Prophet of God forbade something that God had permitted, and that was in Surat At-Tahrim.
A response to those who object that the Messenger of Allah forbade something that Allah had permitted, and that is in Surat At-Tahrim,
first in a very simple way, prohibition is prevention, and the evidence for that is the Almighty’s saying
in Surat Al Imran, verse 93
{All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had forbidden to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, “Then bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful.”}
A person can forbid himself, for example, bananas or apples, out of an obligatory asceticism to save costs and not to be extravagant, so there is no harm in that, as he has the choice to eat or not eat, as Allah has given him the right to do so.
We will now return to explaining the meaning of the verse
{O Prophet, why do you forbid that which Allah has made lawful to you, seeking the pleasure of your wives? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (1) Allah has already prescribed for you the expiation of your oaths.} And Allah is your Master, and He is the Knowing, the Wise. (2) And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement, and when she informed him of it and Allah made it known to him, he made known part of it and ignored part. So when he informed her of it, she said, “Who informed you of this?” He said, “The Knowing, the Acquainted informed me.” (3) If you both repent to Allah, then your hearts have indeed inclined; but if you both conspire against him, then indeed Allah is Knowing.” {He is his protector, and Gabriel and the righteous believers, and the angels after that are his supporter. (4) It may be that his Lord, if he divorces you, will substitute for him wives better than you - submissive, believing, obedient, repentant, worshipping, fasting, married and virgins. (5)}
Response with refutation
Reason for revelation:
The revelation of the verse (1, 2):
Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated in the two Sahihs on the authority of Aisha that she said: “ The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, loved sweets and honey, and when he finished the afternoon prayer, he would go to his wives, and stay with Zainab bint Jahsh, and drink honey with her. Hafsa and I conspired that whichever of us the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered upon should say to him: I smell the odor of maghāfir on you. Have you eaten maghāfir? He said: No, but I drank honey at Zaynab bint Jahsh’s, and I will not return to it. I have sworn that you will not tell anyone about that.”
The revelation of the verse (5):
{Perhaps his Lord…}: Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Anas that Umar said: The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gathered together in jealousy for him, so I said: Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you, will replace him with wives better than you. So this verse was revealed.
{O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you? } Addressing him with the word “prophet” indicates reverence and respect, and a mention of his high and noble status. He did not address him by his proper name as he addressed the other messengers by saying, “O Abraham, O Noah, O Jesus, son of Mary.” Rather, he addressed him with the word “prophet” or “message.” This is the greatest proof and evidence that he - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - Upon him be peace - the best of the prophets and messengers. The meaning of the verse: O you who have been inspired by the heavens, who were informed by the trustworthy Gabriel, peace be upon him, why do you prevent yourself from what Allah has made lawful for you of women? The commentators said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was alone with the mother of his child, "Maria", in the house of Hafsa and she knew about that, so he said to her: Keep it secret from me, as I have forbidden Maria to myself. So the verse was revealed: {O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you ?} And in the opening of the rebuke there is a good gentleness that is not hidden, as he rebuked him for tiring himself out and making things difficult for himself for the sake of pleasing his wives, as if he was saying: Do not tire yourself out for the sake of your wives, and your wives strive to please you, so relieve yourself of this trouble {seek the pleasure of your wives}? That is, do you seek the pleasure of your wives by forbidding what Allah has made lawful for you? Ibn Juzi said: He meant his prohibition of the slave girl in order to please Hafsa, and this indicates that it was revealed regarding the prohibition of the slave girl. As for the prohibition of honey, he did not intend to please his wives, but rather he left it for its smell. {And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful} meaning, Allah is Vast in forgiveness and Great in mercy, as He forgave you for your refusal of Maria, and He only rebuked you out of mercy for you. In this there is an indication that his rebuke for that was only to honor him, and the rebuke occurred because of his (peace be upon him) restricting himself, and his refusal of what brought him comfort and enjoyment. How bad is what Al-Zamakhshari said about this being a slip from him (peace be upon him) because he forbade what Allah had made permissible for him, etc. For this statement is a lack of manners with the status of prophethood, and ignorance of the attributes of the infallible, so he ( peace be upon him) did not forbid what was permissible as he claimed, so that it would be considered a violation and a sin, and he only refrained from some of his female slaves to perfume them. For the sake of some of his wives, God Almighty rebuked him for it out of kindness to him, and in recognition of his status, and out of respect for his position, peace be upon him, that he should take into consideration pleasing his wives with what is difficult for him, in accordance with what is known of God Almighty’s kindness to him {Allah has already prescribed for you the expiation of your oaths} meaning God has prescribed for you, O group of believers, what you can use to expiate your oaths, and that is by expiation {And Allah is your Protector} meaning God is your Guardian and Supporter {And He is the Knowing, the Wise} meaning He is the Knowing of His creation and the Wise in His creation, so He does not command or forbid except what wisdom and interest require. Then God Almighty began to explain the story that happened to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, with some of his wives, so He said {And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement} meaning And remember when the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, confided in his wife Hafsa a secret and kept it a secret from her. Ibn Abbas said: It is what he confided in Hafsa about forbidding the slave girl to himself, just as he informed her that the caliphate after him would be in Abu Bakr and Umar, and he asked her not to tell anyone about that. {So when she informed him of it} meaning when she informed Aisha of that secret and revealed it to her, {and God revealed it to him} meaning when God informed His Prophet, through the trustworthy Gabriel, about her revealing the secret, {he made known some of it and turned away from some} meaning he informed her and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, informed her .
