Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 237

Mufti Taqi Usmani

If you divorce them before you have touched them, while you have already fixed for them an amount (of dower), then there is one half of what you have fixed, unless they (the women) forgive, or forgives the one in whose hand lies the marriage tie, and it is closer to Taqwā (righteousness) that you forgive, and do not forget to be graceful to one another. Surely, Allah is watchful of what you do.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And if you divorce them before consummating the marriage but after deciding on a dowry, pay half of the dowry, unless the wife graciously waives it or the husband graciously pays in full. Graciousness is closer to righteousness. And do not forget kindness among yourselves. Surely Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.

Ruwwad Translation Center

If you divorce them before you have consummated the marriage, but you have already fixed their dowry, then pay half the amount agreed upon, unless the wife graciously waives it or the husband graciously pays it in full, but graciousness is closer to piety. Do not forget to be graceful to one another, for Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.

A. J. Arberry

And if you divorce them before you have touched them, and you have already appointed for them a marriage-portion, then one-half of what you have appointed, unless it be they make remission, or he makes remission in whose hand is the knot of marriage; yet that you should remit is nearer to godfearing. Forget not to be bountiful one towards another. Surely God sees the things you do.

Abdul Haleem

If you divorce wives before consummating the marriage but after fixing a bride-gift for them, then give them half of what you had previously fixed, unless they waive [their right], or unless the one who holds the marriage tie waives [his right]. Waiving [your right] is nearer to godliness, so do not forget to be generous towards one another: God sees what you do.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And if ye divorce them ere ye have touched them but have settled unto them a settlement, then due from you is half of that which ye have settled unless the wives forego, or he in whose hand is the wedding-knot foregoeth, and that ye should forego is nigher unto piety. And forget not grace amongst yourself; verily of that which ye work Allah is the Beholder.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And if ye divorce them before consummation, but after the fixation of a dower for them, then the half of the dower (Is due to them), unless they remit it or (the man's half) is remitted by him in whose hands is the marriage tie; and the remission (of the man's half) is the nearest to righteousness. And do not forget Liberality between yourselves. For Allah sees well all that ye do.

Abul Ala Maududi

In case you fixed a dower for them and then divorced them before you touched them, you should pay half of the fixed dower. But there is no harm if the woman agrees to forego it or the man, in whose hands is the marriage tie, is generous enough (to pay the dower in full). And if you (men) act generously, it is akin to piety. Do not forget to show generosity in your dealings with one another for Allah sees what you do.

Ahmed Ali

And if you divorce them before the consummation of marriage, but after settling the dowry, then half the settled dowry must be paid, unless the woman forgoes it, or the person who holds the bond of marriage pays the full amount. And if the man pays the whole, it is nearer to piety. But do not forget to be good to each other, and remember that God sees all that you do.

Ahmed Raza Khan

If you divorce them before you have touched them and have appointed the bridal money, then payment of half of what is agreed is ordained unless the women forgo some of it, or he in whose hand is the marriage tie, pays more; and O men, your paying more is closer to piety; and do not forget the favours to each other; indeed Allah is seeing what you do.

Ali Quli Qarai

And if you divorce them before you touch them, and you have already settled a dowry for them, then [pay them] half of what you have settled, unless they forgo it, or someone in whose hand is the marriage tie forgoes it. And to forgo is nearer to Godwariness; so do not forget graciousness among yourselves. Indeed Allah watches what you do.

Ali Ünal

If you divorce them before you have touched them but have already appointed for them a marriage-portion, then (give them) half of what you appointed, unless they make remission and forgo it or he in whose hand the marriage tie is makes remission (and pays the full amount). If you make remission, this is nearer and more suited to piety, and do not forget magnanimity among yourselves. Whatever you do, surely God sees it well.

Amatul Rahman Omar

But if you divorce them before you have touched them, while you have already settled for them a marriage portion, then half of what you have settled (is due to them) unless they (-the women forgo their full due or a portion of it) or he, (the husband) in whose hand is the tie of marriage, forgoes (a portion or the full half which he is entitled to deduct and thus pays the whole dowry money), and that you (husband) forgo (and pay the whole dowry money) is nearer to becoming secure against evil. And do not neglect to do good to one another. Verily, Allâh sees well what you do.

