Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:34
Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah 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 Allah 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. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Men are the maintainers of women, because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: Men are the maintainers of women, because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others (4:34). By His word, exalted is His praise, Men are the maintainers of women , He means: men are those who take charge over their wives in disciplining them and restraining their hands, with regard to that which they are obligated to fulfill toward Allah and toward themselves. Because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others , He means: because of that with which Allah has favored the men over their wives, namely that they bring to them their bridal gift (mahr), expend their wealth upon them, and provide for their maintenance. That is the favor by which Allah, praised and exalted, has raised them above them, and for that reason they have become maintainers over them, with an authority that is carried out over them in that which Allah has entrusted to them concerning their affairs.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken. Mention of those who said that:
7368 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, both of them said: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: Men are the maintainers of women , that is: commanders over her, whom she is obligated to obey in that which Allah has commanded her of obedience toward him. And his obedience [that is due] is that she be doing good toward his family and a guardian of his wealth. And his precedence over her is through his maintenance and his labor.
7369 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: Men are the maintainers of women, because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others , he says: the man is the maintainer of the woman, he commands her to obedience to Allah; and if she refuses, then it is permitted for him to strike her with a blow that does not cause injury (ghayr mubarriḥ). And he has precedence over her through his maintenance and his labor.
7370 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Men are the maintainers of women , he said: they restrain their hands and discipline them.
7371 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: I heard Sufyān say: Because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others , he said: through Allah's favoring of the men over the women.
And it has been mentioned that this verse was revealed concerning a man who struck his wife a blow to the face, and the matter was brought before the Prophet ﷺ, and he adjudged for her the right of retaliation (qiṣāṣ). Mention of those who said that:
7372 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us: that a man struck his wife a blow to the face, and she came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he wished to have retaliation carried out against him on her behalf; then Allah revealed: Men are the maintainers of women, because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others and because of that which they have spent of their wealth . Then the Prophet ﷺ called him, recited it to him, and said: "I wished for one thing, and Allah wished for another."
7373 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: Men are the maintainers of women, because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others and because of that which they have spent of their wealth : it has been mentioned to us that a man struck his wife a blow to the face, and she came to the Prophet ﷺ; then he mentioned something similar.
* - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: Men are the maintainers of women , he said: a man struck his wife, and she came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he wished to have retaliation carried out against him on her behalf; then Allah revealed: Men are the maintainers of women .
7374 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that a man of the Anṣār struck his wife a blow to the face, and she came seeking retaliation (qiṣāṣ), and the Prophet ﷺ instituted retaliation between the two of them. Then there was revealed: His word: And do not hasten with the Qurʾān before its revelation is completed unto you (20:114), and there was revealed: Men are the maintainers of women, because of that with which Allah has favored some of them over others .
7375 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: a man struck his wife a blow to the face, and the Prophet ﷺ wished for retaliation (qiṣāṣ); and while they were thus, the verse was revealed.
7376 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: as for Men are the maintainers of women : there was between a man of the Anṣār and his wife an exchange of words, and he struck her a blow to the face. Then her family went and mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ, and he informed them: Men are the maintainers of women ... the verse.
And al-Zuhrī used to say: between a man and his wife there is no retaliation (qiṣāṣ) for that which is less than life [itself].
7377 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, I heard al-Zuhrī say: if a man were to wound the head of his wife, or to wound her, then there rests upon him for that no retaliation (qawad), but there rests upon him the blood-money (ʿaql), unless he assaults her and kills her, in which case he is killed for her.
And because of that which they have spent of their wealth.
As for His word: And because of that which they have spent of their wealth , He means by it: and because of that which they have brought to her as bridal payment (ṣadāq), and have spent upon her in maintenance. As [in the following]:
7378 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: his precedence over her is through his maintenance and his labor.
7379 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, something similar.
7380 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: I heard Sufyān say: And because of that which they have spent of their wealth : through that which they have brought as bridal gift (mahr).
So the interpretation of the word is: men are the maintainers of their wives through Allah's favoring of them over them, and through their expenditures upon them from their wealth. And the "mā" ("that which") in His word because of that with which Allah has favored and in His word and because of that which they have spent has the meaning of a verbal noun (maṣdar).
The righteous women (fa-l-ṣāliḥāt).
