The Quran

237

وَإِن طَلَّقتُموهُنَّ مِن قَبلِ أَن تَمَسّوهُنَّ وَقَد فَرَضتُم لَهُنَّ فَريضَةً فَنِصفُ ما فَرَضتُم إِلّا أَن يَعفونَ أَو يَعفُوَ الَّذي بِيَدِهِ عُقدَةُ النِّكاحِ ۚ وَأَن تَعفوا أَقرَبُ لِلتَّقوىٰ ۚ وَلا تَنسَوُا الفَضلَ بَينَكُم ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِما تَعمَلونَ بَصيرٌ

Muhammad Asad

And if you divorce them before having touched them, but after having settled a dower upon them, then [give them] half of what you have settled - unless it be that they forgo their claim or he in whose hand is the marriage-tie¹ forgoes his claim [to half of the dower]: and to forgo what is due to you is more in accord with God-consciousness. And forget not [that you are to act with] grace towards one another: verily, God sees all that you do.

According to some of the most prominent Companions of the Prophet (e.g., 'Ali) and their immediate successors (e.g., Said ibn al-Musayyab and Said ibn Jubayr), this term denotes the husband (cf. Tabari, Zamakhshari, Baghawi, Razi and Ibn Kathir).