An-Nisa: (34) Men are protectors...
(Men are protectors of women), meaning: their status is to oversee them, just as rulers oversee the subjects, by commanding, forbidding, and the like. The choice of the nominal sentence combined with the intensive form [of the noun] serves to indicate their ingrained and established character in possessing the attribute ascribed to them. In this expression, there is an allusion to the reason for men’s entitlement to a larger share of the inheritance, just as there was a symbol in what preceded regarding the variation in the levels of entitlement.
The Almighty, Glory be to Him, provided the justification for the ruling through two factors—one divinely gifted and one earned—saying, Exalted is His Majesty: (because Allah has given preference to some of them over others). The Ba [in bima] is for causation, and it relates to "protectors" (just as ala [on/over] does), and there is no objection here at all. It is also permitted that it relates to an omitted entity that functions as a state [hal] of their pronoun, with the Ba being for causation or association. The Ma is an infinitive particle, and the plural pronoun refers to both groups by way of generalization—meaning they are protectors over them because of Allah the Almighty’s favoring of them over them, or they are entitled to that because of the favoring, or they are associated with the favoring. He refrained from using the pronoun—He, Glory be to Him, did not say, "because Allah favored them [the men] over them [the women]"—to signal the ultimate clarity of the matter and the lack of any need for explicit mention of the one favored and the one favored over. It has also been said: it is for the sake of ambiguity, to indicate that some women are better than many men, but this is baseless.
Similarly, He did not specify the means by which the favoring occurs, as a symbol that it is self-evident and requires no detail. It has been reported that they [women] are deficient in intellect and religion, and men are the opposite, as is not hidden. For this reason, men were exclusively designated with the Message and Prophethood according to the most popular view, as well as the Major and Minor Imamate, the establishment of rituals such as the Adhan, the Iqamah, the sermon, the Friday prayer, and the Takbirat al-Tashriq according to our great Imam [Abu Hanifa]. Also, they have the sole right to divorce and, according to the Shafi'i school, the contract of marriage; they are exclusively designated for testimony in capital cases, the larger share in inheritance, and the Ta'sib [residuary inheritance], among other things.
(And because they spend of their wealth) is a conjunction to what precedes it. The Ba relates to what the first Ba related to, and the Ma is an infinitive particle or a relative pronoun whose referent is omitted. The Min [in min amwalihim] is for partitive meaning or origin, relating to "spend" or to an omitted entity that functions as a state of the omitted referent. By "the spent thing," as Mujahid said, is meant the dowry (Mahr). It is permissible for "what they spend" to mean that which encompasses this and the maintenance provided to them.
The verse, as narrated from Muqatil, was revealed regarding Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' ibn 'Amr, who was one of the Naqibs [leaders/chieftains], and his wife, Habiba bint Zayd ibn Abi Zuhayr. She had become rebellious (Nashaz) against him, so he slapped her. Her father went with her to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: "I gave him my noble daughter, and he slapped her." The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Let her exact retribution from her husband." She left with her father to exact retribution, but the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Return, for Jibril, peace be upon him, has come to me and Allah has revealed this verse." He then recited it and said: "We desired a matter, and Allah, the Almighty, desired a matter, and that which Allah, the Almighty, desired is better."
Al-Kalbi said: It was revealed regarding Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' and his wife Khawla bint Muhammad ibn Salama, and he mentioned the story. Some said: It was revealed regarding Jamila bint 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy and her husband Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, and he mentioned something similar.
The verse is used as evidence that a husband may discipline his wife and prevent her from leaving the house, and that she is obligated to obey him unless it involves disobedience to Allah the Almighty. In the tradition: "If I were to command anyone to prostrate to anyone, I would have commanded the wife to prostrate to her husband." It is also used as evidence by those who permit the annulment of marriage due to the husband's inability to provide maintenance and clothing—which is the position of Malik and al-Shafi'i—because if he ceases to be a protector over her, he has failed the purpose intended by marriage. In our [Hanafi] view, there is no annulment, due to the Almighty's saying: (And if the debtor is in difficulty, then grant him time until a time of ease). It is also used as evidence by those who grant the husband legal guardianship (hajr) over his wife regarding her person and property, so she may not act upon them except with his permission, because the Almighty made the man a "protector" (Qawwam), which is an intensive form meaning one who oversees a thing and preserves it.
