Surah Al-Mumtahanah: (12) O Prophet...
(O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you): Meaning, when they come intending to pledge allegiance to you.
(That they will not associate anything with Allah): Meaning, not a single thing, or any form of polytheism.
(And will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children): By this, as more than one scholar has stated, is meant the burial of infant daughters, indicated by the external context, even though "children" is a broader term. Others have permitted keeping it in its literal, general sense, as the Arabs used to practice this [infanticide] due to poverty and destitution. Consider whether it is permissible to carry this prohibition to include what is general, such as the abortion of a fetus after the soul has been breathed into it. Ali (may Allah ennoble his countenance), Al-Hasan, and Al-Sulami read la yaqtulna with emphasis (a stress on the nun).
(And will not bring forth a slander which they fabricate between their hands and their feet): Al-Farra’ said: A woman in the Pre-Islamic era would pick up a newborn and say, "This is my child from you." That is the slander fabricated between her hands and her feet; this is because when she placed the child, it fell between her hands and her feet. In Al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that "between her hands and her feet" is a metaphor for the child she falsely attributes to her husband, because her stomach, in which she carries it, is between the hands, and her private part, from which she gives birth, is between the feet. It is also said: It is a metaphor for an adopted child, because those who would fake pregnancies for their husbands in the beginning only did so as a favor to them, and then in the second stage, at the time of labor, they would show that they had given birth to them by placing the child between their feet. They were thus prohibited from that which was a sign of the Pre-Islamic era, contrary to the standard of Muslim women, by depicting those two states and vilifying what they used to do. Regardless, interpreting the verse as described is what the majority have held, and it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). Some eminent scholars have said: Its meaning is: they shall not bring forth a slander from themselves; "hand" and "foot" are metaphors for the self because most actions are performed by them. Hence, it is said to one punished for a verbal crime: "This is what your hands have earned." Or, its meaning is: they shall not bring forth a slander they devise in their consciences and hearts, and the heart is situated between the hands and the feet. The speech, based on the first interpretation, is a metaphor for bringing forth slander from one’s own self; and based on the second, it is a metaphor for the slander originating from the depths of their hearts, which are built upon inward malice.
Al-Khattabi said: Its meaning is that they should not slander people openly and face-to-face, just as one says of a matter in your presence, "It is between your hands." This was rejected by saying that even if they were familiar with the present state of affairs, one does not say "it is between your feet," and this objection is valid if the feet were mentioned alone, but when the hands are mentioned as a following, it is not. It has also been said that it is a metaphor for tearing the veil of modesty, and the intent is to prohibit false accusation (qadhf), and lying and backbiting fall under this. It is narrated from Al-Dahhak that this refers to qadhf. Others said: "between their hands" refers to kissing, and "their feet" to intercourse. Others said: "between their hands" means their tongues through witchcraft, and "their feet" their private parts through intercourse. This, like the previous interpretations, is as you can see.
It is also said: "Slander" here means magic, as women have a great inclination toward it, so they were forbidden from it. And it is not the case [that it refers to anything else].
(And will not disobey you in what is right): Meaning, in what you command them of good and forbid them of evil. The restriction to "what is right" (ma'ruf), even though the Messenger (peace be upon him) only commands what is right, is to alert [the reader] that it is not permissible to obey a created being in disobedience to the Creator. This refutes the claim of those ignorant people who believe that obedience to those in authority is absolute. Some have specified this "right" as refraining from wailing [over the dead], due to what Imam Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), Ibn Majah, and others narrated from Umm Salama Al-Ansariya. She said: A woman from these women asked, "What is this 'right' in which we should not disobey you?" He (peace be upon him) said: "Do not wail," and the hadith continues. Similar reports emphasizing this specific meaning are numerous, but the truth is generality, and what is mentioned in the reports is by way of limiting [the application] to some individuals for a specific point. The generality is testified to by the statements of Ibn Abbas, Anas, and Zayd bin Aslam, that it refers to wailing, tearing clothes, scratching faces, hair extensions, and other commands of the Shari'ah, both obligatory and recommended. Specifying these numbered matters in their case is due to their frequent occurrence among them, and because some of them are specific to them, as you heard earlier.
