Sura-4 [Al Nissa Medina 92]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ
آمَنُواْ
لاَ
يَحِلُّ
لَكُمْ
أَن
تَرِثُواْ
النِّسَاء
كَرْهًا...
4:19. O ye who believe!
ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will.
C527. Among many nations, including Arabs in the Days of Ignorance, a step-son or brother took possession of a dead man's widow or widows along with his goods and chattels. This shameful custom is forbidden.
See also 4:22 below.
... وَلاَ تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ لِتَذْهَبُواْ بِبَعْضِ مَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ إِلاَّ أَن يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ ...
Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower ye have given them, except where they have been guilty of open lewdness;
C528. Another trick, to detract from the freedom of married women was to treat them badly and force them to sue for a Khul'a divorce (see 2:229, n. 258) or
its equivalent in pre-Islamic custom, when the dower could be claimed back. This is also forbidden. Or
the harshness may be exercised in another way: a divorced woman may be prevented by those who have control of her, from remarrying unless she remits her dower.
All kinds of harshness are forbidden.
... وَعَاشِرُوهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ...
on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity.
... فَإِن كَرِهْتُمُوهُنَّ فَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ﴿١٩﴾
If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good.
وَإِنْ
أَرَدتُّمُ
اسْتِبْدَالَ
زَوْجٍ
مَّكَانَ
زَوْجٍ
وَآتَيْتُمْ
إِحْدَاهُنَّ
قِنطَارًا
فَلاَ
تَأْخُذُواْ
مِنْهُ
شَيْئًا...
4:20. But if ye decide to take one wife in place of another, even if ye had given the latter a whole treasure for dower, take not the least bit of it back:
C529. Treasure: Qintar; a Talent of gold:
see 3:14, first note.
... أَتَأْخُذُونَهُ بُهْتَاناً وَإِثْماً مُّبِيناً ﴿٢٠﴾
would ye take it by slander and a manifest wrong?
وَكَيْفَ
تَأْخُذُونَهُ
وَقَدْ
أَفْضَى
بَعْضُكُمْ
إِلَى
بَعْضٍ
وَأَخَذْنَ
مِنكُم
مِّيثَاقًا
غَلِيظًا
﴿٢١﴾
4:21. And how could ye take it when ye have gone in unto each other, and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?
Asad’s Version:
4: 19 …..It is not lawful for you [try to] become heirs to your wives [by holding onto them] against their will [17]; and neither shall you keep them under constraint with a view to taking away anything of what you may have given t hem, unless it be that they have become guilty, in an obvious manner, of immoral conduct [note 18]. And consort with your wives [note 19] in a goodly manner; for if you dislike them, it may well be that you dislike something which God might yet make a source of [note 20] abundant good.
Yusuf Ali O ye who believe! ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness that ye may take away part of the dower ye have given them except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good.
Pickthall O ye who believe! It is not lawful for you forcibly to inherit the women (of your deceased kinsmen), nor (that) ye should put constraint upon them that ye may take away a part of that which ye have given them, unless they be guilty of flagrant lewdness. But consort with them in kindness, for if ye hate them it may happen that ye hate a thing wherein Allah hath placed much good.
Transliteration Ya_ ayyuhal lazina a_manu_ la_ yahillu lakum an tarisun nisa_'a karha_(n), wa la_ ta'dulu_hunna litazhabu_ bi ba'di ma_ a_taitumu_hunna illa_ ay ya'tina bi fa_hisyatim mubayyinah(tin), wa'a_syiru_hunna bil ma'ru_f(i), fa in karihtumu_hunna fa 'asa_ an takrahu_ syai'aw wa yaj'alalla_hu fihi khairan kasira_(n).
4: 20
Asad But if you desire to give up a wife and to take another in her stead, do not take away anything of what you have given the first one, however much it may have been [note 21]. Would you, perchance, take it away by slandering her and thus committing a manifest sin [note 21]. And how could you take it away after you have given yourselves to one another, and she has [note 23] received a most solemn pledge from you?
Yusuf Ali But if ye decide to take one wife in place of another even if ye had given the latter a whole treasure for dower take not the least bit of it back: would ye take it by slander and a manifest wrong?
Pickthall And if ye wish to exchange one wife for another and ye have given unto one of them a sum of money (however great), take nothing from it. Would ye take it by the way of calumny and open wrong?
Transliteration Wa in arattumustibda_la zaujim maka_na zauj(iw), wa a_taitum ihda_hunna qinta_ran fala_ ta'khuzu_ minhu syai'a_(n), ata'khuzu_nahu_ buhta_naw wa ismam mubina_(n).
4: 21
Yusuf Ali And how could ye take it when ye have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?
Pickthall How can ye take it (back) after one of you hath gone in unto the other, and they have taken a strong pledge from you?
Transliteration Wa kaifa ta'khuzu_nahu_ wa qad afda_ ba'dukum ila_ ba'diw wa akhazna minkum misa_qan galiza_(n).
[[ Asad’s notes – 17: According to one of the interpretations advanced by Zamakhshari, this refers to a man’s forcibly keeping an unloved wife – and thus preventing her from marrying another man –in the hope of inheriting her property under the provisions specified in the first sentence of verse 12 above. Some authorities, however, are of the opinion that the meaning is: “It is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will” – thus expressing a prohibition of the pre-Islamic customs of inheriting the wives of deceased near relatives. But in view of the fact that Islam does not permit the “inheriting” of women under any circumstances (and not only “against their will”), the former interpretation is infinitely more plausible.]
18 – In the event that a wife’s immoral conduct has been proven by the direct evidence of four witnesses, as stipulated in verse 15 above, the husband has the right, on divorcing her, to demand the return of the whole or of part of the dower which he gave her at the time when the marriage was contracted, If –as is permissible under Islamic Law – the dower has not been actually handed over to the bride at the time of marriage but was taken the form of a legal obligation on the part of the husband, he is absolved of this obligation in the case of proven immoral conduct on the part of his wife.
19-Lit., “with them”., 20- Lit., “and God might place in it”.
21 - ….The allusion to the “exchange” of one wife for another is a clear indication of the Quranic view that a monogamous marriage is the desirable norm.
22 – I.e., by falsely accusing her of immoral conduct in the hope of regaining her dower (see note 18 above).
23- Lit., “they have” – the reference being to all married women.]]
[[ Ali’s notes - 527 Among many nations, including Arabs in the Days of Ignorance, a step-son or brother took possession of a dead man's widow or widows along with his goods and chattels. This shameful custom is forbidden. See also iv. 22 below. (4.19)
528 Another trick, to detract from the freedom of married women was to treat them badly and force them to sue for a Khul'a divorce (see ii. 229, n. 258) or its equivalent in pre-lslamic custom, when the dower could be claimed back. This is also forbidden. Or the harshness may be exercised in another way: a divorced woman may be prevented by those who have control of her, from remarrying unless she remits her dower. All kinds of harshness are forbidden. (4.19)
529 Treasure: Qintar = a Talent of gold: see iii. 14, first note. (4.20) ]