66:1
O Prophet, why do you forbid yourself what Allah has made lawful to you,
seeking to please your wives? And Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.
66:2
Allah has ordained for you the expiation of your oaths and Allah is your
Guardian, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
66:3
And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a certain matter, and when
she revealed it, and Allah disclosed that to him, he made known some of it and
turned aside from some of it. And when he told her about it, she said, ‘Who
told you about it?’ He said, ‘ I was told about it by the All-Knowing, the
All-Aware.’
66:4
If you both repent to Allah, as your hearts have deviated, and if you support
one another against him, verily, Allah is his Guardian, Gabriel, and the
righteous among the believers, and angels are thereafter are supporters.
66:5
It may be that if he divorces you, his Lord will give him instead of you wives,
who are better than you, women, who are submissive, believing, pious,
repentant, devout, fasting, and who have been previously married and virgins.
Tafsir
66:1 66:1 O Prophet, why
do you forbid yourself what Allah has made lawful to you, seeking to please
your wives? And Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.
The
scholars have different opinions as to what was the lawful thing that Prophet
Muhammad [peace be upon him] made prohibited for himself.
Some
scholars say that Prophet Muhammad vowed not to have a sexual relationship with
his slave girl to please his wife Hafsa, daughter of Umar, as she was jealous
when she learned that Prophet Muhammad had a sexual relationship with his slave
girl on her day and in her room. Other scholars say that Prophet Muhammad vowed
not to drink honey.
Zayd
Bin Aslam reported that Messenger Muhammad had a sexual relationship with his
slave girl, Maria, the Copt, the mother of his son Ibrahim, in the house of one
of his wives. The Prophet’s wife said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you did such an
act in my house and on my bed!’ Thus, he made his slave girl prohibited for
himself.
Aisha,
may Allah be pleased with her, said, ‘Messenger Muhammad used to drink honey
when he stayed in the house of his wife Zainab Bint Jahsh. Thus, I and Hafsa
decided to say to him whenever he would come to any of them, ‘I perceive the
odor of unpleasant thing from you.’ Prophet Muhammad said, ‘No, but I drank
honey at the house of Zainab Bint Jahsh. I will not drink it again; I have
vowed not to do so. Do not tell anyone about this matter.’
After
mentioning narrations related to this Ayah, Imam Muhammad Bin Jarir At-Tabari
wrote, ‘The correct opinion about this matter is that Messenger Muhammad made a
lawful thing prohibited for himself. I might be his slave girl, something that
he used to drink, or another thing. When Messenger Muhammad made a lawful thing
prohibited for himself, Allah, Exalted be He, reproached him and taught him how
to expiate for his oath.’
66:1
O Prophet, why do you forbid yourself what Allah has made lawful to you,
seeking to please your wives? And Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.
O
noble Prophet Muhammad, why do you forbid yourself something that Allah has
made lawful to you, whether it is a drink or another thing? Did you do so to
please your wives?
You
should not have done such a thing since it is impermissible to prohibit a
lawful matter and exhaust yourself to please other people.
And
Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.
This
is a consolation to Prophet Muhammad to remove whatever negative effect he
might experience when he was reproached.
O
noble Prophet Muhammad, Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful. Allah, out of His
mercy and generosity, has forgiven you for what you did due to the conduct of
some of your wives.
66:2
Allah has ordained for you the expiation of your oaths and Allah is your
Guardian, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
O
believers, Allah has ordained for you the expiation of your oaths by offering
atonement for them. Allah is your Guardian, Who takes care of all your affairs
and supports and helps you. Allah is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He knows
all your deeds and statements, and He manages all your affairs wisely.
66:3
And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a certain matter, and when
she revealed it, and Allah disclosed that to him, he made known some of it and
turned aside from some of it. And when he told her about it, she said, ‘Who
told you about it?’ He said, ‘ I was told about it by the All-Knowing, the
All-Aware.’
Prophet
Muhammad confided a certain matter to one of his wives, and this wife revealed
that matter to another wife of the Prophet, though Prophet Muhammad had asked
her not to reveal it. Allah, Exalted be He, disclosed to His Prophet Muhammad
and told him that his wife had revealed the matter that he had asked her to
conceal.
He
made known some of it and turned aside from some of it.
When
Prophet Muhammad talked with his wife about the matter that she had revealed,
he made known some of it and turned aside from some of it. He did not tell her
all the details that she had revealed, as he was endowed with high moral
characteristics that made him avoid embarrassing her. He only told her some of
what she had revealed to draw her attention to the mistake that she had made
and to remind her that she should preserve his secret and not tell anyone about
it.
And
when he told her about it, she said, ‘Who told you about it?’ He said, ‘ I was
told about it by the All-Knowing, the All-Aware.’
When
the Prophet told his wife the matter that she had revealed, she asked him, ‘Who
told you about it?’ Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Allah, the All-Knowing, the
All-Aware, told me about the matter.’
Verily,
Allah knows all the conditions of His slaves, and He knows all their deeds and
statements. Nothing of their affairs is hidden from Him, Exalted be He.
