Tafseer of The Pleading Woman · Al-Mujaadila · 58:2
Those who pronounce thihar among you [to separate] from their wives - they are not [consequently] their mothers. Their mothers are none but those who gave birth to them. And indeed, they are saying an objectionable statement and a falsehood. But indeed, Allah is Pardoning and Forgiving.
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 the words of the Exalted: الَّذِينَ يُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ مَا هُنَّ أُمَّهَاتِهِمْ إِنْ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ إِلا اللائِي وَلَدْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَقُولُونَ مُنْكَرًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَزُورًا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورٌ (Those among you who separate from their wives by ẓihār — they are not their mothers; their mothers are only those who gave birth to them. And they indeed speak a reprehensible word and a falsehood. And truly, Allah is indeed Pardoning, Forgiving) (2).
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: those who forbid their wives to themselves just as Allah has forbidden them the backs of their mothers, and who therefore say to them: "You are to us as the backs of our mothers" — and that was the divorce (ṭalāq) of the man from his wife in the time of ignorance (jāhiliyya).
Thus Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb related to us, on the authority of Abū Qilāba, who said: The ẓihār in the time of ignorance was a divorce; when one of them pronounced it, he never again returned to his wife. Then Allah, mighty and exalted is He, revealed concerning that what He revealed.
The reciters differed in the recitation of this. The general reciters of Medina, except Nāfiʿ, and the general reciters of Kūfa, with the exception of ʿĀṣim, recited it as ( يَظَّاهرونَ ) with a fatḥa on the yāʾ, a doubling (tashdīd) of the ẓāʾ, and the retention of the alif. They likewise recited the other word in the same way, with the meaning of "yatazāharūn" (they pretend mutually); then the tāʾ was assimilated into the ẓāʾ, so that it became one doubled ẓāʾ. It has been reported that in the recitation of Ubayy it reads ( يَتَظَاهَرونَ ), and that is a confirmation and strengthening of this recitation. Nāfiʿ and Abū ʿAmr likewise recited it with a fatḥa on the yāʾ and a doubling of the ẓāʾ, except that they recited it without an alif: ( يَظَّهَّرونَ ). And ʿĀṣim recited it as ( يُظاهِرُونَ ) with a light (non-doubled) ẓāʾ, a ḍamma on the yāʾ, and the retention of the alif.
The correct view concerning this, in my judgment, is that all these recitations are close to one another in meaning. As for ( يَظَّاهَرون ): that is derived from "tazāhara," thus "yatazāhar." As for ( يَظَّهَّرُونَ ): that is derived from "tazahhara," thus "yatazahhar," after which the tāʾ was assimilated into the ẓāʾ, so that one says "yaẓẓahhar." As for ( يُظاهِرُونَ ): that is derived from "ẓāhara yuẓāhir." With whichever of these three recitations the reciter recites it, he is correct.
And His words: مَا هُنَّ أُمَّهَاتِهِمْ (they are not their mothers) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: their wives, from whom they separate by ẓihār, are not their mothers, that they should say to them: "You are to us as the back of our mothers"; rather, they are lawful (ḥalāl) to them.
And His words: إِنْ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ إِلا اللائِي وَلَدْنَهُمْ (their mothers are only those who gave birth to them) — not those to whom they said that.
And His words: وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَقُولُونَ مُنْكَرًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَزُورًا (and they indeed speak a reprehensible word and a falsehood) — He, whose praise is exalted, says: and these men indeed speak a reprehensible word, the correctness of which is not acknowledged; and "zūr": that means falsehood.
As Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning مُنْكَرًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَزُورًا (a reprehensible word and a falsehood), he said: "al-zūr" is the falsehood. وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورٌ (and truly, Allah is indeed Pardoning, Forgiving) — He, whose praise is exalted, says: Allah is indeed One who pardons and remits the sins of His servants when they repent of them and turn back to Him; forgiving toward them, so that He does not punish them for it after the repentance.
