Verses 49–62
These verses contain various legal rulings, some of which are specific to the Prophet and his wives, and others of which are general.
Commentary
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نَكَحْتُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ فَمَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَهَا ۖ فَمَتِّعُوهُنَّ وَسَرِّحُوهُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلًا ٤٩
(33:49) O you who believe! If you marry (nakaḥtum) believing women and then divorce them before touching them (tamassūhunna), you do not have to reckon a waiting-period (ʿiddah) for them. Provide (mattiʿūhunna) for them and set them free kindly (sarriḥūhunna sarāḥan jamīlan).
Nakaḥtum, from nikāḥ, here means “reciting the marriage contract”. Touching (tamassūhunna) here means “consummating the marriage”. Provide (mattiʿūhunna) means “giving them a settlement of wealth appropriate to their situation and social standing”. Set them free kindly (sarriḥūhunna sarāḥan jamīlan) means “to divorce them without animosity”.
The verse means: If you divorce a woman after reciting the marriage contract but before consummation, they do not have to undergo any waiting-period (ʿiddah) for divorce. You must give them a divorce settlement and release them kindly.
The verse applies in all cases, whether or not a dowry (mahr) was specified for the wife when the marriage contract was recited. It is clarified by this verse: and if you divorce them before touching them and have already set a dowry, then you must give them half of the agreed-upon dowry (). If a dowry was not specified, this verse indicates that something must still be given to the woman being divorced.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالَاتِكَ اللَّاتِي هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَامْرَأَةً مُؤْمِنَةً إِنْ وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَنْ يَسْتَنْكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَكَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۗ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ٥٠
(33:50) O Prophet! We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries to, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gifts herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to marry her—specially for you, not for the [other] believers. We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess so that there may be no difficulty for you; and Allah is forgiving, merciful.
In this verse, God tells the Prophet that seven groups of women are lawful to him:
His wives whom he had given their dowries (ujūr) to. Ujūr means muhūr (pl. of mahr, a dowry paid to the bride). As a condition, the Prophet must have already given them their dowries.
Those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, meaning female captives of war who were taken as part of the ghanāʾim or anfāl and who are in his possession. The conditions outlined for this and the previous group (that is, the wives to whom he had already given their dowries, and that the women were taken by the Muslims as prisoners are war) are for further explanation, not restriction.
The daughters of your paternal uncles. (See below.)
The daughters of your paternal aunts. Some exegetes say that this and the above mean the women of the Quraysh tribe.
The daughters of your maternal uncles. (See below.)
The daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you. Some exegetes say that this and the above mean the women of the Banū Zuhrah clan. Regarding who fled with you, Majmaʿ al-Bayān says, “This [verse was revealed] during the time when the Prophet was not allowed to marry women who had not migrated [to Medina]; however, it later became allowed for the Prophet to marry women who had not migrated [to Medina].”
A believing woman if she gifts herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to marry her: That is, a Muslim woman who cedes herself to the Prophet, meaning that she is happy for him to marry her without any dowry or bride-gift (ṣidāq or mahr). God allows him to marry her if he wanted to.
Specially for you, not for the [other] believers: This indicates that this ruling about a woman who cedes herself to the Prophet is specifically for him and not anyone else. The subsequent phrase—We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess—emphasizes that these rulings are specific to the Prophet only.
So that there may be no difficulty for you; and Allah is forgiving, merciful: This provides a raison d’être for the beginning of the verse (We have made lawful to you…). Alternatively, it could also explain the rationale behind the latter part of the verse—that is, why these strictures are only for the Prophet and no one else; however, this interpretation is less likely. The verse concludes with mention of God’s forgiveness and mercy.
تُرْجِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِي إِلَيْكَ مَنْ تَشَاءُ ۖ وَمَنِ ابْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَنْ تَقَرَّ أَعْيُنُهُنَّ وَلَا يَحْزَنَّ وَيَرْضَيْنَ بِمَا آتَيْتَهُنَّ كُلُّهُنَّ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًا ٥١
(33:51) You may put off (turjī) whichever of them you please, and you may take to yourself (tuʾwī) whichever of them you please, and whom you desire of those whom you had set aside, there is no blame upon you. Thus it is likelier that they may be comforted and that they will not grieve, and that they should all be pleased with what you have given them. Allah knows what is in your hearts, and Allah is knowing, forbearing.
