Saudi judge: It's OK to slap spendthrift wives
As a Muslim woman I find this disturbing on so many levels
I hate to see such sexist remarks under the guise of Islamic Law. There is nothing in Islam that says that women share a responsibility for domestic violence or that violence against one's spouse is ever acceptable. This is one man's opinion, that unfortunately has horrible consequences for many women in Saudi
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As an ex-Muslim feminist, I am not surprised. The Quran does allow physical punishment to be used by a husband against his wife. From Dawood's translation: "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme." (Quran, 4:34) Call me Islamophobic or whatever, but the cleric was simply ruling as a good Muslim would according to precedent set by Islamic law and the Quran.
I have actually read an interpretation that daraba in 4:34 simply means to "refrain from intercourse with" rather than to strike. My translation of this verse reads "Men are the support of women as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them). So women who are virtuous are obedient to God and guard the hidden as God has guarded it. As for women you feel are averse, talk to them suasively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them) and go to bed with them (when they are willing)."
My interpretation includes as a footnote "Raghib points out that daraba metaphorically means to have intercourse, and quotes the expression darab al-fahl an-naqah, 'the stud camel covered the she-camel,' which is quoted by Lisan al-'Arab. It cannot be taken here to mean 'to strike them (women). This view is strengthened by the Prophet's authentic hadith found in a number of authorities, including Bukhari and Muslim: 'Could any of you beat your wife as he would a slave, and then lie with her in the eveing?' There are other traditions in Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad bin Hanbal and others to the effect that he forbade the beating of ANY woman, saying, 'Never beat God's handmaidens.'"
So while I know the interpretation that this verse essentially encourages men to beat their wives, there certainly isn't such unanimity within Muslim scholarship that the statement of this cleric must be accepted as "simply ruling as a good Muslim would". It IS possible to criticize his statement even from within Islam.
this judge is contradicting himself.
"He said that women and men shared responsibility, but added that 'nobody puts even a fraction of blame' on women, the newspaper said."
How can that even be a sentence?
I am not versed in the Quran, but from my experience with Muslim families, it is not a given that domestic abuse is ok. It is similar to Christianity. If you look hard enough you can find a verse that says it is ok.
And this was just a remark he made right? He did not make a ruling that if a woman spends to much she deserves to be slapped. Not if he just said it excuses it, but saying something and putting out a judgment are to vastly different things.
Yes, from what I understand it was a remark made at a seminar on domestic violence, not a ruling.
But I'm glad for the outcry that has been raised against it, both where he said it and globally. That's how awareness is raised and things change, by looking at what we believe and questioning. Just the fact that they were holding a seminar about domestic violence tells me that not everyone holds the same views or interpretation of the verse Heina quoted as this judge.
Is it OK to slap Judge Hamad Al-Razine for being an asshole?
Because SR 900 [US$ 240] is NOT a lot of money for a nice dress, especially in the major cities of Saudi Arabia, where the cost of living is almost as high as it is here in the states.