To beat or not to beat: on the exegetical dilemmas over Qur'an, 4:34.

• Author: Mahmaoud, Mohamed
• Position: Critical essay

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 meaning 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 nushuz (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 qawwamuna cala 'nnisa'i bima faddala 'llahu ba dahum ala ba din wa bima anfaqu min amwalihim fa-ssalihatu qanitatun hafizatun li-'l-ghaibi bima hafiza 'llahu wa 'llati takhafuna nushuzahunna fa-fizuhunna wa hjuruhunna fi 1-madaji i wa 'dribuhunna fa-in ata nakum fa-la tabghu alaihinna sabilan inna 'llaha kana aliyyan kabiran" ("Men are qawwamun [maintainers of, in charge of] women because God has granted (men) favor [faddala] 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 (nushuz) 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 (nushuz). (2) Though the verse is thematically connected 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 qawama (guardianship, oversight): men are charged with a special responsibility vis-a-vis women and are 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 faddala 'llahu ba'dahum ala ba'din), and the socio-economic role assigned to men (wa bima anfaqu min amwail 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 (salihat, devout (qanitat), 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: reprimanding 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-Tabari (d. 310/923) and Mahmud b. Umar al-Zamakhshari (d. 538/1143) and the influential modern al Manarcommentary of Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905) and Rashid Rida (d. 1935), as well as the commentary of Abu al-A la-Madudi (d. 1979). The treatment of the verse by the contemporary Tunisian historian and modernist Muhammad al-Talbi will also be discussed. The material and concerns of these commentaries provide us with a reasonably comprehensive 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.

RECONSTRUCTINMG THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT

An appropriate starting point is the contextualization of the verse as presented by the material of asbab al-muzil (occasions of revelation). In his commentary, al-Tabari 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] qisds (retaliation). As they were in this situation, the verse was revealed" (3). According to another account, attributed to al-SuddT, 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 technical 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 relations 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 following accout: "Sa'd b. Abi al-Rabi 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 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 preeminence, 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. Agreeing 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 intervention take place: "the verse came to settle a damaging conflict that threatened [to throw the community into] disorder." (9) In short, the nushaz 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 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 accepting this situation of male supremacy and dominance as the norm. As far as they are concerned, 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-Tabari in terms of a relationship 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 realized 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...