The Qur'an allows (or, perhaps, commands) men to beat their wives into
subservience. If a wife doesn't listen to her husband, the husband should
admonish her. If that doesn't work, he is to make her sleep in a separate
bed. However, if the wife still doesn't respect her husband's authority,
even after she has been banished to another bed, the husband is told to
physically punish her. Consider three translations of the following verse:
Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to
excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support
of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret what Allah
hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and
banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek
not
a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High Exalted, Great.[7]
Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to
excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women
are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as
to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them
alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not
seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.[8]
Men are the protectors And maintainers of women, Because Allah has given
The one more (strength) Than the other, and because They support them From
their means. Therefore the righteous women Are devoutly obedient, and
guard
In (the husband's) absence What Allah would have them guard. 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).[9]
Muslim translators have struggled with this passage and have sought ways
to
water down its clear meaning. For instance, Ali adds the word "lightly" to
his translation, which doesn't occur in the original Arabic. However, even
if we allow Ali to tone down the parts of the Qur'an he finds offensive,
the
verse still allows husbands to beat their wives. Hence, according to God's
last and greatest prophet, spousal abuse is permissible, and perhaps even
required. Modern nations that have established laws against spousal abuse
are therefore in direct violation of Allah's command in the Qur'an.
FACT #2: According to Muhammad, women lack common sense because their
minds
are deficient. Of course, this declaration didn't go unchallenged. To his
credit, Muhammad allowed women to question him about their intellectual
deficiencies. His response to these questions was illuminating:
[Muhammad said]: O womenfolk, you should give charity and ask much
forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of Hell. A wise
lady
among them said: Why is it, Messenger of Allah, that our folk is in bulk
in
Hell? Upon this the Holy Prophet observed: You curse too much and are
ungrateful to your spouses. I have seen none lacking in common sense and
failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom of the wise,
besides you. Upon this the woman remarked: What is wrong with our common
sense and with religion? He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Your lack of
common
sense (can be well judged from the fact) that the evidence of two women is
equal to one man, that is a proof of the lack of common sense.[10]
The Prophet (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Isn't
the
witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said: "Yes."
He said: "This is because of the deficiency of her mind."[11]
Notice here that, in the first passage, Muhammad justifies his claim that
women lack common sense by stating that their testimony is worth half that
of a man. Yet, in the second passage, Muhammad justifies his claim that
the
testimony of women is half as good as men's testimony by stating that
women
have deficient minds. This is a classic example of circular reasoning. We
can imagine a conversation between Muhammad and a more critical
questioner:
Questioner: "O Muhammad! Why is Hell full of women?"
Muhammad: "Because they lack common sense!"
Questioner: "How do you know they lack common sense?"
Muhammad: "Their lack of common sense can be seen from the fact
that their testimony is only half as good as a man's testimony."
Questioner: "But why is their testimony half as good as a
man's?"
Muhammad: "Because of the deficiency of their minds!"
Questioner: "How do you know that their minds are deficient?"
Muhammad: "The deficiency of their minds can be seen from the
fact that their testimony is worth half the testimony of a man."
Questioner: "Again, why is their testimony half as good?"
Muhammad: "Because their minds are deficient!"
Questioner: "Maybe the only thing deficient here is your
argument."
Notice also that Muhammad's claims here are falsifiable. That is, they can
be tested and, in theory, disproved. We could easily set up an experiment
to
see whether Muhammad's statements about the inferiority of a woman's
intellect are correct. We could also set up an experiment in which a group
of men and a group of women each witness the same accident. If the
testimonies gathered from the male group are twice as accurate as the
testimonies taken from the female group, Muhammad's statements will have
been vindicated. On the other hand, if the reports from the two groups are
similar, we can dismiss Muhammad's ideas as the sexist comments of a man
affected by cultural biases.
FACT #3: Muhammad offered women little hope for the afterlife. Indeed, he
clearly states that most of the inhabitants of hell are women who were
ungrateful to their husbands (though he never suggests that ungrateful
husbands will receive similar punishment[12]). This means that, after
being
admonished, banished to a separate bed, and beaten by her husband, a
willful
woman can look forward to an eternity in hell:
The Prophet (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "I saw
paradise and stretched my hands towards a bunch (of its fruits) and had I
taken it, you would have eaten from it as long as the world remains. I
also
saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that
most of the inhabitants were women." The people asked: "O Allah's Apostle!
