60:10 O you who
believe, when believing women come to you as emigrants, test them. Allah best
knows about their belief. Then, if you know them to be believers, do not return
them to the disbelievers. They are not lawful for them, nor are they lawful for
them. And give them what they have spent, and there will be no sin on you to
marry them if you have paid their bridal money. And do not hold to the marriage
ties with disbelieving women. And ask for what you have spent, and let them ask
for what they have spent. That is the Judgment of Allah; He judges between you.
And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
60:11 And if any of
your wives have left you to the disbelievers, and then you have triumphed, then
give to those whose wives have gone the like of what they have spent, and fear
Allah in Whom you believe.
Relationship
with the Preceding Part
The previous part discusses the
relationship between the Muslims and non-Muslims during times of peace. This
part then mentions the ruling of Islam concerning believing women who emigrate
from the land of disbelief to the land of Islam. It also addresses the ruling
of Islam on marrying those believing emigrant women and on compensating Muslim
husbands from the spoils of war for the bridal money they paid to their
disbelieving wives who went to the land of the disbelievers.
Imam Al-Qurtuby, may Allah have mercy
on him, said, ‘[60:10 O you who believe, when believing women come to you as
emigrants, test them….] Allah, Exalted be He, has commanded the believers not
to ally and befriend the disbelievers, which caused the Muslims to leave the
land of disbelievers for the land of Islam. Marriage is one of the strongest
signs of alliance and support; therefore, Allah mentions the rules on the
emigration of women.’
Tafsir
60:10 O you who
believe, when believing women come to you as emigrants, test them. Allah best
knows about their belief. Then, if you know them to be believers, do not return
them to the disbelievers. They are not lawful for them, nor are they lawful for
them. And give them what they have spent, and there will be no sin on you to
marry them if you have paid their bridal money. And do not hold to the marriage
ties with disbelieving women. And ask for what you have spent, and let them ask
for what they have spent. That is the Judgment of Allah; He judges between you.
And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Urwa bin Az-Zubair reported that he
heard Marwan bin Al-Hakam and Al-Miswar bin Makhrama narrating about an event
that Messenger Muhammad experienced during Umra Al-Hudaybiyah. They said,
‘Messenger Muhammad concluded the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyah with Amr bin Suhail,
who stipulated some conditions to conclude the treaty. One of the conditions
was that if anyone from the tribe of Quraysh came to join the Muslims, even if
he was Muslim, Messenger Muhammad should return him to Quraysh and leave it to
deal with him. Suhail insisted on this condition and refused to conclude the
treaty unless Messenger Muhammad accepted it. However, the believers disliked
this condition and argued about it. As Suhail insisted on this condition,
Messenger Muhammad agreed and concluded the treaty. Thus, Messenger Muhammad
returned Abu Jandal bin Suhail to his father, even though he was Muslim. No one
belonging to Quraysh came to Messenger Muhammad during the term of the treaty
except that Messenger Muhammad returned him to Quraysh, even if he was Muslim.
Believing women came to Messenger Muhammad during this period, and among them
was Um Kulthum bint Uqba bin Abi Mu’ait, who was an adult at that time. Her
family came and asked Messenger Muhammad to return her to them. Then Allah,
Exalted be He, revealed Ayat in relation to this incident in Surah
Al-Mumtahanah. [60:10 O you who believe, when believing women come to you as
emigrants, test them.]’
Testing
the Believing Emigrant Women
60:10 O you who
believe, when believing women come to you as emigrants, test them.
O you who believe, when believing women
come to you as emigrants from the land of the disbelievers, test them to
ascertain their truthfulness. You should ask them about the reason for their
coming to the land of Islam.
When Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon
him] concluded the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyah with the disbelievers of Makkah, one
of its clauses was to return any Muslim who might come to the believers from
the party of the disbelievers. However, when believing women emigrated to the
land of Islam, Messenger Muhammad refused to return them to the disbelievers
and commanded that their truthfulness be tested by asking them to swear that
they had left their homes only for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. If they
swore as such, he would not return them to the disbelievers, and he would give
back their bridal money to their husbands.
