Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (172)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

“If you wish to replace one wife with another and have given one of them a great amount of wealth, do not take any of it back. Would you take it through slander and manifest sin? * How could you take it when you have been intimate with one another and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?” ⦗173⦘

Rather, whenever “you wish to replace one wife with another”—that is, to divorce one wife and marry another—there is no sin or blame upon you for doing so. But if “you have given one of them”—whether the wife from whom you are separating or the one whom you married—“a great amount of wealth,” then “do not take any of it back.” Instead, give it to them in full and do not delay payment to them.

This verse indicates that giving a large bridal gift is not forbidden, although it is better and more fitting to follow the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by keeping bridal gifts modest. This is indicated by the fact that Allah mentions something they may do without condemning them for it, showing that it is not forbidden. [However, a large bridal gift may be prohibited if it entails religious harm for which there is no countervailing benefit.] (1)

He then said, “Would you take it through slander and manifest sin?” This is not lawful, even if you resort to every kind of subterfuge to obtain it, for its sinfulness is plain.

Allah Most High then explained the wisdom behind this, saying, “How could you take it when you have been intimate with one another and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?” The explanation is that, before the marriage contract, the wife was unlawful to the husband, and she consented to become lawful to him only in return for the bridal gift he paid her. Once he has consummated the marriage, been intimate with her, and engaged in the relations that had previously been unlawful—and which she consented to grant only for that compensation—he has received that for which the compensation was paid, and the compensation therefore becomes binding upon him.

How, then, can he receive that for which he paid and afterward reclaim the payment? This is among the gravest forms of injustice and oppression. Moreover, through the marriage contract, Allah has taken from husbands a solemn covenant to uphold their wives’ rights. Then Allah Most High said:

(1) An addition from the margin of manuscript B.

﴿وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَكَانَ زَوْجٍ وَآتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ قِنْطَارًا فَلا تَأْخُذُوا مِنْهُ شَيْئًا أَتَأْخُذُونَهُ بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا * وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَى بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ وَأَخَذْنَ مِنْكُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا﴾ . ⦗١٧٣⦘ بل متى ﴿أَرَدْتُمُ اسْتِبْدَالَ زَوْجٍ مَكَانَ زَوْجٍ﴾ أي: تطليقَ زوجة وتزوجَ أخرى. أي: فلا جناح عليكم في ذلك ولا حرج. ولكن إذا ﴿آتَيْتُمْ إِحْدَاهُنَّ﴾ أي: المفارقة أو التي تزوجها ﴿قِنْطَارًا﴾ أي: مالا كثيرا. ﴿فَلا تَأْخُذُوا مِنْهُ شَيْئًا﴾ بل وفروه لهن ولا تمطلوا بهن. وفي هذه الآية دلالة على عدم تحريم كثرة المهر، مع أن الأفضل واللائق الاقتداءُ بالنبي ﷺ في تخفيف المهر. ووجه الدلالة أن الله أخبر عن أمر يقع منهم، ولم ينكره عليهم، فدل على عدم تحريمه [لكن قد ينهي عن كثرة الصداق إذا تضمن مفسدة دينية وعدم مصلحة تقاوم] (١) . ثم قال: ﴿أَتَأْخُذُونَهُ بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا﴾ فإن هذا لا يحل ولو تحيلتم عليه بأنواع الحيل، فإن إثمه واضح. وقد بين تعالى حكمة ذلك بقوله: ﴿وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُ وَقَدْ أَفْضَى بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ وَأَخَذْنَ مِنْكُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا﴾ وبيان ذلك: أن الزوجة قبل عقد النكاح محرمة على الزوج ولم ترض بحلها له إلا بذلك المهر الذي يدفعه لها، فإذا دخل بها وأفضى إليها وباشرها المباشرة التي كانت حراما قبل ذلك، والتي لم ترض ببذلها إلا بذلك العوض، فإنه قد استوفى المعوض فثبت عليه العوض. فكيف يستوفي المعوض ثم بعد ذلك يرجع على العوض؟ هذا من أعظم الظلم والجور، وكذلك أخذ الله على الأزواج ميثاقا غليظا بالعقد، والقيام بحقوقها. ثم قال تعالى:

(١) زيادة من هامش ب.