Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:49

"O you who have believed..."

Nikah (Marriage): It means wat’ (intercourse). It is named nikah (contract) due to its association with it, as it is the path leading to it. Similar to this is their naming of wine ithm (sin), because it is a cause for committing sin. An example in the science of rhetoric is the saying of the rajaz poet: "The humps of the camels are in its clouds [referring to rain]." He named the rain "humps of the camels" because it is the cause of the livestock becoming fat and their humps rising.

The word nikah does not appear in the Book of Allah except in the meaning of the contract, because using it in the meaning of intercourse would be an explicit reference to it. It is among the etiquettes of the Qur’an to use metonymy (kinayah) for it, using terms like mulamasah (touching), mumasah (contact), qurban (approaching), taghashi (covering), and ityan (coming).

If you ask: Why were the believing women specified, when the ruling stated by the verse applies equally to believing women and women of the People of the Book? I say: Specifying them serves as a reminder that the fundamental principle for a believer—and what is most appropriate for him—is to be selective regarding his offspring, to marry only a chaste believing woman, to keep himself pure from marrying the immoral, let alone the disbelievers, and to disdain sharing a quilt with an enemy of Allah and His friend. Thus, the verse in Surah al-Ma’idah teaches what is permissible and not forbidden, namely marrying chaste women from those who were given the Scripture. This verse, however, teaches what is most appropriate for the believers: marrying believing women.

If you ask: What is the benefit of thumma (then) in His saying: {Then you divorced them}? I say: Its benefit is to negate any misconception for one who might imagine a difference in the ruling between divorcing her shortly after the contract and divorcing her after a long duration in the bonds of marriage.

If you ask: If he is in seclusion with her where contact is possible, does that take the place of actual contact? I say: Yes. According to Abu Hanifah and his companions, the ruling of a valid seclusion is the same as the ruling of contact.

His saying: {So you have no waiting period for them to count} is evidence that the ‘iddah (waiting period) is a right owed by women to men.

{Ta‘taddunaha}: You fulfill its count. It is derived from saying "I counted the dirhams, so he counted them" (‘adadtu... fa-i‘taddaha), similar to saying "I measured it, so he measured it" (kiltuhu... fa-iktalahu) and "I weighed it, so he weighed it" (wazantuhu... fa-itazanahu). It is also recited as ta‘tadduna fiha (you count within it), as in the poet’s saying: "And a day we witnessed it [in it]." The intended meaning of i‘tidad is what is in the Almighty’s saying: {And do not retain them to harm them so that you may transgress} (Al-Baqarah: 231).

If you ask: Is this tamti‘ (provision) obligatory or recommended? I say: If no dowry was specified, the mut‘ah (provision) is obligatory. According to Abu Hanifah, mut‘ah is not obligatory except for her alone, to the exclusion of other divorced women. If a dowry was specified, then the mut‘ah is a matter of disagreement: some hold it to be recommended and preferred—among them is Abu Hanifah—and others hold it to be obligatory.

{Surahan Jamila}: A beautiful release, without harm or withholding what is due.

{O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.}