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: The righteous women . By His word, exalted is His praise, The righteous women , He means: those who are steadfast in [their] religion (dīn), who perform good. As [in the following]:
7381 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: I heard Sufyān say: the righteous women perform good.
Devoutly obedient (qānitāt).
And His word: Devoutly obedient , He means: obedient to Allah and to their husbands. As [in the following]:
7382 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: Devoutly obedient , he said: obedient.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Devoutly obedient , he said: obedient.
7383 - ʿAlī related to me, on the authority of Dāwūd, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: Devoutly obedient : obedient.
7384 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: Devoutly obedient , that is: obedient to Allah and to their husbands.
* - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: obedient.
7385 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: the obedient ones: the obedient ones.
7386 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: I heard Sufyān say concerning His word: Devoutly obedient , he said: obedient to their husbands.
And we have already previously explained the meaning of qunūt (devout obedience), namely that it is obedience, and we have demonstrated its correctness with proofs in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat that.
Who guard the unseen (ḥāfiẓāt li-l-ghayb).
His word: Who guard the unseen , He means: those who guard themselves during the absence of their husbands from them, with regard to their chastity (their private parts) and their wealth, and who guard the obligatory duty that rests upon them of Allah's right therein and in other matters. As [in the following]:
7387 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: Who guard the unseen , he says: those who guard what Allah has entrusted to them of His right, and who guard the unseen of their husbands.
7388 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Who guard the unseen by that which Allah has guarded , he says: she guards for her husband his wealth and her chastity, until he returns, as Allah has commanded her.
7389 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: what is His word Who guard the unseen ? He said: those who guard [the rights of] the husband.
* - Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: I asked ʿAṭāʾ about Who guard the unseen ; he said: those who guard [the rights of] the husbands.
7390 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: I heard Sufyān say: Who guard the unseen : those who guard their husbands in that of their affair which is hidden.
7391 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Abū Maʿshar related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Abī Saʿīd al-Maqburī related to us, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, saying: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The best of women is a woman who, when you look at her, you are gladdened; and when you command her, she obeys you; and when you are absent from her, she protects herself and your wealth." He said: then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited: Men are the maintainers of women ... the verse.
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: and this report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ indicates the correctness of what we have said in the interpretation thereof, namely that its meaning is: righteous in her religion, obedient to her husbands, guarding them in herself and in their wealth.
By that which Allah has guarded (bi-mā ḥafiẓa Allāh).
As for His word: By that which Allah has guarded , the reciters (qurrāʾ) have differed therein in their recitation. The majority of the reciters in all regions of Islam recited it: bi-mā ḥafiẓa Allāhu with the nominative (rafʿ) of the name "Allah," in the meaning of: through Allah's guarding of her, since He made her thus. As [in the following]:
7392 - Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: I asked ʿAṭāʾ about His word: By that which Allah has guarded ; he said: He says: Allah has guarded her.
7393 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: I heard Sufyān say concerning His word: By that which Allah has guarded , he said: through Allah's guarding of her, in that He made her thus.
And Abū Jaʿfar Yazīd ibn al-Qaʿqāʿ al-Madanī recited it: "bi-mā ḥafiẓa Allāha" [with the accusative, that is: by that with which they have guarded Allah], that is: through her guarding of Allah in obedience to Him, and the fulfillment of His right in that which He has commanded them of guarding the unseen of their husbands, like the saying of one man to another: "mā ḥafiẓta Allāha fī kadhā wa-kadhā" ("did you not heed Allah in this and that"), in the meaning of: did you not have regard [for Him] and heed [Him].
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: and the correct one of the two recitations therein is that which the recitation of the Muslims has transmitted, with a transmission that cuts off the excuse of whoever it reaches and establishes the proof against him, and not that with which Abū Jaʿfar [al-Qaʿqāʿ] stood alone and in which he diverged from them. And that recitation [of the Muslims] puts the name of Allah, praised and exalted, in the nominative: bi-mā ḥafiẓa Allāhu , because of its correctness in Arabic and in the language of the Arabs, and because of the reprehensibility of the accusative of it in Arabic, since that diverges from what is known in the speech of the Arabs. That is because the Arabs do not omit the agent (al-fāʿil) in the case of verbal nouns (maṣādir), because the agent, when it is omitted therein, the action no longer has a known possessor.
