ـَٔاتُ

4:26; 5:6.

4:5; 60:11.

Important Words:

المحصنات (married) is the plural of محصنة and is derived from حصن meaning, he or it was or became inaccessible, fortified or protected against attack. حصن المرأة means, the woman was chaste, i.e. protected against moral or sexual sinfulness. احصنت المرأة means, the woman got married. محصنة therefore, means a married woman; a chaste woman who abstains from what is unlawful; a free or noble woman as opposed to a bondwoman. Similarly محصن means, a married man; chaste man who abstains from what is unlawful: a free or noble man. حصن means, a fort or a fortress. The word محصنات would, therefore, mean, women who have protected themselves by entering, as it were, the fortress of marriage. The word has been used in the Quran in all the different senses, i.e. (1) married women, (2) chaste women and (3) free women; but in the present verse it has been used in the sense of married women (Lane & Aqrab).

مسافحین (committing fornication) is the active participle from سافح which is derived from سفح. They say سفح الدم i.e. he shed blood or made it flow. سفح الدمع means, tears began to flow. Thus the word is both transitive and intransitive. سافحة means, he vied with the other party in shedding blood; he committed fornication. مسافحة means, a fornicator and مسافحة means, a fornicatress (Lane & Aqrab).

اجور (dowries) is the plural of اجر which means, reward or wages. اجر المرأة means, dowry of a woman (Taj). Also, in 33:51 the word has been used in the sense of dowry.

استمتعتم (the benefit you receive) is formed from متع. They say متعھا بکذا i.e. he gave her (his wife) such a thing. تمتع بالمرأةmeans, he benefited by the woman temporarily. استمتع بکذا means, he benefited by it for a long time. The Arabic idiom does not countenance the use of استمتاع with regard to a woman in the sense of temporary connection (Lisan). It must also be noted that whenever the noun تمتع (tamattu‘) is used to denote temporary connection with a woman, it is followed by the preposition با (ba) put before the word standing for the woman, as in the above example. But in the expression فما استمتعم به منھن to pronoun ھن referring to women is preceded by the preposition من.

ماملکت ایمانکم (what your right hands possess). The Arabs say ھذا ملک یمینی i.e. he or it is in the possession of my right hand, meaning, he or it is in my possession and I can deal with him or it as I like (Lisan & Aqrab). The expression ما ملکت ایمانکمgenerally signifies, men or women taken prisoner in war and being in the custody and control of their Muslim captors. In this verse, the expression means women prisoners only. The term has been used by the Quran in preference to عباد or اماء (slaves and bondwomen) to point to just and rightful possession, the word ایمان (right hands) also pointing to the same fact.

Commentary:

The expression, such as your right hands possess, has been used in the Quran with regard to those men or women who took part in aggressive wars against Islam and fell prisoners into the hands of Muslims. The context, however, shows that the expression used in the present verse means female prisoners of war. Islam does not allow women taken prisoner in ordinary wars to be taken as wives. This exceptional injunction becomes operative only when a hostile nation wages a religious war against Islam with a view to extirpating it and compelling Muslims to abandon their religion at the point of the sword, and treats their prisoners as slaves, as was done in the days of the Holy Prophet when the enemy took away Muslim women as prisoners and treated them as slaves. The Islamic injunction was thus only a retaliatory measure and also served the additional purpose of protecting the morals of captive women who were generally in large numbers and whom war separated from their kith and kin. A people who seek to compel others to forsake their religion at the point of the sword and reduce them to slavery are mere brutes and not respectable human beings. They must be paid back in their own coin in order to bring them to their senses. For a fuller exposition of this subject see General Introduction.

It may be noted that it is not permitted to take into marriage such female relations of a bondwoman who is treated as wife, as correspond to the relations of a free woman within the prohibited degree. For instance, the mothers, sisters, daughters etc. of such bondwomen cannot be taken in marriage.

The advocates of mut‘a (temporary marriage) have endeavoured in vain to infer its legality from this verse. The Quran and the Arabic language both contradict this manifestly unfounded inference. The misunderstanding about mut‘aseems to have arisen from the failure to understand the difference between the meanings of تمتع and استمتاع given under Important Words. The author of Lisanul-‘Arab quotes Zajjaj as saying: "This is a verse in the interpretation of which some men have committed a great blunder, owing to their ignorance of the Arabic language. They have inferred from it the legality of mut‘a which, by the consensus of opinion among Muslim theologians, has been declared to be unlawful, whereas the words simply mean marriage performed in accordance with the conditions mentioned above."

According to Arabic usage, the legality of mut‘a, as asserted by some people, cannot, therefore, be inferred from this verse. If there had been any reference to mut‘a, the preposition used ought to have been با (ba) and not من (min). Moreover, the expression used here is not تمتع but استمتع which possesses a sense different from that of the former word.

