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Surah Al Ahzab In Arabic

Transliteration English

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

1. Yaa aiyuhan Nabiyyut taqil laaha wa laa tuti’il kaafireena wal munaafiqeen; innal laaha kaana ‘aleeman Hakeemaa
2. Wattabi’ maa yoohaaa ilaika mir Rabbik; innal laaha kaana bimaa ta’maloona Khabeera
3. Wa tawakkal ‘alal laah; wa kafaa billaahi Wakeelaa
4. Maa ja’alal laahu lirajulim min qalbaini fee jawfih; wa maa ja’ala azwaajakumul laaa’ee tuzaahiroona minhunna ummahaatikum; wa maa ja’ala ad’iyaaa’akum abnaaa’akum; zaalikum qawlukum bi afwaa hikum wallaahu yaqoolul haqqa wa Huwa yahdis sabeel
5. Ud’oohum li aabaaa’ihim huwa aqsatu ‘indal laah; fa illam ta’lamooo aabaaa’ahum fa ikhwaanukum fid deeni wa mawaaleekum; wa laisa ‘alaikum junaahun feemaaa akhtaatum bihee wa laakim maa ta’ammadat quloobukum; wa kaanal laahu Ghafoorar Raheemaa
6. An-Nabiyyu awlaa bil mu’mineena min anfusihim wa azwaajuhoo ummahatuhum wa ulul arhaami ba’duhum awlaa biba’din fee Kitaabil laahi minal mu’meneena wal Muhaajireena illaaa an taf’alooo ilaaa awliyaaa’ikum ma’roofaa; kaana zaalika fil kitaabi mastooraa
7. Wa iz akhaznaa minan Nabiyyeena meesaaqahum wa minka wa min Noohinw wa Ibraaheema wa Moosaa wa Eesab-ni-Maryama wa akhaznaa minhum meesaaqan ghaleezaa
8. Liyas’alas saadiqeena ‘an sidqihim; wa a’adda lilkaa fireena ‘azaaban aleemaa (section 1)
9. Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanuz kuroo ni’matal laahi ‘alaikum iz jaaa’atkum junoodun fa arsalnaa ‘alaihim reehanw wa junoodal lam tarawhaa; wa kaanal laahu bimaa ta’maloona Baseera
10. Iz jaaa’ookum min fawqikum wa min asfala minkum wa iz zaaghatil absaaru wa balaghatil quloobul hanaajira wa tazunnoona billaahiz zunoonaa
11. Hunaalikab tuliyal mu’minoona wa zulziloo zilzaalan shadeedaa
12. Wa iz yaqoolul munaafiqoona wallazeena fee quloobihim maradum maa wa’adanal laahu wa Rasooluhooo illaa ghurooraa
13. Wa iz qaalat taaa’ifatum minhum yaaa ahla Yasriba laa muqaamaa lakum farji’oo; wa yastaazinu fareequm minhumun Nabiyya yaqooloona inna buyootanaa ‘awrah; wa maa hiya bi’awratin iny yureedoona illaa firaaraa
14. wa law dukhilat ‘alaihim min aqtaarihaa summa su’ilul fitnata la aatawhaa wa maa talabbasoo bihaaa illaa yaseeraa
15. Wa laqad kaanoo ‘aahadul laaha min qablu laa yuwal loonal adbaar; wa kaana ‘ahdul laahi mas’oolaa
16. Qul lany yanfa’akumul firaaru in farartum minal mawti awil qatli wa izal laa tumatta’oona illaa qaleelaa
17. Qul man zal lazee ya’simukum minal laahi in araada bikum sooo’an aw araada bikum rahmah; wa laa yajidoona lahum min doonil laahi waliyyanw wa laa naseeraa
18. Qad ya’lamul laahul mu’awwiqeena minkum walqaaa’ileena li ikhwaanihim halumma ilainaa, wa laa yaatoonal baasa illaa qaleelaa
19. Ashihhatan ‘alaikum faizaa jaaa’al khawfu ra aytahum yanzuroona ilaika tadooru a’yunuhum kallazee yughshaa ‘alaihi minal mawti fa izaa zahabal khawfu salqookum bi alsinatin hidaadin ashihhatan ‘alal khayr; ulaaa’ika lam yu’minoo fa ahbatal laahu a’maalahum; wa kaana zaalika ‘alal laahi yaseeraa
20. Yahsaboonal Ahzaaba lam yazhaboo wa iny yaatil Ahzaabu yawaddoo law annahum baadoona fil A’raabi yasaloona ‘an ambaaa’ikum wa law kaanoo feekum maa qaatalooo illaa qaleela (section 2)
21. Laqad kaana lakum fee Rasoolil laahi uswatun hasanatul liman kaana yarjul laaha wal yawmal Aakhira wa zakaral laaha kaseeraa
