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Chapter 65

Divorceal-Ṭalāq ( الطلاق )

12 verses • revealed at Medinan

»The surah that issues the lawful procedures by which one may Divorce and that calls for fair parting between believers if marriage is to end, in accordance with what is right and within God’s prescribed limits, while promising ease and deliverance for the truly God-fearing who undergo this trauma. It takes its name from verse 1 ff. concerning “divorce” (ṭalāq). The surah strongly urges people to observe God’s regulations and guidance. To reinforce this they are reminded of the fate of earlier disobedient peoples and the rewards of the obedient. God’s power and knowledge are emphasized at the end (verse 12).«

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Muhammad Asad: In The Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:

1
يا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذا طَلَّقتُمُ النِّساءَ فَطَلِّقوهُنَّ لِعِدَّتِهِنَّ وَأَحصُوا العِدَّةَ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ رَبَّكُم ۖ لا تُخرِجوهُنَّ مِن بُيوتِهِنَّ وَلا يَخرُجنَ إِلّا أَن يَأتينَ بِفاحِشَةٍ مُبَيِّنَةٍ ۚ وَتِلكَ حُدودُ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَعَدَّ حُدودَ اللَّهِ فَقَد ظَلَمَ نَفسَهُ ۚ لا تَدري لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ يُحدِثُ بَعدَ ذٰلِكَ أَمرًا

Muhammad Asad

THE WHOLE of this surah (revealed about the middle of the Medina period) is devoted to one particular aspect of the problem of divorce, namely, to ordinances relating to the waiting-period which divorced women must undergo before the marriage is finally dissolved and they are allowed to remarry - thus amplifying and elucidating verses 228-233 of Al-Baqarah.
O PROPHET! When you1 [intend to divorce women, divorce them with a view to the waiting period appointed for them,2 and reckon the period [carefully], and be conscious of God, your Sustainer. Do not expel them from their homes;3 and neither shall they [be made to] leave4 unless they become openly guilty of immoral conduct.5 These, then, are the bounds set by God - and he who transgresses the bounds set by God does indeed sin against himself: [for, O man, although] thou knowest it not, after that [first breach] God may well cause something new to come about.6
  • The plural "you" indicates that the whole community is thus addressed.
  • See 2:228 and the corresponding notes, especially note 215. - Most of the great jurists hold the view that the required three pronouncements of divorce, which make it final and irrevocable (cf. first paragraph of 2:229), must be made singly, i.e., spaced over the waiting-period of three months, so as to give the husband time to reconsider his intention, and thus to prevent a hasty act which might be subsequently regretted. This provision is in line with the well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, "In the sight of God; the most hateful of all things allowed (abghad al-halali) is divorce" (Abu Da'ud, on the authority of Abd Allah ibn Umar). In other words, divorce is just barely permissible, and must not be resorted to unless it is absolutely evident that nothing can save the marriage from utter hopelessness.
  • I.e., during the waiting-period. As shown in verse 6 below, during that period the husband is fully responsible for the maintenance of the wife whom he is divorcing in accordance with the standard of living observed during their married life.
  • E.g., by their husbands' failure to provide for their maintenance. (This particular injunction does not imply a prohibition of a divorced woman's leaving her home of her own free will.)
  • Implying that in such a case she may be lawfully turned out of her marital home. Regarding the term fahishah ("immoral conduct"), see surah 4, note 14.
  • According to Ibn Abbas (as quoted by Razi) and several other authorities (see Ibn Kathir), this is an allusion to the possibility of reconciliation and, hence, a resumption of marital relations before the divorce becomes final (see surah 2, second part of verse 228 and first paragraph of 229).