His saying, exalted is He: "If he divorces her, then she is not lawful for him after that until she marries a husband other than him. If he divorces her, then there is no blame upon them if they return to each other if they think that they will maintain the limits of Allah. And those are the limits of Allah which He makes clear to a people who know." And when you divorce the women and they have reached their term, then either retain them in a good manner or release them in a good manner. And do not retain them to harm them, so that you transgress. And whoever does that has certainly wronged himself." (p-566) Ibn Abbas, Al-Dhahhak, Qatadah, and Al-Suddi said: This is the beginning of the third divorce. Then the previous release is the letting the woman complete her waiting period from the second one. And from the saying of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that Khul' is the dissolution of the bond, and it is not a divorce. He argued from this verse by mentioning Allah's, exalted is He, mention of the two divorces, then His mention of Khul', then His mention of the third after the two divorces, and there is no ruling for Khul' that is taken into account. This was mentioned by Ibn Al-Mundhir in his book Al-Ishraf about him, and from Ikrimah, Tawus, Ahmad, Ishaq, and Abu Thawr, and he mentioned the disagreement of the majority with their saying. Mujahid said: This verse clarifies what is required in the release. And the release is the third divorce. Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And His saying, exalted is He: "or a release" [Al-Baqarah: 229] can be understood in two ways: either he leaves her to complete her waiting period, or it is the third divorce. Then He clarified in this verse the ruling of the one possibility, as the second possibility has been understood that it has no ruling upon her after the waiting period has ended. And "to marry" in the language is in accordance with its reality in intercourse and is a metaphor in contract. The ummah has agreed in this matter to follow the authentic hadith regarding the daughter of Samawal, (p-567) the woman of Rifa'ah when she was married to Abdurrahman ibn Al-Zubayr, and Rifa'ah had divorced her three times. She said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'I do not want to remain with Abdurrahman, for he has nothing with him except the like of a thread.' The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to her: 'Perhaps you want to return to Rifa'ah?' She said: 'No, until he tastes your sweetness and you taste his sweetness.' The scholars see that the lawful marriage is indeed the entering and intercourse, and all of them agree that the insertion of the glans is permissible, except Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan, for he said: 'It is not permissible except with ejaculation, which is the tasting of the sweetness.' Some of the jurists said: The meeting of the circumcised parts is permissible. Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the meaning is the same, as the circumcised parts do not meet except with the insertion, which is the opinion of the majority. It has been narrated from Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyib that the contract upon her makes her lawful for the first husband, and this statement was deemed incorrect due to the contradiction with the authentic hadith. It is interpreted regarding Sa'id, may Allah have mercy on him, that the hadith did not reach him. And when he saw the contract acting in preventing a man from marrying a woman whom his father had contracted for, he analogized it to the contract in the permissibility of the divorced woman, and the permissibility of the divorced woman is a concession, so it is not completed except with the utmost, and he prevented the son from excessive interference with the gentlest of reasons based on their original principle in righteousness and oaths.

And that which is permissible according to Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, is the valid marriage and the permissible intercourse. The one who is made lawful is if it coincides with the woman: so she has not been married to a husband, and that is not permissible. I do not know of any disagreement in this with the wife. (p-568) And Uthman ibn Affan said: If the one who makes lawful intends only the legalization, it is not permissible, and likewise if the woman intends it alone. Ibrahim and al-Shabi permitted it - with the intention of the woman alone - if the husband does not command it.

And Hasan ibn Abi Hasan said: If one of the three intends the legalization, it is not lawful for the first, and this is an odd opinion. And Salim and al-Qasim said: There is no harm in him marrying her to make her lawful if neither of the two husbands knows.

And His saying, the Most High: "So if he divorces her, there is no blame" - the meaning is: If the second husband divorces her, there is no blame upon them, meaning the woman and the first husband. This was said by Ibn Abbas, and there is no disagreement in it. The presumption here is in its proper place, from the preference of one of the two permissible options. And Abu Ubaidah said: "We are certain." And His saying regarding this is weak, and "the limits of Allah" are the matters which He commanded not to transgress.

And He specified those who know by the mention as a form of honor for them, for they are the ones who benefit from what has been clarified, meaning it has been established for the purpose of reflection from a saying or action.

As for if we intend by the clarification the creation of clarity in the heart, that necessitates the specification of those who know by the mention, because whoever is sealed upon his heart, nothing has been clarified for him. And the seven reciters read "He clarifies it" with a 'ya'. And Asim read in what has been narrated from him "We clarify it" with a 'noon'.

And His saying, the Most High: "And when you divorce women" - this verse addresses men and is not specific to its ruling except for husbands. And this is a prohibition for the man to prolong the waiting period for the woman out of harm to her, by taking her back close to the end of it, then divorcing after that. This was said by al-Dahhak and others, and there is no disagreement in it.

And the meaning of "They have reached their term" is that they have approached, because the meaning necessitates that, for after reaching the term, he has no choice in retaining her.

(p-569) And the meaning of "Retain them" is to return to them, and "with kindness" it was said: is the witnessing. And "And do not retain them" means do not return to them out of harm, and the remainder of the verse is clear.