66- Surat Altahrim/Tafseer
12 Verses Medinan (revealed in Medina)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Ya-ayyuha alnabiyyu lema tuharrimu ma ahalla Allahu laka tabtaghi mardata azwajika wa Allahu Ghafurun Raheem (1).
O Prophet! Why do You prohibit what Allah has made lawful for You, seeking the pleasure of Your wives?, and Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Qad farada Allahu lakum tahillata aymanikum wa Allahu mawlakum wa huwa Al-Aleemu Al-Hakeem (2).
Indeed, Allah has prescribed for you the dissolution of your oaths, and Allah is your Protector, and He is the All-Knower, the All-Wise.
Wa-iz asarra alnabiyyu ila ba'di azwajihi hadithan fa-lamma nabba-at bihi wa azharahu Allahu alayhi arrafa ba'dahu wa a'rada an ba'din fa-lamma nabba-aha bihi qalat man anba-aka haza qala nabba-aniya Al-Aleemu AKhabeer (3).
And when the Prophet confided to one of His wives a statement, and when She informed of it, and Allah showed it to Him, He made known part of it and ignored a part, then when He informed her about it, she said Who told You this?. He said I was informed by the All-Knower, the All-Aware.
In tatuba ila Allahi fa-qad saghat qulubukuma wa in tazahara alayhi fa-inna Allaha huwa mawlahu wa Jibreelu wa salihu al-mu'mineena wa al-mlaikatu ba'da zalika zaheer (4).
If both of you repent to Allah, for your hearts have deviated, but if you back each other against Him, then indeed, Allah is His Protector, and Gabriel, and the righteous of the believers, and the Angels, after all that, are assistants.
Asa rabbuhu in tallaqakunna an youbdilahu azwajan khayran menkunna muslimatin mu'menatin qanitatin ta-ibatin abidatin sa-ihatin thayyibatin wa abkara (5).
Perhaps, His Lord, if He divorced you, would substitute for Him wives better than you, submitting, believing, devoutly obedient, repentant, worshipping, fasting, previously married, and virgins.
Ya-ayyuha allazina amanu qu anfusakum wa ahleekum naran waquduha alnasu wa alhijaratu alayha malaikatun ghilazun shidadun la ya'suna Allaha ma amarahum wa yaf'aluna ma you'marun (6).
O you who have believed! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are Angels, harsh and severe, they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded.
Ya-ayyuha allazina kafaru la ta'taziru al-yawma innama toujzawna ma kuntum ta'malun (7).
O you who have disbelieved! Do not make excuses today, you will only be recompensed for what you used to do.
Ya-ayyuha allazina amanu tubu ila Allahi tawbatan nasuhan asa rabbukum an youkaffira ankum sayyi-atikum wa youdkhilakum jannatin tajree men tahtiha al-anharu yawma la youkhzi ellahu alnabiyya wa allazina amanu ma-ahu nuruhum yas'a bayna aydihim wa bi-aymanihim yaquluna rabbana atmim lana nurana wa-ghfir lana innaka ala kulli shay-in Qadeer (8).
O you who have believed! Repent to Allah with sincere repentance, perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds, and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, the day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with Him, their light will proceed before them and on their right, they will say Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us, indeed, You are All-Powerful over everything.
Ya-ayyuha alnabiyyu jahidi alkuffara wa almunafiqeena wa-ghluz alayhim wa ma'wahum jahannamu wa be'sa almaseer (9).
O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and Be harsh with them, and their abode is Hellfire, and wretched is the fate.
Daraba Allahu mathalan li-llazina kafaru emra-ata noohin wa-mra-ata lutin kanata tahta abdayni men ibadina salihayni fa-khanatahuma fa-lam youghniya anhuma mena Allahi shay-an wa-qeela udkhula alnara maa aldakhilin (10).
Allah has cited an example of those who disbelieve, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot, they were under two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them, so they did not avail them from Allah in anything, and it was said Enter the Fire with those who enter.
Wa daraba Allahu mathalan li-llazina amanu emra-ata fer'awna iz qalat rabbi ebni lee indaka baytan fee aljannati wa najjini men fer'awna wa amalihi wa najjini mena al-qawmi alzalimeen (11).
