Surah Al-Mujaadila (58) — Ayah 1

(Ayah 1) ➊ { قَدْ سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِيْ تُجَادِلُكَ فِيْ زَوْجِهَا :} These verses were revealed regarding Khawlah bint Tha‘labah (may Allah be pleased with her). In some narrations, her name is given as Khawilah and in others as Jamilah. Her husband was Aws bin Samit Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the brother of ‘Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him). He was old, and Khawlah had children from him. On some matter, he became angry and did zihar with her, that is, he said: {’’أَنْتِ عَلَيَّ كَظَهْرِ أُمِّيْ‘‘} “You are to me like the back of my mother.” In the time of ignorance, whoever did zihar to his wife would consider her forbidden to him forever, just like his mother. For Khawlah, the world became dark; at this age, where would she go, what would she do with the children? If they stayed with their father, they would be lost; if they stayed with her, how would she feed them? She brought this complaint to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In Sunan Abu Dawud, it is narrated that Khawilah bint Malik bin Tha‘labah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that her husband Aws bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) did zihar to her, so she came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She says, “I was complaining to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was arguing with me about it and said: [ اِتَّقِي اللّٰهَ فَإِنَّهُ ابْنُ عَمِّكِ ] ‘Fear Allah regarding him, for he is your cousin.’ But I did not relent, until {’’ قَدْ سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِيْ تُجَادِلُكَ فِيْ زَوْجِهَا ‘‘} was revealed up to the statement of the obligation of expiation. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يَعْتِقُ رَقَبَةً ] ‘He must free a slave.’ She said: ‘He does not have that.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ فَيَصُوْمُ شَهْرَيْنِ مُتَتَابِعَيْنِ ] ‘Then he must fast two consecutive months.’ She said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! He is an old man, he cannot fast.’ He said: [ فَلْيُطْعِمْ سِتِّيْنَ مِسْكِيْنًا ] ‘Then he must feed sixty (60) poor people.’ She said: ‘He does not have anything to give as charity.’ She says that at that time a basket of dates was brought, and I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I will help him with another basket.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ قَدْ أَحْسَنْتِ اِذْهَبِيْ فَأَطْعِمِيْ بِهَا عَنْهُ سِتِّيْنَ مِسْكِيْنًا وَارْجِعِيْ إِلٰی ابْنِ عَمِّكِ ] [ أبو داوٗد، الطلاق، باب في الظہار:۲۲۱۴، وقال الألباني حسن ] ‘You have done well. Go and feed sixty poor people on his behalf and return to your cousin.’
➋ { قَدْ سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ:} The particle {’’ قَدْ ‘‘} is used for emphasis and also for the occurrence of something that is expected. Here, the first meaning does not apply, because there is no doubt about Allah’s hearing that would require an emphatic particle to assure it. So the meaning is that the woman who was disputing with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had her expectation of being heard by Allah fulfilled. Here, “hearing” does not mean just listening, but listening and fulfilling the request, as it is said that Allah heard the supplication, meaning He accepted it after hearing.
➌ { تُجَادِلُكَ فِيْ زَوْجِهَا :} The dispute was that she was saying, “Find some allowance for me; my husband has not divorced me, he has only said {’’أَنْتِ عَلَيَّ كَظَهْرِ أُمِّيْ‘‘}.” Now, where will I go in old age, and what will I do with the children? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was not permitting them to live together due to the absence of a clear command from Allah.
➍ { وَ تَشْتَكِيْۤ اِلَى اللّٰهِ: ’’ شَكَا يَشْكُوْ شَكْوًي وَشِكَايَةً ‘‘} To express one’s pain and suffering. {’’ تَشْتَكِيْۤ ‘‘} (form of intensification) due to the addition of letters, gives an intensified meaning, i.e., the woman who was disputing was complaining greatly to Allah and expressing her pain and suffering intensely.
➎ {وَ اللّٰهُ يَسْمَعُ تَحَاوُرَكُمَا اِنَّ اللّٰهَ سَمِيْعٌۢ بَصِيْرٌ: ’’ اِنَّ ‘‘} is used for reasoning. And Allah was listening to the conversation between both of you, because Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. “Sam‘” (hearing) is the attribute by which knowledge of sounds is obtained, and “basar” (seeing) is the attribute by which knowledge of visible things is obtained. Influenced by the polytheist philosophers of Greece, some Muslim theologians accepted their principle that “the locus of events is itself an event.” As a result, it became impossible for them to accept Allah as All-Hearing and All-Seeing, because if it is accepted that Allah hears all sounds and sees all things, then the things heard and seen are events, coming into existence anew; if Allah hears and sees, then He would be the locus of events, and according to their principle, He would Himself be an event, not eternal and pre-existent. Therefore, they either denied Allah’s attributes of hearing, seeing, speaking, and all such attributes in which occurrence is found, or they interpreted them in such a way that it was in reality a denial. Most commentators have adopted this approach. See Tafsir Jalalayn, where it is written: {’’ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ سَمِيْعٌۢ بَصِيْرٌ ‘‘ عَالِمٌ ‘‘} whereas everyone knows that hearing, seeing, and knowing are three separate attributes; merely accepting “knowing” does not mean accepting “hearing” and “seeing,” and this principle that “the locus of events is itself an event” contradicts the clear words of the Qur’an, and is therefore incorrect. For more details, see the commentary of Surah Ar-Rahman, Ayah (29): «كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِيْ شَاْنٍ ». If someone says that if Allah is accepted as All-Hearing and All-Seeing, then He becomes like the servants, the answer is that when {’’عليم‘‘} does not make Him like the servants, even though Allah has used the word “Alim” for servants as well: « اِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلٰمٍ عَلِيْمٍ» [ الحجر : ۵۳ ] (Indeed, We give you glad tidings of a knowledgeable boy), then how would accepting Him as All-Hearing and All-Seeing make Him like the servants? See also the commentary of Surah Ash-Shura, Ayah (11): « لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ ».
➏ Umm al-Mu’minin A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: [ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ وَسِعَ سَمْعُهُ الْأَصْوَاتَ، لَقَدْ جَاءَتِ الْمُجَادِلَةُ إِلَی النَّبِيِّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَ أَنَا فِيْ نَاحِيَةِ الْبَيْتِ، تَشْكُوْ زَوْجَهَا وَمَا أَسْمَعُ مَا تَقُوْلُ فَأَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ : « قَدْ سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِيْ تُجَادِلُكَ فِيْ زَوْجِهَا» ] [ ابن ماجہ، المقدمۃ، باب فیما أنکرت الجھمیۃ : ۱۸۸ ] “All praise is due to Allah, whose hearing encompasses all voices. The woman who was disputing came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while I was in a corner of the house. She was complaining about her husband, and I could not hear what she was saying, but Allah revealed these verses: « قَدْ سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِيْ تُجَادِلُكَ فِيْ زَوْجِهَا » ‘Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of the woman who disputes with you concerning her husband.’” This hadith shows what the Companions understood by Allah’s hearing. That is why Imam Ibn Majah mentioned this hadith at the very beginning of his Sunan in the chapter titled: {’’ بَابٌ فِيْمَا أَنْكَرَتِ الْجَهْمِيَّةُ‘‘} “This chapter is to affirm those things which the Jahmiyyah have denied.” And Imam Bukhari mentioned it in his Sahih al-Bukhari under the {’’ كِتَابُ التَّوْحِيْدِ‘‘} of {’’بَابُ قَوْلِ اللّٰهِ تَعْالٰي : « وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ سَمِيْعًۢا بَصِيْرًا » ‘‘} to affirm the attribute of hearing and seeing for Allah.

