'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Al-Mujadila

It is agreed that it is a Medinan surah, except that Al-Naqqash reported that His saying, "There is no secret conversation among three" [Al-Mujadila: 7] is Meccan. And Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Whoever recites Surah Al-Mujadila is written among the party of Allah."

His saying, exalted is He:

"Indeed, Allah has heard the saying of the one who argues with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah. And Allah hears your mutual conversation. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing" "Those who declare their wives unlawful to them are not their mothers. Their mothers are none but those who gave birth to them. And indeed, they are saying a detestable word and a falsehood. And indeed, Allah is All-Pardoning, All-Forgiving."

"Allah has heard" is an expression of perceiving the heard things as they are in the most complete manner without any deficiency, limitation, or specification. "Exalted is Allah above that." The majority read: "Indeed, Allah has heard" with clarity, while Ibn Muhaisin read: "Indeed, Allah has heard" with merging. In the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, it is: "Indeed, Allah will hear."

And the people differed regarding the name of the one who argues. Qatadah said: She is Khawlah bint Tha'labah. It was said by Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that she is the daughter of Hakim. Some narrators and Abu Al-Aliyah said: She is Khawlah bint Dalij. Al-Mahdawi said: It was said: Khawlah bint Dalij. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said she is Jamila. Ibn Ishaq said: She is Khawlah bint Al-Samit. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said regarding her: Khawlah bint Khuwailid. Muhammad ibn Kab Al-Qurazi and Mundhir ibn Sa'id said: She is Khawlah bint Tha'labah.

Ibn Salam said: "Argues" means to fight in words. The origin of "arguing" is killing.

Most narrators agree that the husband in this verse is Aws ibn Al-Samit Al-Ansari, the brother of Ubadah ibn Al-Samit. Al-Naqqash narrated - and he is in the compilations - a hadith "from Salamah ibn Sakhr Al-Bayadhi that he declared his wife unlawful to him if he had relations with her during the month of Ramadan. He had relations with her one night, so he asked his people to ask the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, but they refused and condemned him for his act. So he went to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, himself and asked him and sought guidance, and the verse was revealed. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to him: Will you free a slave? He said: By Allah, I do not own anything but my own slave. He said: Will you fast for two consecutive months? He said: O Messenger of Allah, did I not come only for fasting? He said: Will you feed sixty poor people? He said: I do not find. So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, gave him the charity of his people, and he atoned with it. Salamah returned to his people and said: I found with you harshness and severity, and I found with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, leniency and kindness, and he has given me your charity."

As for what the majority narrated regarding the matter of Aws ibn al-Samit, its summary is that Aws pronounced [the form of] zihar from his wife Khawlah bint Khuwailid. Zihar in the pre-Islamic era necessitated a permanent separation according to them. This was stated by Abu Qilabah and others. When he did that, his wife came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: O Messenger of Allah, Aws has consumed my youth, and I have given him my womb. When I grew old and my family died, he pronounced zihar from me. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: I see that you have been forbidden to him. She said: O Messenger of Allah, do not do that; I am alone and have no family except him. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, responded to her with a similar statement, and she argued with him. During her argument, she would say: O Allah, I complain to You of my condition, my solitude, and my poverty towards him. It was narrated that she would say: O Allah, I have small children from him; if I bring them to him, they will be lost, and if I keep them with me, they will go hungry. This was her complaint to Allah. Then revelation descended - during her argument - upon the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, with this verse. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was present for this entire story. She would say: Glory be to Him whose hearing encompasses all voices. I was present for this entire story, and some of Khawlah's words were hidden from me, while Allah, the Exalted, heard her argument. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, sent for Aws and said to him: Will you free a slave? He said: By Allah, I do not own one. He said: Will you fast for two consecutive months? He said: By Allah, I cannot endure except on three meals a day, and if I do not do that, my sight will be overwhelmed. He said to him: Will you feed? He said: I do not find except that the Messenger of Allah helps me with assistance and prayer - meaning supplication. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, assisted him with fifteen sa' and prayed for him, and it was said: with thirty sa'. So he made expiation by feeding and his family remained.

And in the Mushaf of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: "Your conversation regarding her husband," and al-muhawarah: is the review of the saying and its exchange. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Abu Amr read: "They reveal," and Ubayy ibn Ka'b also read: "They pretend." And Asim, Abu Ja'far, al-Hasan, and Qatadah read: "They pretend," with the 'ya' pronounced as in the word "fa'il." This is very commonly used, and their saying: "al-dhihar" is evidence for it. What is meant by all of this is the man's saying to his wife: "You are to me like the back of my mother," meaning: in terms of prohibition, as if it is a reference to riding, since he recognized it in the backs of animals. The people of ignorance used to say this, so Allah, the Exalted, responded to their action with this verse and informed of the truth that the mother is the one who gives birth, while the ruling of the wife is not the same as that of the mother. The majority of people read: "Their mothers" with the accusative case of "mothers," and Asim - in the narration of al-Mufaddal from him - read: "Their mothers" in the nominative case. This is according to the two dialects in "ma," the dialect of Hijaz and the dialect of Tamim. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "They are not their mothers" with the addition of the preposition 'ba.' And Allah, the Exalted, made the saying of al-dhihar something abominable and false, so it is prohibited, but if it occurs, it is binding. Thus, the scholars have said about it, but its prohibition is like the prohibition of very disliked things. And Allah has promised after it that He is Forgiving and Merciful along with the expiation.