فَمَن لَم يَجِد فَصِيامُ شَهرَينِ مُتَتابِعَينِ مِن قَبلِ أَن يَتَماسّا ۖ فَمَن لَم يَستَطِع فَإِطعامُ سِتّينَ مِسكينًا ۚ ذٰلِكَ لِتُؤمِنوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسولِهِ ۚ وَتِلكَ حُدودُ اللَّهِ ۗ وَلِلكافِرينَ عَذابٌ أَليمٌ
He who cannot afford [to free a slave] shall fast for two successive months before they may touch each other. If he cannot [do so], he shall feed sixty needy persons. This, that you may have faith in Allah and His Apostle. These are Allah’s bounds, and there is a painful punishment for the faithless.
EXEGESIS
The term ḥudūd is the plural of ḥadd. Ḥudūd means prescribed limits, ordinances, laws; points at which things terminate and do not go beyond them. Its original meaning is prevention and barring (manʿ). Since the plural term ḥudūd occurs in this verse as part of a possessive construct (ḥudūd allāh), it means God’s laws and prescribed limits, which must not be transgressed, a reference to the shariah.
EXPOSITION
Since Aws was unable to fulfil the first determined expiation, the Messenger of God asked him if he could fast two consecutive months, in light of the revealed instruction, He who cannot afford [to free a slave] shall fast for two successive months before they may touch each other. This is the second determined expiation which would only apply for whoever is unable to discharge the first determined expiation.
The inability to free a slave may be due to a number of factors such as the absolute absence of slaves, which is the case in our times, or the inability to buy one as in the case of Aws, or if the perpetrator himself is a slave and therefore does not own a slave himself which he may free.
This expiation too must be discharged before any conjugal relations take place, which is why the condition of before they may touch each other recurs in this verse; this recurrence removes any doubt regarding this condition being only limited to the first determined expiation. Fasting as expiation in this case serves as a means for the body to experience privation for having had transgressed God’s limits, and serves as a way by which the perpetrator gets cleansed of his evil as he undoes the problem he had wrought.
To the Messenger of God’s question of whether he could fast two consecutive months, Aws replied in the negative, giving the excuse that he needed to eat thrice a day or repeatedly otherwise his sight dimmed or was affected. So the Messenger of God asked him if he could feed sixty needy people, in light of If he cannot [do so], he shall feed sixty needy persons, which enunciates the third determined expiation for whoever is unable to fast two consecutive months. This translates to 1.5 kilogrammes of food (approximately half a ṣāʿ) for every needy person, or 750 grammes of food (known as a mudd) per needy person if the former measure is beyond the person’s capacity. Additional valid examples of excuses due to which the person subjected to expiation may not be able to fast such an extended period of time as two months are ‘illness, old age, or suffering from excessive thirst’, a medical condition known as polydipsia. Muhammad ibn Muslim reports from Imam al-Bāqir (a) that the latter glossed the part of this verse which says If he cannot [do so], he shall feed sixty needy persons, saying: ‘It means one who is sick or suffering from excessive thirst.’
To this question of the Prophet, Aws answered in the affirmative, providing the Messenger of God helped him in that endeavour as well as prayed for him. The Messenger of God helped Aws out by means of fifteen ṣāʿ, while according to another account, the other half was provided by Khawlah, and yet another account says that the Prophet donated the full amount needed: thirty ṣāʿ, and Aws fed sixty poor people. Feeding poor people as expiation serves symbolically to denote the worship of giving, in addition to solving the nutritional needs of the hungry. It serves as a sacrifice of wealth by which the perpetrator attempts to solve the problem he had created and cleanse his self spiritually.
The verse continues, This, that you may have faith in Allah and His Apostle. This means that the judgement against ẓihār, the maintenance of the marital bond, the incumbency of onerous expiation for whoever wishes to return to the previous state of being able to enjoy marital relations, which expiation serves as requital for invoking the norms and customs of the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance, all that is because God knows it to be good and beneficial for all, and so that the people may all believe in God and His Messenger, accept God’s instructions which the Messenger of God conveys (which in this case specifically pertains to ẓihār), acknowledge these to ensue from God, and carry them out, and so that they may reject the fallacious, invalid customs (which in this case specifically pertains to ẓihār). Hence – the verse intends to say – confess to and acknowledge the oneness of God and the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (s).
Finally, the verse ends emphatically with These are Allah’s bounds, and there is a painful punishment for the faithless, which means that what has been made incumbent of expiation or what has been laid down of judgements and verdicts are the limits of God (ḥudūd allāh), that which He has legislated and rendered part of His shariah, so it is not permissible to transgress them by opposing them; and acting in accordance with them would serve as proof of sincerity in faith. This is while the faithless shall have a painful punishment for opposing and violating what has been laid down as judgements and verdicts by God in respect of ẓihār.
