النص المفهرس

386
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 22-24
It means that the description of women unlawful for marriage is there
to induce you to look for lawful women with the help of your wealth
and enter into marriage with them. In Ahkam al-Qur'an, Abu Bakr al-
Jassaș de Julio, writes that this part of the verse tells us two things.
Firstly, marriage cannot materialize devoid of dower (even if the
parties to marriage decide between themselves that the marriage will
take place without dower, still, dower will be necessary, details of
which are available in books of Fiqh.) Secondly, it tells us that dower
(mahr) should be something which can be termed as "mal" (inclusive of
wealth, property, assets etc.) According to the Hanafiyyah, mahr
(dower) should not be less than ten dirhams. One dirham is equivalent
to 3 1/2x17 grains Troy of silver.
binding yourself in marriage, and not only for) مُحْصِنِيْنَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِيْنَ
lust): It means that one should seek lawful women with the help of
one's assets and it should be clearly understood that the seeking of
women is to safeguard modesty and chastity, which is the crucial
purpose of a marriage. And it is through marriage alone that the
desired objective has to be achieved and certainly not through spend-
ings to find women for zina (fornication). This tells us that, no doubt
the fornicators too spend out of their assets, but that spending is
patently unlawful, and benefiting from a woman who has been
procured by such spending is never lawful. The addition of @201
(not for lust) here serves two purposes. As obvious, it forbids zina
(fornication) while it also points out that the purpose of zina is nothing
but to run after lust and to waste one's semen for unlawful enjoyment
- because it is not aimed at the seeking of children and the preserva-
tion of the human race. Muslims must stay chaste investing their
strength where it is due in the best interest of human procreation, the
method of which is to have a wife in marriage, or a bondwoman - in
case one comes to have one.
So, whoever of them you have) فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعُهُمُ بِهٍ مِنْهُنَّ فَأْتُوُهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً
benefited from, give them their due as obligated): 'Benefiting' in this
verse refers to coition and it means that the payment of full dower is
1. Literally, it means 'flowing of water' and indicates to seeking ejaculation
out of lust. (Editor)

387
Surah Al-Nisa'
4:22-24
due on the husband only when he had benefited from her company by
having sex with her. If, after the initial marriage contract the wife has
not come to live with the husband who thus does not get the opportu-
nity to 'benefit' from her company, and he divorces her before having
that opportunity, the payment of mahr (dower) due against him
becomes half. Special attention has been drawn in this verse to the
situation when, once this 'benefit' has been received from some
woman, the payment of her mahr becomes obligatory on all counts.
Any shortcoming in doing so is against the letter and spirit of Muslim
law. Moreover, the universal human sense of honour dictates that
consequent to the purpose of marriage having been achieved, there
should be no failing or delaying in giving the wife her due - however,
the Shari'ah gives the woman the additional right that she can, if the
mahr (dower) is prompt (mu'ajjal), refuse to go to her husband until
the payment of the mahr has been made to her.
The unlawfulness of Mut'ah
The root of the Arabic word, la! : istimta' is & - - . (mim - tā -
'ain) which means to derive benefit. Any benefit derived from a person
or from wealth, property, assets etc. is called istimta'. According to
Arabic grammar, the addition of the letters ~ : sin and - : ta to the root
of any word gives the meaning of seeking. Based on this lexical expla-
nation, the simple and straight sense of the Qur'anic expression, '222621
(you have benefited), as understood by the entire Muslim ummah from
the revered early elders to their successors and followers, is just what
we have stated a little earlier. But, a sect1 says that it means the
conventional mut'ah and, according to its adherents, this verse proves
that mut'ah is halal (lawful). Therefore, it is pertinent here to give a
brief account of mutah and its unlawfulness.
Mut'ah which was in vogue before the advent of Islam was a
temporary contract between a man and a woman for having sexual
relationship between them for a specified period in exchange of money
or a specified kind offered by the man to the woman. This type of
contract, which was never meant to create permanent rights and obli-
gations of marriage, was clearly prohibited by the Holy Qur'an and
Sunnah, however, this particular sect claims that it is still halal
1. [i.e. the Shi'ites] (editor).

