Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (12/448)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

—when he turns away from her, fails to meet a duty owed to her, or fulfils it only reluctantly and sluggishly, and the like.

We say: Allah has explained this in His saying: “If a woman fears ill-treatment or aversion from her husband, there is no blame upon them if they make a settlement between themselves” [al-Nisa’ 4:128]. In one of the seven canonical readings, it is read: “if they reconcile with one another” (1).

His saying, “ill-treatment,” means that he acts arrogantly toward her and finds her disagreeable; and “aversion” means that he turns away from her and does not fulfil his duties toward her—not in bed, nor outside of it—as though he were not even a husband. Allah, Most High, says: “There is no blame upon them if they make a settlement between themselves,” meaning that they reach a settlement themselves.

Allah, Most High, did not mention admonition, striking, abandonment in bed, or the appointment of two arbiters. The wisdom in this is very clear: the basic principle is that a man is a guardian and maintainer over a woman, so his turning away from her may be for the purpose of correcting her, unlike the reverse situation. That is why, in the former case, he admonishes her, abandons her in bed, and strikes her; whereas she does not admonish him, abandon him, or strike him. Rather, there must be a settlement between them.

If they cannot reach a settlement between themselves, there is nothing wrong with relatives intervening—not in the capacity of arbiters, but in the capacity of reconcilers. This is why Allah did not mention adjudication here; rather, He mentioned reconciliation and encouraged it in His saying: “Reconciliation is better.” This sentence consists of only two words, yet it is not confined to this particular case; rather, it applies to everything. This is part of the Quran’s eloquence: whatever is achieved through reconciliation is good—better than strict division of rights, for in such division, no matter what happens, one of them will retain some resentment toward the other who prevailed over him.

(1) This reading was adopted by all the other Quran reciters, except Asim, Hamzah, and al-Kisa'i, as stated in al-Ahwazi's al-Wajiz (p. 163).

يعرض عنها، ولا يلبي طلبها الواجب عليه، أو يلبيه لكن بتكره، وتثاقل، وما أشبه ذلك. نقول: الله بيَّن هذا في قوله: ﴿وَإِنِ امْرَأَةٌ خَافَتْ مِنْ بَعْلِهَا نُشُوزًا أَوْ إِعْرَاضًا فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَنْ يُصْلِحَا بَيْنَهُمَا صُلْحًا﴾، وفي قراءة سبعية أن يصَّالحا (١)، وقوله: ﴿نُشُوزًا﴾ يعني يترفع عليها ويستهجنها ﴿أَوْ إِعْرَاضًا﴾ أي: يعرض عنها ولا يقوم بواجبها، لا في الفراش، ولا في غير الفراش، ولا كأنه زوج، قال الله ﷿: ﴿فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَنْ يُصْلِحَا بَيْنَهُمَا صُلْحًا﴾ أي يتصالحا بأنفسهما، وما ذكر الله ﷿ لا وعظاً ولا ضرباً، ولا هجراً، ولا حكمين، والحكمة في هذا ظاهرة جداً؛ لأن الأصل أن الرجل قوَّام على المرأة، فقد يكون إعراضه من أجل إصلاحها، بخلاف العكس، ولهذا هناك يعظها ويهجرها ويضربها، وهي لا تعظه ولا تهجره ولا تضربه، ولكن لا بد من مصالحة بينهما، فإذا لم يمكن أن يتصالحا فيما بينهما، فلا حرج في أن يتدخل الأقارب، لا على سبيل الحَكَم، ولكن على سبيل الإصلاح، ولهذا ما ذكر الله هنا المحاكمة، بل ذكر الإصلاح وندب إليه في قوله: ﴿وَالصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ﴾ فهذه الجملة كلمتان فقط، وليست خاصة بهذه القضية، بل في كل شيء، وهي من بلاغة القرآن، فكل شيء يكون عن طريق الصلح فهو خير، خيرٌ من المحاصة؛ فإن في المحاصة مهما كان سيكون في نفسه شيء على

(١) قرأ بها سائر القرّاء عدا عاصم وحمزة والكسائي، كما في الوجيز للأهوازي (١٦٣).