Surah Al-Mumtahana (60) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) ➊ {يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ اِذَا جَآءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنٰتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ … :} Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that when believing women would migrate to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he would test them with the words of Allah’s command: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ اِذَا جَآءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنٰتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ … غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِيْمٌ » So among those believing women who would agree to this condition, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say to her: [ قَدْ بَايَعْتُكِ ] “I have accepted your pledge.” Only with words, and by Allah! The hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never touched the hand of any woman at the time of taking the pledge; he would take the pledge from them only with these words: [ قَدْ بَايَعْتُكِ عَلٰی ذٰلِكَ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ الممتحنۃ، باب : «إذا جاء کم المؤمنات مھاجرات» : ۴۸۹۱ ] “I have accepted your pledge on these matters.” Umaymah bint Ruqayqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with a group of women to pledge allegiance to him, so he took the pledge from us according to this verse of the Qur’an: « عَلٰۤى اَنْ لَّا يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللّٰهِ شَيْـًٔا …» and said: [ فِيْمَا اسْتَطَعْتُنَّ وَأَطَقْتُنَّ ] “As much as you are able and have strength.” We said: “Allah and His Messenger are more merciful to us than we are to ourselves.” We said: “O Messenger of Allah! Do you not shake hands with us?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنِّيْ لاَ أُصَافِحُ النِّسَاءَ إِنَّمَا قَوْلِيْ لاِمْرَأَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ كَقَوْلِيْ لِمِائَةِ امْرَأَةٍ ] [ مسند أحمد : 357/6، ح : ۲۷۰۰۹۔ ترمذي، السیر، باب ما جاء في بیعۃ النساء : ۱۵۹۷، وصححہ الترمذي والألباني ] “I do not shake hands with women; my word to one woman is as to a hundred women.”

➋ When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not shake hands with any woman even on such an important occasion as the pledge, then how can it be permissible for anyone else to shake hands with a non-mahram woman? The custom of shaking hands with non-mahram women in imitation of the disbelievers, and the practice of so-called saints shaking hands with strange women under the guise of sanctity, both are forbidden, because with corrupt intention they can become a prelude to adultery, and blocking the means (preventing the ways to sin) is a well-established principle of Shariah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ فَالْعَيْنَانِ زِنَاهُمَا النَّظَرُ وَالْأُذُنَانِ زِنَاهُمَا الْاِسْتِمَاعُ وَاللِّسَانُ زِنَاهُ الْكَلَامُ وَالْيَدُ زِنَاهَا الْبَطْشُ وَالرِّجْلُ زِنَاهَا الْخُطَا وَالْقَلْبُ يَهْوٰی وَيَتَمَنّٰی وَيُصَدِّقُ ذٰلِكَ الْفَرْجُ وَيُكَذِّبُهُ ] [ مسلم، القدر، باب قدر علی ابن آدم حظہ من الزنی وغیرہ : ۲۱ /۲۶۵۷ ] “So the eyes, their adultery is looking; and the ears, their adultery is listening attentively; and the tongue, its adultery is speaking; and the hand, its adultery is grasping; and the feet, their adultery is walking; and the heart desires and wishes, and the private part confirms it or denies it.”

➌ In the society of ignorance, associating partners with Allah, theft, adultery, killing children, and slander were common, so they were specifically mentioned and forbidden, just as the delegation of Abdul Qais was specifically forbidden from using those vessels in which wine was made, because although they had become Muslim, the habit of drinking wine still remained among them. As for the other forbidden things or those things which are commanded to be done, all of them have come in {’’ وَ لَا يَعْصِيْنَكَ فِيْ مَعْرُوْفٍ ‘‘}. Here, since the mention is of the arrival of women, their name was mentioned; otherwise, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would take the pledge from men on these same matters. Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when a group of his companions was present around him, said: [ بَايِعُوْنِيْ عَلٰی أَنْ لاَ تُشْرِكُوْا بِاللّٰهِ شَيْئًا، وَلاَ تَسْرِقُوْا، وَلاَ تَزْنُوْا، وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوْا أَوْلاَدَكُمْ، وَلاَ تَأْتُوْا بِبُهْتَانٍ تَفْتَرُوْنَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيْكُمْ وَأَرْجُلِكُمْ، وَلاَ تَعْصُوْا فِيْ مَعْرُوْفٍ، فَمَنْ وَفٰی مِنْكُمْ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَی اللّٰهِ، وَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ شَيْئًا فَعُوْقِبَ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَهُوَ كَفَّارَةٌ لَهُ، وَمَنْ أَصَابَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ شَيْئًا ثُمَّ سَتَرَهُ اللّٰهُ فَهُوَ إِلَی اللّٰهِ، إِنْ شَاءَ عَفَا عَنْهُ وَ إِنْ شَاءَ عَاقَبَهُ، فَبَايَعْنَاهُ عَلٰی ذٰلِكَ ] [بخاري، الإیمان، باب علامۃ الإیمان حب الأنصار : ۱۸ ] “Pledge to me that you will not associate anything with Allah, and you will not steal, and you will not commit adultery, and you will not kill your children, and you will not bring any slander which you have fabricated between your hands and feet, and you will not disobey in any good matter. Then whoever among you fulfills this covenant, his reward is with Allah, and whoever does any of these things and is punished for it in this world, that will be an expiation for him. And whoever does any of these things and Allah conceals it for him, then it is up to Allah: if He wills, He will forgive him, and if He wills, He will punish him.” So we pledged allegiance to him on this.”