388
Surah Al-Nisa'
4:22-24
(permissible). They sometimes seek support to this claim from the
present verse just on the ground that the word 'mut'ah' has been
derived from the same root wherefrom the word , 22221 used in this
verse has been derived. Obviously, this argument is too far-fetched,
and the present verse itself is sufficient to refute it, because before the
مُحْصِنِيْنَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ the Holy Qur'an has used the words , إِسُتَمُتَعُهُمُ word
(binding yourself in marriage and not only for lust) which clearly prove
that the sexual relationship approved by the Holy Qur'an is the only
one which aims at chastity through the permanent bond of marriage,
and not a relationship based on satisfying lust for a temporary period
which has been termed by the Holy Qur'an as 'flowing water'.
Now, it is obvious that the contract of mut'ah has nothing to do
with this concept. It neither creates permanent rights and obligations,
nor does it bring about a family set-up, nor does it aim at having chil-
dren and maintain chastity. It is nothing but to satisfy the sexual
desire for a short period of time.
As a result, the woman with whom mut'ah is done is not given even
the status of a wife who could inherit from her very pragmatic counter-
part - who, for that matter, does not even have the grace to count her
among his recognized wives. The reason is very simple as the purpose
here is nothing but sexual gratification, an attitude which drives men
and women to keep hunting for ever-new sex-partners in a temporary
setting. If this be the state of affairs, mut'ah (referred to as temporary
marriage) can never be taken as the guarantor of modesty and chas-
tity; it is, on the contrary, its very enemy.
Therefore, the Qur'anic words ◌َمُحْصِيْنَ غَيْرٌ مُسَانِحِين are more than enough
to rule out the possibility of mut'ah being meant by the present verse.
The author of Hidayah has attributed to Imam Malik that,
according to him, mut'ah is permissible. But, this attribution is totally
incorrect as clarified by the commentator of Hidayah and other
respected scholars who say that the author of Hidayah has attributed
this view to Imam Malik inadvertently.
However, there are some of those who claim that Sayyidna Ibn
Abbas at Ulu, believed in the lawfulness of mut'ah right upto his
later years, although this is not so. Imam al-Tirmidhi, devoting a

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 22-24
chapter to "mut'ah", has reported two ahadith. The first one is as
follows:
عن على بن أبى طالب أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن متعة
النساء وعن لحوم الحمرا لأهلية زمن خيبر
'Alf ibn Abi Talib رضى الله عنه reports that the Holy Prophet i on
the occasion of the battle of Khyber, prohibited mut'ah with
women and from (eating) the meat of domestic donkeys.
This hadith appears in al-Bukhari and Muslim as well. The second
hadith reported by Imam al-Tirmidhi is given below:
عن ابن عباس قال: إنما كانت المتعة فى أول الإسلام حتى إذا نزلت الاية
الا على ازواجهم اوما ملكت ايمانهم قال ابن عباس: فكل فرج سواهما
فهو حرام
Ibn 'Abbas as Algo, says: Mut'ah was there only in the early
period of Islam until the verse - (ْإِلَّ عَلىَ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْمًا مَلَكَتْ آَيْمَانُهُم) - was
revealed. Then, he said: All private parts other than these are
unlawful (that is other than those of the legally wedded wife
and the bondwoman one may come to have).
Nevertheless, this much has to be said that Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas
Le Ji zo, took mut'ah to be permissible upto a certain time. Then, it
was on the good counsel of Sayyidna 'Ali as dl , (as in Şahin Muslim, v.1,
p.452) and under the chastening impact of the noble verse: Befehle 51,
wwieku that he revoked his earlier position, as indicated in the narra-
tion from Tirmidhi.
It is very strange that the sect which believes in the lawfulness of
mut'ah - despite its claim to love and obey Sayyidna 'Ali dle, -
elects to oppose no less a person than him on this particular issue.
The author of Ruh al-Ma'ani reports from Qadi 'Ayad that mut'ah
was lawful before the battle of Khayber, but it was made unlawful
during it. After that, it was declared lawful on the day of the Conquest
of Makkah, but it was after three days that it was proclaimed as
unlawful for ever.
There is yet another point worthy of our attention. The Qur'anic
statement:

390
Surah Al-Nisa'
4: 22-24
وَالَّذِيْنَّ هُمْ لِفُرُدُچِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ إِلَّ عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْمًا مَلَكَتْ آَيُّمَانُهُمْ فَأَنَّهُمْ
غَيْرُ مَلَوُمِيْنَ .
(And those who guard their private parts, save from their
wives or from their bondwomen, then, they are not blame-
worthy).
is so explicit that it admits of no other interpretation. It shows the
unlawfulness of mutah very clearly. Seeking flimsy support from some
rare and unauthentic readings is absolutely incorrect.
To sum up our earlier submissions, there is no absolute proof to
support the view that the Qur'anic word, "22 (you have benefited)
refers to conventional mut'ah. This is just a remote possibility which
can never override the absolute proof contained in tica Gre
Cí cited above. Specially, keeping in view the well-settled principle of
Islamic jurisprudence, that where two arguments or two interpreta-
tions are equally possible, the one supporting prohibition is always
preferred.
Ruling:
Like mutah, a time bound marriage is also unlawful. A time-bound
marriage (termed in Islamic jurisprudence as al-nikah al-muwaqqat) is
a marriage entered into for a fixed time. The difference between the
two is that mut'ah is done by using the words of mut'ah. A time-bound
marriage is done by saying the word, nikah which is normally used for
regular marriage.
And there is no sin on you in what) وَلا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيْمَا تَرَاضَيْتُمُ بٍِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ
you mutually consent to after the {initial} settlement): This sentence in
the verse means that mahr or dower which has been fixed mutually is
not, in the real sense, absolute and definitive, and something to which
nothing could be added or deleted. On the contrary, a husband can add
something on his own accord on the fixed mahr, and the wife too, if she
so desires, willingly and happily, can forgo a part of her mahr, or the
whole of it. The generality of the words also allows a situation where a
woman willingly agrees to defer the payment of a dower which was
originally settled to be prompt.
-Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise): The addi) إِنَّ اللَّهُ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيْمًا
tion of this sentence towards the end of the verse tells us two things.
Firstly, that All knows. He is aware of everything. His injunctions are

