“Darb’’ as a Solution Provided in the Quran in case of Rebellion of a Woman in Conjugal Life within the Context of 34th Verse in the Surah An-Nisa


It is possible to have a rebellion arising from any of the spouses in matrimonial cohabitation. This is defined as ‘’nushooz’’ (نُشُوز) (rebellion) in the surah An-Nisa in Holy Quran. However, different solutions are proposed depending on whether the nushooza, i.e. the rebellion, arises from the wife or the husband. In cases where the nushooza arises from the male spouse, the solution that shall be applied is defined in the verses 128 to 130 in the said surah. There is no problem on the perception and implementation of the solution defined in these verses. If, however, the rebellion arises from the female spouse, then the solution to be applied in such a case is defined in the 34th verse which is investigated in our present study. The solution presented in this verse is understood as ‘advise them, refuse to share their beds and hit them’ by the majority of the competent scholars. Since, however, the last part of this understanding involves a statement of violence against women, it has always been a questionable interpretation. Even though committing violence against individuals (i.e. ihqaq al-haqq) is disapproved in Islamic Law, the interpretation of this statement in the said verse as ‘’hitting’’ is contrary to the spirit of Holy Quran and also to that of Sunna, i.e. the Prophet's practices, because it is urgently stipulated in Holy Quran that one should be nice to women, avoiding maltreatment against them, that the matrimonial cohabitation should always be maintained in harmony, and that, when this is not possible, then it should be terminated in a peaceful way. It is clear that Muhammad the Prophet also underlined in his sharings the termination of brute force, but not hitting, as basic motive, even though hitting as statement was also mentioned. Besides, Muhammad the Prophet never hit any woman in any stage of his life. Our study discusses therefore the interpretation of the statement in this verse “واضربوهن” as ‘hit them’ and makes an attempt to suggest a reasonable interpretation of the verse.


Keywords


Holy Quran, matrimony, women, nushooz/rebellion, hitting, solution.

Author : Zeynel Abidin AYDIN
Number of pages: 87-100
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.12574
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Journal of Turkish Studies
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