of ‘Ali, Ibn ‘Abbas, Jabir, Mu‘adh, and ‘A’ishah. It was also held by Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, ‘Urwah, Shurayh, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, al-Qasim, Tawus, al-Hasan, ‘Ikrimah, ‘Ata’, Sulayman ibn Yasar, Mujahid, al-Sha‘bi, Qatadah, and most of the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them. Al-Shafi‘i also held this view.

It is narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud that the divorce does take effect. This was also the view of Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i and the adherents of juristic opinion.

Rabi‘ah, Malik, and al-Awza‘i said: If he specifies a particular woman, it takes effect; but if he states it generally, it does not take effect.

‘Ikrimah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said: “They have lied about Ibn Mas‘ud. Even if he did say it, it was a slip made by a scholar concerning the man who says, ‘If I marry a certain woman, she is divorced.’ Allah, exalted is He, says: ‘When you marry believing women and then divorce them’; He did not say, ‘When you divorce them and then marry them.’” (1)

Abu Sa‘id al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Tha‘labi informed us; al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Daymuri informed us; ‘Umar ibn Ahmad ibn al-Qasim al-Nahawandi informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir al-Naysaburi informed us in Mecca; al-Rabi‘ ibn Sulayman informed us; Ayyub ibn Suwayd informed us; Ibn Abi Dhi’b informed us from ‘Ata’, from Jabir, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There is no divorce before marriage.” (2)

His saying, exalted is He, “before you have touched them,” means: before you have intercourse with them. “They have no waiting period for you to observe” means: no waiting period for you to calculate by menstrual cycles or months. “So make provision for them” means: give them something by which they may benefit. Ibn ‘Abbas said: This applies if he has not specified a dowry for her, in which case she is entitled to a compensatory gift. But if he has stipulated a dowry for her, then she is entitled to half the dowry and no compensatory gift.

Qatadah said: This verse was abrogated by His saying: “Then half of what you specified” (al-Baqarah 2:237).

It was also said: This is a recommendation; thus, the compensatory gift is recommended for her in addition to half the dowry.

Some held that she is entitled to the compensatory gift in every case, based on the apparent meaning of the verse.

“And release them graciously”: let them go honorably, without causing them harm.

“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses from among those Allah has granted you as spoils of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and maternal aunts who emigrated with you, and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet, should the Prophet wish to marry her—this being exclusively for you, not for the believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess, so that there may be no hardship upon you. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful (50).”

His saying, exalted is He, “O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have given their dowries,” means: their bridal gifts.