391
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 25
there to be complied with. If somebody acts against these and even if a
judge, a ruler, or any other human being ever gets to find out about it,
Allah, in His most exalted state of being, knows all about this and
everything else. One must keep fearing Him under all circumstances.
Secondly, that the injunctions He has revealed are all based on
hikmah or wisdom. In essence, Hikmah (Allah's wisdom) is too deep to
be understood by everyone. The injunctions concerning what is
unlawful and lawful as given in these verses, whether or not one
understands their cause, reason or justification, must be believed in,
accepted and obeyed. This is because, even though we may not know
the raison d'etre, the cause, reason or justification, it hardly matters,
for the Creator and the Master of the Command, Allah Almighty
certainly knows it all, being the All-Knowing, the Wise.
There are many people, educated but ignorant, visibly spread out
in our contemporary Muslim and non-Muslim societies, who go about
gopher-like, searching for the causes of Divine injunctions. When they
fail to find any, they side-track the need to comply with the injunction
by saying that the Word of God. was, God-forbid, contrary to the
requirements of the modern age, or worse still, unsuitable. The words
of the verse have silenced such people for ever by telling them: 'You
are ignorant. Your Creator is All-Knowing. You lack understanding.
Allah is All-Wise. Do not make your reason the touchstone of the
Truth.
Verse 25
وَمَنُ لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعُ مِنْكُمْ طَوْلاً أَنْ يَّنْكِحَ الْمُحْصَنْتِ الْمُؤْمِنْتِ
فَمِنُ مَّامَلَكَتْ آَيْمَانُكُمُ قِنٌ فَتَيْتِكُمُ الْمُؤُمِنْتِ، وَاللّهُ آَعْلَمُ
بِيْمَانِكُمْ، بَعُضُكُمُ قِنُ بَعْضٍ، فَانْكِكُرُ هُنَّ بِإِذْنِ آَهْلِهِنَّ
وَاتُوُ هُنَّ أُجُرَ هُنَّ بِالْعُرُفِ مُحْصَنْتٍ غَيْرَ مُسِفِحْتٍ وَّلَاً
مُتَّخِذُتِ آَخْدَاٍ فَإِذَا أُحُصِنَّ فَإِنْ آتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيُهِنَّ
نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنَتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ، ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِىَ
اُلْعَنَتَ مِنْكُمْ، وَآَنٌ تَصْبُرُوا خَيْرٌ لَّكُمُ، وَاللَّهُ غَفُرْ رَحِيٌُّ ﴿٢٥﴾

392
Surah Al-Nisa' 4: 25
And the one who cannot afford to marry the free
Muslim women, then (he may marry) the one you own
of the Muslim girls. And Allah knows best about your
faith. You are similar to each other. So, marry them
with the permission of their masters and give them
their dues, as recognized, they being bound in
marriage, not going for lust, nor having paramours. So,
once they have been bound in marriage, then, if they
commit a shameful act, they shall be liable to half of
the punishment prescribed for the free women. That is
for those of you who fear falling in sin. And that you be
patient is better for you. And Allah is Most-Forgiving,
Very-Merciful. [25]
It is in continuation of the injunctions relating to marriage which
have been appearing earlier that the text now takes up the option of
marriage with bondwomen who qualify as such under the stipulations
of the Shari'ah of Islam. Then, the injunction of Hadd punishment
concerning them has been added along since the status of a bondman
and bondwoman is different from a free man and a free woman.
Detailed explanation follows.
Commentary
The word, 'J' (taul) in the Qur'anic text signifies power, capability
and means. The sense of the verse is that one who does not have the
capability or means to marry free Muslim women, can marry Muslim
bondwomen. This clearly indicates that one should, as far as possible,
marry only a free woman and simply not marry a bondwoman. But,
should it be that one has to marry a bondwoman, he should look for a
Muslim bondwoman
This is the very juristic position of Imam Abu Hanifah according to
whom marrying a bondwoman, specially a bondwoman from the people
of the Book (Jews or Christians) while having the power and means to
marry a free woman, is makruh (not desirable)
According to Imam Shafif and other Imams, marrying a bond-
woman while having the power and means to marry a free woman is
unlawful (haram), and marrying a bondwoman from the people of the
Book is absolutely impermissible.
In short, to avoid marrying a bondwoman is, under all conditions,