(So the righteous women)—meaning among them—(are obedient). This begins the detailing of their conditions and the manner of overseeing them according to the variation in their states. The meaning is: the righteous ones among them are obedient to Allah the Almighty and to their husbands, (guarding the unseen), meaning: they guard themselves and their private parts during the absence of their husbands. Al-Thawri and Qatada said: Or they guard, in the absence of their husbands, what must be guarded of their own selves and property. Thus, the Lam [in lil-ghayb] is in the sense of "in," and al-ghayb means absence; the definite article Al- is a substitute for the genitive possessive, according to one opinion. It is also possible that the meaning is: guarding the obligations of the unseen, i.e., what they are required to guard during [the husband's] absence. Thus, the Lam remains in its literal sense.
It has been said: The meaning is guarding their husbands' secrets, i.e., what transpires between them in private, including competition, aversion, and the slapping mentioned in the report. In this case, there is no need for what was said regarding the Lam or interpreting the unseen as absence. However, what Ibn Jarir, al-Bayhaqi, and others narrated from the hadith of Abu Hurayra, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "The best of women is the one who, when you look at her, pleases you; when you command her, she obeys you; and when you are away from her, she guards you in your property and herself," then he recited, "Men are protectors..." up to "the unseen"—this makes this opinion unlikely. Some people claimed it is more appropriate due to the reason for revelation.
(For what Allah has guarded), meaning: for what Allah the Almighty has guarded for them regarding their dowries and by obligating their husbands to provide for them; this was said by al-Zajjaj. It is also said: by Allah the Almighty’s guarding of them and His protecting them; were it not for Allah Almighty’s guarding and protecting them, they would not have guarded [themselves]. The Ma is either a relative pronoun or an infinitive particle. Abu Ja'far read it, "Bima hifz Allah" (with the genitive construction), and on this reading, one must posit a genitive construct like "the religion of Allah" or "His right," because no one can guard the Essence of the Almighty. The Ma is either a relative pronoun or an adjective. Many scholars rejected the infinitive particle [reading] because "guarding" (hifz) would then be devoid of an agent, as it should have been said, "Bima hafizahunna Allah" (because Allah guarded them). The answer given to this is that it is permissible for the agent to be a singular pronoun referring back to the collective of females because it is in the meaning of a genus; as if it were said: "Because of those whom Allah guarded." Ibn Jinni likened it to the saying: "For the incidents, time destroyed them." The artificiality of this, and the anomaly of abandoning the feminine, is obvious, and the like is not worthy of the Noble Order. Furthermore, the sound plural form here is for abundance; as for the definite, it is clear, and as for the indefinite, it is because it is predicated upon it, so it must correspond to it in abundance; otherwise, it would not apply to all its individuals, and this has been stipulated in Al-Durr al-Masun.
Ibn Mas'ud read: "Fal-sawalih qawanit hafizat lil-ghaybi bima hafiz Allah fa-aslihu ilayhinna" (The righteous women are obedient, guarding the unseen by what Allah has guarded, so seek reconciliation with them). Ibn Jarir added: "fa-aslihu ilayhinna" [so seek reconciliation with them].
(And those [women] from whom you fear disobedience), meaning their rising above your obedience and their defiance toward you, from the Nashz (with the shin quiescent or opened), which is the raised ground, and it takes the meaning of elevation, (then admonish them), meaning: advise them, and say to them: "Fear Allah and return from what you are upon." The outward meaning of the verse is that this is contingent upon the fear of disobedience, even if it has not occurred; otherwise, it would have been said "if they disobeyed." Perhaps this is not intended, and for this reason, in Al-Taysir, "you fear" is interpreted as "you know," which is also the view of al-Farra, as quoted by al-Tabarsi. "Fear" can come in this sense, as in the Qamus. It is also said: the meaning of "you fear" is the persistence of their disobedience or its extreme levels, such as fleeing from them in the sleeping quarters.
In Al-Bahr, he chose that there is an ellipsis in the speech; its origin is: "And those women whose disobedience you fear, and they have disobeyed, then admonish them." This is an address to the husbands and guidance for them on the way to oversee them.
