The story of the woman who argued with her husband who pronounced zihar against her, and an explanation of the rulings of zihar.

The Shaykh : The saying of Allah the Exalted: This woman came to complain to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that her husband had pronounced zihar against her, meaning he said to her, "You are to me like the back of my mother." This statement, as Allah described it, is a denial and a monstrous lie, because it is forbidden and a lie, for the wife is not to the husband like the back of his mother; rather, the back of his mother is among the most strictly forbidden things, and the wife is among the most permissible things. So it is a lie and a falsehood.
"Hearing" means "audible," so He, (Exalted and Majestic is He), hears every sound, even if it is faint. Look at this woman who was in the chamber, and the Lord, (Mighty and Majestic), is above His heavens on His Throne, hearing. He said: Here, as a digression, we ask: What is zihar? Zihar is when a man likens his wife to his mother or to other women who are permanently forbidden to him, such as saying: "You are to me like the back of my mother," "You are to me like the back of my daughter," "You are to me like the back of my sister," "You are to me like the back of my paternal aunt," "You are to me like the back of my maternal aunt." All of this is zihar. Its ruling is that if it occurs from a person, it is obligatory for him to abstain from his wife until he expiates. The expiation has three types in order: first, freeing a slave; second, if he does not find one, he fasts for two consecutive months; and third, if he is unable to fast, he feeds sixty poor people.