And Allah has cited an example of those who believe, the wife of Pharaoh, when she said my Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and save me from the wrongdoing people.
Wa Maryama ebnata imrana allati ahsanat farjaha fa-nafakhna feehi men ruhina wa saddaqat bi-kalimati rabbiha wa kutubihi wa-kant mena alqaniteen (12).
And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded Her chastity, so We breathed into it of Our Spirit, and She believed in the words of Her Lord and His books and She was of the devoutly obedient.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Altahrim came as a blame from Allah to His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) when He prohibited what Allah has made lawful for Him, seeking the pleasure of His wives, and He made an oath for that in response to what Aisha and Hafsa had done when they abetted each other against Him, thereupon Allah threatens them that He is Able to substitute for Him wives better than them. And Allah assures the disbelievers that their association with the Muslims will not benefit them at all if the faith is not in their hearts, as was the case with the wives of Noah and Lot. Allah also gave the believers the example of Pharaoh's wife and Mary to encourage them to obedience and steadfastness in the faith.
Allah Almighty says in the first three verses (1-3) "O Prophet! Why do You prohibit what Allah has made lawful for You, seeking the pleasure of Your wives?, and Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful, indeed, Allah has prescribed for you the dissolution of your oaths, and Allah is your Protector, and He is the All-Knower, the All-Wise, and when the Prophet confided to one of His wives a statement, and when She informed of it, and Allah showed it to Him, He made known part of it and ignored a part, then when He informed her about it, she said Who told You this?. He said I was informed by the All-Knower, the All-Aware", that is, Allah blamed His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) for forbidding Himself from drinking honey when Aisha and Hafsa backed each other against Him out of their jealously of Zainab bint Jahsh, as Hammad bin Zaid narrated from Thabit from Anas that Zainab bint Jahsh, May Allah be pleased with her, used to boast before the wives of the Prophet (PBUH), and used to say You were given in marriage by your families, while I was married (to the Prophet) by Allah from over seven heavens"(Sahih Albukhari 7420), and out of their jealously, Aisha and Hafsa, May Allah be pleased with them, abetted each other against the Prophet (PBUH), where Ata' narrated from Ubaid bin Umair from Aisha: "Allah's Messenger (PBUH) used to drink honey in the house of Zainab bint Jahsh, and would stay there with her, so Hafsa and I agreed secretly that if He came to either of us, she would say It seems You have eaten Maghafir (a kind of bad-smelling resin), for I smell in You the smell of Maghafir, and He replied No, but I was drinking honey in the house of Zainab bint Jahsh, and I shall never take it again. I have taken an oath as to that, and you should not tell anybody about it" (Sahih Albukhari 4912).
So Aisha and Hafsa tried to backup each other against Allah's Messenger (PBUH), and when the Prophet confided to one of them the statement of honey as a secret, She informed about it, and Allah made it apparent to Him, thereupon He swore that He would not enter upon His women for a month, where Ubaidullah bin Abdullah bin Abi Thawr said I heard Ibn Abbas saying: "I was determined to ask Umar about the two women, among the wives of the Prophet, about whom Allah Almighty said "If both of you repent to Allah, for your hearts have deviated", until once when Umar performed Hajj and I performed Hajj along with Him, I poured water for His Wudu' from a water holder, and I said: O commander of the believers! Who are the two women among the wives of the Prophet about whom Allah said "If both of you repent to Allah, for your hearts have deviated, but if you back each other against Him, then indeed, Allah is His Protector", He said to Me I am astonished at you O Ibn Abbas, Al-Zubair said by Allah! He disliked what he asked Him, but he did not withhold it from Him. Ibn Abbas said He said to Me It was Aisha and Hafsa.
Ibn Abbas said then Umar began narrating the Hadith to me. He said We, the people of Quraish used to have the upper hand over our women, so when we arrived in Medina, We found a people whose women had the upper hand over them. Our women began acquiring the habits of their women. One day I became angry with My wife when she started talking back to Me, she said 'What bothers you about that?, By Allah! The wives of the Prophet (PBUH) talk back to Him, and one of them may stay away from Him a whole day until the night. He said I said to myself Whoever among them has done that, then she has thwarted herself and lost.