And in the statement there is something omitted, where one has sufficed with the indication of the apparent sense of the statement upon what has been omitted from its mention; and the meaning is: The righteous women are devoutly obedient, who guard the unseen by that which Allah has guarded , so do good to her then and act righteously [toward her]. And so it is also in that which is mentioned in the recitation of Ibn Masʿūd.
7394 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥammād related to us, saying: ʿĪsā al-Aʿmā related to us, on the authority of Ṭalḥa ibn Muṣarrif, saying: in the recitation of ʿAbd Allāh [ibn Masʿūd]: "The righteous women are obedient to the unseen by that which Allah has guarded, so act righteously toward her; and as for those of whom you fear recalcitrance."
7395 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: The righteous women are devoutly obedient, who guard the unseen by that which Allah has guarded , so do good to her then.
7396 - ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: The righteous women are devoutly obedient, who guard the unseen by that which Allah has guarded , so act righteously toward her then.
* - ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: The righteous women are devoutly obedient, who guard the unseen by that which Allah has guarded , that is: when they are thus, act righteously toward her then.
And those of whom you fear recalcitrance, admonish them (wa-l-lātī takhāfūna nushūzahunna fa-ʿiẓūhunna).
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word: And those of whom you fear recalcitrance (nushūz), admonish them . The interpreters have differed over the meaning of His word: Those of whom you fear recalcitrance . Some of them said: its meaning is: those of whom you know recalcitrance. The manner in which "fear" (khawf) is turned in this place toward "knowledge" (ʿilm), in the statement of these [scholars], is like the turning of "supposition" (ẓann) toward "knowledge," because of the nearness of the meanings of the two, since supposition is a doubt, and fear is accompanied by hope, and both of them arise from the action of man with his heart, as the poet said:
"And do not bury me in the wasteland, for I fear, when I have died, that I will not taste it [the wine]."
Its meaning is: for I know. And as another said:
"There reached me a saying of Nuṣayb which he says; and I did not fear, O Salām, that you would blame me."
In the meaning of: and I did not suppose.
And a group of the interpreters said: the meaning of "fear" (khawf) in this place is: the fear that is the opposite of hope. They said: its meaning is: when you see from her that of which you fear that she will become recalcitrant against you, such as looking at that which it does not befit her to look at, and going in and out [where it is not proper], and you harbor doubt about her affair, then admonish her and shun her. And among those who said that is Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb.
As for His word: Her recalcitrance (nushūz) , He means: her exalting herself above her husbands, and her rising up away from their beds through disobedience on her part, and the opposing of them in that in which it is obligatory upon her to obey them, out of aversion on her part and turning away from them. And the root meaning of nushūz is exaltation; from it the raised place of the ground is called "nashz" and "nashāz." Admonish them , He says: remind them of Allah, and make them fear His threat for committing that which Allah has forbidden them of disobedience to her husband, in that in which He has made obligatory upon her obedience to him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the interpreters have spoken. Mention of those who said: recalcitrance (nushūz) is aversion and disobedience to the husband:
7397 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Those of whom you fear recalcitrance , he said: her aversion.
7398 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: Those of whom you fear recalcitrance , he said: she of whose disobedience one is afraid. He said: recalcitrance is her disobedience and her opposing.
7399 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: Those of whom you fear recalcitrance : that is the woman who is recalcitrant and scorns the right of her husband and does not obey his command.
7400 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, Rawḥ related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ said: recalcitrance is that she wishes to be separated from him, and the man likewise [is called nāshiz if he wishes to be separated from her].
Mention of the transmission of those who said what we have said concerning His word: Admonish them :
7401 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: Admonish them , that is: admonish her with the Book of Allah. He said: Allah has commanded him that, when she is recalcitrant, he admonish her and remind her of Allah and magnify His right over her.
7402 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Those of whom you fear recalcitrance, admonish them , he said: when the woman exalts herself recalcitrantly away from the bed of her husband, he says to her: fear Allah and return to your bed; and if she obeys him, then he has no way [to further measures] against her.
7403 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: when the woman is recalcitrant against her husband, he admonishes her with his tongue, he says: he commands her to God-fearingness toward Allah and obedience to Him.