He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told Hafsa some of what Aisha had told him, which was that he had forbidden Mariya to himself, and he ignored mentioning the caliphate because he (
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) hated for that to spread among the people. {So when he informed her of it} meaning when the Messenger informed Hafsa that she had revealed his secret {she said: Who informed you of this} meaning she said: Who informed you , O Messenger of Allah , that I revealed your secret? Abu Hayyan said: Hafsa thought that Aisha had exposed her - and she had kept it a secret - so she said: Who told you this, for the sake of verification? He told her that it was Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, who had told him, so she remained silent and submitted. {He said: The All-Knowing, the All-Aware has informed me} meaning, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: The Lord of Majesty, the All-Knowing of the secrets of His servants, the All-Aware from whom nothing is hidden, informed me of this. {If you both repent to Allah} The address was to Hafsa and Aisha. He addressed them by way of turning away in order to be more eloquent in rebuking them and urging them to repent for what they had done of harming the Master of the Prophets. His answer is omitted, meaning that if you repent, it would be better for you than cooperating against the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, by harming him. {For your hearts have indeed turned away} meaning, your hearts have deviated and turned away from what is required of you of sincerity. To the Messenger of Allah, by loving what he loves and hating what he hates. {And if you two cooperate against him} meaning, if you cooperate against the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in what would upset him, such as causing discord between him and all his other wives, {then indeed, Allah is his Protector} meaning, Allah the Most High is his Guardian and Supporter, so that cooperation from you will not harm him. {And Gabriel and the righteous believers} meaning, Gabriel is also his Guardian and Supporter, and the righteous believers, Ibn Abbas said: He meant by the righteous believers Abu Bakr and Umar, for they were helpers to him, may Allah bless them and grant them peace. Ibn Juzi said: The meaning of the verse is: If you cooperate against him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in what would upset him, such as excessive jealousy, divulging his secrets, and the like, then indeed, he has someone who will support him and take him under his wing. It was reported in the Sahih that when that happened, Umar came to The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: O Messenger of Allah, what is so difficult for you regarding women? If you divorce them, then Allah is with you, and His angels, and Gabriel, and Abu Bakr and Omar are with you. So the verse was revealed in agreement with what Omar said: {And the angels after that will be your supporters} meaning, the righteous angels after the presence of Allah, and Gabriel, and the righteous believers are the supporters of the Messenger of Allah , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, against those who oppose him. So what is the benefit of two women supporting one another against one of these supporters and supporters? Gabriel was mentioned alone to magnify him and to show his status with Allah.
