66. At-Tahrim Page 560 66. At-Tahrim بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ یٰۤاَیُّهَا O النَّبِیُّ Prophet لِمَ Why (do) تُحَرِّمُ you prohibit مَاۤ what اَحَلَّ has made lawful اللّٰهُ Allah لَكَ ۚ for you تَبْتَغِیْ seeking مَرْضَاتَ (to) please اَزْوَاجِكَ ؕ your wives وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah غَفُوْرٌ (is) Oft-Forgiving رَّحِیْمٌ Most Merciful قَدْ Indeed فَرَضَ has ordained اللّٰهُ Allah لَكُمْ for you تَحِلَّةَ (the) dissolution اَیْمَانِكُمْ ۚ (of) your oaths وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah مَوْلٰىكُمْ ۚ (is) your Protector وَ هُوَ and He الْعَلِیْمُ (is) the All-Knower الْحَكِیْمُ the All-Wise وَ اِذْ And when اَسَرَّ confided النَّبِیُّ the Prophet اِلٰی to بَعْضِ one اَزْوَاجِهٖ (of) his wives حَدِیْثًا ۚ a statement فَلَمَّا and when نَبَّاَتْ she informed بِهٖ about it وَ اَظْهَرَهُ and made it apparent اللّٰهُ Allah عَلَیْهِ to him عَرَّفَ he made known بَعْضَهٗ a part of it وَ اَعْرَضَ and avoided عَنْۢ [of] بَعْضٍ ۚ a part فَلَمَّا Then when نَبَّاَهَا he informed her بِهٖ about it قَالَتْ she said مَنْ Who اَنْۢبَاَكَ informed you هٰذَا ؕ this قَالَ He said نَبَّاَنِیَ Has informed me الْعَلِیْمُ the All-Knower الْخَبِیْرُ the All-Aware اِنْ If تَتُوْبَاۤ you both turn اِلَی to اللّٰهِ Allah فَقَدْ so indeed صَغَتْ (are) inclined قُلُوْبُكُمَا ۚ your hearts; وَ اِنْ but if تَظٰهَرَا you backup each other عَلَیْهِ against him فَاِنَّ then indeed اللّٰهَ Allah هُوَ He مَوْلٰىهُ (is) his Protector وَ جِبْرِیْلُ and Jibreel وَ صَالِحُ and (the) righteous الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ ۚ believers وَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ and the Angels بَعْدَ after ذٰلِكَ that ظَهِیْرٌ (are his) assistants عَسٰی Perhaps رَبُّهٗۤ his Lord اِنْ if طَلَّقَكُنَّ he divorced you اَنْ [that] یُّبْدِلَهٗۤ He will substitute for him اَزْوَاجًا wives خَیْرًا better مِّنْكُنَّ than you مُسْلِمٰتٍ submissive مُّؤْمِنٰتٍ faithful قٰنِتٰتٍ obedient تٰٓىِٕبٰتٍ repentant عٰبِدٰتٍ who worship سٰٓىِٕحٰتٍ who fast ثَیِّبٰتٍ previously married وَّ اَبْكَارًا and virgins یٰۤاَیُّهَا O الَّذِیْنَ (you) who اٰمَنُوْا believe قُوْۤا Protect اَنْفُسَكُمْ yourselves وَ اَهْلِیْكُمْ and your families نَارًا (from) a Fire وَّ قُوْدُهَا whose fuel النَّاسُ (is) people وَ الْحِجَارَةُ and stones عَلَیْهَا over it مَلٰٓىِٕكَةٌ (are) Angels غِلَاظٌ stern شِدَادٌ severe لَّا not یَعْصُوْنَ they disobey اللّٰهَ Allah مَاۤ (in) what اَمَرَهُمْ He Commands them وَ یَفْعَلُوْنَ but they do مَا what یُؤْمَرُوْنَ they are commanded یٰۤاَیُّهَا O الَّذِیْنَ (you) who كَفَرُوْا disbelieve لَا (Do) not تَعْتَذِرُوا make excuses الْیَوْمَ ؕ today اِنَّمَا Only تُجْزَوْنَ you will be recompensed مَا (for) what كُنْتُمْ you used (to) تَعْمَلُوْنَ۠ do
(66:1) O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you?1 Is it to please your wives?2 Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate.3
(66:2) Allah has prescribed for you a way for the absolution of your oaths.4 Allah is your Guardian. He is All-Knowing, Most Wise.5
(66:3) The Prophet confided something to one of his wives and then she disclosed it (to another); so after Allah revealed to the Prophet (that she had disclosed that secret), he made a part of it known to her and passed over a part of it. And when he told her about this (i.e., that she had disclosed the secret entrusted to her), she asked: “Who informed you of this?” He said: “I was told of it by He Who is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”6
(66:4) If the two of you turn in repentance to Allah (that is better for you), for the hearts of both of you have swerved from the Straight Path.7 But if you support one another against the Prophet,8 then surely Allah is his Protector; and after that Gabriel and all righteous believers and the angels are all his supporters.9
(66:5) Maybe if he were to divorce you, your Lord might grant him in exchange wives better than you10 – those who truly submit to Allah,11 are full of faith, obedient,12 disposed to repentance,13 and given to worship14 and fasting15 – both previously wedded ones and virgins.