393
Surah Al-Nisa'
4:25
certainly better for a free man. However, if one has to do so under
personal lack of choice, marrying a Muslim bondwoman is better. The
reason is that the offspring from a bondwoman becomes automatically
bonded to the owner of the bondwoman. Furthermore, there remains
the danger that the offspring from the non-Muslim bondwoman could
adopt a religion other than Islam following the example of the mother.
So, in order to resuce the children from bondage and to ensure that
they remain Muslims, it is necessary that the mother of the children
should be free. If she is a bondwoman, let her, at the least, be neces-
sarily a Muslim, so that the faith of the child remains secure for future
flowering. For this reason, respected scholars have said that marrying
a free woman from the people of the Book is, no doubt, correct, but,
staying away from doing so is better; and in a time like this, its impor-
tance is much too obvious to be emphasized as Jewish and Christian
women usually marry Muslim men to influence the husband himself,
and his children, into adopting their religion.
: وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمْ بِإِيمَانِكُمْ بَعُضُكُمُ مِّنٌ بَعْضٍ : This much established, the text then says
It means that Allah is fully aware of your faith, that is, 'Iman or faith
is the criterion of precedence. It is very likely that a bondman or bond-
woman may be far ahead of free men and women on the scale of faith.
Therefore, the option of marriage with a Muslim bondwoman should
not be taken as absolutely contemptible. Instead the fact that she has
faith in Islam should be appreciated. The expression
appearing at the end, translated here as 'you are similar to each
other', means that human beings, free or in bondage, all come from one
species, the children of Adam and all were born of only one soul. That
one is better than the other depends on 'Im an (faith) and Taqwa
(righteous conduct in fear of Allah, the Creator). According to al-Tafsir
al-Mazhari, 'these two sentence are there for people to get familiarized
with and become acceptance-prone to marriage with bondwomen and
get rid of any attitude of contempt for such marriage
So, marry them with the permission) فَانْكِحُهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ وَأُوْهُنَّ أُمْجُوْرَ هُنَّ بِاْعُرُّوُفِ
of their masters and give them their dues): It means that, should they
refuse to give permission, the marriage of the bondwoman will not be
correct because the bondwoman does not possess the control over her
person. The same rule governs the bondman as he too cannot marry

394
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 25
without the permission of his master.
Then it was said that one who marries a bondwoman should pay
her mahr (dower) promptly, honestly and gracefully, that is, without
hedging and delaying, and making sure that the payment is made in
full, and that no trouble is caused to the bondwoman in this matter
just because she happens to be a bondwoman. The juristic position
taken by Imam Malik in this connection is that mahr (dower) is the
right of the bondwoman. Other Imams say that the master of the bond-
woman is the one who shall become the owner of what is received in
payment of the dower of the bondwoman.
they being bound in marriage, not going) مُحْصَنْتٍ غَيْرَ مُسْفِحْتٍ وَّلَا مُتَّخِذُتٍ آخُدَانٍ
for lust, nor having paramours): It means that marriage with Muslim
bondwomen should be contracted while they are observers of chastity
being neither "musafihat", that is, open fornicators, nor keepers of
clandestine paramours. It may be noted that the text, though refers to
the seeking of chaste bondwomen for marriage at this place, yet it is
also much better to stay away from marrying a fornicating free woman
as well.
Since this verse has declared that if one cannot afford to marry a
free woman, the second option for him is to marry a bondwoman. This
also proves that mutah (s) is not permissible, because, had mut'ah
been permissible, a person who could not afford to marry a free woman
could have gone for the easiest alternate by doing mut'ah 1 as it would
have gratified his sexual desire and, in addition to that, the relative
financial burden of this deal would have been much less than that of a
regular marriage. Furthermore, the Qur'anic words chats pe cia's iden-
tify the trait of the bondwomen - an observer of chastity while being
bound in marriage and no fornicator. Now, as far as mut'ah is
concerned, it is all 'safh', nothing but spillage and rank whoredom. One
woman gets used by several men in short spans of time. The offspring,
if it comes, cannot be credibly ascribed to anyone. There goes the
benefit of procreation. What becomes of the unique reservoir of human
strength all such people possess, is simply that the whole thing goes
down the drain just to oblige the wanton pursuit of sex.
1. For details see the commentary (on verse 24) in the previous section.