(And forsake them in the beds), meaning the places of sleeping. The meaning is: leave them alone in their beds; do not take them under the covers and do not have intimacy with them. The speech is a metonymy for abandoning sexual intercourse with them. Ibn Jubayr adopted this. It is said: the meaning is to forsake them in the bed by turning your backs to them and not paying attention to them. This is narrated from Abu Ja'far, may Allah be pleased with him, and it is likely also a metonymy for abandoning intercourse. It is said: the beds mean the sleeping quarters, i.e., abandon their rooms and the place where they sleep. It is said: Fi [in] is for causation, i.e., forsake them because of the beds, meaning because of their withdrawal from sleeping together. The words of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, point to this, as narrated by Ibn Abi Shayba via Abu al-Duha. Abandonment in this view is by speech; 'Ikrimah said: by speaking harshly to her. Some claimed the meaning is to compel them to intercourse, binding them—from hajara the camel, when it is tied with a hajar (tether). Al-Zamakhshari refuted this, saying it is the interpretation of the tedious. Ibn al-Munir said: Perhaps this interpreter is supported by the Almighty's saying, (Then if they obey you), for it indicates a preceding compulsion in some matter, and the context of the beds suggests it is intercourse. Thus, al-Zamakhshari’s labeling of this interpreter as excessive is [itself] excessive—end quote. I think that if this were presented to al-Zamakhshari, he would have included its author in the string of those [tedious] interpreters and would have considered his omitting it to be negligence.
(And strike them), meaning a strike that is not severe, as narrated by Ibn Jarir from Hajjaj from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. "Not severe" is interpreted as not tearing flesh or breaking bone. From Ibn 'Abbas, it is that it is a strike with a siwak or the like. What is indicated by the context and the rational constraint is that these three matters are sequential: if the woman's disobedience is feared, she is advised, then forsaken, then struck. For if he were to reverse the order, the harsher would suffice instead of the weaker. Otherwise, the Waw does not denote sequence, and the Fa in "then admonish them" has no indication of anything more than the sequence of the collection. Therefore, the statement that it is the clearest evidence of sequence is not apparent. In Al-Kashf, the sequence is derived from the Waw entering upon parts varying in intensity and weakness, predicated upon a graduated command. Thus, the text is what indicates the sequence.
Furthermore, some of our scholars have stipulated that a husband may strike his wife for four things—and what is in the meaning of the four: neglecting adornment when the husband desires it, refusing to answer when he calls her to his bed, and—in one narration—neglecting prayer, and the ghusl, and leaving the house without a legal excuse. It is said: he may strike her whenever she angers him. From Asma bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them: "I was the fourth of four women with al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him. If he became angry with one of us, he would strike her with the wood of the clothing rack until he broke it over her." It is not hidden that bearing the annoyance of women and being patient with them is better than striking them, except for a strong cause. Ibn Sa'd and al-Bayhaqi narrated from Umm Kulthum bint al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with them, who said: "Men were forbidden from striking women, then they complained about them to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so he allowed them to strike them and then said: 'But the best of you will never strike.'"
Al-Sha'rani, may his secret be sanctified, mentioned that if a man strikes his wife, he should not hasten to have intercourse with her after the striking. He seems to have derived this from what the two Sheikhs [Bukhari and Muslim] and a group narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Zam'a, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Does one of you strike his wife as he strikes the slave, then he has intercourse with her at the end of the day?" 'Abd al-Razzaq narrated from 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, with the wording: "Is one of you not ashamed to strike his wife as he strikes the slave, striking her at the beginning of the day, then having intercourse with her at the end of it?" The report has another interpretation that is not hidden.
(Then if they obey you), meaning: if they agree with you and submit to what Allah the Almighty has obligated upon them of your obedience, as is apparent, (then do not seek a way against them), meaning: do not seek a path or a way to transgress against them, or do not wrong them by any means—through verbal rebuke, physical harm, or otherwise—and make what has passed from them as if it never happened. Thus, Baghy is either in the meaning of "seeking," and "a way" is its object, and the prepositional phrase relates to it (or it is an adjective for an indefinite noun that preceded it), or it is in the meaning of "wronging," and "a way" is in the accusative due to the removal of the preposition. From Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, the meaning is: do not demand they [love you]. The summary of the meaning is: if their outward behavior is upright for you, do not take issue with them regarding what is in their inward [state].
(Indeed, Allah is Exalted, Great). Beware of Him, for His power, Glory be to Him, over you is greater than your power over those under your hands among them. Or, it means that He, the Almighty—despite the sublimity of His status and the perfection of His Essence—overlooks your sins and turns to you in forgiveness if you repent, so you too should overlook the sins of your wives and pardon them if they repent. Or, it means that He, the Almighty, is capable of taking revenge upon you and is not pleased with the oppression of anyone. Or, it means that He, Glory be to Him, with His absolute sublimity and greatness, has not burdened you with anything except what you can bear; so, likewise, do not burden them except with what they can bear.
