060- AL-MUMTAHANAH
SHE WHO IS EXAMINED
A Madinan sūrah, al-Mumtaḥanah was most likely revealed sometime after the year 6/628. Some maintain that the first verse was revealed on the day Makkah was conquered by the Muslim army in 8/630. The sūrah takes its name from the injunction to examine them in v. 10. As translated, the title refers to the woman regarding whom several of its verses are said to have been revealed, Umm Kulthūm bint ʿUqbah. It is also known as al-Imtiḥān, “The Examining” or “The Examiner,” which describes the sūrah as one that examines and exposes the faults of human beings, a quality that could also be attributed to the entire Quran. Some have also named this sūrah al-Mawaddah, “Affection”, most likely after the phrases you of er them af ection (v. 1) and God will forge af ection (v. 7), and because the entire sūrah clarifies where the affections of the believers should lie.
That there should be no affection for or alliances with an enemy party is made clear in vv. 1–3. The case of Abraham and his followers is then cited as an example to be followed (vv. 4–6) in this regard. The next passage (vv. 7–9) provides hope that better relations can be established with enemy parties and allows for good relations with those who do not oppose the Muslims. The last section (vv. 10–12) addresses the complex situation brought about by the emigration of women from Makkah to Madinah and the rules to be observed when women who are married to idolaters choose to embrace Islam. Marriages between believers and disbelievers were henceforth considered invalid, but were to be dissolved in as equitable a manner as possible.
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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