The Meaning of Daraba: Difference between revisions

The [[Qur'an]] ([[surah]] 4:34) says:{{Quote|{{Quran|4|34}}|ٱلرِّجَالُ قَوَّٰمُونَ عَلَى ٱلنِّسَآءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ وَبِمَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ ۚ فَٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتُ قَٰنِتَٰتٌ حَٰفِظَٰتٌ لِّلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَٱلَّٰتِى تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَٱهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِى ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ وَٱضْرِبُوهُنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا۟ عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا كَبِيرًا

"Men are overseers over women, by reason of that wherewith Allah hath made one of them excel over another, and by reason of that which they expend of their substance. Wherefore righteous women are obedient, and are watchers in husbands absence by the aid and protection of Allah. And those wives whose refractoriness ye fear, exhort them, and avoid them in beds, '''and beat them'''; but if they obey you, seek not a way against them; verily Allah is ever Lofty, Grand." }}The word "wadribuuhunna" means "beat them (i.e. the wives of men)," but modern apologists, embarrassed about this obvious command for men to beat their wives in the Qur'an, have claimed rather that this verb means to "separate from them" or to "strike them out (sic)." All the verses that contain ''daraba'' against a human are understood to mean "beat" or "strike" that human, by their context, and this is agreed upon in all other cases by these obscurantist "modern" translations. The only reason to translate the verb "daraba" to mean "separate from them" is to obfuscate the meaning of the verse for modern readers who view the injunction for men to beat their wives as barbaric, inhumane, incompatible with modern human rights. The attempts to translate this word in this way is novel, done only for audiences in majority non-Muslim countries, and flies in the face of over a thousand years of Islamic commentary and exegesis.  

An argument has been presented on some (progressive) Islamic websites and by some (progressive) Muslims and apologists which claim to have "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 claims 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, the obviously incorrect translation of this verb can be found in prominent cases such as that of Laleh Bakhtiar, an American Muslim apologist. She went so far as to incorporat 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.

A careful study of all the the above mentioned verses will reveal that they do not effect the interpretation of verse 4:34 whatsoever, and that the verb ''daraba'' was indeed correctly understood and translated as "beat" or some synonym of this word by the vast majority of translators.  

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 layers of gases, it is meant to be understood as "fly high through" the sky. These apologists will claim that this is a "different meaning" for the word "hit", but this argument is clearly a total violation of the actual meaning of the word.  

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 derivative and metaphorical meanings of  "hit" may be arrived at, similar to ''daraba''.  

#When someone "hits the road," it means he "departed" or "went through the road." It surely doesn't mean he got a hammer and hit the road. Does "hit the woman" mean "go through the woman"?

#When someone says they will "hit the Mouse," they mean to say they will "click on the mouse." Does "hit the woman" mean "click on the woman"?

#When someone says they'll "hit the bottle," what they really mean is, they'll "drink the bottle" or "drink alcohol heavily." Does "hit the woman" mean "drink the woman"?

#When a darts player "hits the target," he didn't get the dart board and break it, he simply shot the dart and it "landed on the target." Does "hit the woman" mean "land on the woman"?

#When an author's book "hits the market," it means the book "reaches the market." Does "hit the woman" mean "reach the woman"?

#When someone says they'll "hit the brakes," it doesn't mean they'll break the braking pedal, but rather it mean they'll "press on the brakes" to stop the car. Does "hit the woman" mean "press on the woman"?

#When a family "hits the beach," they didn't fall from the 11th floor and "crash" into the beach, but they "went to the beach." Does "hit the woman" mean "go to the woman"?

#When someone says its fine but it didn't "hit the spot," they mean to say its fine but didn't fulfill their needs. Does "hit the woman" mean "woman fulfilled my needs"?

#When someone says the activists "hit the streets," it means the activists "demonstrated in the streets." Does "hit the woman" mean "demonstrate to the woman"?

#When someone says they "hit the jackpot" it actually means they "won the jackpot." Does "hit the woman" mean "win the woman"?

As can clearly be seen, each of those sentences require a different interpretation of the word "hit", which is applied accordingly to the object used in combination with it. Yet ever 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.  

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 "hit an 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.

''darabuu ضَرَبُوا۟''  is derived from ''daraba'', meaning "'''hit'''". ''Fee في'' literally means "'''in'''". ''Al-Ardi'' ٱلْأَرْضِ  means "'''the land'''" or "the earth." Thus, the whole statement ''darabuu fee al-ardi'' ضَرَبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ means "'''hit in the land'''", with a meaning of something like "hit the road", a clearly figurative etension of the main meaning of the verb,  "hit."

"Hit" here gives thismeaning only when it is against "land"; it is a well-known expression in Arabic.