7404 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, saying: when the man sees frivolity in her conduct in her going in and out, he says: he says to her with his tongue: I have seen this and that from you, so desist from it! And if she repents, then he has no way against her; and if she refuses, he shuns her sleeping place.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Shibl informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning His word: Admonish them , he said: when the woman exalts herself recalcitrantly away from the bed of her husband, then he says to her: fear Allah and return.
7405 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: Admonish them , he said: with the word.
7406 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His word: Admonish them , he said: with the tongues.
7407 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥukkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Abī Qays, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: Admonish them , he said: admonish her with the tongue.
And shun them in the sleeping places (wa-hjurūhunna fī al-maḍājiʿ).
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: And shun them in the sleeping places . The interpreters have differed over the interpretation thereof. Some of them said: its meaning is: admonish her in her recalcitrance against you, O husbands; and if they refuse to return to what is right therein and to that which is obligatory for them toward you, then shun her by leaving off sexual intercourse with her while you keep her in [the same] bed. Mention of those who said that:
7408 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: Admonish them and shun them in the sleeping places , that is: admonish her; and if they obey you, [it is well], and otherwise, shun her.
7409 - Muḥammad ibn Masʿada related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And shun them in the sleeping places , by "shunning" He means that the man and his wife are upon one bed in which he has no sexual intercourse with her.
7410 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, saying: shunning is the leaving off of sexual intercourse.
7411 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: as for you fear her recalcitrance , then it rests upon her husband that he admonish her; and if she does not accept that, then let him shun her in the sleeping place. He says: he lies beside her and turns his back to her, and he does have sexual intercourse but does not speak with her. So it stands in my book: "wa-yaṭaʾuhā wa-lā yukallimuhā" ("and he has sexual intercourse with her but does not speak with her").
7412 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he shares the bed with her but shuns speaking with her and turns his back to her.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Sharīk informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he has no sexual intercourse with her.
And others said: rather, its meaning is: shun her and shun speaking with her because she leaves off sharing the bed with you, until they return to sharing the bed with you. Mention of those who said that:
7413 - Abū Kurayb and Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, both of them said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places : that she is not abandoned in speaking, but rather the shunning is in the matter of the sleeping place.
7414 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: Abū Ḥamza related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: And shun them in the sleeping places , he says: until they come to your sleeping places.
7415 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥukkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: And shun them in the sleeping places : in sexual intercourse.
7416 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he admonishes her; and if she accepts, [it is well], and otherwise he shuns her in the sleeping place and does not speak with her, without abandoning the marriage with her, and that is hard upon her.
7417 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: Sharīk informed us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima: And shun them in the sleeping places : speech and conversation.
................. Mention of those who said that:
7418 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Zurayq al-Ṭahawī related to me, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he does not share the bed with her.
7419 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, saying: shunning is that he does not share the bed with her.
7420 - And with the same [chain] he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of ʿĀmir and Ibrāhīm, both of them said: shunning in the sleeping place is that he does not share the bed with her upon his sleeping couch.
* - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī, that both of them said concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places : he shuns sharing the bed with her until she returns to that which he desires.
* - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī, that both of them used to say: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he shuns her in the sleeping place.
7421 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ḥabbān related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of Miqsam: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: shunning her in her sleeping place: that he does not approach her bed.
7422 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, saying: shun them in the sleeping places, he said: he admonishes her with his tongue; and if she repents, then he has no way against her; and if she refuses, he shuns her sleeping place.
7423 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Qatāda concerning His word: Admonish them and shun them , both of them said: when he fears her recalcitrance, he admonishes her; and if she accepts, [it is well], and otherwise he shuns her sleeping place.
7424 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: begin, O son of Adam, and admonish her; and if she refuses you, then shun her, by which he means: her bed.
And others said: the meaning of His word: And shun them in the sleeping places is: say to her harsh, shunning words because they leave off sharing the bed with you. Mention of those who said that:
7425 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he shuns her with his tongue, and speaks harshly to her with the word, and does not leave off sexual intercourse with her.
7426 - And with the same [chain] he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, saying: shunning is only through speech, that he is harsh toward her, and it is not [through the leaving off of] sexual intercourse.
7427 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: he shuns [her] with the word, and does not shun sharing the bed with her, until she returns to that which he desires.
