Overview (Verses 20 - 22)

Marriage Conditions to Be Always Respected
 
If you wish to take one wife in place of another and you have given the first one a large sum of money, do not take away anything of it. Would you take it away though that constitutes a gross injustice and a manifest sin? How can you take it away when each of you has been privy with the other, and they have received from you a most solemn pledge? Do not marry women whom your fathers have previously married, unless it be a thing of the past. Surely, that is an indecent, abominable and evil practice. (Verses 20- 22)
 
When such human ideals are put into practice, and it is found, nevertheless, that life in the family home has become intolerable and that it may be better for both the man and his wife to separate, then a divorced woman takes all her dowry and whatever she has inherited. The husband cannot take away any part of it, plentiful as it may be. To take away any part of it is evidently sinful: “If you wish to take one wife in place of another and you have given the first one a large sum of money, do not take away anything of it. Would you take it away though that constitutes a gross injustice and a manifest sin?” (Verse 20)
 
This is followed by a fine touch inspired by the close intimacy which exists in family life: “How can you take it away when each of you has been privy with the other, and they have received from you a most solemn pledge?” (Verse 21) The Arabic expression used here and which we have rendered as “being privy with the other” has much wider and finer connotations. It is by no means limited to physical intimacy. It does not merely mean that a couple have given themselves to one another. It includes feelings, responses and the sharing of secrets, problems and concerns. When we reflect on this verse, numerous images of married life come to mind, depicting what happens between a man and his wife at every moment of the night and day. Past memories are recalled. They have been privy with one another in their expressions of love, in their happy moments, in what they had shared of hopes and problems, in their aspirations for a happier present and a brighter future, in their shared thoughts about their children.
 
Compared with all these associations and memories which are recalled by the expression “when each of you has been privy with the other,” the importance of physical love seems too small. Hence, the divorcing husband would be too shy to ask for a refund of part of the dowry he gave to his wife.
 
Another factor is introduced by the last part of this verse: “And they have received from you it most solemn pledge” (Verse 21) That pledge is the pledge of marriage. Marriage which is given in the name of God and according to the method He has made lawful. It is a very solemn pledge that must be respected and cherished by every believer. Hence, the Qur’ān calls on believers to respect it.
 
The next verse forbids, most emphatically, a man’s marriage with a woman whom his father had married before him. Such a practice was allowed in pre-Islamic Arabia. Moreover, it was one reason for barring women from marriage. If a man died, leaving behind a young son, the family could bar the young boy’s stepmother from marriage until he, himself, was old enough to marry her. Alternatively, if the son was old enough to marry, he could inherit his stepmother. Islam forbids all this most emphatically: “Do not marry women whom your fathers have previously married, unless it be a thing of the past. Surely, that is an indecent, abominable and evil practice.” (Verse 22)
 
Three easily identifiable considerations lie behind this prohibition. We, as human beings do not pretend to know every reason for Divine legislation. Nor do we make it a condition of obeying God’s legislation that we should know the wisdom behind it. It is sufficient that God has decreed something for us to obey and implement it. We are certain that it serves our interests and that Divine wisdom is behind it.
 
The first consideration is that a father’s wife is in the same position as a mother. Secondly, when a son marries a former wife of his father, he subconsciously feels himself to be his equal. Many people come to hate the former husbands of their wives. If a son is allowed to marry his father’s former wife, he may come to hate his father instead of loving him. Thirdly, there must never be any suspicion of inheriting one’s father’s wife, in the same way as it was practised in pre-Islamic days. As we have already said, such inheritance is an insult to the humanity of both man and woman. They have been created from a single soul, and their dignity and honour are the same.
 
For these reasons, and others as well, such action is considered to be very hateful. It is described as indecent, abominable, i.e. generating hatred, and evil. Exemption is only made in the case of marriages contracted before Islam. These have been left for God’s decision.

Overview (Verses 20 - 22)

Marriage Conditions to Be Always Respected
 
If you wish to take one wife in place of another and you have given the first one a large sum of money, do not take away anything of it. Would you take it away though that constitutes a gross injustice and a manifest sin? How can you take it away when each of you has been privy with the other, and they have received from you a most solemn pledge? Do not marry women whom your fathers have previously married, unless it be a thing of the past. Surely, that is an indecent, abominable and evil practice. (Verses 20- 22)
 
When such human ideals are put into practice, and it is found, nevertheless, that life in the family home has become intolerable and that it may be better for both the man and his wife to separate, then a divorced woman takes all her dowry and whatever she has inherited. The husband cannot take away any part of it, plentiful as it may be. To take away any part of it is evidently sinful: “If you wish to take one wife in place of another and you have given the first one a large sum of money, do not take away anything of it. Would you take it away though that constitutes a gross injustice and a manifest sin?” (Verse 20)
 
This is followed by a fine touch inspired by the close intimacy which exists in family life: “How can you take it away when each of you has been privy with the other, and they have received from you a most solemn pledge?” (Verse 21) The Arabic expression used here and which we have rendered as “being privy with the other” has much wider and finer connotations. It is by no means limited to physical intimacy. It does not merely mean that a couple have given themselves to one another. It includes feelings, responses and the sharing of secrets, problems and concerns. When we reflect on this verse, numerous images of married life come to mind, depicting what happens between a man and his wife at every moment of the night and day. Past memories are recalled. They have been privy with one another in their expressions of love, in their happy moments, in what they had shared of hopes and problems, in their aspirations for a happier present and a brighter future, in their shared thoughts about their children.
 
Compared with all these associations and memories which are recalled by the expression “when each of you has been privy with the other,” the importance of physical love seems too small. Hence, the divorcing husband would be too shy to ask for a refund of part of the dowry he gave to his wife.
 
Another factor is introduced by the last part of this verse: “And they have received from you it most solemn pledge” (Verse 21) That pledge is the pledge of marriage. Marriage which is given in the name of God and according to the method He has made lawful. It is a very solemn pledge that must be respected and cherished by every believer. Hence, the Qur’ān calls on believers to respect it.
 
The next verse forbids, most emphatically, a man’s marriage with a woman whom his father had married before him. Such a practice was allowed in pre-Islamic Arabia. Moreover, it was one reason for barring women from marriage. If a man died, leaving behind a young son, the family could bar the young boy’s stepmother from marriage until he, himself, was old enough to marry her. Alternatively, if the son was old enough to marry, he could inherit his stepmother. Islam forbids all this most emphatically: “Do not marry women whom your fathers have previously married, unless it be a thing of the past. Surely, that is an indecent, abominable and evil practice.” (Verse 22)
 
Three easily identifiable considerations lie behind this prohibition. We, as human beings do not pretend to know every reason for Divine legislation. Nor do we make it a condition of obeying God’s legislation that we should know the wisdom behind it. It is sufficient that God has decreed something for us to obey and implement it. We are certain that it serves our interests and that Divine wisdom is behind it.
 
The first consideration is that a father’s wife is in the same position as a mother. Secondly, when a son marries a former wife of his father, he subconsciously feels himself to be his equal. Many people come to hate the former husbands of their wives. If a son is allowed to marry his father’s former wife, he may come to hate his father instead of loving him. Thirdly, there must never be any suspicion of inheriting one’s father’s wife, in the same way as it was practised in pre-Islamic days. As we have already said, such inheritance is an insult to the humanity of both man and woman. They have been created from a single soul, and their dignity and honour are the same.
 
For these reasons, and others as well, such action is considered to be very hateful. It is described as indecent, abominable, i.e. generating hatred, and evil. Exemption is only made in the case of marriages contracted before Islam. These have been left for God’s decision.