22. Wa lammaa ra al mu’minoonal Ahzaaba qaaloo haazaa maa wa’adanal laahu wa Rasooluh; wa sadaqal laahu wa Rasooluh; wa maa zaadahum illaaa eemaananw wa tasleemaa
23. Minal mu’mineena rijaalun sadaqoo maa ‘aahadul laaha ‘alaihi faminhum man qadaa nahbahoo wa minhum mai yantaziru wa maa baddaloo tabdeelaa
24. Li yajziyal aahus saadiqeena bisidqihim wa yu’azzibal munaafiqeena in shaaa’a aw yatooba ‘alaihim; innal laaha kaana Ghafoorar Raheemaa
25. Wa raddal laahul lazeena kafaroo bighaizihim lam yanaaloo khairaa; wa kafal laahul mu’mineenal qitaal; wa kaanal laahu Qawiyyan ‘Azeezaa
26. Wa anzalal lazeena zaaha roohum min Ahlil Kitaabi min sa yaaseehim wa qazafa fee quloobihimm mur ru’ba fareeqan taqtuloona wa taasiroona fareeqaaa
27. Wa awrasakum ardahum wa diyaarahum wa amwaalahum wa ardal lam tata’oohaa; wa kaanal laahu ‘alaa kulli shai’in Qadeeraa (section 3)
28. Yaaa aiyuhan Nabiyyu qul li azwaajika in kuntunna turidnal hayaatad dunyaa wa zeenatahaa fata’aalaina umatti’kunna wa usarrihkunna saraahan jameela
29. Wa in kuntunna turidnal laaha wa Rasoolahoo wad Daaral Aakhirata fa innal laaha a’adda lil muhsinaati min kunna ajjran ‘azeemaa
30. Yaa nisaaa’an Nabiyyi mai yaati minkunna bifaa hishatim mubaiyinatiny yudaa’af lahal ‘azaabu di’fain wa kaana zaalika ‘alal laahi yaseera (End Juz 21)
31. Wa mai yaqnut minkunna lillaahi wa Rasoolihee wa ta’mal saalihan nu’tihaaa ajrahaa marratayni wa a’tadnaa lahaa rizqan kareema
32. Yaa nisaaa’an Nabiyyi lastunna ka ahadim minan nisaaa’i init taqaitunna falaa takhda’na bilqawli fa yatma’al lazee fee qalbihee maradunw wa qulna qawlam ma’roofaa
33. Wa qarna fee bu yoo tikunna wa laa tabarrajna tabarrujal Jaahiliyyatil oolaa wa aqimnas Salaata wa aaateenaz Zakaata wa ati’nal laaha wa Rasoolah; innamaa yureedul laahu liyuzhiba ‘ankumur rijsa Ahlal Bayti wa yutahhirakum tatheeraa
34. Wazkurna maa yutlaa fee bu yootikunna min aayaatil laahi wal Hikmah; innal laaha kaana lateefan Khabeera (section 4)
35. Innal muslimeena wal muslimaati wal mu’mineena wal mu’minaati walqaaniteena walqaanitaati wassaadiqeena wassaadiqaati wassaabireena wassaabiraati walkhaashi’eena walkhaashi’aati walmutasaddiqeena walmutasaddiqaati wassaaa’imeena wassaaa’imaati walhaafizeena furoojahum walhaafizaati waz zaakireenal laaha kaseeranw waz zaakiraati a’addal laahu lahum maghfiratanw wa ajran ‘azeemaa
36. Wa maa kaana limu’mininw wa laa mu’minatin izaa qadal laahu wa Rasooluhooo amran ai yakoona lahumul khiyaratu min amrihim; wa mai ya’sil laaha wa Rasoolahoo faqad dalla dalaalam mubeenaa
37. Wa iz taqoolu lillazeee an’amal laahu ‘alaihi wa an’amta ‘alaihi amsik ‘alaika zawjaka wattaqil laaha wa tukhfee fee nafsika mal laahu mubdeehi wa takhshan naasa wallaahu ahaqqu an takhshaah; falammaa qadaa Zaidum minhaa wataran zawwajnaa kahaa likay laa yakoona ‘alal mu’mineena harajun feee azwaaji ad’iyaaa’ihim izaa qadaw minhunna wataraa; wa kaana amrul laahi maf’oolaa
38. Maa kaana ‘alan nabiyyyi min harajin feemaa faradal laahu lahoo sunnatal laahi fil lazeena khalaw min qabl; wa kaana amrul laahi qadaram maqdooraa
39. Allazeena yuballighoona Risaalaatil laahi wa yakhshaw nahoo wa laa yakkhshawna ahadan illal laah; wa kafaa billaahi Haseebaa
40. Maa kaana Muhammmadun abaaa ahadim mir rijaalikum wa laakir Rasoolal laahi wa Khaataman Nabiyyeen; wa kaanal laahu bikulli shai’in ‘Aleema (section 5)
41. Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanuz kurul laaha zikran kaseera
