They are Garments for You and You are Garments for Them
هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَاَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ
Surah Baqarah, Aayat 187
“They (Your wives) are garments for you, and you are garments for them.”
This is a portion of a long Aayat. In this Aayat Haq Ta’ala Shaanuhu has mentioned the bond between a man and his wife, concisely, but with eloquence.
The women referred to in the Aayat are halaal women. I say, “halaal women” because from above [from the starting of the Aayat], wives are being spoken about.
Secondly, ordinary women [non-wives] do not have a distinct and special bond with a man, hence ordinary women cannot be called garments for men and men cannot be called garments for them. The reason for this is that, further ahead, you will learn that expressing them to be “garments” alludes to a special bond. It is obvious that there is no special bond between ordinary women and men.
Thirdly, why would Allah Ta’ala mention ‘benefits’ of something which is not halaal?! If there was a possible benefit, He would have stated the harm to be more and the benefit unworthy of acquiring. Take the Divine Command:
وَاِثْمُهُمَآ اَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَّفْعِهِمَا
“The sin in these two (liquor and gambling) is greater than the benefit in them.”
And in regard to liquor, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) says:
اِنَّه لَيْسَ بِدَوَاءٍ وَلٰكِنَّه دَاءٌ
“It is not a remedy; it is a disease.”
Here in this Aayat [of women being the garments for men and vice versa] the benefits of the relation are not mentioned; only what is halaal is mentioned.
(Raf’ul Iltibaas – To be continued, Insha Allah)