Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Chapter 65: Surah al-Talaq
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
(O Prophet! When ye (men) put away women, put them away for their (legal) period…) [65:1].
Qatadah reported that Anas said: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, divorced
Hafsah and so Allah, exalted is, revealed this verse. It was said to him: ‘Take her back, for she is one who
fasts often and stands up in night vigil prayer’ often, and she is one of your wives in the Garden’ ”. 1
Al-Suddi said: “This verse was revealed about ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar who divorced his wife while she was
in her menses. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, ordered him to take her back
and keep her until the period of her menses was over and then wait again until she was in her menses.
When she became pure, he was free to divorce her provided that he did not sleep with her before that,
for this was the waiting period which Allah has commanded to observe”.
Mansur ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad al-Shalanji> Abu ‘Amr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hiri> Muhammad
ibn Zanjawayh> ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Yahya> al-Layth ibn Sa‘d> Nafi‘> Ibn ‘Umar who divorced
his wife one single divorce while she was still in her menses. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him
and give him peace, commanded him to keep her until the period of her menses was over. He had then
to wait until she was in her period, and if he was still determined to divorce, he had to wait until her period
was over, provided that he did not sleep with her before divorcing her. This was the waiting period
in which Allah, exalted is He, has ordered that women be divorced. 2 This was narrated by Bukhari and
Muslim from Qutaybah and al-Layth respectively.
(And whosoever keepeth his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him, And will provide
for him from (a quarter) whence he hath no expectation) [65:3].
This verse was revealed about ‘Awf ibn Malik al-Ashja‘i whose son was imprisoned by the idolaters. He
went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and complained to him about his
poverty, saying: “The enemy has imprisoned my son and his mother is very distressed, what do you advise
me to do” The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to him: “Be fearful of Allah and
be patient. I also command you and your wife to often repeat ‘there is no strength or might except by
Allah’ ”. So he went home and said to his wife: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him
peace, commanded both of us to often repeat ‘there is no strength or might except by Allah’ ”. She said:
“How good is that with which he has commanded us!” And they both started saying it straightaway. It
happened that the enemy became distracted from their son and the latter led their sheep away and fled.
He brought these sheep to his father; they were four thousand heads. This verse was revealed about this
incident.
‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abdan informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Nu‘aym> Abu’l-Qasim al-Hasan
ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Sakuni> ‘Ubayd ibn Kathir al-‘Amiri> ‘Abbad ibn Ya‘qub> Yahya ibn
Adam> Isra’il> ‘Ammar ibn Mu‘awiyah> Salim ibn Abi al-Ja‘d> Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah who said: “This
verse (And whosoever keepeth his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him, And will provide for
him from (a quarter) whence he hath no expecation) was revealed about a man from Ashja‘. This man
was poor but had numerous children. He went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him
peace, and asked him for help. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, told him: ‘Fear Allah
1
Tabari, :132; Qurtubi, :148, Durr, :189.
2
Tabari, :131; Qurtubi, :148; Durr, :189.