The Disaffected Wife: Reinterpreting <i>Nushūz</i> , Authority, and Punishment in Qurʾān 4:34

Abstract In this research, I examine the concept of nushūz as it appears in verses 34 and 128 of Surah An‐Nisāʾ, tracing its interpretive development across classical and modern Islamic discourse. I explore how exegetes have understood nushūz to include resentment, defiance, challenges to spousal authority, and a desire for separation, as well as how more recent interpretations associate it with spousal infidelity. These readings are considered in relation to pre‐Islamic and early Islamic sources. While the former approach has shaped Islamic legal and social norms for centuries, the latter seeks to harmonize Qurʾānic teachings with contemporary perspectives on gender equality and human rights. The analysis follows a three‐phase framework: (1) a linguistic study to assess the term’s consistency with Qurʾānic usage and structural patterns; (2) a contextual study to evaluate its coherence within the immediate passage and thematically related verses; and (3) an isnād–matn analysis of relevant narrations (ḥadīth reports) to examine their transmission chains and textual variations. This re‐examination proposes a revised understanding of nushūz as a state of relational estrangement or disaffection. This definition invites a reinterpretation of several key elements: the identification of the subjects in verse 34; the relationship between nushūz and the expressions al‐lātī takhāfūna and fa in aṭa’nakum ; the connection between nushūz and the description of al‐ṣāliḥāt women; the meaning and practical application of the three prescribed measures ( ʿiẓūhunna , uhjurūhunna fī al‐maḍājiʿ , and iḍribūhunna ); and its relationship to related passages, including al‐Nisāʾ 4:35 and al‐Baqarah 2:229.