English Literal

And if you divorced them (F) from before that you touch them, and you (had) specified/stipulated to them (F) a specification/stipulation (dowry) , so half (of) what you specified/stipulated, except that they (F) forgive/pardon, or the one who (has) with (in) his hand the marriage contract forgives/pardons, and that to forgive/pardon (is) nearer/closer to the fear and obedience of God, and do not forget the grace/favour between you, that God (is) with what you make/do seeing/knowing/understanding .

Faridul Haque

If you divorce them before you have touched them and have appointed the bridal money, then payment of half of what is agreed is ordained unless the women forgo some of it, or he in whose hand is the marriage tie, pays more; and O men, your paying more is closer to piety; and do not forget the favours to each other; indeed Allah is seeing what you do.

Hamid S. Aziz

And if you divorce them before you have touched them, but have already settled for them a settlement; then pay half of what you have settled, unless they (the women) agree to remit it, or he in whose hand is the marriage tie (the husband) remits it (his half, and therefore, pays the whole); and that you should remit it is nearer to righteousness; and forget not liberality between you. Verily, Allah is Seer of what you do.

Hilali & Khan

And if you divorce them before you have touched (had a sexual relation with) them, and you have appointed unto them the Mahr (bridal money given by the husbands to his wife at the time of marriage), then pay half of that (Mahr), unless they (the women) agree to forego it, or he (the husband), in whose hands is the marriage tie, agrees to forego and give her full appointed Mahr. And to forego and give (her the full Mahr) is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, right-eousness, etc.). And do not forget liberality between yourselves. Truly, Allah is All-Seer of what you do.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have appointed for them a portion, (pay) half of what you have appointed unless they forgo or he forgoes in whose hand is the marriage tie. And it is nearer to dutifulness that you forgo. Nor neglect the giving of free gifts between you. Surely Allah is Seer of what you do.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And if you divorce them before you have touched them and you have appointed for them a portion, then (pay to them) half of what you have appointed, unless they relinquish or he should relinquish in whose hand is the marriage tie; and it is nearer to righteousness that you should relinquish; and do not neglect the giving of free gifts between you; surely Allah sees what you do.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

If ye divorce them before ye have touched them and ye have appointed unto them a portion, then (pay the) half of that which ye appointed, unless they (the women) agree to forgo it, or he agreeth to forgo it in whose hand is the marriage tie. To forgo is nearer to piety. And forget not kindness among yourselves. Allah is Seer of what ye do.

Muhammad Sarwar

If you divorce your wives before the consummation of the marriage and the amount of dowry has been fixed, pay your wives half of the amount of their dowry unless she or her guardians drop their demand for payment. To drop such a demand is closer to piety. Be generous to each other. God is Well-Aware of what you do.

Qaribullah & Darwish

If you divorce them before you have touched them but after their dowry has been determined, give them half of what you determined, unless they pardon, or he pardons in whose hand is the marriage knot. And if you pardon it is nearer to wardingoff (evil). Do not forget the generosity between each other. Allah is the Seer of what you do.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And if you divorce them before you have touched (had a sexual relation with) them, and you have appointed for them their due (dowry), then pay half of that, unless they (the women) agree to remit it, or he (the husband), in whose hands is the marriage tie, agrees to remit it. And to remit is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness). And do not forget liberality between yourselves. Truly, Allah is All-Seer of what you do.

Wahiduddin Khan

If you divorce them before the marriage is consummated, but after their dower money has been settled, give them the half of their dower money, unless they [the women] agree to forego it, or the man [the husband] in whose hand lies the marriage knot foregoes it. To forego is nearer to righteousness. Do not neglect any chance of behaving benevolently towards each other. God is observant of whatever you do.

Talal Itani

If you divorce them before you have touched them, but after you had set the dowry for them, give them half of what you specified—unless they forego the right, or the one in whose hand is the marriage contract foregoes it. But to forego is nearer to piety. And do not forget generosity between one another. God is seeing of everything you do.

