An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 25 of 176

An-Nisa 4:25

وَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلًا أَن يَنكِحَ ٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ فَمِن مَّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُكُم مِّن فَتَيَـٰتِكُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَـٰنِكُم ۚ بَعْضُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْضٍ ۚ فَٱنكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ وَءَاتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ مُحْصَنَـٰتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَـٰفِحَـٰتٍ وَلَا مُتَّخِذَٰتِ أَخْدَانٍ ۚ فَإِذَآ أُحْصِنَّ فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَـٰحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى ٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتِ مِنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِىَ ٱلْعَنَتَ مِنكُمْ ۚ وَأَن تَصْبِرُوا۟ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“And whoever among you cannot [find] the means to marry free, believing women, then [he may marry] from those whom your right hands possess of believing slave girls. And Allāh is most knowing about your faith. You [believers] are of one another. So marry them with the permission of their people and give them their due compensation [i.e., mahr] according to what is acceptable. [They should be] chaste, neither [of] those who commit unlawful intercourse randomly nor those who take [secret] lovers. But once they are sheltered in marriage, if they should commit adultery, then for them is half the punishment for free [unmarried] women. This [allowance] is for him among you who fears affliction [i.e., sin], but to be patient is better for you. And Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Rank divides people, but only Allah knows the worth of faith, and He opens a dignified path for anyone whose reach is short.

A reflection

The ledger only Allah can read

In the middle of a law about marriage and means, the ayah stops for a short sentence: wallāhu aʿlamu bi-īmānikum. Allah knows best about your faith.

It lands in a society ranked by birth. Free or bonded, high family or low, rich or without means. The ayah has just spoken of a man who cannot afford to marry a free woman, and of believing women in bondage. Then it reminds everyone who is speaking: the One who sees inside every heart.

One classical commentator explains why the sentence is there. It was placed to comfort hearts and remove disdain, by showing that the true ground of honour is faith, not pedigree or lineage. Many a woman in bondage, he adds, has faith surpassing that of many free women. A concise commentary draws the practical lesson. Deal with people by what appears, and leave their inner worth to Allah, who alone knows its rank.

This is majesty that empties the ego of its favourite possessions. We rank each other all day: by accent, postcode, job title, family name, the car in the drive. Pride lives on those rankings, because they let us feel above someone. The ayah does not deny that people's circumstances differ. It says the ledger that matters is not ours, and we cannot read it. The one you look down on may stand far above you on the only scale that lasts.

Does Allah need to remind us of His knowledge? He is the Free of need (35:15). The reminder is for us. It protects the humble from being crushed by rank, and the proud from being fooled by it.

The ayah ends with two more names: wallāhu ghafūrun raḥīm, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. The One who knows every heart completely is also the One who covers its faults. That is the only kind of knowing it is safe to be known by.

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.