(66:6) Believers, guard yourselves and your kindred against a Fire whose fuel is human beings and stones,16 a Fire held in the charge of fierce and stern angels who never disobey what He has commanded them, and always do what they are bidden.17
(66:7) (It will then be said): “Unbelievers, make no excuses today. You are being recompensed for nothing else but your deeds.”18
1. Although this sentence is phrased in the form of a question, it is in fact an expression of disapproval. These words are not said to enquire about as to why the Prophet (peace be upon him) acted in the manner described here, but to let him know that God does not approve of his act of making something unlawful for himself which God Himself had proclaimed lawful. This incident gives a clear message that none has the authority to declare something unlawful which Allah has made lawful, not even the Prophet (peace be upon him). Despite the fact that the Prophet, in this incident, did not regard it as unlawful from the point of view of belief or because it is non-compliant to the Shari‘ah, rather he only exhibited dislike and prohibited it for himself to consume it. From this Prophetic action, some people may misconstrue that in following his footsteps, there is no harm in placing some lawful thing into the unlawful category. For this apparent reason, God censures the Prophet (peace be upon him) on this account and asks him to refrain from prohibiting for himself something God has made permissible.
2. It is evident from the wording of the verse that the Prophet's act of making lawful things unlawful was not actuated by his desire. Instead, he did so in deference to some of his wives’ desires. This raises the question as to why, apart from reprimanding him for this act, Allah mentions in particular the reason behind his action. Had the intention been only to dissuade him from this act of prohibition, this could have been achieved well by the opening part of verse 1. In that case, there was hardly any need for specifying the reason behind his action. It is clear from the specific mention of the reason that the purpose was not only to dissuade the Prophet (peace be upon him) from that act, but also to chide his respected wives over their negligence of their exalted position. They had erred in forcing the Prophet (peace be upon him) to do something which could lead to the danger of making something unlawful which Allah had deemed lawful.
The Qur’an does not specify the item which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had forbidden for himself, yet scholars of tafsir and hadith identify the following two incidents as relevant to the circumstantial setting of the above verse. One of these is related to Mariah the Copt and the second one to the Prophet’s vow that he would refrain from using honey.
The story of Mariah is that, after concluding the Hudaybiyah treaty, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had sent letters to the kings and rulers around ArAbua, inviting them to accept Islam. One of them was to the Roman patriarch of Alexandria, known to Arabs as Muqawqis. When Hatib ibn Abu Balta’ah delivered the Prophet's letter to him, he did not embrace Islam. However, he treated the Prophet's emissary well and in his reply, wrote: “I know about the Promised Messenger. In my opinion, however, his advent would be in Syria. I have nonetheless treated your emissary very well. I take this opportunity to present you two slave girls who enjoy a respectable position among the Copts.” (Ibn Sa‘d, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, 1, 34) The two were Sirin and Mariah. While returning from Egypt, Hatib introduced the message of Islam to both and they accepted it. When they were presented before the Prophet (peace be upon him) he handed Sirin over to Hassan ibn ThAbut and admitted Mariah to his household. In the month of Dhu’l Hijjah 8 AH Mariah bore the Prophet's son, Ibrahim (al-Isti’ab, 4, 465 and al-Isabah, 8, 311). She was exceedingly beautiful. In his al-Isabah (8, 311) Ibn Hajar records ‘A’ishah’s observation about her as follows: “I resented much her entry into the Prophet's house. For she was very pretty and the Prophet (peace be upon him) liked her very much.”
Varying reports appear about her in some of the collections of ahadith which could be summarized as follows: One day the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited Hafsah’s home while she was not there. Mariah then joined him and spent some time with him in privacy. This was resented by Hafsah who lodged a strong protest with the Prophet (peace be upon him). To assuage her hurt feelings, he vowed that he will not have any marital relations with Mariah. Some reports state that he forbade her for himself. Some add that he took an oath to the above effect. Most of these mursal reports are on the authority of the Successors of the Companions. However, some of these are also narrated by such outstanding Companions as ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Hurayrah.
