toward the northern side; there he dismounted and addressed the people ﷺ with a powerful and eloquent sermon.

Among the matters he mentioned, he counseled his nation concerning women, saying: “Treat women well, for they are ʿawān in your charge.” ʿAwān is the plural of ʿāniya, meaning “a female captive.” In other words, once a woman comes under her husband’s authority she is like a captive in the hands of her captor, for he possesses authority over her, and whoever possesses authority over another resembles a captor.

He ﷺ then clarified that we have no right to strike them unless they commit an obvious fāḥisha (indecency). Here, fāḥisha means disobedience to the husband, as indicated by the verse: “But if they obey you, then do not seek a way against them” (Q. 4:34). Thus, if a wife neglects her husband’s rightful due, he should first admonish her, then refrain from sharing her bed, and, should she persist in defiance, strike her with a blow that is not injurious.

These, then, are the stages of disciplining a woman who commits a clear fāḥisha—that is, who disobeys her husband in what is obligatory toward him: “But if they obey you, then do not seek a way against them,” meaning: do not strike them nor withhold their rights once they have fulfilled their duty.

Next, he ﷺ explained both their rights and their duties, saying: “Your right over them is that they do not allow anyone you dislike to step upon your bedding.” This means they must not permit anyone—whether on the sleeping mat or elsewhere—whom you detest to sit on the furnishings of your house. This, and Allah knows best, is given as an example; the intended meaning is that they must not honor anyone you dislike by seating him on the cushions, serving him food, and the like.

He also said that they must not admit into your homes anyone you dislike; that is, no one may enter the house whom you find objectionable—even if it be her own mother or father. She is not permitted to admit