395
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 25
It means that after: فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ فَإِنْ آتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنْتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ.
the bondwomen have been bound in marriage and their observance of
chastity has been given a safe cover, if they commit zina, an act of
shame, they shall be liable to half of the punishment prescribed for the
free women. This refers to unmarried free women. If unmarried free
man and woman happen to commit zina, the punishment is one
hundred lashes, which appears in Surah An-Nur (24:2). As for the
married man and woman committing zina (adultery), the punishment
is rajm which is death by stoning. Since this particular punishment
cannot be reduced to half, all four Imams agree on the position that
the punishment of zina committed by a bondman or bondwoman,
married or unmarried, is fifty lashes. The injunction relating to the
bondwomen has been mentioned in the present verse, but the question
of the bondman too becomes clear from the obvious analogy of the text.
-It means that the permission to marry a bond: ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِىَ الْعَنَتَ مِنْكُمُ
woman is for a person who apprehends that he might fall into the sin
of fornication.
5% ;23; (And that you be patient is better for you); that is, if a
person, despite the apprehension of falling into zina, exercises
restraint and keeps himself morally pure rising above the pull of his
sexual desire, then, this state of being is better than that one marries
bondwomen.
gif'Il, (And Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful): It means
that, no doubt, marrying bondwomen is makruh (not desirable) yet,
should one go on to do something in this line, Allah Almighty will still
forgive him. Then, He is Very-Merciful too, because He allowed
marriage with bondwomen and did not make it totally prohibited.
Special Note
Bondmen and bondwomen mentioned in the explanation of the
present verse represent the Shar'i bondmen and bondwomen. Men and
women from among the disbelievers who were taken prisoners during
Jihad were given to the Mujahidin as part of the distribution of spoils
by the Amir al-Mu'minin, the Chief Executive of Muslims. These pris-
oners became the bondmen and bondwomen. Their offspring too
remained in bondage (with the exception of some cases which appear
in due details in books of Figh). Today Muslims have forsaken taking

396
Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 26-28
up Jihad in the manner prescribed by the Shari'ah of Islam, ignored
the demands of their Jihad, have entrusted the options of peace and
war in the hands of the enemies of their religion and have themselves
become chained to principles and policies which have nothing to do
with the Shari'ah of Islam. Since that point of time Muslims departed
from the pivot, they ended up being deprived of what was known as a
bondman and bondwoman.
Common domestic servants in our own time are not 'bondmen' and
'bondwomen' because they are free.
In some parts of the world, children are sold out or enslaved. This
is absolutely and totally haram (forbidden). They do not become
'bondmen' and 'bondwomen' by doing that.
Verses 26 - 28
يُرِيُ اللَّهُ ◌ِيْبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سَُّنَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ
وَيَتُوُبَ عَلَيْكُمْ، وَاللَّهُ عَلِيُمْ حَكِيمٌ ﴿٢٦) وَاللّهُ مُرِيُّدُ أَنْ يَتُوُبُ
عَلَيْكُمْ وَيُرِيِّدُ الَّذِيْنَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَتِ آَنْ تَيْلُوا مَيْلًا
عَظِيمًا (٢٧) يُرِيدُ اللّهُ أَنْ تُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ وَخُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ
ضَعِيْفًّا (٢٨)
Allah intends to make clear to you and to guide you to
the ways of those before you and to relent towards you.
And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. [26]
And Allah intends to relent towards you while those
who follow the desires want you to deviate a great
deviation. [27]
Allah intends to make things easy on you. And man has
been created weak. [28]
Sequence
Mentioned in the previous verses were details of injunctions. Now,
in the present verses, Allah Almighty points to his blessings and
favours saying that your being obligated with these injunctions is for
your own good, even though you may not be able to understand its
manifestation in details. Then, along with it, there is the motivation to

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follow the divine injunctions. Finally, there is the message of alert
against the evil intentions of the misguided who wish ill of you and
would like you to stray far away from the straight path.
Commentary
Following the description of several injunctions relating to
marriage, the present verses say that Allah Almighty is making His
injunctions very clear and explicit for you, and He is putting you in
line with the ways of the noble prophets and the righteous who have
come earlier. Do not think that these details of what is unlawful and
what is not are there for you alone. The fact is that communities,
earlier than you, were also charged with such injunctions. Those who
acted in accordance with them were rewarded with Allah's favour.
As for those who follow the dictates of their desires, which includes
fornicators, adulterers and nations and peoples adhering to false
creeds who just do not recognize the restrictions of halal and haram
and make no distinction between lawful and unlawful would very
much like you too to move away from the straight path and start
giving ear to their false intentions and crooked ways. Be on your guard
against them. There are creeds where it is all right to marry women -
marriage with whom is not proper. Then there are many atheists who
favour the very elimination of the institution of marriage as something
out of tune with modern times. Not content with what they call "living
together", there are people in some countries who are talking about
women as a shared item of enjoyment. All this comes from people who
take orders from their desiring self. Some Muslims, subscribing to
Islam yet weak in their faith, when they keep company with disbe-
lievers and atheists of such inclinations, fall a prey to their lustful
claims and begin to think that their own religion is out-dated and that
the position of the enemy is the very epitome of human progress. They
do not realize that they have been framed into believing that people
with such ideas are modern and forward-looking, something they start
wishing their own religion could have permitted. Refuge with Allah
from such spineless surrendering! The best policy is to take the
warning given by Allah Almighty and stay away from owning and
practicing ideas and ways of people with dispositions so wicked.

