Men cannot keep their wives against their will – 2:231

“Do not force them to stay against their will, as a revenge.” 2:231

In many countries that still implement a version of Islam which is based on medieval male dominated cultures, we find that the man is given a number of privileges which are not God given.

In marriage, it is customary that men are given what is referred to as the “esma”. This means that they alone have the right to divorce their wives. They can divorce their wives instantly and without seeking a court order. However if a wife seeks a divorce she must obtain a court order.

But this is very difficult in these countries since their courts are also guided by many male dominated rules that make it virtually impossible for a woman to obtain divorce unless she can prove that her husband is a criminal, a mad man or better still, an alien!

Where did men acquire these non Quranic rights? The obvious answer is not surprisingly from the hadith which was written over 200 years after the death of the prophet and also against his will.

Many Muslim scholars and Imams claim that the hadith explains the Quran! However in this case, as in hundreds of other cases, it can be shown that the hadith clearly violates a clear Quranic law (2:231). These contradictions go to show that the bulk of these hadith could not have been the true words of the prophet.

According to 2:231 a man is prohibited from keeping his wife against her wishes, and must consent to her wishes to end a marriage. Normally he has every right to try to save the marriage and also seek a council from the two families (4:35) but if all attempts fail, he cannot keep his wife against her wishes.

This is the law of God and any person or authority not ruling by God’s law are defined in the Quran as disbelievers:

“Then we revealed to you this scripture (Quran), truthfully, confirming previous scriptures, and superseding them. You shall rule among them in accordance with God’s revelations” 5:48

“Those who do not rule in accordance with God’s revelations are the disbelievers.” 5:44

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