
Andrew Bolt
Saudi seminars on domestic violence should be more “don’t do” and less “how to”:
A Saudi judge has told a seminar on domestic violence that it is OK for a man to slap his wife for lavish spending…
Jihad Watch offers context:
Saudi judge misunderstands Qur’an, says it’s ok to slap wife
The Qur’an (4:34) tells men to beat their disobedient wives after first warning them and then sending them to sleep in separate beds. This is, of course, an extremely controversial verse, and many Islamic spokesmen and others in the West deny that it has anything to do with wife-beating, so it is worth noting how several translators render the key word here, ÙˆÙŽØ§Ø¶Ù’Ø±ÙØ¨ÙوهÙÙ†ÙŽÙ‘, waidriboohunna.
Pickthall: “and scourge them”
Yusuf Ali: “(And last) beat them (lightly)”
Al-Hilali/Khan: “(and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful)”
Shakir: “and beat them”
Sher Ali: “and chastise them”
Khalifa: “then you may (as a last alternative) beat them”
Arberry: “and beat them”
Rodwell: “and scourge them”
Sale: “and chastise them”
Asad: “then beat them”
Laleh Bakhtiar, in a new translation that has received wide publicity, translates it as “go away from them.” However, in light of this unanimity among the translators, both Muslim and non-Muslim, this seems difficult to sustain – all of these authorities got the passage wrong until Bakhtiar? But her impulse is understandable, as many Muslims today regard this verse with acute embarrassment. Muhammad Asad adduces numerous traditions in which Muhammad “forbade the beating of any woman,” concluding that wife-beating is “barely permissible, and should preferably be avoided.”
- Now watch for Islamo- trolls telling us we got it all wrong and that domestic violence is much worse in our countries…
Continue reading Saudi judge: how to beat your wife correctly