42. Wa sabbihoohu bukratanw wa aseela
43. Huwal lazee yusallee ‘alaikum wa malaaa’ikatuhoo liyukhrijakum minazzulumaati ilan-noor wa kaana bilmu’mineena Raheemaa
44. Tahiyyatuhum Yawma yalqawnahoo salaamunw wa a’adda lahum ajran kareemaa
45. Yaaa aiyuhan Nabiyyu innaaa arsalnaaka shaahidanw wa mubashshiranw wa nazeeraa
46. Wa daa’iyan ilal laahi bi iznihee wa siraajam muneeraa
47. Wa bashshiril mu’mineena bi annna lahum minal laahi fadlan kabeera
48. Wa laa tuti’il kaafireena walmunaafiqeena wa da’azaahum wa tawakkal ‘alallaah; wa kafaa billaahi Wakeelaa
49. Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanooo izaa nakahtumul mu’minaati summa tallaqtu moohunna min qabli an tamas soohunna famaa lakum ‘alaihinna min ‘iddatin ta’taddoonahaa famatti’oohunna wa sarri hoohunna saraahan jameelaa
50. Yaaa aiyuhan Nabiyyu innaaa ahlalnaa laka azwaa jakal laatee aataiyta ujoora hunna wa maa malakat yameenuka mimmaaa afaaa’al laahu ‘alaika wa banaati ‘ammika wa banaati ‘ammaatika wa banaati khaalika wa banaati khaalaa tikal laatee haajarna ma’aka wamra’ atan mu’minatan inw wahabat nafsahaa lin Nabiyyi in araadan Nabiyyu ai yastan kihahaa khaalisatan laka min doonil mu’mineen; qad ‘alimnaa maa faradnaa ‘alaihim feee azwaajihim wa maa malakat aimaanuhum li kailaa yakoona ‘alaika haraj; wa kaanal laahu Ghafoorar Raheema
51. Turjee man tashaaa’u minhunna wa tu’weee ilaika man tashaaa’u wa manibta ghaita mimman ‘azalta falaa junaaha ‘alaik; zaalika adnaaa an taqarra a’yunuhunna wa laa yahzanna wa yardaina bimaa aataitahunna kulluhunn; wal laahu ya’lamu maa fee quloo bikum; wa kaanal laahu ‘Aleeman haleemaa
52. Laa yahillu lakan nisaaa’u mim ba’du wa laaa an tabaddala bihinna min azwaajinw wa law ajabaka husnuhunna illaa maa malakat yameenukk; wa kaanal laahu ‘alaa kulli shai’ir Raqeeba (section 6)
53. Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa tadkhuloo bu yootan Nabiyyi illaaa ai yu’zana lakum ilaa ta’aamin ghaira naazireena inaahu wa laakin izaa du’eetum fadkhuloo fa izaa ta’imtum fantashiroo wa laa mustaaniseena lihadees; inna zaalikum kaana yu’zin Nabiyya fa yastahyee minkum wallaahu laa yastahyee minal haqq; wa izaa sa altumoohunna mataa’an fas’aloohunna minw waraaa’i hijaab; zaalikum atharu liquloobikum wa quloobihinn; wa maa kaana lakum an tu’zoo Rasoolal laahi wa laaa an tankihooo azwaajahoo mim ba’diheee abadaa; inna zaalikum kaana ‘indal laahi ‘azeema
54. In tubdoo shai’an aw tukhfoohu fa innal laaha kaana bikulli shai’in ‘Aleemaa
55. Laa junaaha ‘alaihinna feee aabaaa’ihinna wa laaa abnaaa’ihinna wa laaa ikhwaanihinnna wa laaa abnaaa’i ikhwaanihinna wa laaa abnaaa’i akhawaatihinna wa laa nisaaa’i hinna wa laa Maa malakat aimaanuhunn; wattaqeenal laah; innal laaha kaana ‘alaa kulli shai’in Shaheedaa
56. Innal laaha wa malaaa’i katahoo yusalloona ‘alan Nabiyy; yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo salloo ‘alaihi wa sallimoo tasleemaa
57. Innal lazeena yu’zoonal laaha wa Rasoolahoo la’anahumul laahu fid dunyaa wal Aakhirati wa a’adda lahum ‘azaabam muheenaa
58. Wallazeena yu’zoonal mu’mineena wal mu’minaati bighairi mak tasaboo faqadih tamaloo buhtaananw wa ismam mubeenaa (section 7)
59. Yaaa aiyuhan Nabiyyu qul li azwaajika wa banaatika wa nisaaa’il mu’mineena yudneena ‘alaihinna min jalaabee bihinn; zaalika adnaaa ai yu’rafna falaa yu’zain; wa kaanal laahu Ghafoorar Raheemaa