Abdul Allah bin Abbas was asked about
how Messenger Muhammad used to test the believing emigrant women. He said, ‘He
used to test them by asking them to say, “By Allah, I have not left my land
because of hating my husband or seeking worldly gain; by Allah, I left my land
only because I love Allah and His Messenger.”’
Allah’s
Knowledge of Their Belief
Allah best knows
about their belief.
Allah best knows the truthfulness of
the belief of the believing emigrant women. Allah knows why they left their
land, and He best knows whether they left their land for the sake of Allah and
His Messenger or for another reason. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, and nothing
is hidden from Him, Exalted be He.
Prohibition
of Returning Them to the Disbelievers
Then, if you know
them to be believers, do not return them to the disbelievers.
O believers, you should test the
believing emigrant women concerning why they left their land. Then, if you
believe that they are truthful, do not return them to their husbands among the
disbelievers.
The intended meaning of knowledge in
the phrase ‘if you know them’ is the most likely belief. Strong belief is
referred to as knowledge to indicate that it is like certain knowledge with
respect to acting according to its requirement.
Imam Muhammad bin Jarir, may Allah have
mercy on him, said, ‘[Then, if you know them to be believers, do not return
them to the disbelievers.] If the believing emigrant women, when tested,
professed what would confirm the truthfulness of their belief and their
embracing Islam, do not return them to the disbelievers. The believers were
commanded to do so because the covenant that Messenger Muhammad concluded with
the disbelievers at the time of Al-Hudaybiyah stipulated that the Muslims must
return to the disbelievers any Muslim who might come to them. However, this
stipulation was nullified concerning the believing emigrant women, and they
were tested. If the Muslims became certain that they were believers, they were
commanded not to return them to the disbelievers.’
Messenger Muhammad returned only the
believing men who came to him after the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyah and did not
return the believing women. This was because the stipulation in the treaty
applied only to men and not to women. In addition, it is not feared that men
may return to disbelief by coercion; on the other hand, women may not be able
to withstand coercion.
Unlawfulness
of Marriage Between Believers and Disbelievers
They are not lawful
for them, nor are they lawful for them.
The believing women are not lawful for
the disbelievers, nor are the disbelievers lawful for the believing women. In
other words, it is unlawful for believing women to marry disbelievers, and it
is unlawful for disbelievers to marry believing women. When a woman embraces
Islam, it becomes unlawful for her to remain married to her disbelieving
husband.
Returning
the Bridal Money
And give them what
they have spent, and there will be no sin on you to marry them if you have paid
their bridal money.
This Ayah reveals an aspect of the
justice of Islam in its rulings. The address in the Ayah is directed to the
guardians of the wives. Those who are to be given what they spent are the
disbelieving husbands who belong to those who have made a covenant with the
Muslims. As for the husbands who belong to those who do not have a covenant
with the Muslims, they are not to be given anything of what they paid to their
wives.
O believers, give to the disbelieving
husbands, whose wives became Muslims and emigrated to the land of Islam, the
obligatory bridal money that the husband gave to his wife at the time of
marriage.
And there will be no
sin on you to marry them if you have paid their bridal money.
O believers, there will be no sin on
you to marry the believing emigrant women if you have paid their obligatory
bridal money after their obligatory waiting period has ended and after
complying with the rules set by Islamic Shariah concerning marriage.
The Ayah specifically mentions the
payment of the obligatory bridal money so that it may not be thought that
returning the bridal money to the disbelieving husband is sufficient and
replaces paying a new bridal money by the Muslim husband. Rather, the Muslim
husband must pay the obligatory bridal money to the prospective wife after
returning the bridal money that her former disbelieving husband paid for her.
Prohibition
of Maintaining Marriage with Disbelieving Women
And do not hold to
the marriage ties with disbelieving women.
O believers, it is unlawful for you to
marry disbelieving women or to continue a marriage relationship with them. This
ruling applies only to disbelieving women. It is permissible for a believer to
marry a woman belonging to the people of the Scripture, namely, the Jews and
Christians.
