Baqarah (233-5)
Qur’anic Exegesis
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Shehzad Saleem
وَالْوَالِدَاتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ وَعَلَى الْمَوْلُودِ لَهُ رِزْقُهُنَّ وَكِسْوَتُهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ لَا تُكَلَّفُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا لَا تُضَارَّ وَالِدَةٌ بِوَلَدِهَا وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ لَهُ بِوَلَدِهِ وَعَلَى الْوَارِثِ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ فَإِنْ أَرَادَا فِصَالًا عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْهُمَا وَتَشَاوُرٍ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمْ أَنْ تَسْتَرْضِعُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذَا سَلَّمْتُمْ مَا آتَيْتُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِوَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ(223)
And [after divorce also] mothers shall suckle their offspring for two whole years, for those who desire to complete the term. And the child’s father [in such a case] shall have to bear the cost of their food and clothing according to the norms. No one should be burdened beyond his capacity. Neither shall the mother be treated unfairly because of her child, nor the father on account of his child – and an heir shall be accountable in the same way – But if they both decide on weaning by mutual consent and after due consultation, there is no blame on them. And if you decide to engage someone else to suckle you’re your offspring, there is no blame on you, provided you pay [the mother] in accordance with the norms [of the society] what you promised. But fear Allah and know that Allah sees well what you do.1(233)
وَالَّذِينَ يُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَيَذَرُونَ أَزْوَاجًا يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنفُسِهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَعَشْرًا فَإِذَا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا فَعَلْنَ فِي أَنفُسِهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ
And those of you who die and leave widows behind, they should keep themselves in waiting for four months and ten days2;
وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا عَرَّضْتُمْ بِهِ مِنْ خِطْبَةِ النِّسَاءِ أَوْ أَكْنَنتُمْ فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ سَتَذْكُرُونَهُنَّ وَلَكِنْ لَا تُوَاعِدُوهُنَّ سِرًّا إِلَّا أَنْ
then when they have fulfilled their term, there is no blame onyou3about what they do with themselves in accordance with the norms [of the society]. And Allah is well acquainted with what you do. And there is also no blame on you also if you tacitly send
تَقُولُوا قَوْلًا مَعْرُوفًا وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا عُقْدَةَ النِّكَاحِ حَتَّى يَبْلُغَ الْكِتَابُ أَجَلَهُ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ(234-35)
a marriage proposal to these women or hold it in your hearts. Allah knows that you would definitely talk to them. [Do so] but do not make a secret contract. Of course you can say something in accordance with the norms [of the society]. And do not decide to marry till the law reaches its term. And know that Allah knows what is in your hearts, so be fearful of Him; and know that Allah is Most forgiving and Most Forbearing4. (235)
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Researcher’s Companion
I Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و اللغة)
1. َالْمَعْرُوف
The word ma‘ruf in the Qur’an as well as in Arabic has two meanings:
1. the good and the equitable.
2. the norms and customs of a society.
For example, it is said in the Qur’an that Muslims enjoin the ma‘ruf and forbid munkar:
And believing men and women are friends to each other. They enjoin what is ma‘rufand forbid what is munkar. (9:71)
Since the word munkar means ‘evil’, one can easily conclude that here the word ma‘ruf is used in the first meaning ‘good,’ given above.
Similarly, it is said in the Qur’an that if a Muslim has murdered a Muslim and if the family of the slain person forgives him, then he should pay Diyah (fine) to them according to the ma‘ruf:
Then for whom there has been some remission from his brother, [the remission] should be followed according to the Ma‘ruf and Diyat should be paid with goodness. (2:178)
Here the word ma‘ruf is used in the second meaning ‘custom’ given because first, the imperative verb used is ittiba‘ (to follow) which collocates with this meaning and second, the latter part of verse 2:178 (pay it [– the Diyah –] with goodness) becomes redundant if the first meaning is thought to be implied.
It is in this second meaning that the word is used all four times that it occurs in these set of verses. The norms and conventions of a society here point actually to the good and acceptable norms – those which human nature and intuition endorse as good.
2. باَلْْْكِِتَا
The way the word ‘بالْكِتَا’ is used in 2:235 conclusively shows that here it means ‘law’ – that is the law which denotes the prescribe time period of Iddat.
3. Usage of the particle ‘س’
As pointed out in the translation, the particle ‘س’ in the word ‘سَتَذْكُرُونَهُنَّ’ denotes ‘certainty’ and ‘definiteness’. Its usage as a particle of future is not implied here.1
II Eloquence & Style (الاساليب و البلاغة)
1. Ellipses of a Preposition
In Arabic the preposition of a verb is sometimes suppressed in order to stress the action the verb denotes. In the expression ‘وَلَا تَعْزِمُوا عُقْدَةَ النِّكَاحِ’ 2:235, the preposition ‘عَلى’ has been suppressed after the verb ‘تَعْزِمُوا’. The implied meaning being that a person should not even think of declaring his decision of marriage until the prescribed waiting period expires.2
2. Usage of عَشَرَا
In classical Arabic, whenever the ‘مَعْدُوْد’ (the counted object) is ellipsed – whether it be a feminine noun or a masculine noun – the ‘عَدَد’ (the numeral) may be masculine or feminine. It is not necessary that it follow the general rule.
Here it is obvious that the suppressed ‘مَعْدُوْد’ (the counted object) is ‘اَيَّام’ and, consequently, even though it is masculine, the ‘عَدَد’ (the numeral) is not ‘عَشَرَهَ’ as should have been the case in accordance with the general rule in this regard.
3. Addressees of ‘عَلَيْكُمْ’
It is evident that in 2:234 while the addressees of the first ‘عَلَيْكُمْ’ are the guardians of the widow, the addressees of the second ‘عَلَيْكُمْ’ are those men who intend to propose to the widow.
4. Use of the Verb ‘آتَيْتُمْ’
In the Arabic language, a verb may be used in various degrees. For example, a verb may express intention, result or completeness depending upon the context in which it is used. The verb ‘آتَيْتُمْ’ (2:223), as pointed by the author in his translation (what you promised) expresses intention. Consequently, Zamakhsari points to this usage of ‘آتَيْتُمْ’ by saying: ‘مَا اَرَدْتُمْ اِيْتَاءَهُ’3.
III. Exegesis and Explanation (الشرح و التفسير)
1. ‘Iddatof a Widow
The ‘Iddat of a widow as 2:234 specifies is four months and ten days. For a divorced lady it is three months (three menstrual cycles), as stated in 2:228.
The author has pointed out (ref. 2) that the basic reason for the extended ‘Iddat period of a widow is to be absolutely certain whether she is pregnant or not. In case of a divorced lady, the husband has been directed to divorce her in that period of purity in which sexual intercourse has not taken place. In such instances three menstrual cycles are enough to determine pregnancy. Obviously, in case of a widow no such care can be exercised; hence the ‘Iddat period has been extended to a period after which pregnancy or a lack of it can be ascertained with certainty.