A Critical View on the Theory of Preparatory Abrogation for Interpreting the Meaning of Ḍarb (hitting) in Verse 34 of Sūrat al-Nisā

One of the ways to deal with nushūz (wife’s violation of marital duties), which is presented in the verse 34 of Sūrat al-Nisā᾽ is ḍarb (hitting). The Qur’anic researchers have provided different views on the meaning and the way to interpret this verse. One of these views is the preparatory abrogation of the verse, which is developed by Ayatollah Ma‘rifat. According to this view, the order to corporal punishment of women in this verse was not really intended by God from the outset, rather the intended aim of establishing this order in the Holy Qur’an is to prepare the ground for gradually abrogating this custom from the society.
The research is to explore and collect the supporting proofs for this theory. The analysis shows that the presented supporting proofs are not strong enough to prove the theory, so the abrogation of this verse is not accepted. On the other hand, considering the philologists’ views shows that the best interpretation for the verse, which is also approved by most interpreters and Qur’an experts since long ago, is its surface meaning; that is, hitting and physically punishing the disobedient wives. However, taking the conditions and limitations presented for this ruling into consideration resolves the ambiguity and the likely objections about the issue.