The Most High has mentioned Him twice: once in the singular, and once in the general, and He placed {the righteous believers} between Gabriel and the angels to honor them, take care of them, and praise the virtue of righteousness. He concluded the verse by mentioning {the angels}, the greatest of creations, and made them supporters of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, so that He would magnify the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and magnify his status, and support him, as they are like a massive army, filling the deserts, in support of the chosen Prophet. So who is it who can oppose the Messenger , may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, after that? Then Allah the Almighty frightened the wives of the Prophet by saying {Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you} The commentators said: {Perhaps} from Allah is an obligation, meaning a right that is obligatory upon Allah if His Messenger divorces you {that He will substitute for him wives better than you} meaning that He will give him, peace be upon him, instead of you righteous wives who are better and more excellent than you. Al-Qurtubi said: This is a promise from Allah the Almighty to His Messenger that if he divorces them in this world, He will marry him to women better than them, and Allah knows that He will not divorce them, but He informed of His ability, that if His Messenger divorced them, He would substitute for him women better than them, to frighten them. Then Allah the Almighty described these wives whom He will substitute for him, saying {Muslims} meaning submissive and surrendering to the command of Allah the Almighty and the command of His Messenger {Believers} meaning believing in Allah and His Messenger {obedient} That is, obedient to what they are commanded to do, persistent in obedience. {Repentant} that is, repentant from sins, not persisting in disobedience. {Worshippers} that is, worshippers of God Almighty, increasing their worship, as if worship has mixed with their hearts until it has become their nature. {Travelers} that is, travelers, emigrating to God and His Messenger. {Married women and virgins} that is, some of them are married women, and some of them are virgins. Ibn Kathir said: He divided them into two types so that this would be more desirable to the soul, because diversity expands the soul. The conjunction waw was only used here {married women and virgins} for the sake of diversity and division. If it were dropped, the meaning would be distorted, because marriage and virginity do not come together. So ponder the secret of the Qur’an.
Between the hands of the Surah
first in a very simple way, prohibition is prevention, and the evidence for that is the Almighty’s saying
in Surat Al Imran, verse 93
{All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had forbidden to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, “Then bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful.”}
A person can forbid himself, for example, bananas or apples, out of an obligatory asceticism to save costs and not to be extravagant, so there is no harm in that, as he has the choice to eat or not eat, as Allah has given him the right to do so.
We will now return to explaining the meaning of the verse
{O Prophet, why do you forbid that which Allah has made lawful to you, seeking the pleasure of your wives? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (1) Allah has already prescribed for you the expiation of your oaths.} And Allah is your Master, and He is the Knowing, the Wise. (2) And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement, and when she informed him of it and Allah made it known to him, he made known part of it and ignored part. So when he informed her of it, she said, “Who informed you of this?” He said, “The Knowing, the Acquainted informed me.” (3) If you both repent to Allah, then your hearts have indeed inclined; but if you both conspire against him, then indeed Allah is Knowing.” {He is his protector, and Gabriel and the righteous believers, and the angels after that are his supporter. (4) It may be that his Lord, if he divorces you, will substitute for him wives better than you - submissive, believing, obedient, repentant, worshipping, fasting, married and virgins. (5)}
Response with refutation
Reason for revelation:
The revelation of the verse (1, 2):
Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated in the two Sahihs on the authority of Aisha that she said: “ The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, loved sweets and honey, and when he finished the afternoon prayer, he would go to his wives, and stay with Zainab bint Jahsh, and drink honey with her. Hafsa and I conspired that whichever of us the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered upon should say to him: I smell the odor of maghāfir on you. Have you eaten maghāfir? He said: No, but I drank honey at Zaynab bint Jahsh’s, and I will not return to it. I have sworn that you will not tell anyone about that.”
The revelation of the verse (5):
{Perhaps his Lord…}: Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Anas that Umar said: The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gathered together in jealousy for him, so I said: Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you, will replace him with wives better than you. So this verse was revealed.
