Surah Al-Baqarah 2:229-231 - Quran Translation Commentary

(2:229) (Revocatory) divorce⁴⁷⁷ is twice.⁴⁷⁸ Then either honorable retention or release with kindness.⁴⁷⁹ And it is not lawful for you that you should take back anything of what you gave them⁴⁸⁰ unless the two may fear that they might not be able to observe Allah's bounds. But if you are afraid that the two may not observe Allah's bounds,⁴⁸¹ then there is no sin upon the two in what she will (pay and) release herself with.⁴⁸² These are the bounds of Allah. So do not transgress them. Those who transgress Allah's bounds, such indeed are the wrongdoers.

(2:230) Then, if he divorces her (for the third time) she is not lawful unto him until she weds a man other than him. So, if he (the second husband) divorces her then there is no sin upon the two that they should reunite provided they believe they will observe Allah's bounds.⁴⁸³ These are the bounds of Allah which He makes clear for a people who know.⁴⁸⁴

(2:231) And when you have divorced your women and they have reached their period (of waiting)⁴⁸⁵ then either retain them honorably⁴⁸⁶ or release them honorably. Do not retain them by way of harm to take undue advantage. Whoever does that will wrong his own soul.⁴⁸⁷ And do not make a mockery of Allah's injunctions,⁴⁸⁸ but rather, rehearse Allah's favors unto you⁴⁸⁹ and that He sent down the Book and the Wisdom⁴⁹⁰ whereby He admonishes you. Fear Allah and be aware that Allah has knowledge of everything.

Commentary

477. One reason, (apart from the fact that a woman is not obliged to spend anything of her wealth at the time of or after the marriage), why a woman has not been given the right to break the marriage tie by pronouncing the word talaq, is that women are more emotional and easily excited to anger (Al Arba`ah). An added reason is that it is men who expend their money on women, by way of dower, etc. How can women who are at the receiving end through and through be allowed to divorce their husbands? (Au.).

478. Allah (swt) has allowed two revocations because when someone lives with another, he does not know how he will feel when separated from him or her. Had Allah (swt) ordered separation with one pronouncement, surely it would have caused suffering (Razi).

479. Another tool of oppression for the husbands in the pre Islamic Arabia was to divorce a woman, revoke the divorce after some time, re divorce and go on and on to torture the woman. A Muslim fresh in Islam promised his wife the same treatment and Allah revealed this verse which curtailed the practice, (Abu Da`ud Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir), while keeping the door of separation open (Au.). The Prophet is reported to have said to Mu`adh bin Jabal in a hadith preserved by Daraqutni: (يا معاذ ما خلق الله شيئا على وجه الأرض أحب إليه من العتاق ولا خلق الله تعالى شيئا على وجه الأرض أبغض إليه من الطلاق فإذا "O Mu`adh! There is nothing that Allah (swt) loves more than redemption of a slave. And there is nothing more hateful to Him than divorce. Therefore, if a man says to his slave, 'If Allah wills you are free.' then he is free, and there is no other option. But if he says to his woman, 'If Allah wills you are divorced,' then she is not divorced and there is no option" (Qurtubi).

Abu Dhar reports (in a hadith of Ahmad) that someone recited this ayah and asked, يا رسول الله، أرأيت قول الله تعالى: "الطلاق مرتان فإمساك بمعروف أو تسريح بإحسان" فأين الثالثة؟ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (فإمساك بمعروف أو تسريح بإحسان). Messenger of Allah, "Where is the third divorce?" The Prophet told him: "It is (in the words) 'release with kindness'" (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

Majid notes: "The goal of matrimony in Islam is to unite two lives, to bring happiness to the couple, and to instill mutual amity, harmony, responsible co partnership and good fellowship in the pair. Now human nature being what it its, it sometimes happens that even with the best of motives and after repeated trials, the union remains unhappy. The only remedy then is to unfasten the wedding tie. Even then, the husband is enjoined by the Qur'an not to dismiss the wife in disgrace, or with a view to humiliating her but to let her off kindly, with due regard to his chivalry and her tenderness, and with a view to securing peace of mind both for her and himself."

480. That is, if a man divorces his wife, it is not lawful for him to take back anything that he gave her at the time of marriage or during the married life, in cash or kind (Au.).

