2. Al-Baqara

Do not marry idolatresses until they believe; a believing slave girl is better than an idolatress though you may admire her. And do not marry idolaters until they believe. A believing slave is better than an idolater though you may admire him. Those call to the fire; and God calls to paradise and pardon by His leave; and He makes clear His signs to the people so that they might remember. It is better to hold to the rope of religion and cling to the protection of Muslims than to be satisfied with someone [outside the faith] on a path that leads to disbelief. A concession in the law exists for this action but the deeper suggestion is to refrain and waive the right to choose it. This concerns the women of the Book with whom it is permissible to have mari- tal relations. As for polytheists it is absolutely prohibited to have marital relations with them. It is obligatory to cut off relations with those in this category-this is an irreversible decree.

They will ask you about the monthly period. Say: �It is an ailment; so part with women in the monthly period and do not approach them until they are pure; when they have cleansed themselves then come to them as God has commanded you.� Not everything which is a cause for embarrassment and aversion is some- thing the servant freely chooses for it might be among the imperfections which are not attributed to the servant but rather stem from a decree of the Real. Among these is what God has ordained for the daughters of Adam in [relation to] this condition. Moreover they were commanded to withdraw from the prayer carpet during the times of this condition since the prayer carpet is a place of intimate conversation with one's Lord. So setting a time in which the place of conversation is to be avoided is a decree from God not [because of any] sin of theirs. In this is an allusion for it is said that even if they cannot pray which [requires] being present through the body they are not prevented from perpetual remembrance dhikr in the heart and tongue. That [dhikr] is an address on the carpet of nearness. The Prophet ﷺ said relating from God most high �I sit among those who remember Me.� Truly God loves those who repent and He loves those who cleanse themselves. It is said that He loves those who repent from sins dhunūb and those who cleanse themselves from defects ʿuyūb. It is said that [it refers to] those who repent from error and those who cleanse themselves from imagining that their salvation is through repentance. It is said that [it refers to] those who repent from doing forbidden things and those who cleanse themselves from familiar things and considerations [of anything but God]. It is said that [it refers to] those who repent by seeking the water of for- giveness and those who cleanse themselves by pouring the water of shame [upon themselves] through the [human] attribute of brokenness. It is said that [it refers to] those who repent from error and those who cleanse themselves from heedlessness. It is said that [it refers to] those who repent from witnessing the repen- tance and those who cleanse themselves from imagining that anything is by error rather than by the decree that originates from God most high.

Do not make God a hindrance in your oaths to be pious and God-fearing; and to put things right between people; surely God is All-Hearing Knower. Keep the mention of your Lord free of the banality of any worldly concerns. It is said �Do not make the mention of God into a net to catch the debris of this world.�

God will not take you to task for a slip in your oaths; but He will take you to task for what your hearts have earned; and God is Forgiving Forbearing. What the tongue says inadvertently does not have much importance either for good or bad but what is hidden in the recesses of the heart ḌamāÌir and contained in its inner secrets sarāÌir in [terms of] genuine intentions and strong resolutions-that will be taken into account. If it is good there will be a beautiful recompense jazāÌun jamīl and if it is bad there will be prolonged distress ʿanāÌun Ṭawīl.

For those who forswear their women, a wait of four months. But if they revert, God is forgiving, ever-merciful. In terms of allusion, these verses contain an eloquent admonition and complete advice concern- ing the observation of the rightful dues of the Real: God gives so much weight and gravity to the rightful due of the people that He sends a decisive command concerning it and instills dread into those who put it aside. Hence it is even more appropriate to preserve the rightful due of God and to dread putting it aside. In one of the reports it is mentioned that tomorrow at the resurrection a youth will be brought who had neglected the rightful dues of God. In the attribute of awe and exaltedness the Exalted Lord will address him: “Had you no shame? Had you no fear of My anger and harshness such that you neglected My rightful due and you paid it no reverence and respect? Take him to hell, for he is worthy of fire, and fire is worthy of him.” Ibn ʿAbbās narrated that the Prophet said, “God says, 'I will not look after the rightful due of My servant until the servant looks after My rightful due.'” In the scriptures has come, “I honor those who honor Me and I scorn those who scorn My command.” Look at the vengeance He takes from the servant because of His rightful due, even though His rightful due is built on leniency, and He passes over most of it. As for the rightful dues of created things, in these no leniency is shown, so God's vengeance in them is more. So much is this so that it is said that if someone has the reward of seventy prophets but has one plaintiff whom he has cheated of half a penny, he will not enter paradise until that plaintiff is satisfied with him. So, the rightful dues of the creatures must be preserved, and one must strive mightily to observe them, especially the rightful dues of women and spouses, on whose behalf the Lord of the Worlds acts as deputy in this verse, requesting their husbands to take care of them. MuṣṬafā said, “The best of you is the best of you to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wife.

