His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And if you divorce them before you touch them and you have specified for them a specified compensation, then half of what you have specified, unless they pardon or the one in whose hand is the contract of marriage pardons. And if you pardon, it is closer to righteousness. And do not forget the favor among yourselves. Indeed, Allah is All-Seer of what you do."

The people have differed regarding this verse.

A group, including Malik and others, said that it excludes the divorced woman after the specification from the ruling of enjoyment, as His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And provide for them" [Al-Baqarah: 236] applies to her.

Ibn al-Musayyib said: This verse abrogated the verse in Al-Ahzab, because that one included enjoyment for everyone who had not yet consummated the marriage.

Qatadah said: This verse abrogated the previous verse.

Ibn al-Qasim in the "Mudawwana" said: The compensation was for every divorced woman by His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And for divorced women is a provision in a good manner" [Al-Baqarah: 241], and for those who have not been entered upon by the verse in Surah Al-Ahzab. Allah excluded the specified compensation for her before consummation in this verse and affirmed for the specified compensation for her half of what was specified only.

Zayd ibn Aslam claimed that it was abrogated by this verse, and he narrated this in the "Mudawwana" as a claim.

And Ibn al-Qasim said: It is an exception, and the clarification is returned to the abrogation that Zayd mentioned, because Ibn al-Qasim said: His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And for divorced women is a provision" [Al-Baqarah: 241] encompasses everyone, then Allah excluded from it this one for whom He specified before the touching.

A group of scholars, including Abu Thawr, said: The enjoyment is for every divorced woman in general, and this verse only clarified that the specified compensation for her takes half of what was specified, and it did not mean by the verse to negate her enjoyment, rather she has the enjoyment and half of the specified compensation.

The majority read: "Then half" with the raising of the letter, and the meaning is: then the obligation is half of what you have specified. And a group read: "Then half" with the accusative of the letter, and the meaning is: then pay half. And Ali ibn Abi Talib and Zayd ibn Thabit read: "Then half" with the raising of the letter in all of the Qur'an, and it is a language, and likewise, Al-Asma'i narrated a reading from Abu Amr ibn al-Alai.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Unless they pardon" is an exception that is disconnected, because their pardoning of the half is not of the same kind as taking it, and "they pardon" means: they leave and overlook, its form is yaf'alna. The meaning is: unless they leave the half that is due to them from the husband.

And the ones who pardon in this verse are every woman who has control over her own affairs. And Ibn Abbas and a group of jurists and followers said: The pardon of the virgin who has no guardian is permissible. And Sahnun narrated this in the "Mudawwana" from someone other than Ibn al-Qasim, after he mentioned to Ibn al-Qasim that her placing is half of the dowry is not permissible.

As for the one under the guardianship of a father or guardian, it is not permissible to place her for half of her dowry, this is the consensus in what I have preserved.

And the people have differed regarding the intended meaning of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Or the one in whose hand is the contract of marriage pardons."

(p-595) Ibn Abbas, Alqamah, Tawus, Mujahid, Shuraih, Al-Hasan, Ibrahim, Al-Shabi, Abu Salih, Ikrimah, Al-Zuhri, Malik, and others said: He is the guardian who has the woman in his care. He is the father to his daughter who does not have authority over herself, and the master to his female servant. As for Shuraih, he permitted the brother's pardon for half of the dowry. He said: I pardon the dowries of the Banu Murrah even if they dislike it. Likewise, Ikrimah said: It is permissible for the one who contracted the marriage between them, whether he is an uncle, brother, or father, to pardon, even if she dislikes it. A group of scholars said: The one who has the marriage contract in his hand is the husband. This was said by Ali ibn Abi Talib, and it was also said by Ibn Abbas. Shuraih also returned to this view, as did Sa'id ibn Jubair and many of the jurists of the cities. According to the first opinion, the recommendation for them is in the half that is due to the woman. Either she pardons, or her guardian pardons. According to the second opinion, the recommendation is in both directions. Either she pardons her half, so she does not take anything from the husband, or the husband pardons the half that he is owed, thus paying the entire dowry. This is the virtue from both of them, and according to the condition of the two spouses, it is good to endure and to be gracious. It is narrated that Jubair ibn Mut'im entered upon Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and offered him his daughter, so he married her. When he left, he divorced her and sent him the dowry. It was said to him: Why did you marry her? He said: She was offered to me, and I disliked to refuse. It was said: Then why do you send the dowry? He said: Where is the virtue? The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And those who argue say that the one who has the contract of marriage in his hand is the husband. They argue that this guardian is not allowed to leave anything of her dowry before divorce, so there is no difference after divorce. Also, it is not permissible for him to leave anything of her wealth that is not from the dowry. So why should he leave half of the dowry? Furthermore, if it is said that he is the guardian, what specifies some guardians over others while all of them have the contract of marriage in their hands? Whether he is a caretaker, or a guardian, or the judge, or a man from the tribe? And those who say that he is the guardian who has the authority refer to the verse because his saying: 'the one who has the contract of marriage in his hand' is a strong expression regarding the guardian, while it is somewhat weak regarding the husband. The matter is not as al-Tabari and Makki said, that the one who divorces has no contract in his hand; rather, the relationship of the contract to him remains, as he had contracted it before. Also, his saying: 'except that they pardon' does not include the one who does not have authority over herself, because she has no ability to pardon. Likewise, women should not be wronged by the pardon of the one who has authority over the one who does not have authority over herself. Furthermore, the verse is merely an encouragement to leave something that is due from the husband's wealth, which gives the meaning of pardon, which is leaving and discarding. Giving the husband the full dowry is not called pardon; rather, it is an invitation to generosity. Unless the woman is able to claim it. This framework is not to be considered. Makki said: And also, Allah mentioned the husbands in His saying: 'So half of what you have prescribed.' Then He mentioned the wives in His saying: 'they pardon.' How can He express about the husbands afterwards with 'the one who has the contract of marriage in his hand'? Rather, it is a third degree, and only the guardian remains for it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And in this there is consideration.

And the majority read: 'or he may pardon' with the opening of the waw because the verb is in the accusative. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan read: 'or he may pardon the one who' with a silent waw. Al-Mahdawi said that this is due to the analogy with the alif. And from it is the saying of Amir ibn al-Tufayl:

'What has made me blackened by Amir is a heritage that Allah has refused for me to rise with a mother or a father.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And what I have is that he found the opening heavy on a waw that is at the end, preceded by a moving letter, due to its rarity in the speech of the Arabs. Al-Khalil, may Allah have mercy on him, said: There has not come in speech a waw that is opened at the end, preceded by a fatha, except in their saying 'afawat', which is the plural of 'afw', which is the offspring of the donkey. Likewise, the movement that was before the opened waw is heavy.

Then He, the Exalted, addressed all, encouraging with His saying: 'And that you pardon is closer to piety.' That is: O all people, and this is the reading of the majority with the ta in two instances from above. Abu Nahik and al-Sha'bi read: 'and that he may pardon' with the ya, and that refers back to the one who has the contract of marriage in his hand.

And the majority read: "And do not forget the favor," while Ali ibn Abi Talib, Mujahid, Abu Haywah, and Ibn Abi Abla read: "And do not forget the favor," which is a reading that firmly conveys meaning. This is because it is a place of forgetting, not of oblivion, except by analogy.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And do not forget the favor﴾ encourages kindness. Mujahid said: The favor is the completion of the dowry in full, or the woman leaving the half that is due to her.

And His saying: ﴿Indeed, Allah is All-Seer of what you do﴾ is news that contains a promise for the doer of good and deprivation for the one who does not do good.