What Does Qur’an 4:34 Say About Striking Wives?

Qur’an 4:34Qur’an 4:34 · Saheeh InternationalMen are in charge of women by [right of] what Allāh has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allāh would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them [lightly]. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allāh is ever Exalted and Grand.Qur’an 4:34 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source tells a husband who fears high-handedness from his wife to remind her, then to ignore her in bed, then to strike her. Marmaduke Pickthall’s English says “scourge them.” M. A. S. Abdel Haleem’s says “hit them.” Saheeh International says “strike them” and adds “[lightly]” in brackets. The brackets are the translator’s. The Arabic imperative is wa-iḍribūhunna, from daraba. Ibn Kathir’s abridgement allows the strike only after advice and separation, and only without a severe beating. That limit is a reading of the verse. It does not delete the verb. Ephesians 5:25Ephesians 5:25 · King James VersionHusbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;Ephesians 5:25 · King James VersionOpen source tells a husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. The wider status of women in the Qur’an is What Does Islam Say About Women?. Muhammad’s own marriages are How Many Wives Did Muhammad Have?.

Key Points

• Qur’an 4:34Qur’an 4:34 · Saheeh InternationalMen are in charge of women by [right of] what Allāh has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allāh would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them [lightly]. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allāh is ever Exalted and Grand.Qur’an 4:34 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source (1) in Pickthall’s translation says: admonish them, banish them to beds apart, and scourge them.
• Abdel Haleem’s translation of the same verse says: remind them, ignore them when you go to bed, then hit them. It does not add “lightly.”
• Saheeh International prints “strike them [lightly].” The word “lightly” sits in square brackets, which that translation uses for words that explain the Arabic.
• The Quranic Arabic Corpus (4) parses wa-iḍribūhunna as a masculine plural command, root ḍ-r-b, with “them” as a feminine plural object. Its gloss on the word-by-word page is “and [finally] strike them.”
• Ibn Kathir’s abridgement (2) says the strike comes if advice and ignoring her in the bed fail, and that it is “without severe beating.” It reports Ibn Abbas on a beating that is not violent, and al-Hasan al-Basri on a beating that is not severe.
• Qur’an 4:35Qur’an 4:35 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, Allāh will cause it between them. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Aware.Qur’an 4:35 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source (3) sends an arbitrator from each family if the couple may split. Ephesians 5:25–29Ephesians 5:25–29 · King James Version^5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ^5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, ^5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. ^5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. ^5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:Ephesians 5:25–29 · King James VersionOpen source (5) and 1 Peter 3:71 Peter 3:7 · King James VersionLikewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.1 Peter 3:7 · King James VersionOpen source (6) tell a husband to give himself for his wife and to honor her.

What the English Translations Print

The verse has a sequence. Men are put in charge. Righteous wives are described as devout and as guarding what should be guarded. Then comes the case of fear: a word the translators render as arrogance, high-handedness, rebellion, or disloyalty. The steps are advise, withdraw in bed, and strike. If she obeys, the husband is told to seek no further way against her.

Pickthall’s full sentence for that case is the plainest of the older English:

As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.

Abdel Haleem, in a current Penguin translation, does not soften the verb with an adverb: “If you fear high-handedness from your wives, remind them [of the teachings of God], then ignore them when you go to bed, then hit them. If they obey you, you have no right to act against them.” Yusuf Ali’s edition prints “beat them (lightly).” The parenthesis is his explanation, as Saheeh’s brackets are. A reader who has only the bracketed line can think “lightly” is in the Arabic. The corpus entry for the word does not gloss it that way. It glosses the imperative as “strike them.”

What Does Islam Say About Women? already quotes the Saheeh International wording of this verse beside inheritance and witness. This page does not repeat that block. It stays with the verb and with the commentary that tries to limit it.

What Ibn Kathir Allows

The abridged Ibn Kathir on Quran.com takes the steps in order. Ill conduct, in that commentary, includes a wife who acts as if she is above her husband, disobeys him, or dislikes him. The husband is told to advise her first. On leaving the bed, the commentary reports that Ibn Abbas said the abandonment means not having intercourse, lying on the bed with his back to her. Another report adds not speaking to her.

