The Debate (Al-Mujaadalah)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Allah has surely heard the words of her who contends with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah. Allah hears what both of you say. Verily Allah is All- Hearing, All-Seeing. 1 As for those of you who [henceforth] separate themselves from their wives by saying, "Thou art as unlawful to me as my mother", [let them bear in mind that] they can never be [as] their mothers: none are their mothers save those who gave them birth: and so, behold, they but utter a saying that runs counter to reason, and is [therefore] false. But, behold, God is indeed an absolver of sins, much-forgiving: 2 Those who say to their wives, 'Be as my mother's back' then retract their words thereafter shall set a person free before they touch each other again. By that you are admonished. Allah is Aware of all that you do. 3 And he who findeth not (the wherewithal), let him fast for two successive months before they touch one another; and for him who is unable to do so (the penance is) the feeding of sixty needy ones. This, that ye may put trust in Allah and His messenger. Such are the limits (imposed by Allah); and for disbelievers is a painful doom. 4 Those who oppose God and His Messenger will be humiliated, as were their predecessors. We have sent down clear revelations. A humiliating punishment awaits those who deny the truth. 5 On the day when Allah will raise them all together and inform them of what they did. Allah hath kept account of it while they forgot it. And Allah is Witness over all things. 6