Surah al-Mumtahanah (The Woman Examined) 60 : 12
Translations
Pickthall
Yusuf Ali
Qur'an Dictionary
Explanatory Note
Women pledge their allegiance to Islam on the basis of:
- not to associate partners with God
- not to steal, commit adultery
- not to kill their children (abortion, pre-islamic practice of burying girls alive)
- lie about who fathered their children
- disobey the Prophet PBUH in anything unreasonable (Islamic constitution)
3. Surah Overview
The Surah deals with two incidents, the time of the occurrence of which is well known historically. The first relates to Hatib bin Abz Balta’a, who, a little before the conquest of Makkah, had sent a secret letter to the Quraysh chiefs informing them of the Prophet’s intention to attack them. The second relates to the Muslim women, who had started emigrating from Makkah to Madīnah, after the conclusion of the Truce of Hudaibiyah, and the problem arose whether they also were to be returned to the disbelievers, like the Muslim men, according to the conditions of the Truce. The mention of these two things absolutely determines that this Surah came down during the interval between the Truce of Hudaibiyah and the Conquest of Makkah. Besides, there is a third thing also that has been mentioned at the end of the Surah to the effect: What should the Prophet make the women to pledge when they come to take the oath of allegiance before him as believers? About this part also the guess is that this too was sent down some time before the conquest of Makkah, for after this conquest a large number of the Quraysh women, like their men, were going to enter Islam simultaneously and had to be administered the oath of allegiance collectively.
10. Wiki Forum
11. Tafsir Zone
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Overview (Verse 12) The Prophet is then instructed on how women should pledge their allegiance, and what the terms of their pledge should be: Prophet! When believing women come and pledge to you that they will not associate any partner with God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor lie about who fathered their children, nor disobey you in anything reasonable, then accept their pledge of allegiance and pray to God to forgive them. God is most forgiving, ever merciful. (Verse 12) These terms outline the major elements of faith, and provide the framework of the new social system established by Islam. They comprise associating no partners with God in any way whatsoever. They confirm that offences with prescribed penalties, such as theft and adultery, should never be committed. Women should also pledge never to kill their children. This is a reference to the pre-Islamic practice of burying girls alive, and includes killing embryos for any reason. Women are placed in trust of their pregnancies. Another term of the pledge women give is that they should never "lie about who fathered their children."2 Ibn `Abbas says: "This means that they must not attribute to their husbands any child that does not belong to them. The same view is stated by Muqatil. Perhaps this term, coming as it does after that of refraining from adultery altogether, was to address some practices of pre-Islamic days, when a woman might sleep with several men and when she gave birth to a child, she would choose its father from among them on the basis of looks, or perhaps on some other basis when she knew who its true father was. However, the text includes this and any other case of falsehood in this regard. Perhaps Ibn 'Abbas and Muqatil referred to this particular situation because of a case at the time. The last term in women's pledge of allegiance is that they must not "disobey you in anything reasonable." This means a commitment to obey |
Ibn Kathir (English)
Sayyid Qutb
Sha'rawi
Al Jalalain
الطبري - جامع البيان
ابن كثير - تفسير القرآن العظيم
القرطبي - الجامع لأحكام
البغوي - معالم التنزيل
ابن أبي حاتم الرازي - تفسير القرآن
ابن عاشور - التحرير والتنوير
ابن القيم - تفسير ابن قيّم
السيوطي - الدر المنثور
الشنقيطي - أضواء البيان
ابن الجوزي - زاد المسير
الآلوسي - روح المعاني
ابن عطية - المحرر الوجيز
الرازي - مفاتيح الغيب
أبو السعود - إرشاد العقل السليم
الزمخشري - الكشاف
البقاعي - نظم الدرر
الهداية إلى بلوغ النهاية — مكي ابن أبي طالب
القاسمي - محاسن التأويل
الماوردي - النكت والعيون
السعدي - تيسير الكريم الرحمن
عبد الرحمن الثعالبي - الجواهر الحسان
السمرقندي - بحر العلوم
أبو إسحاق الثعلبي - الكشف والبيان
الشوكاني - فتح القدير
النيسابوري - التفسير البسيط
أبو حيان - البحر المحيط
البيضاوي - أنوار التنزيل
النسفي - مدارك التنزيل
ابن جُزَيّ - التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل
علي الواحدي النيسابوري - الوجيز
السيوطي - تفسير الجلالين
المختصر في التفسير — مركز تفسير
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Overview (Verse 12) The Prophet is then instructed on how women should pledge their allegiance, and what the terms of their pledge should be: Prophet! When believing women come and pledge to you that they will not associate any partner with God, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor lie about who fathered their children, nor disobey you in anything reasonable, then accept their pledge of allegiance and pray to God to forgive them. God is most forgiving, ever merciful. (Verse 12) These terms outline the major elements of faith, and provide the framework of the new social system established by Islam. They comprise associating no partners with God in any way whatsoever. They confirm that offences with prescribed penalties, such as theft and adultery, should never be committed. Women should also pledge never to kill their children. This is a reference to the pre-Islamic practice of burying girls alive, and includes killing embryos for any reason. Women are placed in trust of their pregnancies. Another term of the pledge women give is that they should never "lie about who fathered their children."2 Ibn `Abbas says: "This means that they must not attribute to their husbands any child that does not belong to them. The same view is stated by Muqatil. Perhaps this term, coming as it does after that of refraining from adultery altogether, was to address some practices of pre-Islamic days, when a woman might sleep with several men and when she gave birth to a child, she would choose its father from among them on the basis of looks, or perhaps on some other basis when she knew who its true father was. However, the text includes this and any other case of falsehood in this regard. Perhaps Ibn 'Abbas and Muqatil referred to this particular situation because of a case at the time. The last term in women's pledge of allegiance is that they must not "disobey you in anything reasonable." This means a commitment to obey |