Tafsir jalalayn

And if you divorce them before you have touched them, and you have already appointed for them an obligation, then one-half of what you have appointed, must be given to them and the other half returns to you; unless it be that they, the women, make remission, and forgo it, or he makes remission, by leaving her the entire amount, the one in whose hand is the knot of marriage, the husband to be, or as Ibn `Abbs is reported to have said, `The legal guardian, where the female is a minor'; in which case nobody would be at fault; yet that you should remit (wa-an ta`f is the subject) is nearer to piety (aqrabu li'l-taqw is its predicate). Forget not kindness between you, that is, to be bountiful towards one another; surely God sees what you do, and will requite you accordingly.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Wife gets half of Her Mahr if She is divorced before the Marriage is consummated

Allah says;

وَإِن طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُمْ
And if you divorce them before you have touched (had a sexual relation with) them, and you have appointed for them their due (dowry), then pay half of that,
This honorable Ayah is not a continuation of the Mut`ah (gift) that was mentioned in the previous Ayah (i.e., divorce before the marriage is consummated).
This Ayah requires the husband to relinquish half of the appointed Mahr if he divorces his wife before the marriage is consummated. If it was discussing any other type of gift, then it would have been mentioned that way, especially when this Ayah follows the previous Ayah related to this subject. Allah knows best.

Giving away half of the bridal-money in this case is the agreed practice according to the scholars. So, the husband pays half of the appointed Mahr if he divorces his wife before consummating the marriage.

Allah then said;

إَلاَّ أَن يَعْفُونَ

unless they (the women) agree to remit it,

meaning, the wife forfeits the dowry and relieves the husband from further financial responsibility.

As-Suddi said that Abu Salih mentioned that Ibn Abbas commented on Allah's statement;

"Unless the wife forfeits her right."

Furthermore, Imam Abu Muhammad bin Abu Hatim said that it was reported that Shurayh, Sa`id bin Musayyib, Ikrimah, Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi, Al-Hasan, Nafi, Qatadah, Jabir bin Zayd, Ata' Al-Khurasani, Ad-Dahhak, Az-Zuhri, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Ibn Sirin, Ar-Rabi bin Anas and As-Suddi said similarly.

Allah then said;

أَوْ يَعْفُوَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّكَاحِ
or he (the husband), in whose hands is the marriage tie, agrees to remit it.
Ibn Abu Hatim reported that Amr bin Shu`ayb said that his grandfather narrated that the Prophet said;

وَلِيُّ عُقْدَةِ النِّكَاحِ الزَّوْج
The husband is he who has the marriage tie.
Ibn Marduwyah also reported this Hadith, and it is the view chosen by Ibn Jarir.
The Hadith states that the husband is the person who really holds the marriage tie in his hand, as it is up to him to go on with the marriage or end it. On the other hand, the Wali of the wife is not allowed to give away any of her rightful dues without her permission, especially the dowry.

Allah then stated;

وَأَن تَعْفُواْ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى
And to remit it is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness).
Ibn Jarir said,

"Some scholars said that this statement is directed at both men and women."
Ibn Abbas said;

وَأَن تَعْفُواْ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَى
"(And to remit it is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)),

indicates that the one who forgives, is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety)."
A similar statement was made by Ash-Sha`bi and several other scholars.

Mujahid, An-Nakhai, Ad-Dahhak, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Ar-Rabi bin Anas and Thawri stated that;

`liberality' mentioned in the Ayah refers to the woman giving away her half Mahr, or the man giving away the full Mahr. This is why Allah said here;

وَلَا تَنسَوُاْ الْفَضْلَ بَيْنَكُمْ
And do not forget liberality between yourselves.

meaning, kindness (or generosity), as Sa`id has stated.

Allah said;

إِنَّ اللّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ



Truly, Allah is All-Seer of what you do.

meaning, none of your affairs ever escapes His perfect Watch, and He will reward each according to his deeds