60. Surah Al-Mumtahana

وَإِن فَاتَكُمْ شَيْءٌ مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ‌ فَعَاقَبْتُمْ فَآتُوا الَّذِينَ ذَهَبَتْ أَزْوَاجُهُم مِّثْلَ مَا أَنفَقُوا ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ الَّذِي أَنتُم بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ And if some of your [ non-Muslim ] wives have slipped from you, [ and their present non-Muslim husbands do not pay to you the dower as aforesaid,] and you have your turn [ of paying dower to the previous non-Muslim husbands of your present wives ], then [ instead of paying dower to them,] give those whose wives have slipped the like amount of what they had paid [ to them ]. And fear Allah, the One in whom you believe. (60:11) The verb ` aqabtum is derived from mu ` aqabah. It means 'to retaliate'. This meaning is possible here [ as reported by Qatadah, Mujahid and Qurtubi ]. In this case, it implies that if some of the wives of the Muslims desert to disbelievers, it was legally binding on them in terms of the treaty to pay back the dowers given to them by the Muslim husbands, just as the Muslims gave them back the dowers given by the pagan husbands to the emigrant Muslim women. But since the pagans failed to reciprocate, and did not pay the dower money, the believing husbands are entitled to retaliate by withholding an amount equal to what was due on the disbelieving husbands who married the deserting wives of the Muslims, and did not pay it. How this withheld amount will be spent is mentioned in the following sentence: فَآتُوا الَّذِينَ ذَهَبَتْ أَزْوَاجُهُم مِّثْلَ مَا أَنفَقُوا (... then [ instead of paying dower to them,] give those whose wives have slipped the like amount of what they had paid.) This means that the amounts withheld as aforesaid shall be given to the Muslims whose wives had gone to the pagans, and they did not pay back their dowers to their Muslim husbands. Another sense of the verb ` aqabtum, aqqabtum and a'qabtum in its variant form is 'to acquire spoils of war'. The verb ` aqabtum is read in these variant forms (qira’ at) by various master readers of the Qur'an. Authorities like Qatadah and Mujahid have said that all these three forms of the verb mean to 'acquire spoils of war'. In this case the verse means: if the Muslim husbands' wives fled to the unbelievers and, in terms of the treaty, they did not return the dowers to the Muslim husbands, they would be compensated from the booty acquired in war.1 (1) A third interpretation of the word is that it is derived from 'aqibah' which means 'turn', and the infinitive mu'aqabah means 'to take turn in riding a horse etc.' In this case the verb aqabtum in the verse would mean: 'you have your turn', and the sense would be that when it is your turn to pay the dowers to the unbelievers, you should, instead of paying it to them, pay it to those Muslims whose wives have deserted them and joined the unbelievers who did not return to their husbands the dower they had paid to deserting wives and were entitled, by virtue of the treaty, to take it back from the unbelievers. This interpretation is adopted by 'Alusi in R4-ul-Ma’ ani, and by Maulana Ashraf Thanawi (رح) . The translation in the text is based on it. (Mulammad Taqi Usmani) Did some of the Muslim Women become Apostates and flee to Makkah? Some of the authorities believe that the situation mentioned in this verse arose only in one incident. The wife of Sayyidna ` Iyad Ibn Ghanam Quraishi, Umm-ul-Hakam bint Abi Sufyan, abandoned the Islamic Faith and fled to Makkah. However, later on she reverted to Islam. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ reports that about six women altogether abandoned Islam and deserted to the unbelievers, one of whom is the woman whose name has been given in the previous paragraph. The other five of them were infidels from outset and remained in Makkah at the time of migration. When this verse was revealed dissolving the marriage between Muslims and pagans, they stubbornly clung to their disbelief and were not willing to embrace the Faith. As a result, these women were also counted among those whose dowers should be paid to their Muslim husbands by the pagans of Makkah. But they did not pay, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ compensated for the loss of their dowers from the spoils of war. This indicates that there is only one incident where a woman actually became an apostate and fled to Makkah from Madinah. The rest of the five women were unbelievers from beginning. As reported earlier, even the woman who abandoned Islam and fled to Makkah later on reverted to Islam. [ Qurtubi ]. Baghawi cites, on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، that all five women who are counted as apostates reverted to Islam later on. [ Mazhari ].