In view of various reports to the above effect, Ibn Hajar in his book Fath al-Bari (8, 765) says that there must be some substance in the above incident. However, this incident is not reported in any of the six authentic collections of hadith. Nasa’ relates only this much on the authority of Anas: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) had a slave girl with whom he had conjugal relations. Since this was disliked by Hafsah and ‘A’ishah, he forbade her for himself. Against that background the opening verse of Surah al-Tahrim was sent down: ‘O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you?’”
The second event is reported on the authority of ‘A’ishah in the hadith collections by Bukhari (K. al-Tafsir, Surah al-Tahrim), Muslim (K. al-Talaq, Bab Wujub al-Kaffarah), Abu Dawud (K._al-Ashribah, Bab fi Sharab al-‘Asl), Nasa’i (K. ‘Ishrat al-Nisa’, Bab al-Ghayrah) and others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to visit his wives at their homes after ‘Asr Prayer. During a particular period, he started spending more time at Zaynab bint Jahash’s residence. She had received honey from someone, which she offered to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he liked it very much. He used to have a honey drink at her apartment every evening during that period. ‘A’ishah states that this made her jealous. She took Hafsah, Sawdah, and Safiyah into confidence and decided that they would tell the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he visited any of them that his mouth is giving off the scent of maghafir, a flower with an offensive smell. Honey made from this flower carries its peculiar smell. They knew it well that as a person of refined taste, he would react strongly to any suggestion about the bad smell emanating from his mouth. They had devised this strategy to dissuade him from staying at Zaynab’s place. And this worked, for when his several wives told him that his mouth smelt of maghafir, he vowed never to take that honey. A report cites his words: “Never will drink it again. I swear by this.” The other report, however, quotes him saying only this much: “Never will I take it.” It makes no reference to his taking a vow. Ibn ‘Abbas’s report, as cited by Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abu Hatim, Al-Tabarani and Ibn Marduwayh, reads thus: “By Allah, I will not drink it.”
Leading scholars regard the latter version more authentic and relevant to the circumstantial setting of this verse. They tend to dismiss the former as unreliable. Imam Nasa’i opines: “‘A’ishah’s version regarding honey is sound. As to the incident about the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbidding Mariah for himself, it is not recorded in any authentic report.” (al-Fath al-Rabbani, 18, 310). Qadi ‘Iyad holds: “The truth is that first verse of Surah al-Tahrim was sent down with reference to the Prophet's forbidding the drink of honey for himself, not Mariah.” (al-Fath al-Rabbani, 18, 310) Likewise, Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-’ ArAbu links the incident of honey with this verse (Ahkam al-Qur’an, 4, 294). The same stance is endorsed by Imam Nawawi (Sahih Muslim, 10, 66), and Hafiz Badar al-Din al-‘Ayni (‘Umdah al-Qari, 20, 242). In his Fath al-Qadir Ibn Humam says: “The incident of the prohibition of honey is related on ‘A’ishah’s authority by Bukhari and Muslim. Since she was a party to this incident, her version is “more reliable.” (8, 160) Ibn Kathir holds the view: “In all reality, this any was occasioned by the Prophet's prohibition of honey for himself.” (Tafsir)
3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is told that his act of making a lawful thing unlawful for himself to please his wives does not benefit the august office of Allah’s Messenger ship. However, in doing so, he did not commit any sin which would incur punishment. Allah therefore only reprimanded him and forgave his lapse.
4. To come out from the self-imposed constraint of turning halal into haram, Allah is directing the Prophet (peace be upon him) to break the oath and offer an expiation in the same way as mentioned in verse 89 of Surah al-Ma’idah. This has given rise to an important juristic question - whether the above command is applicable when one forbids for himself a lawful thing after taking an oath or when one employs such words which are synonymous with an oath. Jurists answer the above question variously.
According to one group of jurists, prohibition alone does not amount to taking an oath. If one forbids for himself something lawful, for example his wife, without taking an oath, it amounts to doing something foolhardy and it does not entail any expiation. Without offering any expiation one may resume his relationship with his wife or taking what he had prohibited for himself. This is the stance of Masruq, Sha bi, RAbu‘ah and Abu Salamah, which is endorsed by Ibn Jarir and Zahiris. For them, only when one takes an oath, he must offer expiation. Their argument rests on the point that since the Prophet (peace be upon him) had declared for himself a lawful thing as unlawful, Allah directed him to free himself from the constraint, concomitant upon taking an oath in accordance with the prescribed method. - .
The other group of jurists is, however, of the view that if one forbids for himself something, without using an expression synonymous to an oath, it does not constitute an oath, except one’s utterance of such words about his wife. It is wrong for someone to forbid for himself some item of food or clothing. He may start using it without offering any expiation.
