Surah At-Talaaq (65) — Ayah 6

(Ayah 6) ➊ { اَسْكِنُوْهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ سَكَنْتُمْ مِّنْ وُّجْدِكُمْ :} In this, the ruling regarding those women has been stated who have been given the first or second divorce. Previously, it was said about them that do not expel them from their homes until the completion of the waiting period, nor should they themselves leave; now, here is the detail of that. In {’’ مِنْ حَيْثُ سَكَنْتُمْ ‘‘}, {’’ مِنْ ‘‘} is for denoting a part, meaning, in whatever part of the house you live, give them a place to stay as well. {’’ مِنْ وُّجْدِكُمْ ‘‘} according to your means, that is, whether the house is owned, rented, or a tent, etc., wherever you live, keep them there. The purpose of this, Allah Almighty has already stated, is that by staying in one place for such a period, perhaps Allah may create a situation for reconciliation and they may return to each other; during this period, their maintenance is also the husband's responsibility. After the third divorce, since there is no possibility of return, there is no command for the woman to stay with the husband, nor is her maintenance the husband's responsibility, as has already been mentioned in the benefit (12) of the first verse in the Sahih hadith of Fatimah bint Qais (may Allah be pleased with her).
➋ { وَ لَا تُضَآرُّوْهُنَّ لِتُضَيِّقُوْا عَلَيْهِنَّ :} That is, do not cause them hardship in maintenance by reducing it, or by providing unsuitable accommodation, or by harsh words or physical abuse, so that if they stay, they remain in distress, or are forced to leave the house, or to forgo their dower.
➌ { وَ اِنْ كُنَّ اُولَاتِ حَمْلٍ فَاَنْفِقُوْا عَلَيْهِنَّ …:} If the divorced woman is not pregnant, then in the case of a revocable divorce, her maintenance and accommodation are the husband's responsibility; in the case of the third divorce, her maintenance or accommodation is not the husband's responsibility, as has already been mentioned. However, if she is pregnant, then in the case of a revocable divorce, both her maintenance and accommodation are the husband's responsibility until the child is born, and if it is the third divorce, then only her expenses are the husband's responsibility until delivery.
➍ { فَاِنْ اَرْضَعْنَ لَكُمْ فَاٰتُوْهُنَّ اُجُوْرَهُنَّ:} From this sentence, it is understood that according to Allah's command, the child belongs to the father, not the mother, because the mother is nursing the child for the child's father and is taking a wage; if the child belonged to the mother, the question of taking a wage would not arise. Secondly, the woman is the owner of her own milk; she can take a wage from the husband who divorced her just as she can from others.
➎ {وَ اْتَمِرُوْا بَيْنَكُمْ بِمَعْرُوْفٍ : ’’ وَ اْتَمِرُوْا ‘‘ ’’اِئْتَمَرَ يَأْتَمِرُ اِئْتِمَارًا‘‘} (Iftiaal) means to consult, as in Surah Qasas it is said: «يٰمُوْسٰۤى اِنَّ الْمَلَاَ يَاْتَمِرُوْنَ بِكَ لِيَقْتُلُوْكَ» [ القصص : ۲۰ ] "O Musa! Indeed, the chiefs are consulting about you to kill you." After divorce, usually due to mutual discord and anger between husband and wife, tension has arisen; in such a situation, both husband and wife and their relatives are instructed to keep consulting each other in a good manner regarding the child's nursing, treatment, upbringing, and welfare, so that their tension does not become a cause of harm to the child.
➏ { وَ اِنْ تَعَاسَرْتُمْ فَسَتُرْضِعُ لَهٗۤ اُخْرٰى :} That is, if the mother refuses to nurse due to illness or weakness, or demands a wage higher than the husband's ability or the customary norm, or the husband is not willing to pay the demanded wage, or for any other reason there is stubbornness between them and the mother does not nurse, then it is not necessary that the mother must nurse in every case; rather, another woman can nurse the child.