"And those among you who pass away and leave wives behind are to make a will in favour of their wives to benefit them for one year without being expelled. Then, if they move out, there is no sin on you in what they have done for themselves of the recognized practice. And Allah is Mighty, Wise. And the divorced women deserve a benefit as recognized, being an obligation on the God-fearing. This is how Allah makes His verses clear to you, that you may understand." (2:240-242)

The text now returns to the subject of divorce mentioned in verses 234-237. The command to take due care of all prayers (verses 238-239) put in between was to remind that the real thing in life is a constant orientation towards Allah, not only in prayers where it is more pronounced, but also in social relationships such as marriage and divorce, rather, in all areas of one's life. The message is: Follow rules set by Allah in your ultimate interest. Verses 240-242 cited above give guidance on the provision of residence and maintenance for widows which has been explained in the commentary which follows.

1) In the Age of Ignorance, the period of waiting for a widow was one year, and in Islam, it came to be four months and ten days rather than one full year as we already know from: 'They keep themselves waiting for four months and ten days,' in Verse 234, explained earlier. However, women were given a certain advantage in this respect. Those were the days when the injunction of inheritance was not revealed and a wife's share in the inheritance was yet to be determined; in fact, the rights of all others simply revolved around the will of the deceased, as we have already learnt from the explanation of the verse 2:180. Therefore, it was made obligatory that a woman should be allowed to live in the premises of her late husband's house for one full year if she so desires. It was also mandatory under this arrangement that she be given her maintenance during this period out of what has been left behind by her husband.

This rule is mentioned in this verse. Husbands have been instructed to make wills to this effect. Since this was the right of the woman and she had the choice to receive or leave it, therefore, it was not permissible for the inheritors to evict her out of the house, but it was permissible for her not to live in that house at her discretion, and leave her due for the inheritors. The condition, however, was that 'iddah or the waiting period of four months and ten days be completed. After the completion of this period she could leave the house of her husband and could enter into a new marriage with another person. This is what is meant by the Qur'anic expression: "Then, if they move out, there is no sin on you in what they have done for themselves of the recognized practice." However, going out during the period of 'iddah and getting married was all counted as sin -- not only for the woman concerned but also for those who could stop her yet did not do so. When 'the verse of inheritance' was revealed, the woman received her ordained share in the house and in all other items of inheritance on the strength of which she had the choice to live in her section of the house and spend out of her share in the inheritance after the completion of four months and ten days, and this verse was abrogated.

Verse 241: The Divorced Women Deserve A Benefit

Providing compensatory benefits (mataa') for divorced women has also been dealt with in verses earlier than this, but that was restricted to two types of divorced women who were divorced before privacy and consummation. The first case of providing compensatory benefits was the giving of a set of clothes. The second case was of providing compensatory benefit in the form of half of the dower. Now remains the case of divorcees who were divorced after privacy arid consummation. Here, providing compensatory benefits to one whose dower has already been fixed lies in giving her the full amount of dower or mahr. For one whose dower has not already been fixed, a postconsummation divorce will make it obligatory to give her mahr almithl or 'equivalent dower' (as customarily given in the immediate family circle of the woman). If the word 'benefit' used in this verse is taken to mean 'dower', its payment is obligatory according to these details. However, if we take mata' to mean a particular benefit, that is, the giving of a gift or set of clothes, then giving this to a particular type of divorced woman is obligatory which has been pointed out earlier. In the rest of the cases, this is mustahabb or desirable. And should matd' be taken to mean maintenance or nafaqah, then it is obligatory until the expiry of 'iddah in the case of a divorce after which 'iddah has to be observed. The divorce may be revocable or irrevocable it does not matter. To sum up, the verse, by using universally applicable words, covers all situations.

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 6th September 2011

0 Comments