{O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you? } Addressing him with the word “prophet” indicates reverence and respect, and a mention of his high and noble status. He did not address him by his proper name as he addressed the other messengers by saying, “O Abraham, O Noah, O Jesus, son of Mary.” Rather, he addressed him with the word “prophet” or “message.” This is the greatest proof and evidence that he - may God’s prayers and peace be upon him - Upon him be peace - the best of the prophets and messengers. The meaning of the verse: O you who have been inspired by the heavens, who were informed by the trustworthy Gabriel, peace be upon him, why do you prevent yourself from what Allah has made lawful for you of women? The commentators said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was alone with the mother of his child, "Maria", in the house of Hafsa and she knew about that, so he said to her: Keep it secret from me, as I have forbidden Maria to myself. So the verse was revealed: {O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you ?} And in the opening of the rebuke there is a good gentleness that is not hidden, as he rebuked him for tiring himself out and making things difficult for himself for the sake of pleasing his wives, as if he was saying: Do not tire yourself out for the sake of your wives, and your wives strive to please you, so relieve yourself of this trouble {seek the pleasure of your wives}? That is, do you seek the pleasure of your wives by forbidding what Allah has made lawful for you? Ibn Juzi said: He meant his prohibition of the slave girl in order to please Hafsa, and this indicates that it was revealed regarding the prohibition of the slave girl. As for the prohibition of honey, he did not intend to please his wives, but rather he left it for its smell. {And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful} meaning, Allah is Vast in forgiveness and Great in mercy, as He forgave you for your refusal of Maria, and He only rebuked you out of mercy for you. In this there is an indication that his rebuke for that was only to honor him, and the rebuke occurred because of his (peace be upon him) restricting himself, and his refusal of what brought him comfort and enjoyment. How bad is what Al-Zamakhshari said about this being a slip from him (peace be upon him) because he forbade what Allah had made permissible for him, etc. For this statement is a lack of manners with the status of prophethood, and ignorance of the attributes of the infallible, so he ( peace be upon him) did not forbid what was permissible as he claimed, so that it would be considered a violation and a sin, and he only refrained from some of his female slaves to perfume them. For the sake of some of his wives, God Almighty rebuked him for it out of kindness to him, and in recognition of his status, and out of respect for his position, peace be upon him, that he should take into consideration pleasing his wives with what is difficult for him, in accordance with what is known of God Almighty’s kindness to him {Allah has already prescribed for you the expiation of your oaths} meaning God has prescribed for you, O group of believers, what you can use to expiate your oaths, and that is by expiation {And Allah is your Protector} meaning God is your Guardian and Supporter {And He is the Knowing, the Wise} meaning He is the Knowing of His creation and the Wise in His creation, so He does not command or forbid except what wisdom and interest require. Then God Almighty began to explain the story that happened to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, with some of his wives, so He said {And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement} meaning And remember when the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, confided in his wife Hafsa a secret and kept it a secret from her. Ibn Abbas said: It is what he confided in Hafsa about forbidding the slave girl to himself, just as he informed her that the caliphate after him would be in Abu Bakr and Umar, and he asked her not to tell anyone about that. {So when she informed him of it} meaning when she informed Aisha of that secret and revealed it to her, {and God revealed it to him} meaning when God informed His Prophet, through the trustworthy Gabriel, about her revealing the secret, {he made known some of it and turned away from some} meaning he informed her and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, informed her .
He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told Hafsa some of what Aisha had told him, which was that he had forbidden Mariya to himself, and he ignored mentioning the caliphate because he (
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) hated for that to spread among the people. {So when he informed her of it} meaning when the Messenger informed Hafsa that she had revealed his secret {she said: Who informed you of this} meaning she said: Who informed you , O Messenger of Allah , that I revealed your secret? Abu Hayyan said: Hafsa thought that Aisha had exposed her - and she had kept it a secret - so she said: Who told you this, for the sake of verification? He told her that it was Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, who had told him, so she remained silent and submitted. {He said: The All-Knowing, the All-Aware has informed me} meaning, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: The Lord of Majesty, the All-Knowing of the secrets of His servants, the All-Aware from whom nothing is hidden, informed me of this. {If you both repent to Allah} The address was to Hafsa and Aisha. He addressed them by way of turning away in order to be more eloquent in rebuking them and urging them to repent for what they had done of harming the Master of the Prophets. His answer is omitted, meaning that if you repent, it would be better for you than cooperating against the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, by harming him. {For your hearts have indeed turned away} meaning, your hearts have deviated and turned away from what is required of you of sincerity. To the Messenger of Allah, by loving what he loves and hating what he hates. {And if you two cooperate against him} meaning, if you cooperate against the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in what would upset him, such as causing discord between him and all his other wives, {then indeed, Allah is his Protector} meaning, Allah the Most High is his Guardian and Supporter, so that cooperation from you will not harm him. {And Gabriel and the righteous believers} meaning, Gabriel is also his Guardian and Supporter, and the righteous believers, Ibn Abbas said: He meant by the righteous believers Abu Bakr and Umar, for they were helpers to him, may Allah bless them and grant them peace. Ibn Juzi said: The meaning of the verse is: If you cooperate against him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in what would upset him, such as excessive jealousy, divulging his secrets, and the like, then indeed, he has someone who will support him and take him under his wing. It was reported in the Sahih that when that happened, Umar came to The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: O Messenger of Allah, what is so difficult for you regarding women? If you divorce them, then Allah is with you, and His angels, and Gabriel, and Abu Bakr and Omar are with you. So the verse was revealed in agreement with what Omar said: {And the angels after that will be your supporters} meaning, the righteous angels after the presence of Allah, and Gabriel, and the righteous believers are the supporters of the Messenger of Allah , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, against those who oppose him. So what is the benefit of two women supporting one another against one of these supporters and supporters? Gabriel was mentioned alone to magnify him and to show his status with Allah.
