33. Surah Al-Ahzaab

Commentary Some attributes and the special eminence of the Holy Prophet ﷺ have been mentioned in the preceding verse. Some special rules that are exclusive to him in matters of marriage and divorce are intended to be mentioned in forthcoming verses in which he has a distinction over the general Ummah. But before that, a general rule regarding divorce has been mentioned as a prologue which is applicable to all Muslims in general. There are three injunctions regarding divorce in this verse. The first injunction is that if after nikah (marriage) a woman is divorced before the spouses have had full privacy اَلخَلوۃ الصحیحۃ (Al-khalwah As-sahihah), then she is not liable to any period of عِدَّہ ` iddah (waiting period), which means that she can enter into another marriage immediately. In the present verse, 'touching' means having sexual intercourse, either actually or by presumption, because if the spouses meet together at a private place without any apprehension of interference by someone and there is nothing to prevent them from having sex, this type of privacy اَلخَلوۃ الصحیحۃ (Al-khalwah As-sahihah) carries the same legal consequences as an actual intercourse. The second injunction is that the divorced woman should be separated gracefully and by giving some gifts to her. Giving something to a divorced woman at the time of her departure is desirable according to Sunnah, and in some cases it is compulsory as elaborated in verse 236 of Surah –Baqarah لَّا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِن طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ مَا لَمْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ There is no sin on you if you divorce women when you have not touched them. 2:236). The use of the word 'mata" here is perhaps based on the wisdom that this word has a wide and general meaning and is applicable to anything which may be beneficial, which includes the woman's obligatory rights, like mahr (dower), etc., which means that the dower, if not already paid, has to be paid at the time of divorce gladly; and it also includes her rights that are not compulsory, for example, a set of clothes to be gifted to her at the time of departure, which is mustahab (commendable) in respect of every divorced woman and the Qur'an has persuaded the husband for both, the compulsory as well as commendable rights. A leading scholar of Hadith ` Abd Ibn Humayd has narrated the dictum of Sayyidna Hasan ؓ that every divorced woman has to be given something as mut'ah whether one has had Al-khalwah Assahihah (full privacy) with her or not and whether her mahr (dower) was fixed or not. Details of Mut'ah to be given at the time of Divorce Badai', the famous book of Hanafi fiqh has mentioned that mut'ah of divorce means those clothes which a woman wears necessarily when going out. It includes a pair of trousers, long shirt, shawl and a large sheet as covering from head to feet. Clothes can be graded as high quality, medium and ordinary. Muslim jurists have determined that if both the husband and wife belong to wealthy families, the clothes have to be of high quality; if they are both poor, then the clothes should be of ordinary quality, and if one is poor and the other wealthy, then the clothes may be of medium quality. Islam's matchless teaching in discharging social obligations gracefully Recognition of rights and a courteous behavior towards others is restricted in common practice to relatives, friends and at the best it is extended to common people. Recognizing and discharging of the rights of opponents and foes and devising rules and regulations for their execution is a distinct feature of Islamic teachings. Although many organizations have been established in our days exclusively for the protection of human rights, and some rules and regulations have also been devised for this purpose. Huge sums of money are collected as donations from all over the world for this objective, but all of them are politically oriented and whenever they do help the suffering people, such help is not available everywhere, nor is it without a motive. It is rather given to fulfill their own political aims. And, supposing, these organizations do start functioning properly to serve the suffering humanity, the most they can do is to help when some area is affected by a devastating storm, epidemic disease, etc. But who would know about the suffering of individuals and single persons? Who can reach them? Let us look at the matter of divorce which obviously is a result of mutual discord, anger and disharmony which usually results in the relationship which was established on the basis of extreme concord, love and affection changing to the opposite i.e. combined emotions of hate enmity and revenge. The above mentioned verse of the Holy Qur'an and many other similar verses have given such instructions to Muslims to be observed right at the time of divorce that they fully test gracefulness of behavior and courteous discharge of social obligations. The emotions keep on inciting one to take as much revenge as one can from the woman who has inflicted so much pain and agony to him that the relationship had to be terminated. But the noble Qur'an has bound the common divorced woman to stay during the period of ` iddah in the house of her husband; it has been made obligatory on the husband not to turn the divorced woman out of his house during the period of ` iddah and to continue to provide her the usual daily maintenance and upkeep during that period. It has also been made desirable for the husband to give her mut ah i.e. a set of clothes at the time of departure after completion of the period of ` iddah and to release her with grace and respect. Only those women are exempt from the period of ` iddah who have only gone through nikah without stepping into the husband's house, without having had true privacy, but more stress has been laid on offering mut'ah to them as compared to other women. The third injunction is: (سَرِّ‌حُوهُنَّ سَرَ‌احًا جَمِيلًا) "Release them gracefully" which has imposed a restriction on the husband not to say anything harsh even verbally nor to indulge in taunts or sarcasms. Only that person can honor the rights of the opponents during confrontation who can control his emotions and passions. All the teachings of Islam have laid due emphasis on this principle.

