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

Tafsir of Surah At-Talaq

It is a Medinan surah by consensus of the people of tafsir.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿O Prophet, when you divorce women, divorce them for their waiting period and count the waiting period accurately. And fear Allah, your Lord. Do not expel them from their houses, nor should they leave unless they commit a clear immorality. And those are the limits of Allah. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah has certainly wronged himself. You do not know; perhaps Allah will bring about after that a different matter﴾ ﴿And when they have reached their term, either retain them in a good manner or part with them in a good manner. And bring in to witness two just men from among you and establish the testimony for Allah. This is instructed to whoever should believe in Allah and the Last Day. And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out﴾ ﴿And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a decreed extent﴾.

Divorce, in general, is disliked, because it is a waste of unity in Islam. Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Do not divorce women except for a reason, for Allah does not love those who are frivolous or those who are frivolously divorced." Anas narrated that he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "No one swears by divorce or is sworn by it except a hypocrite." There is a difference of opinion regarding the beginning with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, then His saying, exalted is He, afterwards, "You have divorced." Some grammarians said - as reported by Al-Zahrawi - that this is a transition from addressing individuals to addressing a group, and this is present. Others among them said: In the address to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, his nation was intended with him, and that is why He, exalted is He, said: "You have divorced." Others among them said: The meaning is: O Prophet, tell them when you divorce. Others said: It is as when a great man says: "We did this and that," the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is addressed here with "You have divorced" as an expression of his greatness. This is similar to His saying, exalted is He, regarding Abdullah ibn Ubayy: ﴿They are the ones who say﴾ [Al-Munafiqun: 7] when his saying is among what a group says. Similarly, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in this is addressed in a manner that is for a group.

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

What appears to me in this is that they are two separate addresses. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was addressed in a manner that indicates the importance of hearing the words and receiving the command. Then it was said to him: ﴿When you divorce﴾, meaning: you and your nation. So His saying, exalted is He, "When you divorce" is the beginning of a statement as if the surah had begun with it. And the divorce of women is the dissolution of their bond. The forms of that and its variations are not specific to tafsir.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So divorce them for their waiting period﴾, means: for their reception and maintenance and their proximity to them. Uthman, Ibn Abbas, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Mujahid, Ali ibn Al-Husayn, Zayd ibn Ali, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with them, read: "For the reception of their waiting period," meaning: for their reception. It was narrated from some of them and from Ibn Umar the two readings from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "For the reception of their purity."

The meaning of this verse is that no one should divorce his wife except during a period of purity in which he has not touched her. This is according to the school of Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, and others who said that 'the periods' refer to the times of purity. Therefore, the one who divorces may do so during a period of purity in which he has not touched her. The woman then observes two menstrual cycles, counting the period of purity between them, and then she remains in the third period of purity, counting it. When she sees the first sign of her third menstrual cycle, she is free to remarry. Those who said that 'the periods' refer to menstruation - and they are the people of Iraq - said that 'for their waiting period' means that she should be divorced while she is pure, so she will then observe three complete menstrual cycles. When she sees the purity after the third cycle, she is free to remarry. Among these people, there is a leniency regarding whether he has touched her during the period of divorce or not. Malik also said, 'If he divorces during a period in which he has touched her, the divorce is valid.' It is not permissible to divorce a menstruating woman because her waiting period would be prolonged. It has also been said that she should observe the waiting period, even if he justified it by saying it would be prolonged; it should not be permissible even if she agrees to it. The basis for this is the hadith of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, 'I divorced my wife while she was menstruating. This reached the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, who said to Umar,

(p-329) And the people differed in the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Except that they bring forth a clear immorality﴾. Qatadah, Al-Hasan, and Mujahid said: That is zina (fornication), so they should be brought out for punishment. This is the saying of Al-Shabi, Zayd ibn Aslam, Hammād, and Al-Layth. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: That is indecency towards relatives, so she goes out and loses her right to residence, and she must remain in a place that she takes for the preservation of lineage. In the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, it is written:

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So when they reach their term﴾ means the end of the waiting period. And "holding on in a good manner" is good companionship in spending and otherwise. And "parting in a good manner" is the giving of the dowry, the enjoyment, the payment of all rights, and fulfilling the conditions, and so on according to the circumstances. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And bring to witness two just men from among you﴾ means: upon the return, and that is a condition for the validity of the return. And for the woman, she may prevent her husband from herself until he witnesses. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: what is meant is: upon the return and upon divorce; because the witnessing raises many issues regarding the circumstances, and the dating of the witnessing is from the witnessing. And Al-Nakha'i said: the just is one from whom no suspicion appears. This is the saying of the jurists. And the just is truly one who fears none but Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And His saying, glorified is He: ﴿And establish the testimony for Allah﴾ is a command for the witnesses. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿That is what is admonished by it﴾ refers to the establishment of the testimony. This is because all the rulings and matters revolve around the establishment of the testimony.

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out﴾ ﴿And will provide for him from where he does not expect﴾, Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and many of the interpreters said: it is in the context of divorce, meaning: and whoever does not exceed in the divorce of the Sunnah to the divorce of three and otherwise, Allah will make for him a way out if he regrets the permissible return, and He will provide him with what his family eats, and He will expand for him. And whoever does not fear Allah, perhaps he will divorce and sever ties and regret, and he will have no way out, and the provision of his wife will be removed. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, explained this, saying to the one who divorced three times: you did not fear Allah, glorified and exalted is He, so your wife has been separated from you and I do not see for you a way out. Ibn Abbas also said: the meaning of "He will make for him a way out" is that He will relieve him from the troubles of this world and the Hereafter. There is a difference in the wording of this narration, but this is the meaning.

And some narrators of the reports said: "This verse was revealed concerning 'Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja'i, because his son was captured, and it was decreed upon him. So he complained about that to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, who commanded him to fear Allah. It was said: he did not remain long before his son escaped, and he took a flock of sheep from the people who captured him. And his father asked 'Awf the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: is it lawful for him to take those sheep? The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: yes." And the verse was revealed concerning that.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him﴾, the entire verse is for all people. And "al-hasb" means the sufficient and pleasing. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: This is one of the most encouraging verses for reliance. It is narrated that a man said to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: Appoint me to what Allah has appointed you. Umar said to him: Do you read the Qur'an? He said: No. Umar said: Then I do not appoint one who does not read the Qur'an. The man learned in hopes of the appointment, and when he memorized much of the Qur'an, he fell behind Umar. Then one day he met him, and Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him: What delayed you? He said: I learned the Qur'an, and Allah has made me independent of Umar and his door. Then he recited these verses from this surah.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, Allah is All-Able to carry out His command﴾ is a clarification and encouragement for reliance. That is, the command of Allah, exalted is He, must come to pass whether you rely upon Him, O man, or do not rely upon Him, as Masruq said. If you rely upon Him, He will suffice you and you will hasten to comfort and blessing. And if you do not rely upon Him, He will leave you to your incapacity and discontent. And His command, exalted and mighty, is effective in both cases.

And Dawood ibn Hind read - and it was narrated from Abu Amr - "balighu amruhu" with the raising of "amr". The object is omitted, its meaning being: His command is effective as He wills. The majority of the seven reciters and the people read: "balighu amrahu" with the accusative of "amr". Hafs and Al-Mufaddal from Asim read: "balighu amrihi" with the genitive and without the tanween in "balighu". This was narrated from Abu Amr and Al-A'mash, and it is the reading of Talhah ibn Musarif. The majority of the people read: "qadran" with the dal being silent, while some reciters read: "qadaran" with the dal being opened. All of this is an encouragement for reliance.