Surah 4. An-Nisaa, Ayah 19
| يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَرِثُوا النِّسَاءَ كَرْهًا ۖ وَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ لِتَذْهَبُوا بِبَعْضِ مَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُبَيِّنَةٍ ۚ وَعَاشِرُوهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ۚ فَإِنْ كَرِهْتُمُوهُنَّ فَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا |
| Transliteration | : | yaa 'ayyuhaa 'alladhena 'aamano laa yah.ill la- -kum 'an taritho an- nisaa' karh(an) wa- laa tacd.ulo -hunna li- tadhhabo bi- bacd. maa 'aataytumo -hunna 'illaa 'an ya'tena bi- faah.ishah mubayyinah wa- caashiro -hunna bi- al- macrof fa- 'in karihtumo -hunna fa- casaa 'an takraho shay'(an) wa- yajcal 'allaah fe -hi khayr(an) kather(an) |
| 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. |
| Asad | : | O YOU who have attained to faith! It is not lawful for you to [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 them, unless it be that they have become guilty, in an obvious manner, of immoral conduct.18 And consort with your wives19 in a goodly manner; for if you dislike them, it may well be that you dislike something which God might yet make a source of20 abundant good. |
| Malik | : | O believers! It is not lawful for you consider women as a part of your inheritance and retain them against their will in order that you may force them to give up a part of the dowry you have given them, unless they are guilty of proven fornication. Treat them with kindness even if you dislike them; it is quite possible that you dislike something in which Allah has placed much 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. 527 528 |
Note - 17According 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 custom 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.
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Note - 18In the event that a wife's immoral conduct has been
proved 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 has 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
|
Note - 19Lit., "with them".
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Note - 20Lit., "and God might place in it".
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Note - 527Among 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.
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Note - 528Another 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.
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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 custom 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. |
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In the event that a wife's immoral conduct has been proved 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 has 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 |
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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. |
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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. |
