وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ سَرِّحُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ وَلَا تُمْسِكُوهُنَّ ضِرَارًا لِتَعْتَدُوا وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ ظَلَمَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا آيَاتِ اللَّهِ هُزُوًا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَا أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ يَعِظُكُمْ بِهِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿۲۳۱﴾ وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ أَنْ يَنْكِحْنَ أَزْوَاجَهُنَّ إِذَا تَرَاضَوْا بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ذَلِكَ يُوعَظُ بِهِ مَنْ كَانَ مِنْكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ذَلِكُمْ أَزْكَى لَكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿۲۳۲﴾ وَالْوَالِدَاتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ وَعَلَى الْمَوْلُودِ لَهُ رِزْقُهُنَّ وَكِسْوَتُهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ لَا تُكَلَّفُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا لَا تُضَارَّ وَالِدَةٌ بِوَلَدِهَا وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ لَهُ بِوَلَدِهِ وَعَلَى الْوَارِثِ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ فَإِنْ أَرَادَا فِصَالًا عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْهُمَا وَتَشَاوُرٍ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَا وَإِنْ أَرَدْتُمْ أَنْ تَسْتَرْضِعُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذَا سَلَّمْتُمْ مَا آتَيْتُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ﴿۲۳۳﴾
﴾231﴿ Wa izaa tallaqtumun nisaaa'a fabalaghna ajala hunna fa amsikoohunna bima'roofin law sarrihoo hunna bima'roof; wa laa tumsikoo hunna diraa rallita'tadoo; wa mai yaf'al zaalika faqad zalama nafsah; wa laa tattakhizooo aayaatillaahi huzuwaa; wazkuroo ni'matal laahi 'alaikum wa maaa anzala 'alaikum minal kitaabi wal hikmati ya'izukum bih; wattaqul laaha wa'lamooo annal laaha bikulli shai'in 'Aleem
﴾232﴿ Wa izaa tallaqtumun nisaaa'a fabalaghna ajalahunna falaa ta'duloo hunna ai yankihna azwaaja hunna izaa taraadaw bainahum bilma' roof; zaalika yoo'azu bihee man kaana minkum yu'minu billaahi wal yawmil aakhir; zaalikum azkaa lakum wa at-har; wallaahu ya'lamu wa antum laa ta'lamoonl
﴾233﴿ Walwaa lidaatu yurdi'na awlaada hunna hawlaini kaamilaini liman araada ai yutimmar radaa'ah; wa 'alalmawloodi lahoo rizqu hunna wa kiswatuhunna bilma'roof; laatukallafu nafsun illaa wus'ahaa; laa tudaaarra waalidatum biwaladihaa wa laa mawloodul lahoo biwaladih; wa 'alal waarisi mislu zaalik; fa in araadaa Fisaalan 'an taraadim minhumaa wa tashaawurin falaa junaaha 'alaihimaa; wa in arattum an tastardi'ooo awlaadakum falaa junaaha 'alaikum izaa sallamtum maaa aataitum bilma'roof; wattaqul laaha wa'lamooo annal laaha bimaa ta'maloona baseer
﴾231﴿ And when you divorce women and they reach the end of their waiting period, then either retain them in a fair manner or release them in a good way. And do not retain them to cause harm so that you transgress the limits, and whoever does that has wronged himself. And do not take the signs of Allah as a mockery, and remember the favor of Allah upon you and what He has sent down to you of the Book and the sunnah. He advises you through it, so fear Allah and know that surely Allah has knowledge of all things.
﴾232﴿ And when you divorce women and they reach the end of their waiting period, then do not prevent them from marrying their husbands if they agree among themselves in a lawful manner. This instruction is given to those among you who believe in Allah and the Last Day. This ruling is a safeguard for you against disgrace and a means of purification. And Allah knows, while you do not know.
﴾233﴿ And mothers shall breastfeed their children for two full years for whoever wishes to complete the period of nursing. And upon the father of the child is the duty of their food and clothing in a fair manner. No soul is burdened beyond its capacity. Neither the mother should be harmed because of her child, nor the father because of his child. And upon the heir of the father is an obligation like that. But if they both decide to wean by mutual consent and consultation, then there is no sin upon them. And if you wish to hire a wet nurse for your children, there is no sin upon you as long as you pay what you agreed in a fair manner. And fear Allah, and know that surely Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.
[231] In this verse is a rejection of the practice of ignorance, where they would return to their wives after every divorce with the intention of causing harm, and they did not observe any count of divorces. Taking the signs of Allah as mockery means not acting upon them, which is a form of disrespect. "When they reach the end of their term" — the term “reach” here means to approach, and “their term” refers to the prescribed waiting period. “The favor of Allah” refers to the detailed rulings regarding marriage and divorce.
[232] This is the eleventh ruling: marriage after divorce. It is a rejection of the practice of ignorance, where if a man divorced a woman and then she married him again, it was considered shameful. Another custom was that they would not allow the woman to marry anyone else and saw it as a disgrace. “They reach” here means actual completion of the waiting period. “Their husbands” may refer either to their previous husbands or to new ones, depending on interpretation. “This is what you are advised” — because ending a relationship is difficult, three emphases are mentioned. “Purer and more wholesome” — the first refers to protection from disgrace and false attachments, and the second means cleansing from immorality and indecency.
[233] This is the twelfth ruling concerning breastfeeding and raising children. It refutes the practice of ignorance where, after divorce, a woman would become so hostile toward her former husband that she would refuse to breastfeed his child. And if she did breastfeed, the husband would not provide her any support. So a law was established for this. "The one for whom the child is born" refers to the father, indicating that lineage is traced through the father, not the mother—except for the family of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), where the lineage of the children of Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) traces back to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace). “Mothers” here refers to those who are divorced and whose waiting period has ended, but they have a young child; for them, breastfeeding is necessary, and the father must provide payment for it. “Two full years” is clear evidence that the period of breastfeeding is only two years. “For whoever wishes to complete it” indicates that completing the two years is not obligatory. “Her child” — the child is attributed to the mother here due to her compassion. “And upon the heir” — if the father is not alive and the child has wealth, the expenses for the mother come from the child’s wealth; if the child has no wealth, then the closest relatives who are inheritors and lawful guardians are responsible. “And if you wish to hire a wet nurse” — meaning if the mother is excused or demands high wages, then it is allowed for the father to hire another woman to nurse the child and pay her fairly so that the child is well cared for.