he wishes, without saying anything.
Allah’s saying, exalted is He, “Allah knows that you will have them in mind; but do not make secret promises to them”: The scholars differed concerning the prohibited “secret promise.” Some said that it means fornication: a man would enter upon a woman intending to commit fornication with her, while alluding to marriage and saying to her, “Let me be with you, and when you have completed your waiting period, I shall make your marriage public.” This was the view of al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ibrahim, and ʿAtaʾ, and is related from Ibn ʿAbbas through ʿAtiyyah. Zayd ibn Aslam said: He must not marry her secretly and keep her as his wife, then, once she becomes lawful for marriage, make this public.
Mujahid said: It means for a man to say, “Do not let yourself get away from me, for I shall marry you.” Al-Shaʿbi and al-Suddi said: He must not take from her a pledge that she will not marry anyone else. ʿIkrimah said: He must neither marry her nor propose to her during the waiting period.
Al-Shafiʿi said: The “secret” means sexual intercourse. Al-Kalbi said: It means that men should not describe themselves to women as having frequent sexual intercourse, saying, “I can come to you four or five times,” and the like. The word “secret” may be used to mean sexual intercourse, as Imruʾ al-Qays said:
“Has Basbasah claimed among the people
that I have grown old, and that men like me no longer perform the secret act well?”
Fornication and sexual intercourse are called a “secret” because they take place in concealment between a man and a woman.
Allah’s saying, “except that you speak fitting words,” means the indirect proposals of marriage mentioned above.
Allah’s saying, “And do not resolve upon the marriage bond until the prescribed term has reached its end,” means: Do not firmly determine to conclude the marriage contract during the waiting period, until the prescribed term has ended—that is, until the waiting period has expired. Allah called it a prescribed term because it is an obligation from Allah, as in His saying, “It has been prescribed for you,” meaning, “It has been made obligatory upon you.” “Know that Allah knows what is within yourselves, so beware of Him,” meaning: fear Allah. “And know that Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Forbearing”: He does not hasten punishment.
“There is no blame upon you if you divorce women before consummating the marriage with them or assigning them a dower. But provide for them: the affluent according to his means and the straitened according to his means—a provision in a fitting manner, a duty upon those who do good.” (236)
Allah’s saying, “There is no blame upon you if you divorce women before consummating the marriage with them or assigning them a dower,” means: before you have consummated the marriage with them and before you have assigned them a dower. This was revealed concerning a man from the Ansar who married a woman from Banu Hanifah without naming a dower for her, then divorced her before consummating the marriage. Thus this verse was revealed, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him: 40/A “Give her a compensatory gift, even if it be your cap.” (1)
Hamzah and al-Kisaʾi recited the verb here and in Surat al-Ahzab as tumāssūhunna (“you mutually touch them”), with an alif, indicating mutual action, because the body of each of the two meets the body of the other, as Allah, exalted is He, said: “before the two have touched one another” (3, Surat al-Mujadilah). The remaining reciters read it as tamassūhunna.