,islam,quran,tafsir,the light of the quran

section 29

divorce and the respect
for the law

229. " divorce (is permissible) only twice, then either maintain (them)
in honor or let (them) go in kindness.
and it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them,
unless both fear that they can not keep (themselves) within allah's bounds;
and if you fear that they cannot keep (themselves)
within allah's bounds, it is no sin on either of them about what she gives up
to get herself freed (from the wedlock).
those are allah's limits; so do not transgress them.
and, whoever transgresses allah's limits  then these are they that are
the (willful) wrongdoers."

occasion of ravelation:
once there came a woman to one of the prophet's wives and
complained about her husband that he repeatedly divorced her and then
revoked again to create damages for her thereby. and, it was customary
among pagan arabs that a man could divorce his wife thousands of
times and revoke it, while there was no limit in this regard. when this
grievance was reported to the prophet (p.b.u.h.), the above verse was
revealed and limited the divorce to three times.

commentary:
it was pointed out in the commentary of the former verse that the
regulations of ` waiting period ' and `revocation ' are for the
improvement of the conditions of family status and preventing from
separation and dispersion. but, some of the new converted believers
acted according to the old paganism and abused this regulation. to hurt
their wives, they divorced them and revoked it again and again. so, this
verse was sent down and prevented that ugly and unmanly action. it
says:

" divorce (is permissible) only twice, ..."

this kind of divorce (revocable divorce), of course, should be
accomplished in different meetings, not in one session alone.

then, the qur'an adds that in each of these two meetings the
husband should either keep his wife honourably with him and make
peace with her, or kindly let her go and separate with her for ever.

"...then either maintain (them) in honor or let (them) go in kindness. ..."

therefore, the third divorce has not any revocation, because when
they had two occasions of dispute and divorce and then peace and
revocation were fulfilled, they must put an end to it.

the purpose of the phrase: ` let (them) go in kindness ' is that the
husband ought to pay that woman her rights fully and does not let
himself say unsuitable words behind her back after he separates from
her. he must not make the attitude of other people bad against her and
lets her retain the possibility of marriage. hence, separation should also
be accompanied with kindness and benevolence. that is why the verse
continues saying:

"...it is not lawful for you to take anything of what
you have given them, ..."

it is not lawful for the husband to take or withhold anything out
of what he has given or promised to give i.e. ` mahr ' or dower to the
wife. the dower amount is usually large and much of it usually remains
unpaid by the husband, the payment of the dower amount, particularly
when the divorce is pronounced, is another check upon the husband
resorting to an indiscriminate and unnecessary divorce of his wife.

so, at the time of separation and divorce, the husband is not
allowed to take back from the woman forcefully what he has given her
as a marriage-portion.

in the next part of the verse, it points to the divorce of khul`, and
says that it is only in one phase that taking the dower is possible. it is in
the case that the woman does not want to continue the conjugal life and
they both fear that they are not able to observe the limits of allah in
that kind of life.

"...unless both fear that they can not keep (themselves)
within allah's bounds; ..."

under this law the wife may seek to get freed of the wedlock by
returning the dower to husband, if she has already received it, or to
forgo it, if it be still due to her and take the divorce of khul` from
hakim-i-shar`, viz. the islamic judge.
then it syas:

"...and if you fear that they cannot keep (themselves)
within allah's bounds, it is no sin on either of them about what
she gives up to get herself freed (from the wedlock)."

in this phase, the origin of separation is, in fact, the wife. so, she
must pay the indemnity of this action and let the man, who is willing to
live with her, marry another lady with the same marriage-portion.
at the end of the verse, it points to the whole of the ordinances
that are stated in this verse, and says:

"...those are allah's limits; so do not transgress them. and,
whoever transgresses allah's limits  then these are they that are
the (willful) wrongdoers."

messages
1- plurality of divorce is based on plurality of marriage, i.e. there
should be a marriage before a divorce. when a man, in one session,
tells his wife: ` i divorced you thrice ', there has occurred, indeed one
divorce, because he has not ceased more than one marriage. for this
reason, in the jurisprudence of ahlul-bayt (a.s.) it is cited that a number
of divorces should be fulfilled in a number of stages; and before every
divorce there should also be a wedlock. this plurality, besides the
apparent indication of the verse, is for a closer common good, too. it is
not convenient that the relation of a family be disturbed in one
gathering and by one decision for ever.

2- earning the life by the husband and obedience of the wife unto
her husband are the limits of allah.

3- the breaker of the law is unjust.

"...and, whoever transgresses allah's limits - then these are they that are
the (willful) wrongdoers."