7428 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: he shuns her only in spending the night in the sleeping place; it is not permitted for him to shun in speech or in anything other than in the bed.
7429 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Yaʿlā related to me, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places , he said: in sexual intercourse with her; but he says to her: come and do! with speech in which there is harshness. And when she does that, then he does not burden her with loving him, for her heart is not in her hands.
And "hajr" (shunning) in the language of the Arabs has only one of three possible meanings: The first is the shunning by a man of the speech and conversation of [another] man, and that is his casting [him] off and abandoning him; from it one says: "hajara fulānun ahlahu yahjuruhā hajran wa-hijrānan" ("so-and-so shunned his family"). The second is excessive speech with repetition, in the manner of the speech of the deliriant; from it one says: "hajara fulānun fī kalāmihi yahjuru hajran" when he raves and draws out the word, and "mā zālat tilka hijīrāhu wa-ihjīrāhu" [that this remained his habit/refrain]; from it is the saying of Dhū al-Rumma:
"He cast and missed, while the decrees prevail; then they turned away, and woe was his refrain, and the war."
The third is the hajr of the camel, when its owner binds it with the "hijār," and that is a rope that is tied to its flank and its pastern; from it is the saying of Imruʾ al-Qays:
"She saw a setting at the sides of the saddle-cushions, and she almost felt thereby the hijār [binding]."
As for the meaning in which there is harshness and wounding, that is only the "ihjār," and from it one says: "ahjara fulānun fī manṭiqihi" when he speaks hajr (coarseness), and that is the obscene of speech: "yuhjiru ihjāran wa-hajran."
Since, then, there is no [possible] meaning for "hajr" in speech except one of the three meanings, and since the woman whose recalcitrance is feared, [as the only one], her husband is commanded to admonish her so that she returns to obedience to him in that which is obligatory upon her toward him, namely that she answer his call when he calls her to his bed — then it is not permissible that his admonition for that should occur [first], and then the woman thereafter conform to the command of Allah and obedience to her husband therein, and that the husband thereafter be commanded to shun her in the very matter about which he had admonished her. And since that is so, the statement of those who said: the meaning of His word: And shun them in the sleeping places is: and shun sexual intercourse with her — falls away.
Or it would be so, since this meaning falls away, in the meaning of: and shun speaking with her because of her shunning of your sleeping places; and that also has no comprehensible basis, for Allah, His mention is exalted, has informed through the mouth of His Prophet ﷺ that it is not permitted for a Muslim to shun his brother longer than three [days]. Moreover, even if that were permitted, there would be no comprehensible meaning for shunning her in speech, for when she has turned away from him and is recalcitrant against him, it is among her pleasure that he not speak with her, and not see her and she not see him. How then would the man, in the state of her aversion to him and her turning away from him, be commanded to leave off that whose leaving off is her pleasure, namely the leaving off of sexual intercourse with her, the drawing of her to himself, and the speaking with her — while he is [at the same time] commanded to strike her so that she is restrained from that in which she is, namely the leaving off of obedience to him when he calls her to his bed, and other matters in which it is obligatory upon her to obey him?
Or it would be so, since these two ways prove untenable, that its meaning is: and shun in your speaking to her, in the meaning of: turn toward her your speech when you speak with her, with harshness toward her. And if that were its meaning, then there is no basis for making the shunning (hajr) operate upon the pronoun that refers to the names of the recalcitrant women — I mean the "hāʾ" and the "nūn" in His word wa-hjurūhunna — for if that is what is meant by it, the action would not fall [upon her], for one says only: "hajara fulānun fī kalāmihi" and one does not say: "hajara fulānun fulānan" [with a direct object].
Since, then, there clings to all these meanings the defect we have mentioned, the most fitting statement with regard to the correctness therein is that His word wa-hjurūhunna be turned toward the meaning of binding with the hijār, in accordance with what we have mentioned of the saying of the Arabs about the camel when its owner binds it with a rope in the manner that we have described: "hajarahu fa-huwa yahjuruhu hajran" [he bound it]. And if that is its meaning, then the interpretation of the statement is: and those of whom you fear recalcitrance, admonish her in her recalcitrance against you; and if they let themselves be admonished, then you have no way against her; and if they refuse to return from their recalcitrance, then secure yourselves of her by a binding in her sleeping places, that is, in their dwellings and houses in which they lie and in which they share the bed with their husbands. As [in the following]:
7430 - ʿAbbās ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Abī Bukayr related to us, on the authority of Shibl, saying: I heard Abū Qazʿa transmit on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Ḥakīm ibn Muʿāwiya, on the authority of his father: that he came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: what is the right of the wife of one of us over him? He said: "That he feed her and clothe her, and not strike the face, and not revile, and not shun except in the house."
* - Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafa related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba ibn al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of Abū Qazʿa, on the authority of Ḥakīm ibn Muʿāwiya, on the authority of his father, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, something similar.
7431 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Bahz ibn Ḥakīm informed us, on the authority of his grandfather, saying: I said: O Messenger of Allah, our women — what of them may we approach and what should we leave off? He said: "Your tillage — approach your tillage as you wish, except that you not strike the face, and not revile, and not shun except in the house; and feed [her] when you eat, and clothe [her] when you clothe yourself. How [would you treat her ill], while you have gone in to one another, except with that which is lawful toward her?"
And in accordance with what we have said in the interpretation thereof, a number of the interpreters have spoken. Mention of those who said that:
7432 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: when the woman is recalcitrant against her husband, let him have her admonished with his tongue; and if she accepts, then that is [well], and otherwise he strikes her with a blow that does not cause injury (ghayr mubarriḥ); and if she returns, then that is [well], and otherwise it is permitted for him to take [the ransom] from her and to rid himself of her.
7433 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places and strike them , he said: he does that with her and strikes her until she obeys him in the sleeping places; and when she obeys him in the sleeping place, then he has no way against her when she shares the bed with him.
7434 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Bishr informed us that he heard ʿIkrima say concerning His word: And shun them in the sleeping places and strike them with a blow that does not cause injury, he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Strike them when they disobey you in what is proper, with a blow that does not cause injury."
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: all these [scholars] whose statement we have mentioned have assigned to shunning no meaning other than striking, and they have made obligatory no [separate stage of] shunning except that it is one of the postures in which the one struck finds herself at the striking — together with the indication of the report that ʿIkrima transmitted on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, that he commanded that she be struck when they disobey their husbands in what is proper, without his commanding their husbands to shun her, for the reason that we have described.
And if someone supposes that what we have said in the interpretation of the report of the Prophet ﷺ that ʿIkrima transmitted is not as we have said, and that the correct view is that the Prophet's ﷺ leaving off commanding the man to shun his wife when she disobeys him in what is proper, and his commanding [him] to strike her before the shunning, were it an indication of the correctness of what we have said — that the meaning of shunning is that which we have set forth — [then we answer:] it would then be necessary that there be no meaning for Allah's command to her husband to admonish her when she is recalcitrant, since in the report of ʿIkrima on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ there is no mention of the admonition. But the matter therein is other than he supposes; and that is because his word ﷺ: "when they disobey you in what is proper" is a clear indication that he did not permit the man to strike his wife except after admonishing her [that keeps her away] from her recalcitrance; and that is because she cannot be disobedient toward him unless there has already preceded from him toward her a command or an admonition in what is proper, in accordance with what Allah, exalted is His mention, has commanded him thereby.
And strike them (wa-ḍribūhunna).
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: And strike them . By it He means, exalted is His praise: admonish her, O men, in her recalcitrance; and if they refuse to return to that which is obligatory for them toward you, then bind her in her dwellings, and strike her so that they return to the obligatory duty that rests upon them of obedience to Allah in that which is obligatory upon her of your rights. And the interpreters have said: the nature of the striking that Allah has permitted the husband of the recalcitrant woman to strike her with is the striking that does not cause injury (ghayr mubarriḥ). Mention of those who said that:
7435 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥukkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: And strike them , he said: a blow that does not cause injury.
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: Abū Ḥamza informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, something similar.
7436 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, saying: the striking that does not cause injury.
7437 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: Sharīk informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And strike them , he said: a blow that does not cause injury.
7438 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And shun them in the sleeping places and strike them, he said: he shuns her in the sleeping place; and if she turns toward [him], [it is well], and otherwise Allah has permitted you to strike her with a blow that does not cause injury, and you do not break for her a bone; and if she turns toward [him], [it is well], and otherwise the ransom (fidya) of her has become lawful for you.