Turjī means “to put off” or “to delay”. Here, it is a polite way of saying “reject”. Tuʾwī means “to lodge in a place” or “to give a home to”. Here, it is a figure of speech meaning “accepting”, “embracing”, and “drawing towards one’s self”. The context indicates that this expression means that the Prophet is free to accept or reject a woman who gifts herself to the Prophet.
Whom you desire (man ibtaghayta) of those whom you had set aside: Ibtaghayta means “to seek”; that is, seeking the ones whom he had initially rejected as a wife. There is no blame on him for agreeing to marry them after initially rejecting them since he is allowed to either accept or reject them.
Possibly, this verse can also be understood to mean that the Prophet may divide his time among his wives as he wishes. Rather than adhering to a strict rotation through which he spends the night at the house of one of his wives, then the next, he may hasten or delay the turn of a wife. He may also stay apart from one for a while, then return to her after some time. This sits better with the next part of the verse (Thus it is likelier that they may be comforted and that they will not grieve, and that they should all be pleased with what you have given them. Allah knows what is in your hearts). That is, it would bring happiness to the one whose turn was hastened and bring hope to the one whose turn was delayed.
Allah is knowing, forbearing: Meaning that God knows what is best for His servants, and He does not hasten punishment.
Exegetes have put forward various other views about the verse. The ones we have presented are the ones which fit best with the context of verses surrounding it as well as the narrations from Ahl al-Bayt, which shall be discussed in the section on narrations.
لَا يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَاءُ مِنْ بَعْدُ وَلَا أَنْ تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ حُسْنُهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ رَقِيبًا ٥٢
(33:52) It is not permissible for you to take women afterwards, nor exchange them for other wives, even if their beauty entrances you, except for what your right hand possesses. And Allah watches over all things.
If this verse is taken independently, without reference to the preceding or succeeding verses, it means that the Prophet is not allowed to be married to any women other than the ones who chose to remain with him rather than divorce him [see ]. The injunction that he cannot divorce a wife and marry another in her stead reinforces that.
If the verse is understood as part of the sequence of verses that came before it (beginning with We have made lawful to you…), it indicates that the Prophet may not marry any women apart from those in the six groups that were specified.
Some narrations from the Imāms indicate that the verse is referring to the groups of women who are forbidden to marry in Qur’an (Forbidden to you are your mothers and your daughters…).
It is not permissible for you to take women afterwards: Depending on which of the three above interpretations is adopted, it means either: (a) after the nine wives of the Prophet chose to remain with the Prophet instead of divorcing him; (b) other than the groups mentioned in ; or (c) other than the women prohibited for marriage in .
Nor exchange them for other wives: Meaning to divorce one or more wives and marry others in their stead.
Except for what your right hand possesses: Meaning slave-girls; this is an exception to it is not permissible for you to take women afterwards.
And Allah watches over all things: The meaning of this is apparent. This expression also conveys a veiled threat [along the lines of, “God sees all, so abide by His rules”].
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَاظِرِينَ إِنَاهُ وَلَٰكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُوا فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانْتَشِرُوا وَلَا مُسْتَأْنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ فَيَسْتَحْيِي مِنْكُمْ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ ۚ وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمًا ٥٣
(33:53) O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal. Do not sit and stare at the pot. When you are invited, enter, and after you have eaten, leave; do not wait around listening to talk. This troubles the Prophet, but he is shy to tell you; however, Allah is not shy from the truth. And when you ask them for some goods, ask them from behind a curtain; this is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And it does not behove you that you should trouble the Messenger of Allah, nor that you should marry his wives after him ever; this is grievous in the sight of Allah.
This verse outlines the etiquette expected of visitors to the Prophet’s houses. Unless permission is given to you is an exception to do not enter. For a meal is part of unless permission is given to you. Do not sit and stare at the pot means do not sit around waiting for the food to cook and a pot to appear. This was said because they used to come to the Prophet’s houses early and sit around for a long time waiting for the food to cook. This is clarified by when you are invited, enter, and after you have eaten, leave. Do not wait around listening to talk is linked by the conjunction and to the injunction do not sit and stare at the pot [despite not being next to it in the verse], meaning that both phrases describe things that they should not be doing. That is, they should neither intentionally come early to sit around while the food is cooking, nor should they intentionally linger afterwards in order to listen to the Prophet’s private conversations.
