Afundamental principle of the Quran’s mode of address is that although it addresses the whole society through the Prophet’s tongue, practical directives always relate to those roles that are clearly under discussion in the context. A general address does not prove general liability; the determination of responsibility is always made by the nature of the directives and the roles that the context highlights.
This reality can be observed in many Quranic verses. Regarding orphans it is said: “If you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphans” (Surah Al-Nisa 4:3). Here the address is general, but the command applies only to those who are guardians of orphans. Similarly, in the rulings of suckling (razah), the address is collective, but responsibility is placed only upon the mother and the father. The entire society can neither breastfeed children nor bear their maintenance.
This is a basic reality of the Quranic style: even if the address is general, the command always remains specific in accordance with the role that the context has highlighted. An address of the same nature appears in Surah An- Nisa (4), verse 34. It is stated:
ِاَلرِِّجَالُ قَوّٰمُوۡنَ عَلَی النِِّسَآْءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللّٰہُ بَعۡضَہُمۡ عَلٰی بَعۡضٍ وَّ بِمَاۤ اَنۡفَقُوۡا مِنۡ اَمۡوَال ہِمۡ ؕ فَالصّٰلِحٰتُ قٰنِتٰتٌ حٰفِظٰتٌ لِِّلۡغَيۡبِ بِمَا ۡحَفِظَ اللّٰہُ ؕ وَ الّٰتِیۡ تَخَافُوۡنَ نُشُوۡزَہُنَّ فَعِظُوۡہُنَّ وَ اہ ؕ ًجُرُوۡہُنَّ فِی الۡمَضَاجِعِ وَ اضۡرِبُوۡہُنَّ ۚ فَاِنۡ اَطَعۡنَکُمۡ فََلَ تَبۡغُوۡا عَلَيۡہِنَّ سَبِيَۡل اِنَّ اللّٰہَ کَانَ عَلِيًّا کَبِيۡرًا.
Men are caretakers over women because Allah has given some of them preference over others and because they spend of their wealth. So righteous women are obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded it. And those from whom you fear rebellion—admonish them, leave them alone in their beds, and discipline them. Then if they obey you, seek no way against them. Indeed, Allah is Most High, Most Great.
Here too the address appears general, but the entire context is firmly established upon the mutual relationship of husband and wife, their responsibilities, and their internal order. The mention of guardianship (qiwamah), the determination of women’s responsibilities, their guarding in the unseen, and then the three stages of reform in case of negligence in those responsibilities—all of these constitute decisive evidence that the real addressees here are the husband and wife alone, not all segments of society.
Someone may say that since the address is in the plural form, society may also be an addressee along with the husband in the disciplinary stages. The words are: wallati takhafuna nushuzahunna fa izuhunna wahjuruhunna fil mazaji wazribuhunna. In our view, this opinion is completely contrary to the context, because from the beginning to the end of the verse, the entire discourse rests upon the role and responsibility of the husband alone.
At this very point, the Quran itself directly addresses the party responsible for implementing this discipline and thereby decisively determines who the real addressee of these directives is. It is stated:
فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا.
Then if they obey you, seek no way against them.
Here, the pronoun ‘ ْكُم’ cannot refer to anyone other than the husband, because obedience is always related to the party with whom the marital contract exists. A wife’s obedience pertains to the husband, not to society. Society is neither a guardian nor does the concept of obedience or disobedience apply to it. Hence, to regard both the husband and society as addressees at the same time is completely contrary to practical reality and the context. This pronoun decisively indicates that the addressees of this directive are exclusively the husbands.
At this point, it is also especially necessary to clarify that among these three reformative stages, the second stage— ‘وَ ابْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ (wa-ihjurūhunna fī al-maḍājiʿ — “and leave them in the beds”)—cannot, in any respect, be a directive related to society. This is because ‘مضاجِع’(maḍājiʿ — “beds / places of lying down”) refers to places of lying down, that is, beds and sleeping chambers, and this is a sphere which, by nature, custom, and practice, relates exclusively to the mutual relationship of husband and wife. Society neither shares anyone’s bed nor has the authority to intervene in the private residential arrangement of spouses. The instruction to withdraw from the bed can relate only to the party with whom the woman has a marital relationship, in whose house she resides, and with whom she lives her married life.
In reality, this expression is a metaphor for abstaining from sexual relations, which the Quran has expressed in its outward and tangible form. This is the well-known literary style of the Quran that it conveys extremely delicate and private matters not directly, but in a dignified and allusive manner.
Thus, the qualification ‘فِي َِالْمضاجِع (fī al-maḍājiʿ — “in the beds”) itself is decisive proof that the addressee here is not society, but only the husband, and transferring this directive into any collective or social framework is not only contrary to the context, but also bears no conformity with practical reality. However, the Quran has indeed included society at a specific point in marital matters, and that is when the issue moves out of the internal sphere of rebellion (nushuz) and turns into the social crisis of discord (shiqaq). It is stated:
وَ اِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ شِقَاقَ بَيۡنِہِمَا
And if you fear discord between the two… (Surah An-Nisa 4:35)
Here, by the plural pronoun in ‘ ۡخِفۡتُم’ are meant the elders of the family or those socially responsible people who may have to face the wider effects of this disorder, and by saying ‘بَیْنِہِمَا’ the husband and wife are distinctly separated as two parties. Thus, shiqaq is the stage where all avenues of internal reform within the household are exhausted, the matter turns into the danger of breakdown or injustice, and its effects begin to spread to the family and then to society at large. At this point, by directing the appointment of arbitrators, the Quran has involved society, because here the issue no longer remains internal but formally assumes a social character.
In this way, the Quran has clearly distinguished between the two stages of nushuz and shiqaq. Nushuz is purely a marital and internal matter; therefore, the addressee of verse 34 is only the husband. Shiqaq is a social issue; therefore, in verse 35, society is addressed.
In verse 34, ‘ ۡفَاِن ۡاَطَعۡنَکُم’, and in verse 35, ‘ َو ۡاِن ۡخِفۡتُم’, both decisively determine the scope of authority and the real addressee of their respective stages.
This entire style can also be understood through a simple worldly example. Suppose a ruler addresses his nation generally and says that officers have been appointed over your departments because responsibilities and resources have been entrusted to them. Thus, those subordinates who adopt a correct attitude should adhere to their directives, and those about whom you fear that they are deviating from instructions—first admonish them, then, if necessary, reduce their powers, and if even then they do not reform, take disciplinary action against them. Then, if they obey you, seek no path of excess against them. Here the address is to the whole nation, but the practical directives are only for the officer, because all the mentioned measures fall within his jurisdiction.
But if the same ruler then goes on to say that if you fear that the disagreement between the officer and the subordinate has grown to the extent that internal reform is no longer possible and its effects are reaching the entire department, then you people should appoint impartial arbitrators from both sides to examine the dispute. If they desire reform, We will bring about reconciliation between them. At this point, the direction of address changes, and the addressee is no longer the officer, but those collective authorities who are responsible for safeguarding the overall order of the department, because at this level the conflict becomes a threat to the institution.
In this example, two stages are clearly evident: the first stage pertains purely to the mutual order between the officer and the subordinate, and all measures are entrusted to that role. The second stage is when the disagreement escalates to such an extent that the order of the department begins to be affected, and thus the matter enters the domain of higher authority. This same order has been established by the Quran in the two stages of nushuz and shiqaq. Nushuz is an internal issue, whose addressee is only the husband, and shiqaq is a social issue, in which the responsible members of society are addressed.