However, if one forbids for himself his sexual relations with his wife or slave girls, she will not automatically be forbidden for him. However, he must offer expiation if he wants to approach her sexually. This is the stance of the Shafi‘i school (Mughni al-Muhtaj). Almost the same view is held by the Maliki school (Ibn al-‘ArAbu, Ahkam al- Qur'an, 4, 294).
The third group of jurists maintains that one’s act of forbidding something for himself constitutes an oath, even though the words of oath have not been used. Among the exponents of this view-are Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, ‘A’ishah, ‘Umar, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, Zayd ibn ThAbut and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas. A different view is ascribed to Ibn ‘Abbas as well. According to a report cited by Bukhari, Ibn ‘Abbas appears as saying: “If one forbids his wife for himself, it is something pointless.” (K. al-Talaq, Bab lima tuharrim) For him, it does not represent any form of divorce. It is only an oath and for breaking it one has to offer expiation. Ibn ‘Abbas’s opinion is also quoted by Bukhari (K. al-Tafsir), Muslim (K. al-Talaq, Bab Wujub al-Kaffarah) and Ibn-Majah (K. al-Talaq, Bab al-Haram): Nasa’i reports that on being asked to give his ruling on this issue Ibn ‘Abbas said: “She (your wife) is not forbidden for you. However, you must offer expiation.” Ibn Jarir (23, 86) quotes Ibn Abbas’s following ruling: “If people forbid for themselves. something which Allah has declared lawful, they are obliged to offer expiation for breaking their oath (K. al-Talaq).” This viewpoint is endorsed by Hasan al-Basri, ‘Ata’, Tawus, Sulayman ibn Yasar, Ibn Jubayr, and Qatadah.
Hanafis abide by the same ruling. Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas maintains: “The wording of verse 1 of Surah al-Tahrim does not imply that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had also taken an oath while forbidding something for himself. It therefore emerges from the verse that the act of forbidding something does amount to taking an oath. For, after that incident, Allah prescribed the expiation for breaking an oath while forbidding something for oneself. Hanafis equate the act of forbidding with taking an oath when one’s intention is not to divorce his wife. If one forbids his wife for himself, it amounts to his taking an oath that he would not approach her sexually. This would be an ‘ila’ (an act of temporary separation) for him. If he forbids for himself an item of food and drink, it is akin to his taking an oath that he would not draw upon it. In this verse, Allah censures the Prophet (peace be upon him) for forbidding for himself something which He has declared lawful. This verse suggests also the way out. Allah thus equates his prohibition (tahrim) with an oath and the word tahrim in its meaning and sense becomes equivalent to taking an oath.” (Ahkam al- Qur'an, 3, 621 and 623) In the public interest, the juristic ruling about forbidding one’s wife for himself and other items is clarified below:
The Hanafis maintain that if one forbids his wife for himself without any intention to divorce her, or takes an oath that he would not approach her sexually, it is tantamount to committing an act of ‘ila’ (temporary separation). He should offer expiation for an oath before he resumes conjugal relations with her. However, if the above act is accompanied with his intention to divorce her, he will be asked first to clarify his intention.
If he intended a triple divorce, it will come into force. However, if his intention was to pronounce divorce less than the above in degree, be it single or double, only a single divorce will be counted. If one employs very broad, general words for forbidding for himself all that is lawful, it will not affect his conjugal relationship to forbid his wife for himself. Until one offers expiation for the oath, he cannot resume the thing he had prohibited for himself (al-Bada’i’ al-Sana’i'; Hidayah; Fath al-Qadir and al-Jassas’s Ahkam al- Qur’an, 3, 623).
The Shafi'i school of thought is of the view that if one forbids for himself his wife, with-the intention of divorce or zihar, it will come into force. This holds true for both revocable and irrevocable forms of divorce as well as zihar. If one intended both while using the expressions for prohibition, he will be asked to indicate his choice for either of the two as both divorce and zihar cannot come into force at the same time. In fact, divorce brings an end to the marriage whereas zihar does not. If somebody takes an oath forbidding his wife for himself without the intention of divorce, she will not be lawful for him, but he must offer expiation (kaffarah) for his wrongful oath. If one takes an oath not forbidding his wife but forbidding other things, it will be regarded as a foolish and useless act and will not require any formal expiation (Mughni al-Muhtaj).
