'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And if you intend to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a qintar, do not take anything from it. Will you take it by accusation and manifest sin?" "And how can you take it while you have gone in unto one another and they have taken from you a firm covenant?" When the ruling of separation caused by the woman has passed in the previous verse, and that the husband has the right to take money from her, after that He mentioned the separation caused by the husband, and the prohibition of taking her wealth with that. So this which is in this verse is what the husband specifically intends by his will. The scholars have differed: If both spouses intend separation, and there is from them a rebellion and bad companionship, Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The husband can take from her if she caused the separation, and his causing it is not taken into account. A group of scholars said: It is not permissible for him to take the wealth unless she is solely responsible for the rebellion and injustice in that. Some people said: This verse indicates the permissibility of exaggeration in dowries, because Allah, the Exalted, has given an example of a qintar, and He does not give an example except of what is permissible. Umar ibn al-Khattab gave a sermon and said: Do not exaggerate in the dowries of your women, for a man may exaggerate until it becomes in his heart enmity towards the woman, saying: I have burdened myself with the weight of the qintar or the sweat of the qintar. It is narrated that a woman spoke to him from behind the people and said: How is this? And Allah, the Exalted, says: "And you have given one of them a qintar." He then lowered his head and said: "All people are more knowledgeable than you, O Umar." It is narrated that he said: "A woman was right and a man was wrong," and Allah is the Helper, and he left the disapproval. A group said: The verse does not permit exaggeration in dowries because the example came in the context of exaggeration, as if He said: And you have given this great amount that no one gives. This is like his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever builds for Allah a mosque, even if it is as small as a nest for a quail, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise." It is known that there cannot be a mosque like a nest. And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to Ibn Abi Hadhrad - and he came to seek his help regarding his dowry - he asked him about the dowry, and he said: Two hundred, and the Messenger of Allah became angry and said: "As if you are cutting gold and silver from the surface of the earth or a mountain..." The hadith indicates that some people inferred from this the prohibition of exaggeration in dowries. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is not necessary, for this makes him more in need of assistance and asking, and that is disliked by consensus. Rather, the exaggeration that is disputed is with wealth and abundance of money. Ibn Muhaisin read with the connection of the letter 'alif' in 'one of them,' and this is a language where it is omitted for the sake of ease. And from it is the saying of the poet: "...and you hear from beneath the dust a sound for her." And the saying of another poet: "If I do not fight, then dress me in a veil."

And the saying regarding the value of the qintar has already been mentioned in the Surah of [Aal 'Imran]. Abu al-Sammal read "minhu shay'an" with a fatḥa on the ya and with tanwīn, which is the reading of Abu Ja'far. And the term al-buhtān is a source in the position of a حال, and its meaning is: bewildered and confused due to its ugliness and the disgrace of the incident and the act involved in it.

Then Allah, the Exalted, admonished His servants, reminding them of the affection that exists between the spouses, which necessitates the protection of the woman's wealth, as she has been compensated for what she has given. And "kayfa" is in the position of نصب as a حال, and its meaning is: to engage and surpass the utmost limit of engagement. From this is the saying of the poet:

"Indeed, it has led to every inscription, Its journey appeared from the apparent after the hidden."

And in the proverb, "People are in a state of confusion," meaning: they are mixed, with some engaging in the affairs of others. And you say: The situation has led to such and such, meaning: it has become so. Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, al-Suddi, and others said: The term al-ifḍā' in this verse means: sexual intercourse. Ibn 'Abbas said: But Allah is Generous and uses euphemisms.

The people have differed regarding the intended meaning of the firm covenant. Al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Qatadah, al-Dahhak, al-Suddi, and others said: It is His saying, the Exalted: "Then either retain them with kindness or release them with good treatment" [Al-Baqarah: 229]. Mujahid and Ibn Zayd said: The firm covenant is the marriage contract, and the saying of the man: "You married and possessed the marriage" and similar phrases, for this is what makes the private parts lawful. And 'Ikrimah and al-Rabi' said: The firm covenant is explained by the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Treat women kindly, for they are your captives. You have taken them by the trust of Allah, and you have made their private parts lawful by the words of Allah." And some said: The firm covenant is the child.

Among the rare opinions regarding this verse is that Bakr ibn 'Abd Allah al-Muzani said: It is not permissible to take anything from the one who initiates a divorce, whether little or much, even if she is the one wanting the divorce. And among them is that Ibn Zayd said: This verse has been abrogated by His saying, the Exalted, in [Surah Al-Baqarah]: "And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them, except that they both fear that they will not be able to maintain the limits of Allah. So if you fear that they will not be able to maintain the limits of Allah" [Al-Baqarah: 229]...the verse.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And there is no abrogation or abrogated in any of these verses; all of them are interconnected with one another.