The Agricultural Metaphor
Quran 2:223 compares wives to agricultural fields that husbands may "plow" as they wish. This metaphor reveals the Quranic view of women in marriage: they are property to be used for men's benefit, specifically for producing children.
"Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth when or how you will, and send (good deeds, or ask Allah to bestow upon you pious offspring) before you for your ownselves. And fear Allah, and know that you are to meet Him (in the Hereafter), and give good tidings to the believers." — Quran 2:223
The Arabic Text
The key phrase is nisā'ukum ḥarthun lakum (نِسَاؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌ لَكُمْ), meaning "your women are a tilth/field for you." The word ḥarth (حَرْث) specifically means:
- A plowed field
- Cultivated land for planting
- A place where seeds are sown
The command fa'tū ḥarthakum annā shi'tum (فَأْتُوا حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ) means "come to your tilth how/when you will."
Classical Interpretation
What Does This Mean?
According to classical Islamic scholars, this verse means:
- Wives are likened to fields that exist for men to plant seeds (have sex to produce children)
- Husbands may approach their wives sexually whenever and however they wish
- The primary purpose of wives is reproduction
Ibn Kathir's Commentary
Ibn Kathir explained that this verse gives men complete sexual access to their wives:
"Your wives are your tilth, meaning the place where you plant your seed and beget children. Therefore, go to your tilth as you please, meaning in whatever manner you wish, as long as it is in the vagina." — Tafsir Ibn Kathir
The Context: Anal Intercourse Debate
Classical scholars explain this verse was revealed in response to a debate about sexual positions. Some Jews in Medina said that if a man approached his wife from behind (even for vaginal intercourse), the child would be cross-eyed. This verse was revealed to permit various positions, with scholars debating whether it permits anal intercourse.
The Objectification of Women
Women as Property for Use
The agricultural metaphor is significant:
- A field doesn't consent to being plowed
- A field exists solely for the farmer's benefit
- A field is property, not a person
- The farmer uses the field "as he wishes"
The Purpose: Children
The verse emphasizes wives as "tilth"—the place where seed is planted to produce crops (children). This reduces women to reproductive vessels rather than equal partners in marriage.
Consent in Islamic Marriage
Can Wives Refuse?
This verse contributes to Islamic teachings that wives cannot refuse their husbands' sexual demands. Authentic hadith state:
"If a man invites his wife to sleep with him and she refuses to come to him, then the angels send their curses on her till morning." — Sahih Bukhari 4:54:460
"When a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond and he (the husband) spends the night angry with her, the angels curse her until morning." — Sahih Bukhari 7:62:122
Combined with Quran 2:223, these hadith establish that men have unlimited sexual access to their wives, who must comply or face divine punishment.
Modern Implications
Marital Rape
The concept of marital rape is problematic in traditional Islamic law because:
- Wives are "tilth" to be approached "as you will"
- Wives who refuse face divine curses
- Some Islamic scholars explicitly state a wife cannot refuse her husband
- Marriage grants the husband unlimited sexual access
Many Muslim-majority countries have no laws against marital rape, partly due to this theological framework.
Biblical Contrast
The Bible presents a radically different view of sexual relations in marriage. The Apostle Paul wrote:
"The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." — 1 Corinthians 7:3-4
Note the mutuality: both spouses have conjugal rights and authority. This is mutual submission, not one-sided access. The Song of Solomon portrays marital love as mutual desire and partnership:
"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." — Song of Solomon 6:3
Wives are not fields to be plowed, but beloved partners with equal dignity and mutual rights.
Questions to Consider
- What does comparing wives to agricultural fields reveal about the Quranic view of women?
- How can "come to your tilth as you will" be reconciled with modern concepts of consent?
- If wives are cursed by angels for refusing sex, how is this different from coercion?
- Can a metaphor that reduces women to property for men's use be compatible with gender equality?
- What does this verse imply about women's agency and bodily autonomy in marriage?
Conclusion
Quran 2:223's metaphor of women as fields reveals a view of marriage centered on male access and female compliance. Combined with hadith about angels cursing wives who refuse, it establishes a framework where wives' consent is irrelevant and men's sexual demands are paramount.
This stands in stark contrast to the biblical vision of mutual love, respect, and equal conjugal rights in marriage.
Related articles: Wife Beating in Islam | Women's Testimony | Polygamy in Islam