In his renowned commentary, Tafsīr Qurṭubī, ꜤAllāmah Qurṭubī  رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْه  has said:

Before Islam it was the practice of the Arabs that they would become the inheritors of their relatives’ wives just as they would become inheritors of their wealth. They then either would keep them as spouses without giving dowry or they would marry them to others and keep their dowry themselves, or they would not let them marry further, but rather keep them with themselves so that they could get the inheritance from them when they would receive it and only then would they free them. Another reason why they would prevent women was to become their inheritors when they would die. In short, the women would be completely helpless in their hands and could not do anything of their own free will. This verse was revealed to abolish this practice.^[1]

Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullāh b. ꜤAbbās  رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُمَا  has stated:

This verse is about the one who hates his wife and mistreats her so that she either returns the dowry or forgives it after becoming distressed. Allah Almighty has forbidden it. One opinion is that men would divorce women, and then would take them back and would then divorce them again. In this way, they would keep women unsettled. Neither could she live with him peacefully, nor could she remarry. This has been forbidden.^[2]

Regarding this blessed verse, in Tafsīr Ṣirāṭ al-Jinān, it has been stated:

When we ponder over the conditions of the pre-Islamic era mentioned in this verse, the thought comes into our mind: Do we not have the same conditions in our society today? In our society, woman as a wife is distressed, forced to forgive her dowry; her rights are not fulfilled and she is mentally tormented; sometimes she is forced to stay at her parents’ home and sometimes she is kept at home but her husband does not talk to her; she is scolded, reproached, etc., in front of others. She makes every possible effort to please her husband, but her