Following are excerpts from a religious call-in show featuring Egyptian cleric Dr. Mahmoud Al-Denawy, which aired on Iqra TV Europe/Africa, on June 17, 2013:

Mahmoud Al-Denawy: Here is an important question from sister Hagar from Norway. She says: What’s the Islamic view on the beating of wives? Non-believers use this point against Islam. May Allah reward you, sister.

Indeed, many people take this as something [with which] to stab Islam and to stab Muslims. They say: Here Islam is calling for the beating of wives. Islam is urging Muslims… There are so many sayings and many misconceptions about this, but they forgot an important thing: Allah says that if there is a problem – or a lady, for example, who is disobedient, she has a bad behavior, for example – the husband should do his best to correct her, to fix this issue, first of all, by admonishing, by leaving her bed. For example, he shouldn’t sleep with her. He should sleep in a separate room, or whatever. And, at the end… Allah says: “Sleep in beds apart, and beat them.”

The issue of beating… First of all, if someone [does it] just for admonishing, or whatever… When it comes to beating, he should never beat her harshly. He should never raise his hand. He should never beat her on her face. But he can use something very simple – like a siwak [dental stick] or something like this pen. The beating should not lead to breaking her arm or a tooth. He should avoid this, because the Prophet urged us and told us that when you beat someone, you should never beat him or her on his or her face. This is because the face is owned by Allah.