This troubles the Prophet, but he is shy to tell you: This explains why this prohibition is being delivered. Meaning, they should not hang around like that because it vexes the Prophet, but he is too embarrassed to ask them to leave. However, Allah is not shy from the truth declares to them that this is the truth; it tells them what vexes the Prophet and what the suitable etiquette for visiting the Prophet should be.
And when you ask them for some goods, ask them from behind a curtain; this is purer for your hearts and their hearts: Them (-hunna) refers to the wives of the Prophet. “Asking them for goods” is a figure of speech meaning “asking them for something they need”; that is, if they need something, they should ask the wives of the Prophet for it from behind a curtain. This is purer for your hearts and their hearts explains the reasoning behind this ruling.
And it does not behove you that you should trouble the Messenger of Allah, nor that you should marry his wives after him ever: Meaning that it is not your place to trouble the Prophet by violating what you have been commanded regarding his wives and other matters. Furthermore, no one may marry his wives after him. Marrying his wives would be an enormity before God. This verse suggests that some people were already slipping hints that they would marry the Prophet’s wives [after the Prophet died]. This is also mentioned in narrations.
إِنْ تُبْدُوا شَيْئًا أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا ٥٤
(33:54) Whether you do a thing openly or secretly—Allah knows all things.
The meaning of this is clear. In truth, it is a threat directed at those who were vexing the Prophet or bragging they would marry his wives after him.
لَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِنَّ فِي آبَائِهِنَّ وَلَا أَبْنَائِهِنَّ وَلَا إِخْوَانِهِنَّ وَلَا أَبْنَاءِ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ وَلَا أَبْنَاءِ أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ وَلَا نِسَائِهِنَّ وَلَا مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ ۗ وَاتَّقِينَ اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدًا ٥٥
(33:55) There is no blame upon them regarding their fathers, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, or what their right hands possess. Be mindful of Allah; Allah witnesses all things.
The pronoun them (-hunna) refers to the wives of the Prophet. The verse provides exceptions to those who are told to consult the wives of the Prophet from behind a curtain. Their fathers, sons, brothers, nephews, and other maḥrams are exempted from this rule. Some exegetes say that the wives’ uncles (maternal or paternal) are not mentioned here because they might describe the wives of the Prophet to their sons.
It says their women rather than just women to indicate that it refers only to believing women, not disbelieving (kāfir) women. This is similar to how the expression their women is used in Qur’an . What their right hands possess refers to male or female slaves, who are also exempted from this rule.
Be mindful of Allah; Allah witnesses all things: This emphases the ruling, particularly since there is a shift in person from the third person feminine plural [speaking about the wives of the Prophet] to the second person feminine plural [speaking directly to the wives of the Prophet].
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا ٥٦
(33:56) Allah and His angels bless (yuṣallūn) the Prophet. O faithful, invoke blessings upon him and greetings of peace!
As was mentioned previously [in the discussion of ], yuṣallūn (from ṣalāt) has the root meaning of “to incline” or “to bow”. When God performs ṣalāt on the Prophet, it means that God inclines towards the Prophet mercifully. In this verse, this mercy is unconditional and not dependent on anything else. Similarly, when the angels perform ṣalāt on the Prophet, they purify him and pray for his forgiveness. When the faithful perform ṣalāt on him, it means that they pray for God’s mercy to engulf him.
The ṣalāt of God and the angels is mentioned before the ṣalāt of the faithful to show that the ṣalāt of the faithful depends on God and the angels and cannot precede it [because they are praying to God that He bless the Prophet].
Many Shiʿi and Sunni narrations say that the way that the faithful should perform ṣalāt upon the Prophet is by asking God to bless him and his family.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا ٥٧
(33:57) Allah has cursed those who annoy Allah and His Messenger in this world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.
Obviously, none can truly annoy God, for God is above such things. God is above being irked, or anything else that might imply any failing in or splotch on His divinity. Therefore, both God and the Prophet are described as being “annoyed” as a gesture of respect towards the Prophet. Furthermore, whoever wishes ill towards God’s Messenger should know that the Messenger is but a messenger of His Lord; therefore, whoever wishes ill towards the Prophet is also wishing ill towards his Lord.