Umar said My house was in Al-Awali among those of Banu Umayyah, and I had a neighbor among Alansar, and He and I would take turns visiting the Messenger of Allah, He said one day I would visit Him, and bring the news of revelation and other than that, and one day he would visit Him and bring the same. We heard stories that Ghassan were preparing their horses to attack Us, He said one day he came to me in the evening and knocked on My door, so I went out to Him, he said a horrible thing has happened, I said Ghassan has come?, he said Worse than that, the Messenger of Allah has divorced His wives.
Umar said I said to Myself Hafsa has thwarted herself and is a loser! I though this would happen some day, He said After we prayed the Fajr, I put on My clothes, then went to visit Hafsa, there I found her crying, I said Has the Messenger of Allah divorced all of You?, she said I do not know, He has secluded Himself in the upper room, He said so I went, and came upon a black slave, I said Seek permission for Umar, he said, so he entered then came out to me, he said I mentioned you to Him, but He did not say anything, Umar said so I went to the masjid, there I found a group of people sitting around the minhar weeping, so I sat down with them, then it became too much for me, so I went to the slave and said Seek permission for Umar, he went in, then he came out to me and said I mentioned you to Him, but He did not say anything, He said so I went to the Masjid again, and sat there until I could not take it any more, and I went back to the slave and said Seek permission for Umar, he went in, then he came out to Me and said I mentioned you to Him, but He did not say anything, he said so I turned to leave, when the slave called me back, he said Enter for He has given you permission. He said so I entered and found the Prophet (PBUH) reclining upon a woven mat, and I saw the marks it left on His side.
Umar said I said O Messenger of Allah! Have you divorced Your women?, He said No, I said Allahu Akbar: Allah is the Greatest, If You only saw us O Messenger of Allah! We the people of Quraish used to have the upper hand over our women, but when We came to Medina We found a people whose women had the upper hand over them. Our women began acquiring the habits of their women. One day I became angry with My wife, so when she started talking back to Me, I rebuked her and she said 'What bothers you about that?, By Allah! The wives of the Prophet talk back to Him, and one of them may stay away from Him a whole day until the night. Umar said I said to Hafsa 'Do You talk back to the Messenger of Allah?, she said Yes, and one of Us may stay away from Him all day until the night, He said I said whoever among them has done that, then she has thwarted herself and lost. So any of you feel so secure against Allah becoming angry with you because of the anger of the Messenger of Allah, then she will be ruined?, He said so the Prophet smiled, he said so I said to Hafsa Do not talk to the Messenger of Allah, and Do not ask Him for anything. Ask Me for whatever you want, and Do not be tempted by the behavior of Your companions, for she is more beautiful than you, and more loved by the Messenger of Allah, Umar said so He smiled again.
Umar said O Messenger of Allah! May I speak candidly?, He said Yes, and Umar said I raise my head and did not see on the house except for three hides, so I said O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate to Allah to make your Ummah prosperous, for verily, He has made the Persians and the Romans prosper, and they do not worship Him, He then sat up and said Do you have some doubts O Ibn Al-Khattab?, they are a people whose good has been hastened for them in the worldly life, Umar said He swore that He would not enter upon His women for a month, so Allah censured him for that and He made the atonement of an oath. Al-Zubair said Urwah informed me that Aisha said when twenty-nine days passed, the Prophet (PBUH) entered upon me first, and He said O Aisha! I am about to mention something to you, but Do not be hasty in reply until you consult your parents, she said then He recited this Aya "O Prophet! Say to Your wives", she said He knew by Allah! That my parents would not tell me to part with Him, she said I said Is it about this that I should consult with my parents?, indeed, I want Allah and His Messenger and the abode of the Hereafter. Ma'mar (one of the narrator) said Ayyub informed me that Aisha said to Him O Messenger of Allah! Do not inform Your wives that I chose you, so the Prophet (PBUH) said Allah sent Me only as one who conveys, He did not send Me as one causing hardship" (Jami' Altirmidhi 3318).
