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Qur'an 2:240

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Qur'an 2:240
Verse's Information
NameVerse of Ikhraj
SuraSura al-Baqara
Verse240
Juz'2
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicJurisprudential
AboutRecommendability of a man's will regarding one-year provision of housing, food, and clothing for his wife after his death


Qur'an 2:240, knwon as al-Ikhraj Verse (Arabic: آيَة الْإِخْرَاج, Verse of Expulsion) and al-Imtaʿ Verse (Arabic: آيَة الْإِمْتَاع, Verse of Provision), is 240th verse of Sura al-Baqara. It commands men who are approaching death to make a will so that after their death, the cost of their wife's living, including housing, food, and clothing, be provided for one year. According to commentators, this verse is an endorsement and official confirmation of a pre-Islamic custom, according to which a woman would remain in her husband's idda for one year after his death, and the man's family would pay for her living expenses.

Many commentators, including al-Shaykh al-Tusi, al-Tabrisi, and Allama Tabataba'i, believe that this verse has been abrogated by the Verses of Inheritance and the Verse of Idda of Death. Al-Tabrisi has claimed consensus on its abrogation; however, some others, such as Qutb al-Din al-Rawandi and Abd Allah Jawadi Amoli, have not accepted the abrogation.

Text and Translation

Content

Quran 2:240 has been named the Verse of Ikhraj or the Verse of Imta.[1] In this verse, God commands men who are on the verge of death to make a will for their wives to remain in the husband's house for up to one year and for their living expenses to be provided. This applies only if the woman intends to stay in the husband's house. However, if they intend to leave the husband's house of their own accord, they have no right to expenses and residence, and there is no sin or responsibility upon the husband's family. At the end of the verse, to ensure such women are not worried about their future, it states that God is capable of opening a way for them after the husband's death, and if a calamity has befallen them, it is due to wisdom; for God is Mighty and Wise.[2] The word "yatawaffawn", at the beginning of Quran 2:240, does not mean dying, but rather being on the verge of death.[3]

In ';Majma' al-bayan, it is stated that there is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of "there is no sin upon you" (fa-la junaha 'alaykum):

  • According to some, it means the cessation of maintenance and residence; meaning, upon the woman leaving the husband's house, her maintenance is not obligatory upon you;
  • There is no sin upon you regarding women leaving the husband's house of their own accord; because it is not obligatory for you to prevent them from leaving.
  • There is no sin upon you regarding their marriage after the passing of the idda.[4]

The author of Majma' al-bayan considers the third view better than the other two and has interpreted "ma'ruf" (fair manner) as marriage and adornment.[5]

This verse is considered an endorsement and confirmation of a tradition and custom prevalent in Hejaz before Islam. According to it, a woman whose husband had died had no right to marry for one year. The guardians of the man's family were also duty-bound to provide for the woman's living expenses, including food, clothing, and housing, for one year.[6] According to this custom, after one year the woman was expelled from the man's house without any share of his estate. The Quran, however, recommends from this custom only the necessity of a will for providing one year's expenses for the wife after the husband's death, and abrogates other aspects of this custom, such as the deprivation of the woman from inheritance and being in the man's idda for one year, with Quran 2:234 (Verse of Idda of Death) and Quran 4:12 (Verse of Inheritance).[7]

Abrogation of the Verse

There are two opinions regarding the abrogation of this verse:

