وَكَيْفَ تَأْخُذُونَهُۥ وَقَدْ أَفْضَىٰ بَعْضُكُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ وَأَخَذْنَ مِنكُم مِّيثَـٰقًا غَلِيظًا 21
Translations
And how could you take it while you have gone in unto each other and they have taken from you a solemn covenant?
Transliteration
Wa-kayfa ta'khudhoonehu wa-qad afdaa ba'dukum ilaa ba'din wa-akhdhna minkum meethaqan ghaleetha
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah addresses the prohibition of taking back mahr (dower) from women after marriage, emphasizing that it is unlawful and shameful to demand its return. The phrase 'some of you have gone unto others' (afdaa ba'dukum ilaa ba'din) is interpreted by classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir as referring to intimate relations in marriage, which establishes complete marital union and makes the mahr irrevocably the woman's right. The 'solemn covenant' (meethaq ghaleetha) mentioned here refers to the marriage contract itself, highlighting the sacred and binding nature of the marital bond.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah An-Nisa's comprehensive legislation on women's rights during the Medinan period. It addresses pre-Islamic Arabian practices where men would sometimes demand the return of their mahr (dower gift) from their wives, and it establishes women's financial rights and dignity within marriage as fundamental Islamic principles.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those who are best to their wives' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3895). Also relevant is the hadith: 'Do not take back any of the gifts you have given them [your wives], even if a horse hair' (Sunan Ibn Majah 1851), which directly applies this principle.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that marriage is a sacred covenant with binding obligations of mutual respect and financial fairness—men must honor women's rights to their mahr and treat them with kindness and dignity. For modern Muslims, it emphasizes that marital relations should be based on justice, compassion, and the sanctity of contractual obligations rather than exploitation or retrieval of gifts given in goodwill.
Related Ayahs
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا
But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muḥammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.
وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَهُمُ ٱلطُّورَ بِمِيثَـٰقِهِمْ وَقُلْنَا لَهُمُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ لَا تَعْدُوا۟ فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ وَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُم مِّيثَـٰقًا غَلِيظًا
And We raised over them the mount for [refusal of] their covenant; and We said to them, "Enter the gate bowing humbly"; and We said to them, "Do not transgress on the sabbath"; and We took from them a solemn covenant.
وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَآؤُهُۥ جَهَنَّمُ خَـٰلِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُۥ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُۥ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا
But whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allāh has become angry with him and has cursed him and has prepared for him a great punishment.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلًۢا بَعِيدًا
O you who have believed, believe in Allāh and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allāh, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.