The Quran

Preface

عَسىٰ رَبُّهُ إِن طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَن يُبدِلَهُ أَزواجًا خَيرًا مِنكُنَّ مُسلِماتٍ مُؤمِناتٍ قانِتاتٍ تائِباتٍ عابِداتٍ سائِحاتٍ ثَيِّباتٍ وَأَبكارًا

Yusuf Ali

It may be, if he divorced you (all),¹ that God will give him in exchange Consorts better than you,- who submit (their wills), who believe, who are devout, who turn to God in repentance, who worship (in humility), who are given to fasting² previously married or virgins.

From the case of two in verse 4, we now come to the case of all the Consorts generally, in verse 5. Cf. 33:28-30. Their duties and responsibilities were higher than those of other women, and therefore their failure would also be more serious. This is only hypothetical, in order to show us the virtues expected of diem: faith and devotion, worship and service, readiness for travel or hijrah, whether they were young or old, new to married life or otherwise. From them again the more general application follows-to all women in Islam.
Sa'ihat literally, those who travel about for the Faith, renouncing hearth and home: hence those who go on pilgrimage, who fast, who deny themselves the ordinary pleasures of life. Note that the spiritual virtues are named, in the descending order: submitting their wills (Islam), faith and devotion, turning ever to worship and faith, and performing other rites, or perhaps being content with asceticism. And this applies to all women, maiden girls or women of mature experience who were widows or separated from previous husbands by divorce.