Islam...how misunderstood are thou!

Last night, I was chilling with a very good friend of mine. I won't mention his religion, because it's not important. Suffice it to say that he wasn't Muslim, and he wanted me to clear up his misconceptions regarding Islamic beliefs. Somewhere in our discussion, he said he was concerned that the Quran does not respect women. He alluded to two examples, the first that there is a verse that allows husbands to beat their wives, and the second that there is a verse that requires four witnesses to prove that a woman had been raped.

While he was talking, I remember rubbing my brow and feeling...tired. Yeah, that's the emotion. I felt tired of being on the backfoot all the time, of having to explain to people that Islam has acquired a bad name but is widely misunderstood, by both Muslims and non-Muslims. I was frustrated, barely fighting the urge to climb a rooftop and shout out to the world that Islam is a peace-loving, flexible religion, and that if you have any doubt, invest your time researching it yourself instead of thinking such ill about it!

Later on that night, I realized I'd merely been through a dose of self-pity and, well, stupidity. After all, if I claim that Islam is my ideology, I have to be the one backing it up. I have to be the one doin' the explaining. If I (and other members of this ideology) don't, who else will??

First of all, though, I want to give a disclaimer and make one thing perfectly clear. I'm only defending Islam here. I'm only defending the religion revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). I'm not in any way extending that to saying that everything Muslims do today is right. So if there are no women's rights in Saudi Arabia, or if there are honor killings in villages in Pakistan, that's not a fault of Islam - that's the fault of those particular Muslims, because they aren't following their religion, or are interpreting it to suit their own needs. There will always be a conflict between the teachings and the pupils, and it's our misfortune today that this rift yawns wide, like hell's maw. Unfortunately, these lost pupils are giving the teachings a bad name...a really really bad name, because in the end, it's only these pupils that the world sees.

Now that that clarification is out of the way, we can move on, and I'd like to examine both of the issues that my friend raised, starting with his concern that women can be beaten in Islam. So without further ado, I present an excerpt from Yusuf Ali's translation of 4:34, the Quranic verse that contains this teaching.

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)

Without delving into the axioms on which Islam is based, can you honestly read that and tell me that Islam is a religion that encourages beating your wife? I mean, just look at the construction of the verse: If you suspect that your wife is disloyal, talk to her first. The next step is refusing to share her bed, which is allegorical for negative incentives. The last step is the beating part and that doesn't mean a WWE cage death match. The words in parantheses explain context, and that context is to admonish lightly. The word beating is an english translation of the associated Arabic word, and unfortunately has really harsh connotations. These bring up images of a black-eye or a brawl in the street, which are a bit extreme, to say the very least.

Of course, this verse has been misused a heck of a lot by some Muslims, a lot of whom have probably not even read it or tried to understand its meaning. In reality, you can't take any one verse in the Quran on its own, which goes back to what I was mentioning about axioms earlier on. Islam has certain fundamental values. One should be aware of one's intentions when doing anything, to ensure they don't defeat these fundamental values. So the truth is that a true practicing Muslim would probably never even reach the third step (i.e., the beating part) because he would be questioning his own intentions and motives.

So, to put things in perspective with an example. Suppose you find out your wife is sleeping with somebody behind your back...a passionate love affair of sorts. You'd talk to her first about it. If that doesn't do anything, you would use negative incentives, maybe ignoring her for a bit. You do that and find she's still sleeping around. Now you have permission, at least from Islam's point of view, to admonish her lightly. What if you decide to let her have it, and (oh Lord) give her a good sock on the face? Well, you've probably overstepped the line by a couple of miles then. If anything, you committed the action in anger and retaliation, and that violates the fundamental axioms of having sound intentions for everything you do. But if I can't hit her when I'm angry, you say, when will I ever hit her? Why on earth would I hit her when I've cooled off? Exactly...that's what I meant when I said that daring to lift your hand to your spouse (to somebody you're supposed to protect) is not that easy to do without violating basic axioms and values of Islam, hence the point that a true believer would probably never even do it.

Oh but wait...what if there's a law against it in the country you're in? Then you can't do it...plain and simple. As per Islamic tenets, you can't violate the laws of the land you're in.

How about a divorce, then? Well, that's the thing...Islam actually discourages divorce, meaning you can't just go out and hire a divorce lawyer. First of all, both of you need to try and resolve your differences with the help of arbitrators from your familes. If that doesn't work, you should separate for 4 months and then try to reconcile again. If that doesn't work...you're home-free. You can file for divorce. But that doesn't make sense, you might say. What about that notion that the husband can just divorce the wife by saying so three times? Well, buddy boy, as you can see from my description, things just ain't like that.

Surprised yet? Maybe you are, maybe you're not. Maybe you're just shrugging your shoulders, thinking that you don't really give a damn. That's all fine with me, coz it's all off my chest now. I'm going to move on to the next issue, which is that Islam apparently requires a raped woman to present four witnesses to prove the crime.

The following quote is from the Quran (24:4-5)

And those who accuse chaste women [of adultery] and then do not produce four witnesses — lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient. Except for those who repent thereafter and reform, for indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

Again, I ask the same question. How on earth does one go from reading the above verse (on its own, by the way, and not even without any supporting historical context) to claiming that a raped woman needs four witnesses to prove her crime? If anything, this verse is defending women's rights, not suffocating them. All it's saying is if you have the nerve to slander a reputable woman of committing adultery, you'd better be able to prove it beyond doubt. The four witnesses act as proof beyond doubt, but the Quran accepts a proof of crime if the proof can provide full confidence. So in today's modern world, for example, a DNA sample would be the equivalent (and hence, Islam is flexible...yet another misconception touched upon today.)

Finally, I'd like to wrap up by citing an account of the Holy Prophet (SAW), taken from Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 38, #4366, which essentially shows that only the testimony of a raped woman is required to prove the crime. With that, I'd like to sign off, and leave things as they are to your own judgement.

"Narrated Wa’il ibn Hujr: "When a woman went out in the time of the Prophet (P) for prayer, a man attacked her and overpowered [raped] her. She shouted and he went off, and when a man came by, she said: That [man] did such and such to me. And when a company of the Emigrants came by, she said: That man did such and such to me. They went and seized the man whom they thought had had intercourse with her and brought him to her.

She said: Yes, this is he. Then they brought him to the Apostle of Allah (P).

When he [the Prophet] was about to pass sentence, the man who [actually] had assaulted her stood up and said: Apostle of Allah, I am the man who did it to her.

He [the Prophet] said to her: Go away, for Allah has forgiven you. But he told the man some good words [Abu Dawud said: "meaning the man who was seized"], and of the man who had had intercourse with her, he said: "Stone him to death."


References:

• The Quran
  
• http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/