CANING CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE SUNNAH PERSPECTIVE BY ASMA’ MOHD HAFIZ A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’Én and Sunnah Studies) Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia FEBRUARY 2018 ABSTRACT This research seeks to identify the ÍadÊth on caning as an essential guideline for raising children all over the world. Many Muslims use physical punishment on their children based on the Prophetic tradition that children should be beaten at the age of 10 if they are indifferent to prayer. In Malaysia, child caning is a common practice in disciplining children and may lead to child abuse. Pronouncements from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development have raised debate among Malaysians about caning. There is a need to understand the ÍadÊth in which it inspired parents to discipline children through physical punishment. Therefore, this research addresses misunderstandings concerning the caning of children and analyses whether the practice of child caning in Malaysia is in line with the Prophet’s Sunnah. This research will allow contemporary Muslim societies, especially parents, teachers and children, to better understand their rights and responsibilities. Hence, the qualitative method was selected as the research methodology. The methodology consists of the critical analysis method to collect ÍadÊth related to caning. The content analysis method was used to understand the meaning behind them. The study also employed the comparative analysis method to compare the Malaysian practice of child caning with the Prophetic guidance on caning. In conclusion, the study will look into the caning debate among Malaysians and compare contemporary Malaysian practices and Prophetic guidance on caning. ii ملخص البحث ABSTRACT IN ARABIC يسعى هذا البحث إىل التعرف على اﻷحاديث النبوية املتعلقة ابلضرب بوصفها دليﻻً أساسيًّا لرتبية اﻷطفال يف مجيع أحناء العامل. ومعظم املسلمني يستخدمون العقاب البدين لرتبية أوﻻدهم بناء ً على حديث النيب أن اﻷطفال جيب أن يتعرضوا للضرب يف سن العاشرة، إذا كانوا مرتددين يف أداء الصﻻة. ويف ماليزاي، يعد ضرب اﻷطفال ابلعصا ممارسة ً شائعة ً لتأديب اﻷطفال، وقد يؤد ي إىل إساءة معاملة اﻷطفال. وقد أاثرت التصرحيات الصادرة من وزارة الشؤون النسائية واﻷسرية وتنمية اجملتمع جدﻻً بني املاليزيني ح ول الضرب. وهناك حاجة لفهم السياق الذي طالب فيه النيب الوالدين بتأديب أوﻻدهم من خﻻل العقاب البدين. ولذلك، هذا البحث يعاجل سوء الفهم فيما يتعلق بضرب اﻷطفال، وحيلل ما إذا كانت ممارسة ضرب اﻷطفال يف ماليزاي تتماشى مع وجهة نظر احلديث النبوي. وسيتيح هذا البحث للمجتمع املسلم، خاصة اﻵابء، واملعلمني، واﻷطفال، فهم حقوقهم ومسؤولياهتم بشكل أفضل. وبناءً عليه، يتم اختيار اﻷساليب النوعية بوصفها منهجيةً للبحث. وحتتوي هذه املنهجية على طريقة التحليل النقدي جلميع اﻷحاديث املرتبطة ابلضرب. وقد استخدم الباحث طريقة حتليل احملتول لفهم املعو وراءها. كما يستخدم البحث طريقة التحليل املقارن يف مقارنة املمارسة املاليزية لرتبية اﻷطفال مع التوجيه النبوي للضرب. ويف اخلتام، سينتظر البحث يف نقاش قضية الضرب بني املاليزيني وخمتلف املمارسات املاليزية املعاصرة والتوجيه النبوي ابلضرب. iii APPROVAL PAGE I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’an and Sunnah). …………………………………….. Nurul Jannah Zainan Nazri Supervisor …………………………………….. Roudlotul Firdaus Fattah Yasin Co-Supervisor I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’an and Sunnah). …………………………………….. Juliana Examiner …………………………………….. Jinap Examiner This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Qur’an and Sunnah and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’an and Sunnah). …………………………………….. Radzwan Jamal Elatrash Head, Department of Qur’an and Sunnah This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qur’an and Sunnah). …………………………………….. Mohammad Abdul Quayum Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences iv DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigation, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions. Asma’ Mohd Hafiz Signature…………………....………. Date …….………………. v COPYRIGHT INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH CANING CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE SUNNAH PERSPECTIVE I declare that the copyright holder of this dissertation are jointly owned by the student and IIUM. Copyright © 2018 Asma’ Mohd Hafiz and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below 1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement. 2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes. 3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries. By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy. Affirmed by Asma’ Mohd Hafiz ……..…………………….. ……………………….. Signature Date vi DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved parents vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My profound gratitude to Allah Almighty, the Most Merciful, Peace and Blessing of Allah upon His Messenger Prophet Muhammad , his family, companions and those whose follow his path. All praises and glory to Allah alone for giving me health and the opportunity to complete my dissertation and studies. My sincere appreciation goes to both of my parents Mohd Hafiz Abdul Rahman and Meriam Ahmad for whom this dissertation I dedicated to. Thanks to their du’a and great support morally and financially I was able to finish my studies. Thanks to my mother who kept believing that I could do more than I can and let me experience the Master’s student world. Thanks also to all my family and siblings for their du’a and time. My deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Nurul Jannah Zainan Nazri for her patience and understanding in assisting me to complete my dissertation. Special thanks also go to my co-supervisor Dr. Roudlotul Firdaus Fattah Yasin for her helping from the beginning to the end. My appreciation also goes to Prof Israr Ahmad Khan for his assistance and advice. I also would like to thank all of the IIUM lectures, especially the Qur’an and Sunnah Department, for their direct and indirect support and IIUM staff for their service and assistance. My gratitude to the Ms. Sahsa Surandran from UNICEF, Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Kedah (PPAK) and Mr. Mohd Fakhrul Che Hamza from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development for their time and effort to provide me resources. My utmost gratitude goes to all of my friends, especially for those who took the same path as me, including Sr. Nurul Syuhada, Sr Nurul Imani, Sr. Sariana, Sr. Wan Hazwani, Sr. Hazwani, Sr. Mardhiyah, Sr. Sazwana, for their endless encouragement from the beginning until the end. My thanks to Mr. Effizul Azran for his support and Mr. Zamani Othman for helping me in the beginning. Lastly, I am thankful and grateful also to those who have been helping me directly and indirectly. May Allah bless you and grant all of you the best rewards now and in the hereafter. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ii Abstract in Arabic ........................................................................................................ iii Approval Page .............................................................................................................. iv Declaration ................................................................................................................... v Copyright ..................................................................................................................... vi Dedication .................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... viii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... xi Table of Transliteration ................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................