It
is worth mentioning the learned lesson from this Ayah, namely, that every sane
person should keep the secrets that he is asked to preserve. He must not reveal
them, even to a limited number of people. He should remember that Allah knows
all things and that nothing is hidden from His perfect knowledge.
66:4
If you both repent to Allah, as your hearts have deviated, and if you support
one another against him, verily, Allah is his Guardian, Gabriel, and the
righteous among the believers, and angels are thereafter are supporters.
In
this Ayah, Allah, Exalted be He, addressed the Prophet’s wives, namely, Ashia
and Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with them. He commanded them to repent to Him.
If
you both repent to Allah, as you have done what necessitates repentance and
your hearts have deviated from the proper method of conduct towards Prophet
Muhammad [peace be upon him], you should have kept his secret, cared for the
Prophet’s comfort, and respected all his conduct.
And
if you support one another against him, verily, Allah is his Guardian, Gabriel,
and the righteous among the believers, and angels are thereafter are
supporters.
And
if you support one another against him…
The
wives of Messenger Muhammad who revealed his secret were Aisha and Hafsa, may
Allah be pleased with them. Abdullah Bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him,
said that he asked Umar Bin Al-Khattab about the two wives of Messenger Muhammad
to whom the following Ayah refers: [66:4 If you both repent to Allah, as
your hearts have deviated, and if you support one another against him…].
Umar said that they were Ashia and Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with them.
Addressing
the two wives of Messenger Muhammad, Allah, Exalted be He, says that if you
support one another against Messenger Muhammad by doing what annoys and angers
him, he will surely find the best supporter. Indeed, Allah is the Guardian of
Messenger Muhammad, and He will support and help him. Likewise, the angel
Gabriel will help and support him against whoever may annoy or anger him, as
will the righteous among the believers, who are his supporters and helpers. The
angels are thereafter supporters of Messenger Muhammad.
This
Ayah mentions the strongest types of support and help for Messenger Muhammad,
which indicates the sublime rank of Messenger Muhammad with his Lord, Allah,
Exalted be He. Moreover, it alludes to the fact that whoever tries to anger
Messenger Muhammad does not belong to the righteous believers.
The
angel Gabriel is mentioned first in the Ayah to highlight his superior rank
among the angels, as he is entrusted with bringing the divine revelation to
Allah’s Prophets and Messengers.
66:5
It may be that if he divorces you, his Lord will give him instead of you wives,
who are better than you, women, who are submissive, believing, pious,
repentant, devout, fasting, and who have been previously married and virgins.
[66:5
It may be that…]
May
is used to express possibility; however, in the context of this Ayah, it
expresses a fact since Allah, Exalted be He, issued the statement.
It
was reported that this Ayah was revealed to warn the Prophet’s wives when they
were jointly jealous concerning him. Umar Bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased
with him, said, ‘The Messenger’s wives were jointly jealous concerning him, so
I said to them, ‘It may be that if he divorces you, his Lord will give him
instead of you wives, who are better than you.’ Thereafter, a divine revelation
confirming this statement.’
If
Messenger Muhammad divorces his wives, with Allah’s will and leave, Allah will
give him instead of them other wives who are better and possess sublime
characters. They shall be submissive and obedient to Allah and His Messenger
Muhammad, believing in all that Prophet Muhammad brings from his Lord, Allah,
and pious, revering Allah’s commands and fulfilling their religious
obligations. They shall also be constantly repentant of sins and evil acts, devout
worshippers, and fasting for the sake of Allah. Moreover, those wives shall
have been previously married and virgins.
Contemplating
this Ayah, one finds that it portrays an aspect of the Prophet’s life with his
wives to bring home some lessons. Some of these are that Allah honored His
Prophet Muhammad and guided him to what was best concerning how to treat his
wives, warning the Prophet’s wives against annoying and angering Messenger
Muhammad, and teaching the believers, at all times and places, how good
relationships between men and women should be.
The Learned Lessons
from Surah At-Tahrim Ayah 1–5
- Allah, Exalted be He, reproached His beloved Prophet
Muhammad when he refrained from consuming what Allah made lawful. It is
impermissible to make a lawful matter forbidden. This reproach clearly
confirms that the Quran is divine revelation, since it is impossible that
one would reproach himself or reveal a personal affair that took place
within his household.
- If one swears not to do something, he can atone for his
oath by offering certain expiation specified by Islamic law.
- Women usually have unreasonable jealousy that leads
them to have strange attitudes.
- Women are usually unable to preserve secrets.
- Man often forgets that Allah knows all his affairs, so
he unconsciously does things that he may regret in the future.
- The noble Quran provides teachings, discipline, and
refinement. Therefore, Allah, Exalted be He, urged Ashia and Hafsa, may
Allah be pleased with them, to repent as they did what displeased Messenger
Muhammad.
- Ashia and Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with them, were
warned against supporting one another against Prophet Muhammad. They were
advised not to do so, as Allah is His Guardian and Protector, as well as
the angel Gabriel, the angels, and the righteous among the believers.
