and consultation”—that is, they consult those knowledgeable in the matter, until they inform them that weaning at that time will not harm the child. Consultation means eliciting sound advice. “Then there is no blame upon them”: that is, there is no sin upon them for weaning the child before the completion of two years.

“And if you wish to have your children nursed by other women”: that is, to seek wet nurses for your children other than their mothers, if their mothers refuse to nurse them, or are unable to do so because of some condition affecting them—such as the cessation of their milk—or if they desire marriage. “There is no blame upon you if you pay”—to their mothers—“what you have agreed to give”: that is, the nursing wage stipulated for them, in proportion to the nursing they have provided.

It was also said that it means: if you pay the wet nurses their wages in a fair manner. Ibn Kathīr recited “what you have done,” and likewise in Sūrat al-Rūm: “And whatever you do as ribā” (39—al-Rūm), with a shortened alif. Its meaning is: what you have done. One says, “I did a good deed,” meaning, I performed it. According to this recitation, “pay” means obedience and compliance, not the payment of wages; that is, if you submit to His command and comply with His ruling. It was also said that it means: if you agree to place the child with a wet nurse by mutual consent and agreement, without causing harm. “And fear Allah, and know that Allah sees all that you do.”