سُوْرَةُ صٓ
Surah Saad (38) — Ayah 44
وَخُذْ بِيَدِكَ ضِغْثًا فَٱضْرِب بِّهِۦ وَلَا تَحْنَثْ ۗ إِنَّا وَجَدْنَـٰهُ صَابِرًا ۚ نِّعْمَ ٱلْعَبْدُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥٓ أَوَّابٌ ﴿44﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
"And take in your hand a bundle of thin grass and strike therewith (your wife), and break not your oath. Truly! We found him patient. How excellent a slave! Verily he was ever oft-returning in repentance (to Us)!
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَخُذْ
wakhudh
And take
بِيَدِكَ
biyadika
in your hand
ضِغْثًۭا
ḍigh'than
a bunch
فَٱضْرِب
fa-iḍ'rib
and strike
بِّهِۦ
bihi
with it
وَلَا
walā
and (do) not
تَحْنَثْ ۗ
taḥnath
break (your) oath
إِنَّا
innā
Indeed, We
وَجَدْنَـٰهُ
wajadnāhu
[We] found him
صَابِرًۭا ۚ
ṣābiran
patient
نِّعْمَ
niʿ'ma
an excellent
ٱلْعَبْدُ ۖ
l-ʿabdu
slave
إِنَّهُۥٓ
innahu
Indeed, he
أَوَّابٌۭ
awwābun
repeatedly turned
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
44. And (We said to him,) "Take in your hand a bundle of twigs [51] and strike with it, and do not break your oath." Indeed, We found him patient—an excellent servant, ever turning to Us.
[51]
Sayyiduna Ayyub Punishing His Wife:
During his prolonged illness (which, according to authentic narrations, lasted for 13 years), all his wives and children left him. This was due to both poverty and illness. Only one wife remained with him during this long period. Even this wife, one day, said something that indicated ingratitude towards Allah. Sayyiduna Ayyubؑ became angry at his wife’s words and said that when I recover, I will strike you with a hundred sticks as punishment for your ingratitude. Now, it is obvious that if, in the midst of all this suffering, his companion wife uttered such a thing, she was not so much at fault that she deserved to be struck a hundred times. This was only a demand of Sayyiduna Ayyubؑ’s religious zeal, and Allah Almighty only burdens each soul according to its capacity. Thus, when Sayyiduna Ayyubؑ recovered, Allah Almighty Himself told him a way out: take a broom with a hundred twigs and strike her just once lightly with it. In this way, his oath was fulfilled, and Allah’s mercy was also shown to that loyal wife.
In What Case Is a Legal Stratagem Permissible:
Here, a discussion has arisen as to whether it is permissible, according to Shariah, to use a legal stratagem (ḥīlah). The answer is that if the intention is to avert oppression from oneself or another, then at that time, using a legal stratagem is permissible according to Shariah. The evidence for this is, firstly, this very verse. Secondly, Allah Almighty Himself taught Sayyiduna Yusufؑ such a plan by which his younger brother Binyamin could be protected from the oppression and cruelty of his stepbrothers. Thirdly, the following hadith also clarifies this: Sa‘id bin Sa‘d bin ‘Ubādahؓ says that Sa‘d bin ‘Ubādah (i.e., the father of the narrator Sa‘id) brought a sick, deformed man to the Messenger of Allahﷺ, who had committed adultery with one of the slave girls of the neighborhood. The Prophetﷺ said: Take a large branch of date-palm with a hundred small twigs and strike him once with it. [شرح السنہ بحوالہ مشکوٰۃ۔ کتاب الحدود الفصل الثانی]
And this stratagem was adopted by the Prophet because he could not bear a hundred lashes, and in such a case, his death was certain. As for those stratagems by which some Shariah wisdom or objective is lost, such stratagems are absolutely impermissible, rather, they are haram. For example, to avoid paying zakat, one gives away part of one’s wealth as a gift to someone else before the year is complete, and after the year passes, takes the same thing back as a gift in one’s own favor. Or, to forcibly marry a woman, one arranges for false witnesses in court and gets a decision in one’s own favor. Many such stratagems are mentioned in the book al-Hiyal of Hidayah. Imam Bukhari has also criticized them, stating that most of these stratagems are impermissible, rather, they are haram.
[51]
Sayyiduna Ayyub Punishing His Wife:
During his prolonged illness (which, according to authentic narrations, lasted for 13 years), all his wives and children left him. This was due to both poverty and illness. Only one wife remained with him during this long period. Even this wife, one day, said something that indicated ingratitude towards Allah. Sayyiduna Ayyubؑ became angry at his wife’s words and said that when I recover, I will strike you with a hundred sticks as punishment for your ingratitude. Now, it is obvious that if, in the midst of all this suffering, his companion wife uttered such a thing, she was not so much at fault that she deserved to be struck a hundred times. This was only a demand of Sayyiduna Ayyubؑ’s religious zeal, and Allah Almighty only burdens each soul according to its capacity. Thus, when Sayyiduna Ayyubؑ recovered, Allah Almighty Himself told him a way out: take a broom with a hundred twigs and strike her just once lightly with it. In this way, his oath was fulfilled, and Allah’s mercy was also shown to that loyal wife.
In What Case Is a Legal Stratagem Permissible:
Here, a discussion has arisen as to whether it is permissible, according to Shariah, to use a legal stratagem (ḥīlah). The answer is that if the intention is to avert oppression from oneself or another, then at that time, using a legal stratagem is permissible according to Shariah. The evidence for this is, firstly, this very verse. Secondly, Allah Almighty Himself taught Sayyiduna Yusufؑ such a plan by which his younger brother Binyamin could be protected from the oppression and cruelty of his stepbrothers. Thirdly, the following hadith also clarifies this: Sa‘id bin Sa‘d bin ‘Ubādahؓ says that Sa‘d bin ‘Ubādah (i.e., the father of the narrator Sa‘id) brought a sick, deformed man to the Messenger of Allahﷺ, who had committed adultery with one of the slave girls of the neighborhood. The Prophetﷺ said: Take a large branch of date-palm with a hundred small twigs and strike him once with it. [شرح السنہ بحوالہ مشکوٰۃ۔ کتاب الحدود الفصل الثانی]
And this stratagem was adopted by the Prophet because he could not bear a hundred lashes, and in such a case, his death was certain. As for those stratagems by which some Shariah wisdom or objective is lost, such stratagems are absolutely impermissible, rather, they are haram. For example, to avoid paying zakat, one gives away part of one’s wealth as a gift to someone else before the year is complete, and after the year passes, takes the same thing back as a gift in one’s own favor. Or, to forcibly marry a woman, one arranges for false witnesses in court and gets a decision in one’s own favor. Many such stratagems are mentioned in the book al-Hiyal of Hidayah. Imam Bukhari has also criticized them, stating that most of these stratagems are impermissible, rather, they are haram.