60. La’il lam yantahil munaafiqoona wallazeena fee quloobihim maradunw walmur jifoona fil madeenati lanughri yannaka bihim summa laa yujaawiroonaka feehaaa illaa qaleela
61. Mal’ooneena ainamaa suqifoo ukhizoo wa quttiloo taqteelaa
62. Sunnatal laahi fil lazeena khalaw min qablu wa lan tajida lisunnatil laahi tabdeelaa
63. Yas’alukan naasu ‘anis Saa’ati qul innamaa ‘ilmuhaa ‘indal laah; wa maa yudreeka la’allas Saa’ata takoonu qareebaa
64. Innal laaha la’anal kaafireena wa a’adda lahum sa’eeraa
65. Khaalideena feehaaa abadaa, laa yajidoona waliyyanw wa laa naseeraa
66. Yawma tuqallabu wujoohuhum fin Naari yaqooloona yaa laitanaaa ata’nal laaha wa ata’nar Rasoolaa
67. Wa qaaloo Rabbanaaa innaaa ata’naa saadatanaa wa kubaraaa’anaa fa adalloonas sabeelaa
68. Rabbanaaa aatihim di’fai ni minal ‘azaabi wal’anhum la nan kabeera (section 8)
69. Yaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa takoonoo kalla zeena aazaw Moosaa fa barra ahul laahu mimma qaaloo; wa kaana ‘indal laahi wajeehaa
70. Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanut taqul laaha wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa
71. Yuslih lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum zunoobakum; wa mai yuti’il laaha wa Rasoolahoo faqad faaza fawzan ‘azeemaa
72. Innaa ‘aradnal amaanata ‘alas samaawaati walardi wal jibaali fa abaina ai yahmil nahaa wa ashfaqna minhaa wa hamalahal insaanu innahoo kaana zalooman jahoolaa
73. Liyu ‘azzibal laahul munaafiqeena wal munaafiqaati walmushrikeena wal mushrikaati wa yatoobal laahu ‘alal mu’mineena walmu’minaat; wa kaanal laahu Ghafoorar Raheema (section 9)

Translation

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

1. Prophet! Keep thy duty to Allah and obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise.
2. And follow that which is inspired in thee from thy Lord. Lo! Allah is Aware of what ye do.
3. And put thy trust in Allah, for Allah is sufficient as Trustee.
4. Allah hath not assigned unto any man two hearts within his body, nor hath He made your wives whom ye declare (to be your mothers) your mothers, nor hath He made those whom ye claim (to be your sons) your sons. This is but a saying of your mouths. But Allah saith the truth and He showeth the way.
5. Proclaim their real parentage. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah. And if ye know not their fathers, then (they are) your brethren in the faith, and your clients. And there is no sin for you in the mistakes that ye make unintentionally, but what your hearts purpose (that will be a sin for you). Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
6. The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves, and his wives are (as) their mothers. And the owners of kinship are closer one to another in the ordinance of Allah than (other) believers and the fugitives (who fled from Mecca), except that ye should do kindness to your friends. This is written in the Book (of nature).
7. And when We exacted a covenant from the prophets, and from thee ( O Muhammad) and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus son of Mary. We took from them a solemn covenant;
8. That He may ask the loyal of their loyalty. And He hath prepared a painful doom for the unfaithful.
9. O ye who believe! Remember Allah’s favour unto you when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a great wind and hosts ye could not see. And Allah is ever Seer of what ye do.
