The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 207
PT. 5 AN-NISA' means high, elevated or lofty in rank, condition or state. ( which is one of the attributive names of God (e. g. 2:256) means, the High; the Most High; He above Whom is nothing. is also an attributive name of God (e. g. 13:10) meaning, He Who is Great or Supremely Great, the High or the Most High; One Higher than every other high one. means, come thou, as if said by a man in a high place when calling upon a man in a low place, but is also used generally (Lane). Commentary: The verse gives two reasons why man has been made the head of the family: (a) his superior mental and physical powers; (b) his being bread- earner and maintainer of the family. It is natural and fair that he who earns and supplies the money should have the final say in the disposal of affairs. The word (obedient) spoken of wives may mean either obedient to God, or to husbands. The expression, guard the secrets of their husbands, means that when the husbands are at home, they are obedient to them and guard their secrets; and when they are away, they not only guard their secrets but take care of their property and guard their own chastity. The clause, leave them alone in their beds, may mean: (a) abstention from conjugal relations with them; (b) sleeping in separate beds; or (c) ceasing to talk to them. The use of the word "beds" also incidentally implies that the disobedient wives are to stay 647 CH. 4 at home and are not to be allowed to leave or be turned out of their homes. The measures mentioned in the verse are not to remain in force for an indefinite period, for wives are not to be left like a thing suspended (4:130). Four months, according to the Quran, is the utmost limit for abstention from conjugal relations, i. e. for practical separation (2:227). If the husband deems the affair to be sufficiently grave, he will have to observe the conditions mentioned in 4:16. Regarding "chastisement" mentioned as a last resort in the verse under comment a Companion reports the Holy Prophet to have said that if at all a Muslim has to beat his wife, the beating should not be such as to leave any mark on her body (Tirmidhi, ch. on Rida). According to Abu Dāwūd and Nasa'ī, the Holy Prophet forbade the beating of women at all, but when 'Umar complained that they had become refractory, he gave the permission with the aforementioned condition; but on complaint of ill- treatment of women by their husbands he indignantly said that the husbands who beat their wives were not the best among men (Kathīr, iii). On another occasion the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: "The best among you is he who treats his wife best and I am the best of you in this respect" (Tirmidhi). The Divine attributes of "High and Great" mentioned at the end of the verse are also intended to warn