َ الَّذِينَ يُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ مَا هُنَّ أُمَّهَاتِهِمْ إِنْ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّائِي وَلَدْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَقُولُونَ مُنْكَرًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَزُورًا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورٌ ﴿۲﴾ وَالَّذِينَ يُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا قَالُوا فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَتَمَاسَّا ذَلِكُمْ تُوعَظُونَ بِهِ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ ﴿۳﴾

﴾2﴿ Allazeena yuzaahiroona minkum min nisaaa'ihim maa hunnaa ummahaatihim in ummahaatuhum illal laaa'ee waladnahum; wa innaahum la yaqooloona munkaram minal qawli wa zooraa; wa innal laaha la'afuwwun ghafoor
﴾3﴿ Wallazeena yuzaahiroona min nisaaa'ihim summa ya'oodoona limaa qaaloo fatahreeru raqabatim min qabli any-yatamaaassaa; zaalikum too'azoona bih; wallaahu bimaa ta'maloona khabeer

﴾2﴿ Those among you who declare ẓihār (i.e., say to their wives, "You are like my mother")—their wives are not their mothers. Their mothers are only those who gave birth to them. Indeed, they are uttering an evil and false statement. Yet surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful
﴾3﴿ Wallazeena yuzaahiroona min nisaaa'ihim summa ya'oodoona limaa qaaloo fatahreeru raqabatim min qabli any-yatamaaassaa; zaalikum too'azoona bih; wallaahu bimaa ta'maloona khabeer

[2] This verse is a refutation of a custom from the Age of Ignorance, which was a cause of corruption and division. It refers to when a man would say to his wife, “You are to me like the back of my mother.” They would then consider her permanently forbidden to him, just like his real mother, and treated it as a form of irrevocable divorce.
“Yuzaahirūn” comes from zhihār, which is derived from zahr (back). The back originally refers to the back of the body, and in this context, it is a metaphor for riding — symbolizing sexual relations.
The usual wording of zhihār is when a man says to his wife, “You are to me like the back of my mother.” If he uses the name of his grandmother instead of his mother, or compares her to his daughter, sister, or other maḥram women, there is scholarly disagreement about its ruling. Ibn Kathir states that the correct view is that it would still be considered zhihār.
“An evil saying” means it is religiously forbidden and also considered reprehensible by rational people.
“And falsehood” means it contradicts reality, because if the statement is taken as declarative, then the woman is obviously not his mother. And if it is taken as performative (creating a new status), then the woman can never become his mother in the future either.
[3] This verse explains the details of the expiation for ẓihār — meaning, ẓihār does not bring about permanent prohibition, but it does necessitate expiation.
“Then they return to what they said” has three interpretations:
First, it means repeating the same statement — this is considered a return.
Second, that one had done it during the Age of Ignorance and repeats it again in Islam.
Third, that one intends to resume conjugal relations to make the woman lawful again.
“Before they touch one another” — the word touch here refers to sexual intercourse, and it also includes physical contact like touching with the hand or being intimate.
However, if someone has engaged in intercourse or similar acts before making the expiation, the correct view is that they must seek forgiveness, but only one expiation is required.