Commentary These verses contain seven injunctions about marriage and divorce that are specific to the Holy Prophet t and these specifics signify his distinctive eminence and his special honor. Some of these injunctions are such that their being specific to the Holy Prophet t is absolutely plain and obvious and some of them are such that, despite their being general for all Muslims, they are subject to certain conditions and qualifications that are specific to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The details are given below: The First injunction إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَ‌هُنَّ (0 prophet We have made lawful (halal) for you all your wives whom you have given their dowers - 50.) Apparently, this ruling is general for all Muslims, because their existing wives are lawful for them too, but the reason for its being specific is that, at the time of revelation of this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had more than four wives, while it is not permissible for Muslims in general to keep more than four wives at any time. So it was particular for the Holy Prophet ﷺ that having more than four wives was made lawful for him. The words, اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَ‌هُنَّ "whom you have given their dowers" in this verse are not of restrictive nature nor a pre-condition for permissibility of keeping them as wives, but it is a statement of fact that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had paid the mahr (dower) of all the women with whom he had performed nikah promptly in cash and did not leave it as debt payable by him. His noble practice was to pay or give whatever was due to him immediately and became free of the liability, without delaying it unnecessarily. The statement of this fact is to persuade Muslims in general to follow this practice. The second Injunction وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّـهُ عَلَيْكَ (And those (bond women) whom you own out of the captives Allah has given to you as spoils of war" ). The word أَفَاءَ used here for the spoils of war is فَیٔ 'fai' which in its technical sense is restricted to the wealth acquired from the enemy without actual fighting. But at times it is used for the spoils of war acquired through actual fighting. Here the word is used in a general sense. Moreover, it does not mean that only those slave-girls will be lawful for him who would come to him as his share in the spoils of war, but the permissibility covers those bondwomen also who were purchased by him. But, apparently, in this injunction, there is nothing particular for the Holy Prophet ﷺ because this is a rule for all Muslims and the whole Ummah that those bondwomen whom they own as their share in the spoils of war or those who are purchased for a price are lawful for them. At the same time the style of the context indicates that the injunctions contained in these verses should have some special applications for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . As such it is stated in 'Ruh ul-Ma’ ani' as a particularity of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that just as the nikah of any of his wives with any other Muslim is not lawful after him, similarly any of his bondwomen is not lawful for any Muslim after him ﷺ . Accordingly the nikah of Sayyidah Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah ؓ who was sent by the Roman Emperor Muqauqis as gift to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، was not made lawful for anyone after him. The third Injunction بَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ The daughters of paternal uncle and of paternal aunts and the daughters of the maternal uncle and of maternal aunt have been made lawful for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This injunction includes all the women of his "father's family and of his mother's family". And this rule is, though, applicable to all Muslims in general, yet in the case of the Holy Prophet ﷺ it has been subjected to a condition imposed on him exclusively that they must have migrated with him from Makkah- not necessarily in his company or at the same time, but the words, "with you" are to denote that they should have migrated at any time in accordance with his command. If any of them did not migrate for any reason, they did not become lawful for him as was the case with Umm Hani' رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا the daughter of his paternal uncle Abu Talib who, as per her statement, was not lawful for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، because she did not migrate from Makkah. Migration being the condition of lawfulness for the Holy Prophet ﷺ was only with regard to the women of his parent's family. This condition was not applicable to other women in general - their being Muslim was enough. The wisdom in applying this condition of migration for the women of his parent's family was perhaps that the women of the family are proud of their family which is unbecoming for the wife of a prophet. This propensity was taken care of by imposing the condition of migration, because only that women would migrate whose love for Allah and His Messenger t prevails over her love for her family, home and property. Also, one has to suffer great difficulties during migration and these sufferings in the way of Allah have a special place in ones spiritual reform. Fourth Injunction: وَامْرَ‌أَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَ‌ادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ "And a believing woman who offers herself for (marrying) the prophet without dower if the prophet wishes to bring her into his marriage, these rules being exclusive for you, and not for the (rest of the) believers". (33:50) The exclusiveness of this exception for the Holy Prophet ﷺ is absolutely obvious, because dower is an essential condition for the marriage of common Muslims, so much so that