Abdullah read: 'They take an oath from their women.' Ibn Abbas read: 'They divide from their women.' If you say: How is it that it is governed by 'min' while it is governed by 'ala'? I say: In this specific division, the meaning of distance is implied, as if it were said: They distance themselves from their women, either taking an oath or dividing. It is also possible that it is meant for them from their women to wait for four months, as in His saying:

From you, I have this. And the act of il'aa from a woman is for him to say: By Allah, I will not approach you for four months or more, according to the tradition of months. Or I will not approach you at all. And it is not to be less than four months, except for what is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i. The ruling on this is that if he returns to her during the period, [Mahamud, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'And the ruling on this is that if he returns to her during the period... etc. Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This interpretation is based on the opinion of Abu Hanifa, for he does not consider the return after the four months have passed to be valid if the divorce occurs simply by its passage; thus, the return is only considered valid for the four months specifically.'] by intercourse if he is able, or by words if he is unable: the return is valid, and the able one has sinned, and he is obligated to atone for the oath, and there is no atonement on the one who is unable. If the four months pass, she is divorced with one divorce according to Abu Hanifa. And according to al-Shafi'i: il'aa is not valid except for more than four months, then the husband is stopped; either he returns or he divorces, and if he refuses, the judge will divorce him. And the meaning of His saying, 'Then if they return,' is that if they return during the months, as evidenced by the reading of Abdullah: 'Then if they return in them, then indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful,' He forgives those who make il'aa for what they may do in seeking harm against women through il'aa, which is common, although it may be that it is out of their consent due to their compassion for the child from al-ghayl [The term 'al-ghayl' refers to a child born while the mother is nursing.]. Or for some reasons due to the return, which is like repentance. And if they intend divorce, then they should wait until the period passes, for indeed Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing, a warning against their insistence and their abandonment of the return. And according to al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, its meaning is: 'Then if they return, even if they intend,' [The phrase 'then if they return, even if they intend' means that both conditions according to al-Shafi'i apply after the period has passed.] after the period has passed. If you say: What is the significance of the 'fa' if the return occurs before the end of the waiting period? [Mahamud, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'If you say, what is the significance of the 'fa' if the return occurs before the end of the waiting period, etc. Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an answer to a question directed at Abu Hanifa, may Allah be pleased with him, for he sees the return only in the four months specifically, not in what follows. And Allah, the Exalted, has connected the return to the waiting period with 'fa,' and its implication, as you know, is that what is connected must occur after what it is connected to; thus, the occurrence of the valid return must be after the four months have passed, and Abu Hanifa rejects this. Therefore, al-Zamakhshari answered it with his previous answer, and my question can be resolved in another way, which is that the thing being connected is the waiting period, which is valid from the beginning of the period for the occurrence of the return during the period after the waiting, so there is no need for the answer with the mentioned example. Rather, al-Zamakhshari fell into the obligation of the question by assuming the return occurs in the four months before its waiting period, based on the belief that the statement 'I have waited for so-and-so for four months' is only true if the period has elapsed, but this is not the case. It is true for the judge to say at the time of setting the deadline for the husband: 'I have waited for you for four months,' as Allah, the Exalted, said: 'Let him see if he will return or not.' And the creditor can truthfully say to his debtor at the time of the loan: 'I have given you this debt for a year,' even if the requirement at that time is only a minute. Therefore, the waiting period connected in the verse occurs at the time of setting the mentioned deadline, and the return that occurs in the deadline only happens after it. Thus, the 'fa' is in its known place.] I say: The significance is correct because His saying: 'Then if they return,' and 'And if they intend' is a detail of His saying: 'For those who make il'aa from their wives.'