Mujahid said, ‘[And do not hold to the
marriage ties with disbelieving women.] The companions of Messenger Muhammad
were commanded to divorce their disbelieving wives who were in Makkah with the
disbelievers.’
Mutual
Reimbursement of Bridal Money
And ask for what you
have spent, and let them ask for what they have spent.
O believers, you may ask for the bridal
money you spent on your ex-wives whom you divorced because they are
disbelievers. Likewise, the disbelievers may ask for the bridal money that they
spent on their ex-wives who became Muslims and emigrated to the land of Islam.
Ibn Shihab said, ‘The believers
acknowledged and accepted the rule of Allah and paid to the disbelievers what
they spent on their ex-wives who became Muslims. However, the disbelievers
refused to acknowledge and accept the rule of Allah concerning paying the
Muslims the money that they spent on their ex-wives who remained disbelievers.’
The
Judgment of Allah
That is the Judgment
of Allah; He judges between you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
What has been mentioned in the Ayah
concerning the returning of the bridal money by the Muslims and the
disbelievers is the Judgment of Allah. Allah judges between His creatures as He
wills. Allah is All-Knowing, and nothing is hidden from His perfect knowledge.
Allah is All-Wise in His deeds and statements, and His rulings accord with what
wisdom necessitates.
60:11 And if any of
your wives have left you to the disbelievers, and then you have triumphed, then
give to those whose wives have gone the like of what they have spent, and fear
Allah in Whom you believe.
This Ayah mentions a ruling concerning
women who joined the disbelievers and left their Muslim husbands, and
concerning cases in which the disbelievers refused to pay the Muslims their
bridal money.
Az-Zuhri narrated, ‘Urwa said, ‘Aisha,
may Allah be pleased with her, said, “Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him]
used to test the emigrant women. We have been told that when Allah, Exalted be
He, revealed that the Muslims must pay to the disbelievers the bridal money
that they spent on their wives who emigrated to the land of Islam, and that the
Muslims must not maintain the marriage contract of disbelieving women, Umar
divorced two of his wives. Then, two among the disbelievers married these
wives. The disbelievers refused to pay to the Muslims the bridal money that
they spent on their disbelieving ex-wives. Then, Allah, Exalted be He, revealed,
[60:11 And if any of your wives have left you to the disbelievers, and then you
have triumphed…]. Then, Allah commanded that whomever among the Muslims whose
wife went to the disbelievers be given what he spent on his disbelieving
ex-wife. We do not know that any of the believing emigrant women renounced
Islam.”’
60:11 And if any of
your wives have left you to the disbelievers, and then you have triumphed, then
give to those whose wives have gone the like of what they have spent, and fear
Allah in Whom you believe.
O believers, if any of your wives have
left you for the disbelievers and the disbelievers refuse to pay you the bridal
money that you spent on them, and then you triumph over the disbelievers in
battle and obtain spoils of war from them, give the Muslims whose wives have
gone to the disbelievers the equivalent of what they spent on them. O
believers, fear Allah in Whom you believe. You must fear Allah in all your
deeds and statements by obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.
The intended meaning is to urge the
Muslims to comply immediately with the commands of Allah.
The
Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Mumtahanah Ayah 10–11
• It is obligatory to test the
believing women who emigrate to the land of Islam in order to ascertain the
truthfulness of their faith and belief in Islam.
• Testing the believing emigrant women is an action carried out by the Muslims;
however, only Allah knows the truthfulness of their faith and belief in Islam.
If the Muslims believe that the believing emigrant women are truthful in their
statements after testing them, they must not return them to the land of the
disbelievers.
• It is unlawful for a believing woman to marry a disbeliever or to maintain
her marriage contract with a disbelieving husband. Likewise, it is unlawful for
a believer to marry a disbelieving woman or to maintain his marriage contract
with a disbelieving wife.
• The disbelievers must pay to the Muslims the bridal money they spent on their
ex-wives who joined the disbelievers. If the disbelievers refuse to pay those
Muslims, they may be compensated from the spoils of war that the Muslims obtain
from the disbelievers.
• Allah, Exalted be He, has warned against disobeying His commands.
