The Meaning of Daraba: Difference between revisions

An argument has been presented on some Islamic websites ( exclusively geared towards western audiences) and by some Muslims and apologists which claim to have more "modern" translations of the [[Qur'an]]<ref>Such as [http://free-minds.org Free-Minds.org] and [http://progressive-muslims.org Progressive-Muslims.org]</ref>, which proposes that the Arabic verb "ضرب" "daraba" means something other than to "strike" "beat" or "hit." Alternatives offered include "separate from them" or somewhat nonsensically for a native English speaker "strike them out." The people making these claims are generally seeking to "reform" [[Islam]], but this translation flies in the face of over a thousand years of understanding of the Arabic language, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.  These apologetic arguments are clearly directed people of a westernized/liberal background with little to no knowledge of Arabic, as any Muslim who has an adequate command of the [[Arabic]] language or any non-Muslim Arab, or any non-Arabic speaking Muslim familiar with the [[hadith]] and [[tafsir]] text [[Wife Beating in Islamic Law#Islamic_Scriptures_and_Wife-Beating|related to this issue]], will find the claim being presented to be ridiculous and prima facia untenable. Despite this, this obviously incorrect translation of this verb can be found in prominent cases such as that of Laleh Bakhtiar, an American progressive Muslim apologist. She went so far as to incorporate this incorrect translation into her translation of the Qur'an, a translation which the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) refused to sell in their bookstore for its inaccuracy.

Almost all Qur'anic professional translators in English have translated the term as "beat them". The only alternative translations which do not translate "daraba" as "to beat/hit/strike" are those that have caused controversies such as that of Leila Bekhtiar.  

The [[tafsir]]s are the classical commentaries on the Qur'an. These represent educated, learned Muslim opinion on this verse of the course of many centures. All of the classical tafsirs read the verse as instructing men to beat their wives, and concern themselves with the circumstances under which this action is to be taken and also attempt to place limits of the severity of the beating. None of the question that the verse is fundamentally speaking about wife beating:

 

 

In fact, all the other verses presented which contain ''daraba'' are actually using the term figuratively. For example, "hit the sky" is a figurative expression; nothing can literally "hit" or "crash" with the sky, it is meant to be understood as "fly high through" the sky. The translators and apologists proposing this bad translation will claim that this is a "different meaning" for the word "hit", when in fact it is simply a analogical extension of the main meaning of the verb. In effect this would mean when someone says in Arabic  "I'll hit you," in actuality they meant "I'll fly high through you"; the argument is absurd to anyone with even a basic command of Arabic.

A comparison with English is useful: The meaning of many verbs differ according to the ''objects'' they are applied to and the ''prepositions'' with which they are used. Using the word "hit" in English as an example, which also means ''daraba'', a number of derivitive and metaphorical meanings of "hit" may be arrived at, similar to ''daraba''.  

#When an English speaker "hits the road," [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4jondX6tg as in this famous song], it means he "departed" or "set out." It surely doesn't mean he got a hammer and hit the road with it. The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the road."

#When an English speaker says they will "hit the Mouse," they mean to say they will "click on the mouse." The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the mouse."

#When an English speaker says they'll "hit the bottle," what they really mean is, they'll "drink the bottle" or "drink alcohol heavily." The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the bottle."

#When a darts player "hits the target" in English, he didn't get the dart board and break it, he simply shot the dart and it "landed on the target." The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the target."

#When an author's book "hits the market" in English, it means the book "reaches the market." The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the market."

#When an English speaker says they'll "hit the brakes," it doesn't mean they'll break the braking pedal, but rather it means they'll "press on the brakes" to stop the car. The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the the brakes."

#When a an English speaker "hits the beach," they didn't fall from the 11th floor and "crash" into the beach, but they "went to the beach." The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the beach."

#When an English speaker says it's (some food is) fine but it didn't "hit the spot," they mean to say it's fine but didn't fulfill their needs or satiate their hunger or desire for a specific food. The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the spot."

#When an English speaker says the activists "hit the streets," it means the activists "demonstrated in the streets" again no image of activists bashing streets with hammers is evoked. The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the streets."

#When an English speaker says they "hit the jackpot" it actually means they "won the jackpot" or "won the prize", not that they physically struck a pot. The base meaning of "hit" remains untouched when not used with "the jackpot."

As can clearly be seen, each of those sentences involves a different meaning of the word "hit", which is applied accordingly to the object used in combination with it. Yet even with all of these "different meanings" of the word "hit" in mind, the sentence "I will hit my woman" remains clear: the meaning is "I shall strike my woman", or in Arabic "سوف أضرب إمرأتي" There is no possible alternative meaning to "I will ''beat'' my woman."' The difference between, for example, "hit the road" and "hit the woman", is the ''object'' to be hit, and not the meaning of "hit" itself; the meanings of the two sentences are different but clear.