The Most High has mentioned Him twice: once in the singular, and once in the general, and He placed {the righteous believers} between Gabriel and the angels to honor them, take care of them, and praise the virtue of righteousness. He concluded the verse by mentioning {the angels}, the greatest of creations, and made them supporters of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, so that He would magnify the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and magnify his status, and support him, as they are like a massive army, filling the deserts, in support of the chosen Prophet. So who is it who can oppose the Messenger , may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, after that? Then Allah the Almighty frightened the wives of the Prophet by saying {Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you} The commentators said: {Perhaps} from Allah is an obligation, meaning a right that is obligatory upon Allah if His Messenger divorces you {that He will substitute for him wives better than you} meaning that He will give him, peace be upon him, instead of you righteous wives who are better and more excellent than you. Al-Qurtubi said: This is a promise from Allah the Almighty to His Messenger that if he divorces them in this world, He will marry him to women better than them, and Allah knows that He will not divorce them, but He informed of His ability, that if His Messenger divorced them, He would substitute for him women better than them, to frighten them. Then Allah the Almighty described these wives whom He will substitute for him, saying {Muslims} meaning submissive and surrendering to the command of Allah the Almighty and the command of His Messenger {Believers} meaning believing in Allah and His Messenger {obedient} That is, obedient to what they are commanded to do, persistent in obedience. {Repentant} that is, repentant from sins, not persisting in disobedience. {Worshippers} that is, worshippers of God Almighty, increasing their worship, as if worship has mixed with their hearts until it has become their nature. {Travelers} that is, travelers, emigrating to God and His Messenger. {Married women and virgins} that is, some of them are married women, and some of them are virgins. Ibn Kathir said: He divided them into two types so that this would be more desirable to the soul, because diversity expands the soul. The conjunction waw was only used here {married women and virgins} for the sake of diversity and division. If it were dropped, the meaning would be distorted, because marriage and virginity do not come together. So ponder the secret of the Qur’an.
Between the hands of the Surah
* Surat At-Tahrim is one of the Medinan surahs that deals with legislative affairs. Here, it addresses issues and rulings related to the “House of Prophethood” and the pure Mothers of the Believers, the wives of the Messenger of God , may God bless him and grant him peace, within the framework of preparing the Muslim home and the most perfect model for a happy family.
* The noble Surah began by talking about the Prophet’s (PBUH ) prohibition of his concubine and slave girl “Maria the Copt” for himself, and his refusal to have intercourse with her in order to satisfy the desire of some of his pure wives. The rebuke to him was gentle and delicate, revealing God’s care for His servant and Messenger Muhammad ( PBUH ) that he should restrict for himself what God had made easy for him {O Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you, seeking the approval of your wives…} the verse.
* Then the Surah addressed a very serious matter, which is “disclosing a secret” between spouses, which threatens married life. It gave an example of this with the Messenger of God , may God bless him and grant him peace, when he confided a secret to Hafsah and asked her to keep it secret, so she disclosed it to Aisha until the matter became widespread and became known, which angered the Messenger until he wanted to divorce his wives {And when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement…} the verse.
* The Noble Surah launched a severe and violent attack on the wives of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace , when what happened between them of competition and jealousy of each other for minor matters occurred, and it threatened them with God replacing His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, with women better than them, in victory for the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace {Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you, will give him in exchange wives better than you, submissive, believing, obedient, repentant...} the verse.
* The Surah concluded with two examples: an example of a disbelieving wife in the protection of a righteous, believing man, and an example of a believing wife in the protection of a wicked, disbelieving man, to alert the servants that no one will avail another in the Hereafter, and no lineage or ancestry will benefit, if a person’s deeds are not righteous. { Allah presents an example for those who disbelieve: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two of Our righteous servants, but they betrayed them - that is, they disbelieved in Allah and did not believe - so they did not avail them at all against Allah, and it was said, “Enter the Fire with those who enter.” And Allah presents an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, “My Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise...”} [Surah Al-An’am 11:17]. It is a wonderful conclusion that is consistent with the atmosphere of the Surah and its goal of strengthening the pillars of virtue and faith.
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