Malikis hold the view that, except for one’s wife, if someone forbids any other thing upon himself, it will neither make the thing unlawful nor will he be required to expiate before resuming its use. However, if one forbids himself for his wife or her for himself, irrespective of whether his marriage with her has been consummated or not, it amounts to pronouncing a triple divorce unless his intention was for less than this. Asbagh points out: If one says: “All that is lawful is forbidden for me and he does not specifically exclude his wife from this assertion, his wife will be forbidden for him. In al-Mudawwanah, a distinction is drawn between the wife with whom one’s marriage has been consummated * To say to one’s wife (according to a pre-Islamic practice) that her back is as forbidden to one as the back of one’s mother. and the wife with whom it has not been. If one forbids for himself the former, it amounts to a triple divorce, regardless of his intention. In the latter case, however, one’s intention for the number of divorce will be taken into account. If he did not specify it, it will be held equivalent to a triple divorce (Hashiyah al-Dusuqi).
In his Ahkam al-Qur’an (4, 295 and 296), Qadi Ibn al-’ Arabi cites three rulings by Imam Malik: (i) Forbidding one’s wife for oneself is tantamount to one irrevocable divorce. (ii) This act is equivalent to a triple divorce. (iii) In the case of one’s wife with whom his marriage has been consummated, it is unquestionably the same as a triple divorce. However, it is equal to a single divorce in the case of the wife with whom one’s marriage has not been consummated. Ibn al-’Arabi’s concluding statement is: “It is equal to a single divorce because if one uses the expression ‘divorce’ instead of ‘forbidding’ and does not specify the number of divorce, it will result in only a single divorce being reckoned.”
Three rulings are ascribed to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal on this issue: (i) Forbidding one’s wife for himself or declaring lawful things as forbidden for himself in an absolute sense constitutes zihar, irrespective of whether zihar was his intention or not. (ii) This act is akin to divorce, and thus it brings into force a triple divorce, even though one may have intended only a single divorce. (iii) This act amounts to taking an oath, except if one’s intention is divorce or zihar. Whatever one’s intention, it will come into force. The first ruling, as cited above, is the most favored Maliki position on this issue (al-Insaf).
5. Allah is man’s Guardian and Protector. He oversees all the affairs of man. He knows best what is in man’s interest. His commands for man rest on perfect wisdom: The above verse states first that man is not independent. Rather, he is Allah’s servant and Allah is the Lord. Therefore, no one has the authority to alter the commands prescribed by Him. Itis in man’s own interest to refer all his affairs to Allah and to engage himself in worshipping and obeying Him. Before articulating the next point, it is emphasized that all the commands and laws enacted by Allah are based -on perfect knowledge and wisdom. Out of His boundless knowledge and wisdom, He has declared things lawful or unlawful. Declaring things lawful or. unlawful is not some haphazard act. Those who believe in Allah should realize that they are not all-knowing and all-wise. Rather, it is Allah Who is All-Knowing and All-Wise. It befits us to obey the commands laid down by Him.
6. Several reports relate the secret which the Prophet (peace be upon, him) had shared with one of his wives, and which was disclosed by her to another of his wives. In our opinion, it is improper to pursue that secret. For Allah, in this verse, warns one of the Prophet's wives against her misconduct of disclosing a secret. How will it be proper for us to make efforts to ascertain and publicize the same secret? Moreover, it may be noted that the purpose for which this verse was revealed, it is not at all important to know what the secret was. Had it been relevant, Allah Himself would have mentioned it. The true purpose for which - this incident is narrated in the Qur’an is to warn one of the Prophet's wives against her misconduct of having disclosed what her illustrious husband had confided to her in private. Had it been a strictly personal matter, as in the case of an ordinary husband and wife, there was hardly any need for Allah to inform the Prophet’s wives about it through His direct revelation to him. Besides informing, this incident is recorded in the Qur’an, the Book which is to be recited by people until the end of time. Why this matter merited such attention was the fact that it involved not the wife of an ordinary person, but the wife of a great personality to whom Allah had entrusted a very important mission; a person who was in constant struggle against the disbelievers, polytheists, and hypocrites. Under his leadership, a massive effort was in progress to replace Islam against unbelief. A myriad of discussions were held inside his house which, if leaked, could damage the cause championed by him. So, as this lapse was committed by one of the residents of the Prophet's home, she was reprimanded. Let it be clarified that she had not disclosed it to some stranger or enemy. She had shared it with one of the Prophet's co-wives. Yet, she is not only chided publicly but is mentioned in the Qur’an in a reprimanding tone. This is done in order to instruct the Prophet's wives, and through them, the wives of responsible Muslims, not to be-negligent in guarding their secrets. The verse disregards the issue altogether whether the secret disclosed by her was an important one and whether its disclosure posed any danger or not. A serious note, however, is taken of the disclosure of that secret. This is because if a weakness in keeping household secrets is found among the members of a very responsible family, and if one day an unimportant secret is disclosed, there is no guarantee that an important secret is not leaked out the next day. The higher a person’s position of responsibility in the community, the more dangerous it becomes for secrets to leak out of his household. Regardless of whether a matter is important or not, once a person becomes careless in guarding secrets, it is likely that he will disclose important matters along with those that are unimportant.
