Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 49

(Ayah 49) ➊ { يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اِذَا نَكَحْتُمُ الْمُؤْمِنٰتِ … :} From the beginning of the Surah, the breaking of the custom of adoption, the mention of the divorce of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) adopted son Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) from his wife Zainab, and the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) marriage to her was being discussed. Then the statements of the hypocrites were mentioned and also not to care about them. After that, Allah Almighty described the status, exalted rank, and responsibilities of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a very comprehensive manner. Now again, some rulings regarding marriage and divorce are mentioned, most of which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself encountered.
➋ { ’’ مِنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ تَمَسُّوْهُنَّ ‘‘} By touching is meant intercourse, and this is the purity of the Qur’an’s expression that instead of using explicit words for it, it uses indirect words, such as “masas” or “mulamasah,” etc. There is a lesson in this for us as well, that to convey this meaning, indirect words should be used instead of explicit ones.
➌ If a Muslim woman is divorced by her husband after the marriage contract but before intercourse, then there is no waiting period (‘iddah) upon her during which the husband can take her back. Rather, if she wishes, she can marry someone else immediately, because intercourse did not take place, so there is no need to wait to see if she is pregnant. Ustadh Muhammad Abduh (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “Some scholars have considered valid seclusion (khalwah sahihah) as equivalent to intercourse and have said that after valid seclusion, divorce necessitates both dowry (mahr) and waiting period (‘iddah), but this issue apparently contradicts this verse.” (Ashraf al-Hawashi) Although the verse mentions believing women, there is consensus that the same ruling applies to Jewish or Christian women. Believing women are mentioned because if there is no waiting period for a believing woman, for whom every effort should be made to keep her in the marriage and give the husband a chance to reconcile, then for a woman from the People of the Book, there is even more reason for there to be no waiting period. (Biqā‘ī)
➍ This ruling is for those women who are divorced before intercourse. If, after the marriage contract but before intercourse, the husband dies, then the woman must observe the waiting period (‘iddah) and she will also inherit from the husband. It is narrated from Ma‘qil bin Sinan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made this decision regarding Barwa‘ bint Washiq (may Allah be pleased with her). [ أبوداوٗد، النکاح، باب فیمن تزوج و لم یسم لھا صداقًا حتی مات : ۲۱۱۴، و قال الألباني صحیح ]
➎ { فَمَتِّعُوْهُنَّ:} A woman who is divorced before intercourse is in one of two situations: either a dowry (mahr) was specified at the time of marriage or it was not. If no dowry was specified, she will not receive any dowry, and if it was specified, then half the dowry will be given. In both cases, it is necessary to give the woman something according to the husband's status, such as a set of clothes, etc.; this is called “mut‘at al-talaq” (consolatory gift upon divorce). The purpose is to somewhat compensate for the heartbreak caused by divorce. This has already been mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah, verses (236, 237). The practice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gives an idea of its amount. Thus, Sahl bin Sa‘d and Abu Usayd (may Allah be pleased with them) narrate: “The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married Umaymah bint Shurahil. When she was brought to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and he reached out his hand towards her, as if she disliked it, so the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told Abu Usayd to prepare her belongings and give her two long white garments made of linen.” [ بخاري، الطلاق، باب من طلق وھل یواجہ الرجل امرأ تہ بالطلاق؟: ۵۲۵۶، ۵۲۵۷ ]
➏ { ثُمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوْهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ تَمَسُّوْهُنَّ … :} The word {’’ ثُمَّ ‘‘} establishes two rulings: first, that the divorce which is valid is the one given after the marriage contract; divorce given before the marriage contract is of no consequence. For example, if someone says, “The woman I marry is divorced,” then the divorce does not take effect, because it is not after marriage. In Sahih Bukhari, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said (regarding this verse): “Allah Almighty has placed divorce after marriage.” And it is narrated from Ali, Sa‘id bin al-Musayyib, ‘Urwah bin Zubair, Abu Bakr bin ‘Abd al-Rahman, ‘Ubaydullah bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Utbah, Aban bin ‘Uthman, Ali bin Husayn, Shurayh, Sa‘id bin Jubayr, Qasim, Salim, Tawus, Hasan, ‘Ikrimah, ‘Ata’, ‘Amir bin Sa‘d, Jabir bin Zayd, Nafi‘ bin Jubayr, Muhammad bin Ka‘b, Sulayman bin Yasar, Mujahid, Qasim bin ‘Abd al-Rahman, ‘Amr bin Haram, and Sha‘bi (may Allah have mercy on them) that such a woman is not divorced. [ بخاري، الطلاق، باب لا طلاق قبل النکاح، بعد الحدیث : ۵۲۶۸ ] The second ruling is that after marriage, if intercourse has not taken place, then no matter how much time passes before divorce, there is no waiting period (‘iddah).
➐ { وَ سَرِّحُوْهُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيْلًا :} To let go in a good manner means to divorce her and send her off in a good way, without any quarrel or dispute. Do not open up her faults or complaints before people so that no one else is willing to accept her. From this command of the Qur’an, it is clear that making divorce conditional upon the permission of a council or court is not correct, because in that case, even if the man does not want to, he will have to mention some complaint or fault, which will disgrace the woman, and this is contrary to letting her go in a good manner.

