The Most Controversial Qur'anic Verse
Why 4:34 Does Not Promote Violence Against Women
By (author) John Andrew Morrow author of The Most Controversial Quranic Verse: Why 4:34 Does Not Promote Contributions by Charles Upton, Dr. Abdülaziz Bayindir Founder of the Süleymaniye Foundation and Professor of Islamic Law at the U
Publication date:
07 July 2020Length of book:
350 pagesPublisher
Hamilton BooksDimensions:
239x162mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780761872092
A fourteen centuries old consensus by Islamic religious authorities has upheld the belief that God has granted husbands the right to beat their wives. Previously, the only element up for debate was the degree of severity, the instrument of the beating, and the limit to the damage allowed. This startling assertion, which shocks human sensibilities, is confirmed by hundreds of Qur’anic commentaries and works of Islamic jurisprudence authored over the course of the past millennia and a half.
In this pivotal, courageous, and timely analysis, which works diligently and minutely to separate truth from falsehood, right from wrong, the moral from the immoral, and the ethical from the unethical, Dr. John Andrew Morrow provides an exhaustive study of the second part of the Qur’anic text, 4:34, dispelling the belief that Islam allows domestic violence.
Like Titan, who bears the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders, Morrow takes on the entire corpora of Islamic Tradition. Along the way, the author delicately and defiantly dispels misogynistic misinterpretations of the Word of God while slashing and burning the sexist sayings that were attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. In so doing, he may well save Islam from those traditionalists and misogynists who claim to speak in God’s name.
In this pivotal, courageous, and timely analysis, which works diligently and minutely to separate truth from falsehood, right from wrong, the moral from the immoral, and the ethical from the unethical, Dr. John Andrew Morrow provides an exhaustive study of the second part of the Qur’anic text, 4:34, dispelling the belief that Islam allows domestic violence.
Like Titan, who bears the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders, Morrow takes on the entire corpora of Islamic Tradition. Along the way, the author delicately and defiantly dispels misogynistic misinterpretations of the Word of God while slashing and burning the sexist sayings that were attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. In so doing, he may well save Islam from those traditionalists and misogynists who claim to speak in God’s name.
This study can be praised for two points. It’s uniquely courageous for implementing a holistic and multidisciplinary approach within Islamic studies— which is still rare—and for the amount and wide range of source texts Morrow was able to study and include in the research. This gives the reader a detailed insight in the classic and contemporary diverse options Islam offers, yet convincingly argues to interpret ḍaraba in a nonviolent way.