Mick Hartley

Ahmad Karima, professor of Islamic Law at Al-Azhar University in Cairo:

Instead of calling it wife beating, we can call it a way of disciplining our wives. There is a difference between a wife who makes a minor mistake and a woman who rebels against her husband. This discipline method is suitable for a rebellious wife, who oversteps the bounds set by Allah. This is the meaning of Allah's words in Surat-al-Nisa: "As for the women of whom you fear disobedience, admonish them, forsake them in bed, and beat them. Then, if they obey you, do not seek ways to harm them." While discussing this verse, the jurisprudents did not interpret that admonishing wives, forsaking them in bed, and beating them while causing harm is a necessary religious duty.

So beating is fine if they're disobedient, but it's not a religious duty. Glad we've cleared that up…