7. The word saghw, used in the verse (faqad saghat qulubukuma), stands for swerving and twisting. Both Shah Waliullah and Shah Raff’ al Din have rendered it with reference to the deviance of the heart. Ibn Mas’‘ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, Sufyan al-Thawri and Dahhak also interpret it with the swerving of the heart. Imam al-Razi explains it thus: “Reference is to their moving away from the path of the truth.” Alusi’s version is as follows: “It is obligatory on you (the Prophet’s wives) to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him) in what he likes and dislikes. In this particular instance, their hearts deviated from the Prophet’s way and followed the course which amounted to opposing him.”
8. Tazahur in the verse we in Tazahara ‘alayhi stands for supporting one another against someone or for uniting against someone. Most scholars of the Qur’an from the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, such as Shah ‘Abdul Qadir, Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi, and Mawlana Shabbir Ahmad ‘Uthmani have given a more or less similar meaning. The verse ‘pointedly addressed to two ladies, to be more precise, the two respected wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) because verses 1-5 of this Surah: ‘deal specifically with his wives. All this is clear from the context of the Qur’an. This leads us to the next issue the identity of these two wives and the matter which incurred Allah’s wrath. These details appear in the works of ahadith. Bukhari, Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Nasa’i has cited an extensive report on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, with slight variations. Ibn ‘Abbas reports:
For a long time, I thought of asking ‘Umar about the identity of the we holy wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who had. united against the “Prophet (peace be upon him) and regarding whom the Qur’an “if the two of you turn in repentance to Allah (that is better for you), because the hearts of both of you have swerved from the straight path. (Verse 4 of “al-Tahrim) However, I was too overawed to ask him this question. Once as he set out on Hajj, I took the opportunity to accompany him. On the way back, while assisting him in performing wudu’, I got an opportunity to raise this question. To this he replied: “Those two were A’isha and Hafsah.” He then elaborated: “We, the Quraysh, were accustomed to Keep - our wives under strict control. However, when we migrated to Madinah, we came into contact with such men who were under the control of their wives. Our wives became influenced by this scenario. One day, as I was angry with my wife, she answered me back. Her answering ac infuriated me. She asked me why I felt angry over this. By Allah, even the Prophet’s wives sometimes did this. Some of them remain in an angry mood for the whole day”. (Bukhari’s report is to the contrary, saying that the Prophet [peace be upon him] remained angry with her for the whole day.) Upon hearing this, I left my house and went to Hafsah’s residence (she was his daughter and the Prophet's wife). I asked her whether she answered back to the Prophet (peace be upon him). She replied in the affirmative. Then I asked her whether some of them (the Prophet's holy wives) continued the angry behavior the whole day. (Bukhari once again attributes this act to the Prophet [peace be upon him]). When she replied again in the affirmative, I told her: “Wretched and a loser is she among you who behaves in this manner! Have you become totally fearless that the Prophet's displeasure may not evoke Allah’s wrath upon you, leading to your peril and destruction? Never argue with him. Nor should you ever demand anything from him. You are free to demand anything from what I have. Do not be deluded by this that ‘A’ishah does the same. She is more charming and dearer to him than you are.” Then I called on Umm Salamah who is my relative as well. I discussed this issue with her. She told me: “O Ibn al-Khattab, you are a strange fellow. You interfere in every matter. How dare you meddle in the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his wives.” This discouraged me from pursuing the matter further. Then it so happened that an Ansar neighbor of mine called on me at night. We used to join the Prophet’s company by turn and exchanged our notes. It was the period when there was the impending danger of the attack by the Ghassanids. As he called me out at night, he told me that a tragedy had struck. asked him whether the Ghassanids had launched the attack. He told me: “No, it is something much more serious. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has divorced his wives.” I exclaimed: “Wretched and lost is Hafsah! (Bukhari says that ‘Umar named both Hafsah and ‘A’ishah). I already had a premonition of the same.” (Bukhari, K. al-Mazalim, Bab al-Ghurfah ... K. al-Nikah, Bab Maw‘izah al-Rajul ... and al-Fath al-Rabbani, K. Fada’ il al- Qur'an).
The report adds that the next morning ‘Umar visited the Prophet (peace be upon him) and tried to assuage him. The above account is based on the reports cited by Ahmad and Bukhari. It is clear from the context that the Prophet's wives sometimes did not hesitate to answer back to the Prophet. ‘Umar advised his daughter, who was one of the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him), not to be impudent.
