In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

On the Prohibition of Excessive Child Beating in Islamic Shariah (Law)

Abstract of a Comprehehsive Social, Educational and Legal Study of the Negative Impact of Child Beating, and the Rules Governing it in Islamic Shariah (Law )

Prepared by Professor Imam Hadd Amin Ould Al-Salek, Imam of the Old Mosque, Nouakchott, and President of the Imams and Ulema Coalition for the Rights of Women and Children in Mauritania

June 2009 Grounds for the Ruling:

Based on the words of the Almighty in His perfect scripture, “And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds,”1 and His words, “Certainly an Apostle has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous respecting you; to the believers (he is) compassionate;”2

In view of the obvious contradiction between the beating of children and the clear purport of these statements of the Glorious Koran;

Considering that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him salvation, has enjoined Muslims to “show them [i.e. children] kindness and refrain from all violence and obscenity towards them,”3 as well as his statement that “God is merciful and likes mercy; He rewards acts of mercy but not acts of violence, preferring them to all other acts;”4

As it has been established beyond all doubt that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him salvation, never hit a child, and indeed forbade people to hit children, warning of dire consequences for perpetrators, such that the hitting of children turns into an explicit violation of Propetic tradition in both word and deed;

In view of the well-known interpretation by Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him, that only "gentle hitting with a siwak (a twig used to brush teeth) and the like,"5 was intended in the supposed sanction of child beating implied by the Prophet’s injunction,”Order your children to pray at the age of seven, beat them for neglecting this duty at ten, and put them in separate beds;"6

Considering the strong evidence provided by a majority of scholars, who believe that the arguments for prohibiting the beating of children are more compelling than those for sanctioning it; and who waver between imposing an outright ban on it or considering it an undesirable act to be permitted, with a siwak or such, only under almost impossible conditions;7

In view of the conclusion reached by modern scientific research that extensive damage is caused by corporal punishment to the child’s physical, mental and emotional well-being, combined with the fact that it runs contrary to the principles of good education which seek to build a whole human being;

1 The Prophets, 107.

2 The Immunity, 128. 3 Al Bokhari 4 Muslim 5 Ibn Arabi:Koranic Provisions 6 Traditions of Ibn Dawood 7 Ibid And, keeping in mind the protection accorded children by the criminal laws applicable in Mauritania, which are based upon Islamic shariah as the single source of legislation stipulated in the Constitution, and which provide for deterrent penalties for those who beat children;

Therefore,

The Fatwa:

In view of all of the foregoing, it is necessary to desist immediately and finally from beating children, regardless of the pretext given. This is not only required by law and piety, or in accordance with the principles and purposes of the glorious shariah, but it is also essential for the good of the child, the educator, the family and society. It is also necessary to adopt scientific educational methods in the upbringing of children, following the example provided by the first educator and teacher, Mohammad may God be merciful to him, whose teachings are all kindness, love and goodness.