Aishah then rose and washed the other side of his head. The woman said, “Look into my case—may Allah make me your ransom, O Prophet of Allah.” Aishah said, “Keep your speech and argument brief. Do you not see the face of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?” Whenever revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he would be overcome by a state resembling stupor. When the revelation had ended, he said to her, “Call your husband.” So she called him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, recited to him: “Allah has certainly heard the statement of the woman who disputes with you,” and the following verses. (1)

Aishah said, “Blessed is He whose hearing encompasses every voice. The woman was speaking with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while I was in another part of the house: I could hear some of what she said, but some of it escaped me, when Allah revealed, ‘Allah has certainly heard,’ and the following verses.” (2)

The meaning of His words, “the statement of the woman who disputes with you,” is that she argues with you, converses with you, and repeatedly pleads with you concerning her husband. “And complains to Allah, while Allah hears the conversation between you both,” means your mutual exchange of speech. “Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing”: He hears what she privately implores and beseeches Him for, and He sees the one who complains to Him. Allah then censured zihar, saying: “Those among you who pronounce zihar upon their wives.”

“Those among you who pronounce zihar upon their wives—their wives are not their mothers; their mothers are only those who gave birth to them. They are certainly uttering an abhorrent and false statement. Yet Allah is indeed Most Pardoning, Most Forgiving.” (2)

In the words, “Those among you who pronounce zihar upon their wives,” Asim recited it as yuzahiruna, with an initial u sound, an ungeminated z, an a following it, and an i sound on the h. Ibn Amir, Abu Jafar, Hamzah, and al-Kisa'i recited it as yazzaharuna, with an initial a sound, a doubled z, an a following it, and an a sound on the h. The remaining reciters read it as yazzaharuna, with an initial a sound and doubled z and h, without an a following the z.

“Their wives are not their mothers”: that is, the wives whom they declare to be like mothers are not their mothers. The final t in “their mothers” is read in the genitive as the predicate of “not,” although its syntactic position is accusative, as in His words, “This is not a human being” (Joseph 31). The meaning is: they are not their mothers. “Their mothers are only those who gave birth to them”: that is, their mothers are only those who gave birth to them. “They are certainly uttering an abhorrent statement”: one that is not recognized in any revealed law. “And a falsehood”: that is, a lie. “Yet Allah is indeed Most Pardoning, Most Forgiving”: He pardoned and forgave them by making expiation obligatory upon them.

The form of zihar is for a man to say to his wife, “You are to me like my mother’s back,” or, “You are, from me,” “with me,” or “in my presence,” “like my mother’s back.” Likewise, if he says, “You are to me like my mother’s belly, my mother’s head, or my mother’s hand,” or says, “Your belly, head, or hand is to me like my mother’s back,” or likens one of her body parts to another of his mother’s body parts, this constitutes zihar.