The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 5) — Page 244
CH. 60 AL-MUMTAHINAH PT. 28 وَاِنْ فَاتَكُمْ شَيْ مِنْ اَزْوَاجِكُمْ إِلَى And if any of your wives. 12 الْكُفَّارِ فَعَا قَبْتُمْ فَأْتُوا الَّذِيْنَ ذَهَبَتْ goes away from you to the your disbelievers, and have you turn of triumph and get some spoils from them, then give to those believers whose wives have gone away the like of that which they had spent on their wives. And fear Allah in Whom you believe. 4219 Community, and a believer is allowed to marry such a woman, provided he fulfils two conditions: (a) He should have paid back to the disbelieving husband of such woman what the latter had spent on her, and (b) he should also have fixed or paid her dowry. Similarly, the marriage-tie between a Muslim and his wife who gives up Islam could not continue and the same procedure would be adopted if such an apostate woman marries a disbeliever as in the case of marriage between a Muslim and a refugee believing woman. The reciprocal arrangement prescribed in this verse is not the private affair of the individuals concerned but is to be carried out by the State, as is the practice in time of war, to which the verses particularly apply; there could not and should not continue any social relations between individual believers and individual disbelievers. 4219. Important Words: (you have your turn) is derived from They say i. e. he took from the man's property the like 3140 اَزْوَاجُهُمْ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْفَقُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمُ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُوْنَ ) of what the latter had taken from him. means, he did a thing with the man alternately and taking his turn; he retaliated (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary: If the wife of a Muslim deserts to disbelievers and thereafter a woman from among disbelievers is taken by Muslims as prisoner of war, or she flees from disbelievers and joins the Muslim Community, then the husband is to be believing compensated for the loss of the dowry paid by him to his deserting wife from the sum due to the disbelieving husband whose wife has joined the Muslim Community if the dowries are equal, but the deficiency, if any, is to be made up collectively by Muslims, or, as some authorities say, from the booty acquired by Muslims in war; the word meaning i. e. you have acquired booty. This arrangement was necessary as disbelievers refused to return the dowries paid by their believing husbands to the women who had deserted to them.