The detail follows the detailed, as you say: I am your guest this month. If I find you commendable, I will stay with you until the end; otherwise, I will only stay until I change. If you say: What do you say about His saying: (Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing)? [Mawlid: 'Then Ahmad said: In this answer, there is a response to another question directed at Abu Hanifa, may Allah be pleased with him, and it is said to him: If the four months passing necessitates the occurrence of divorce by itself without being dependent on the action of anyone, then what is it that is heard? This is more pertinent than the question that al-Zamakhshari proposed. One may say: He expressed the intention by the act because it usually entails it. In the midst of his words, there is a point that needs to be highlighted regarding his saying: and the intention is by what is known and not heard. What we need to point out is that the principle of the people of the Sunnah is that everything that exists may be heard, even substances, colors, and meanings in general. It is also believed that Moses, peace be upon him, heard the eternal speech, which is neither a letter nor a sound. Thus, hearing does not depend on the fact that what is heard is a sound or speech. However, it is customary to divide existents into what is heard, seen, touched, smelled, and tasted, which is known by the senses, and into what is known by other means. Based on this custom, Allah's address to His servant has proceeded, and if al-Zamakhshari is steadfast in what he said regarding the customary matter, believing what we have mentioned regarding the known - and I do not see it that way - then the matter is easy. If he has framed his words mentioned based on the principle of the Mu'tazila - which is apparent from his belief that anything other than sounds cannot be heard rationally - then caution is needed from this corrupt principle, and Allah is the One sought for help. Then we must look into the issue of 'ila' concerning what is believed by the school of Malik, may Allah be pleased with him. The school of Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, is what al-Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, followed in this matter. We say: The mere passing of four months does not necessitate the occurrence of divorce for the husband, because the original principle is the continuation of the bond. Allah has made for him the option after the specified waiting period. We have clarified earlier that the verse does not prevent the occurrence of the option within the term, and it also does not prevent it after the term. Thus, it is organized from its two principles, namely the continuation of the bond and the avoidance of contradiction with the verse, the occurrence of the valid option after the term, and the continuation of the bond after the term, maintaining the original principle is not contradicted by the verse, and this is what is required.] And their intention of divorce by what is known and not heard? I said: It is common that one who intends divorce and refrains from the option and harm does not lack negotiation and murmuring. [The saying 'does not lack negotiation and murmuring' in the dictionaries: murmuring means to stick something to the ground, but it is not suitable here, perhaps it is a reference to 'zamzam' with a 'z'. In the dictionaries: 'zamzam' is the sound of thunder. 'Zamzam' is the speech of the Magians when they eat. Or it is a reference to 'ramramah' with an 'r', and in the dictionaries: 'tarmaram' means to move one's mouth to speak. This is more suitable.] And he must talk to himself and converse with it, and that conversation is heard only by Allah, just as He hears the whispering of the devil. And the divorced women refer to those who have been entered upon from among those who have cycles. If you say: How is it permissible to intend them specifically while the wording implies generality? I said: Rather, the wording is unrestricted in encompassing the species, suitable for all of it and some of it, so it came in one of what is suitable for it like a common name. If you say: What is the meaning of informing about them regarding the waiting period? I said: It is news in the meaning of a command. The essence of the speech is: And let the divorced women wait. And presenting the command in the form of news is an affirmation of the command, and an indication that it is something that should be received with haste to comply with it, as if they have complied with the command to wait, so it is reported as existing. Similar to their saying in supplication: May Allah have mercy on you, presented in the form of news in trust of acceptance, as if mercy has been found, so it is reported about it, and its construction on the subject has also added to it a degree of emphasis. And if it were said:

And the divorced women wait, they were not in that state. If you say: Why is it not said: they should wait three quru', as it was said to wait four months? And what is the meaning of mentioning the souls? I say: In mentioning the souls, there is an incitement for them to wait and an increase in motivation, because in it there is what they may shy away from, which compels them to wait. That is because the souls of women are inclined towards men, so they were commanded to restrain their souls and overcome their inclination and compel themselves to wait. The quru' is the plural of quru' or quru', and it refers to menstruation, as evidenced by his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Leave off prayer during your menstruation days." [[Narrated by al-Tahawi and al-Daraqutni from the hadith of Fatimah bint Abi Hubaysh, who said: O Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who experiences continuous bleeding and do not become pure. He said: Leave off prayer during your menstruation days, then wash and pray.]] And his saying: "The divorce of a female slave is two divorces, and her waiting period is two menstruations." [[Narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Hakim from the narration of Mazahir ibn Aslam from al-Qasim from Aisha regarding this. Mazahir is weak. Ibn Majah and al-Daraqutni narrated it from the narration of Atiyyah from Ibn Umar similarly: and in it is Umar ibn Shabib, who is weak.]] And he did not say two purifications. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And those who have ceased menstruating among your women, if you doubt, their waiting period is three months," thus establishing the months in place of menstruation rather than purifications. This is because the original purpose of the waiting period is to ascertain the womb, and menstruation is what ascertains the wombs, not purification. Therefore, the ascertaining of a female slave is by menstruation. It is said: A woman has menstruated if she has had her period. And a woman who menstruates. Abu Amr ibn al-Ala said: So-and-so gave his female slave to so-and-so to keep her until she menstruates for the purpose of ascertaining. If you say: What do you say about His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "So divorce them for their waiting period," and the legal divorce is only during purification? I say: Its meaning is: awaiting their waiting period, as you say: I met him with three days remaining of the month, meaning awaiting three days, and their waiting period is the three menstruations. If you say: What do you say about the saying of al-A'sha: "For what has been lost in the quru' of your women?" [[In every year are you burdened with a campaign ... tightening your resolve for its farthest point. A source of wealth and honor in the tribe ... for what has been lost in the quru' of your women.]] Al-A'sha says to his neighbor: Is it appropriate for you to burden and tire yourself every year by entering a campaign and undertaking what is here, tightening and securing your resolve, for its farthest point: meaning its most distant and highest or its limit and end. And a source of wealth means it brings you much wealth from its spoils, and honor for you in the tribe because of what has been lost in it, meaning in the known years of each year, and the 'lam' is for the consequence, likening the loss of the quru' resulting from his going out for the campaign to a desired matter in a metaphorical way, and the 'lam' of reason is figurative, or likening the arrangement of the undesirable to the arrangement of the desirable, and borrowing the 'lam' in a literal way, and in it is a type of reproach. It is also possible that this question is for astonishment, so his saying "for what has been lost in it" is part of the astonishment. And the quru' that is lost for the husband are the purifications, because they are the times in which they have relations, not the menstruations, and the loss of that leads to the cessation of offspring.

I said: He intended: When it was lost among your many wives, due to the well-known waiting period among them, that is, for a long duration like the period women wait, the duration of his absence from his family each year due to his involvement in wars and raids. And it passes over his wives a duration like the waiting period, during which they do not engage in intimacy, or he meant from the times of your wives, for the word 'qur' and 'qari' have come in the meaning of time, and he did not mean either menstruation or purity. If you say: Why is 'three quru' in the accusative case? I say: It is as a direct object like saying: The hoarder waits for the price to rise, meaning they wait for three quru to pass, or it is as a time frame, meaning they wait for a duration of three quru. If you say: Why is the distinguishing term in the plural form of abundance rather than the plural of scarcity which is 'aqra'? I say: They expand in that and use each of the two plurals interchangeably due to their shared meaning of plurality. Do you not see His saying: 'with themselves' and it is nothing but many souls? And perhaps 'quru' was more commonly used in the plural form of 'qur' than 'aqra', so it was preferred over it, treating the less used term as if it were neglected, similar to their saying: three ropes. And Al-Zuhri read: three quru, without the hamzah. What Allah created in their wombs, whether from children or from menstrual blood. This is when a woman desires to part from her husband and conceals her pregnancy so that he does not wait for her to give birth before divorcing her, and so that he does not feel compassion for the child and thus refrain from her release, or she conceals her menstruation and says while she is menstruating: I have become pure, hastening the divorce. It is also possible that it refers to those who wish to abort what is in their wombs from the embryos, so they do not acknowledge it and deny it for that reason. Thus, concealing what is in their wombs is a metaphor for aborting it, if they believe in Allah and the Last Day, to emphasize their actions, and that whoever believes in Allah and His punishment does not dare to commit such great sins. 'Al-Ba'oolah' is the plural of 'ba'al', and the 'ta' is a suffix for the feminine plural as in 'hazunah' and 'suhulah'. It is also possible that 'al-ba'oolah' refers to the source from saying: 'ba'al has good companionship', meaning: And the people of their husbands are more deserving of their return. In the reading of Ubayy: 'in that' during the duration of that waiting period. If you say: How are they made more deserving of the return, as if the women have a right in it? I say: The meaning is that if the man desires to return and the woman refuses him, his word should be preferred over hers, and he is more deserving than her. However, she has a right in the return if they intend by the return to reconcile what is between them and to do good to them, and they do not intend to harm them. And for them is like what is upon them, and they must have rights over the men similar to what is due to them by good conduct in a manner that is not denied in the law and the customs of people. So they should not be burdened with what is not theirs, nor should they burden them with what is not theirs, and neither spouse should mistreat the other. The intended similarity is the similarity of the obligatory rights in being good, not in the type of action. So it is not obligatory for him, if she washes his clothes or bakes for him, to do likewise, but he should reciprocate with what is suitable for men, with an increase in rights and virtue. It is said that a woman experiences pleasure similar to that of a man, but he has the virtue of providing for her and spending on her needs.