Certainly, Allah has heard the statement of the woman who was arguing with you about her husband and was complaining to Allah, and Allah was hearing the conversation between you both. 1. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

1. Allah has certainly heard the statement of the woman who was disputing with you (O Prophet) concerning her husband and was complaining to Allah. And Allah was hearing the conversation between both of you. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

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The Background of the Rulings on Zihar:

In the Age of Ignorance, it was customary that when a husband and wife quarreled, the husband, in a state of anger, would say to his wife: ﴿أنْتِ عَلَيَّ كَظَهْرِ أمِّي﴾ meaning, "You are to me like the back of my mother." This was considered a permanent divorce. It was not just an ordinary divorce, but was regarded as a severe form of divorce, after which there remained no possibility for the husband and wife to come together again. Regarding this absurd custom, Muslims had already been informed in Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 4, that by performing zihar—declaring one's wife to be like the back of one's mother—she does not become his mother, nor has Allah made any such law. However, no detailed Shari'ah ruling had been given about this. Now, the incident occurred that an Ansari, Aws ibn Samit, and his wife, Khawla bint Tha'labah, had a quarrel, and in anger, Aws ibn Samit uttered the words of zihar. The commonly understood meaning between the two parties was that this was an eternal divorce. Later, both spouses deeply regretted it, and since they had children, the future of the children brought many dangers to the fore. Khawla bint Tha'labah came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked about the ruling. But since no clear ruling on zihar had yet been revealed, the Prophet ﷺ said, "I think you have become forbidden to him." At this, Khawla said to the Prophet ﷺ: "O Messenger of Allah! My husband did not utter the word of divorce. I spent my youth with him. Now, in old age, with whom will I spend my days? Also, I have children from Aws. If I give them up, they will become victims of neglect, and if I keep them with me, I cannot bear their expenses." She wept as she spoke and kept saying, "Please tell me a better solution," and also, "May Allah reveal a better decision for me." Allah heard her plea. Thus, Allah Almighty revealed the opening verses of this Surah. She was returning in her distress when the Prophet ﷺ called her back and recited these verses to her. In them, not only was the solution to her problem provided, but because of this woman, Allah Almighty abolished this evil custom for the future and bestowed mercy upon all of mankind. Thus, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) held this woman in great esteem. Once, during his caliphate, Sayyiduna Umar was passing by somewhere when the aforementioned Khawla called him on the way and began to speak to him. Sayyiduna Umar ؓ stood and listened to her attentively. Someone asked, "What is the matter that you are listening so attentively to this old woman and giving her so much importance?" Sayyiduna Umar replied: "This is the woman whose words Allah Almighty heard above the seven heavens. How could Umar dare not to pay attention to her words?"