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wa-ʾin khiftum shiqāqa baynihimā fa-bʿathū ḥakaman min ʾahlihī wa-ḥakaman min ʾahlihā ʾin yurīdā ʾiṣlāḥan yuwaffiqi llāhu baynahumā ʾinna llāha kāna ʿalīman khabīran
If you fear a split between the two of them, then appoint an arbiter from his relatives and an arbiter from her relatives. If they desire reconcilement, Allah shall reconcile them. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-aware.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah An-Nisa', Verse 35
35. "And if you fear a breach between the couple, then appoint a judge from his people and a judge from her people. If they both desire agreement, Allah will effect harmony between them; Verily Allah is Knowing, All-Aware."
The Family Peace Court
In this holy verse, the Qur'an refers to the discord which happens between a couple, it says:
Then, it continues saying:
And, in order to warn the concerning arbitrators to employ good intention in the course, it concludes the verse with this sense that Allah is aware of their intentions. It says:
The 'family peace court', which has been referred to in this verse, is one of the distinguished works of Islam. This kind of peace-court, compared with ordinary courts, has some privileges that cannot be found in other courts. A few of these privileges are as follows:
1. In family environment the treatments cannot be dry and performed legally according to the spiritless court regulations. Hence, the Qur'an instructs that the arbitrators of this court must be of those who have kinship with the couple and are able to move their sentiments along the path of reconciliation.
2. In ordinary courts the two sides of the conflict have to divulge the secrets they have in order to defend themselves. Here, it is certain that if either of woman or man manifests their conjugal secrets for some strangers, they may hurt the feelings of each other so violently that if they be returned home forcefully, there will not exist any sign of their previous sincerity and lay between them.
3. In ordinary courts, judges are often inattentive in the course of dispute, while in the family peace-court, the arbitrators usually do their best to settle peace and sincerity between those two spouses and try to return them home.
4. Moreover, such a family court has none of the problems and heavy expenditures for the couple that the ordinary courts have.