= Some have claimed that the waw in the phrase wa-n-nahuna ("and those who forbid [evil]") is the so-called “waw of eight,” because it follows the completion of seven previous qualities. Other readings of the verse have also been offered; Ibn al-Qayyim records them and then says: The second passage: “It may be that, if he divorces you, his Lord will replace you with wives better than you: muslimat, mu’minat …” up to “thayyibat wa-abkaran” (Q 66:5). It was alleged that the waw before abkaran is another “waw of eight,” since it comes after the seventh description. That is not the case. The waw is indispensable here because the preceding qualities are meant to be combined in the same women, whereas virginity (bikr) and previous marriage (thayb) cannot coexist in one person. Coordination is therefore required: the verse means that He will marry him to both kinds—previously married women and virgins. The third passage: “They will say, ‘[They were] three, their dog the fourth’; and they will say, ‘[They were] five, their dog the sixth, guessing at the unseen’; and they will say, ‘[They were] seven, and their dog the eighth’ ” (Q 18:22). Some argued that the waw here was inserted solely because of the number eight. Two explanations are possible, the first being this view; Ibn al-Qayyim then mentions a second and proceeds: The fourth passage: “Those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups, until, when they arrive and its gates are opened …” (Q 39:73). It is said that the waw appears because Paradise has eight gates, whereas about Hell He says, “until, when they arrive, its gates are opened” (Q 39:71), Hell having seven. This explanation is extremely strained; nothing in the wording itself points to the number eight so that a special waw should be introduced for it. Rather, the construction belongs to the rhetorical device of omitting the apodosis for an elegant purpose, and so forth.