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 29-30
After this, in the first part of verse 28, it was said:
KU MESINI RX : It means that Allah, great in His majesty, intends
to make things easy on you, that is, prescribes injunctions which can
be carried out by everyone obligated with them. If one cannot afford
marrying free women, permission has been given to marry bond-
women. Parties to a marriage were given the right to settle the dower
by mutual consent. Also given was the right to marry more than one
woman under circumstantial necessity, of course, on condition that
justice is not compromised.
At the end, in the second part of verse 28, the text says: Judyi 318,
Es (And man has been created weak). It means that man is weak by
nature, and constituted desire-prone. If man was asked to stay away
from women, totally and absolutely, he would have been a hopeless
performer when it came to obeying the injunctions of Allah. It was, in
view of his weakness and limitations, that he was not only permitted
to marry women, but also that he was induced to do so. It goes without
saying that the post-marriage life of a couple offers great benefits of
mutual self-realization and most of all they enjoy the blessings of a
sight that is untainted and a character that is unalloyed. This mutual
purity of the couple increases the moral quality of life for both of them,
making them strong, self-reliant and happy. So, marriage is a smart
mutual contract to remove any chances of weakness that may afflict
men and women - a peerless method indeed.
Verses 29 - 30
◌َيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آ مَنُوا لَتَاكُلُّؤْاْ آَمْوَالَكُمُ بَيْتَكُمُ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّ أَدُّ
تَكُوُنَ تِجَارَةً عَنُ تَرَاضٍ ◌ِنْكُمُند وَلَا تَقْعُلُؤَّا أَنْفُسَكُمُ، إِنَّ اللّهَ
كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا (٢٩) وَمَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذُلِكَ مُدْوَانًّا وَّظُلُمَا فَسَوْفَ
نُصُلِيْهِ نَارَاء وَكَانَ ذُلِكَ عَلَى اللّهِ يَسِيْرًا﴿ ٣﴾
O those who believe, do not eat up each other's
property by false means unless it be a trade with your
mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves. Indeed,
Allah has been Very-Merciful to you. [29]
And whoever does that out of aggression and injustice,

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Surah Al-Nisa'
4:29-30
We shall cast him into fire. And this is an easy thing for
Allah. [30]
Sequence
Looking back from the beginning of Surah Al-Nisa', we see that it
points out to the creation of all human beings from one father and
mother and to the fact that all of them are bound in one big bond of
brotherhood which suggests that rights of human beings at large have
to be guarded and fulfilled. Then came a detailed statement about
orphans and women which was followed by the injunctions of inheri-
tance stressing upon the fulfillment of the rights of other relations in
addition to those of the orphans and women. Pursuant to this came the
injunctions of marriage telling about women who can be lawfully
married and about those with whom marriage is unlawful, because
marriage is a transaction and contract which entitles someone to enter
into a woman's life and property.
The present verses bid the protection of human life and property
and forbid any uncalled for intrusion into that area - whether those
human beings are men or women, related or unrelated, Muslim or
non-Muslim with whom there is a no-war pact in force. (Tafsir al-Mazhari)
Commentary
While prohibiting to eat up the property of others the actual words
used in the verse' are: , ka&fai which have been translated as 'each
other's property' against the very literal, 'your property in between
you'. There is a consensus of Commentators that these words certainly
carry the sense that nobody should eat up the property of the other by
false means. The sense of the expression also includes, as indicated by
Abu Hayyan in Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, that anybody should eat up
his own property in that manner - for example, spend it on what is
religiously sinful, or is straight extravagance. That too comes under
the purview of this verse and is forbidden.
The word lists in the verse literally means, 'do not eat'. But, in
common usage, it means, 'do not usurp the property of another person
by false means whatever they may be by eating or drinking or using.
In common parlance, the unauthorized use of what is owned by
someone else is indicated by the idiom, 'eating up', even though it may.
not be eatable. The word, "batil" which has been translated as "false

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 29-30
means" covers, in the view of Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and the
majority of blessed Companions, all other forms which are impermis-
sible and are forbidden by the Shari'ah. Included thereunder are theft,
robbery, usurpation, breach of trust, bribery, interest, gambling and
all false transactions. (al-Bahr al-Muhit)
False Means as explained by the Qur'an and Hadith
As for the Holy Qur'an, it has used one word jwt (by false means)
to declare that all wealth and property acquired by false means is
unlawful. After that, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was entrusted
with the duty of providing details. It was he صلى الله عليه وسلم who
explained the details of every impermissible transaction.
From this we also find out that the many details of impermissible
methods of buying and selling mentioned in the ahadith of the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are really an elaboration of this Qur'anic injunc-
tion. Therefore, all those injunctions are, in a way, the very injunc-
tions of the Qur'an. Whatever injunctions of Shari'ah have appeared in
the ahadith of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم they all have a common
feature - they all elucidate upon one or the other Qur'anic injunction.
It makes no difference whether we do or do not know that this is an
explanation of a certain verse.
Permissible Methods
The first part of verse 29 explained above declares that devouring
the other person's property by false and disapproved methods is
unlawful. Then, in order to exempt permissible methods from the
ruling of unlawfulness, it was said in the second part of the same
verse:ٌالَ آنُ تَكُوْنَ تِجَارَةٌ عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْكُم which means that the wealth and property
of others which has been acquired through trade by mutual consent is
not unlawful.
Although there are, besides trade, several other means and
methods which are equally permissible - for example, borrowing, gift,
charity, inheritance - but, generally the most recognized and
commonly practiced form of one person's property passing into the
possession and control of someone else is no other than trade. Then,
trade is generally understood to be a buying and selling activity. But,
according to al-Tafsir al-Mazhari, dealings related with service, labour
and tenancy are also included in trade, because in bai' (sale) what is

