Surah Al-Mujadila

Its purpose is to inform about the infliction of severe punishment, which is indicated by Al-Hadid, upon those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, due to His complete knowledge, which necessitates His complete power, which necessitates His encompassing all attributes of perfection. This is indicated by its naming as Al-Mujadila with its first and last story. The repetition of the greatest name that encompasses the story and the entire Surah is a repetition that does not occur in others, such that no verse is devoid of it. As for the verses that are repeated in each of them twice or more, the abundance of all of that indicates that the majority of it is intended in the address for those who are fit to look at it sometimes with majesty and sometimes with perfection, so both descriptions are gathered for him. This is the one who believes and has committed a slip or disobedience. For this reason, it includes matters that intensified the condemnation when some of the people of faith fell into them, and it did not permit them when they fell into it, in response to the Sharia to what nature calls for, as it did in others like eating and sexual relations during the nights of Ramadan without restriction by wakefulness or sleep, due to its opposition to wisdom and its distance from the causes of mercy. This supports what has preceded of the secret of the emptiness of Al-Waqi'a and Al-Rahman and Al-Qamar from this encompassing name - and Allah is the Grantor of success. 'In the name of Allah,' whose knowledge encompasses, so His power is complete, and all His attributes are perfected. 'The Most Gracious,' who encompassed the creatures with generosity by creating and sending His guides. 'The Most Merciful,' who has specifically favored His chosen ones, so His blessings of satisfaction are complete upon them.

* *When Al-Hadid was concluded after affirming the incapacity of creation by His immense grace, glorified is He, and the hearing of the voices of all creatures occurred without one voice distracting from another and speech from speech due to the great grace, and there had preceded the innovation of some of the worshipers from monasticism in what they were not explicitly permitted in, which was a cause for loss. And there are two types of Dhihar: one that is temporary and one that is absolute. The temporary one is what enters into monasticism because it is from abstaining and prohibiting what Allah has made lawful from the good things. Some of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, had prevented themselves from the desired temporary one from what did not come from Allah, so he declared Dhihar from his wife, maintaining the perfection of worship out of fear of sexual relations during the day of Ramadan. This was something that was not permitted but was prohibited, as narrated by Abu Dawood from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, and Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat from Sahl ibn Hanif, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Do not impose hardship upon yourselves, for those before you perished due to their imposing hardship upon themselves, and you will find remnants of them in the monasteries and hermitages.'

Some of the Companions - may Allah be pleased with them all - had engaged in absolute [zihar], so his wife complained to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, about the harm that had befallen her, and she cried out in the name of Allah. His knowledge, glorified and exalted is He, was specific to the complaint of this poor woman and the removal of her harm by a general ruling for her and for others among His servants. Thus, her situation became a general concession for the Muslims until the Day of Resurrection, indicating that He is the Possessor of great favor, and that He is the Manifest and the Hidden, the Owner of all sovereignty. He had commanded belief in Him and in His Messenger and promised in return for that with light. The one who hears this is worthy of expecting the clarification which is the light in this monasticism that was innovated in this nation, and the alleviation of the severe situation that some of them faced, so that the people of the Book may know what this nation has of honor with their Lord, and that He specifically bestows His mercy upon whom He wills. He said: "Indeed, Allah has heard" meaning He responded with His great favor that encompasses all attributes of perfection, so His hearing encompasses all voices. He expressed with the description without the name, indicating His all-encompassing mercy. He said: "the one who argues with you" meaning she is exaggerating in her efforts to bring you to her desire "about her husband" meaning in the matter that frees him from his zihar as a mercy for her. "And she complains" meaning she intentionally uses that argument to complain, reaching "to Allah" meaning to the Great, Merciful King who encompasses all knowledge. Due to her sincerity in her complaint and her cutting off of hope in revealing what is with her from other than Allah, she and the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, were expecting that Allah would relieve her distress. "And Allah" meaning while the one whose mercy encompasses all things, for to Him belongs all command, "hears your dialogue" meaning your discussion which returns to each of you the response of his words from the other, as if it were due to the heaviness of what has arisen in her matter and the distress that has descended from it, arising from confusion.

