The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 365
CH. 2 PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH 227. For those who VOW abstinence from their wives, the لِلَّذِينَ يُؤْلُونَ مِنْ نِّسَابِهِمْ تَرَبُّصُ اَرْبَعَةِ أَشْهُرٍ ۚ فَإِنْ فَاءِ وَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ maximum period of waiting is غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمُ four months; then if they go back from the vow, surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful. 233 will not be legally treated as oaths. But he will certainly suffer the consequences of indulging in vain and useless talk. A Muslim is expected to avoid all things that are vain or purposeless and the Quran clearly enjoins it (23:4). The clause, He will call you to account for what your hearts have earned, means that a person will have to answer for oaths he takes consciously and deliberately. The words, what your hearts have earned, also hint that God does not call a man to account for such passing thoughts as may flash across the mind and then disappear. Only such thoughts are punishable as are "earned" by the heart, i. e. cherished and retained by the mind. The words, Allah is Most Forgiving, Forbearing, signify that as Allah knows your weaknesses, He treats you with forbearance, and does not call you to account for such of your acts as you might do without meaning them. 233. Important Words: (vow) is derived from the root meaning, he fell short; or he fell short of doing what he ought to have done; or he was remiss. ✓ means, he swore. means, I swore to do the thing. means, I swore that I would not do such a 365 thing. means, he swore he would not go near his wife (i. e. not go in unto her) for a month. (also gives the same meaning as ♫ i. e. he swore, as in 24:23. means, an oath or the act of swearing; and technically it means, a vow taken by a husband not to go near his wife (Aqrab & Lane). ربص waiting is derived from) تربص They say i. e. he waited for a good or an evil to befall him. means, he waited or he awaited, or he tarried waiting. means, he remained waiting and did not do the thing, i. e. he abstained from doing it (Aqrab). Commentary: After the two introductory and intervening verses in which the subject of taking oaths has been dealt with, the Quran now reverts to the The verse under comment speaks of original subject of conjugal relations. those men who vow abstinence from their wives without actually divorcing them. It is, in this connection, interesting to note that while approaching the subject of divorce, dealt with in the succeeding verses, the Quran first speaks of menstruation (2:223) which is a sort of temporary and partial, though unreal, separation. Then (as in the present verse) it speaks of real though indefinite separation. And then, as in