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (4,5) "If both of you repent to Allah, for your hearts have deviated, but if you back each other against Him, then indeed, Allah is His Protector, and Gabriel, and the righteous of the believers, and the Angels, after all that, are assistants, perhaps, His Lord, if He divorced you, would substitute for Him wives better than you, submitting, believing, devoutly obedient, repentant, worshipping, fasting, previously married, and virgins", that is, Allah addresses Aisha and Hafsa, urging both of them to repent for their hearts had deviated from the truth because of their inclination towards something contrary to what Allah's Messenger (PBUH) loved as they loved what Allah's Messenger disliked, namely avoiding His wife and avoiding honey, and Allah warns them saying but if you both cooperate against the Prophet (PBUH) by disobeying and harming Him, then Allah is His Protector and Guardian, so your cooperating against Him will not harm Him, and also Gabriel, the righteous of the believers, and the Angels are His supporters and protectors. And Allah also warns them saying that if Allah's Messenger (PBUH) divorced His wives who abetted each other against Him, Allah will substitute for Him wives better than them, submitting to Allah, believing in Allah and His Messenger, devoutly obedient, repentant, worshipping, fasting, previously married, and virgins
In the narration of Imam Muslim, Ikrimah bin Ammar narrated from simak Abi Zumail from Abdullah bin Abbas from Umar bin Al-Khattab: "As I entered I had seen the signs of Anger on His face (Allah's Messenger), and I therefore, said Messenger of Allah! What trouble do You feel from Your wives, and if You have divorced them, verily, Allah is with You,His Angels, Gabriel, Mika'il, I and Abu Bakr, and the believers are with You, and seldom I talked and I hoped that Allah would testify to my words that I uttered, and so the verse of option (Takhyir) was revealed "Perhaps, His Lord, if He divorced you, would substitute for Him wives better than you", and "But if you back each other against Him, then indeed, Allah is His Protector, and Gabriel, and the righteous of the believers, and the Angels, after all that, are assistants". And it was Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr, and Hafsa who had prevailed upon all the wives of Allah's Prophet. I said Messenger of Allah! Have You divorced them?, He said no, I said Messenger of Allah I entered the mosque and found the Muslims playing with pebbles and saying Allah's Messenger divorced His wives. Should I get down and inform there that You have not divorced them?, He said yes, if you so like, and I went on talking to Him until I found the signs of anger disappeared on His face, and His face had the natural tranquility upon it, and He laughed and His teeth were the most charming of all people. Then Allah's Messenger (PBUH) climbed down and I also climbed down and catching the hold of the wood of the palm-tree, and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) came down as if He was walking on the ground, not touching anything with His hand. I said Messenger of Allah You remained in Your apartment for twenty-nine days, He said at times the month consists of twenty-nine days.I stood at the door of the mosque and I called out at the top of my voice the Messenger of Allah has not divorced His wives, and it was the occasion that this verse was revealed {And when there comes to them a matter of the security or the fear, they spread it around, but if they had referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, then those who investigate it from among them would surely have known it, Surat Alnisa' Aya 83}, and it was I who understood this matter, and Allah revealed the verse pertaining to option, Ayat (28,29) of Surat Alahzab" (Sahih Muslim 1479).
And as narrated by Musaddad from Yahya bin Sa'id from Humaid from Anas: "Umar said I agreed with Allah in three things, or said my Lord agreed with me in three things. I said O Allah's Messenger! Would that You took the standing place of Abraham as a place of prayer, I also said O Allah's Messenger! Good and bad persons visit You, Would that You ordered the mothers of the believers to cover themselves with veils, so the Divine verses of Hijab were revealed i.e. Aya (31) of Surat Alnoor, and Aya (59) of Surat Alahzab. I came to know that the Prophet (PBUH) had blamed some of His wives, so I entered upon them and said you should either stop or else Allah will give His Messenger better wives than you, when I came to one of His wives, she said to me O Umar! Does Allah's Messenger have not what He could advise His wives with, that you try to advise them?, thereupon, Allah revealed { perhaps, His Lord, if He divorced you, would substitute for Him wives better than you, submitting}" (Sahih Albukhari 4483).
