A Critical and Analytical Study of the Article 'Marriage and Divorce' in Brill's Encyclopedia of the Qur'an

انسائیکلو پیڈیا آف دی قرآن برل کے مطبوعہ مضمون نکاح و طلاق کا تنقیدی و تجزیاتی مطالعہ

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical critique of the article "Marriage and Divorce" contributed by Harald Motzki to Brill’s Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Using a descriptive and analytical methodology, this study examines his claims regarding the structural and legal aspects of Qur'ānic family laws, which he frequently reduces to patriarchal and transactional mechanics. This paper argues that Motzki’s analysis relies on legacy Western orientalist frameworks specifically those of W. Robertson Smith, G. H. Stern, and W. M. Watt that neglect the overarching ethical context of the Qur'ān. It refutes his assertions by scrutinizing six central claims: that spousal selection is formulated from a masculine perspective; that mahr represents a commercial investment; that male-initiated divorce implies the wife is legal property; thatwomen lack unilateral pathways to marital dissolution; that polygamy was uncommon in pre-Islamic Arabia; and that divorce is deterred primarily by financial loss to the husband. By engaging with modern Muslim scholarship, the study counters these narratives, demonstrating that the Qur'ānic framework anchors marriage in a solemn covenant (mīthāqan ghalīẓan) defined by mutual love (mawadda), mercy (raḥma), and equity (maʿrūf). Ultimately, the paper concludes that the encyclopaedia entry falls short of capturing the systemic balance of Islamic jurisprudence, which guarantees women significant legal agency and financial autonomy.