Surah at-Talaq

It is called the "Lesser Surah of Women" (al-Nisa' al-Qusra), as named by Ibn Mas'ud, as recorded by al-Bukhari and others. Al-Dawudi denied this, saying: "I do not consider the term 'Qusra' (lesser/shorter) to be preserved (authentic), nor is it said of any surah of the Quran that it is 'Qusra' or 'Sughra' (smaller)." Ibn Hajar refuted him, stating that he rejected established narrations without any proof, and that length and brevity are relative matters. Al-Bukhari recorded from Zayd ibn Thabit that he said, "the longer of the two long ones," referring to Surah al-A'raf, which is Medinan by consensus.

There is disagreement regarding the number of its verses: according to the Basran count, it has eleven verses, while in others it has twelve. Since the Almighty mentioned previously, "Indeed, among your spouses and your children are enemies to you" (64:14), and because enmity may lead to divorce, the Glorious One here mentions divorce. The Almighty guides toward separating from them in a beautiful manner, and the Mighty and Majestic also mentions in summary what pertains to the children, saying—as the Most Mighty of speakers—:

(O Prophet! When you divorce women...) The call is specifically directed to him, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, while the ruling is general in its application to his nation. Just as one might say to the leader and elder of a group, "O so-and-so, do such and such," to signify his precedence and leadership—implying he is their spokesperson, the one whose opinion they follow and without whom they do not act—he stands alone in their judgment, acting as a proxy for all of them. In this, there is an exhibition of the grandeur of his station, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. For this reason, the word "Prophet" was chosen for its indication of his elevated rank.

It is said: The address is a call to him, but the plural pronoun was chosen for glorification, similar to the expression, "O God of Muhammad, have mercy on me."

It is also said: After addressing him with the call, the Exalted turned the address away from him to his nation as an honor to him, due to the inherent aversion to divorce. Thus, he was not addressed directly for the sake of veneration. Some interpret the speech here as containing an implicit "Say," meaning: "Say to your nation: When you divorce..." Others say the address to the nation was omitted, the intent being: "O Prophet and the nation of the Prophet, when you divorce..."

In any case, the meaning is "When you intend to divorce them," treating the anticipation of an act as the act itself. They agree that without this figurative interpretation, the speech would not hold, as it would imply the accomplishment of an already accomplished task, or mean "If you have divorced, divorce them again," which is not the intended meaning. Some researchers say: You may say there is no need for this; rather, it is the attachment of the specific to the general, which is more eloquent in indicating necessity. Just as one says, "If you strike Zayd, strike him severely," meaning "If a strike is to occur from you, let it be a severe one." This is better than interpreting it as "intention."

(Divorce them for their waiting period): That is, for the beginning of their waiting period. The 'lam' (in li-'iddatihinna) is for timing, like saying "I wrote it for four nights remaining from Jumada al-Ula," or "anticipating them" as Al-Zamakhshari estimated. Abu Hayyan critiqued this with considerations that are debatable.

The consideration of "anticipation" is the opinion of those who hold that the 'iddah (waiting period) consists of menstrual cycles—the quru' (periods) mentioned in the verse of Al-Baqarah—such as Imam Abu Hanifah, so that the divorce occurs during a state of purity (tuhr), which is the prescribed form of divorce. The intent behind the command to execute it then is to forbid executing it during menstruation. They have all restricted this, stating that divorce during menstruation is a sinful, bid'i (innovative) divorce, and they stipulated that the purity must be one in which no intercourse occurred.

Support for this, and for the consideration of "anticipation," is found in what the two Imams (Malik and Shafi'i), the two Sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim), Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and others reported from Ibn Umar: That he divorced his wife while she was menstruating. Umar mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), who became angry and said: "Command him to take her back, then hold her until she is pure, then she menstruates, then she is pure. If it seems good to him to divorce her, let him divorce her while she is pure before touching her. That is the waiting period which Allah, the Exalted, ordered for the divorce of women."

The Prophet (PBUH) recited: "O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them before their waiting period." Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas used to recite it this way, and in one narration from both, they recited li-qabli 'iddatihinna (for before their waiting period). Those who believe the waiting period consists of the periods of purity—the quru' in that verse—like Imam Al-Shafi'i, attach the 'lam' of timing to the act itself and do not consider "anticipation."

The interpretation of "anticipating their waiting period" was challenged by arguing that if it implies beginning the first part of it, it supports the Shafi'i school; and if it implies anticipation as a custom, it contradicts the literal requirement of the wording, for when the time is entered, it conveys timing and restriction to that time, not anticipation. As for the evidence from the Prophet's recitation, the beginning of a thing is the opposite of its end; thus it reinforces the Shafi'i school, not refuting it. The recitation of Ibn Mas'ud, li-qabli tuhrihinna (before their purity), testifies to the waiting period being the periods of purity. Some said the estimate is li-at-hari 'iddatihinna (for the purities of their waiting period). This was challenged by saying that if the genitive is meant to be min (from), it indicates that the qur' is both menstruation and purity; and if it is meant to be the 'lam' of ownership, the dissonance in saying "for the purities of menstruation" is sufficient to reject it, alongside the unevidenced implication.

