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muhammad shahrur’s life and workxlvthe right of leadership/guardianship. Quoting several Qur"anic versesthat use derivations of the lexeme ·-r-b, Shahrur maintains that·araba is such a polysemous word that the most literal reading, ‘tostrike’, is too restrictive and inconsistent with any other verse or evenmost ÈadÊths in this respect. I·ribåhunna thus implies a nonaggressiveand nonviolent but firm resistance against any abuse of qiw§ma, akind of civilised conveyance of discontent and rebuke carried out bymen and women.In sum, Shahrur’s interpretation of 4:34 is able to give women fullsocial and juristic status whereby their entire intellectual, physical,moral, religious, and economic capacity is secured sui juris, and wherewomen are in control of their own agency unchecked by any notionof male leader- or guardianship. And the possibility that the Qur"anmight sanction domestic violence or that husbands might be allowedto beat their wives into obedience is seen as entirely out of the question.In the light of Shahrur’s interpretations, verse 4:34 should thenbe read as follows:People lead other people, who follow them, because Allah has givensome of them more talent and competence than others, and becausethey have more financial power (than others). Hence righteous womenare those able and competent women who guard their talents of leadership(for the good of society), which Allah has asked them to guard.As to those women whose incompetence and lack of good leadershipyou fear, warn them first, then reduce intimate contact with them and,finally, resist firmly but nonviolently the abuse of their position of leadership(before you withdraw leadership from them). Should they thencomply (with what you are saying), do not seek a way of harming them;for Allah is Sublime and Great! 61This interpretation of 4:34 shows that for Shahrur the morality ofthe al-qur"§n is not—as with quite a number of so-called modernistinterpretations of the Qur"an—limited to only a select few legalenact ments, while women’s human rights remain severely compromised.His understanding of the al-qur"§n’s universal moral messagetells him that the female is an autonomous moral being who has a61Verse 4:128 is then understood to be paired with 4:34 and to be read as follows:“If a woman fears lack of respect and loss of good leadership on her malepartner’s part (married or not), she should strongly object to this and be firm in herprotest, aiming for an amicable agreement between them, for such an agreement isbest, even though men’s souls are swayed by greed (that is, lack of self-criticism). Butif you do good and practice self-restraint, God is well-acquainted with all that youdo”.