Gender Issues - Governance - Human Rights|work=IRINnews}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/07/06/lebanon-enact-family-violence-bill-protect-women|title=Lebanon: Enact Family Violence Bill to Protect Women - Human Rights Watch|work=hrw.org}}</ref> Social workers claim failure of religious courts in addressing numerous instances of domestic abuse in Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Iran, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.<ref>Moha Ennaji and Fatima Sadiq, ''Gender and Violence in the Middle East'', Routledge (2011), {{ISBN|978-0-415-59411-0}}; see pages 162-247</ref> In 2013 Saudi Arabia approved a new law on domestic violence, which sets penalties for all types of sexual and physical abuse, in the workplace and at home. Penalties can be up to a year in prison and a fine up to 13,000 dollars. The law also provides shelter for the victims of domestic violence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23872152 |title=Saudi Arabia cabinet approves domestic abuse ban|work=[[BBC NEWS]]|date=28 August 2013}}</ref>

 

[[File:A comparison of acceptance of domestic violence in select Arab and Muslim majority countries, UNICEF 2013.png|thumb|Percentage of women aged 15–49 who think that a husband/partner is justified in hitting his wife/partner under certain circumstances, in some Arab and Muslim majority countries, according to UNICEF (2013)<ref>[http://www.childinfo.org/attitudes_data.php Percentage of women aged 15–49 who think that a husband/partner is justified in hitting or beating his wife/partner under certain circumstances] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704112113/http://www.childinfo.org/attitudes_data.php |date=July 4, 2014 }} UNICEF (2013)</ref>]]

 

Scholars and commentators have stated that Muhammad directed men not to hit their wives' faces,<ref name="mau">"Towards Understanding the Qur'an" Translation by Zafar I. Ansari from "Tafheem Al-Qur'an" by Syed Abul-A'ala Mawdudi, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England. Passage was quoted from commentary on 4:34.</ref> not to beat their wives in such a way as would leave marks on their body,<ref name="mau"/>{{refn|Muhammad is attributed to say in [[the Farewell Sermon]]: "And if they commit open sexual misconduct you have the right to leave them alone in their beds and [if even then, they do not listen] beat them such that this should not leave any mark on them." [[Sunan Ibn Maja]] 1841.|group=nb}} and not to beat their wives as to cause pain (''ghayr mubarrih'').<ref name="asad">[[Muhammad Asad]], ''The Message of the Qur'an'' (his translation of the Qur'an).</ref> Scholars too have stipulated against beating or disfigurement, with others such as the Syrian jurist [[Ibn Abidin]] prescribing ''[[Tazir|ta'zir]]'' punishments against abusive husbands.<ref name=eowaic>Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic cultures, p. 122</ref>

 

Bahz bin Hakim reported on the authority of his father from his grandfather (Mu'awiyah ibn Haydah) as saying: