Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (2/208)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

from Sa'id, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The best of women is the woman who pleases you when you look at her, obeys you when you command her, and, when you are absent from her, safeguards herself and your property.” (1) He then recited: “Men are caretakers of women”—the rest of the verse.

“And those whose defiance you fear”: that is, their disobedience. The root meaning of nushuz is haughtiness and elevation; hence nashz refers to an elevated place. “Then admonish them”: by warning them of Allah and exhorting them verbally. “And forsake them”: meaning, if they do not desist from that through verbal admonition, then forsake them “in their beds.” Ibn Abbas said: He turns his back to her in bed and does not speak to her. Others said: He withdraws from her to another bed. “And strike them”: meaning, if they do not desist after this abandonment, then strike them in a manner that is neither severe nor disfiguring. Ata said: with a siwak (tooth-stick).

It is related in a hadith from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he said: “A woman’s right is that you feed her when you eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, do not strike her face, do not insult her, and do not forsake her except within the home.” (2)

“But if they obey you, then seek no way against them”: that is, do not commit wrongs against them. Ibn Uyaynah said: Do not require them to love you, for their hearts are not in their hands. “Indeed, Allah is Ever Most High, Most Great”: exalted above imposing upon His servants what they are unable to bear.

The apparent wording of the verse indicates that a husband may combine admonition, abandonment, and striking. Some therefore adopted its apparent meaning and said: When defiance becomes evident in her, he combines these measures. They understood “fear” in His saying, “And those whose defiance you fear,” to mean knowledge, as in His saying, exalted is He: “Whoever fears injustice or sin on the part of a testator” (al-Baqarah, 2:182), meaning, whoever knows. Others understood fear to mean apprehension rather than actual knowledge, as in His saying, exalted is He: “And if you fear treachery from a people” (al-Anfal, 8:58). They said: These measures are ordered according to the degree of the offenses. Thus, if he fears her defiance because signs of it appear in her harshness and bad character, he admonishes her; 84/b if she displays defiance, he forsakes her; and if she persists in it, he strikes her.

“And if you fear a breach between them, appoint an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from her family. If they both desire reconciliation, Allah will bring about harmony between them. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” (35)

Allah’s saying, exalted is He: “And if you fear a breach between them”: that is, a breach between the spouses. Fear here means certainty, and it was also said:

(1) Recorded by al-Nasai in Kitab al-Nikah (The Book of Marriage), chapter: “Which Women Are Best?” 6:68; authenticated by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 2:161-162, according to the criteria of Muslim; and by al-Tabari in al-Tafsir, 8:295. Ibn Hajar also attributed it to al-Bazzar, with the wording: “The righteous woman, when he looks at her ...” He said: “It was narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Hakim, and al-Tirmidhi through Mujahid from Ibn Abbas. There is also a report on this subject from Abu Umamah, recorded by Ibn Majah, though its chain of transmission is broken.” See al-Kafi al-Shaf, p. 43. (2) Recorded by Abu Dawud in Kitab al-Nikah (The Book of Marriage), chapter: “The Wife’s Right over Her Husband,” 3:67-68; by Ibn Majah in Kitab al-Nikah, chapter: “The Wife’s Right over the Husband,” no. 1850, 1:594; and by Ibn Hibban, no. 1286, p. 313 of Mawarid al-Zaman. It was authenticated by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 2:187-188, and al-Dhahabi concurred with him. Al-Mundhiri also attributed it to al-Nasai in al-Sunan al-Kubra. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 4:446-447, on the authority of Muawiyah ibn Haydah, and by the compiler of Sharh al-Sunnah, 9:160.

عَنْ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ﵁ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: "خَيْرُ النِّسَاءِ امْرَأَةٌ إِنْ نَظَرْتَ إِلَيْهَا سَرَّتْكَ وَإِنْ أَمَرْتَهَا أَطَاعَتْكَ وَإِذَا غِبْتَ عَنْهَا حَفِظَتْكَ فِي مَالِهَا وَنَفْسِهَا" (١) ، ثُمَّ تَلَا ﴿الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ﴾ الْآيَةَ. ﴿وَاللَّاتِي تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ﴾ عِصْيَانَهُنَّ، وَأَصْلُ النُّشُوزِ: التَّكَبُّرُ وَالِارْتِفَاعُ، وَمِنْهُ النَّشْزُ لِلْمَوْضِعِ الْمُرْتَفِعِ، ﴿فَعِظُوهُنَّ﴾ بِالتَّخْوِيفِ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَالْوَعْظِ بِالْقَوْلِ، ﴿وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ﴾ يَعْنِي: إِنْ لَمْ يَنْزِعْنَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ بِالْقَوْلِ فَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ ﴿فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ﴾ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: يُوَلِّيهَا ظَهْرَهُ فِي الْفِرَاشِ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهَا، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ: يَعْتَزِلُ عَنْهَا إِلَى فَرَّاشٍ آخَرَ، ﴿وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ﴾ يَعْنِي: إِنْ لَمْ يَنْزِعْنَ مَعَ الْهِجْرَانِ فَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ ضَرْبًا غَيْرَ مُبَرِّحٍ وَلَا شَائِنٍ، وَقَالَ عَطَاءٌ: ضَرْبًا بِالسِّوَاكِ وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: "حَقُّ الْمَرْأَةِ أَنْ تُطْعِمَهَا إِذَا طَعِمْتَ وَتَكْسُوَهَا إِذَا اكْتَسَيْتَ وَلَا تَضْرِبِ الْوَجْهَ وَلَا تُقَبِّحْ وَلَا تَهْجُرْ إِلَّا فِي الْبَيْتِ" (٢) . ﴿فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا﴾ أَيْ: لَا تَجْنُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ الذُّنُوبَ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ: لَا تُكَلِّفُوهُنَّ مَحَبَّتَكُمْ فَإِنَّ الْقَلْبَ لَيْسَ بِأَيْدِيهِنَّ. ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا كَبِيرًا﴾ مُتَعَالِيًا مِنْ أَنْ يُكَلِّفَ الْعِبَادَ مَالَا يُطِيقُونَهُ، وَظَاهِرُ الْآيَةِ يَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّ الزَّوْجَ يَجْمَعُ عَلَيْهَا بَيْنَ الْوَعْظِ وَالْهِجْرَانِ وَالضَّرْبِ، فَذَهَبَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى ظَاهِرِهَا وَقَالَ: إِذَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا النُّشُوزُ جَمَعَ بَيْنَ هَذِهِ الْأَفْعَالِ، وَحَمَلَ الْخَوْفَ فِي قَوْلِهِ ﴿وَاللَّاتِي تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ﴾ عَلَى الْعِلْمِ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: "فَمَنْ خَافَ مِنْ مُوصٍ جَنَفًا" (الْبَقَرَةِ -١٨٢) أَيْ: عَلِمَ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ حَمَلَ الْخَوْفَ عَلَى الْخَشْيَةِ لَا عَلَى حَقِيقَةِ الْعِلْمِ، كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: "وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِنْ قَوْمٍ خِيَانَةً" (الْأَنْفَالِ -٥٨) ، وَقَالَ: هَذِهِ الْأَفْعَالُ عَلَى تَرْتِيبِ الْجَرَائِمِ، فَإِنْ خَافَ نُشُوزَهَا بِأَنْ ظَهَرَتْ أَمَارَتُهُ مِنْهَا مِنَ الْمُخَاشَنَةِ وَسُوءِ الخُلقُ وَعَظَها، ٨٤/ب فَإِنْ أَبْدَتِ النُّشُوزَ هَجَرَهَا، فَإِنْ أَصَرَّتْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ ضَرَبَهَا. ﴿وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا إِنْ يُرِيدَا إِصْلَاحًا يُوَفِّقِ اللَّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا خَبِيرًا (٣٥) ﴾ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا﴾ يَعْنِي: شِقَاقًا بَيْنَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ، [وَالْخَوْفُ بِمَعْنَى الْيَقِينِ، وَقِيلَ:

(١) أخرجه النسائي في النكاح، باب أي النساء خير: ٦ / ٦٨، وصححه الحاكم في المستدرك: ٢ / ١٦١ - ١٦٢ على شرط مسلم، والطبري في التفسير: ٨ / ٢٩٥. وعزاه ابن حجر أيضا: للبزار بلفظ "المرأة الصالحة إذا نظر إليها. . . " وقال: رواه أبو داود والحاكم والترمذي من رواية مجاهد عن ابن عباس، وفي الباب عن أبي أمامة عند ابن ماجه وإسناده ساقط، انظر: الكافي الشاف ص (٤٣) . (٢) أخرجه أبو داود في النكاح، باب في حق المرأة على زوجها: ٣ / ٦٧ -٦٨، وابن ماجه في النكاح، باب في حق المرأة على الزوج برقم (١٨٥٠) : ١ / ٥٩٤، وابن حبان برقم (١٢٨٦) ص (٣١٣) من موارد الظمآن وصححه الحاكم في المستدرك: ٢ / ١٨٧ - ١٨٨، ووافقه الذهبي. وعزاه المنذري للنسائي في الكبرى. وأخرجه الإمام أحمد في المسند: ٤ / ٤٤٦ - ٤٤٧ عن معاوية بن حيدة، والمصنف في شرح السنة: ٩ / ١٦٠.