Most of the verses containing the eight different meanings which have been given by the apologists are using the verb ''daraba'' (hit) not against human beings, but rather "hitting the land," "hitting an example," "hitting the truth"... etc., figurative uses which are derivative of the main meaning "to hit." In the verses in the Qur'an where ''daraba'' is used against a human being without a modifiying preposition, it means to "beat" or "strike," which confirms our understanding of the use of ''daraba'' in verse 4:34.

What follows now is a discussion of ''daraba'' in the contexts where it is found in the Qur'an with a meaning other than "to hit" or "to strike." The original verse in Arabic will be presented, along with word-by-word literal translation of the statement in '''Bold''' in each verse, which is the place where ''daraba'' (hit) and its object (i.e. Land) are used; and above each verse will be found the name of the object being hit. For example, in the example of the phrase "strikean example," its will literally translation will be presented as is, not as "give an example" like the standard Qur'anic translations. Although this translation may sound strange, it will make the object to be hit, easily identifiable for the non-Arabic speakers.

This literal translation of all the verses for will show that each time "''daraba''" is used and has a different meaning than to "beat," it is not against a human being, but against other material and non-material objects. And each and every time it is used against a human without a modifying preposition, it has no other meaning than to "beat".

''daraboo ضَرَبُوا۟''  is a form of ''daraba ضرب'', meaning "hit" 'beat" or "strike." ''Fee في'' literally means "in". ''Al-Ardi'' ٱلْأَرْضِ  means "the land" or "the earth." Thus, the whole statement ''daraboo fee al-ardi'' ضَرَبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ translates literally as "hit in the land", with a meaning of something like "hit the road" that is "'''to travel'''", a figurative extension of the main meaning of the verb, "hit."

''darabtum fee al-ardi ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ'' literally meaning "you (plural) hit in the land" again meaning here "'''to travel'''" or to move across the land.  

''yadriboona fee al-ardi'' يَضْرِبُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ literally meaning "they hit in the land" again meaning here "'''to travel'''" or to move across the land.  

''darban fee al-ardi'' ضَرْبًا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ literally "a hit in the land" again meaning "'''moving about in the land'''."

''faduriba baynahum bisoorin'' فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُم بِسُورٍ literally  "a wall was struck between them" which is understood as "'''a wall was placed between them'''."

''daraba Allahu mathalan ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا'' literally "Allah struck an example", meaning "'''he gave an example.'''"  

''wadarabna lakumu al-amthala'' ضَرَبْنَا لَكُمُ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ literally "'''we strike for you the example'''" meaning "we give an example for you."

''Daraba Allahu mathalan ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا'' literally "'''Allah has struck an example'''" meaning "Allah has given an example."

''Wadaraba Allahu mathalan وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا'' literally "'''And Allah has struck an example'''" meaning "Allah has given an example."

''Wadaraba Allahu mathalan وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا'' literally "'''And Allah has struck an example'''" meaning "And Allah has given an example."

''Waidrib lahum mathalan'' وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا literally "'''and you, struck for them an example'''" meaning "and give for them an example."

''Waidrib lahum mathala'' وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلَ literally "'''and struck for them an example'''" meaning "'''and he gave an example.'''"

''wayadribu Allahu al-amthala وَيَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلَ'' literally meaning "'''And Allah hits the examples'''" with the meaning that "'''he Allah provides the examples.'''"  

''Daraba lakum mathalan'' ضَرَبَ لَكُم مَّثَلًا literally meaning "'''struck an example for you'''" meaning and "'''and he set forth for you all an example.'''"  

''darabna liInnasi fee hatha alqur-ani min kulli mathalin وَلَقَدْ ضَرَبْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ'' literally meaning "'''We have struck in this Quran for every example for the people'''" meaning "'''we have given an example for the people in this Qur'an.'''"

''Walaqad darabna liInnasi fee hatha alqur-ani min kulli mathalin وَلَقَدْ ضَرَبْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ'' literally meaning "'''And we have struck in this Quran from every example for the people'''"

''Daraba Allahu mathalan ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا''  literally meaning "'''Allah stuck an example'''"

''bima daraba liIrrahmani mathalan'' بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ مَثَلًا literally meaning "'''in the examples struck by the Merciful'''" with a meaning of "in the examples given by the merciful."