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (6,7) "O you who have believed! Save yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are Angels, harsh and severe, they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded, O you who have disbelieved! Do not make excuses today, you will only be recompensed for what you used to do", that is, Allah commanded the believers to act in obedience to Him, to fear Him, and to command their families to do what Allah has commanded and to avoid what Allah has forbidden, so Allah will save them from Hellfire whose fuel is people and stones, and over which are Angels who are harsh as the mercy has been removed from their hearts towards those who disbelieved, so they will not show mercy if they are asked for mercy, and they are severe as their nature is extremely harsh and unpleasant in appearance, and they do not disobey Allah in His command, neither by adding to it nor by subtracting from it, but rather they do what they are commanded to do. And it will be said to the disbelievers on the day of resurrection O you who disbelieved! Do not make excuses today for your excuses will not avail you from Allah's Punishment, you will only be recompensed for what you used to do in the worldly life.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (8) "O you who have believed! Repent to Allah with sincere repentance, perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds, and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, the day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with Him, their light will proceed before them and on their right, they will say Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us, indeed, You are All-Powerful over everything", that is, Allah commanded the believers to repent to Him with sincere repentance, so Return to obeying to Allah and what pleases Him with you, and Do not return to evil deeds, so perhaps Allah will remove from you your sins, and He will admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow on the day of resurrection, the day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with Him, their light will run before them and on their right, they will say Our Lord perfect for us our light, and forgive us, indeed, You are All-Powerful over everything, so they will ask Allah to keep their light and not extinguish it until they cross the bridge, and this will be the supplication of the believers when Allah extinguishes the light of the hypocrites, as mentioned in Aya (13) of Surat Alhadid {The day when the hypocrite men and hypocrite women say to those who believed Wait for us that we may acquire of your light}.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (9) "O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and Be harsh with them, and their abode is Hellfire, and wretched is the fate", that is, Allah commanded His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to wage Jihad against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, the disbelievers with weapons and fighting and the hypocrites by being harsh and establishing the legal punishment (Hudud) on them, and Allah assures them that their abode is the Hellfire, and wretched is the destination in Hellfire.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (10) "Allah has cited an example of those who disbelieve, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot, they were under two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them, so they did not avail them from Allah in anything, and it was said Enter the Fire with those who enter", that is, Allah cites an example of the disbelievers: the wife of Noah, and the wife of Lot, they were two wives of two Prophets, but they betrayed them by not believing and cooperating with their people against them, so the Prophet Noah and the Prophet Lot will not avail them from Allah's punishment, and it will be said to them on the day of resurrection Enter the Fire with those who enter, so Allah assures the disbelievers that their association with the Muslims does not benefit them at all if the faith is not in their hearts as happened with the wife of Noah, and the wife of Lot, it was of no use that they are the wives of two Prophets.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (11,12) "And Allah has cited an example of those who believe, the wife of Pharaoh, when she said my Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and save me from the wrongdoing people, and Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded Her chastity, so We breathed into it of Our Spirit, and She believed in the words of Her Lord and His books and She was of the devoutly obedient", that is, Allah cites an example of those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh and Mary, the daughter of Imran, in order to encourage the believers to obedience and steadfastness in the faith. The wife of Pharaoh (Asiya bint Muzahem) believed in Allah and in His Prophet Moses, although she was under one of Allah's enemies, but her husband's infidelity did not harm her, as Allah says in Aya (18) of Surat Fatir {And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another}, so she said my Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and save me from the wrongdoing people, and Allah has responded to her supplication, so Her reward will be a house with Allah in Paradise, and Allah saved Her from Pharaoh and his deeds, and from the wrongdoers people.
And as for Mary, She guarded her chastity, and Allah sent Gabriel to Her, and He represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man as mentioned in Aya (17) of Surat Maryam, then Allah commanded Him to breathe into her garment from His spirit, then the blow came down and penetrated her vagina, and from it was the pregnancy of Jesus, peace be upon Him, and She believed in the words of Her Lord, and His books, and She was of the devoutly obedient to Allah. And Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Musa: "There are many persons amongst men who are quite perfect, but there are none perfect amongst women except Mary, daughter of Imran, Asiya, wife of Pharaoh, and the excellence of Aisha as compared to women is that of Tharid over all other foods" (Sahih Muslim 2431).