Surah 60. Al-Mumtahana, Ayah 11
| وَإِنْ فَاتَكُمْ شَيْءٌ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ فَعَاقَبْتُمْ فَآتُوا الَّذِينَ ذَهَبَتْ أَزْوَاجُهُمْ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْفَقُوا ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- 'in faata -kum shay' min azwaaj -kum 'ilaa al- kuffaar fa- caaqabtum fa- 'aato 'alladhena dhahabat azwaaj -hum mithl maa anfaqo wa- ittaqo 'allaah 'alladhe 'antum bi- -hi mu'minon |
| Pickthall | : | And if any of your wives have gone from you unto the disbelievers and afterward ye have your turn (of triumph), then give unto those whose wives have gone the like of that which they have spent, and keep your duty to Allah in whom ye are believers. |
| Asad | : | And if any of your wives should go over to the deniers of the truth, and you are thus afflicted in turn,16 then give unto those whose wives have gone away the equivalent of what they had spent [on their wives by way of dower],17 and remain conscious of God, in whom you believe! |
| Malik | : | If you do not get back the demanded amount that you have spent on your disbelieving wives from the unbelievers, and your turn comes, to pay the demanded amount of Muslim wives to the unbelievers, you can offset the amount and pay those whose wives have fled the equivalent of the amount they have spent on their disbelieving wives. Fear Allah, in Whom you believe. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | And if any of your wives deserts you to the Unbelievers and ye have an accession (by the coming over of a woman from the other side) then pay to those whose wives have deserted the equivalent of what they had spent (on their (dower): and fear Allah in Whom ye believe. 5426 |
Note - 16Lit., "and you are thus taking your turn", i.e., like the
unbelievers whose wives have gone over to the Muslims and
renounced their erstwhile faith.
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Note - 17Since, as a rule, the unbelievers cannot really be
expected to indemnify a husband thus deserted, the Muslim
community as a whole is bound to undertake this
obligation. As a matter of fact, there were only six such
cases of apostasy in the lifetime of the Prophet (all of
them before the conquest of Mecca in 8 H.); and in each
case the Muslim husband was awarded by the communal
treasury, on orders of the Prophet, the equivalent of the
dower originally paid by him (Baghawi and Zamakhshari).
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Note - 5426A very unlikely contingency, considering how much better
position the women occupied in Islam than under Pagan
custom. But all contingencies have to be provided for
equitably in legislation. If a woman went over to the
Pagans, her dower would be recoverable from the Pagans
and payable to the deserted husband. If a woman came over
from the Pagans, her dower would be payable to the
Pagans. Assuming that the two dowers were equal, the one
would be set off against the other as between the two
communities; but within the communities the deserted
individual would be compensated by the individual who
gains a wife. If the dowers were unequal, the balance
would be recoverable as between the communities, and the
adjustment would then be made as between the individuals.
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Lit., "and you are thus taking your turn", i.e., like the unbelievers whose wives have gone over to the Muslims and renounced their erstwhile faith. |
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Since, as a rule, the unbelievers cannot really be expected to indemnify a husband thus deserted, the Muslim community as a whole is bound to undertake this obligation. As a matter of fact, there were only six such cases of apostasy in the lifetime of the Prophet (all of them before the conquest of Mecca in 8 H.); and in each case the Muslim husband was awarded by the communal treasury, on orders of the Prophet, the equivalent of the dower originally paid by him (Baghawi and Zamakhshari). |
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A very unlikely contingency, considering how much better position the women occupied in Islam than under Pagan custom. But all contingencies have to be provided for equitably in legislation. If a woman went over to the Pagans, her dower would be recoverable from the Pagans and payable to the deserted husband. If a woman came over from the Pagans, her dower would be payable to the Pagans. Assuming that the two dowers were equal, the one would be set off against the other as between the two communities; but within the communities the deserted individual would be compensated by the individual who gains a wife. If the dowers were unequal, the balance would be recoverable as between the communities, and the adjustment would then be made as between the individuals. |
