Quranic Verse 4:34 Doesn’t Say Men Are Superior to Women
By Saquib Salim, New Age Islam
5 May 2023
Socially constructed gender hierarchies are often justified
by religious texts, logic, and even science. Muslim society is not immune to
such deliberate distortions. To prove that Allah has appointed men as masters
of women verse 34 of Chapter 4 of the Quran is the most quoted argument by
Muslim males.
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The verse, ٱلرِّجَالُ قَوَّٰمُونَ عَلَى ٱلنِّسَآءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ ٱللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ
عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ وَبِمَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ ۚ,
(4:34) is often (loosely) translated as that men have been made masters of
women because some of them (baʿḏahum) are bestowed with
superiority over a certain few (ʿala
baʿḍin) because they spend
over them. But the interpretation is not unanimous. While most of the Muslim
world has used this particular verse to prove that Allah has made women
subordinate to men, a lot of Islamic scholars argue otherwise.
Maulvi Syed Mumtaz Ali, a 19th-century Islamic scholar from
Deoband, argues, “There is no mention of master and servant relationship in
this verse and if anything, it proves eminence of women and puts men in a
position of attendant and servant of women”. In his opinion the explanation of
this verse by several scholars that men are masters of women because they
provide for them doesn’t hold good on closer scrutiny.
Mumtaz points out that it is erroneous to translate Qawwam
as master and very few scholars have translated this word as master or lord. He
quotes Shah Rafiuddin and Majid Shah Wali-Ullah translating this word as the
one who establishes or takes care of. Another Persian translation known as
Sadi’s translation of the Quran has translated this word as Karguzaar,
which means servant or employee.
Moreover, according to Mumtaz, the verse says that some of
you have mastery over some of the others and it does not talk about the genders
of these ‘some people’. The verse does not explicitly say that men are masters
of women, rather it tells people that some among them are superior to others.
Nowhere in the verse does it say that these masters are men and the
subordinates are women.
Mumtaz goes on to argue that even if we consider that the
verse indeed talks about men and women then also “it doesn’t explain in what
sense this superiority is being established”. Several scholars explain that the
verse establishes male superiority in two senses, they are supposed to be
ideologically more well-versed and also provide for bread. Again, Mumtaz
disagrees. If men are superior because of learning and not because of their sex
then how does the verse establish male superiority over females? Rather, the
verse puts knowledge and learning superior whereas males claim superiority by
keeping women away from education.
Arguing with logic, Mumtaz asks if we really consider that
all women are subordinate to all men in knowledge then we have to admit that
Hazrat Khadija, wife of the Prophet (PBUH), and Hazrat Fatima, daughter of the
Prophet, had lower intellect than all the males. A Muslim believes that all men
are masters of all women and cannot hold good here. He further asks can any man
claim superiority to Rabia Basri, an 8th-century woman Islamic scholar.
On providing for food, Mumtaz believes that just because the
father pays for children and employers for employees does not mean that they
have natural superiority over them.
Mumtaz explains the verse that since men used to go on tours
for trade and to earn money and women stayed at home they have been appointed
as caretakers and servants of women. Since human society is unequal in capital,
wisdom, and other social markers, therefore, a relationship between master and
subordinate exists. The verse in his view establishes that men are caretakers,
servants, or employees of women and have a duty to serve them.
No wonder most people didn’t like his explanation when
published in 1898 but no Islamic scholar rejected him as a hypocrite. He is not
the only scholar and several others have made similar arguments in the last 15
centuries. Mumtaz knew that people would not accept his explanation and thus
wrote, “If my writings could safeguard the rights of a single old woman,
anywhere in Hindustan, I would feel that I have achieved my goal”.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/quranic-verse-nisa-superior/d/129705
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