49. 1. After marriage, those women with whom intercourse has taken place and who are also young, if such women are divorced, their waiting period is three menstrual cycles, and for those with whom marriage has taken place but there has been no intercourse between husband and wife, if they are divorced, then there is no waiting period for them, meaning such non-consummated divorcees can immediately marry elsewhere without observing any waiting period. However, if the husband dies before intercourse, then she must observe a waiting period of four months and ten days (Fath al-Qadeer, Ibn Kathir). Touching or laying a hand, this is a metaphor for intercourse (jima'). The word 'Nikah' is used for both the specific act of intercourse and the marriage contract. Here, it is in the meaning of the contract. Based on this verse, it is also argued that there is no divorce before marriage, because here divorce after marriage is mentioned. Therefore, those jurists who believe that if a person says, "If I marry such-and-such woman, she is divorced," then according to them, as soon as he marries that woman, divorce will take place. Similarly, some say that if he says, "Whichever woman I marry, she is divorced," then whichever woman he marries, divorce will occur. This is not correct. It is clarified in the hadith (لاطلاق قبل النکاح) that there is no divorce before marriage, which makes it clear that divorce before marriage is a futile act with no legal status.

49. 2. This is mut‘ah; if a dowry has been fixed, then half the dowry, otherwise, something should be given according to means.

49. 3. That is, they should be separated with honor and respect, without causing any harm.

O you who believe! When you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, there is no waiting period [77] for you to count concerning them. So provide for them and release them in a gracious manner.

[77]
Instructions for the One Who Gives Divorce:

In this verse, several matters are noteworthy. First, although the verse mentions marriage with believing women, if the marriage is with a woman from the People of the Book, she will also be included in this ruling. Second, it is obligatory to pay half of the dowry even if divorce is given before consummation, provided that the dowry has been fixed. [2: 237] Third, if the dowry has not been fixed at all, then nothing will have to be given. However, in both cases, the woman should be sent off with something, and the amount of this "something" will be according to the financial status of the one giving the divorce. Fourth, if a woman is to be divorced, then no blame should be placed upon her, nor should she be disgraced and sent out of the house in a way that would have an unpleasant effect on her future life. This is the meaning of sending her off in a good manner. The fifth and most important matter is that during the waiting period (‘iddah), the divorced woman remains the wife of her husband, and this is the man's right over the woman. During this period, the man also has the right to take her back, and he can even do so by force. Furthermore, if during this period it becomes known that she is pregnant, then the child will also belong to the man who gave the divorce, and he will be his heir as well. Since in divorce before consummation there is no possibility of pregnancy, there is no waiting period for a woman who has not been consummated with. If she wishes, she can marry immediately after the divorce. Among us, it is generally customary that the bride is sent off with the marriage contract, and this is called a wedding. However, it is also customary that the marriage contract takes place first, for example, in childhood the parents arrange the marriage, and the sending off or wedding takes place after some time or after the spouses reach maturity. The possibility mentioned in this verse is found in the second form, and in Arabia, it was common practice that the marriage contract took place first and the sending off happened later. The Hanafi scholars have also considered seclusion (khalwat-e-sahiha) to be equivalent to consummation, and this is something for which there is no evidence or example in the Book or the Sunnah.