Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 232 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:232

وَإِذَا طَلَّقْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَبَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ أَن يَنكِحْنَ أَزْوَٰجَهُنَّ إِذَا تَرَٰضَوْا۟ بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ يُوعَظُ بِهِۦ مَن كَانَ مِنكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ ۗ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَزْكَىٰ لَكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“And when you divorce women[91] and they have fulfilled their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they [i.e., all parties] agree among themselves on an acceptable basis. That is instructed to whoever of you believes in Allāh and the Last Day. That is better for you and purer, and Allāh knows and you know not.”

Saheeh International

Essence

When a divorced couple decently agree to remarry, no guardian's pride may block them: Allah knows what is best, and we do not.

A reflection

Allah knows, and you do not

A father refuses to let his divorced daughter remarry the man she was married to. 'After how he treated you?' he says. He is not protecting her. His real objection, if he were honest, is what his brothers will say.

The ayah closes with one of the most humbling sentences in the Quran: 'Allah knows, and you do not know'. A classical commentator explains. He knows the benefit in what He commands and forbids; you do not know what is truly best in what you do or leave.

This is majesty in its plainest form. Not thunder, not power over the heavens, but knowledge set beside our ignorance. We feel certain about other people's lives. We decide whom they should forgive, what they should want, what is good for them. The ayah quietly removes the certainty.

Notice what the ego is doing in the father's refusal. It speaks the language of care. It even believes it. But underneath it is pride: his name, his standing, his wounded honour. The early report about this ayah uses exactly that word. The brother who blocked his sister was seized by ḥamiyya, a proud, prickly indignation.

Does Allah need us to admit that He knows and we do not? He is the Free of need (35:15). The sentence is for us. It is the beginning of every wise decision about someone else's life.

The father does not know what his daughter and her husband have said to each other. He does not know their repentance, or their future. Allah does.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.