Wife Beating

Surah An-Nisa' "The Women" 4.34 authorizes wife beating. 4:34. Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allh has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allh and to their husbands), and guard in the husband's absence what Allh orders them to guard (e.g. their chastity, their husband's property, etc.). As to those women on whose part you see ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance). Surely, Allh is Ever Most High, Most Great. The parenthetical expressions are extra canonical, they are not in the Arabic text. To verify this fact, visit Corpus Qur'an.

bundle of thin grass

Surah Saad 38:44 refers back to the Book of Job. For the details, refer to Tafsir Ibn kathir: "Ayyub" 38:44. "And take in your hand a bundle of thin grass and strike therewith (your wife), and break not your oath . Truly! We found him patient. How excellent (a) slave! Verily, he was ever oftreturning in repentance (to Us)!

Conflicting hadith
Moe was not always consistent. In this hadith collected by Abu Dawud, he counsels against wife beating. What could go wrong? Women became emboldened against their husbands and rebellious, so Moe gave permission to beat them as shown above. Bruised wives complained to Moe's wives, so he declared that the best of men do not beat their wives. Sunan Abu DawudBook 11, Number 2138: Narrated Mu'awiyah ibn Haydah: I said: Apostle of Allah, how should we approach our wives and how should we leave them? He replied: Approach your tilth when or how you will, give her (your wife) food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her. Sunan Abu Dawud Book 11, Number 2141:

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Narrated Abdullah ibn AbuDhubab: Iyas ibn Abdullah ibn AbuDhubab reported the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) as saying: Do not beat Allah's handmaidens, but when Umar came to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Women have become emboldened towards their husbands, he (the Prophet) gave permission to beat them. Then many women came round the family of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) complaining against their husbands. So the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Many women have gone round Muhammad's family complaining against their husbands. They are not the best among you.

No Account
Moe said that Allah will not ask husbands why they beat their wives. The bottom line: Muslims will not be damned for wife beating. Sunan Abu Dawud Book 11, Number 2142: Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.

Caliph's Order
In this hadith, we find Umar ordering a man to beat his jealous wife and contradicted the common interpretation of the hadith on adult suckling. The Muslim had been diddling his slave girl, making his wife jealous, so, interpreting the hadith in the usual way, she gave her milk to the slave girl, intending to make her unlawful to the Muslim, who brought his complaint to the caliph. Malik's Muwatta Book 30, Number 30.2.13: Yahya related to me from Malik that Abdullah ibn Dinar said, "A man came to Abdullah ibn Umar when I was with him at the place where judgments were given and asked him about the suckling of an older person. Abdullah ibn Umar replied, 'A man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, 'I have a slave-girl and I used to have intercourse with her. My wife went to her and suckled her. When I went to the girl, my wife told me to watch out, because she had suckled her!' Umar told him to beat his wife and to go to his slave-girl because kinship by suckling was only by the suckling of the young.' "

Camels & slaves

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Next we have Moe comparing wife beating to camel & slave beating. Does the ASPCA know about this? Sahih Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 68:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Zam'a: The Prophet forbade laughing at a person who passes wind, and said, "How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then he may embrace (sleep with) her?" And Hisham said, "As he beats his slave"

Moe hit Aisha

Sahih Muslim Book 004, Number 2127 is rather long, so I will quote only the significant sentence. Moe went out at night, Aisha sneaked out and followed him and was caught. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain, and then said: Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?

habitual
1869. It was mated that Abu Bakr bin Abu Jahm bin Sukhair Al-'Adawi said: "I heard Fztimah bint Qais say: 'The Messenger of Allih said to me: "When you become lawfuII['] tell me." So I told him.' Then Mu'iwiyah, Abu Jahm bin Sukhair and Ushah bin Zaid proposed to her. The Messenger of Allah said: 'As for Mu'iwiyah, he is a ' poor man who has no money. for Abu Jahm, he is a man who habitually beats woman. But Ushah (is good).' She gestured . with her hand, saying: 'Ushah, Uszmah!?' The Messenger of Allah said to her: 'Obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger is better for you.' She said: 'So I mamed him and I was pleased with him."' (Sahih) Sunan Ibn Majah Volume 3, Page 72

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Don't hit her face

1850. I t was narrated f rom : Hakim bin Mu'gwiyah, from his father, that a man asked the Prophet "What are the rights of the woman over her husband?" He said: "That he should feed her as he feeds himself and clothe her as he clothes himself; he should not strike her on the face nordisfigure her, and he should not abandon her except in the house (as a form of discipline)." (Hasan) 1851. It was narrated that Sulaimk bin 'Amr bin Ahwas said: "My father told me that he was present on the Farewell pilgrimage with the Messenger of allah. He praised and glorified allah and reminded and exhorted (the people). Then he said: 'I enjoin good treatment of women, for they are prisoners with you, and you have no right to treat them otherwise, unless they commit clear indecency. If they do then forsake them in their beds and hit them, but without causing injury or leaving a mark. If they obey you, then do not seek means of annoyance against them. You have rights over your women and your women have rights over you. Your rights over your women are that they are nor allow anyone whom you dislike to tread on your bedding (funiture), nor allow anyone whom you dislike to enter your houses. And their rights over you are that you

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should treat them kindly with regard to their clothing and food." (Sahih) Sunan Ibn Majah Volume 3, Pg. 61