Tafsir of At-Talaq 65:2-3

"And when they have reached their term": They have neared the end of their waiting period (‘iddah). "Retain them": Take them back in marriage. "With kindness": With good companionship and suitable financial support based on the circumstances of both parties. "Or part from them with kindness": By fulfilling their rights and avoiding harm, such as not taking her back only to divorce her again, thereby prolonging the waiting period.

"And bring to witness two just men from among you": At the time of taking her back, if you choose that, or at the time of separation, if you choose that, as a way to exonerate yourselves from suspicion and end disputes. This command is recommended (nadb), similar to His saying, the Almighty: "And bring to witness when you trade." Al-Shafi'i held, in his earlier view, that it is obligatory for reconciliation. Al-Tabarsi claimed that the apparent meaning is a command to have witnesses for the divorce itself, and that this is narrated from the Imams of the Household of the Prophet (peace be upon them all), and that it is obligatory and a condition for the validity of the divorce.

"And establish the testimony": That is, O witnesses, when needed. "For Allah": Purely for the sake of His countenance, the Almighty. This verse provides evidence against those who say that if two commands are conjoined for two groups of people, the calling (nida’) must be mentioned or its omission would be ugly, such as "O Zayd, stand up, and O 'Amr, sit." Those who restricted the permissibility of omitting the call to when the groups differ—as in His saying: "Joseph, ignore this, and you [wife], ask forgiveness for your sin"—are refuted here, for the one commanded by His saying, "Bring to witness," is the husbands, and by His saying, "Establish the testimony," is the witnesses, as we have indicated, yet they are conjoined without difference in the most eloquent speech.

"That is instructed to whomever believes in Allah and the Last Day": Meaning, because he is the one who benefits from that. The reference here, according to what the author of Al-Kashshaf chose, is to the urging of establishing testimony for Allah the Almighty. However, as in Al-Kashf, it is better that it refers to everything mentioned previously: executing the divorce according to the Sunnah, counting the waiting period, refraining from expelling or leaving, and establishing testimony for reconciliation or separation, so that it is more in harmony with His saying, the Almighty: "And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out."

"And will provide for him from where he does not expect": This is an interruption (i'tirad) between the conjoined clauses, brought to emphasize the previous rulings with a promise for fearing Allah regarding them. The meaning is: Whoever fears Allah the Almighty—divorcing according to the Sunnah, not harming the woman in her waiting period, not expelling her from her home, and being cautious by bringing witnesses—He, the Almighty, will make for him a way out of the distress and hardships that might occur in the affairs of spouses, and will relieve him of the sorrows that befall him, and will provide for him from a direction he does not imagine nor expect. The reports from the elite Companions, such as ‘Ali (may Allah honor his countenance) and Ibn ‘Abbas in some narrations, support this view.

It is also permissible that it is an interruption brought by way of digression from the mention of His saying: "That is instructed to...", etc. In that case, the meaning is: Whoever fears Allah in all that he does and leaves undone, He makes for him a way out of the sorrows of this world and the Hereafter. This is more appropriate due to the generality of the benefit, its primary applicability to our situation, and because the reports regarding the reason for revelation (and others) require it. Abu Ya'la, Abu Nu'aym, and al-Daylami reported from 'Ata' bin Yasar from Ibn 'Abbas: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) read this verse: "And whoever fears...", and he said: "A way out from the doubts of this world, the agonies of death, and the hardships of the Day of Resurrection." Ahmad, al-Hakim (who authenticated it), Ibn Marduyah, Abu Nu'aym in Al-Ma'rifa, and al-Bayhaqi reported from Abu Dharr: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) kept reciting this verse: "And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out, and will provide for him from where he does not expect," repeating it until I became drowsy. Then he said: "O Abu Dharr, if all people took to it, it would suffice them."

Ibn Marduyah reported from the way of al-Kalbi from Abu Salih from Ibn 'Abbas: 'Awf bin Malik al-Ashja'i came and said: "O Messenger of Allah, my son has been taken prisoner by the enemy, and his mother is distressed, what do you command me?" He said: "I command you and her to repeat often: La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (There is no power and no strength except with Allah)." The woman said: "What a good thing you commanded." They began to say it often; the enemy became negligent, so he drove off their sheep and brought them to his father. Then this verse was revealed.

In some narrations, it is mentioned that he suffered hardship and calamity, so he complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who said: "Fear Allah and be patient." His son returned having acquired goats. He mentioned this to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and this verse was revealed, so he said: "They are for you." There are other accounts that are inconsistent, as is not hidden from the researcher. Based on the interpretation of digression, it is said: The meaning is, whoever fears committing the forbidden, He makes for him a way out to the permissible; or a way out from hardship to ease; or from the Fire to Paradise; or from punishment. "And will provide for him from where he does not expect": from the reward. Al-Kalbi said: "Whoever fears Allah at the time of calamity, He will make for him a way out" to Paradise. All of these, as you can see, are variations, and the standard is the generality you have heard.

In Al-Kashf, it is stated: The diversification of the promise for the God-fearing and the repetition of the urging after it—following the indication that fear of Allah is the foundation of all affairs upon which the Almighty has hung the happiness of both worlds—indicates that the matter of divorce and the waiting period is among the things that require extra piety, because it is the most detested of the permissible acts to Allah, due to the estrangement and breaking of established harmony it entails. Furthermore, being cautious in the matter of lineage, which is one of the ultimate purposes, indicates the need for strictness in the matter of the waiting period. Therefore, piety is necessary so that the divorce occurs in a way that is praiseworthy, and the waiting period is observed with the necessary caution. In that way, the couple obtains a way out in this world and the Hereafter. Thus, the wife is included in the general meaning just as the husband is.

"And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him": That is, He suffices him in all his affairs. Ahmad reported in Al-Zuhd from Wahb, who said: The Lord, blessed and exalted, says: "If My servant relies upon Me, even if the heavens and the earth were to plot against him, I would make for him a way out from between them."

"Indeed, Allah will bring His affair to fulfillment": Adding the verbal noun (baligh) to its object (amrihi). The original is balighun amrahu in the accusative, as the majority read it—meaning He will reach what He wants, the Almighty, and His intent will not escape Him.

Ibn Abi 'Ablah (in one narration), Dawud bin Abi Hind, and 'Ismah from Abu 'Amr read balighun with the nominative and tanwin, and amruhu with the nominative, on the basis that amruhu is the subject of the predicate balighun, because inna is the subject, and balighun is the predicate brought forward for it, and the sentence is the predicate of inna—meaning His affair, the Almighty, is certain to be executed. Al-Mufaddal also read, in one narration, balighan in the accusative and amruhu in the nominative, interpreted as balighan being a state (hal) from the subject of "makes" in His saying: "Allah has made for everything a term"—

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—not from the subject of the sentence, because they do not approve of the hal (state) coming from it, and the sentence "Allah has made" is [connected to] "Indeed." It is also permitted that balighan is the predicate according to the dialect of those who put both parts in the accusative with inna, as in the saying: "If the darkness of the night blackens, come and let your steps be light, for our guards are lions." This is countered by the fact that it is a weak dialect.

"A term": A predestination; the intended meaning is His decree before its existence, or an amount of time. This is an explanation of the obligation to rely upon Him, the Almighty, and to delegate affairs to Him, because if one knows that everything—from sustenance and other things—does not occur except by His decree, nothing remains but submission to the decree. In this, as it is said, is a confirmation of what preceded regarding the timing of the divorce and the command to count the waiting period, and a preparation for what will come, if Allah wills, regarding its measures. Janah bin Hubaysh read qadran with an open dal.