Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– “I might have intercourse with my wife” (uṣību imraʾatī): the verb aṣāba min al-marʾa is an idiom meaning to kiss or have relations with her—that is, to satisfy one’s desire.
– “Something became uncovered to me” (inkashafa lī shayʾ): a part of her adornment appeared to me in a way that tempted intimacy. In the wording of Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī he said, “I saw her anklet in the moonlight.”
– “He lay with her” (waqaʿa ʿalayhā): he had intercourse with his wife.
– “Free a slave” (ḥarrir raqabah): ḥarrara, yuḥarriru, taḥrīr-an means to deliver someone from bondage into freedom. The command, therefore, is to emancipate a slave completely; the neck is mentioned because it is where the fetter that symbolizes slavery is placed.
– “Farq” (farqan; pl. farqān): al-Miṣbāḥ states that a farq is a container holding sixteen ratls, i.e., three ṣāʿs according to the Prophetic ṣāʿ.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – Ẓihār is forbidden. As for this man who pronounced it, either he had not yet learned of its prohibition, or he regarded daytime intercourse in Ramadan as more serious than ẓihār and so sought to protect himself from intercourse by resorting to it.
2 – In reality he declared ẓihār and then had intercourse, committing two grave sins, so he came to the Prophet ﷺ to find a solution to his dilemma.
3 – He arrived remorseful, repentant, and fearful; therefore the Prophet ﷺ did not scold him but instead issued a ruling that would atone for his sin. The expiation for intercourse after ẓihār is obligatorily ordered as follows:
First: the emancipation of a believing slave; if he cannot find one or afford the price,
Second: fasting two consecutive months; if he is unable,
Third: feeding sixty needy people—one mudd of wheat per person, or half a ṣāʿ of any other staple.