Wife Beating in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions

Wife-beating is instructed by the the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and has been an accepted part of Islam law since its inception. {{Quran|4|34}} states that men are in charge of women and that husbands may, among other things, beat their wives if they fear disobedience. Although prophet Muhammad suggested that men not beat their wives too harshly, he at the same time provided tacit approval of wife beating by not scolding Muslims for beating their wives, mildly referring to husbands who beat their wives as "not the best among you", forbade Muslims from questioning men who beat their wives, allowed others to hit his wives (his wives are known as "the Mothers of believers"), reaffirmed the command of wife-beating in his farewell sermon, and himself struck one of his wives in the chest. In addition to Muhammad's actions, three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs are also reported to have beaten women. Because of its many endorsements within Islamic scripture, wife-beating is permitted by the majority of Muslim scholars and leaders. This has led to domestic violence being permitted under law in several Islamic states or being largely ignored by the authorities.

{{Quran|4|34}} Instructs men to beat their wives if they fear disobedience. The word 'beat' in the Arabic is ''daraba.''<ref>daraba - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000062.pdf Lane's lexicon] Book I page 1777</ref> Although a small number of modern Islamic scholars, apologists, and activists have argued that the word ''daraba'' in the verse does not mean 'beat', the overwhelming majority stand with the Islamic tradition and the unimpeachable linguistic case that is made in agreeing that 'beating' is what the verse instructs. No Arabic dictionary or serious scholar has dissented from this consensus.