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
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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
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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.
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