But if they resolve upon divorce; surely God is Hearing Knowing. If he no longer wants the right of companionship and has confirmed his resolve to separate from her surely God is Hearing Knowing aware of his state and his secret. If any remorse comes to him he should not cover it up by denying356 the divorce for God ������ knows that he has divorced her. When separation is difficult [God] provides solace for the woman say- ing [He is] Hearing that is �We hear the one who is desolated by [the words of her husband] and this is a comfort for her from the Real ������.�

Divorced women shall wait by themselves for three periods. He commanded divorced women to wait out of respect for spousal rela- tions. This means �If the relationship has been cut off between the two of you observe the condition of fulfilling [the waiting period] for the sake of what occurred in the past in the relationship. Do not put others quickly in place of [the former spouse]. Be patient until the allotted period has passed.� Do you not see that the bride whose marriage was not consum- mated is not commanded to undergo a waiting period since there were no spousal relations between the two of themḍ And it is not lawful for them to hide what God has created in their wombs if they believe in God and the Last Day. This means that even if the tie between the two of you has been severed do not sever what God has established in the parental relationship. Their mates have a better right to restore them This means that the one with the prior relationship [the husband who ini- tiated the divorce] has a better right to restore the breach in the marriage [before the wife's marrying again]. in such time if they desire to set things right; This means that the [husband's] intention to return should be to set things right in the estrangement that has occurred not to prolong the waiting period for her if he has decided to divorce her after he has taken her back. women shall have rights similar to those due from them with justice; This means if he has a right over her for what he has expended in wealth she has a right in the situation for [her] past service. but their men have a degree above them; God is Mighty Wise. [The man has the degree] in merit faḌīla but she has an advantage mazīya in weakness and human vulnerability.

Divorce is twice, then retention with honor or setting free with beautiful doing. This is a recommendation to spread out the divorce so that they will not hurry to complete sepa- ration.19 Spreading out the divorce is recommended because the reality of separation is reprehen- sible. Although divorce is permitted in the Shariah, God hates it, for it is the cause of separating and of cutting the ties of familiarity and union. God's Messenger said, “The most hateful of per- mitted things to me is divorce.” The exalted Qur'an praises people who do not cut bonds and do not seek for separation. It says, “Those who join what God has commanded to be joined and fear their Lord” [13:21]. In the Highest Dominion, He created angels who are half snow and half fire. Through His own power He brought these two opposites together and kept them that way. Their glorification is this: “Glory be to Him who makes fire familiar with snow! O Lord, make the hearts of your faithful servants familiar with each other!” A pir of the Sufis said, “I was walking in the desert. I saw a person I did not recognize, water standing before him, and plants growing from the water. I asked him who he was and he said that he was Abū Murra [the Father of Bitterness].20 I asked him what the water was. He said, 'It is my tears, and these green things and plants are growing up from my tears.' I asked him why he was weeping. He said, 'I weep in the days of separation for the days of union. In the days of separation the murmur of union is the ease of the hearts of the deprived. Leave me to weep for myself, for there is no one in the world more miserable than I.'” I said, “My heart wants to be Your comrade, so I will be worthy of thanks and applause.” By God, I did not think, O Spirit of the world, that all my hopes would come to this. Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī had a wife whom he divorced. Her dower was 40,000 dirhams, so he sent it to her so that her heart would be happy. She put that wealth in front her and began to weep: “'Paltry goods from a departed lover!' What use to me are the goods of the world when my companion is not at my side and my friend is tired of me!” When a viper strikes someone's liver they give him the antidote, not candy.

If he divorces her she shall not be lawful to him after that until she marries another husband. If he divorces her then neither of them would be at fault [if they] return to each other A man finds it unbearable for his wife to marry another so [God] prevents him from choosing separation with the intention of keeping her from remarrying. He explains that once he has separated from her she will not be lawful for him until she does what he would find unbearable and that is a second marriage. So [this will make him] cautious as much as he is able in [initiating] divorce. Then He said �If he divorces her� meaning the spouse �then neither of them would be at fault [if they] return to each other� meaning if she remarries the first husband. Here the allusion is that love's hold on the heart makes what would otherwise be hard to endure easy for if after separating the spouses regret their lost union and then feel the greatest remorse there is no fault in their returning to each other. But the woman in this circumstance is protected from her husband by the threat of another husband for the husband would himself be making that possible [if he were to divorce her three times]. if they think that they will maintain God's bounds. Those are God's bounds which He makes clear to a people who have knowledge. This means that after they know how much they need each other as com- panions they will not separate again. The one who spoke for them said: I swore that if I were to meet you one more time I would never separate from you a second time.