Clearly, the faithless in this verse refers to those who reject, violate, and disbelieve the judgement or verdict of God against ẓihār, reject its truth and validity, and take the pre-Islamic practice of ẓihār as an acceptable and effective norm at the level of belief and action. What supports this understanding is the part of this verse that says This, that you may have faith in Allah and His Apostle, which refers to submitting to God’s judgement as being right and truthful, and that His Messenger is truthful and trustworthy in what he conveys of God’s teachings. This part of the verse occurs as a positive parallel to its negative counterpart in this very verse, which is These are Allah’s bounds, and there is a painful punishment for the faithless. This also suggests that anyone who opposes God’s teachings at the level of acts, however much he may identify himself as a Muslim, is consequently akin to a disbeliever and has strayed into manifest error (33:36), since these verses, on the basis of their historical context, are addressed to believers, which suggests that the kufr here is less to do with denying the faith and more to do with denying its consequential dictates at the level of acts; an act-based denial similar to the kufr in 3:97 which is in reference to those who default or delay carrying out the obligation of the hajj or deny its obligatory nature. It is also highly possible that it refers to the hypocrites who feigned belief in the Islamic faith but opposed it in reality. This surah makes repeated censorious references to them. The final statement, and there is a painful punishment for the faithless, is threatening in its tone and clearly suggests that there was resistance to the new teaching contained in these verses.
This occurrence of ẓihār and the resultant revelations led to the elaboration of a body of laws in the discipline of Islamic law regarding ẓihār, details of which may be found in the relevant works on Islamic law.
Thus what comes across from these verses is that the Muslim faith rejected the practice of ẓihār but at the same time regulated it. As Ṭūsī writes, there is no disagreement that the ruling against ẓihār in these verses is general and applicable to whosoever invokes this practice even though the verses descended in response to a specific historical event. If any person does dare to invoke this practice then however much he may intend and wish to divorce his wife by comparing her back to that of his mother’s, a valid divorce would not be effected at all, however his wife would thenceforth immediately become unavailable to him for conjugal relations while he would be considered to have sinned grievously. Consequently, he would either need to divorce his wife according to the method of divorce mandated by the Muslim faith, or if he decides to maintain the marriage and engage in conjugal relations then he would need to discharge the expiations mentioned in these verses in sequence, in light of his ability to discharge them, before engaging in conjugal relations. In this way the Quranic revelations resolved the problem of ẓihār in two ways: it rejected it by characterising it as outrageous and a falsehood and therefore sinful, insisting thereby that its practice be abandoned absolutely, but offering forgiveness for those who repented in the determined manner, which was by exercising two options: a proper divorce or discharging expiation, where the latter would allow the marriage to return to normalcy; and thereby secondly, it resolved the predicament that its invocation occasioned.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam Ali (a) narrates: ‘The practice of ẓihār mentioned in the book of God came about because the Arabs held to the notion that if a man from among them divorced his wife by likening her back to that of his mother then she would become forbidden to him forever. So when the Messenger of God (s) migrated to Medina, there was in Medina a man from the Anṣār by the name Aws ibn al-Ṣāmit, and he was the very first person in Muslim history to invoke ẓihār. A dispute occurred between him and his wife and he blurted out to her: “You are to me like the back of my mother!” Then he regretted what he had uttered and said [addressing her]: “Woe to you! We used to consider marital relations forbidden during the pre-Islamic times after pronouncing such a statement, so if you go to the Messenger of God, ask him about that.” So she went to the Messenger of God and informed him of what had happened. He said to her: “I do not think save that you are forbidden to him forever.” She became anxious and began to cry, and said: “I complain to God about the loss of my husband!” Thereupon God revealed, Allah has certainly heard the speech of her who argues with you about her husband [verse 1] … up to Those who repudiate their wives by ẓihār [verse 3] … and he said to her: “Tell your husband Aws to free a slave.” She replied: “Wherefrom will he get a slave?! I swear by God he does not have a servant other than myself!” So the Messenger of God said: “Let him fast two consecutive months.” She responded: “He is very old and cannot fast.” So the Messenger of God said: “Then instruct him to give charity to sixty poor people.” She said: “Wherefrom will he get the means for charity? For by God, there is none needier than us between the two craggy fields [of Medina].” So the Messenger of God (s) said: “Then go to Umm al-Mundhir and take from her half a load of dates and give it in charity to sixty poor people.”’
- Anas ibn Mālik said: ‘Aws ibn al-Ṣāmit put away his wife, Khuwaylah bint al-Thaʿlabah, declaring her as his mother and the latter went to complain to the Messenger of God (s). She said: “He put me away, declaring me to be as his mother when I grew old and my strength failed.” And so God revealed the verse of putting one’s wife away, declaring her to be as one’s mother. The Messenger of God (s) said to Aws: “You have to free one slave.” He said: “I cannot afford it!” The Prophet said: “Then you have to fast two consecutive months.” Aws said: “If I fail to eat twice a day, my sight suffers.” The Prophet said: “Then you have to feed sixty needy people.” Aws said: “I cannot do it unless you help me.” The Messenger of God (s) helped him with fifteen measures (ṣāʿ) [of dates] and God enabled him to gather what was necessary to feed sixty needy people, and God is merciful.’
