يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ أَن تَرِثُوا النِّسَاءَ كَرْهًا ۖ وَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ لِتَذْهَبُوا بِبَعْضِ مَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ ۚ وَعَاشِرُوهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ۚ فَإِن كَرِهْتُمُوهُنَّ فَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا ﴿١٩﴾
O you who believe, it is not lawful for you that you forcibly take women as inheritance. And do not hold on to them so that you may get away with some of what you have given them, unless they commit a clearly shameful act. And live with them in kindness. For if you dislike them, then it is quite likely that you dislike something and Allah has placed a lot of good in it. (Surah Nisaa v19)
Previously, in this surah, a series of injunctions related to women were outlined. This verse provides further directives against the injustices suffered by women at the hands of their husbands during his lifetime and his heirs after his death.
During jaahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era of ignorance), men would assume ownership over the lives and wealth of women to such an extent that a woman taken in marriage was passed on to the heirs of the husband as a piece of property after his death. They were considered as the new owners and inheritors of his property and his wife. They could either personally marry her or give her in marriage to somebody else in lieu of some wealth, which they would receive. In fact, the husband’s son from another wife could himself marry his step mother after the death of his father.
This unjust practice led to numerous other social ills, including:
1. Depriving women of their inherited property or gifts from their parents. Everything received in her name was usurped by the men in her husband’s family.
2. If a widow had somehow taken control of her share of the inheritance, she would be prevented from remarrying, so that the wealth remains within the family, and will eventually come into the ownership of the family men upon her demise.
3. In some instances, if the husband was naturally disinclined towards his wife, and not because of any shortcoming on her part, then, despite not treating her as his wife by affording her the rights which she is entitled to, he would not release her from the marriage through divorce. This was merely to harass her to the limit that she was forced to return the jewellery and dowry he had given her.
4. On occasions, following the death of her husband, his heirs would not allow his widow to remarry. This was to either satisfy their false sense of prestige, or to let her go only after securing some monetary gain for themselves.
As explained above, all these injustices were perpetrated on the basis of the assumption that a man owned not only the property but also the very life of the woman. Therefore, in the beginning of this verse, the Quraan Majeed struck at the very root of this evil which was the cause of many injustices.
This subject has been further clarified by the statement: “And do not hold on to them so that you may get away with some of what you have given them…” This means: Do not prevent women from marrying with the intention of taking back what you, or a relative, have already given to them as dowry or as a gift.
The next part of the verse, “unless they commit a clearly shameful act” exempts certain situations under which it becomes permissible for the husband to take back what he has given, including the dowry. It means that should a woman commit a clearly shameful act which naturally compels her husband to divorce her, then, this will be a situation in which it will be fine for the husband to hold back on the divorce till she returns the dowry he had given her.
According to Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), Imaam Dhahhaak (rahimahullah) and others, the word, “faahishah (shameful act)”, here means disobedience to the husband and verbal abuses against him; while, Abu Qilaabah and Hasan Basri (rahimahumallah) take it to mean immodesty and adultery.
(Adapted from Ma‘aariful Quraan vol. 2, pg. 347)
In the last portion of this verse, Allah Ta‘ala offers a directive to husbands specifically exhorting them to treat their wives in a kind manner. Moreover, Allah Ta‘ala further exhorts that even if the husbands are no longer keen on being with them – due to some personal preference and not because of any fault of the wife – then they should bear patience and keep the marriage. Instead of breaking the marriage merely because of the disinclination of their heart, they should keep in mind that perhaps there is much more good in the wife that they are overlooking. (Roohul Ma‘aani vol. 3, pg. 379.)
As Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has advised, “No believing male should hate a believing woman (i.e. his wife). If he dislikes one quality of hers, he will be pleased with another.” (Saheeh Muslim #3645)