Besides the women who migrated at the time of Hudaybiyyah and the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also took the pledge from women on these matters. Thus, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), after giving the sermon to the men on the day of Eid al-Fitr, came to the women and said: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ اِذَا جَآءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنٰتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ …» Then when he finished reciting the verse, he addressed the women and said: [ آنْتُنَّ عَلٰی ذٰلِكَ؟ ] “Are you firm upon this?” One of the women replied, and no one else answered except her: [ نَعَمْ ] “Yes!” [ بخاري، العیدین، باب موعظۃ الإمام النساء یوم العید : ۹۷۹]

➍ { وَ لَا يَقْتُلْنَ اَوْلَادَهُنَّ:} This also includes abortion, whether permissible or not.

➎ { وَ لَا يَاْتِيْنَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَّفْتَرِيْنَهٗ بَيْنَ اَيْدِيْهِنَّ وَ اَرْجُلِهِنَّ: ’’بُهْتَانٌ‘‘} A fabricated lie attributed to someone, upon hearing which he is left stunned and bewildered. Most commentators have explained it as a woman bringing another woman’s child and presenting it before her husband and others as if it was born from her own womb, whether she picked up an abandoned child or brought it in some other way. Obviously, this can only happen if the husband has been absent for a long time, or if she gives birth to a child by someone other than her husband and presents it as her husband’s child. {’’ بَيْنَ اَيْدِيْهِنَّ وَ اَرْجُلِهِنَّ ‘‘} (between the hands and feet) is used because when a child is born, its birth takes place between a woman’s hands and feet. But to restrict “slander” to only these cases is difficult, because firstly, the word “slander” is general, and then when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge from men, he used these words for them as well: [ وَلاَ تَأْتُوْا بِبُهْتَانٍ تَفْتَرُوْنَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيْكُمْ وَأَرْجُلِكُمْ ] [ بخاري : ۱۸ ] “And you will not bring any slander which you have fabricated between your hands and feet.” As mentioned in the previous benefit, this hadith has passed. Obviously, these forms of slander cannot be imagined for men. In the Arabic language, {’’بَيْنَ أَيْدِيْهِمْ‘‘} means “in front of,” as He said: «يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ » [ البقرۃ : ۲۵۵ ] “He knows what is before them.” {’’ وَأَرْجُلِهِمْ‘‘} is for emphasis, so its simple meaning seems to be that they should not fabricate and present with full brazenness something that does not exist. And it may also mean that, without caring that on the Day of Resurrection their hands and feet will testify against them, they should not slander anyone before their hands and feet, but rather they should keep in mind that they are slandering in the presence of four witnesses. This meaning is supported elsewhere by the mention of the testimony of hands and feet in the context of the curse upon those who slander, as He said: « اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يَرْمُوْنَ الْمُحْصَنٰتِ الْغٰفِلٰتِ الْمُؤْمِنٰتِ لُعِنُوْا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ الْاٰخِرَةِ وَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيْمٌ (23) يَّوْمَ تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ اَلْسِنَتُهُمْ وَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ وَ اَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوْا يَعْمَلُوْنَ (24) يَوْمَىِٕذٍ يُّوَفِّيْهِمُ اللّٰهُ دِيْنَهُمُ الْحَقَّ وَ يَعْلَمُوْنَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ الْمُبِيْنُ » [ النور : ۲۳ تا ۲۵ ] “Indeed, those who accuse chaste, unaware, believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter, and for them is a great punishment. On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will testify against them about what they used to do. That Day Allah will pay them in full their just due, and they will know that Allah is the Manifest Truth.” In short, the verse does not refer to only one form of slander, but a pledge is taken to avoid every kind of slander.

