ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ
Lodge them [in a section] of where you dwell out of your means and do not harm them in order to oppress them. And if they should be pregnant, then spend on them until they give birth. And if they breastfeed for you, then give them their payment and confer among yourselves in the acceptable way; but if you are in discord, then there may breastfeed for the father another woman.
Tafsir
Verse range: 65:6
His saying, the Exalted: **{Lodge them}** and what follows is an explanation of the piety stipulated in His saying: **{And whoever fears Allah}** (Divorce: 4), as if it were said: How do we implement piety concerning women in their waiting period? It was answered: **{Lodge them}**.
The author of Al-Kashshaf said: {Min} (from) is an adjunct particle, meaning: Lodge them where you yourselves lodge.
Abu 'Ubaydah said: {Min Wujdikum} means: according to your means/capacity (Wus'atikum). Al-Farrā’ said: according to your ability. Abu Ishaq said: It is said, wajadtu fi al-māl wujdan, meaning: I became wealthy. It has also been recited with a fatḥa on the wāw or a kasra. Al-Wajd means capacity and ability.
His saying: {And do not harm them} is a prohibition against harming them by restricting their lodging or maintenance.
{And if they are pregnant, then spend on them until they deliver their burden}. This explains the ruling for a woman in her waiting period after a revocable divorce (bā’inah), because a woman in a revocable waiting period is entitled to maintenance even if not pregnant. If she is divorced three times or obtains a divorce through khul‘, she has no maintenance unless she is pregnant.
According to Mālik and Al-Shāfi‘ī, the woman in an irrevocable divorce (mubtūta) is only entitled to lodging, not maintenance.
There is a narration from Al-Hasan and Hammād that she is entitled to neither lodging nor maintenance, based on the hadith of Fāṭimah bint Qays, whose husband divorced her with a final pronouncement. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told her: "You have no lodging and no maintenance."
His saying, the Exalted: {Lodge them where you lodge}—the {Min} here refers to the right of suckling and its wages, which has already been discussed. This indicates that the milk, even though created because of the child, is her property; otherwise, she would not be entitled to take wages for it. It also indicates that the right of suckling and maintenance belongs to the husbands concerning their children, while the right of keeping (the child), custody, and guardianship belongs to the wives; otherwise, she would only be entitled to part of the wages, not all of it.
His saying, the Exalted: {And consult one another with kindness}. ‘Aṭā’ meant: Let the kindness come from you (the man). Muqātil said: By the mutual consent of the father and the mother. Al-Mubarrid said: Let some of you command others with kindness. The address is to both husbands and wives. Kindness here means that the man should not be deficient in the wife's rights and maintenance, nor she in the child's rights and suckling. The interpretation of I'timār (consultation) has already passed. It is also said that I'timār means consultation regarding suckling if she becomes difficult (regarding payment).
His saying, the Exalted: {And if you become difficult} (i.e., regarding the wages), {then let another woman suckle for him}, meaning someone other than the mother.
Then He clarified the measure of spending with His saying: {Let the man of wealth spend according to his wealth}. This commands those with ample means to spend generously on their nursing women according to their capacity. Whoever's sustenance is just enough for basic needs should spend accordingly. This is similar to: {Let the man of means spend according to his means, and let the man of restricted means spend according to what Allah has given him} (The Cow: 236).
His saying, the Exalted: {Allah does not burden any soul beyond what He has given it}, meaning what He has granted it of sustenance. Al-Suddī said: The poor person is not burdened with what the rich person is burdened with.
His saying: {Allah will bring ease after hardship}. This means that after tightness and distress, He will bring wealth and abundance. Since poverty and need were prevalent at that time, Allah informed them that He would bring ease after hardship. This is like glad tidings for them concerning what they desire.
Then, there are discussions within the verse:
The First: If it is asked: What is the nature of {Min} in His saying {Min Ḥaythu Sakantum} (where you lodge)? We reply: It is the particle of specification (tab‘īḍiyyah), meaning: a part of your dwelling place. If you have only one house, then lodge her in a part of its space.
The Second: What is the grammatical position of {Min Wujdikum}? We reply: It is an appositive clarification (‘aṭf bayān) for His saying {Min Ḥaythu Sakantum}, interpreting it: a place from your dwelling, according to your capacity.
The Third: If every divorced woman is entitled to maintenance according to your view, what is the purpose of the condition in His saying, the Exalted: {And if they are pregnant, then spend on them}? We reply: Its purpose is that the duration of pregnancy might become prolonged, leading one to think that maintenance ceases once the usual duration of pregnancy has passed. This verse negates that assumption.
Then Allah, the Exalted, said:
**{And how many a town rebelled against the command of its Lord and His messengers, so We took them to a severe reckoning and punished them with a terrible punishment. So they tasted the evil consequence of their affair, and the outcome of their affair was loss. Allah has prepared for them a severe punishment. So fear Allah, O people of understanding—those who have believed. Allah has sent down to you a Reminder—a Messenger reciting to you the clear verses of Allah that He may bring those who believe and do righteous deeds out from darknesses into light. And whoever believes in Allah and does righteousness, He will admit him into gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. Allah has certainly made for him a good provision.}**