- Imam al-Bāqir (a): ‘A Muslim woman came to the Prophet (s) and said: “Messenger of God (s), such-and-such a person is my husband. I bore him many children and supported him in his worldly and otherworldly affairs. He did not have the occasion to experience anything hateful or abhorrent from me. I complain to you about him.” He [the Prophet] said: “What are you complaining to me about him?” She replied: “He said to me: ‘You are prohibited to me just as the back of my mother,’ and he has thrown me out of my house, so look into my problem.” The Messenger of God (s) said to her: “God has not revealed a divine revelation (kitāban) which I may use to judge between you and your husband, while I dislike being from those who undertake a significant responsibility on themselves [without due authority].” So she began to cry and complain about her predicament to God and to the Messenger of God (s), and left.’ The Imam continues: ‘Thus God, blessed and exalted, heard her argumentative discourse with the Messenger of God (s) in respect of her husband and what she complained to him, and consequently He revealed a recital, In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, Allah has certainly heard the speech of her who argues with you about her husband … until Indeed Allah is all-excusing, all-forgiving [verse 2].’ The Imam continues: ‘And so the Messenger of God (s) sent for the woman who came to him. He said to her: “Bring your husband to me,” and so she did. He asked him: “Did you say to your wife: ‘You are prohibited to me as the back of my mother?’” He replied in the affirmative, whereupon the Messenger of God (s) said to him: “God has revealed a recital (qurʾānan) regarding you and your wife,” and he recited, In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, Allah has certainly heard the speech of her who argues with you about her husband … until Indeed Allah is all-excusing, all-forgiving. So join your wife to yourself for you have surely uttered a hateful word and a falsehood (munkaran min al-qawl wa zūr), however God has pardoned and forgiven you, so do not repeat it again.”’ The Imam continues: ‘So, the man left while regretting what he had said to his wife. God subsequently disliked such a practice for the believers and revealed Those who repudiate their wives by ẓihār and then retract what they have said … meaning what the man had said to his wife, which was “you are to me like the back of my mother.”’ The Imam (a) continues: ‘So whoever said it after God had pardoned and forgiven the first person then it is incumbent on such a person to … set free a slave before they may touch each other [verse 3], meaning [before] having sexual relations with her. This you are advised [to carry out], and Allah is well aware of what you do. He who cannot afford [to free a slave] shall fast for two successive months before they may touch each other. If he cannot [do so], he shall feed sixty needy persons. Thus God laid down the penalty for whoever invoked the practice of ẓihār after this prohibition. Thereafter, God said This, that you may have faith in Allah and His Apostle. These are Allah’s bounds …’ The Imam said: ‘This is the penalty (al-ḥadd) for [the crime of] ẓihār.’
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- You must observe my customs and keep my laws, following them. ‘I, the Lord, am your God.’
[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Quranic Usage, p. 195.
[2] Mizan, 19/180.
[3] Mizan, 19/180. 0
[4] Kashif, 7/264.
[5] Tabari, 28/2-6; Suyuti, 6/179-183; Tabrisi, 9/371; Tibyan, 9/541; Razi, 29/477.
[6] Furqan, 28/197.
[7] Mizan, 19/180.
[8] Fadlallah, 22/63.
[9] Tabari, 28/2-6; Suyuti, 6/179-183; Tabrisi, 9/371; Tibyan, 9/541; Razi, 29/477.
[10] Tabari, 28/2-6; Suyuti, 6/179-183; Tabrisi, 9/371; Tibyan, 9/541; Razi, 29/477.
[11] Mizan, 19/180.
[12] Tibyan, 9/544; Tabrisi.J, 4/256.
[13] Tabrisi, 9/373; Daqaiq, 13/127.
[14] Tabrisi, 9/373.
[15] Safi, 5/142.
[16] Daqaiq, 13/127.
[17] Tabari, 28/2-6; Suyuti, 6/179-183; Tabrisi, 9/371; Tibyan, 9/544; Razi, 29/477.
[18] Fadlallah, 22/63.
[19] Tabrisi, 9/373; Safi, 5/142; Mizan, 19/180; Munyah, 28/51.
[20] Tibyan, 9/545.
[21] Tabrisi, 9/373.
[22] Mizan, 19/180; Kashif, 7/266; Safi, 5/142.
[23] Mizan, 19/180; Kashif, 7/266.
[24] Tibyan, 9/545; Mizan, 19/180; Furqan, 28/197; Munyah, 28/51, 55.
[25] Mizan, 19/180.
[26] Kashif, 7/266.
[27] Fadlallah, 22/63; Amthal, 18/109.
[28] Amthal, 18/109.
[29] Kanz al-ʿIrfān fī Fiqh al-Qurʾān, 2/288.
[30] Tibyan, 9/541.
[31] Tibyan, 9/545.
[32] Furqan, 28/192.
[33] Wasail, 22/306.
[34] Wahidi, p. 409.
[35] Qummi, 2/353-354.
[36] Lev 18:4.