The reason Allah reprimanded the Prophet's wives so strongly in the Qur’an is a point worth studying. Was that matter so serious? Moreover, why did ‘Umar take it so seriously that he first reprimanded his daughter and then called on other wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and warned them against Allah’s displeasure? Above all, was the Prophet (peace be upon him) so sensitive that he used to get angry with his wives over trivial matters? Was he so irritable and enraged over his wives’ minor mistakes that on one occasion he even severed his ties with them and retired to his apartment? On studying the above, one must opt for either of these two scenarios. He may have such an overwhelming regard for his wives that he may show little concern about the attitude of Allah and His Messenger. Or he may concede that, at that particular point of time, the Prophet's wives had behaved so improperly that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was justified in taking such an extreme measure. Moreover, not only he but Allah too, warned them harshly against their impudence.
9. The Prophet’s wives are warned that if they entered in league against him, they would only hurt themselves because he enjoyed Allah’s complete protection and support. Moreover, Gabriel, Allah’s other angels, and all the righteous believers stood by him. How then would their joining together against him be able to change anything?
10. This shortcoming did not apply to ‘A’ishah and Hafsah only, but to some of the Prophet’s other wives who also shared some blame. Therefore, after admonishing these two, the other wives are also reprimanded. The Qur’an does not throw any light on the exact nature of the lapses committed by them. However, some hadith reports do shed some light, which are narrated as below.
Bukhari (K. al-Tafsir, Surah al-Tahrim) reproduces Anas’s report that ‘Umar related: “The mutual jealousy of the Prophet’s wives caused offence to the Prophet (peace be upon him). On learning this, I told them: ‘Tt is likely that if he divorces you, Allah will grant him better wives than you.’” On the authority of Anas, Ibn Abu Hatim cites ‘Umar’s following statement: “I learned about some discord between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his wives. I visited each of them and asked them to give up offending him, otherwise Allah will grant him better wives than them. When I called on the last one (who, according to Bukhari, was Umm Salamah), she responded saying: ‘Does the Prophet (peace be upon him) not suffice for admonishing women that you too have taken to reproving them?’ This silenced me. After a little while Allah sent down the above verse.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 8, 165)
Muslim (K. al-Talaq; Bab fi al-Ila’) relates ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas’s report which he heard from ‘Umar: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) turned away from his wives, I joined him in his mosque. I found all those present there with gloomy faces. They told one another of this happening.” Then ‘Umar narrated about his visit and advice to ‘A’ishah and Hafsah. He called on the Prophet (peace be upon him) and submitted: “Why are you upset over this matter? If you divorce them, Allah is with you, as are all the angels, including Gabriel and Michael. Abu Bakr, the believers, and I, are with you too.”
I thank Allah that seldom it happened that whenever I made some observation while reposing trust in Allah, it was not followed by the sending down of some divine revelation, which endorsed my humble reflections. In this case too, the opening verses of Surah al-Tahrim were revealed. I then asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) whether he had divorced his wives, to which he replied in the negative. It was then, while standing at the gate of the Prophet’s mosque, that I proclaimed in a loud voice that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had not divorced his wives.’
Several reports feature in the hadith collections by Bukhari (K. Talaq) and Ahmad (Musnad, 1, 33 and 34), narrated by Anas, Ibn ‘Abbas, ‘A’ishah, and Abu Hurayrah to the effect that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had vowed not to have any relations with his wives for a period of one month. He stayed upstairs during this period. At the expiry of 29 days, Gabriel visited him and told him that its duration has been completed.
In his ‘Umdat al-Qari (19, 249) Hafiz Badr al-Din al-‘Ayni has quoted ‘A’ishah saying that the above incident had divided the Prophet's wives into two camps. To one belonged ‘A‘ishah, Hafsah, Sawdah, and Safiyah. The other camp included Zaynab, Umm Salamah, and other wives.
The above reports point to the situation of the Prophet’s domestic life at the time. It necessitated Allah’s intervention. All this was done to reform the conduct of the Prophet's respected wives. Although they were the best women of the day, they were, after all, human beings, and not altogether free from human weakness. At times, they found it hard to bear with the poverty that rocked their lives. Unable to restrain themselves, they asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to provide them with proper resources for maintenance. The following verses 28-29 of Surah al-Ahzab were revealed in the same context:
O Prophet, tell your wives: “If you seek the world and its embellishments, then come and I will make some provision for you and release you in an honorable way. But if you seek Allah and His Messenger and the abode of the Hereafter, then surely Allah has prepared a great reward for those of you who do good.” (See also Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 9, Surah al-Ahzab 33: n. 41, p. 43 and also the Introduction to the Sarah, pp. 18-19).