481. That is, the two are afraid that they might not be able to fulfill their respective conjugal duties (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

482. This applies to the situation in which the man does not wish to divorce his wife (because of the expenses he would have incurred, in addition to the mahr he would have paid) but the woman finds it impossible to live with him and hence demands to be released. To compensate his losses she agrees to pay back a certain amount in return of the freedom (Au.). Technically this is known as khul`. An incident of this sort took place during the Prophet's life. Preserved by Bukhari the report says that the wife of Thabit b. Qays b. Shimas told the Prophet that she did not find any fault in the man's religion but that she could not stand the sight of him. (According to another report "so ugly that, if not for the fear of Allah, I could spit in his face"). The Prophet asked her if she would give back the orchard he had gifted her. (According to other reports two orchards). She readily agreed and the Prophet ordered Thabit to release her (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

It is also reported that during `Umar's reign a woman came to him seeking separation from her husband. `Umar ordered her locked up in the garbage yard. The next day he asked her, (according to other reports he locked her up for three days), "How did you like it?" She said, "For the first time in my life I was happier (in there in the garbage yard) than I ever was with him." `Umar ordered the man to release her (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir). According to the majority, however, the man can in no case take from her more than what he gave her. Nevertheless, that is in a case in which the woman demands separation. If the tie is broken by the man, then he can take back nothing. However, some scholars believe that in certain cases he can demand and get more than what he gave her (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

However, if the man is at no fault, and the woman does it to ruin him financially, or simply out of mischief, then there are ahadith that warn of severe punishment (Au.). One hadith says: : "أَيّمَا امْرَأَةٍ سأَلَتْ زَوْجَهَا طَلاَقاً في غَيْرِ مَا بَأْسٍ فَحَرَام عَلَيْهَا رَائِحَةُ الْجَنّةِ".‏ "Forbidden is the smell of Paradise to a woman who seeks divorce without a good reason" (Abu Da`ud Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

483. An added condition is that the marriage should have been consummated before the second husband divorces her of his own free will. It is then that the woman will be able to re-marry her first husband.

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ: سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ رَجُلٍ طَلّقَ امْرَأَتَهُ فَتَزَوّجَتْ زَوْجا غَيْرَهُ فَدَخَلَ بِهَا ثُمّ طَلّقَهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهَا أَتَحِلّ لِلأَوّلِ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: «لاَ حَتّى يَذُوقَ الاَخَرُ عَسِيلَتَهَا وَتَذُوقَ عُسَيْلَتَه

The Prophet (saws) was asked about a man divorced a woman, then another married her, closed the door behind him with her inside and then divorced her, without having had intercourse with her, will she be lawful to the husband of the first marriage? He replied: "No. Not until he tastes her sweetness and she his" (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir). Several ahadith have been recorded by various collectors forbidding an arranged "marriage and divorce" with the purposes of making a woman lawful to her previous husband. In some ahadith both the first and the second husbands involved in the affair of trying to make a woman lawful this way are equated with those who partake of interest money and have been cursed by the Prophet (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

484. This is because the ignorant cannot remember such numerous and involved laws; only the men of understanding can (Qurtubi).

485. What is actually meant by the words, "and when they have reached their period of waiting" is that they are "about to complete their waiting period" since after completion of the period, the choice is lost (Qurtubi).

486. According to Imam Shafe`i, Ahmad and Malik these words: "retain them honorably" imply that if a man is not able to provide for his wife she can be separated from him. However, others believe she ought to observe patience; and the state should provide for her since Allah has indicated to us through a verse (24: 32):

وَأَنْكِحُوا الْأَيَامَى مِنْكُمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَائِكُمْ إِنْ يَكُونُوا فُقَرَاءَ يُغْنِهِمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ [النور/32]

"And marry the single among you, the virtuous ones among your male and the female slaves: if they be poor Allah will enrich them with His bounty." Thus, despite poverty a man and a woman can wed. Obviously, if they can wed, they can also remain in wedlock in poverty (Qurtubi).

487. He will wrong himself in this world also; for when it is known how he treated his previous wife, no decent woman would like to marry him (Razi, Alusi).

488. So that a word of "talaq" will be treated as a divorce even if the man says "I was only joking." A hadith of Abu Da`ud, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah says: "ثَلاَثٌ جِدُهُنّ جِدّ: وَهزْلُهُنّ جِدّ: النّكَاحُ وَالطّلاَقُ وَالرّجْعَةُ". (قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ. وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَى هَذَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِىِّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- وَغَيْرِهِمْ) "There are three things which will be taken seriously: marriage, divorce, and revocation (of the divorce)" Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir. Other reports include redemption of slaves. Imam Malik has recorded in his Muwatta that a man came to Ibn `Abbas and said: "I have divorced my wife a hundred times. So what do you have to say about it?" He replied: "With the first three she gets separated from you. The rest of the ninety seven are a mockery of Allah's commandments." It is also mockery to seek Allah's forgiveness while continuing to indulge in a sin (Qurtubi, Razi). Furthermore, not to carry out the commandments of Allah in real earnest, or to do them badly is also to make mockery of them (Zamakhshari).

489. "We are asked to remember in our own minds and to proclaim and praise, and be proud of God's favors on us. His favors are immeasurable: not the least are His Revelations, and the wisdom which He has given to us to enable us to judge and act up to His guidance" (Yusuf Ali).

490. The hikmah of the original alludes to the Sunnah, (since both have Divine origin) Alusi.