Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 227 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:227

وَإِنْ عَزَمُوا۟ ٱلطَّلَـٰقَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“And if they decide on divorce - then indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Divorce, if it comes, must be a settled resolve, not a word thrown in anger; Allah hears every word and knows every motive.

A reflection

The word He hears and the reason He knows

When a marriage ends, two stories begin. Each person rehearses a version for friends, for family, for themselves. In each version, the speaker is mostly reasonable and the other mostly to blame.

The ayah ends with two names: Hearing, Knowing. A classical scholar of the heart explains why these two, and not others. Divorce is a word that is heard, and a meaning that is intended. So Allah is Hearing of what was said, and Knowing of what lay behind it.

Another commentator adds a sharp observation. The one who resolves on divorce, he says, is rarely free of muttering and talking to himself about it. That inner speech is something only Allah hears.

This is majesty that reaches into the most private room of a life. No family gathering, no court and no friend ever hears the whole of it. He does. Every word spoken in that house, and every reason for every word, is known to Him.

The ego dislikes that. It wants to own the narrative of its own endings. It edits, softens and arranges. The ayah removes the editing room. The real story is already heard and known.

Does Allah need us to know this? No; He is free of all need (35:15). But it changes how a person ends something. If He hears every word, the words can be fewer and kinder. If He knows every motive, the motive can be examined before it is acted on.

The two stories will still be told. Only one telling is complete, and it is not ours.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.