His statement, “and it is the return,” refers to the return mentioned in Allah’s saying, “then they go back on what they have said” [al-Mujādilah 58:3]. It means intercourse. The scholars have differed greatly over this issue, and the view adopted by the author is the first opinion.

The second opinion is that the meaning of His saying, “then they go back on what they have said,” is that they say it a second time. Here, mā is a verbal particle; that is, they return to saying it. Thus, if he says, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” but does not say it a second time, then no expiation is due from him, because Allah says, “then they go back on what they have said.” What they said was the formula of ẓihār. This is the view of the Ẓāhiriyyah: that the return consists in repeating the wording a second time.

This opinion is incorrect, because it entails that the initial wording of ẓihār has no legal effect whatsoever. Moreover, had what they claim been intended, it would have said, “then they repeat what they have said.” For if “return” is understood to mean pronouncing ẓihār a second time, its meaning becomes repetition; thus, the eloquent expression would be, “then they repeat what they have said.” But this is not how the verse is worded.

The third opinion is that the verse means returning to the wife, by retaining her after ẓihār for a period in which he could divorce her. Thus, if he says, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” and then remains silent for a period in which he could say, “You are divorced,” but does not divorce her, he is considered to have returned to what he said. According to this view, the form of return is that he says, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” and then remains silent. If, after these words, he remains silent for a period in which he could say, “You are divorced,” then the expiation becomes obligatory upon him, because retaining her after ẓihār is evidence that he has retracted what he said, since