Nor can any inference in favour of mut‘a be drawn from the expression اجورھن which, as explained under Important Words, means "their dowries", in which sense it has been used in the Quran elsewhere also (33:51).

On principle, the dowry must be paid immediately at marriage; but with the wife’s consent the payment can be suitably deferred. The husband can increase the amount of the dowry later, if he so desires; but he cannot decrease it except with the permission of the wife or the qadi.

4:8.

Important Words:

موالی (heirs) is derived from ولی and is the plural of مولی which means, lord or chief; master or owner; son of a paternal uncle; or a relation such as a son of a paternal uncle and the like; a freedman whom the emancipator is bound to aid and whose property he inherits if he dies leaving no heir; a slave; emancipator of a slave; a neighbour; an ally; a friend or helper; a follower; a partner; an heir, etc. (Lane & Lisan).

Commentary:

The verse may also be rendered thus: "To every one We have appointed heirs to what he leaves. They are the parents, the relations and those with whom your oaths have ratified a contract. So give them their portion." Again, the verse may also be rendered as: "To everything which parents and relations leave we have appointed heirs, etc."

The words, with whom your oaths have ratified a contract, signify "spouses" embracing both husbands and wives. The pronoun "them" in the clause, so give them their portion, refers to, and stands for, the noun "heirs" in the opening clause.

41:51.

Commentary:

Both attitudes of foolish elation and of abject despair described in this and the previous verses are assumed by those who give themselves up to disbelief and turn their backs on Divine revelation. They are carried away by the smallest change in their fortunes, whether for good or ill. If some distress happens to afflict them, they give way to despair, while they become foolishly elated with pride if some success or happiness comes their way. This is due to their lack of proper understanding of the law of God, which is to the effect that this life is subject to change and that sorrows and periods of good fortune come upon man to try his mettle and make him improve his moral and spiritual condition. But a disbeliever who fails to understand the purpose of God, instead of benefiting by his state of prosperity or affliction, often lets it overwhelm him.

6:11; 21:42; 39:49; 45:34.

Commentary:

The words, So the evil result of what they did befell them, point to the great truth that the punishment of an evil deed is no extraneous thing, but is the natural consequence of the deed itself and is also proportionate to it. The expression, and that which they used to mock at encompassed them, means that disbelievers themselves become the object of the charges of which they accuse the Prophets and their followers.

21:42; 45:34.

16:35; 21:42; 39:49.

16:15; 35:13; 42:33.

Important Words:

الجوار (ships) is the plural of جاریة which is fem. act. part. from جری which means, it flowed. جاریة means, a ship because of its running upon the sea; the sun; a girl or young woman; a boon or blessing bestowed by God upon His servants, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

الاعلام is the plural of علم (‘alamun) which is derived from علم (‘alama). علمه means, he marked it. علم means, an impression or impress; a footstep, track or trace of thing erected on the way for guidance; a banner, flag or standard; a minaret; a mountain or long mountain; the chief of a people (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse contains a reference to modern "leviathans", which ride the seas like mountains. The Surah seems to deal with the progress and prosperity of the western nations which is the result of their making use of the great sea routes for extending their commerce and trade.

Important Words:

عاقبتم (you have your turn) is derived from عقب. They say عقب الرجل i.e. he took from the man’s property the like of what the latter had taken from him. عاقبه means, he did a thing with the man alternately and taking his turn; he retaliated (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

If the wife of a Muslim deserts to disbelievers and thereafter a woman from among disbelievers is taken by Muslims as prisoner of war, or she flees from disbelievers and joins the Muslim Community, then the believing husband is to be compensated for the loss of the dowry paid by him to his deserting wife from the sum due to the disbelieving husband whose wife has joined the Muslim Community if the dowries are equal, but the deficiency, if any, is to be made up collectively by Muslims, or, as some authorities say, from the booty acquired by Muslims in war; the word عاقبتم meaning غنمتم i.e. you have acquired booty. This arrangement was necessary as disbelievers refused to return the dowries paid by their believing husbands to the women who had deserted to them.

2:234.

Important Words:

وجد کم (your best means) is derived from وجد which means, he found or he got. The three forms of the word وجد i.e. wajdun or wijdun or wujdun mean the same thing i.e. ampleness of means; capacity; riches or wealth. They say ھذا من وجدیi.e. it is within my capacity. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

In this verse all the possible needs of a divorced woman have been adequately met. In her ‘iddah a divorced woman is to be looked after by the husband with the same care and consideration as when she was the mistress of his house, according to the best of his means, till she leaves the house and is free to adopt the way of life she chooses.