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

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

 

''Afanadribu AAankumu aIththikra'' literally meaning "'''shall we hit the admonition from you.'''" Again, this is a known expression.

 

''waduribat 'alayhimu aIththillatu'' literally meaning "'''and the humiliation was hit on him.'''" The humiliation is what was hit, not Moses himself.

''Fadarabna 'ala adhanihim'' فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ literally meaning "'''we have hit over their ears,'''" which is a common expression in Arabic that means "'''we will make your ears hear nothing.'''" Just like "hit your feet" can mean "start walking." What was hit here was the ears, ''not'' the people themselves.

 

 

This verse mentions the verb ''darb'' twice. In the first occurrence, it says ''walyadribna bikhumurihinna AAala juyuubihinna'' literally meaning "'''and they should hit their veils over their bosoms'''," which also does not reflect that the word ''darb'' means "cover" as has been alleged. If it were, then it should be written as such: "and they should hit themselves with their veils over their bosoms."

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

'''Verse:''' 13.17 '''Object:''' Truth and Vanity{{Quote|{{Quran|13|17}}|He sends down water from the skies, and the channels flow, each according to its measure: But the torrent bears away to foam that mounts up to the surface. Even so, from that (ore) which they heat in the fire, to make ornaments or utensils therewith, there is a scum likewise. '''Thus doth Allah (by parables) show forth Truth and Vanity'''. For the scum disappears like forth cast out; while that which is for the good of mankind remains on the earth. '''Thus doth Allah set forth parables'''.

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

''yadribu Allahu al-amthala'' literally means "'''Allah strikes an example'''" id est "Allah gives an example."  

'''Verse:''' 2.60 '''Object:''' Rock{{Quote|{{Quran|2|60}}|And remember Moses prayed for water for his people; We said: "'''Strike the rock''' with thy staff." Then gushed forth therefrom twelve springs. Each group knew its own place for water. So eat and drink of the sustenance provided by Allah, and do no evil nor mischief on the (face of the) earth.

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

''idribuuhu biba'diha ٱضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا'' literally means "'''beat him with part of her.'''" The one to be beaten is the dead man [a whole human], which is the equivalent of the wife [a whole human] who is to be beaten as instructed in verse 4:34. The only possible meaning here for ''daraba'' here is "strike" or "beat." The mysterious translation of "separate from them" that was used instead of "beat" in 4:34 obviously renders this verse nonsensical, as the cow and the man were '''definitely not connected''' in any way to be "separated." Thus, it is logical to conclude that ''darab'' against a woman will also mean to "strike" or "beat" them, not "separate".

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

''faidribuu fawqa al-a'naqi waidribuu minhum kulla bananin فَٱضْرِبُوا۟ فَوْقَ ٱلْأَعْنَاقِ وَٱضْرِبُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ كُلَّ بَنَانٍ'' literally "'''strike over the necks and strike 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), again illustrating how this verb means "to strike."

 

''faidrib lahum -tareeqan'' فَٱضْرِبْ لَهُمْ طَرِيقًا فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ literally meaning "'''so strike a road for them.'''"

''aniidrib bi'asaka albahra'' ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْبَحْرَ literally meaning "'''hit with your stick the sea.'''"

Here, ''darban bialyameeni'' ضَرْبًۢا بِٱلْيَمِينِ literally means "'''a strike with the right [hand].'''" According to this verse, when verb ''daraban'' is applied to humans, it means "beat" or "strike." It cannot be translated as "separation from them them from your right hand," since this is essential meaningless. The meaning of "strike" is apparent here.

''fadarba aIrriqabi'' فَضَرْبَ ٱلرِّقَابِ literally meaning "'''strike [off] the necks.'''" as in "cut off their necks," with strike here again eliding into a meaning of "cut off" when referring to a strike with a sword.  

''yadribuuna wujuuhahum يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ'' literally "'''hit their faces,'''" clearly again meaning "hit" or "strike."

''yadribuuna wujuuhahum'' يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ literally "'''hit their faces.'''" Also translated correctly by the Islamic site, Just like the previous verses.

''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. ''Idribuuhunna'' <font size="4">(أضربوهن)</font> means beat them (for female plural). ''Idribuu '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>

|''Idribuuhunna''

|''Adribuu Anhunna''

Qur'an 4:34 says Idribuuhunna<ref>The use of "Idriboohunna" in verse 4:34 has been confirmed by [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.justislam.co.uk/product.php?products_id=198|2=2011-08-13}} Errors in English Translations of the Quran] (From the Introduction of Quran: a Reformist Translation, Brainbow Press) which itself is attempting to use the "leave them" apologetic that is refuted on this page.</ref> <font size="4">أضربوهن</font> not Adribu 'Anhunna <font size="4">اضربوا عنهن</font>. There is no way to confuse one for the other.