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 29-30
acquired is mal (property) for mal, while in ijara one gets mal for
service and labour. Trade covers both.
The reason why trade alone, out of the permissible forms of
acquiring wealth and property from others, has been singled out here
in this verse is that trade and labour are the best means of earning
livelihood out of a variety of those open to man. Sayyidna Rafi' ibn
Khadij رضى الله عنه says that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when asked as
to which mode of earning was the purest and the most lawful, said:
عمل الرجل بيده وكل بيع مبرور (مظهرى وترغيب وترهيب)
"Man's work with his own hands, and all honest sale transac-
tions (not false and fraudulent) (Al-Mundhiri, Al-Targhib, and
Mazharī).
Sayyidna Abu Sa'id al-Khudhris Ul, narrates that the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
التاجر الصدوق الامين مع النبيين والصديقين والشهداء (ترمذى)
"The truthful and trustworthy trader shall be with the
prophets and the truthful and the martyrs". (Tirmidhi)
And Sayyidna Anase Ul, narrates that the Holy Prophet
said:
التاجر الصدوق تحت ظل العرش يوم القيمة - رواه الاصبهانى (ترغيب)
"The truthful trader shall be under the shade of the Throne on
the Day of Doom." (reported by al-Isfahani, al-Targhib)
Special Conditions of Clean Earning
According to a narration from Sayyidna Mu'adh ibn Jabal Le JI ,
the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
"The cleanest earning is the earning of the traders, on condi-
tion that, when they talk, they do not lie; and when they are
asked to hold something in trust, they commit no breach of
trust; and when they buy something from someone, they do
not start finding faults in it; and when they sell their own
stuff, they do not praise it (unrealistically); and when they
have a debt to pay, they do not evade payment; and when
they have a debt to recover from someone, they do not harass
him." (Isfahanī, as quoted by Mazharī)

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 29-30
For this reason, it was said in another hadith:
أن التجار يبعثون يوم القيمة فجارا الامن اتقى وبر وصدق (أخرجه الحاكم عن
رفاعة بن رافع)
"Traders will be raised on the Day of Doom as the sinners
except him who fears Allah, acts righteously and says what is
true." (al-Hakim, from Rifa'ah b. Rafi‘)
Trade and Mutual Consent :
The words "unless it be a trade with your mutual consent "in verse
29 lay down two conditions for the validity of a transaction through
which the property of another person may lawfully be acquired.
Firstly, it must be a transaction of trade which requires exchange of
properties. Therefore, the transactions of gambling, speculation and
usury or the transactions of sale where the commodity does not exist
are forbidden and are not valid in Shari'ah, because these transactions
cannot be termed as trade, even though they are effected in the name
of trade.
Secondly, the transaction must be effected with the mutual consent
of the parties. Therefore, if there is trade, where the object of sale does
exist, but the mutual consent of the parties is not there, even then, the
sale is invalid and impermissible. Thus, these two forms are included
under "eating up each other's property by false means". Muslim jurists
call the first form, albai' al-batil', while the second form is given the
name, 'al-bai' al-fasid'.
To explain the first condition, we can say that trade is the name of
the exchange of one commodity with the other. Having commodity on
one side and having no commodity against it is not trade. It is decep-
tion. The same holds good for interest-based transactions where the
amount of interest is a return for the time allowed in a loan - and this
'time' is no 'commodity'. The same thing happens in speculation and
gambling. Here, the commodity does exist on one side, but the exis-
tence of a commodity against it is doubtful. Similarly, there are trans-
actions based on forward trading where the commodity does not exist
but a deal is made for its sale / purchase. Here you have commodity on
one side and nothing but a promise on the other. Therefore, this is just

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 29-30
not trade. If fact, this is deception and a kind of fraud. Therefore,
Muslim jurists have ruled it to be al-bai' al-batil, a void transaction of
sale. The explanation as given here eliminates all impermissible forms
of trading.
As for the second condition, it covers a situation where a property
is being exchanged for another property. Both do exist, but the trans-
action of exchange did not take place with mutual consent. Although
this is a trade, yet it is a wrong and invalid type of trade. Therefore, it
has been called 'fasid' (invalid) and is not allowed.
The reality of the condition of mutual consent
However, there is a third kind in which there is commodity on both
sides, and apparently the transaction has been effected with mutual
consent, but the consent of one party has been obtained by compulsion
and not by his free will. Therefore, this third kind is also included in
the second one. For example, a person or company collects articles of
daily use from all over the market, builds up a stock, raises prices on
the higher side and starts selling. Since this is not available elsewhere
in the market, the customer has no choice but to buy it from him at
whatever price he may be selling it. In this situation, though the
customer himself walks into the store and, obviously, buys it with his
consent, but this 'consent' is an outcome of compulsion and therefore;
it is null and void.
Similarly, if a husband makes the conditions of living with his wife
so thorny that she is compelled to forgo her due dower, then, this
expression of 'consent' made by her while abandoning her right to
receive the dower, is not considered as consent in the real sense of the
term.
Or, take the example of a person who discovers that he is not going
to get his valid job done without offering a bribe, and he becomes
ready to offer a bribe, then, this willingness and consent is not of his
own free will. Therefore, it is legally null and void.
Thus, it becomes very clear that the restriction in COLLEGE35
& (unless it be trade with your mutual consent) justifies only those
forms of buying, selling and trading the justification of which stands
proved on the authority of the ahadith of the Holy Prophet . Muslim

