The Women’s Examination (60:10)
“O you who have believed, when the believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them. Allah is most knowing as to their faith. And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers.”
The imtihan (examination) was an oath taken by the women — swearing by Allah that they had left for faith, not to flee a husband, not for some worldly benefit. The Quran does not prescribe an intrusive physical or psychological examination; the verbal declaration under divine oath was the examination.
The ruling: if they passed, they were not to be returned. This was a unilateral modification of the Treaty of Hudaybiyya’s terms — the treaty’s return-clause applied only to men, not women.
The Hierarchy of Disbelievers (60:8-9)
“Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes — from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
“Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion — [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers.”
These two verses establish a principle that classical scholars describe as muwala (friendship/alliance) differentiation: the prohibition on close alliance (60:1) is specifically with those who are actively hostile to Muslims, not with disbelievers in general. Those who are peaceful and just — even if non-Muslim — are legitimate recipients of justice and kindness.
Ibrahim’s Model (60:4)
The surah opens with Ibrahim’s example as the model for clear loyalty-distinction:
“There has already been for you an excellent pattern in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people, ‘Indeed, we are disassociated from you and from whatever you worship other than Allah.’”
Ibrahim’s bara’ (disassociation) from his people’s shirk is presented as the model — but notably, Ibrahim’s bara’ was specifically from the worship, not from the people as humans. He continued to pray for his father (60:4 exception) even after the disassociation.
See also: Quran Sciences, Tafsir Overview, Fiqh Overview, Ummah, Maqasid Al Shariah, Prophets In Islam, Seerah Medina