They have been cursed in this world and the next. “Cursing” means distancing someone from God’s mercy; God’s mercy is specifically for the faithful, and comprises of guidance towards true beliefs and true faith, which inspire righteous deeds. Therefore, being distanced from mercy in this world means being deprived of this guidance as a result of their misconduct. This goes back to the concept of sealing the heart, as in:
We have cursed them and made their hearts hard. ()
But Allah has cursed them for their unbelief, and they shall not believe, apart from a few. ()
They are those whom Allah has cursed; He has struck them deaf and blind. ()
Being cursed in the hereafter means being distanced from the mercy of being near to God, as it says in:
Nay! On that day, they shall be veiled from their Lord. ()
Then it threatens them with a humiliating punishment—in the hereafter, of course. The punishment is “humiliating” because, in this world, their arrogance led them to antagonize God and His Messenger. Therefore, they will be greeted in the afterlife with punishment that will debase them.
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا ٥٨
(33:58) Those who vex [or slander] the faithful men and women undeservedly bear upon themselves defamation and a glaring sin.
This is qualified by the phrase undeservedly, meaning that there is no cause for them to be vexed. It does not include cases where there is just cause to put someone to discomfort, such as legal retribution (qiṣāṣ), punishment (ḥadd), or discretionary punishment by a judge (taʿdhīr); there is no blame in these cases.
However, insofar as they are harassing the faithful without just cause, God decrees that they shall bear [the consequences] of committing slander and a glaring sin. Slander (buhtān) is lying about someone else in front of their face [as opposed to gossiping about them in secret]. Harassing the faithful is equated with slander since they are harassed face-to-face, where the harassing individual considers this to be a reason for themselves and asks ‘why the faithful had said this or done that?’ when in reality this is just an accusation of misconduct and is not in itself a misconduct of the faithful.
It is considered a glaring sin because it is defamation, and the intellect understands that defamation is a misdeed; one does not need shariah to tell them that.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا٥٩
(33:59) O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the faithful women to let down upon themselves their cloaks (jalābībihinna). Thus it is likelier that they will be known and not troubled. Allah is forgiving, merciful.
Jalābīb is the plural of jilbāb, meaning a cloak which a woman wraps herself with and which covers her entire body. Or it can mean a khimār (headpiece) which covers her head and face.
To let down upon themselves their cloaks: Meaning, to cover themselves with them so that their chests and bosoms are hidden from onlookers.
Thus it is likelier that they will be known and not troubled: Meaning, if they cover their entire body, it is more likely that they will be identified as “people of covering and righteousness” (ahl al-sitr wa al-ṣalāḥ) and will not be harassed by the hypocrites.
Some exegetes say that the clause, thus it is likelier that they will be known means that they will be recognized as free Muslim women; therefore, they will not be approached as if they are slave-girls or non-Muslims (for instance, among the People of the Book or others). However, the view that we first mentioned fits better.
لَئِنْ لَمْ يَنْتَهِ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ وَالْمُرْجِفُونَ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ لَنُغْرِيَنَّكَ بِهِمْ ثُمَّ لَا يُجَاوِرُونَكَ فِيهَا إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ٦٠
(33:60) If the hypocrites and those with sick hearts and the agitators (murjafūn) in the city do not desist (yantahī), We shall certainly spur you against them (la-nughriyannaka bihim). Then they shall only remain your neighbors for a short time.
Yantahī means to stop doing something. The murjafūn are those who spread false slander to upset someone or to incite unrest. Nughriannaka means “to spur against”.
It means: “I swear, if the hypocrites and sick-hearted people—and those who are spreading false rumours throughout the city to provoke unrest among the Muslims—do not stop their sedition, We shall spur you against them. Then, they will only remain your neighbours in a city for a short time, for they will have been banished; that ‘short time’ is the time between the issuing of the edict [of banishment] and the enactment of the decree.”
مَلْعُونِينَ ۖ أَيْنَمَا ثُقِفُوا أُخِذُوا وَقُتِّلُوا تَقْتِيلًا ٦١
(33:61) Cursed: wherever they are found (thuqifū), they shall be seized and slain.
Thuqifū is the passive form of thaqafa, meaning “to become aware of and capture”. The clauses is an adverbial phrase (ḥāl) describing the hypocrites, those with sick hearts, and the agitators [mentioned in the previous verse]. It means that their condition is such that they are cursed; wherever they are found, they are taken and unilaterally slain.
سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ فِي الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا ٦٢
(33:62) This was the way (sunnah) of Allah with respect to those who went before, and you shall not find any change in the way of Allah.
Sunnah means “a path that is usually or always trodden”.
