His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And give them what they have spent, and there is no blame upon you for that which you invite them to marry when you have given them their due compensation. And do not hold on to the bonds of disbelieving women. And ask for what you have spent, and let them ask for what they have spent. That is the judgment of Allah; He judges between you. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." [Al-Mumtahana: 10] "And if something of your wives escapes to the disbelievers and you seek revenge, then give those whose wives have gone the like of what they have spent. And fear Allah, in whom you believe." Allah, exalted and majestic is He, commanded that the disbelievers be given the dowries of their women who have migrated as believers. He lifted the blame for them to marry after giving them their due compensation. He commanded the Muslims to separate from the disbelieving women and not to hold on to their bonds. It was said that the verses refer to the idol-worshippers and those whose marriage is not permissible from the beginning. It was also said that it is general, from which the women of the People of the Book were abrogated. "The bonds" is the plural of "bond," which are the reasons for companionship and remaining in marriage. Likewise, the bond in everything is the reason by which one holds on and relies upon. The majority of the seven reciters and the people read: "do not hold on" with the 'ta' being pronounced with a dammah and the 'seen' being broken and lightened, from "held on." Abu Amr alone, Ibn Jubair, Mujahid, Al-A'raj, and Al-Hasan read differently: "And do not hold on," from "held" with emphasis on the 'seen.' Al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Layla, and Ibn Amer - in the narration of Abdul Hamid - read: "And do not hold on" with the 'ta' being opened and the 'm' and 'seen' being opened and emphasized. Al-Hasan read: "And you hold on" with the 'ta' being opened and the 'm' being silent and the 'seen' being lightened. I saw that Abu Ali Al-Farisi said: I heard the jurist Abu Al-Hasan Al-Karkhi say in the interpretation of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And do not hold on to the bonds of disbelieving women" [Al-Mumtahana: 10] that it is regarding men and women. I said to him: The grammarians only see this in women; because "disbelieving women" is the plural of "disbeliever." He said: What prevents this? Do people not say: A disbelieving group and a disbelieving village? I was astonished and said: This is support.

And Allah, the Most High, commanded that the disbelievers be asked to pay the dowries that the believers gave to those who fled from their wives to the disbelievers. The ruling on this was established for all. It has been narrated from Ibn Shihab that Quraysh said: 'We do not accept this ruling, nor will we adhere to it, nor will we pay anyone a dowry.' As a result of this, the other verse was revealed: 'And if one of you is lost...' Allah, the Most High, commanded the believers to pay to the one whose wife fled and missed her dowry that he spent. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said in the book of Al-Thaalabi: 'Five women from the women of the emigrants returned from Islam and joined the polytheists: Umm al-Hakam bint Abi Sufyan, who was married to Iyad ibn Shaddad, and Fatimah bint Abi Umayyah, the sister of Umm Salamah, who was married to Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and Abidah bint Abd al-Aziz, who was married to Hisham ibn al-Aas. And Umm Kulthum bint Jarool, who was married to Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, gave them their wives' dowries from the spoils of war.'

People differed on what wealth should be given as the dowry. Muhammad ibn Shihab al-Zuhri said: 'It should be given from the dowries that were given to the disbelievers due to those who migrated from their wives. Allah, the Most High, intended to give it to them when they did not accept His ruling as we have mentioned. This is a correct statement supported by His saying: 'So you have punished them.' We will explain this when interpreting the word, if Allah, the Most High, wills. Mujahid and Qatadah said: 'It should be given from the spoils of the battles.' These people said: 'The punishment is the raid and the spoils,' and they interpreted the word in this meaning. Al-Zahrawi also said: 'It should be given to him from any of the sources of the spoils that is possible.'

And 'the punishment' in this verse does not mean repaying evil with evil, but rather it means: you have become like them in the state they have reached from you. This is because something from your wives has escaped to you. Thus, it is the following up on the camels and the animals, that this one rides after this one, and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: 'And if one of your wives is lost...' It is said that a man punished his companion in such and such, meaning: each one of them follows the action of the other. It is said: 'The man followed,' and from this is the saying of the poet:

And the misfortune of the fierce did not have a follow-up for the worth of the borrowers.

(p-286) It is said: 'Aqab' - with a strong 'qaf' - means: he attained the consequence. 'Taqib' means: a raid following a raid. It is also said: 'Aqaba' with a light pronunciation, and it is said: 'Aqiba' with a broken 'qaf'. All of this has meanings that bring some of them closer to each other, and all of that gathers proximity. The majority of people read: 'Aqabtum' with emphasis on the 'qaf'. Al-A'raj also read, as did Abu Haywah and Al-Zahrawi: 'Aqabtum' with a light 'qaf'. Al-Nakha'i and Al-Zuhri also read: 'Aqibtum' with a broken 'qaf'. All of them mean: you gained. It has been narrated from Mujahid: 'Aqabtum' with a broken 'alif' before the 'ain'. This entire verse has had its ruling elevated. Then, the Most High urged towards piety and made it obligatory, and mentioned the reason by which piety becomes obligatory, which is belief in Allah, the Most High, and affirmation of His Oneness, His attributes, His punishment, and His blessings.