Nikah Means The F*** word?

 

Not surprisingly Investigateislam aka Christian_prince thinks that the Qu’ran & Sunnah says you can F*** your wife because he says that the Arabic word 'Nikah' means that. He's also made a few youtube videos on this issue

 

Response 1 

 

Firstly, I have to slightly agree with Investigateislam that the word Nikah does not literally mean ‘marriage’ or ‘marry'. A more literal word for marriage is ‘Zaawaj’ this word is used in The Qu'ran in other places and it is correctly translated to mean marriage. But The Quran uses the word Nikah in some instances & the word is translated to mean marry. For Instance Surah 4:3 which reads 

 

4:3 ‘If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry(fainkiho) women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess’

 

Investigateislam claims word nikah means the f*** word & not marriage. Investigateislam speaks modern slang Arabic which is a lesser form of Arabic. In Languages words can change meanings over time & can later be used incorrectly. Famous examples of how words change is

 

'Awful originally had a meaning closer to the modern meaning of awesome, yet it now means the opposite'

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change) 

 

‘the word gay which can mean happy or colourful and was used commonly until it became a reference to homosexuals’ in recent times (http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/semantics.htm)

 

This is the same issue with this word, some modern Arabs use the word in a bad way. When reading the Qu'ran & Sunnah The word should be looked at in its classical context. Here is an Arabic Language scholor's opinion

 

Commentary of Ahmed Ben Ali Ben Hagar Al Askalani, Beirut, Dar Al Balagha, 1986

 

Linguistically, “Nikah” means embracing or penetrating. It is mainly used in the context of “sexual intercourse.” When it was used in reference to marriage it is because sex is a necessity in marriage. Al Fassi said,”If someone says a certain man (N) a certain woman, it means he married her, and if he says a man (N) his wife, it means he has sexual intercourse with her.” The word can also be used metaphorically as with expressions: the rain (N) the ground, or, the sleep (N) the eyes, or, the seed (N) the soil, or, the pebble (N) the camel’s hoof. When it was used in the context of marriage it is because sexual intercourse is the purpose of marriage...  The Shafia and Hanafi schools of jurisprudence assert that the word nikah when used as a fact conveys that sexual intercourse has occurred. And when used as a figure of speech it denotes marriage.

 

As you can see, Nikah used to refer to marriage, Even if Nikah means sex, it only takes place in marriage anyway, so it can only be refering to marriage. Al-Jalalayn & Ibn Abas in their commentaries also knew this word means marriage   

 

Response 2

 

Modern dictionaries still define the word  fainkiho (root word nikah) as meaning marriage which you can see in this link below

 

http://online.ectaco.co.uk/main.jsp?do=e-services-dictionaries-word_translate1&direction=2&status=translate&lang1=2&lang2=en&source=marriage

 

Nikah has been said to mean 'to insert' or 'penetrate' but the word used for insert is 'adkhala' & penetrate is 'dakhala'. Nikah is associated with marriage almost everywhere, which is why there are websites named nikahsearch.com, these are religious matramonial sites, so if Nikah did mean the F*** then no arabs or muslims would use that site & the owners wouldnt have called it that

 

Response 3


If you look at how the word Nikah is used throughout the Quran it becomes clear it is not refering to sexual intercourse, but to marriage.

 

Surah 4:25: 'If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed (yankiha) free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess: And God hath full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another: Wed (fainkihoohunna) them with the leave of their owners, and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable: They should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours: when they are taken in wedlock, if they fall into shame, their punishment is half that for free women. This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practise self-restraint. And God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful'

This ayah clearly is refering to marriage, and Ibn Kathir's commentary on this ayah is also proof also that it means marriage, because this is what he understood it to mean, and he lived in the classical period http://quran.al-islam.com/Tafseer/DispTafsser.asp?nType=1&bm=&nSeg=0&l=arb&nSora=4&nAya=25&taf=KATHEER&tashkeel=0

 

Surah 4:25: O ye who believe! When ye marry (nakahtumu) believing women, and then divorce them before ye have touched them, no period of 'Iddat have ye to count in respect of them: so give them a present. And set them free in a handsome manner

 

Here also it is clear that marriage is being spoken about, not sexual intercourse

 

Conclusion

 

The word Nikah does not mean the f*** word. Some people might use the word inncorrectly to curse but thats a modern misuse of the word. The point of this article was to prove Nikah does not only have to mean sexual intercourse. Nikah is not an offensive word, it has been and can be used for marriage. There is plenty of disgusting language in the bible www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/ezekiel-23-and-its-disgusting-language/