وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ أَن يَنكِحْنَ أَزْوَٰجَهُنَّ إِذَا تَرَٰضَوْا۟ بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ يُوعَظُ بِهِۦ مَن كَانَ مِنكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ ۗ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَزْكَىٰ لَكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And when you divorce women and they have fulfilled their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they agree among themselves on an acceptable basis. That is instructed to whoever of you believes in Allah and the Last Day. That is better for you and purer, and Allah knows and you know not.
Introduction
This is āyah 232 of Sūrat Al-Baqara (The Cow), the 87th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 2. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 87 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Baqara (2)
(And when ye have divorced women and they reach their term, place not difficulties in the way�) [2:232]. Abu Sa�id ibn Abi Bakr ibn al-Ghazi informed us> Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Hafiz> Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn> Ahmad ibn Hafs ibn �Abd Allah> his father> Ibrahim ibn Tahman> Yunus ibn �Ubayd> al-Hasan that he said regarding the saying of Allah, Glorious and Majestic is He (And when ye have divorced women and they reach their term, place not difficulties in the way of their marrying their husbands if it is agreed between them in kindness�): �Ma�qil ibn Yasar informed me that this verse was revealed about him. He said: �I had given one of my sisters to a certain man who went on to divorce her. When my sister�s waiting period was over, the same man came back asking for my sister�s hand. I said to him: �I had given my sister to you as a bride; I married her to you and honoured you, but you went on to divorce her. No, by Allah, you will never go back to her!� He said: �the man was not bad, and the woman wanted to go back to him. Then Allah, glorious and majestic is He, revealed this verse. I said: I will do it now, O Messenger of Allah�. And he gave his sister in marriage to this man� �. This was narrated by Bukhari from Ahmad ibn Hafs. Al-Hakim Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mansuri informed us> �Ali ibn �Umar ibn Mahdi> Muhammad ibn �Amr ibn al-Bukhturi> Yahya ibn Ja�far> Abu �Amir al-�Uqadi> �Abbad ibn Rashid> al-Hasan> Ma�qil ibn Yasar who said: �I had a sister whose hand I always decline to give until a cousin of mine proposed to her. I gave her to him in marriage and they remained married as long as Allah willed. He then divorced her a revocable divorce, waited until her waiting period elapsed and came forward, along with other suitors, to ask for her hand. I said to him: �I had refused to marry her off to other people and, instead, gave her to you in marriage. You chose to divorce her a revocable divorce and waited until the waiting period elapsed. Now that her hand is asked for, you come to me asking to marry her.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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