The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 372
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH PT. 2 فَإِنْ طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّى And if he divorces her the. 231 تَنْكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ فَإِنْ طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا for him thereafter, until she جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا أَنْ يَتَرَاجَعَا إِنْ ظَنَّا أَنْ third time, then she is not lawful marries another husband; and, if he also divorces her, then it shall تُقِيمَا حُدُودَ اللهِ وَتِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللهِ be no sin for them to return to each other, provided they are sure that they would be able to observe the limits prescribed by Allah. And these are the limits prescribed by Allah which He makes clear to the people who have knowledge. 237 237. Important Words: (return to each other) is derived from vi. e. he returned; the word is used to indicate the coming together of people after their dispersal or separation, as they say i. e. the people returned to the place from where they separated or left (Aqrab). (observe) is derived from which means, he made a thing stand upright; he observed or duly performed a religious commandment or duty, etc. (Lane). See also under 2:4. (she marries) is derived from They say or meaning (1) he or she married a spouse; (2) he or she had sexual intercourse with his or her spouse. In the present verse the word is used in the latter sense. See also 2:222. Commentary: This verse refers to the third and final pronouncement of divorce after which the husband loses all right of reunion with his wife unless the 372 يُبَيِّنُهَا لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ divorced woman marries another man and establishes conjugal relations with him, and is then formally divorced by him or he dies, leaving her free to marry another man. By the inclusion of this provision in the law of divorce, Islam has, on the one hand, enhanced the sanctity of the marriage tie which must not be trifled with and has declared unlawful the evil practice of a (halalah); and, on the other, it has afforded yet another opportunity to the couple who once had lived as husband and wife to become reunited if they so desired. The practice of ḥalālah referred to above consists in a divorced woman marrying a man, other than her former husband, with the object of obtaining divorce from him and thereby making herself lawful for the former husband. Islam condemns this practice as a thing accursed (Tirmidhi ch. on Nikāḥ) and enjoins that marriage with and divorce from another husband must both be genuine.