Al-Mumtahanah (The Tested Woman): (12) O Prophet...
It is narrated that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished taking the pledge of allegiance from the men on the Day of the Conquest of Mecca, he proceeded to take the pledge from the women while standing on Mount Safa. 'Umar stood below him, taking the pledge from the women on behalf of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and conveying their commitments to him. Hind bint 'Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan, was veiled and disguised, fearing that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) might recognize her. The Prophet (PBUH) said: **"I take your pledge that you will not associate anything with Allah."** Hind raised her head and said: "By Allah, we used to worship idols, and you are taking from us an oath that we did not see you take from the men. You only took the pledge from the men regarding Islam and Jihad." The Prophet (PBUH) said: **"And that you will not steal."** Hind replied: "Abu Sufyan is a stingy man, and I took some things from his wealth here. I do not know if it is permissible for me or not." The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whatever you took from Abu Sufyan, in the past or present, it is lawful for you." The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) laughed and recognized her, saying: "And you are Hind bint 'Utbah?" She said: "Yes. So forgive what has passed, O Prophet of Allah, may Allah forgive you." He said: **"And that you will not commit adultery (Zina)."** She replied: "Does a free woman commit adultery?" In another narration, she said: "None of us ever committed adultery." He said: **"And that you will not kill your children."** She replied: "We raised them when they were young, and you killed them when they grew up. You and they know best." (Her son, Hanzalah ibn Abi Sufyan, had been killed on the Day of Badr.) 'Umar laughed so hard that he leaned back, and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) smiled. He said: **"And that you will not utter any slander, fabricating something."** Hind said: "By Allah, slander is an ugly matter, and you only command us to righteousness and noble morals." He said: **"And that you will not disobey me in what is right (Ma'ruf)."** She replied: "By Allah, we have not sat in this gathering with the intention of disobeying you in anything."
The statement {And that you will not steal} includes forbidding treachery regarding wealth and deficiency in acts of worship, as it is said: "More thieving than a thief is one who steals from his prayer."
The statement {And that you will not commit adultery (Zina)} can imply the actual act of Zina and its precursors, based on the Prophet's (PBUH) saying: "The hands commit Zina, the eyes commit Zina, and the private parts confirm or deny that."
The statement {And that you will not kill your children} refers to the practice of burying female infants alive (Wad' al-Banat) common in the Jahiliyyah, but it is general to every type of child killing, whether male or female.
The statement {And that you will not utter any slander, fabricating something} forbids tale-bearing (Namimah), meaning that none of them should inform against her companion, leading to severance of ties. It may also imply forbidding the attribution of a child to a husband who is not the father. Ibn 'Abbas said: "She should not attribute to her husband a child that is not his." Al-Farra' said: "A woman used to pick up an infant and tell her husband: 'This is my child from you.' This is the fabricated slander that comes before them and between their legs," because when the child is suckled by the mother, it falls between her hands and legs. This is not meant to forbid Zina, as the prohibition of Zina has already preceded.
The statement {And that you will not disobey me in what is right (Ma'ruf)} means any command that aligns with obedience to Allah. It is also said: in an order of piety and righteousness. Another view is: in every matter that involves guidance, meaning: "And do not disobey me in any of your affairs." Ibn al-Musayyib, al-Kalbi, and 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd said: {And that you will not disobey me in what is right} refers to what you command them and forbid them, such as wailing, tearing clothes, plucking hair, tearing the collar of a garment, and scratching the face. Also, they should not speak to men unless they are a close, unmarriageable relative (Mahram), nor should they be alone with a non-Mahram man, nor travel except with a Mahram. Some scholars restricted this Ma'ruf specifically to forbidding wailing. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Four traits in my Ummah are from the matters of Jahiliyyah that they will not leave: boasting about lineage, casting aspersions on ancestry, seeking guidance through the stars, and wailing." He also said: "The wailing woman, if she does not repent before her death, will be made to wear on the Day of Resurrection a garment of pitch and a shirt of scabies." The Prophet (PBUH) also said: "He is not one of us who beats his cheeks, tears his garments, and calls with the call of Jahiliyyah."
The statement {So take their pledge from them} is the response to {When the believing women come to you} (if). That is, if they pledge allegiance to you upon these conditions, then take their pledge. They differed regarding the manner of the pledge:
- They said: He used to take the pledge from them while there was a cloth between his hands and theirs.
- It is said: He stipulated the pledge to them, and 'Umar shook their hands on his behalf, according to al-Kalbi.
- It is said: Through speech.
- It is said: He called for a bowl of water, dipped his hand in it, and then they dipped their hands in it. The hand of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) never touched the hand of a woman.
In the verse, there are several points of discussion:
First Inquiry:
Allah the Exalted said: **{When the believing women come to you}** and did not say: "So test them," as He said concerning the female emigrants (Muhajirat).
The answer is twofold:
1. The testing is encompassed by His statement: **{That they will not associate anything with Allah}** and so on.
2. The female emigrants came from the Abode of War (Dar al-Harb), so they were not aware of the religious laws, necessitating a test. As for the believing women, they were in the Abode of Islam and knew the laws, so there was no need for testing.
Second Inquiry:
What is the benefit of His statement: **{between their hands and their feet}** and what is its meaning?
We say: Whoever holds that when a woman claims a foundling, she claims it with her hand and walks to take it with her foot, then when she attributes it to her marriage, she has uttered a slander fabricated between her hands and her feet. Another view is that she fabricates it against herself, saying: "This is our child," when it is not so, as the child is the offspring of adultery. Another view is that when the child is born, it falls between the mother's hands and feet.
Third Inquiry:
What is the rationale for the ordering of the mentioned matters and the precedence of some over others in the verse?
We say: The most heinous matter is mentioned first, followed by what is lesser in ugliness, and so on. Another view is that what is most apparent among them was mentioned first.
[Then Allah the Exalted said]:
7 < { O you who have believed, do not take as allies a people with whom Allah has become angry. They have despaired of the Hereafter just as the disbelievers have despaired of those in the graves. } > 7 !
