َ وَإِنْ فَاتَكُمْ شَيْءٌ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ فَعَاقَبْتُمْ فَآتُوا الَّذِينَ ذَهَبَتْ أَزْوَاجُهُمْ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْفَقُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي أَنْتُمْ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿۱۱﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَى أَنْ لَا يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَسْرِقْنَ وَلَا يَزْنِينَ وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ﴿۱۲﴾

﴾11﴿ Wa in faatakum shai'un min azwaajikum ilal kuffaari fa 'aaqabtum fa aatul lazeena zahabat azwaajuhum misla maaa anfaqoo; wattaqul laahal lazeee antum bihee mu'minoon
﴾12﴿ Yaaa ayyuhan nabbiyyu izaa jaaa'akal mu'minaatu yubaayigh'naka 'alaaa allaa yushrikna billaahi shai 'anw wa laa yasriqna wa laa yazneena wa laa yaqtulna awlaadahunna wa laa ya'teena bibuhtaaniny yaftaree nahoo baina aydeehinna wa arjulihinna wa laa ya'seenaka fee ma'roofin fa baayigh' hunna wastaghfir lahunnalla hunn allaah; innallaaha ghafoorur raheem

﴾11﴿ And if any part of your wealth (dowries) given to your wives remains with the disbelievers, and you later gain (from them in war), then compensate those whose wives have left them with an amount equal to what they had spent. And fear Allah, in whom you believe
﴾12﴿ O Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)! When believing women come to you pledging allegiance to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor bring forth a false accusation that they fabricate between their hands and feet, nor disobey you in any matter of religion—then accept their pledge and seek forgiveness for them from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful

[11] This relates to the previous ruling — meaning: seek the dowries of the women who became apostates (i.e., left Islam) from the disbelievers.
If the disbelievers refuse to return the dowries, then when you acquire some wealth as fayʼ (confiscated without battle) or ghanīmah (war booty) from those disbelievers, before distributing it, give the amount equal to the dowry of that man’s wife (who had become an apostate and the disbelievers refused to return the dowry) to him.
According to narrations from Mujāhid and Qatādah, this ruling is general — whether there is a treaty with the disbelievers or not.
Some commentators have restricted it to the time of a treaty.
(فَعَاقَبْتُمْ) — here it means to fight and wage war against them, in case there is no treaty or if they break the treaty. Or it may mean: if the women of those disbelievers come to you and bring their dowries with them, do not return that dowry to the disbelievers (even if a treaty exists), rather give it to the believer whose wife's dowry remained with the disbelievers.
[12] This verse defines the rule for "فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ" — meaning, the intended test is the pledge (bay‘ah), as mentioned in the hadith of Bukhārī, where the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) used this verse to examine the migrating women. Whoever acknowledged these conditions, the Prophet would say to her, “I have pledged allegiance to you,” but he would not physically shake hands with her.
This ruling was not limited to migrant women only — whenever a woman accepted Islam, these same conditions applied.
In a hadith of Bukhārī, it is stated that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) came to the women after the Eid al-Fiṭr sermon and addressed them with this verse. All the women remained silent except one who responded.
And another authentic hadith proves that the Prophet also took a similar pledge from men.
This pledge includes six statements:
Note: In today's time, many elderly individuals exist who are themselves involved in shirk and also lead others into shirk, misleading many ignorant people. Avoiding them is obligatory.
Fourth point: (وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ) — Unjust killing is absolutely forbidden, but since women generally have no power to kill others, it specifically mentions killing children. This refers to all forms of child killing — whether due to poverty or hunger, as stated in Sūrah An‘ām (6:151) and Sūrah Isrā’ (17:31). It also includes the killing of daughters.
Mufassir al-Alūsī said this might also include abortion after the fetus has received a soul.
Fifth point: (وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ) — There are several interpretations:
1. Buhtān refers to a child found and falsely attributed to the husband, since at birth the child falls between the hands and feet.
2. It refers to a child from fornication — first they used to kill the child, and if not, they would falsely claim it belonged to their husband. Since the fetus is in the womb — which lies between the hands and feet — the sequence of fornication, murder, and false attribution is mentioned.
3. It refers to general slander made up by a woman without any proof, expressed with the phrase "between their hands and feet."
This includes lies, gossip, slander, cursing, and accusations of adultery.
Sixth point: (وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ) — This has two interpretations:
1. A specific meaning: ma‘rūf as the opposite of munkar — i.e., whatever is approved by Sharī‘ah. Previously, five forbidden acts were listed; ma‘rūf refers to the obligations, which are many, hence stated briefly.
2. A general meaning: that ma‘rūf includes everything whose ruling is known in Sharī‘ah — whether permissible or impermissible — thus including both obligations and prohibitions.
Note: Al-Alūsī and Qāsimī wrote that the term ma‘rūf also implies that obedience to any created being is only allowed in that which is ma‘rūf (i.e., approved by Sharī‘ah).