The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 381
PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 وَإِنْ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ And if you divorce them. 238 before you have touched them, but have settled for them a وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهُنَّ فَرِيْضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَعْفُونَ اَوْ يَعْفُوا الَّذِي dowry, then half of what you بِيَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّكَاحِ وَأَنْ تَعْفُوا أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَنْسَوُا الْفَضْلَ بَيْنَكُمُ * اِنَّ اللهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ have settled shall be due from you, unless they remit, or he, in whose hand is the tie of marriage, should remit. And that you should remit is nearer to righteousness. And do not forget to do good to one another. Surely, Allah sees what you do. 244 244. Important Words: عفا should remit) is derived from) يعفو meaning: (1) he gave more than what was due; or (2) he relinquished his right or remitted it in whole or in part (Tāj). See also 2:220. Commentary: If the divorce occurs after the dowry has been fixed but before the husband has gone in unto his wife, the husband shall pay half of the fixed dowry. The clause, he in whose hand is the tie of marriage, may signify either the husband or the guardian of the divorced woman, because whereas after marriage the tie of marriage is in the hands of the husband, before marriage the guardian of the woman also holds it in his hands. In the former case, the word would mean that the husband should try to give more than half the dowry, or if he has already paid the whole dowry, he should try 381 not to demand its return. If, however, the clause, he in whose hand is the tie of marriage, be considered to apply to the guardian of the divorced woman, the word i would mean that he should try to remit or relinquish her right, i. e. he should, so far as possible, strive to give up, even that which he is entitled to receive on behalf of the divorced woman. But God certainly prefers husband should make a greater show of generosity. that the This is how each party is exhorted to vie with the other in acting generously toward the other, the husband by paying more than what is obligatory on him, and the wife or her guardian by relinquishing what is due to her. If people truly inculcated such a spirit of sacrifice, the earth would indeed become a heaven. The expression, And that you should remit is nearer to righteousness, applies to the husband