If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran

by Carla Power

“Let us start by talking about the chapter as a whole,” he said gently. “If you read the sura from the very beginning, you will find that it is actually defending women.” As Akram explained it, “An-Nisa” was a sura that protected women, not punished them. It laid out the approved treatment of weaker members of society, such as orphans, war widows, and women in general. Between its dictates, the sura reminds people to fear and to obey God. These warnings, embedded in a chapter concerned with the rights of the weak, are a rhetorical form of protection, explained Akram. “Clever people, or people with power, they always can interpret law in their own ways,” he said. “So God reminds people, ‘Fear Me.’ Now we know, in your house, if you do injustice to your wife, maybe she cannot take you to court … but there’s another court.” He pointed upward. “The Lord knows what’s happening.”