Al-Baqarah 241: It is a right of divorced women to receive an appropriate benefit (from their husbands). This is an obligation on those who are muttaqi (abstaining ones).

We can begin our lesson. We left off at verse 241 of Surah Al-Baqarah.

Allah Almighty again, to people, regarding divorces between husband and wife, to us makes His law known. What does He say? It is the right of divorced women, by fair measure, to receive support from their husbands. This is an obligation upon those who fear Allah. If it is an obligation upon those who fear Allah, that obligation is obligatory (farz). So Allah Almighty here protects women so beautifully. Why does He protect them so much? Because He created them lacking compared to men. That's one. He gives her to man as a (?). That's two. As a helper to the man, for his property and possessions, for protecting them. In every situation, the woman, by creation, has feelings such as taking refuge somewhere, drawing strength from somewhere, being protected; she has such feelings. And the man within his own will, with powers such as taking on responsibility, managing and running things, He has equipped.

Exceptions don't break the rule; there are some. Women, wives, manage men. But these are exceptions. Because in general it is like this, look how beautifully Allah Almighty protects women now in the verse. When divorced women are left by their husbands, for the woman to receive from her husband maintenance is permissible. Maintenance. Why will she receive maintenance? Now we're coming to that. Allah Almighty says nothing unjustly. He is (?) from deficient attributes. The woman has given her life to her husband. Yes. She has given her life. The man worked. And the poor woman kept the man's property.

She raised it to a certain level. She didn't squander his property. She raised it to a certain level. Now, even though this property and wealth rests on the man's back, does the woman have no right at all over this property or wealth? Perhaps Allah Almighty gave him that property for her sake, for her provision. Can you know that? So for those who fear Allah, when He says it is an obligation on them, when He says that person owes it, then with that justice, when that man divorces his wife, he will respect her rights and dues. He will look after her; he will not throw her out stark naked, leaving her in misery, dependent on this one and that. Even if she has nowhere to go, so as not to drive her onto a bad path, he will look after her in his home, give her a place, look after her. Even if not by her side, he will provide her maintenance. For those who fear Allah, our Lord, to a person, or rather to the man, protects the rights of the woman given as a trust.

Yes.

The woman gave her husband her life, protected her husband's property; within their own destinies, as much as Allah Almighty allotted, the woman's husband became a man of property. This woman certainly has a right over this property. So what does Allah Almighty say? For those who fear Allah, this is an obligation upon them. So if the husband divorces his wife, for those who fear Allah, he must give a maintenance that will secure the woman's livelihood, so that the woman (?) her life and does not fall onto a bad path. So for this, we have maintenance assigned to the woman according to the man's situation.

This exists in the civil code too. It sets a maintenance. For the woman's livelihood. If the woman says I don't want it, on both of them there is no obligation. The woman receives maintenance from her husband. When she goes to a second husband, her maintenance automatically stops. This time, her care is on the man she has gone to. Yes. But people take some evil paths. They evade. The woman marries. When she marries, she doesn't declare it as a marriage. She doesn't have a nikah either.

No nikah either. In this case she both starts taking maintenance from the man and lives off that man's back. Actually this looks good to her, but this time she deals the second blow on the other one. She can't get any rights from him. Yes.

When the woman marries, goes to another husband, then, since the woman's livelihood rests on the one she married, her former husband is relieved of giving maintenance. That is, he doesn't pay maintenance. Whatever situation people are in, rich or poor, providing benefit, according to his means, to the wife he divorced is the woman's right. If the woman has no one to look after her, let me tell you, if the woman has in no way someone to care for her and has no guardian either, even if you are poor, if you have even one percent of conscience, of faith, the person who served you so much, you cannot say: I divorce you, come on, out you go.

If there is conscience, taking her under protection as needed, so that even if I'm divorced, this is among the (?) of the religion of Islam. What do we do with our brothers and sisters? We protect them. A Muslim is a Muslim's brother. Let her count as divorced. She isn't counted as a sibling, but she is a Muslim. As members of the same religion, because we carry a conscience, we are obliged to help those in need.

So whatever (?) people are in, rich or poor, providing benefit according to his means to the wife he divorced is the woman's right. But if the woman gives up taking maintenance of her own will, there is no sin on either side. But for women's livelihood, their benefiting from the husbands they divorced, from their husbands, is obligatory on the husbands. This is an obligation upon those who fear Allah. Fear of Allah. So every person honoured with the religion of Islam fears Allah. Every person. But those who live the religion of Islam yet avoid giving maintenance do this out of weakness of faith, and they bear the burden of sin.

They bear the burden. So Allah Almighty, by thus protecting the rights of the women He placed under men's care, makes known that people who, tomorrow at that Supreme Court, in the presence of Allah Almighty, will give account should fear Allah. Where? Tomorrow at that Supreme Court, on a day when judgment belongs to Allah alone, our Lord, Eleysallahu bi-ahkemi'l-hâkimîn, as the Judge of judges, in His presence giving account; taking into account that we will give account, without being deceived by the passing pleasures of the world, fulfilling Allah's commands and attaining our Lord's mercy is certainly the most beautiful, the most beautiful of lives.

Yes.