Overcome at times by their feminine nature, they committed acts which are fairly common in daily life. However, Allah had granted them a privileged position by virtue of being the Prophet's wives. Their mistakes did not befit their exalted status. In view of the apprehension that their shortcomings may disturb the peace of the Prophet’s domestic life, which may, in turn, have its adverse effect on his noble mission entrusted to him by Allah, the Qur’anic verses under discussion were revealed for reforming them. These awaken the Prophet's wives to their status and their role and responsibility entailed by their association with the Prophet (peace be upon him). The opening part of this verse: “May be if he were to divorce you, your Lord might grant him in exchange wives better than you,” (verse 5 of Surah al-Tahrim) must have shaken them. It served as an effective warning for them. The very thought that Allah will grant the Prophet (peace be upon him) better wives than them must have been intolerable to them, for in that eventuality, they would have lost their privileged position of being the mothers of the Muslims. In the face of such a dire warning, any misconduct on their part, which could incur Allah’s displeasure, was unthinkable. This explains why the note of warning directed at them occurs at only two places (i.e. in Surahs al-Ahzab and al-Tahrim) in-the Qur’an.
11. When both the expressions Muslim and M’umin are used at the same place, the former refers to one who acts on divine commands and the latter to the one blessed with firm faith. Thus the first and foremost feature of Muslim wives is that they truly submit to Allah, His Messenger and His faith. Moreover, in their morals and manners, habits, conduct and attitude they faithfully observe the divine teachings.
12. It is open to two sets of meanings and both of these are intended here: First, they are obedient to Allah and His Messenger, and next, they obey their husbands.
13. When the expression ta’ib is used for someone, it does not refer to his seeking repentance only once. Rather, it stands for one who is repentant over his lapses, whose conscience keeps pricking him, and who is always aware of his weaknesses and vulnerability. In recognition of all this, his mind and heart are filled with repentance and shame. Such a person is not likely to become arrogant and selfish. On the contrary, he is most likely to be tender-hearted and forbearing.
14. A devout person, unlike a non-worshipper, can never disregard God. A God-conscious person contributes much to making a woman an excellent wife, for being a worshipper she follows the limits set by Allah, discharges her duty towards everyone, and keeps her faith strong and fresh. She is more likely not to have the courage and inclination to disobey any divine command.
15. The expression sa‘ihat, as employed in this verse, is construed by many Companions and most of the Successors as “those who fast.” Siyahat (travelling) is used in the context of fasting in view of the fact that in ancient times ascetics and dervishes were generally travellers, without having proper provision for their journey. They starved until someone offered them something to eat. Taken in this sense, not eating anything or fasting is a trait of dervishes. Until the appointed time of the sunset, a fasting person too does not eat anything. In his tafsir on verse 12 of Surah al-Tawbah (12, 15), Ibn Jarir has cited ‘A’ishah’s following observation: “The siyahat of this community consists in fasting.” This implies that the virtuous wives are not those who fast only during Ramadan, they also observe nafl fasts.
Allah’s statement directed at the Prophet's wives that if the Prophet (peace be upon him) were to divorce them Allah will grant him better wives in their place, does not imply that they were devoid of good qualities. Rather, they are urged to give up their incorrect behavior which displeased the Prophet (peace be upon him), and are also asked to devote themselves heart and soul to developing excellent qualities.
16. This verse indicates that a person is required, first of all, to strive to guard himself against God's chastisement. Over and above that, he should also do whatever possible to raise members of his family who are under his care as righteous people so that they win God’s pleasure. But if they are inclined to follow a course that is likely to land them in Hellfire, he should try, as far as he can, to prevent them from proceeding along that path. He should not be concerned only about their prosperity in the world. Rather, his priority should be to ensure that they do not end up as fuel for Hellfire. Bukhari (K. al-Ahkam, Bab Qawl Allah ta’ala Ati'u Allah wa Ati’u al-Rasul) has cited this hadith on Ibn ‘Umar’s authority: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Each one of you is like a shepherd, who will be accountable for those under his care. By this token, a ruler, being the master, is answerable regarding his subjects. A male is the head of his family and is responsible for them. A woman is in charge of her husband’s house and children. She will be held accountable regarding them.”
As for the words, “whose fuel is human beings and stones”, they probably signify coal. Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, and al-Suddi are of the opinion that brimstone will be the fuel of Hellfire.
17. They will faithfully execute the sentence awarded to every culprit and will not take pity on anyone. .
18. The tone of both verses carries a serious warning for the Muslims. The first verse asked Muslims to guard themselves and their family members against the horrible punishment of Hellfire. The next one specifies what will be said to the disbelievers when punishment will be meted out to them in the Hereafter. Implicit in it is the message for Muslims that they should shun such misconduct which could place them in the rank of the disbelievers in the Hereafter.