And when glorified is He, He made the declaration of [zihar] clear and established its prohibition in the most eloquent and emphatic manner. What has passed in the customs must inevitably leave remnants of it. He followed that with a clarification of the ruling regarding this occurrence and what may occur from its counterparts, saying: "And those who declare [zihar]." And when it came to clarifying the ruling, He dropped the restriction to indicate its generality, as it applies to the disbeliever just as it applies to the Muslim, to emphasize the severity of the punishment upon him, so that it would not be assumed that it is specific to the Arabs whom He intended to declare [zihar] upon, as if they were unique in this matter from others. He said: "From their women," without "from you."

And when the implication of the wording necessitates distance from whom this was said about, then holding onto it afterward should be in the utmost distance. He indicated this by the tool of distance: "Then they return." That is, after this saying, "for what they said," in action, by repeating this saying once again, or in strength, by holding onto that saying for a time in which this saying can be repeated a second time without departing with a wording from what Allah has made the separation with, such as divorce or release or something similar. Thus, the one who declares [zihar] would be returning to this saying with strength, for the possibility of this saying in that time. This is because the custom dictates that whoever says a saying and does not finalize it, he will return to his saying once again and so on, or the estimation may be for the annulment of what they said: that they make permissible what they have prohibited upon themselves by not finalizing the divorce. If the [zihar] is conditional, its ruling is not obligatory except by the [hathth]. If he divorces immediately, otherwise the [expiation] will be obligatory upon him. The right expression is to express with "lam" for its indication of connection, as the situation requires, unlike "ila," for it indicates a delay and postponement. This is in the absolute [zihar]. As for the one that is timed by a day or month or something similar, he cannot return in it except by intercourse in the time of [zihar]. As for merely holding onto her, it is not a return, for he only held onto her for what he has in her of permissibility after the time of [zihar].

And when the connected subject contains the meaning of condition, he included the letter 'fa' in its news to indicate causation, so the obligation is repeated with the repetition of its cause. He said: "Then freeing" (p-350), meaning they must free a "neck" that is sound and free from any defect that would invalidate the complete work of servitude, and it must also be a believing one, because it was stipulated in the expiation for killing. This is to be understood in relation to that, and because "Muawiyah ibn al-Hakam, may Allah be pleased with him, had a slave girl and said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: I have a neck, should I free her? The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, asked her about Allah, and she informed him of what indicated her belief in His oneness. He said: Who am I? She said: You are the Messenger of Allah. He said: Free her, for she is a believer." This was narrated by Malik and Muslim. He justified the validity by faith and did not ask him about the cause of the obligation, which indicates that there is no difference between one obligation and another. The cause for the expiation is both [the act of] zihar and returning, just as the cause in the oath is [the oath] and the violation together.

And when freeing does not encompass the time before but occurs in some of it, he included the preposition and said: "before." And when the intended meaning is contact after zihar and not absolutely, he said: "that they touch each other," meaning that contact is renewed between them, which is sexual intercourse, whether the initiation of the act is from him or from her, as indicated by the form of mutual action. This is forbidden before the expiation, even if it is in the slightest forms of contact and the most concealed, as indicated by the merging, even if it is just the insertion of the glans with or without ejaculation. As for the preliminaries of intercourse, they are like those of a menstruating woman; they are not forbidden according to the more apparent opinion. If he has intercourse, he has sinned, and no other expiation is required, as narrated by al-Tirmidhi from Salamah ibn Sakhr, may Allah be pleased with him, "about the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding the one who practices zihar, he engages before expiation, and he said: One expiation."

And when admonition is to deter from the prohibited act for which it is given, he said, resuming: "That you are greatly admonished by it," meaning the great admonition that is general for you without any doubt. "You are admonished by it," meaning it should be a difficult deterrent for you from returning to the approach of such a thing, let alone committing it. For whoever Allah has forbidden for it, it is a permanent prohibition according to his claim, it is as if he has killed it. And because [that] is with a term he invented and violated the sanctity of his mother, it is as if he has committed a sin that has caused him to lose his entire self, leading him to [the point of] killing her limb by limb by freeing [a neck] that is equivalent to her neck and the neck of one who has killed her.

And when the decree was: 'Indeed, Allah is All-Seeing of what restrains you,' He followed it with His saying: 'And Allah,' meaning the One who has complete knowledge. He placed the preposition to indicate the intention of emphasizing the importance of adhering to the prohibition against that, so He said: 'By what you do,' meaning you renew your actions. 'All-Aware,' meaning knowledgeable of its outward and inward aspects. He is knowledgeable of what expiates it. So do what Allah has commanded and stop at His limits. Al-Qushayri said: '[And the dhihar -] even if it has no basis in reality, nor is there a correct pronunciation for it, nor does it have a ruling, after its matter was raised to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and he hinted at something and said: 'Indeed, it is His ruling.' Allah did not leave it without clarification, which He conveyed through His legislation, and He ruled in it with what encompassed the response to her complaint.