(Then pledge to them): By guaranteeing the reward for fulfilling these things. Restricting the pledge to the fact that they came to him is to urge them to hasten to it with complete desire, without being called to it.
(And ask forgiveness for them from Allah): As an addition to the guarantee of reward contained within the pledge.
(Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful): Meaning, He, the Glorified, is excessive in forgiveness and mercy, so He forgives them and shows them mercy if they fulfill what they pledged to do. This verse was revealed, according to what Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Muqatil, on the day of the Conquest [of Mecca]. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) took the pledge from the men at Al-Safa, and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took the pledge from the women beneath it on behalf of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). It also came that he (peace and blessings be upon him) also took the pledge from the women with his own noble self. Imam Ahmad, Al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Al-Tirmidhi (who authenticated it), and others narrated from Umayma bint Ruqayqah, who said: I came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to pledge allegiance to him, and he took from us what is in the Quran—that we would not associate anything with Allah—until he reached, "And will not disobey you in what is right." He said, "Insofar as you are able and have the strength." We said, "Allah and His Messenger are more merciful to us than we are to ourselves. O Messenger of Allah, will you not shake our hands?" He said, "I do not shake hands with women; my word to a hundred women is like my word to one woman."
Sa'id bin Mansur and Ibn Sa'd narrated from Al-Sha'bi that he said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pledged allegiance to women, he would place a garment over his hand. In some narrations, it is mentioned that he (peace be upon him) pledged to them while there was a qatawa cloth between his hand and theirs. Those who confirm this speak of shaking hands at the time of the pledge, but the more famous and reliable opinion is that there was no shaking of hands. Ibn Sa'd and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Amr bin Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pledged to women, he would call for a vessel of water, dip his hand in it, and then they would dip their hands in it. This seems to be a substitute for shaking hands, and Allah knows best regarding its authenticity. The pledge occurred more than once; it occurred in Mecca after the Conquest, and in Medina. Among those who pledged to him (peace and blessings be upon him) in Mecca was Hind bint 'Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan. In the hadith of Asma' bint Yazid bin Al-Sakan: I was among the women pledging, and Hind bint 'Utbah was among the women. He (peace be upon him) recited the verse to them, and when he said, "That they will not associate anything with Allah," Hind said, "How can we hope that He accepts from us what He did not accept from the men?"—meaning that this is a matter of established obligation. When he said, "And will not steal," she said, "By Allah, I take small amounts from the wealth of Abu Sufyan, and he does not know if that is lawful for me." Abu Sufyan said, "Whatever you have taken in the past and whatever will pass is lawful for you." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laughed and recognized her, and said to her, "Are you Hind bint 'Utbah?" She said, "Yes, so forgive what has passed, O Prophet of Allah, may Allah forgive you." He said, "And... [will not commit adultery]." She said, "Does a free woman commit adultery?" She meant that adultery was [associated with] slave women, based on the Pre-Islamic notion that a free woman generally does not commit adultery, and that it was usually the slave women who did so—and this was restricted to "generally" because it is said that the flag-bearing prostitutes were indeed free women. He said, "And will not kill their children." She said, "We raised them as children, and you killed them as adults"—referring to the matter of her son, Hanzala bin Abi Sufyan, who was killed at the Battle of Badr. Umar laughed until he fell on his back, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) smiled. In one narration, she said, "You killed the fathers and you give us instructions regarding the children," so he laughed. He said, "And will not bring forth a slander." She said, "By Allah, slander is an ugly thing, and Allah only commands righteousness and noble character." He said, "And will not disobey you in what is right." She said, "By Allah, we did not sit in this gathering of ours with the intention of disobeying you in anything." It is as if this came from her specifically, and not from the other women, due to the status of Umm Habiba (may Allah be pleased with her) with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), even though she was new to Islam after the Pre-Islamic era. It is narrated that the first of the women to pledge to the Prophet (peace be upon him) were Umm Sa'd bin Mu'adh and Kabsha bint Rafi', along with other women (may Allah be pleased with them).