7439 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Qatāda concerning His word: And strike them , he said: a blow that does not cause injury.
7440 - And with the same [chain] he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: And strike them ; he said: a blow that does not cause injury.
7441 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: And shun them in the sleeping places and strike them , he said: he shuns her in the sleeping place; and if she refuses you, then strike her with a blow that does not cause injury, that is: that does not disfigure.
7442 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, saying: I said to Ibn ʿAbbās: what is the striking that does not cause injury? He said: the siwāk (tooth-stick) and the like, he strikes her with it.
* - Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, saying: I said to Ibn ʿAbbās: what is the striking that does not cause injury? He said: with the siwāk and the like.
7443 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, saying: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his address: "a blow that does not cause injury," he said: the siwāk and the like.
7444 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do not shun the women except in the sleeping places, and strike them with a blow that does not cause injury," he says: that leaves no trace.
7445 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: And strike them , he said: a blow that does not cause injury.
7446 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ḥabbān related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, something similar.
7447 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: And strike them , he said: if she turns toward [him] in [response to] the shunning, [it is well]; and otherwise he strikes her with a blow that does not cause injury.
7448 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb, saying: he shuns her sleeping place as long as you suppose that she will give up [her conduct]; and if she does not give it up, he strikes her with a blow that does not cause injury.
7449 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: And strike them , he said: a blow that does not cause injury.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd informed us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: a blow that does not cause injury, that leaves no trace.
And if they obey you, seek not a way against them (fa-in aṭaʿnakum fa-lā tabghū ʿalayhinna sabīlan).
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: And if they obey you, seek not a way against them . By it He means, exalted is His praise: and if they obey you, O people — your wives whose recalcitrance you fear — upon your admonition to her, then shun her not in the sleeping places; and if they do not obey you, then shun her in the sleeping places and strike her; and if they thereby return to obedience to you and return to that which is obligatory upon her, then seek not a way to wound her and do her harm, and seek not to find a way to that which is not lawful to you of their bodies and their wealth by means of pretexts. And that is that one of you says to one of them, while she is obedient to him: you do not love me and you are hostile toward me, and he therefore strikes her or wounds her. So Allah, the Exalted, said to the men: And if they obey you , that is: despite her aversion to you, do not commit injustice against her, and do not burden her with loving you, for that is not in her [power] that you should strike her or wound her for it.
And the meaning of His word: Then seek not (fa-lā tabghū) : do not strive and do not seek, derived from the saying of one: "baghaytu al-ḍālla" when he seeks the lost [animal]; from it is the saying of the poet in the description of death:
"He sought you, while you do not seek him, until he found you, as though yesterday you had made an appointment with him."
In the meaning of: his seeking of you, while you do not seek him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the interpreters have spoken. Mention of those who said that:
7450 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: And if they obey you, seek not a way against them , he said: when she obeys you, then invent no pretexts against her.
* - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: when she obeys him, then he has no way against her when she shares the bed with him.
7451 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, concerning His word: Seek not a way against them , he said: the pretexts.
7452 - And he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī said concerning His word: And if they obey you , he said: if she comes to the bed while she detests him.
7453 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Yaʿlā related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, saying: when she does that, he does not burden her with loving him, for her heart is not in her hands.
7454 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, saying: if she obeys him and shares the bed with him, then Allah indeed says: And if they obey you, seek not a way against them .
7455 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: And if they obey you, seek not a way against them , he says: and if she obeys you, then invent no pretexts against her.
Indeed, Allah is Exalted, Great (inna Allāha kāna ʿaliyyan kabīran).
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: Indeed, Allah is Exalted, Great . He says: indeed, Allah is the possessor of exaltedness above all things, so seek not, O people, a way against your wives when they obey you in that which Allah has made obligatory upon her toward you, [merely] because of the height of your hands above her hands; for Allah is higher than you and than everything, and higher than you are above her, and greater than you and than everything, and you are in His hand and in His grasp. So fear Allah, lest you do her injustice and seek a way against her while she is obedient to you, so that your Lord — who is higher than you and than everything, and greater than you and than everything — does not take vengeance upon you on her behalf.