Why is it so?" The Prophet (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Because of their ungratefulness." It was asked whether they are
ungrateful to Allah. The Prophet (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "They are ungrateful to their companions of life (husbands) and
ungrateful to good deeds."[13]
[Muhammad said], "O women! Give to charity, for I have seen that the
majority of the dwellers of Hell-Fire were women." The women asked, "O
Allah's
Apostle! What is the reason for it?" He said: "O women! You curse
frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone
more
deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women, some of you can
lead a cautious man astray."[14]
However, even if these women were to stop cursing and to start thanking
their husbands, their prospects for the afterlife would still leave much
to
be desired. According to Muhammad, Muslim women can look forward to an
eternity of standing in corners, waiting for men to come and have sex with
them:
Allah's Apostle (The blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "In
Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles
wide,
in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the
other
corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them."[15]
Hence, good Muslim women who respect their husbands in this life will have
the opportunity to continue their sexual service to their husbands in
"Paradise." Apparently, Muhammad considered this to be an appropriate view
of Paradise; many women would rightly disagree.
FACT #4: The Qur'an permits Muslims to have sex with their female captives
and slaves (i.e. those "whom their right hands possess"). As the Muslim
armies raided town after town, they captured many women, who would often
be
sold or traded. Yet, since the Muslim men were a long way from their
wives,
they needed wisdom from God to guide them in their treatment of their
female
captives:
The Believers must (Eventually) win through-Those who humble themselves
In
their prayers; Who avoid vain talk; Who are active in deeds Of charity;
Who
abstain from sex, Except with those joined To them in the marriage bond,
Or
(the captives) whom Their right hands possess-For (in their case) they are
Free from blame.[16]
Not so those devoted To Prayer-Those who remain steadfast To their
prayer;
And those in whose wealth Is a recognized right For the (needy) who asks
And
him who is prevented (For some reason from asking); And those who hold To
the truth of the Day Of Judgement; And those who fear The displeasure of
their Lord-For their Lord's displeasure Is the opposite of Peace And
Tranquility-And those who guard Their chastity, Except with their wives
And
the (captives) whom Their right hands possess-For (then) they are not To
be
blamed.[17]
The Muslim practice of having sex with captured women is reported often in
the Hadith, where we find Muslims perplexed about what to do with their
captives. It wasn't long before Allah sent a revelation allowing the
confused soldiers to sleep with the women:
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) sent an army to Autas and
encountered the enemy and fought with them. Having overcome them and taken
them captives, the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)
seemed to refrain from having intercourse with captive women because of
their husbands being polytheists. Then Allah, Most High, sent down
regarding
that: "And women already married, except those whom your right hands
possess
(4:24)" (i.e. they were lawful for them when their Idda period came to an
end).[18]
We went out with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the
expedition to the Bi'l-Mustaliq and took captive some excellent Arab
women;
and we desired them, for we were suffering from the absence of our wives,
(but at the same time) we also desired ransom for them. So we decided to
have sexual intercourse with them but by observing azl (withdrawing the
male
sexual organ before emission of semen to avoid conception). But we said:
We
are doing an act whereas Allah's Messenger is amongst us; why not ask him?
So we asked Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he said: It
does
not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to
the
Day of Resurrection will be born.[19]
We went out with Allah's Apostle (The blessing and peace of Allah be
upon
him) for the invasion of Bun Al-Mustaliq and we received captives from
among
the Arab captives and we desired women and celibacy became hard on us and
we
loved to do coitus interruptus [same as "azl" above]. So when we intended
to
do coitus interruptus, we said: "How can we do coitus interruptus before
asking Allah's Apostle (The blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) who
is
present among us? We asked (him) about it and he said: "It is better for
you
not to do so, for if any soul till the Day of Resurrection is predestined
to
exist, it will exist."[20]
Jabir bin Abdullah (Allah be pleased with them) reported that a person
asked Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) saying: I have a slave-girl
and I practice azl with her, whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be
upon
him) said: This cannot prevent that which Allah has decreed. The person
then
came (after some time) and said: Messenger of Allah, the slave-girl about
whom I talked to you has conceived, whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace
be upon him) said: I am the servant of Allah and His Messenger.[21]
The Muslims had originally refrained from having sex with their captives
because they were the wives of polytheists; nevertheless, God sent a
message
saying that they were free to have sex with the women. Modern Muslims
believe that this sexual intercourse would only have occurred after
marriage, but this view is clearly false. Muhammad's followers said that
they wanted to have sex with the women but that they still wanted to sell
them. They asked Muhammad about performing coitus interruptus, but
Muhammad
answered that it doesn't really matter. All children who are destined to
be
born will be born, so it doesn't matter if a man practices coitus
interruptus or not.
Thus, the Qur'an permits men to have sex with their female captives (whose
husbands were sometimes still alive[22]), and the Hadith provides examples
of when this was practiced. Yet we must follow this fact through to its
logical conclusion. The Muslims decided to have sex with their captives,
whom they were later going to sell. These captives were women whose
husbands
and families had been exterminated by the Muslims. Would these women
gladly
consent to sexual intercourse with the men who had killed their families?
Probably not. But since the Qur'an and Muhammad authorized sex with these
captives, it is highly probable that Muhammad allowed Muslims to rape
their
captives.
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