What are a woman's rights regarding protection from domestic abuse in Islam?

Islam does not permit a husband to abuse his wife physically or emotionally. Aisha reported that the Prophet ﷺ never struck anyone with his hand, not a wife nor a servant, throughout his entire life (Sahih Muslim 2328), setting the clearest possible practical example. The Quran instructs husbands to live with their wives in a fair and kind manner (4:19) and describes the marital relationship as one meant to provide tranquility, love, and mercy (30:21), language wholly incompatible with abuse or domination. A frequently misunderstood verse addressing serious marital discord (4:34) is often misread in isolation; many scholars, drawing on the Prophet's ﷺ own example and the classical usage of the term involved, explain its final, most misapplied step as referring to something symbolic and non-injurious, never a license to strike in a way that causes pain, leaves a mark, or is carried out in anger. Islamic legal tradition additionally grants an abused wife the right to seek judicial divorce, protection, and financial redress through the courts. Where domestic violence occurs in Muslim communities today, it represents a violation of Islamic teaching, not an application of it.

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