What punishment is given to a man who beats his wife?

1. I heard Umar (ra) say that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said that the one who beats his wife is not responsible for it and that he said, “Do not ask any man why he beats his wife.” Is this narration sound? If it is, what does it mean?
2. I have read your articles about an-Nisa 34, but there are scholars who talk about hitting with the tip of a miswak. How do we know that the beating mentioned in the verse is not beating the face and giving her a black eye?  What if he the verse means beating in that way?
3. For example, there is a man who kicks his wife and throws her on the ground. Should we support the man when he beats his wife if his wife is rebellious (commits nushuz)?  
4. If there were Shari’ah, would there be a punishment for a man who beat his wife in the street and gave her a black eye? If yes, what would it be?

Dear Brother / Sister,

First of all, we should state that the fact that the Prophet (pbuh) did not practice beating shows that this permission was meant as a potential deterrent, rather than being put into practice.

Besides, anyone who exceeds the limits set by the religion will be punished, no matter who he is, be it a husband, a judge or a prosecutor. That is the basic criterion.

 After this brief information, let us deal with the questions:

Answer 1:

In the narration, Umar (ra) narrated it from the Prophet (pbuh) as marfu. (1)

However, the chain of narrators in all the sources is the same and weak.

The narrator named Abdurrahman al-Musli, in particular, is weak by the consensus of hadith scholars. (2)

The information in a narration in which Umar (ra) is included shows that the information “Do not ask any man why he beats his wife” is weak:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Do not beat women, who are the servants of Allah!” After a while, when Umar came and complained by saying, “O Messenger of Allah! The women have rebelled against their husbands”, he allowed them to be beaten. Then, many women talked to the wives of the Messenger of Allah and complained to them about their husbands. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah said:

“Many women talked to the family of Muhammad and complained about their husbands (for beatings). Those husbands are not the good ones among you.” (3)

It means that a good man does not beat his wife, and even if she commits ill-conduct, he finds and must find good ways and means to reform her.

The reason for the revelation of verse 34 of the chapter of an-Nisa is as follows:

The wife of Sad b. Rabia, one of the prominent men of Ansar, Habiba, committed ill-conduct and rebelled against her husband. Thereupon, he slapped her. Her father immediately took her to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and complained to him. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “We will definitely apply qisas (retaliation).”

Thereupon, the verse in question was sent down. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “We wanted to do one thing and Allah willed something else. What Allah wills is definitely good.” (4)

It is understood from this narration that there is no punishment for a husband who justifiably beats his wife with something very simple, such as a miswak, in a mild manner, without injuring her, without leaving any marks, without touching her face or sensitive parts.

However, if he exceeds these limits, he will have wronged her and deserves punishment.

Answer 2:

In fact, the Prophet (pbuh) explained this verse concisely with the words “darban ghayra mubarrihin...” (A light blow that does not injure and leaves no trace...). (5)

We can give examples of some explanations regarding the issue:

- Ata said “with something like miswak” and Hasan Basri said “with something that does not hurt.” (6)

- Qurtubi reports the following narration “provided that it does not hurt”. (7)

- When Abdullah b. Abbas was asked about the measure of the phrase “something that does not hurt”, he replied as follows: “with something like a miswak”. (8)

- Ibn Kathir adds the following phrase to the explanation in Ibn Abi Hatim’s Tafsir: “without harming any organ and without hurting”. (9)

Answer 3:

We do not support any form of violence. Allah’s decree on beating is a deterrent permission. The fact that the Prophet (pbuh) did not use this permission and did not want it to be used is an attitude foreseeing that this deterrent permission, which is aimed at preventing the woman’s ill-conduct that can disrupt the family life, should not be put into practice.

To sum up, the permission given by the Quran is aimed at restraining women, frightening them and preventing them from excessive behavior. The Sunnah’s stance is aimed at restraining men and preventing them from bullying and violence.

Answer 4:

“…As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).” (Nisa, 4/34)

In the last sentence of the verse, “but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all)” for a man who unjustly beats a woman, or who violates the Quranic permission when he has a right to do so, and hence commits cruelty, at least a tazir punishment (a penalty prescribed by the judge) is in question. That is the answer to the question regarding the issue.

Footnotes:

1) see Abu Dawud, Nikah 43; Ibn Majah, Nikah 51; Ibn Hanbal, 1/20.
2) see al-Kattan, Bayanul-wahmi wal-iham, 5/524; Dhahabi, Mizanul-I’tidal, 2/602; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhibut-Tahdhib,6/304; Ahmad Shakir, Musnadu Ahmad, 1/77.
3) Abu Dawud, Nikah 42; Ibn Maca, Nikah 51.
4) see Elmalılı, Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, the interpretation of the verse in question.
5) see Muslim, Hajj 147; Abu Dawud, Manasik 58; Ibn Majah, Manasik 84; Darimi, Manasik 34.
6) Ibn Abi Hatim, Tafsirul-Quranil-Azim, Makkah 1417/1997, 3/18.
7) al-Kurtubi, al-Jami’ li-Ahkamil-Quran, Cairo, 1416/1996, 5/173.
8) Qurtubi, ibid.
9) Ibn Kathir, Tafsirul-Quranil-Azim, Riyad, 1420/1999, 2/395.

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