God says: “We have threatened these hypocrites, insurgents, and agitators with punishment—exile and execution—the same way We did to the ancients. This has been the way of God. Whenever some people worked corruption, incited civil unrest, or became lawless or tyrannical, We seized them. You shall not find any change in the way of God. This shall be enacted among you as it was among the ancients.”
Examining Narrations
- Regarding if you marry believing women and then divorce them before touching them… (), it is related in al-Faqīh from ʿAmr ibn Shimr from Jābir that Imām al-Bāqir said:
Provide for them (matiʿūhunna) means to treat them as handsomely as is within your capacity, for they are leaving sadly and forlornly, with great distress and subject to the gossiping of their enemies. For God is generous and bashful, and loves those who are bashful; the noblest of you are those who are the most generous to their wives.
- In al-Kāfī, it is related via a chain of narration from al-Ḥalabī from Imām al-Ṣādiq regarding a man who divorces his wife before the marriage is consummated:
He must pay her half of the dowry (mahr) if it was specified. If it was not specified, then he should give her something along the lines of what similar women would receive.
Author’s comments: There are many narrations expressing this meaning. They clarify the meaning of this verse with respect to the verse in Sūrat al-Baqarah, as was mentioned in the exegesis of that verse [].
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd from Ḥabīb ibn Thābit:
A man came to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn and asked him about a man who says, “If I marry so-and-so, I will divorce her.” [For instance, can he marry her?]
He replied, “What he says [about divorce] is meaningless, since, according to God, marriage comes before divorce. God says: O you who believe! If you marry believing women and then divorce them before touching them… ().”
Author’s comments: This is also related in Majmaʿ from Ḥabīb ibn Thābit from him [Imām al-Sajjad].
- It is related in al-Durr al-Manthūr from Ibn Mājah and Ibn Mardawayh from al-Miswar ibn Makhramah that the Prophet said:
Divorce cannot happen before a marriage, and a person cannot be freed before they are enslaved.
Author’s comments: A similar narration has been related from him from Jābir and ʿĀʾishah.
- Regarding O Prophet! We have made lawful to you your wives… (), in al-Kāfī it is related from Imām al-Bāqir (via chain of narration from al-Ḥaḍramī) and Imām al-Ṣādiq (via a chain of narration from al-Ḥalabī):
Someone asked, “How many women were allowed to him?”
He [the Imām] said, “As many as he wanted.”
- In al-Kāfī, it is related with a chain of narration from al-Ḥalabī:
I [al-Ḥalabī] said, “It is not permissible for you to take women afterwards, nor exchange them for other wives” (). [That is, he is asking what this verse means.]
He [Imām al-Ṣādiq] said, “The Messenger of God was allowed to be married to as many wives as he wished from among his cousins, in addition to his wives who migrated with him. And it was permitted for him to marry a former wife of one of the believers [whose husband had died or divorced her], and who forewent a dowry, such that she was a gift. But no one is allowed to take a wife as a gift except for the Messenger of God. Men other than the Messenger of God may only marry when they give their bride a dowry (mahr). This is the meaning of and a believing woman if she gifts herself to the Prophet ().
- Regarding and a believing woman… (), in al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related that Imām al-Sajjād said:
This refers to Um Shurayk al-Azdiyyah who gifted herself to the Prophet.
Author’s comments: It is also narrated that it refers to Khawlah bint al-Ḥakīm, Laylā bint al-Khaṭīm, or Maymūna. It appears that several women gifted themselves to the Prophet.
- In al-Kāfī, it is related from Muḥammad ibn Qays that Imām al-Bāqir said:
A woman from the Anṣār came to the Messenger of God and said, “O Messenger of God, women do not usually propose to men. However, I have been a single woman with no husband for a long time, and I have no children. Do you have any need [of me]? If so, I will gift myself to you, if you will accept me.”
The Messenger of God replied to her kindly and prayed for her. Then he said, “O, sister from the Anṣār! May God reward all of you [Anṣār] with goodness from His Messenger, for your men have aided me, and your women have sought me.”
Ḥafṣah said, “How shameless and bold you are, to be chasing after men!”
The Messenger of God said, “Leave her alone, Ḥafṣah. She is better than you. She sought the Messenger of God, whereas you are criticizing her for that.”
Then he said to the woman, “Go, may God have mercy upon you, for God has ordained Paradise for you for seeking me, since you presented yourself as a gift to me out of love for me and a desire for my happiness. My response shall come to you, if God wills.”