➏ { وَ لَا يَعْصِيْنَكَ فِيْ مَعْرُوْفٍ:} In this sentence, the pledge to act upon the entire Shariah is included. There are several explanations for the condition of {’’ فِيْ مَعْرُوْفٍ ‘‘} in this pledge: one is that it is to clarify that the Messenger only commands what is right, so how could there be any disobedience to him? The second is that although it is obvious that the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) can only be for what is right, the restriction of {’’ مَعْرُوْفٍ ‘‘} (good) is added so that everyone knows that obedience to the creation is not permissible in disobedience to Allah, even obedience to the Messenger is conditional upon this. The third is that since the matter here concerns women, if they were commanded to obey absolutely, that is, not to disobey any of your commands, Satan could have cast a whisper of misguidance into someone’s heart, so this restriction was added to block that path.

➐ Several forms of pledges to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are narrated, among them the pledge of Islam, the pledge of jihad, the pledge to adhere to certain matters, such as not asking anyone for anything, and the pledge of repentance from major sins and obedience. After the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), it is established from the Companions that they took the pledge of embracing Islam from people and the pledge of obedience to the leaders, but for anyone other than the caliph or leader to take a pledge from people to become his disciple, as is the practice of the Sufis, is not established from the time of the Companions nor from the entire best generations, because this leads to sects and groups among Muslims. Then this matter does not remain limited to Naqshbandi, Suhrawardi, Chishti, and Qadiri, but everyone establishes his own seat and circle, which is bound only to his command, and every spiritual guide demands that since the disciple’s knowledge is deficient, if his guide gives him a command that is clearly against Shariah, it is still necessary for him to accept it, because there is some hidden wisdom in it. These people have even discarded the restriction of {’’ فِيْ مَعْرُوْفٍ ‘‘}, so their “tongue of the unseen,” Hafiz Shirazi, has said:
“Stain the prayer mat with wine if the spiritual guide commands,
For the traveler is not unaware of the ways and customs of the stations.”
The reality is that this system of spiritual guides and disciples is a dreadful cause of the Ummah’s distance from the Book and Sunnah and its internal division. No matter how much you present the Qur’an and Sunnah, the one who has given his hand to the guide will say, “Does our guide not know this?” As for the claim that we pledge allegiance to the guide as a teacher and mentor, firstly, there is no need for a pledge for this, and then where is it established to bind oneself to the command of only one teacher and mentor? You can and should learn and take guidance from multiple teachers and mentors. Yes, every form of pledge to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was valid, because he was a Prophet; in his presence, there was no pledge to anyone else, nor was there any fear of division or discord arising from it. Then the pledge to the caliph and leader is valid, because Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have commanded it, and as long as there is a caliph, it is not permissible to pledge allegiance to anyone else.

➑ { فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَ اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ اللّٰهَ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُوْرٌ رَّحِيْمٌ:} That is, if they commit to these matters, then you should accept their pledge, and for the slips they made before this or those that may occur in the future due to human weakness, seek forgiveness from Allah for them, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

12. 1. This pledge was taken when women would migrate, as is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, Tafsir of Surah Mumtahanah. In addition, on the day of the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ also took the pledge from the women of Quraysh. At the time of taking the pledge, the Prophet ﷺ would only take the oath verbally; he never touched the hand of any woman. Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says, "By Allah, the hand of the Prophet ﷺ never touched the hand of any woman in the pledge." At the time of the pledge, the Prophet ﷺ would only say, "I have taken the pledge from you on these matters." (Sahih Bukhari) In the pledge, the Prophet ﷺ would also take this promise from women that they would not wail, would not tear their collars, would not pull their hair, and would not lament like in the days of ignorance. (Sahih Bukhari) In this pledge, there is no mention of prayer, fasting, Hajj, or Zakat, etc., because these are pillars of the religion and symbols of Islam, and thus do not require clarification. The Prophet ﷺ specifically took the pledge on those matters which women commonly committed, so that along with adhering to the pillars of religion, they would also avoid these things. From this, it is understood that scholars, callers to Islam, and preachers should not focus their eloquence only on explaining the pillars of religion, which are already clear, but should also strongly refute those evils and customs which are common in society and which even those who are regular in prayer and fasting do not avoid.

