Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:130
But if they separate [by divorce], Allah will enrich each [of them] from His abundance. And ever is Allah Encompassing and Wise.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: وَإِن يَتَفَرَّقَا يُغْنِ ٱللَّهُ كُلًّا مِّن سَعَتِهِۦ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعًا حَكِيمًا (4:130).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means by this the following: if the wife, against whom her husband has shown himself rebellious — in that he has turned away from her because of his inclination toward her rival (the other wife) on account of her beauty, youth, or some other thing toward which souls are inclined — refuses the reconciliation, namely that she should relinquish for him her day and her night, and instead demands of him her right concerning the division (of his time) and the maintenance, and that which Allah has imposed upon him as an obligation toward her; and if the husband refuses to treat her with the kindness to which Allah has urged him with His word: وَإِن تُحْسِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا, and he refuses to make her equal in the division, the maintenance, and the conjugal association with that other woman toward whom he is inclined — and the two of them then part because the husband divorces her — then "Allah will provide each of them abundantly out of His bounty." He says: Allah will provide both the husband and the divorced wife abundantly out of the abundance of His favor. As for her: through a husband who is better for her than the one who first divorced her, or through a more ample provision and protection. And as for him: through an ample provision and a wife who is better for him than the divorced one, or through abstinence (from what is forbidden). "And Allah is all-encompassing (wāsiʿan)," that is to say: Allah is all-encompassing toward them both, in His provision for them and for the rest of His creatures. "All-wise (ḥakīman)," in what He has decreed between him and her concerning the separation and the divorce (ṭalāq), and in all the other meanings that we have come to know concerning the judgment between the two of them in these verses and others, and in all His other ordinances, dispositions, and decrees concerning His creation.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
10672 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: "And if the two of them part, Allah will provide each of them abundantly out of His bounty," he said: (This concerns) the divorce (al-ṭalāq).
10673 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