And when that was at the utmost of what could be from breaking the norm, where the truthful one, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said at the time of the revelation of the verse: "Praise be to Allah, whose hearing encompasses all voices. Indeed, she spoke to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, while I was at the side of the house and I could not hear much of what she said." This was confirmed as a reminder of its great strangeness. For perhaps those who are greatly ignorant due to their adherence to customs would have dismissed it. He said: "Indeed, Allah," meaning the One who encompasses all attributes of perfection, and there is no equal to Him, "is All-Hearing, All-Seeing," meaning He has perfect hearing of everything that is heard, and sight of everything that is seen, and knowledge of everything that is valid to be known eternally and forever. And this kind of correspondence has been mentioned in Al-Ma'idah when He, the Exalted, followed the verse about the monks and priests with His saying: "O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful for you" [Al-Ma'idah: 87]. However, this is specific and that is general. This is one of them. The correspondence is one because the more specific is within the more general. The result is that He, glorified is He, has bestowed upon them what He has placed in their hearts of monasticism and others, and He informed that they did not fulfill it as it deserves. And that He has given their believers the reward, and He commanded the Muslims to be conscious of Allah and to follow the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, so that they may attain from His great favor double what was attained by the people of the Book. And He forbade them from being strict upon themselves with monasticism. Thus, they became preferred from two aspects: the abundance of reward and the lightness of the deed. That is the favor of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills - and Allah knows best. Al-Bazzar narrated through the route of Khaseef from Ata and also from others about Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have pronounced the formula of separation from my wife and I saw her leg in the moonlight, so I had relations with her before I could atone." He said: "Atoned and do not return." Abu Dawood narrated from Ikrimah that a man pronounced the formula of separation from his wife and then had relations with her before he atoned. He came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and informed him, and he said: "What led you to what you did?" He said: "I saw the whiteness of her legs in the moonlight." He said: "Stay away from her until you atone for yourself." Al-Mundhiri said: And he also narrated from Ikrimah from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and from Ikrimah from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, about the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, with its meaning. And Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and Al-Tirmidhi narrated it - and Al-Tirmidhi said: "This is a good strange authentic hadith" - and Al-Nasa'i said: "The mursal is more correct than the musnad." And Abu Bakr Al-Mu'afari said: "There is no authentic hadith in the matter of separation that can be relied upon." Al-Mundhiri said: And there is consideration in what he said, for Al-Tirmidhi has authenticated it as you see, and the men of its chain are trustworthy, and the hearing of some of them from one another is well-known. And the narration of Ikrimah from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, has been used by Al-Bukhari in more than one place - it has ended. And for Al-Tirmidhi - and he said it is a good strange hadith - from Salamah ibn Sakhr, may Allah be pleased with him, in the matter of separation, having relations before atoning, he said: "One atonement."