12. O Prophet! When believing women come to you to pledge allegiance [25] to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children [26], nor bring any falsehood they have fabricated between their hands and feet [27], nor disobey you in what is right [28], then accept their pledge [29] and ask Allah to forgive them. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

[25]
On What Matters Are Women Given Bay‘ah:

That is, after examination, these emigrant women as well as the general Muslim women were commanded to give bay‘ah. And this bay‘ah would be taken only by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, because the addressee of this verse is you ﷺ alone. And the sins from which abstention is pledged in the bay‘ah are all major sins. The greatest of these is shirk, which especially relates to the right of Allah. The other sins are crimes liable to hadd, and relate to the rights of people. Of these five sins, apart from shirk, the remaining four are such that they incur hadd. These are the sins mentioned in the Quran. In addition to these, you would also take bay‘ah for abstention from other sinful acts mentioned in the hadiths. And all these are crimes that were commonly practiced in Arabia.
[26] As was the custom in the Age of Ignorance, due to formal shame and disgrace, girls would be buried alive. Or, out of fear of poverty and hunger, not only girls but boys would also be killed. This also includes abortion, whether it is the abortion of a legitimate or illegitimate pregnancy.
[27]
Types of Slander:

There are several forms of this slander. One is the well-known and common one, that is, a woman accuses another woman of having relations with a non-mahram man, which is generally called an accusation. The second is that she herself is an adulteress, bears a child by another man, and convinces her husband that the child is his. The third is that she takes another woman’s child and deceitfully attributes it to herself.
[28] Since the process of bay‘ah is not limited to the person of the Prophet ﷺ, but the leader of the Ummah and other respected elders can also take bay‘ah, therefore Allah Almighty has added the condition of “ma‘ruf” (good) along with obedience. Although it was impossible for you ﷺ to take bay‘ah on anything other than ma‘ruf or on a sinful act, in this regard you stated a clear law in these words:
﴿لا طاعة فى معصية انما الطاعة فى المعروف﴾ [متفق عليه]
That is, if it is an act of disobedience to Allah, then obedience to anyone is not necessary.
Obedience is only in good deeds. Another point derived from this verse is that every statement of yours is obligatory to follow, whether it is mentioned in the Quran or not.
[29]
The Method of Bay‘ah With Women:

When you took bay‘ah from men, the one giving bay‘ah would place his hand in your hand and make a pledge. But this was not the method for women. You ﷺ never touched the hand of any woman. Sometimes, after taking the pledge from women, you ﷺ would simply say that your bay‘ah is complete. And sometimes you would hold one end of a cloth and the woman taking bay‘ah would hold the other end and make the pledge. And sometimes you would put your hand in a bowl of water, and then the woman taking bay‘ah would put her hand in from the other side. For details of the matters on which you took bay‘ah from women or men, see the following hadiths:

Some Hadiths Related to Bay‘ah:

1. Sayyidah Aisha states that when women migrated and came to you ﷺ, you ﷺ would examine them according to this verse. Then, whoever accepted these conditions, you ﷺ would say verbally that I have taken your bay‘ah. By Allah! At the time of bay‘ah, your hand never touched the hand of any woman. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
2.
Opposition to Lamenting Over the Deceased:

Sayyidah Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) says that when we gave bay‘ah to you ﷺ, you ﷺ recited this very verse to us. Then you forbade us from lamenting over the dead. So one woman (it was Umm ‘Atiyyah herself) withheld her hand and said: So-and-so woman helped me in lamenting, I will repay her. Hearing this, you remained silent. She left. Then (after lamenting) she returned, and you ﷺ took bay‘ah from her. [حواله ايضاً]
3. Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: I performed the Eid prayer with the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr ؓ, ‘Umar ؓ, and ‘Uthman ؓ. You would perform the prayer before the sermon, then deliver the sermon. After the sermon, you would descend from the pulpit—as if I am seeing you—while you were signaling with your hand for the people to sit. Then, passing through their rows, you advanced to the women, and Bilal ؓ was with you. You recited to them this entire verse (of bay‘ah). After finishing, you asked the women: “Do you stand by these conditions?” Except for one woman, none replied (they were shy). That woman (Asma bint Yazid) said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ. After that, you told them to give charity. Bilal ؓ spread out his cloth, and they began to put their their rings into Bilal’s ؓ cloth. [حواله ايضاً]
4. Sayyiduna ‘Ubadah bin Samit ؓ says that you ﷺ said to us (on the night of ‘Aqabah): You pledge to me on these matters: ﴿أنْ لاَ تُشْرِكُوْا باللّٰهِ شَيْئًا وَلاَ تَزْنُوْا وَلاََ تَسْرِقُوْا﴾ Then, whoever fulfills these conditions, his reward is with Allah, and whoever commits any of these acts and is punished with a hadd, that will be an expiation for his sin. And if someone commits a sin and Allah conceals it, then on the Day of Judgment, Allah may punish him if He wills, or forgive him if He wills. [حواله ايضاً]
After taking bay‘ah, you ﷺ were commanded to supplicate for forgiveness for those women who gave bay‘ah, so that whatever shortcomings they had in these matters previously, or if there is any deficiency in fulfilling this pledge in the future, Allah may forgive them.