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4 : 31
jurists have simply codified them. So, all forms of buying, selling and
trading prohibited and impermissible in the Shari'ah of Islam stand
excluded from the approved core. To sum up, this one word of the Holy
Qur'an provides the key to the wonderful treasure of Muslim jurispru-
dence on the subject of al-buyu' and al-ijara.
The third sentence of the first verse (29) says: 'i pen ý, which has
been literally translated here as 'and do not kill yourselves.' According
to the consensus of commentators, this includes suicide; as well as,
killing each other unjustly. The first sentence of the verse described
the property rights of human beings at large and stressed that they be
guarded. The present sentence, the third one we have before us right
now, covers their right of life. Property has been mentioned in this
verse earlier than 'life', probably because injustice and negligence are
very common in matters relating to property rights. No doubt, unjust
killing is far more grave, yet customarily its frequency is lower. Hence,
it comes later.
Verse 29 closes with the statement: Gp's (s ) which me
the injunctions given in this verse -- 'do not eat up each other's prop-
erty by false means' or 'do not kill anyone unjustly' -- are injunctions
that come to you as Divine Mercy, so that you can take your guard
against falling into these misdeeds and thereby become liable to
punishment in the life to come, and also that you may stay safe from
punishments which could afflict you right here in the present life.
After that, the next verse (30) says: وَمَنْ سَّفْعَلُ ذُلِكَ مُدٌوَانًا وَّظُلْمًا فَسَوُّفَ نُطُلِيُّهِ نَارًا . It
means: If, despite the instructions of the Holy Qur'an, anyone acts
otherwise, and knowingly, aggressively and unjustly, takes what
belongs to someone else, or kills anyone unjustly, Allah will cast him
into Fire. Here, the restriction of 'aggression' and 'injustice' shows
that, should this happen out of forgetfulness or mistake, it is not
included in this warning.
Verse 31
إِنَّ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَآنِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرُ عَنْكُمُ سَيِّاتِكُمُ
وَنُدُخِلُكُمْ ◌ُّدُ خَلَّ كِرِيْمًا (٣١)
If you abstain from the major (sins) out of what you

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Surah Al-Nisa' 4: 31
have been forbidden from, We shall write off your
minor sins and shall admit you to a noble entrance. [31]
Righteous Deeds : Kaffarah of Minor Sins
Kaffarah is what makes amends, an expiation. So the meaning is
that righteous deeds will be taken as Kaffarah for minor sins which
will thus be written off, resulting in reward instead of punishment and
Paradise instead of Hell. This is in accordance with authentic ahadith
where it has been stated that when a person makes wudu for salah, the
act of washing each part of his body becomes the Kaffarah for sins; the
washing of the face becomes the Kaffarah for sins committed by the
eye, the ear, the nose; gargling becomes the Kaffarah for the sins of the
tongue; washing feet a washes way the sins of the feet - and when he
walks towards the masjid, every step he takes brings with it the
Kaffarah of sins.
Major Sins are forgiven by Taubah alone
From the verse, we find that the expiation of sins through right-
eous deeds such as wudu, salah and the rest, which appear in ahadith,
concerns minor sins. As for major sins, they are not forgiven without
Taubah (Repentance); and for minor sins, the condition is that one
should have made the effort to stay away and remain safe from major
sins. This leaves us with a note of warning - if someone, while staying
involved in major sins, goes on performing his wudu' and salah, then
this wudu' and salah and other righteous deeds will not at all expiate
for even his minor sins, let alone the major ones. It is a warning that
when a person appears on the fateful Day of Resurrection, carrying
the heavy burden of his major and minor sins, he will find no helping
hand to make his burden any lighter.
It will be recalled that some major sins were mentioned in the
previous verses alongwith the warning of severe punishment for those
who commit them. It is a peculiar style of the Holy Qur'an that when it
warns of punishment against a sin, it is generally followed by some
aspect of persuasion towards obedience.
In the present verse too, a particular Divine reward has been
mentioned and people have been persuaded to acquire it by staying
away from major sins, in which case, Allah Almighty will forgive their
minor sins on His own. Thus, cleansed of all sins, major and minor,