and the Quran indicates nothing beyond that, for He says:

“His wives are their mothers.”

And He says:

“Nor may you ever marry his wives after him.”

This also provides a third proof from the verse: the pronoun in His words, “When you ask them,” refers to his wives; slave women are not mentioned in this address. Whether his concubines would be lawful to others after his death, however, requires further consideration.

Section

Anyone who holds that “release” and “separation” are explicit terms of divorce because the Quran uses them in that sense, and who defines explicit terms as those the Quran has used for divorce—as do al-Shāfiʿī, al-Qādī, and others among the jurists of our school—holds a weak position for two reasons.

The first is that there is no evidence for this principle; indeed, it is unsound. In reality, people speak their own languages, which may agree with or differ from the language of the Arabs. These include other varieties of Arabic, whether established or altered in wording or meaning; later-developed Arabic; Arabized speech learned from non-Arabs; and non-Arabic languages. Divorce and similar acts take effect in all these kinds of language, since what matters is the meaning. Such usage may not have been forbidden to them; or it may have been forbidden, but they did not observe the prohibition. That does not, however, give effect to an act they have not performed.

Moreover, the Quran’s use of a word in a particular sense