“Do not turn them out of their homes”: here Allah prohibits driving a divorced woman out of the marital house before her waiting-period ends. The verse establishes that a divorced woman is to observe her ʿiddah in the very home in which she lived with her husband and is not to leave it. If the divorce is revocable (rajʿī), she remains a wife in every legal sense; her husband may still take her back, and the Lawgiver wishes to keep that door open because of the benefits it brings. If the divorce is irrevocable (bāʾin), the scholars differ over whether housing is obligatory for her. The outward sense of the verse indicates that accommodation is still due to her, though the matter is debated. Concerning the revocably divorced woman, however, there is no disagreement: she is entitled to housing and maintenance, for she is still a wife.

“And they themselves should not depart—unless they commit a flagrant indecency.” The “flagrant indecency” (al-fāḥishah al-mubayyinah) has been interpreted as adultery; others say it refers to coarse, abusive speech against the husband or his family. Should she engage in such conduct, it becomes permissible to expel her from the marital home. The verse is general, encompassing every manifest act of indecency, whether adultery, foul language, or the like.

“These are the limits set by Allah”: that is, the rulings He has defined and clarified for His servants; so abide by them and do not overstep them.

“Whoever oversteps the limits set by Allah has surely wronged himself,” for he has disobeyed Allah and exposed himself to the punishment that follows disobedience.

“You do not know—perhaps Allah will bring about something after that.” Meaning: you cannot know; it may be that Allah will create in the husband a desire to reconcile after the divorce, prompting him to take his wife back and keep her under his protection. Such reconciliation is among the things Allah, exalted is He, may bring about.