'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The Exalted said: "And the chaste women from among the women, except what your right hands possess. This is the Book of Allah upon you. And lawful for you is what is beyond that, so long as you seek with your wealth, chaste, not committing unlawful sexual intercourse. And whatever you enjoy of them, give them their due compensation as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree upon after the obligation. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise." "And the chaste women" is an addition to the previously mentioned prohibited ones. Al-taḥṣun means to refrain. It is said that a place is fortified when it is secure. From this comes the word ḥiṣn (fortress). A woman is said to be chaste when she refrains in one of the ways of refraining. She protects herself, and she is protected by others. Al-iḥṣān is used by the Arabs in four matters. Accordingly, the term is used in the Book of Allah, the Exalted: it is used in marriage, because the possession of a wife is a means of protection and preservation. They also use al-iḥṣān in freedom, because the status of female slaves in the pre-Islamic period was associated with fornication, while a free woman is contrary to that. Do you not see the words of Hind bint 'Utbah to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when she pledged allegiance to him: "Does a free woman commit fornication?" Freedom is a means of protection and preservation. They also use al-iḥṣān in Islam because it is a safeguard, and from this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Faith is a restraint against killing." And from this is the saying of al-Hudhali: 'It is not like the promise of the house, O mother of Malik, but chains surrounded the necks.' And from this is the saying of the poet: 'She said, come to the conversation, and I said no; God and Islam do not refuse you.' And from this is the saying of Suhaym: 'Enough is old age and Islam for a person to refrain.' And from this is the saying of Abu Hayyah: 'She threw me, and the veil of Allah was between me and her.' One of the interpretations of the veil is that it refers to Islam. They use al-iḥṣān in chastity, because if a person is connected to it and it manifests in a person, and they embody it, then it is a means of protection and preservation. Wherever the term appears in the Qur'an, you will not find it deviating from these meanings, but some of these meanings may be emphasized over others, depending on the context, and the explanation of that will come in its places, if Allah wills. So His saying in this verse: "And the chaste women," Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Qilabah, Ibn Zayd, Makḥul, al-Zuhri, and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: They are those who have husbands, meaning they are prohibited except for what your right hands possess from the captives of war. For that is lawful for the one to whom it falls into his share, even if she has a husband. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated: "That this verse was revealed because the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, sent an army to (p-513) Awṭas, and they encountered an enemy and captured women who had husbands from the polytheists. The Muslims felt guilty about having relations with them, so the verse was revealed permitting it."

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Jabir ibn Abdullah, and Ibn Abbas also said: The meaning of 'the chaste women' is those with husbands. They are forbidden except if a man buys a woman who has a husband. For indeed, selling her is her divorce, gifting her is her divorce, and giving charity with her is her divorce. And if she is freed, that is her divorce, and if she is inherited, that is her divorce, and the husband’s divorce is her divorce. Ibn Mas'ud said: If a woman is sold and she has a husband, then the buyer has more right to her intimacy. The position of Malik, al-Shafi'i, and the majority of scholars is that the transfer of ownership in a woman does not constitute divorce, and there is no divorce for her except the divorce itself.

And some said: 'The chaste women' - in this verse - are the chaste ones, meaning: all women are forbidden. And they were given the name of chastity since the laws in themselves necessitate that.

﴿Except what your right hands possess﴾ They said: Its meaning is: through marriage or purchase, all of that is under the ownership of the right hand. Abu al-Aliya, Ubaidah al-Salmani, Tawus, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, and 'Ata' said this, and Ubaidah narrated it from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.

And Ibn Abbas said: 'The chaste women' are the chaste ones among the Muslims and the People of the Book.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: With this interpretation, the meaning of the verse returns to the prohibition of adultery.

Al-Tabari narrated from 'Urwah that he said in the interpretation of His saying, the Most High: "And the chaste women": They are the free women, and the meaning of ﴿Except what your right hands possess﴾ is: through marriage. This is on the condition of the connection of the exception, and if it is intended for the maidservants, then the exception is disjointed.

It was narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that he said: There were women who came to us as emigrants, then their husbands emigrated, so we prohibited them by His saying, the Most High: "And the chaste women"... the verse.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This statement returns to what has been mentioned of the sayings.

Al-Tabari narrated that a man said to Sa'id ibn Jubayr: Did you not see Ibn Abbas when he was asked about this verse ﴿And the chaste women from among the women﴾, he did not say anything about it? Sa'id said: Ibn Abbas did not know it, and it was also narrated from Mujahid that he said: If I knew who could explain this verse to me, I would have struck my camels to him. His saying: "And the chaste women" to His saying: "Wise."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And I do not know how this statement was attributed to Ibn Abbas? And how did Mujahid arrive at this statement?

It was narrated from Ibn Shihab that he was asked about this verse ﴿And the chaste women from among the women﴾ and he said: It is narrated that he prohibited in this verse those with husbands and the chaste ones from free women and maidservants. And he did not permit anything from that except through marriage or purchase and ownership. And this is a good statement, generalizing the term of chastity and the term of ownership of the right hand. And on this interpretation, the statement of Malik in al-Muwatta is derived, for he said: They are those with husbands, and that returns to the fact that Allah prohibited adultery, so he explained chastity by marriage, then returned to it with chastity.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Abu Amr, Asim, Ibn Amer, and Hamzah read "And the chaste women" with a fatḥah on the ṣād in all of the Qur'an. Al-Kisai also read it this way in this instance only. The rest of what is in the Qur'an is read as "the chaste women" with a kasrah on the ṣād, and "chaste ones" likewise. It has been reported from Alqamah that he read all that is in the Qur'an with a kasrah on the ṣād. The fatḥah on the ṣād means: He has protected them from others, whether from a husband, Islam, chastity, or freedom. The kasrah on the ṣād means: They have protected themselves by these means or by some of them.

Yazid ibn Qutaybah read "And the chaste women" with a ḍamma on the ṣād, and this is in accordance with following the ḍamma.

The majority of the people read "the Book of Allah" and that is in the accusative as a source that confirms.

Abu Haywah and Muhammad ibn Al-Samif'ah Al-Yamani read "Allah has decreed upon you" in the past tense attributed to the name of Allah, the Exalted.

Ubaydah Al-Salmani and others said: His saying "the Book of Allah upon you" refers to what has been established in the Qur'an from His saying: "two, three, and four." In this, there is a distance, and it is more apparent that His saying: "the Book of Allah upon you" (p-516) is merely a reference to the prohibition that separates people from what the Arabs used to do. The statements of the interpreters differ regarding His saying, "And lawful for you is what is beyond that," so Al-Suddi said: The meaning is: And lawful for you is what is less than five, that you seek with your wealth in the manner of marriage. Ubaydah Al-Salmani said something similar. Ata and others said: The meaning is: And lawful for you is what is beyond those who are prohibited from other relations, so they are lawful for you to marry. Qatadah said: And lawful for you is what is beyond that from the female slaves.

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

And the wording of the verse encompasses all of these statements.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Abu Amr, and Ibn Amer read: "And He has made lawful for you" with a fatḥah on the alif and the ḥā', and this is suitable for His saying: "the Book of Allah," as the meaning is: Allah has written that as a book. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "And it has been made lawful" with a ḍamma on the hamzah and a kasrah on the ḥā', and this is suitable for His saying: "Prohibited to you" [An-Nisa: 23].

And "beyond" in this verse refers to what is considered after considering the prohibited. They are beyond those by this aspect, and "that you seek with your wealth" is a term that encompasses both marriage and purchase, and "that" is in the accusative, and according to Hamzah's reading, it is in the nominative, and the accusative is possible by dropping the preposition.

And "chaste ones" means: those who are abstaining, meaning: you protect yourselves by that "not engaging in illicit sexual intercourse," meaning: not committing adultery, and illicit sexual intercourse is derived from: the pouring and flowing of water, and this name has become synonymous with adultery, and from it is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when he heard the drummers at a wedding: "This is marriage, not illicit sexual intercourse, nor secret marriage."

The commentators have differed in the meaning of His saying: "So whatever you have enjoyed of them, give them their wages as an obligation." Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Ibn Zayd, and others said: The meaning is: If you have enjoyed the wife, and intercourse has occurred even once, then it is obligatory to give the wage, which is the entire dowry. The phrase "So whatever" indicates that even a small amount of intercourse requires the payment of the wage.

It has also been narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Suddi, and others that the verse pertains to the marriage of temporary enjoyment. Ibn Abbas, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and Sa'id ibn Jubair read: "So whatever you have enjoyed of them - until an appointed time - give them their wages." Ibn Abbas said to Abu Nadrah: "Thus Allah, the Exalted, revealed it."

Al-Hakam ibn Utaybah narrated that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "If it were not for Umar prohibiting temporary marriage, no one would commit adultery except the wretched."

Temporary marriage was permitted in the early days of Islam, then the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, prohibited it. Ibn Al-Musayyib said: The verse of inheritance abrogated it, as there is no inheritance in temporary marriage. It is said that Allah, the Exalted, said: "O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them for their waiting period." And Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: It was abrogated by His saying: "And those who guard their private parts" except from their spouses. There is no marriage with a specified term, and the lifting of divorce and waiting period, and inheritance. It was that a man marries a woman with two witnesses and the permission of the guardian for a specified term, and that there is no inheritance between them. He gives her what they agreed upon, and when the term ends, he has no claim over her, and she must ensure her womb is clear, as the child is certainly attributed to him. If she does not conceive, she is free to marry another.

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

In the book of Al-Nahhas: There is a gross error in the wording, which implies that the child is not attributed in temporary marriage. Al-Mahdawi narrated from Ibn Al-Musayyib that temporary marriage was without a guardian or witnesses, and what he narrated is weak. "As an obligation" is in the accusative case as a source in the context of the situation.

The commentators have differed in the meaning of His saying: "And there is no blame upon you" in the verse. Those who say that the preceding verse is a command to give the dowries of women when entering into them: This indicates what is mutually agreed upon regarding reduction or postponement after the obligation is established, for that which is done with mutual consent is permissible. Those who say that the preceding verse is a command for temporary marriage: This indicates that what they mutually agree upon regarding an extension of the duration of temporary marriage and an increase in the wage is permissible and acceptable.

The remainder of the verse is clear.