2/229-230 — Divorce tied to a number
In the age of ignorance divorce could be without number: the man divorced, took her back before the waiting period was out, then divorced again. This was a way of keeping a woman indefinitely in suspense.
The verse ties this to a number: two. And after that it leaves two options — both of them qualified:
| Option | Its qualifier |
|---|---|
| إِمْسَاكٌۢ (to keep) | bi-maʿrūf — in the fitting, recognised way |
| تَسْرِيحٌۢ (to release) | bi-iḥsān — in a good way |
That separation too has a manner is said by the qualifier of the word. The notion of iḥsān was treated at verse 112: to do a work as it should be done and well. That this qualifier should be given to divorce is worth recording.
وَلَا يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ أَن تَأْخُذُوا۟ مِمَّآ ءَاتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ شَيْـًٔا — taking back what has been given is forbidden. The exception is kept narrow: where the parties fear they cannot keep God's bounds, the woman's separating by giving a compensation.
تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَعْتَدُوهَا — "these are God's bounds, do not overstep them." The word حُدُود is repeated many times in this section; at verse 187 it said fa-lā taqrabūhā (do not approach them), here fa-lā taʿtadūhā (do not overstep them). Two patterns in two places: one distance, one boundary.