English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Quran (2010)

by Maulana Muhammad Ali

Quran: Search & listen

Chapter 4: Al-Nisa — Women (Revealed at Madinah: 24 sections, 176 verses)

Section 6 (Verses 4:34–4:42): Disagreement between Husband and Wife

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Translation:

اَلرِّجَالُ قَوّٰمُوۡنَ عَلَی النِّسَآءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللّٰہُ بَعۡضَہُمۡ عَلٰی بَعۡضٍ وَّ بِمَاۤ اَنۡفَقُوۡا مِنۡ اَمۡوَالِہِمۡ ؕ فَالصّٰلِحٰتُ قٰنِتٰتٌ حٰفِظٰتٌ لِّلۡغَیۡبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ اللّٰہُ ؕ وَ الّٰتِیۡ تَخَافُوۡنَ نُشُوۡزَہُنَّ فَعِظُوۡہُنَّ وَ اہۡجُرُوۡہُنَّ فِی الۡمَضَاجِعِ وَ اضۡرِبُوۡہُنَّ ۚ فَاِنۡ اَطَعۡنَکُمۡ فَلَا تَبۡغُوۡا عَلَیۡہِنَّ سَبِیۡلًا ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ کَانَ عَلِیًّا کَبِیۡرًا ﴿۳۴﴾

4:34 Men are the maintainers of women, with what Allah has given some of them above others and with what they spend out of their wealth. So the good women are obedient (to Allah),1 guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded.2 And (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the beds3 and turn them away (from wrongdoing).4 So if they obey you, do not seek a way against them. Surely Allah is ever Exalted, Great.

وَ اِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ شِقَاقَ بَیۡنِہِمَا فَابۡعَثُوۡا حَکَمًا مِّنۡ اَہۡلِہٖ وَ حَکَمًا مِّنۡ اَہۡلِہَا ۚ اِنۡ یُّرِیۡدَاۤ اِصۡلَاحًا یُّوَفِّقِ اللّٰہُ بَیۡنَہُمَا ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ کَانَ عَلِیۡمًا خَبِیۡرًا ﴿۳۵﴾

4:35 And if you fear a breach between the two, appoint an arbiter from his people and an arbiter from her people. If they both desire agreement, Allah will effect harmony between them. Surely Allah is ever Knowing, Aware.5

وَ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰہَ وَ لَا تُشۡرِکُوۡا بِہٖ شَیۡئًا وَّ بِالۡوَالِدَیۡنِ اِحۡسَانًا وَّ بِذِی الۡقُرۡبٰی وَ الۡیَتٰمٰی وَ الۡمَسٰکِیۡنِ وَ الۡجَارِ ذِی الۡقُرۡبٰی وَ الۡجَارِ الۡجُنُبِ وَ الصَّاحِبِ بِالۡجَنۡۢبِ وَ ابۡنِ السَّبِیۡلِ ۙ وَ مَا مَلَکَتۡ اَیۡمَانُکُمۡ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُحِبُّ مَنۡ کَانَ مُخۡتَالًا فَخُوۡرَا ﴿ۙ۳۶﴾

4:36 And serve Allah, and do not set up any partner with Him, and be good to the parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the neighbour of (your) kin and the alien neighbour,6 and the companion in a journey and the traveller and those whom your right hands possess.7 Surely Allah does not love such as are proud, boastful,

ۣالَّذِیۡنَ یَبۡخَلُوۡنَ وَ یَاۡمُرُوۡنَ النَّاسَ بِالۡبُخۡلِ وَ یَکۡتُمُوۡنَ مَاۤ اٰتٰہُمُ اللّٰہُ مِنۡ فَضۡلِہٖ ؕ وَ اَعۡتَدۡنَا لِلۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ عَذَابًا مُّہِیۡنًا ﴿ۚ۳۷﴾

4:37 who are miserly and tell people to be miserly and hide what Allah has given them out of His grace. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment —

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ یُنۡفِقُوۡنَ اَمۡوَالَہُمۡ رِئَآءَ النَّاسِ وَ لَا یُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِاللّٰہِ وَ لَا بِالۡیَوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ ؕ وَ مَنۡ یَّکُنِ الشَّیۡطٰنُ لَہٗ قَرِیۡنًا فَسَآءَ قَرِیۡنًا ﴿۳۸﴾

4:38 and those who spend their wealth to be seen by people and do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day. And as for him whose companion is the devil, an evil companion is he!

وَ مَاذَا عَلَیۡہِمۡ لَوۡ اٰمَنُوۡا بِاللّٰہِ وَ الۡیَوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ وَ اَنۡفَقُوۡا مِمَّا رَزَقَہُمُ اللّٰہُ ؕ وَ کَانَ اللّٰہُ بِہِمۡ عَلِیۡمًا ﴿۳۹﴾

4:39 And what (harm) would it do them if they believe in Allah and the Last Day and spend (on good works) out of what Allah has given them? And Allah is ever Knower of them.

اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یَظۡلِمُ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّۃٍ ۚ وَ اِنۡ تَکُ حَسَنَۃً یُّضٰعِفۡہَا وَ یُؤۡتِ مِنۡ لَّدُنۡہُ اَجۡرًا عَظِیۡمًا ﴿۴۰﴾

4:40 Surely Allah does not wrong (anyone even by) the weight of an atom; and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.8

فَکَیۡفَ اِذَا جِئۡنَا مِنۡ کُلِّ اُمَّۃٍۭ بِشَہِیۡدٍ وَّ جِئۡنَا بِکَ عَلٰی ہٰۤؤُلَآءِ شَہِیۡدًا ﴿ؕ۴۱﴾؃

4:41 But how will it be when We bring from every people a witness and bring you as a witness against these?9

یَوۡمَئِذٍ یَّوَدُّ الَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡا وَ عَصَوُا الرَّسُوۡلَ لَوۡ تُسَوّٰی بِہِمُ الۡاَرۡضُ ؕ وَ لَا یَکۡتُمُوۡنَ اللّٰہَ حَدِیۡثًا ﴿٪۴۲﴾

4:42 On that day will those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger desire that the earth were levelled with them. And they can hide no fact from Allah.

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Commentary:

  1. Obedience here signifies obedience to Allah. This significance of the word is made clear by a comparison with 33:31, 33:35, and 66:5. ↩︎
  2. This refers to their guarding the husband’s rights. The two qualifi­cations of a good wife as given here are her obedience to God and chastity. ↩︎
  3. The word translated here as desertion, when used about a woman in connection with her husband, means her rising against her husband. This is ex­plained by the commentators in a number of ways; for example, her leaving the husband’s place and taking up an abode which he does not like or that the wife resisted her husband and hated him and deserted him. The remedy for her correc­tion is that she is to be admonished, but if she persists in the wrong course, her bed is to be separated, i.e. a cessation of sexual relations. ↩︎
  4. Editor’s Note: The words translated as “turn them away” use the term ḍarb, and have often been translated as “beat them”. Maulana Muhammad Ali rendered them as “chastise them” and explained that very slight chastisement was allowed only in extreme cases, which should not leave an impression, and further that this permission is meant only for the crass type of people in society among whom such chastisement is acceptable. However, as he pointed out in his footnotes on verses 2:60 and 2:73, the verb ḍarb signifies “all kinds of actions except a few”; and apart from striking it is used to mean, for example, marching on, setting forth a parable, and likening. In these other senses it is commonly used in the Quran. It is used in 43:5 as meaning to turn (something) away: “Shall We then turn away the Reminder from you…?”, which is how Maulana Muhammad Ali and many other translators have rendered this verse. This sense seems to be applicable here. Thus the meaning here would be that by admonishing and, if necessary, breaking off sexual relations, the husband should turn the wife away from her wrong course, or it may mean that if these measures fail he should turn her away from himself, i.e. divorce her. It may be added that the Quran clearly forbids a man from causing injury to his wife. In its rules for divorce, husbands are told about their wives: “retain them with kindness or let them go with kind­ness and do not retain them for injury” (2:231), “retain them with kindness or part from them with kindness … do not injure them in order to impose hardship upon them” (65:2, 65:6). In fact, only a few verses prior to v. 34 above, in v. 19, husbands have been instructed as follows about their wives: “Nor should you cause them hardship… And treat them kindly. Then if you hate them, it may be that you dislike a thing while Allah has placed abundant good in it”. ↩︎
  5. This verse lays down the procedure for divorce. It is not for the husband to put away his wife; it is the business of the judge to decide the case. He is required to appoint two arbiters, one belonging to the wife’s family and the other to the husband’s. These two arbiters will find out the facts, but their objec­tive must be to effect a reconciliation between the parties. If all hopes of recon­ciliation fail, a divorce is allowed, but the final decision for divorce rests with the judge who is legally entitled to pronounce a divorce. Cases were decided in accor­d­ance with these directions in the early days of Islam. ↩︎
  6. The neighbour of kin may mean a neighbour who is a relative or a Muslim neighbour, and the alien neighbour is either a neighbour not related or a neighbour of an alien religion. Thus the charity of Islam is not limited to one’s own people or one’s own co-religionists, but is extended to others also. (Editor’s Note: The companion in a journey or the traveller, mentioned after neighbours, could belong to any people or any religion. Indeed, the parents, near of kin, orphans and needy mentioned at the beginning could also be non-Muslims and it would be a Muslim’s duty to do good to them regardless of their religion.) ↩︎
  7. By those whom your right hands possess are meant all those with whose care you are entrusted, so that it includes even animals over which one has control. While dealing with the rights of women, the Quran generalizes the law of doing good to others, so much so that it requires goodness to be extended even to a fellow-traveller. If even companions whose company is so short-lived are to be treated generously, how generous must a man be to her who is the companion of his whole life! ↩︎
  8. Such is the ever-recurring description of the preponderance of mercy in Divine nature: good done is always multiplied and evil nullified by God. ↩︎
  9. The prophet sent to a people is frequently spoken of as being a wit­ness in respect of them, and by these are here meant the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. It appears that the people spoken of here are Muslims who disobey the Prophet, and hence the Prophet’s anxiety for the later generations of his followers. This is made clear in the verse that follows in the words those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger. Disobedience amounts to disbelief in practice. ↩︎

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