  • Abrogation of the Verse: al-Tabrisi in Tafsir Majma' al-bayan considers the abrogation of the verse as agreed upon by scholars.[8] According to a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a), this verse has been abrogated by the Verses of Inheritance and the Verse of Idda of Death.[9] According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, the Verse of Ikhraj has been abrogated by the Verse of Idda of Death.[10] Allama Tabataba'i believes this verse has been abrogated by the verses of inheritance and idda of death. In his view, the revelation of this verse precedes the revelation of the Verse of Idda of Death, and God, by endorsing a ruling prevalent in the pre-Islamic era, commands the man to make a will so that his wife may benefit from residence, clothing, and food in the husband's house for one year.[11] In Tafsir al-Burhan, narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are also cited considering this verse abrogated by the Verse of Inheritance and the Verse of Idda of Death.[12] According to Nasir Makarim Shirazi, it is inferred from [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|Fakhr Razi]'s statement that the famous view among the Sunnis is also that the Verse of Ikhraj has been abrogated by the verses of inheritance and idda of death.[13]
  • Non-Abrogation of the Verse: According to Abd Allah Jawadi Amoli, this verse is not in the position of legislating for the idda of death so that the Verse of Idda of Death would abrogate it. idda is a divine decree and does not depend on the husband's will, whereas this verse speaks of a right that the man bequeaths to his wife.[14] Based on narrations under this verse, he believes that the Verse of Idda of Death only abrogated the Jahili custom based on the one-year duration of the idda of death; but it does not abrogate the content of this verse, which is God's commandment for the husband's will to the wife, and this will remains at the level of recommendation.[15]

Al-Rawandi in Fiqh al-Qurʾan does not accept the abrogation of this verse by the Verse of Inheritance because if the Verse of Inheritance considers a share for the wife, it does not contradict the man bequeathing something from his wealth for the wife as far as he is permitted.[16] According to Makarim Shirazi, if it were not for the numerous narrations and the consensus of scholars, it could be said that there is no inconsistency between this verse and other verses; meaning the idda of death (four months and ten days) is a divine decree. At the same time, keeping the idda for up to one year and staying in the husband's house and using his maintenance could also be a right for the woman. However, given the narrations and consensus, accepting such an interpretation is not possible.[17]

Notes

  1. ↑ Khurasani, ayeha-yi nam-dar, p. 28.
  2. ↑ Makarim Shirazi, Tafsir-i nimūna, vol. 2, pp. 211-212.
  3. ↑ Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, vol. 2, p. 602; Makarim Shirazi, Tafsir-i nimūna, vol. 2, p. 212.
  4. ↑ Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, vol. 2, p. 602.
  5. ↑ Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, vol. 2, p. 602.
  6. ↑ Jawadi amuli, Tasnim, vol. 11, p. 497.
  7. ↑ Jawadi amuli, Tasnim, vol. 11, p. 497.
  8. ↑ Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, vol. 2, p. 602.
  9. ↑ Tabrisi, Majma' al-bayan, vol. 2, p. 602.
  10. ↑ Tūsi, al-Tibyan, vol. 2, p. 279.
  11. ↑ Tabaṭabaʾi, al-Mizan, vol. 2, p. 247.
  12. ↑ Baḥrani, al-Burhan, vol. 1, p. 499.
  13. ↑ Makarim Shirazi, Tafsir-i nimūna, vol. 2, p. 214.
  14. ↑ Jawadi amuli, Tasnim, vol. 11, p. 508.
  15. ↑ Jawadi amuli, Tasnim, vol. 11, p. 510.
  16. ↑ Rawandi, Fiqh al-Qurʾan, vol. 2, p. 171.
  17. ↑ Makarim Shirazi, Tafsir-i nimūna, vol. 2, p. 214.

References

  • Baḥrani, Hashim b. Sulayman al-. Al-Burhan fi tafsir al-Qurʾan. Tehran, Bunyad-i Bi'that, 1416 AH.
  • Jawadi amuli, 'Abd Allah. Tasnim. Qom, Muʾassasa-yi Israʾ, 1389 Sh.
  • Khurasani, 'Ali. ayeha-yi nam-dar. Qom, Nashr-i Jamal, 1388 Sh.
  • Makarim Shirazi, Nasir. Tafsir-i nimūna. Tehran, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, 1374 Sh.
  • Rawandi, Quṭb al-Din Sa'id b. 'Abd Allah al-. Fiqh al-Qurʾan. Qom, Intisharat-i Kitabkhana-yi ayatullah Mar'ashi Najafi, 1405 AH.
  • Tabaṭabaʾi, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mizan fi tafsir al-Qurʾan. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-A'lami lil-Maṭbū'at, 1390 AH.
  • Tabrisi, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majma' al-bayan fi tafsir al-Qurʾan. Tehran, Nasir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
  • Tūsi, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyan fi tafsir al-Qurʾan. Beirut, Dar Iḥyaʾ al-Turath al-'Arabi, n.d.

 

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