Giving the Dowry is Obligatory

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful  Tafseer Surah An-Nisa Ayah 4 In the previous ayah, the objective was to remove the injustice done to women through the multiplicity of marriages. This ayah takes up a particular right of women and aims to remove the injustice practiced in this matter. This…

Marry Only One If You Know You Won’t Be Fair

Tafseer Surah An-Nisa Ayah 3 Some people love throwing out statements such as, “In Islam, you can marry four women.” While it is permissible, very few people know that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has provided us guidelines and etiquette of such marriages. Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani comments in ayah 2, guardians were warned against pilferage…

Summary of Marriage and Divorce Rulings

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful [in the light of Surah Al-Baqarah Ayaat 228 - 242] When we come across the ayaat or the topic of divorce, we should not frown or skip them because it is also a reality of life. Nobody knows what test tomorrow might bring for…

Divorce before consuming the Marriage

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Tafseer Al-Baqarah Ayaat 236 – 237 “There is no blame upon you if you divorce women you have not touched nor specified for them an obligation. But give them [a gift of] compensation - the wealthy according to his capability and the poor according…

Taking back the Mahr [Dowry]

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Tafseer Al-Baqarah Ayah 229 (Part 2) Part 1 “And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them unless both fear that they will not be able to keep (within) the limits of Allah.” It means that men…

Tafseer Surah an-Nisa Ayah 34

Men are the Protectors and Maintainers of Women Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala begins this ayah by saying, الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَآءِ “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…” meaning, the man is responsible for the woman, and he is her maintainer, caretaker and leader who disciplines her if she deviates. بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ…

Get Married Desiring Chastity, Avoiding Unlawful Sexual Conduct

Tafseer Surah An-Nisa Ayah 24 Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,     “And [also prohibited to you are all] married women…” Wal-muhsinaat means women having husbands – they have been made unlawful to get married. Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani writes in his Tafseer, Ma’arif-ul-Qur’an, from here it becomes very clear that a woman cannot live…

Women Before Islam: Eradication of Injustices

(In the light of Surah an-Nisa Ayaat 19 - 21) Given in these three ayaat are steps taken to eliminate injustices to which women were commonly subjected. The most glaring of these was that men used to act as owners of the life and property of women. After her husband's death, a woman was passed…

Injustice in the Payment of Mahr in Pre-Islamic Arabia

In pre-Islamic Arabia, injustices in the payment of mahr took many forms: 1. Mahr despite being the right of the girl in marriage was not given to her. Instead, the mahr was taken by the guardians of the girl directly from the husband. To get rid of this practice, the Qur’an said “and give the…