Domestic violence

Warning of Allah for men who transgress against women / domestic violence.

1. al Qurtubi said:

قوله تعالى: { إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيّاً كَبِيراً } إشارة إلى الأزواج بخفض الجناح ولِين الجانب؛ أي إن كنتم تقدِرون عليهن فتذكّروا قدرة الله؛ فيَدهُ بالقدرة فوق كل يد. فلا يَستعلي أحد على ٱمرأته فالله بالمرصاد؛ فلذلك حسن الاتصاف هنا بالعلوّ والكبر.

Allah says {For Allah is Most High, great (above you all)}, This is pointing towards the husbands that they should be soft and be humble in the behavior, That if you have (more) power then remember the Power of Allah, his hand of power is above all hands. So, no one should seek dominance over his wife, as Allah is watching everything. It is good to mention the attributes of al Uluw and Kibr here. [Tafsir al Qurtubi under 4:34]

2. Ibn Katheer may Allaah have mercy upon him said, “The saying of Allah {Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted and Grand}

تهديد للرجال إذا بغوا على النساء من غير سبب، فإن الله العلي الكبير وليهن، وهو ينتقم ممن ظلمهن وبغى عليهن.

is a warning to men that if they transgress against women without justification, then Allah, The Exalted and Grand, is their (women’s) Protector, and He will exert revenge on those who transgress against women and deal with them unjustly.” [Tafsir of an-Nisa verse 34]

3. Tafsir Jalalayn says:

Allah is ever High Great so beware of Him lest He punish you for treating them unjustly. [Under4 :34] Allah says: “If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband’s part, there is no blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement between themselves; and such settlement is best; even though men’s souls are swayed by greed. But if ye do good and practice self-restraint, God is well-acquainted with all that ye do. (The Noble Quran, 4:128)”

4. Ibn Aashur al-Maaliki wrote in his Tafsir that governments can punish husbands, if men are abusing their powers:

فنقول : يجوز لولاة الأمور إذا علموا أن الأزواج لا يحسنون وضع العقوبات الشرعية مواضعها ولا الوقوف عند حدودها أن يضربوا على أيديهم استعمال هذه العقوبة ويعلنوا لهم أن من ضرب امرأته عوقب كيلا يتفاقم أمر الإضرار بين الأزواج لا سيما عند ضعف الوازع

“I therefore maintain that it is permissible for rulers to prevent husbands from hitting their wives if they [the rulers] know that the husbands misuse the measures prescribed by Islamic law and do not apply them properly.

In the existence of weak religious restraint [among the people] and to eliminate spousal harm, they are to announce that any man who strikes his wife will be punished.”

 

[“Al-Tahrir wal Tanwir”, 5/44 the passage of Ibn Aashur is taken from Brother Mohmand Afghan].

 

5. Shaykh Salih Al Munajjid said in Islamqa fatwa no: 2083:

If it is the husband who is mistreating his wife, that does not mean that she should remain oppressed or that her hands are tied. She has the right – just as the husband has – to warn and advise him, and to remind him to fear Allaah. If that does not work, she can seek the help of wise people among his relatives and her own, and they can advise him. If this does not work, then the matter can be taken to a qaadi (Muslim judge) who can force him to do the right thing – and Allaah is above them all.(end)