if, at the time of marriage, the woman says that she does not want any dower or the man says that he will not pay any dower, even this mutual agreement is considered by Shari'ah as null and void, and dower as prevalent in their families would become compulsory. Only the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been exclusively permitted to marry without dower when the woman is desirous of marriage with him without dower. Scholars differ in determining whether the Holy Prophet ﷺ did actually marry a woman without dower who offered herself for marriage without dower. Some scholars say that marriage of the Holy Prophet t with a woman in this way is not proved, whereas some others have proved some such marriages (Ruh ul-Ma’ ani) Some scholars have considered the sentence خَالِصَةً لَّكَ ( exclusively for you) to be specific to the fourth injunction, whereas some other commentators like Zamkhshri, etc., have applied it to all the injunctions mentioned before it, meaning that all the above mentioned rules are exclusively for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . And at the end it is stated ' لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَ‌جٌ which means that these injunctions have been made exclusive for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to save him from any difficulty. Of these exclusive rules mentioned above, the first rule wherein more than four wives have been allowed for him and the fourth rule that marriage without dower has been made lawful for him are obviously meant to facilitate and remove difficulties; but the second, third and fifth rules apparently add more conditions which should increase difficulty. But this is a hint that despite these conditions being apparently more strict, they are, in fact, for his good because in their absence he would have suffered from mental anguish. As such, even the additional conditions are to remove his difficulty. Fifth Injunction: The fifth injunction deduced from the words "believing women" in the above verses is that unlike the common Muslims who can marry the Christian or Jewish women, it is not permissible for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to marry them. It is necessary for him that his wives are Muslims. After stating the exclusiveness of the five rules for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، the Holy Qur'an has briefly mentioned the rule for Muslims in general: قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَ‌ضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ "We know what We have prescribed for them in respect of their wives and the slave girls they own" - 50. It means that the above mentioned rules are exclusive for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، but as for the marriage of other Muslims, Allah Knows what He has prescribed for them. For example, no Muslim can marry a woman without dower and a Muslim is allowed to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman. Similarly, the conditions in the previous rules determined to be obligatory for the Holy Prophet ﷺ are not applicable to other Muslims. Towards the end, it is said, لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَ‌جٌ (so that there should be no difficulty for you - 50). It means that these special injunctions in the matter of nikah for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، were prescribed so that he does not face any difficulty. As for the restrictions and conditions imposed on the Holy Prophet ﷺ and not on other Muslims which appear to be difficult, but keeping in view the expedience and wisdom under which the restrictions were placed, those restrictions were, in fact, to remove the spiritual discomfort and embarrassment. So far five rules of marriage have been enunciated which have some exclusiveness for the Holy Prophet ﷺ Further on two rules have been stated which are related to the above five rules.

Sixth Injunctions تُرْ‌جِي مَن تَشَاءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِي إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ ("You may postpone (the turn) of any one you wish from among them, and may accommodate with you any one you wish." - 51) This rule is specific to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The normal rule is that a Muslim husband having more than one wife must distribute his nights between his wives in equal numbers and similarly must provide means of sustenance and maintenance to each one of them equally. It is not permissible to violate the principle of equality. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been exempted from this rule and has been allowed to postpone the turn of any one of his blessed wives according to his own expedience; he could also recall the one whose turn he had postponed earlier. Allah Almighty so honored the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he was exempted from observing equality between his wives but the Holy Prophet ﷺ never availed of this concession in practice; he always maintained full equality between all his blessed wives. Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) has stated that as per narrations of Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ always maintained equality between the blessed wives even after the revelation of this verse; he goes on to a Hadith from Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، with his own chain of narrators, which is also available in Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa` i, Abu Dawud etc.: کَانَ رَسولُ اللہِ ﷺ یَقسِمُ فَیَعدِلُ : اللّٰھُمَّ ھٰذَا قسمی فَیمَا اَملِکُ فلا تَلمُنِی فِیمَا لَا اَملِکُ قالَ اَبودَاؤد یَعنِی القَلبَ "The Messenger of Allah used to maintain equality between all wives and used to supplicate, "0 Allah I have maintained equality in whatever is within my power (meaning provision of means of sustenance and in spending of nights), so do not reprove me for that which is not within my power (meaning love and affection being more for someone and less for another that is not within one's control). According to another narration, also from Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ and reported by Bukhari, if the Holy Prophet ﷺ had to postpone his visit to any of the blessed wives at her turn, for some reason, he would seek her permission even after the revelation of this verse wherein he was exempted from observing equality between his blessed wives. Another Hadith is also well known and is found in all books of Hadith that when it became difficult for the Holy Prophet ﷺ during his last illness to move between the houses of his blessed wives on daily basis, he sought permission from all of them before staying in the house of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ where he passed the remaining days of his illness. It was the habit of all the prophets in general, and that of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in particular, that whenever a concession was given to them by Allah Ta’ ala in a rule of Shari` ah, they generally used to act upon the original rule as a demonstration of their gratitude to Allah, and did not avail of the concession except at a time of a dire need. The wisdom of Sixth Injunction The Holy Qur'an has then stated the wisdom of the sixth injunction i.e. exempting the Holy Prophet ﷺ from maintaining equality between his wives and making all options open for him in this regard. In the words of the Holy Qur'an the wisdom behind this exemption was the following, ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَن تَقَرَّ‌ أَعْيُنُهُنَّ وَلَا يَحْزَنَّ وَيَرْ‌ضَيْنَ (it is more likely, in this way, that their eyes will stay content, and they will not grieve, and all of them will be happy with whatever you give to them. - 51) A doubt may arise here that, apparently, this rule of exemption would be against the wishes and intent of the blessed wives ؓ and may cause them anguish; how can it be considered to be a source of their happiness? In answer to this question, one has to bear in mind that the real reason for one's grievance-is one's perception of his or her due rights. If one believes that a certain right is due on somebody and he is neglecting or violating it, then one feels hurt and aggrieved. But if somebody who does not owe us anything and still gives us something, this act of kindness generates sheer pleasure. Accordingly, when it has been stated that it is not obligatory upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ to observe equality among all the blessed wives ؓ rather he may use his discretion, then whatever attention and company a wife gets from him would be considered a favor and an act of courtesy and kindness which would be a source of happiness and satisfaction. At the end of this injunction the Holy Qur'an has declared: وَاللَّـهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًا "And Allah knows whatever lies in your hearts. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise." - 51 The context of the foregoing and forthcoming verses is the mention of the rules peculiar to the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the matter of marriage. In between these rules, the statement that Allah knows whatever lies in your hearts and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise does not appear to bear any nexus with the subject. It is stated in Ruh ul-Ma’ ani that the permission given to the Holy Prophet ﷺ to marry more than four wives or to marry without dower could have created satanic scruples in somebody's mind. So, this verse, coming in between, has directed that Muslims have to guard themselves against such suspicions and scruples and have to firm up their faith that all these exclusive exemptions are given by Allah Almighty on the basis of His infinite wisdom and expedience, and that the selfish desires have no room here.

The pious life of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the issue of polygamy The enemies of Islam have always targeted the issue of polygamy, specially the number of the wives of the Holy Prophet ﷺ for their criticism. But if the whole life of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is kept in view, even the Satan cannot find scope to cast doubts on the character of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It is a proved fact that his first marriage at the age of twenty-five was with Sayyidah Khadijah 4.U1 who was an aged widow with children and had been married twice before. The Holy Prophet ﷺ spent his whole prime of life, upto the age of fifty, with that aged wife only. All these fifty years were spent right before the eyes of the people of Makkah who had started his opposition when he was of forty years and had announced his prophethood. His opponents did not leave any stone unturned in harassing and stigmatizing him. They called him a magician, a poet, a mad man, but no enemy could ever find a single chance to cast doubts in his piety, modesty or purity. At the age of fifty, after the death of Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ ، he married Sayyidah Sawdah ؓ who was also a widow. After migration to Madinah, at the age of fifty-four, in the second year of Hijrah, Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ came to the Holy Prophet's home as wife. He married Sayyidah Hafsah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا a year later and Sayyidah Zainab bint Khuzaymah ؓ a few days after that, who expired a few months later. He married Sayyidah Umm Salamah ؓ a widow with children, in the year 4 of Hijrah. In the year 5 when he was fifty eight years old, he married Sayyidah Zainab hint Jahsh ؓ in accordance with Allah's order, as detailed in the beginning of the present surah. The rest of the blessed wives entered his house in the last five years. The rules pertaining to the private life of a prophet and his domestic affairs constitute a major portion of a religion. The contribution of these nine blessed wives ؓ to the propagation and education of Islam can be imagined from the fact that Sayyidah ` A'ishah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا ، alone narrated two thousand two hundred and ten ahadith and Sayyidah Umm Salamah ؓ narrated three hundred and sixty-eight ahadith which have been collected in reliable books. Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim, in his I'lmul Muwaqqi'in, has commented that the rulings of Shari'ah (fatawa) disclosed by Sayyidah Umm Salamah ؓ would constitute a separate book. More than two hundred noble companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ were disciples of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ who learnt hadith, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and fatawa from her. Another wisdom of bringing a number of the blessed wives ؓ to the house of the Holy Prophet ﷺ was to attract their clans towards Islam. After keeping these facts in view and considering the general pattern of his pure life, can one find any scope for saying that the multiplicity of his wives was, Allah forbid, to fulfill selfish or sexual desires? If this was the case, why the last stage of life would have been selected for this purpose after spending the whole prime of life either in celibacy or with an aged widow. This subject along with the religious, intellectual, biological and economic issues of the polygamy has been thoroughly discussed with full details under the explanation of the third verse of Surah Nisa' in volume II of this book. Seventh Injunction: لَّا يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَاءُ مِن بَعْدُ وَلَا أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ حُسْنُهُنَّ (No women are lawful for you after this, nor is it lawful that you replace them (the present wives) with other wives, even though their goodness may attract you.- 52), The words مِن بَعْدُ ''after this" in this verse may be interpreted in two ways. One is that no women are lawful for you after the present wives. Some noble companions and leading commentators have adopted this meaning. Sayyidna Anas " has stated that when the blessed wives ؓ were given the choice by Allah Ta’ ala to either opt for the pleasure of the worldly life and its charms but separation from the Holy Prophet ﷺ or to remain with him and be content with every economic condition they may face, all of them gave up their demand for increase in maintenance and elected to remain with him. Allah Ta` ala, as a reward for their decision, restricted the Holy Prophet ﷺ to those nine wives and it was no more permissible for him to marry other women. (Al-Baihaqi, as quoted by Ruh-ul- Ma’ ani) Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has stated that Allah Ta’ ala has restricted the blessed wives ؓ exclusively to the Holy Prophet ﷺ in that they could not marry anybody after him. Similarly, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been restricted to the blessed wives in the sense that he could not marry any other women. Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ has also given this explanation as per one narration. The second interpretation of these words, as reported by different authorities, like Ibn ` Abbas, ` Ikrimah and Mujahid ؓ ، according to some narrations is that مِن بَعدِ "after this" means it is not lawful for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to marry any women beyond the categories mentioned in the earlier verse. For example, the earlier verse has allowed for him only those women of his parents' families who had migrated from Makkah to Madinah either with him or later, according to his command; similarly the restriction that his wife must be a Muslim has made the Christian or Jewish women unlawful for him. As such the meaning of the words, "after this" would be that he cannot marry those women who do not fall in the categories made lawful for him. Thus, according to this explanation, this is not a new injunction; it is rather an elaboration to highlight the consequential outcome of the rule already laid down in the preceding verse. According to this interpretation, this verse does not prohibit marriage with other women after the nine blessed wives ؓ instead, it prohibits marriage with non-Muslims and with women of the parents families who did not migrate, as already known from the previous verse. This second interpretation finds support from a narration of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ to the effect that the permission of further marriages remained applicable for him (even after the revelation of the present verse) وَلَا أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ "Nor is it lawful that you replace them (the present wives) with other wives" - 52. The clear meaning of these words in view of the second explanation of this verse is that although the Holy Prophet ﷺ is permitted to marry other women besides his present wives subject to the conditions mentioned, yet it is not lawful for him to divorce a wife and to marry another woman to replace her. However, the meaning of these words in view of the first explanation of this verse would be that he can neither marry any woman in addition to the present wives, nor can he replace them by divorcing one and marrying another. Towards the end of these verses it is clarified that a bond woman owned by the Holy Prophet ﷺ is exempt from fifth and seventh rules in the sense that she is lawful for him, even if she is a Christian or Jew, and it is also permitted for him to replace her with another bondwoman. Lastly it has been reminded that Allah Ta’ ala is watchful of everything's reality, appearance and underlying reasons. All these injunctions and rules are based on divine wisdom and expedience, even if the wisdom is not stated specifically, and hence no one has the right to question them or raise objections against them.