In the Name of Allāh,

the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful

Praise is due to Allāh, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, the last of prophets, on his family, and all his companions.

Resolution No. 180 (6/19) Domestic Violence

The Council of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, holding its 19th session in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, on 1–5 Jumādā al-Ūlā 1430h (26–30 April 2009),

Having examined the research papers submitted to the Academy concern- ing Domestic Violence,

Having listened to the discussions on the subject,

Having recalled that Islam has clearly indicated the necessity to found family life on noble values of compassion and grace, legislated rules that ensure stability and peace of mind, and emphasized that deviation from this path will lead to family violence,

Resolves

First: Concept of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence means any hurtful and harsh words or deeds that one of the family members addresses to the other, causing bodily or moral injury to that member or the family as a whole. Hence, family violence is a prohibited behavior because it does not conform to Shariah objectives, including the preservation of the self and intellect because it contradicts the divine path that calls for basing family relationships on kindness and benevolence.

Second: Acts that are not considered as violence or involve gender discrim- ination according to Shariah include the following:

1. Abidance by Shariah rulings that regulate sexual relationship between married couples and forbid all forms of coupling, which do not comply with
2. Non-provision of pregnancy prevention medicines to unmarried
3. Prevention of abortion unless for exceptional medical cases that qualify for Shariah permission.
4. Criminalization of

1. Right of husband to prevent his wife from travelling alone except with his permission and subject to Shariah criteria.
2. Right of each of the married couple to have sexual satisfaction with his/ her spouse for purpose of sticking to chastity and continence, even when the spouse does not have a desire for it.
3. The fact that the fundamental responsibility of a woman is towards her maternity and household duties, while a man is basically responsible for family sustenance.
4. Proxy of guardian in concluding marriage on behalf of virgin
5. Inheritance and wills determined by Shariah in cases of inheritance and last wills.
6. Divorce within its specified Shariah
7. Justice-based

Third: Islamic Approach for Solving Marital Disputes

In dealing with marital disputes, especially those relating to the recalcitrance of wife and her persistent disobedience to her husband, the following rules should be observed:

1. Avoidance of cursing, calling names, and
2. When the husband is dealing directly with his wife, he should abide by the well-known disciplinary approach adopted by Shariah, starting from preaching, then desertion (suspension of marital relationship) and finally non-violent beating, which should be closer to brandishing than to real Resorting to painful beating can never be the best solution be- cause the Prophet SAW said, “The best of you never beat.” We should seek guidance in the approach of our Prophet SAW, who had never beaten a woman.
3. Resorting to the two arbitrators’ solution when a dispute becomes
4. Resorting to divorce arrangements according to Shariah rules defining di- vorce’s three stages or types, including remediable,26 final27 and absolute final,28 in addition to times of divorce infliction. However, it should be recalled that divorce, though permitted, is the most disliked act to Allāh the

• rujʿī, liable to be revoked within a given period
• bainuna sughra, final but open to remarriage with a new marriage contract. 28 bainuna kubra, final with no possibility of

Recommendations

1. At the Family level

   1. Concentration on faith-based education as a way to social
   2. Emphasizing fundamental Shariah aspects pertaining to building up of family on cooperation, kindness, mercy, tranquiliy, benevolence, piety, and good company between husband and
   3. Adoption of dialogue as an approach for solving internal family

2. At the Level of Institutions and Formal Bodies

   1. Organizing seminars and workshops to enlighten families about the dangers of family violence and laying down the Shariah origins for a dialogue-based
   2. Calling upon educational institutions to teach subjects dealing with family violence in all its types and forms.
   3. Coordination among concerned government deparments and bodies to adopt a unified and harmonious policy for preserving fundamentals of the Ummah in the face of westernization influences relating in the realm of family affairs.
   4. Directing media to shoulder its responsibility towards the mission of rightly guided social upbringing.

3. At the Level of Muslim Countries

   1. All international conventions regarding women and children and drafts laws pertaining to this subject should be presented before signature and issuance to concerned Shariah and law experts to check them against Shariah requirements and reject those that contradict the rules and objectives of At the same time, governments of Muslim countries are requested to review all conventions that have already been signed to identify those clauses that contradict Shariah rulings and reject them, without prejudice to their positive aspects, which turn out to be in compliance with Shariah.
   2. Rejection of any aspect of international charters and conventions that calls for abolishing natural differences between roles of man and woman in the This includes calling for absolute equality between males and females in inheritance, denial of Shariah’s divorce system, call for eliminating curatorship of man in the family, or showing a negative attitude towards any other fundamentals of

Shariah.

1. Rejection of any and all clause of international conventions which permit practices involving the violation of Shariah rules and human nature such as legalization of gay marriage, sexual relations outside marriage, male and female intermingle in a Shariah-prohibited form and other clauses which collide with provisions of
2. Calling upon legislative bodies to enact laws that criminalize all forms of violence among family members, as the Shariah prohibits all
3. Restricting power of application of Shariah rulings to concerned judicial
4. Emphasizing the need for admitting specialty of Islamic culture and Islamic rulings and respecting reservations that governments of Muslim countries show about some clauses of family-related international charters and conventions, which contradict the principles and rules of Shariah.
5. Formation of a committee to prepare a code of rights and duties of family members, in order to be used for drafting a family law that complies with Shariah.

Indeed, Allāh is All-Knowing.