Draft:Burying girls alive
Burying girls alive or female infanticide was one of the customs of the period of Jāhiliyya that was prevalent based on superstitious beliefs, fear of poverty, and preference for sons. Islam fought against this practice. While condemning this act, the Qurʾān has warned about its otherworldly punishment. Also, the Sīra of the Prophet (s) in treating girls with respect and advising to honor them is considered an example of combating this culture.
History and Origin
Burying girls alive (Arabic: وَأد البنات, waʾd al-banāt)[1] was common in the period of Jāhiliyya and, according to historical reports, first became prevalent in Arab tribes such as Banū Tamīm and Rabīʿa.[2] The Qurʾān refers to this custom in verses 58 and 59 of Sūrat al-Naḥl and describes a situation where the father's face would turn black upon hearing the news of the birth of a daughter, and he would hide from his people to decide whether to keep the daughter with disgrace or bury her alive.[3]
There are different reports regarding the origin of this custom.[4] According to one report, after a war between the Banū Tamīm tribe and Nuʿmān b. Mundhir, the ruler of Iraq, which resulted in the captivity of a number of girls from this tribe, some of the girls married during their captivity. When the ground for peace was prepared, these girls were given the choice to either return to the tribe or stay with their husbands. The daughter of Qays b. ʿĀṣim preferred to stay with her husband, which angered her father, and he vowed never to leave a daughter alive. This decision gradually spread as a custom among other Arab tribes as well.[5]
Regarding the method of executing this act, it is also reported that women would stand over a pit at the moment of childbirth, and if the newborn was a girl, they would throw her into the hole and pour dirt over her.[6]
Motives for Burying Girls Alive
Lower Social Status of Women
In the period of Jāhiliyya, boys had social superiority over girls, and the position of women was considered inferior.[7] Furthermore, due to the risk of captivity in wars, girls were considered a cause of shame and disgrace for the tribe.[8]
Fear of Poverty and Economic Pressure
Exegetes, relying on verses such as verse 31 of Sūrat al-Isrāʾ and verse 151 of Sūrat al-Anʿām, consider the fear of poverty as one of the factors for burying girls alive.[9] Fakhr al-Rāzī, a Sunni exegete, has said that the Jāhilī Arabs committed this act out of fear due to the lack of participation of girls in economic activities such as earning income and looting.[10] However, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabāʾī, in al-Mīzān, by generalizing this motive, points out that the Jāhilī Arab used to kill his children—both boys and girls—due to poverty or the fear of it.[11]
Existence of Superstitious Beliefs
The existence of superstitious beliefs has been considered as one of the motives for burying girls alive.[12] According to what is quoted from the book Bāwar-hā wa usṭūra-hā-yi ʿArab pīsh az Islām, there is a possibility that this act was originally a form of human sacrifice to please the gods, and over time, its original motives were forgotten, continuing in the form of matters such as fear of poverty and a sense of shame and disgrace.[13]
Islam's Opposition to Burying Girls Alive
The Qurʾān has condemned burying girls alive in verse 59 of Sūrat al-Naḥl.[14] It also refers in verses 8 and 9 of Sūrat al-Takwīr to the interrogation of those on the Day of Resurrection who committed this act.[15]
According to the reports of Sīra writers, the Prophet (s) always treated his wives and daughters with dignity and respect.[16] He used to advise doing good to daughters.[17] It is mentioned in hadiths that whenever Ḥaḍrat Fāṭima (a) would enter upon her father, the Prophet (s) would stand up out of respect, go to welcome her, kiss her, and seat her in his own place.[18]
Notes
- ↑ Mīrzāyī and Gharawī Nāʾīnī, "Nigarishī naw bi ḥadīth-i dafn al-banāt min al-makramāt", p. 130.
- ↑ Farrūkh, Taʾrīkh al-Jāhiliyya, p. 157.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 168; Sālim, Taʾrīkh-i ʿArab qabl az Islām, p. 352.
- ↑ Sālim, Taʾrīkh-i ʿArab qabl az Islām, pp. 353-354.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Bulūgh al-arab, vol. 3, pp. 42-43; Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadiyyat, pp. 44-45.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Bulūgh al-arab, vol. 3, p. 43.
- ↑ Farrūkh, Taʾrīkh al-Jāhiliyya, p. 157; Sālim, Taʾrīkh-i ʿArab qabl az Islām, p. 350.
- ↑ Sālim, Taʾrīkh-i ʿArab qabl az Islām, p. 353; Naṣīrī and Zāriʿkār, "Taḥlīl-i jāmiʿa-shinākhtī-yi masʾala-yi zinda bi gūr kardan-i dukhtarān dar Jazīrat al-ʿArab-i ʿaṣr-i Jāhilī", p. 202.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 7, p. 409; Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 4, p. 523.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 13, p. 178.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 7, p. 374.
- ↑ Sālim, Taʾrīkh-i ʿArab qabl az Islām, p. 355.
- ↑ Salīm al-Ḥūt, Bāwar-hā wa usṭūra-hā-yi ʿArab pīsh az Islām, p. 244.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 168.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 214.
- ↑ Yūsufī Gharawī, Al-Marʾa fī l-Jāhiliyya wa l-Islām, p. 9.
- ↑ Pāyanda, Nahj al-faṣāḥa, p. 472.
- ↑ Abū Dāwūd, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 4, p. 355.
References
- Abū Dāwūd, Sulaymān b. Ashʿath. Sunan Abī Dāwūd. Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, 1420 AH.
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Bulūgh al-arab fī maʿrifat aḥwāl al-ʿArab. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, n.d.
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm wa l-sabʿ al-mathānī. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Farrūkh, ʿUmar. Taʾrīkh al-Jāhiliyya. Beirut, Dār al-ʿIlm li-l-Malāyīn, 1384 AH.
- Mīrzāyī, Pūrān, and Nahla Gharawī Nāʾīnī. "Nigarishī naw bi ḥadīth-i dafn al-banāt min al-makramāt". In ʿUlūm-i Ḥadīth, no. 2, Summer 1394 Sh.
- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif. Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
- Naṣīrī, Muḥammad, and Ḥusayn Zāriʿkār. "Taḥlīl-i jāmiʿa-shinākhtī-yi masʾala-yi zinda bi gūr kardan-i dukhtarān dar Jazīrat al-ʿArab-i ʿaṣr-i Jāhilī". In Pizhūhish-hā-yi Taʾrīkhī-yi Īrān wa Islām, no. 20, Shahrivar 1396 Sh.
- Pāyanda, Abu l-Qāsim. Nahj al-faṣāḥa. Qom, Intishārāt-i Ismāʿīliyān, 1383 Sh.
- Salīm al-Ḥūt, Maḥmūd. Bāwar-hā wa usṭūra-hā-yi ʿArab pīsh az Islām. Translated by Manīzha ʿAbd Allāhī and Ḥusayn Kiyānī. Tehran, Intishārāt-i ʿIlm, 1390 Sh.
- Sālim, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. Taʾrīkh-i ʿArab qabl az Islām. Translated by Bāqir Ṣadrīniyā. Tehran, Intishārāt-i ʿIlmī wa Farhangī, 1383 Sh.
- Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Furūgh-i abadiyyat. Qom, Muʾassasa-yi Būstān-i Kitāb, 1385 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1393 AH.
- Ṭabarsī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1415 AH.
- Yūsufī Gharawī, Muḥammad Hādī. Al-Marʾa fī l-Jāhiliyya wa l-Islām. Qom, Majmaʿ-i Jahānī-yi Ahl al-Bayt (a), 1426 AH.