The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 278
CH. 23 AL-MU'MINÜN PT. 18 فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَبِكَ هُمُ But those who seek anything. 8 الْعُدُونَ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِاَ مُنْتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رعُونَ ) the are beyond that transgressors- 9. And who are watchful of their trusts and covenants, 2515 their a70:32. b70:33. It may further be stated here that in view of circumstances obtaining at the time of its revelation the Quran had to make a distinction between the social status of two classes of women. That distinction was expressed by the word (a free woman taken in marriage) and (bondwoman taken in marriage). The former word connotes a sense of equality between husband and wife while the latter implies an inferior status of the wife. The Quran and the Holy Prophet, however, desired and encouraged that bondwomen should first be given full freedom and full status and then married as the Holy Prophet himself did. Besides, Islam does not allow women taken prisoner in ordinary wars to be treated as wives. This exceptional injunction comes into operation only when a hostile nation wages a religious war against Islam in order to extirpate it and to compel Muslims to abandon their religion at the point of the sword and then treats their prisoners men and women, as slaves, as was done in the time of the Holy Prophet. At that time the enemy took away Muslim women prisoners and treated them as as was thus only a retaliatory measure and served also the additional purpose of protecting the morals of captive women. Those conditions have ceased to exist now. There are no religious wars now and hence no prisoners of war to be treated as slaves and bondwomen. For a fuller note on slavery see 24:34. 2515. Important Words: رعی watchful is derived from) راعون stars. means, he looked after They say & i. e. he watched the the affair (Aqrab & Lane). See also 2:105. Commentary: This verse points to a yet higher stage in the spiritual development of man than the one described in v. 6 above. It means to say that the truly righteous men have full regard for the obligations they owe to God and man. They do not do good deeds cursorily or haphazardly but look to their minutest details with extreme caution and are careful not to overlook different aspects of their actions. They have a punctilious regard for the discharge of their responsibilities and duties. They do not relax in an endeavour to remain true to their bondwomen. The Islamic injunction trusts and are scrupulously true to the 2192