Bai'ah of Women ا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَىٰ أَن لَّا يُشْرِ‌كْنَ بِاللَّـهِ شَيْئًا (0 Prophet, when the believing women come to you, seeking bai'ah [ a pledge of allegiance ] with you that they will not ascribe anything as a partner to Allah, ....60:12). This verse requires the Holy Prophet k to take a pledge from the Muslim women not only to adhere to Islamic articles of faith, but also to all the Islamic precepts. Previously, in verse [ 10] Allah had directed that when the emigrant women come to the believers, they should be tested and examined. The pledge of allegiance in the present verse is a complement to this test of the faith. But the words of the verse are general, and not confined to new Muslim emigrants. In fact, it covers all Muslim women. Accordingly, when the pledge was actually taken, it was not restricted to the emigrant new Muslim women, but the earlier Muslim women joined it as well, as is recorded in Sahih of Bukhari, on the authority of Sayyidah Umm ` Atiyyah ؓ . It is also recorded by Baghawi from Sayyidah Umaimah bint Ruqaiqah ؓ who adds that in the company of a few other women she gave bai'ah (pledge) to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The Holy Prophet ﷺ added the following over-rider فِیمَا استَطَعتُنَّ وَاَطَقتُنَّ (In as much as you have the ability and strength to carry them out.) Sayyidah Umaimah ؓ says: "This shows that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had more mercy and compassion for us than ourselves, as we wanted to pledge without any restriction or condition, but by utterance of this sentence he reduced the burden and tension of the terms of the loyalty, so that we may not be held guilty for any violation under compelled circumstances." [ Mazhari ]. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ says, as recorded in Bukhari, that the loyalty of women was their verbal pledge of allegiance, not by touching the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، as was the custom in the case of men's loyalty. The Holy Prophet's ﷺ blessed hand never touched the hand of any non-mahram. [ Mazhari ] Reports indicate that the bai'ah (pledge of allegiance) of women took place not only on this occasion after Hudaibiyah, but several times later as well. Such a pledge was taken on the day of the Conquest of Makkah. At first, the Holy Prophet ﷺ took pledge of loyalty from men, then he took it from women at mount Safa. Sayyidna ` Umar Ibn Khattab ؓ used to relay the words of loyalty, on behalf of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، to the women gathering at the foot of the mountain, who participated in this pledge. Abu Sufyan's wife, Hind, also participated in this pledge. At first, she felt embarrassed and wanted to hide herself. But the pledge contained some injunctions of Shari’ ah, and she was forced to speak and asked several questions. Mazhari sets out a detailed account of this incident. Men's bai'ah was Concise and Women's bai'ah Elaborate Generally, the bai'ah taken from men was about Faith and Islam. Their pledge did not contain the details of injunctions of Shari'ah, unlike the pledge of women, which contained the details that are forthcoming. The difference between the two pledge is that men's pledging for faith and obedience secures an undertaking to practice the entire system of Shari` ah and religion, and therefore there was no need for details. Women, on the other hand, are generally less intelligent than men. Therefore, details were thought to be necessary. This is the bai'ah that started with women, but later on was not confined to them. As time went on, the same detailed bai'ah was taken from men as well. Prophetic Traditions confirm this [ as transmitted by Sayyidna ` Ubadah Ibn Samit ؓ ] [ Qurtubi ]. Furthermore, the injunctions mentioned in the bai'ah of women in this verse are those regarding which they are normally lax. That is another reason why the following details had to be setry out. There are six injunctions mentioned in the verse; يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَىٰ أَن لَّا يُشْرِ‌كْنَ بِاللَّـهِ شَيْئًا seeking bai'ah (pledge of allegiance) with you that they will not ascribe anything as a partner to Allah,....60:12) The first is that they will not ascribe any partner to Allah. Affirmation of faith and avoidance of shirk are vows common to men as well as women. The second pledge is that they shall not commit theft. Many women are wont to stealing from their husband's possessions. Therefore, this vow has been taken. The third vow is that they shall avoid committing adultery. If the women are firm in this, it shall make men's salvation from this sin easier. The fourth vow is that they shall not kill their children. In the Days of Ignorance, it was a common practice to bury infant girls alive and destroy their lives. This clause of the vow is a bar to it. The fifth vow is that they shall not bring calumny against anyone. While referring to this injunction, following words are added: بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْ‌جُلِهِنَّ (...that they falsely attribute between their hands and their feet" ) This phrase has been added in order to indicate that on the Day of Resurrection man's hands and feet will bear witness against his actions. The verse thus warns that he is committing such sins in the presence of four witnesses who will bear witness against him. The word buhtan [ calumny ] is used in its general sense and it is totally forbidden, whether against the husband or any other person or even against a non-believer. Buhtan is even more severe interpreted that sin if it is clause of against the husband. Commentators have buhtan may take place in the following ways: [ 1] a woman may claim that a child born to her from another man is her husband's; [ 2] a woman may take custody of another child and claim that it is her husband's; and [ 3] God forbid! a woman may commit adultery and conceive, and when the child is born, she may impute it to her husband. In short, it is prohibited to give a false ascription of paternity in anyway whatsoever. The sixth vow is a general rule: وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُ‌وفٍ (...and will not disobey you in what is recognized [ in Shari` ah ]....60:12) This vow means that they shall obey Allah's Messenger ﷺ and will not disobey him. But the obedience is qualified by the words, "in what is recognized in Shari` ah" that is, the right and good things, although we know for that Allah's Messenger ﷺ will only command people to do right and good. This is because the Muslims in general are made to understand clearly that obedience to any creation in disobedience to Allah is absolutely forbidden, so much so that even obedience to the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been qualified by this condition. Another reason for adding this phrase may be that since this pledge of obedience was taken from women, the Shaitan could whisper evil thoughts into their minds and create deviant ways for them to go awry. The restriction blocked the way. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best! Alliamdulillah The Commentary on Surah Al-Mumtahinah Ends here