Ahmad, al-Hakim, and the Companions of the Sunnah except al-Nasa'i narrated it, and al-Tirmidhi graded it as good. Ibn al-Mulaqqin said: Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim authenticated it - from the route of Sulayman ibn Yasar, "From Salamah ibn Sakhr al-Bayadi, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I was a man who would engage with women in a way that others would not. When the month of Ramadan entered, I feared that I would engage with my wife in a way [that would lead to] a consequence until the month of Ramadan ended, so I declared a form of separation from her until the month of Ramadan passed. While she was serving me one night, something was revealed to me from her, and I could not help but approach her. When I awoke, I went to my people and informed them of the news and said: Come with me to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. They said: No, by Allah. So I went to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and informed him. He said: Is that what you have done, O Salamah? I said: Yes, I have done that, O Messenger of Allah - twice, and I am patient for the command of Allah, so judge me as Allah shows you. In another narration: So carry out Allah's judgment upon me, for I am patient with that. He said: Free a slave. I said: By the One who sent you with the truth, I do not possess anything other than that - and I struck my neck. He said: Then fast for two consecutive months. I said: Did I not engage in what I engaged in except due to fasting? He said: Then feed sixty needy people with a measure of dates. I said: By the One who sent you with the truth, we have spent nights in hunger without food. He said: Go to the owner of the charity of Banu Zurayq, and let him give it to you, and feed sixty needy people with a measure of dates, and you and your family eat the remainder. I returned to my people and said: I found you in hardship and poor judgment, and I found the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in abundance and good judgment, and in another narration: and blessing, and he commanded me - or he commanded for me - with your charity, and in another narration: to give it to me, and they gave it to me." Abdul Haq criticized it due to the interruption, and that Sulayman did not meet Salamah. Al-Tirmidhi reported this from al-Bukhari, and al-Tirmidhi said that Salamah ibn Sakhr is also called Sulayman. Imam Ahmad also narrated it from another route, saying: Abdullah ibn Idris - he is al-Awdi - narrated from Muhammad ibn Ishaq from Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Ata from [Sulayman ibn Yasar, "from] Salamah ibn Sakhr al-Bayadi, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I was a man who would engage with women in a way that others would not. When the month of Ramadan entered, I feared, so I declared a form of separation from my wife in the month. While she was serving me one night, something was revealed to me from her, and I could not help but fall upon her. I went to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and informed him. He said: Free a slave. I said: By the One who sent you with the truth, I do not possess anything other than my neck. He said: Fast for two consecutive months. I said: Did I not engage in what I engaged in except in fasting? He said: Then feed sixty needy people." This is a good, connected chain, if Allah wills, if it is free from the deception of Ibn Ishaq. Al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi narrated from the route of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Thawban and Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman that "Salamah ibn Sakhr al-Bayadi, may Allah be pleased with him, made his wife upon him like the back of his mother, that if he were to approach her until Ramadan passed, he mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, who said: Free a slave." The story of Salamah is the origin of temporary separation, and it indicates that there is no return in it, so there is no expiation upon him [except] by engaging with her during the period of separation. Abu Dawood narrated "from Khawlah bint Malik ibn Thalabah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: My husband Aws ibn al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, declared separation from me, so I came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, complaining to him, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was arguing with me about it and saying: Fear Allah, for he is your cousin. I did not cease until the [Qur'an] was revealed: "Indeed, Allah has heard the one who argues with you concerning her husband" to the obligation. He said: He must free a slave. I said: He does not find [one]. He said: He must fast for two consecutive months. I said: O Messenger of Allah, he is an old man, he cannot fast. He said: Then let him feed sixty needy people. I said: He has nothing to give in charity. She said: Then at that time he brought a measure of dates. I said: O Messenger of Allah, I will assist him with another measure. He said: You have done well, go and feed it on his behalf to sixty needy people, and return to your cousin." He said: And the measure is sixty sa's. In another narration: And the measure is a container that holds thirty sa's. Al-Daraqutni narrated that Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Indeed, Aws ibn al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, declared separation from his wife Khawlah bint Thalabah, may Allah be pleased with her, so she complained to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, saying: My husband declared separation from me when I was old and my bones have weakened. So Allah revealed the verse of separation, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to Aws: Free a slave. He said: I have no means for that. He said: Then fast for two consecutive months. He said: Indeed, if I miss eating twice in a day, my sight becomes weak. He said: Then feed sixty needy people. He said: I find nothing except that you assist me with aid and support. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, assisted him with fifteen measures until Allah gathered for him, and Allah is Merciful." He said: They believed that he had something similar to it, and that is for sixty needy people. Al-Daraqutni and al-Bayhaqi also narrated that Khawlah bint Thalabah, may Allah be pleased with her, was seen by her husband, who was Aws ibn al-Samit, the brother of Ubadah, may Allah be pleased with them, while she was praying, and he attempted to seduce her, but she refused. He became angry, and he had a mental condition, so he declared separation from her. She came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: Aws married me when I was young, desirable to him, but when my age increased and my wealth diminished and my family dispersed, he made me upon him like the back of his mother." And for al-Tabarani from the route of Abu Ma'shar from Muhammad ibn Kab al-Qurazi, he said: "Khawlah bint Thalabah was married to Aws ibn al-Samit, and he had a mental condition. He said in one of his outbursts: You are to me like the back of my mother. He said: I do not think you have made it forbidden for me. So she came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: O Messenger of Allah, indeed, Aws ibn al-Samit is the father of my children and the most beloved of people to me, and by the One who sent down the Book to you, he did not mention divorce. He said: I do not think you have made it forbidden for him. She said: O Messenger of Allah, do not say that, by Allah, he did not mention divorce. She repeatedly argued with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, until she said: O Allah, I complain to You of my poverty and loneliness and what is difficult for me from his separation." - the hadith. And from the route of Abu al-Aliyyah, he said: "So every time he said to her, 'You are forbidden to him,' she exclaimed and said: I complain to Allah, and she did not move from her place until the verse was revealed." Abu Dawood narrated from Hisham ibn Urwah that Jamila was the wife of Aws ibn al-Samit, and he was a man with a mental condition. Whenever his mental condition intensified, he would declare separation from his wife. Allah, the Exalted, revealed the expiation for separation concerning him. He brought it from the hadith of Urwah from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, similar to it. Al-Qushayri said: And in the report, "She said: O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, Aws married me when I was a young, wealthy woman with a large family and wealth, but when my age increased, my wealth diminished, and my family dispersed, he made me upon him like the back of his mother. He regretted, and I regretted, and I have small children. If I gather them to him, they will be lost, and if I gather them to myself, they will be hungry," meaning that Allah relieved her. This has resulted in a matter, which is that many things are evident in knowledge, and one rules on them with something, then necessity changes that ruling for its owner. Al-Baghawi said: This was the first declaration of separation in Islam. Abu Hayyan said: Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would honor Khawlah, may Allah be pleased with her, when she entered [upon him and would say]: Allah has heard her. So the declaration of separation in the hadith of Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him, is temporary, while in the hadith of Khawlah, may Allah be pleased with her, it is absolute. And in the story of Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him, and those who follow his path, it is a newly invented monasticism that has not been properly observed like the monasticism of the Christians, and the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, did not follow it in its innovation as it should have been followed. As for in the story of Khawlah, may Allah be pleased with her, it is a correct case in which submission and lack of sorrow should have been as in the verse: "So that you do not grieve" [al-Hadid: 23], indicating that her refusal of her husband when he attempted to seduce her has a connection to monasticism, and the removal of her complaint while she is a weak woman of great virtue, and her provision is made greater by making it [a ruling] general for whoever falls into it from all of the Ummah.