058- AL-MUJADILAH
SHE WHO DISPUTES
Al-Mujādilah is a Madinan sūrah, although some commentators maintain that only the first ten verses are from the Madinan period and the remainder is from the Makkan period; others maintain that the entire sūrah is Madinan except for v. 9. It takes its name from the story of a woman named Khawlah bint Thaʿlabah, whose husband, Aws ibn al-Ṣāmit, divorced her according to the pre-Islamic custom of ẓihār, in which a man could renounce his wife by saying, “You are to me as my mother’s back.” Because it addresses this issue, the sūrah is also known as al-Ẓihār. By custom, the invocation of ẓihār meant that the husband was now free of all duties toward the wife, but that his wife was not free to leave her husband and contract another marriage. Khawlah complained of this injustice to the Prophet and to God. Her plea was heard, and God provided a means whereby she and her husband could reconcile.
Al-Mujādilah is the first in a series of ten Madinan sūrahs addressing many of the legal issues that confronted the newly independent Muslim community in Madinah. Insofar as they demonstrate God’s immediate involvement in the affairs of the Muslim community, this series of sūrahs follows upon the statement in 57:4: He knows that which enters the earth and that which issues therefrom, that which descends from Heaven and that which ascends thereto. And He is with you wheresoever you are, and God sees whatsoever you do. God’s Omnipresence is especially indicated in this sūrah, as the first four verses provide an example of God’s responding directly and instantly to the plea of a Muslim woman.
After the opening verses (vv. 1–4), which address the issue of ẓihār, vv. 5–6 introduce the discussion of those who oppose God and His Messenger, the theme of the remainder of the sūrah. Vv. 7–10 discuss the secret converse of those who oppose and deride the Prophet and the proper manner in which to hold private discourse, followed by vv. 11–13, which initially enjoin Muslims to offer alms before conversing with the Prophet and then lighten this injunction. The longest section, vv. 14–21, addresses the nature of the hypocrites and their opposition to the Prophet, and the sūrah concludes with a long verse regarding the rewards that God gives to those who believe in God and the Last Day.
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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John Doe
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