According to Taberî, this verse describes how a husband who makes an oath of ila (abstinence) is given two options by the judge after a four-month period: either he returns to his wife and fulfills Allah's right, in which case Allah is forgiving and merciful, or he resolves to divorce, in which case Allah is hearing and knowing of their divorce action. These two rulings are explained in the context of the sultan forcing the husband to either return or divorce after the four-month period ends.

فإن فاءوا بعد وقف الإمام إياهم من بعد انقضاء الأشهر الأربعة، فرجعوا إلى أداء حق الله عليهم لنسائهم اللاتي آلوا منهن، فإن الله لهم غفور رحيم، وإن عزموا الطلاق فطلقوهن، فإن الله سميع لطلاقهم إذا طلقوا، عليم بما أتوا إليهن.

In this text, Râzî addresses many jurisprudential rulings related to the ila verse (the oath of a husband to abstain from his wife for four months or more): whether ila is valid concerning slaves, whether the duration changes according to freedom or slavery status, its validity in states of pleasure and anger, the requirement that the person be a husband, and whether divorce occurs through the husband's action or by the expiration of the period. Additionally, linguistic analysis of the words 'tarbas' and 'fa'a' is provided to show how these rulings are derived from the verse's wording.

الحكم الثاني : قال الشافعي رضي الله عنه : مدة الإيلاء لا تختلف بالرق والحرية فهي أربعة أشهر سواء كان الزوجان حرين أو رقيقين ، أو أحدهما كان حرا والآخر رقيقا ، وعند أبي حنيفة ومالك رضي الله عنهما تتنصف بالرق

Kurtubî addresses the ruling of ila in this verse and the scope of the four-month period; he reports from Ibn Abbas that during the Jahiliyyah period, ila practice could last one or two years with the intent to harm the woman, and that Allah limited it to four months. Furthermore, he comparatively examines jurisprudentially who is subject to the ila ruling (free persons, slaves, protected non-Muslims), its relation to zihar, and the disagreements among jurists (Shafi'i, Malik, Abu Hanifa, Ahmad, etc.).

قال عبد الله بن عباس : كان إيلاء الجاهلية السنة والسنتين وأكثر من ذلك يقصدون بذلك إيذاء المرأة عند المساءة فوقت لهم أربعة أشهر فمن آلى بأقل من ذلك فليس بإيلاء حكمى

According to Ibn Kathir, this verse addresses husbands taking an oath to refrain from sexual relations with their wives (ila), and this ruling applies only to free wives; slave girls do not fall within the scope of this address. The husband is given a four-month period from the moment he takes the oath, and at the end of this period he is required either to return to his wife or to divorce her.

أي يحلفون على ترك الجماع من نسائهم فيه دلالة على أن الإيلاء يختص بالزوجات دون الإماء كما هو مذهب الجمهور أي ينتظر الزوج أربعة أشهر من حين الحلف ثم يوقف ويطالب بالفيئة أو الطلاق

According to Baydawi, ila is an oath not to have sexual relations with women, and the verse indicates that the master has the right to wait for four months, and during this period he cannot be forced either to return or to seek divorce. After four months are completed, if the husband refrains from his oath (performs reconciliation), Allah is forgiving toward his sin, and if he resolves to divorce, Allah is hearing and knowing of this intention. The text also transmits the differences of opinion between Shafi'i and Abu Hanifa regarding the duration and rulings of ila.

للذين يؤلون من نسائهم أي يحلفون على أن لا يجامعوهن. والإيلاء: الحلف، وتعديته بعلى ولكن لما ضمن هذا القسم معنى البعد عدي بمن.