And the chaste women [al-muhsanat] is read with a فتح الصاد (opening of the صاد). And from Talhah ibn Masrif, he read it with a كسر الصاد (closing of the صاد). They are those who have husbands, because they have protected their private parts through marriage. So they are chaste women, except for what your right hands possess. He means: what your right hands possess from those who were taken captive and have husbands in the land of disbelief, so they are lawful for the warriors of the Muslims, even if they are chaste. In this meaning, there is the saying of al-Farazdaq:

"And the one who has a husband, our spears have married her... lawful for whoever builds with her, she has not been divorced."

[This is from al-Farazdaq, recited in a gathering of al-Hasan al-Basri when he was asked, may Allah be pleased with him, about taking a woman captive and having relations with her while she has a husband. He said: I used to see you as a poet, but you are more poetic and knowledgeable. Meaning: By the Lord of the one with a husband, the spears caused her marriage. The attribution of marriage to the spears is a mental metaphor. Lawful is the news of the one with a husband, and building upon her is a metaphor for entering her, because the husband usually builds a house for her upon entering. "She has not been divorced" is a circumstantial clause from the pronoun in "with her."]

The Book of Allah upon you is a source of confirmation, meaning Allah has decreed that upon you as a written decree and made it an obligation, which is the prohibition of what He has prohibited. If you say: What is the reason for the conjunction of His saying, "And it is lawful for you?" I say: It is on the implied verb that governs "the Book of Allah," meaning Allah has decreed upon you the prohibition of that, and made lawful for you what is beyond that. This is indicated by the reading of the Yemeni: Allah has decreed upon you, and made lawful for you. It has been narrated from the Yemeni: Allah has decreed upon you, in the plural and in the nominative, meaning these are the obligations of Allah upon you. And whoever reads: "And it is lawful for you," in the passive voice, has conjoined it to the prohibited.

To seek [an-tabtaghu] is an object of purpose meaning He has made clear to you what is lawful from what is prohibited, intending that your seeking be with your wealth which Allah has made for you as a means of support while you are chaste, not engaging in lewdness, so that you do not waste your wealth and impoverish yourselves in what is not lawful for you, and you lose your worldly life and your religion. There is no greater corruption than that which combines the two losses.

And al-iḥṣān (the state of being chaste) is the virtue of protecting oneself from falling into what is prohibited, and the wealth refers to the dowries and what is given in marriage. If you say: Where is the object of "to seek?" I say: It may be implied and it is the women. And it is better not to imply, as if it were said: to spend your wealth. And it may be that "to seek" is a substitute for "beyond that." And the lewd one is the fornicator, from السفح (safh), which means the spilling of semen. The wicked would say to the wicked woman: "Engage in lewdness with me and give me some of the pre-seminal fluid."

What you have enjoyed from them, meaning what you have enjoyed from the married women through intercourse or a valid seclusion or contract with them, then give them their due wages for it. The reference to "what" is omitted because it is not ambiguous, like His saying: "For indeed, that is among the resolved matters" by omission from it. And it may be that "what" means women, and "from" is for partitive or clarification, and the pronoun returns to it in the wording of "with it," and in meaning in: "Then give them" and their wages are their dowries because the dowry is a reward for the sexual act.

An obligation is a state of the wages meaning it is made obligatory or placed in the position of giving because giving is obligatory or a source of confirmation, meaning that obligation is an obligation in what you have mutually agreed upon after the obligation in what you reduce from the dowry, or gift to him from all of it, or increase for her beyond its amount. And it has been said in what you both agree upon regarding residence or separation. And it has been said: It was revealed regarding the temporary marriage that was for three days [The phrase "regarding the temporary marriage that was for three days" means this duration was permitted and then abrogated. (A)] when Allah opened Mecca for His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, and then it was abrogated. A man would marry a woman for a specified time, a night or two nights or a week, with a garment or otherwise, and fulfill his desire from her and then release her. It was called temporary marriage because of his enjoyment with her or for her enjoyment with what he gives her. And from Umar:

I will not bring a man who married a woman for a specified time except that I will stone both of them with stones. [Narrated by Muslim and Ibn Hibban through the narration of Jabir in the middle of a hadith.] And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, permitted it, then he began to say, "O people, I had commanded you to enjoy these women: Know that Allah has forbidden that until the Day of Resurrection." [Narrated by Muslim from the narration of Al-Rabi' ibn Maysarah from his father. (Note) The phrase 'then he began to say' does not mean that he said this on the morning after the night he had permitted it, but rather he meant that he said this in the morning.] It is said that it was permitted twice and forbidden twice. And Ibn Abbas said it is definitive [I did not find it.] meaning it has not been abrogated, and he used to recite: 'So enjoy what you have been given of them for a specified time.' It is reported that he recanted that at his death and said: 'O Allah, I repent to You from my words about mut'ah, and my words about al-sarf.' [As for his recantation of mut'ah, it was narrated by Al-Tirmidhi with a weak chain from him. As for his saying 'O Allah, I repent to You from my words about mut'ah,' I did not find it. As for his saying 'I repent to You from my words about al-sarf,' it was narrated from him in meaning from various sources: among them what Abu Ya'la narrated from the path of Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Naim who said: Abu Sa'id came to Ibn Abbas and mentioned his debate with him about al-sarf, and in it he said: So I heard him after that say: 'O Allah, I repent to You from what I had issued as a fatwa to the people regarding al-sarf.' And Al-Nasa'i in Al-Kuna from another source about Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he heard him say: 'I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to Him from my words about al-sarf.' And Ibn Adi from the narration of Dawood ibn Ali from his father from his grandfather that he abandoned his words about al-sarf when he heard Abu Sa'id narrating the prohibition of it. And Ibn Majah from the narration of Abu Al-Jawza that I heard Ibn Abbas commanding al-sarf, then it reached me that he recanted. Then I met him in Mecca and he said: 'Yes, it was merely an opinion of mine.' And Al-Hakim from his path similar to that. And Al-Tabarani from the narration of Bakr ibn Abdullah Al-Zuhri at length. And in it: 'And I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to Him.' And Al-Bukhari in Al-Tarikh from the narration of Ibn Sirin said: 'I bear witness on twelve of the companions of Ibn Mas'ud that they witnessed Ibn Abbas repented from his words about al-sarf: among them was Ubaidah Al-Salmani. And Abdul Razzaq reported to us from Al-Thawri from Abu Hashim Al-Wasiti from Ziyad who said: I was with Ibn Abbas in Ta'if and he recanted from al-sarf seventy days before he died.