Then, God sent down and a believing woman if she gifts herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to marry her—specially for you, not for the [other] believers (). So God, the Mighty and Glorious, allowed her to gift herself that to the Prophet, although He did not allow that for other men.
- Majmaʿ al-Bayān says:
It is said that when she gifted herself to the Prophet, ʿĀʾishah said, “What ails these women who offer themselves without any dowry in exchange?”
So this verse was revealed.
ʿĀʾishah said, “It seems to me that God is rushing to fulfill your whims.”
The Messenger of God said, “If you obeyed God, He would rush to fulfil your whims.”
- Regarding You may put off whichever of them you please, and you may take to yourself whichever of them you please (), Majmaʿ al-Bayān says that Imām al-Bāqir and Imām al-Ṣādiq said:
Those who were “put off” were the ones whom he did not marry, and those whom he “took to himself” were those whom he did marry.
- Regarding it is not permissible for you to take women afterwards (), in al-Kāfī, with a chain of narration from al-Ḥaḍramī, it is related from Imām al-Bāqīr:
This means that it was not permissible for him to marry the women whom God had forbidden people to marry in the verse forbidden to you are your mothers and daughters…and sisters and paternal and maternal aunts… (). If the matter were as they [others] claim, you would have been allowed to do what he was forbidden, because any of you can replace one wife with another as often as you like. However, the command here is not as people say it is. God, the Mighty and Glorious, permitted the Prophet to marry any women that he liked except for those who were prohibited in the verse in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ.
- Regarding the verse nor exchange them for other wives (), in al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related via a chain of narration from ʿAli ibn Zayd:
Al-Ḥasan said, “God limited his wives to the nine whom he left behind as widows.”
ʿAli ibn Zayd continued:
ʿAli ibn al-Ḥusayn said, “If he had wanted, he would have married others.”
The wording of the narration from ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd is: “He also could have married other women.”
- Tafsīr al-Qummī says:
Regarding the verse O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you… ()—this was [revealed] after the Messenger of God had married Zaynab bint Jaḥsh. He loved her and hosted a wedding-banquet (walīmah) for her and invited his companions. After his companions had finished eating, they wanted to stay around and chat with the Messenger of God, whereas he wanted to be alone with Zaynab. Therefore, God revealed this.
Unless permission is given to you… from behind a curtain. () God, the Mighty and Glorious, revealed this because they used to barge in without permission.
Author’s comments: A more detailed version of this story is related from Anas via various chains of narration.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Ibn Saʿd from Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān:
The Prophet installed a curtain (ḥijāb) in front of his wives in the month of Dhū al-Qaʿdah in the fifth year after the migration.
Author’s comments: This is also narrated by Ibn Saʿd from Anas. It also says that this was the year that the Prophet married Zaynab.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, regarding and it does not behove you that you should trouble the Messenger of Allah (), Ibn Abī Ḥātim relates from al-Siddī:
We heard that Ṭālḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh said, “Muḥammad is putting a curtain (ḥijāb) between ourselves and our cousins? And he can marry our wives after us? If he has said this, then let us marry his wives after him.” So this verse was revealed.
Author’s comments: This has been related in other narrations. Some say that he wanted to marry ʿĀʾishah and Um Salamah.
- In Thawāb al-Aʿmāl, it is related from Abu al-Muʿizzī:
I said, “What is the meaning of the ṣalāt of God, the angels, and the faithful?”
He [Abū al-Ḥasan ] said, “The ṣalāt of God is mercy from God. The ṣalāt of the angels is their purification of a person. And the ṣalāt of the faithful is their prayers for a person.”
- In al-Khiṣāl, it is related from the Commander of the Faithful [Imām ʿAlī] in the “Hadith on Four Hundred Traits”:
Send blessings upon Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad, for when you recite Allah and His angels bless the Prophet (), God accepts your prayers as well as your prayers for him [and your observance of his right/and protects you for his sake]. So send blessings upon him during your ritual prayers or at other times.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Kaʿb ibn ʿAjrah:
A man said, “O Messenger of God. We understand how to send peace (salām) upon you. But how should we send ṣalāt upon you?”
He said, “Say, ‘O God, bless Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad like You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham; You are praiseworthy, glorious. O God, grace Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad like you graced Abraham and the family of Abraham; You are praiseworthy, glorious.”
