June 2000: Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Submitters Perspective

Page 2

Wife Beating

Cont’d from page 2

If women expect the men’s deeds to have consequences, they should expect the same for themselves. These consequences are however well controlled to protect the women from the outrage of the angry husbands as we can find in God’s law for the believers in 4:34.

We also learn that one of the traits of the righteous is that they suppress anger.

[3:134] “…They are suppressors of anger, and pardoners of the people. GOD loves the charitable.”

The nature and essence of a healthy relationship between a husband and wife is beautifully expressed in the following verse from the Quran:

[30:21] Among His proofs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves, in order to have tranquility and contentment with each other, and He placed in your hearts love and care towards your spouses. In this, there are sufficient proofs for people who think.

[3:195] Their Lord responded to them: “I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you MALE OR FEMALE, YOU ARE EQUAL TO ONE ANOTHER....”

When facing difficult times, even if the man dislikes his wife, God has decreed:

[4:19] O you who believe, it is not lawful for you to inherit what the women leave behind, against their will. You shall not force them to give up anything you had given them, unless they

commit a proven adultery. You shall treat them nicely. If you dislike them, you may dislike something wherein GOD has placed a lot of good.

And when divorce happens, the full respect to the wife is urged:

[2:229] Divorce may be retracted twice. The divorced woman shall be allowed to live in the same home amicably, or leave it amicably. It is not lawful for the husband to take back anything he had given her. However, the couple may fear that they may transgress GOD’s law. If there is fear that they may transgress GOD’s law, they commit no error if the wife willingly gives back whatever she chooses. These are GOD’s laws; do not transgress them. Those who transgress GOD’s laws are the unjust.

In conclusion; A BELIEVING wife and a BELIEVING husband should NEVER get to the point where beating of the wife enters the picture. A BELIEVING couple will consult one another and agree on the best way to solve their differences as verse 4:34 and the whole scripture recommends.

We have to know that we are not in this world to protect unrighteous behavior. We are in this world to be given a last chance to make the right choice and submit to God alone. Making the wrong choices will have consequences for all of us, both in this world and in the eternal Hereafter, for women and men equally.

God is the Most Just, the Most Merciful.

Fatimah Khaldoon

Resources for Abused Wives— Where to Turn for Help:

National Hotline, in the USA:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE

TDD for the Hearing Impaired:
1-800-787-3224

 

Some WWW Resources:

Family Violence Prevention Fund

SafetyNet: domestic violence information and resources.

Blain Nelson’s Abuse Pages: a domestic violence resource page put together by a recovering abusive husband.

Domestic violence information from the Sanford ME Police Department. Includes a partial list of hotlines in the United States.

Facts on domestic violence from the Open Door Shelter in Arizona.