''ma daraboohu laka''  ۚ مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ literally "'''what they have struck it for you'''" The thing that is struck here is, from its previous verse {{Quran|43|57}}, is an example; the meaning is thus "

''watilka al-amthalu nadribuha liInnasi'' وَتِلْكَ ٱلْأَمْثَٰلُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ literally meaning "'''and these are the examples that we struck for the people'''"

''Daraba Allahu mathalan ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا'' literally meaning "'''Allah has strikes an example'''" and with a meaning

''Wadaraba Allahu mathalan وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا'' literally meaning "'''And Allah has strikes an example'''" meaning "'''and Allah has given an example.'''"

''Afanadribu 'ankumu aIththikra'' أَفَنَضْرِبُ عَنكُمُ ٱلذِّكْرَ literally meaning "'''shall we strike the remembrance from you'''" meaning "shall we forget to remind you." Again, this is a known expression.

''waduribat 'alayhimu aIdhdhillatu wulmaskanatu وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ وَٱلْمَسْكَنَةُ''  literally meaning "'''and the humiliation and poverty was struck open him'''" id est "he was struck down/laid low with humiliation and poverty." The humiliation and poverty are the subjects of the passive verb here, will Moses and his people are the objects of the preposition "'ala" على meaning "upon."

This verse mentions the verb ''daraba ضرب'' twice. In the first occurrence, it says ''walyadribna bikhumurihinna AAala juyoobihinna وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ''  literally meaning "'''and they should strike their veils over their bosoms'''," meaning they should place their veils over their bosoms or cover their bosoms.   

In the second occurrence, ''wala yadribna bi-arjulihinna وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ'' literally means "'''they should not hit their feet''';" and here "hit" is meant literally as "hit" or "strike."

Another two instances of "daraba" here: ''yadribu Allahu alhaqqa waalbatila يَضْرِبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَٱلْبَٰطِلَ ۚ'' literally meaning "'''Allah hits the truth and the vanity'''," as in "Allahs explains the truth and the vanity."

 

The main meaing of "daraba" is to hit or strike, including with a sword where the meaning should be rendered in English as "cut", "chop", or "chop off."

''idrib bi'asaka alhajara  ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْحَجَرَ'' literally meaning "'''hit the rock.'''"

''idrib bi'asaka alhajara  ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْحَجَرَ'' literally meaning "'''hit the rock.'''"

''faidriboo fawqa al-a'naqi waidriboo minhum kulla bananin  فَٱضْرِبُوا۟ فَوْقَ ٱلْأَعْنَاقِ وَٱضْرِبُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ'' literally meaning "'''hit over the necks and hit from them all their fingers.'''" The first "hit" means "beat" and the second means "cut-off." Both objects here are not whole bodies, but only parts (necks and fingers).

This is a great example. Here, ''darban bialyameeni ضَرْبًۢا بِٱلْيَمِينِ'' literally means "'''hit them [people] with the right [hand].'''" According to this verse, when verb ''daraban'' ''ضَرْبًۢا'' is applied to humans, it means "beat" or "strike." It cannot be translated as "separate them from your right hand," as that is utterly ridiculous. The Islamic sites in question, also agrees that ''daraban'' here means  "strike."

''fadarba aIrriqabi'' فَضَرْبَ ٱلرِّقَابِ literally meaning "'''the hit of the necks.'''" as in "beaten on their necks."

''yadriboona wujoohahum  يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ'' literally meaning "'''hit their faces,'''" or "beat their faces."

''yadriboona wujoohahum ضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ''  literally meaning "'''hit their faces.'''"  

''Beat them'' and ''leave them'' are different phrases in Arabic, utilizing the same verb, but here differentiated by the preposition used. The Arabic word ''idribohunna'' is the command form of the Arabic verv ''Daraba'' does not have any other meaning than ''Beat'' when it comes to the sentence ''"Yadribu Ahadan"'' يضرب أحدا= he hits someone. ''Idriboohunna'' <font size="4">(أضربوهن)</font> means beat them (for female plural). ''Idriboo 'anhunna'' <font size="4">(اضربوا عنهن)</font> with the preposition 'an عن would mean "leave" or "abandon" them. According to Lane's Arabic lexicon.<ref name="Lane's Lexicon">[http://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=h642,ll=1866,ls=5,la=2565,sg=626,ha=427,br=572,pr=95,aan=347,mgf=535,vi=230,kz=1418,mr=373,mn=815,uqw=966,umr=638,ums=534,umj=478,ulq=1118,uqa=257,uqq=202,bdw=h538,amr=h383,asb=h576,auh=h925,dhq=h329,mht=h537,msb=h143,tla=h67,amj=h469,ens=h171,mis=h1279]</ref>