On the strike, the abridgement says:

(beat them) means, if advice and ignoring her in the bed do not produce the desired results, you are allowed to discipline the wife, without severe beating.

Source

It then quotes a farewell-pilgrimage report, which it attributes to Muslim from Jabir, in this English: “Fear Allah regarding women, for they are your assistants.” The same parenthesis continues, “if they do that, you are allowed to discipline them lightly,” and it names their right to provision and clothes. After that report the commentary adds: “Ibn `Abbas and several others said that the Ayah refers to a beating that is not violent. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that it means, a beating that is not severe.”

That is a real limit inside classical Sunni commentary. The strike is last, it is not supposed to be savage, and obedience ends it. The limit still presumes the strike. “Without severe beating” is a rule for how hard, not a statement that the imperative means something other than a blow. A Muslim reader who takes Ibn Kathir as the guide is not inventing a restriction. A Christian reader who treats the restriction as the verse itself is skipping the word the corpus parses as a command to strike.

Qur’an 4:35Qur’an 4:35 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, Allāh will cause it between them. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Aware.Qur’an 4:35 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source is the next verse. Saheeh International says that if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and one from hers, and that if they both want reconciliation, God will cause it. Arbitration is in the text. It follows the verse that contains the strike. It does not replace it.

What the New Testament Tells a Husband

Ephesians 5:25–29Ephesians 5:25–29 · King James Version^5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; ^5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, ^5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. ^5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. ^5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:Ephesians 5:25–29 · King James VersionOpen source says husbands are to love their wives “even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it,” and to nourish and cherish them as their own bodies. The measure is the cross, not a scale of permitted blows. 1 Peter 3:71 Peter 3:7 · King James VersionLikewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.1 Peter 3:7 · King James VersionOpen source says the husband is to dwell with his wife according to knowledge, “giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life,” so that his prayers are not hindered. Honor and a shared inheritance are the sentence. A procedure of advice, bed, and strike is not.

Christians confess that Jesus is God, and that the husband is told to spend himself the way Christ spent himself for the church. What Does Islam Say About Women? is the page for the other verses on charge, inheritance, and witness. How Many Wives Did Muhammad Have? quotes the permissions that apply to him. This page is the one imperative in 4:34.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Arabic Say “Lightly”?

Saheeh International and Yusuf Ali add “lightly” in brackets or parentheses. Pickthall says “scourge them.” Abdel Haleem says “hit them.” The corpus parses wa-iḍribūhunna as an imperative of daraba and glosses it “strike them,” without an adverb.

Do Muslim Scholars Forbid Any Blow?

Ibn Kathir’s abridgement does not forbid it. It places it after advice and separation, and it reports Ibn Abbas and al-Hasan al-Basri limiting it to a beating that is not violent or severe. The farewell report in that same commentary says “discipline them lightly.” The verb remains.

What Comes After the Strike Verse?

Qur’an 4:35Qur’an 4:35 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you fear dissension between the two, send an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people. If they both desire reconciliation, Allāh will cause it between them. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Aware.Qur’an 4:35 · Saheeh InternationalOpen source provides two arbitrators if the marriage may break. The strike verse is still the previous ayah. Obedience, inside 4:34, is what ends the husband’s further action.

Where Does the Bible Speak to Husbands?

Ephesians 5:25Ephesians 5:25 · King James VersionHusbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;Ephesians 5:25 · King James VersionOpen source and 1 Peter 3:71 Peter 3:7 · King James VersionLikewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.1 Peter 3:7 · King James VersionOpen source. The husband loves as Christ loved the church, and he honors his wife as a joint heir. Jesus is God, and the pattern is his self-giving, not a licensed strike.

Keep Reading

• What Does Islam Say About Women?
• How Many Wives Did Muhammad Have?
• Why Do Muslim Women Wear the Hijab?
• Can a Christian and a Muslim Marry?
• Ephesians 5