In Al-Kashshaf, it states: The meaning in the verse is that they should be divorced in a state of purity during which they were not engaged in intercourse, then left until their waiting period concludes. This is the best form of divorce, the most compliant with the Sunnah, and the furthest from regret. This is supported by what is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) preferred not to divorce for the Sunnah except once, then not to divorce otherwise until the waiting period expired. This was better in their view than a man divorcing three times during periods of purity. Malik said: "I know no Sunnah divorce except one," and he disliked the triple divorce, whether gathered or separated. As for Abu Hanifah and his companions, they only disliked what exceeded one in a single period of purity; as for separate periods, they did not.

According to Al-Shafi'i, there is no harm in issuing three [at once], and he said: "I do not know of any Sunnah or bid'ah in the number of divorces; it is permissible." Thus, Malik considers one divorce and the timing for the Sunnah divorce; Abu Hanifah considers the separation [of divorces] and the timing; and Al-Shafi'i considers only the timing.

(And count the waiting period): Accurately record it and complete it as three full quru'. The root meaning of "counting" (ihsa') is counting with pebbles, as was ancient custom, then it became the literal term for what was mentioned.

(And fear Allah, your Lord): Regarding the lengthening of the waiting period for them and harming them. In describing the Exalted with His Lordship for them, there is an emphasis on the command and an exaggeration in the obligation of piety.

(Do not turn them out of their houses): From their dwellings upon divorce until the waiting period expires. Their attribution to the women—though they belong to the husbands—is to emphasize the prohibition by showing the perfection of their right to residence, as if they were their own properties. The lack of a conjunction [between the commands] is to signal the independence of the request out of concern for it. The prohibition against turning them out covers not evicting them out of anger, or dislike for cohabitation, or a need for the houses, or pure folly, by its literal meaning. It also covers the prohibition of granting them permission to leave by its implication, because their departure is prohibited by the words of the Exalted: (And let them not go out). If the 'la' is prohibitive, the intent is clear; if it is negative, the meaning is still one of prohibition, which is more eloquent than explicit prohibition. Granting permission to perform a prohibited act is itself prohibited. It is as if it were said: "Do not turn them out, and do not permit them to leave if they request it, and they shall not leave themselves if they wish." There is an indication here that their residence in the houses is a right of the Shari'ah, emphasized, and therefore does not lapse by permission. According to what Al-Jalabi mentioned, this is the view of the Hanafis. The Shafi'i view is that if they both agree to move, it is permissible, as the right does not exceed the two of them; so the meaning is "Do not turn them out, and they shall not leave on their own initiative."

(Unless they bring a clear indecency): This is the very act of leaving before the expiration of the waiting period, as reported by Abd al-Razzaq, Abd bin Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Al-Bayhaqi, Ibn Marduyah, and Al-Hakim (who authenticated it) from Ibn Umar. It is also narrated from Al-Suddi, Ibn al-Sa'ib, and Al-Nakha'i, and Abu Hanifah adopted this. The exception here refers to (And let them not go out). The meaning is: They are not permitted to leave, except in the departure which is an indecency. It is known that they are not permitted to commit it, so this serves as a prevention against leaving in the most eloquent manner. Imam Ibn al-Humam said: This is like saying, "Do not commit adultery unless you are a transgressor," which is very eloquent and ingenious. Adultery, according to what is narrated from Qatadah, Al-Hasan, Al-Sha'bi, Zayd bin Aslam, Al-Dahhak, Ikrimah, Hammad, and Al-Layth—and it is the view of Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abbas, and adopted by Abu Yusuf—is that the exception refers to (Do not turn them out) according to the apparent speech of many, meaning: "Do not turn them out, unless they commit adultery, then turn them out to carry out the punishment."

(And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah): That is, His aforementioned limits, by violating any of them. The use of the noun [limits of Allah] in place of the pronoun is to amplify the gravity of the transgression and to signal the reason for the ruling in His words: (has certainly wronged himself): That is, harmed himself, as the Sheikh of Islam said. Others interpreted "wrong" as exposing oneself to punishment; this was critiqued because the words of the Exalted (You do not know; perhaps Allah will bring about after that a [different] matter) argue against it.

(Perhaps Allah will bring about after that a matter): This is an inception meant to explain the condition. They said: The matter Allah brings about is that He turns one's heart away from what one did in transgression to the opposite. Therefore, the "wrong" must be from a worldly harm that befalls him because of his transgression, which he cannot remedy, or from absolute harm encompassing both the worldly and the hereafter. The explanation was restricted to the worldly because most people fear it more intensely and are more concerned with averting it.

It was countered that worldly harm is not guaranteed, so "wrong" here should not be interpreted as such. Also, the words of the Exalted (You do not know) etc., are not an explanation of what was mentioned, but an encouragement to maintain the limits after the warning. However, it resembles a warning more than an encouragement. Perhaps the intent of "wronged himself" is "exposed himself to harm," so the wrong is that very exposure; there is no harm in this interpretation. The sentence of hope is in the place of an object for "you do not know." Abu Hayyan included la'alla (perhaps) among the "suspensive" particles. The address in (You do not know) is to the transgressor by way of iltifat (shifting the address) for the sake of greater emphasis on curbing the transgression, not to the Prophet (PBUH) as was said. Thus, the meaning is: "Whoever transgresses the limits of Allah has exposed himself to harm, for you—O transgressor—do not know, perhaps Allah will bring about in your heart, after that which you have done of transgression, a matter" requiring [reconsideration], turning the hatred into love and the aversion into inclination, which can be remedied by taking her back or initiating a new marriage.