Author’s comments: Al-Durr al-Manthūr mentions eighteen other Sunni narrations indicating that the family of the Prophet should be mentioned when sending ṣalāt upon the Prophet. These narrations have been related from various companions, including Ibn ʿAbbās, Ṭalḥah, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, Abū Hurayrah, Abū Masʿūd al-Anṣārī, Buraydah, Ibn Masʿūd, Kaʿb ibn ʿAjrah, and ʿAlī. The Shiʿi narrations saying this are beyond count.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related from Aḥmad and al-Tirmidhī from al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī that the Messenger of God said:
A stingy person is one when I am mentioned to him, he does not send blessings (ṣalāt) upon me.
- Tafsīr al-Qummī says regarding the verse O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the faithful women to let down upon themselves their cloaks… ():
This verse was revealed because women used to go to the mosque and pray behind the Messenger of God. When night came and they would go for the evening and night prayers, some young men would wait for them along the footpaths and harass them. So God revealed this verse.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is related that Um Salamah said:
After this verse was revealed (to let down upon themselves their cloaks…, ), when the women from the Anṣar came outside, it was as if there were crows perched atop their heads due to the black garments they were wearing.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is related regarding the verse if the hypocrites and those with sick hearts and the agitators in the city do not desist… ():
This was revealed regarding a group of the hypocrites in Medina who used to spread lies about the Messenger of God whenever he went out to battle. They would say, “He has been killed, and the Muslims have been taken captive!” For that reason, they complained to the Messenger of God, and God, the Mighty and Glorious, revealed regarding that: If the hypocrites and those with sick hearts and the agitators in the city do not desist, We shall certainly spur you against them. Then they shall only remain your neighbors for a short time (or apart from a few, illā qalīlan, )—meaning, “We command you to expel them from Medina, apart from a few.”
Cursed: wherever they are found, they shall be seized and slain (). A narration from Abū al-Jārūd says that Imām al-Bāqir said:
Cursed (malʿūnīn)—curse after curse was decreed for them at the behest of God.
Perhaps ʿAllāmah made this clarification since in some cultures today, nikāḥ is used in the sense of consummating a marriage. (Trans.) ↩︎
That is, touching is a euphemism for consummation, not just any sort of touch. (Trans.) ↩︎
That is, all other men must pay their wives dowries. (Trans.) ↩︎
That is, the six groups of women specified in . Six groups are mentioned, rather than seven, because “what your right hand possesses” is still identified as permissible here. (Trans.) ↩︎
ʿAllāmah does not specify whom the threat is directed towards, but given that he strongly supports the view that the Prophet was sinless, and hence not in need of a divine warning, one might presume that he means that the warning was directed at the community (including the wives of the Prophet and the Companions), urging them to accept the directives of God regarding the Prophet’s private life. (Trans.) ↩︎
ʿAllāmah is saying that, grammatically speaking, both phrases are in the construction of a ḥāl. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is because the wives of the Prophet are not maḥram to their cousins (that is, marriage is not forbidden between them and their cousins). (Trans.) ↩︎
Whereas, in , it was conditional on the faithful remembering God. (Trans.) ↩︎
Or just “find”. (Trans.) ↩︎
The narration specifies that they include the daughters of his father’s brother, the daughters of his father’s sisters, the daughters of his mother’s brother, and the daughters of his mother’s sisters. (Trans.) ↩︎
It is related from Ibn Saʿd, Ibn Abī Shaybah, ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, and al-Ṭabarāni. ↩︎
It is related from ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abī Ḥātim. ↩︎
It is related from ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Ibn Abī Shaybah, Aḥmad, ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah, and Ibn Mardawayh from Kaʿb ibn ʿAjrah. ↩︎
Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammadin wa ʿalā āl-i Muḥammad kamā ṣallayta ʿalā Ibrāhīm wa āl-i Ibrāhim; innaka ḥamīdun majīd. Allāhumma bārik ʿalā Muḥammadin wa ʿalā āl-i Muḥammadin kamā bārakta ʿalā Ibrāhīm wa āl-i Ibrāhīm innaka ḥamīdun majīd. (Trans.) ↩︎
It is related from ʿAbd al-Razzāq, ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Ibn Mardawayh. ↩︎
This narration interprets illā qalīlan in the verse to mean “other than a few people” rather than “other than for a short time”, whereas the latter is how it is understood in the previous section of the commentary. (Trans.) ↩︎