10. When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes grew wild and hearts reached to the throats, and ye were imagining vain thoughts concerning Allah.
11. There were the believers sorely tried, and shaken with a mighty shock.
12. And when the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, were saying: Allah and His messenger promised us naught but delusion.
13. And when a party of them said: O folk of Yathrib! There is no stand (possible) for you, therefor turn back. And certain of them (even) sought permission of the Prophet, saying: Our homes lie open (to the enemy). And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.
14. If the enemy had entered from all sides and they had been exhorted to treachery, they would have committed it, and would have hesitated thereupon but little.
15. And verily they had already sworn unto Allah that they would not turn their backs (to the foe). An oath to Allah must be answered for.
16. Say: Flight will not avail you if ye flee from death or killing, and then ye dwell in comfort but a little while.
17. Say: Who is he who can preserve you from Allah if He intendeth harm for you, or intendeth mercy for you. They will not find that they have any friend or helper other than Allah.
18. Allah already knoweth those of you who hinder, and those who say unto their brethren: “Come ye hither unto us!” and they come not to the stress of battle save a little,
19. Being sparing of their help to you (believers). But when the fear cometh, then thou (Muhammad) seest them regarding thee with rolling eyes like one who fainteth unto death. Then, when the fear departeth, they scald you with sharp tongues in their greed for wealth (from the spoil). Such have not believed. Therefor Allah maketh their deeds fruitless. And that is easy for Allah.
20. They hold that the clans have not retired (for good); and if the clans should advance (again), they would fain be in the desert with the wandering Arabs, asking for the news of you; and if they were among you, they would not give battle, save a little.
21. Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah much.
22. And when the true believers saw the clans, they said: This is that which Allah and His messenger promised us. Allah and His messenger are true. It did but confirm them in their faith and resignation.
23. Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah. Some of them have paid their vow by death (in battle), and some of them still are waiting; and they have not altered in the least;
24. That Allah may reward the true men for their truth, and punish the hypocrites if He will, or relent toward them (if He will). Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
25. And Allah repulsed the disbelievers in their wrath; they gained no good. Allah averted their attack from the believers. Allah is ever Strong, Mighty.
26. And He brought those of the People of the Scripture who supported them down from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some ye slew, and ye made captive some.
27. And He caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever Able to do all things.
28. O Prophet! Say unto thy wives: If ye desire the world’s life and its adornment, come! I will content you and will release you with a fair release.
29. But if ye desire Allah and His messenger and the abode of the Hereafter, then lo! Allah hath prepared for the good among you an immense reward.
30. O ye wives of the Prophet! Whosoever of you committeth manifest lewdness, the punishment for her will be doubled, and that is easy for Allah.
31. And whosoever of you is submissive unto Allah and His messenger and doeth right, We shall give her her reward twice over, and We have prepared for her a rich provision.
32. O ye wives of the Prophet! Ye are not like any other women. If ye keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft of speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease aspire (to you), but utter customary speech.
33. And stay in your houses. Bedizen not yourselves with the bedizenment of the Time of Ignorance. Be regular in prayer, and pay the poor-due, and obey Allah and His messenger. Allah’s wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Folk of the Household, and cleanse you with a thorough cleansing.
34. And bear in mind that which is recited in your houses of the revelations of Allah and wisdom. Lo! Allah is Subtile, Aware.
35. Lo! men who surrender unto Allah, and women who surrender, and men who believe and women who believe, and men who obey and women who obey, and men who speak the truth and women who speak the truth, and men who persevere (in righteousness) and women who persevere, and men who are humble and women who are humble, and men who give alms and women who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, and men who guard their modesty and women who guard (their modesty), and men who remember Allah much and women who remember – Allah hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward.
36. And it becometh not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His messenger, he verily goeth astray in error manifest.
37. And when thou saidst unto him on whom Allah hath conferred favour and thou hast conferred favour: Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear Allah. And thou didst hide in thy mind that which Allah was to bring to light, and thou didst fear mankind whereas Allah hath a better right that thou shouldst fear Him. So when Zeyd had performed that necessary formality (of divorce) from her, We gave her unto thee in marriage, so that (henceforth) there may be no sin for believers in respect of wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have performed the necessary formality (of release) from them. The commandment of Allah must be fulfilled.
38. There is no reproach for the Prophet in that which Allah maketh his due. That was Allah’s way with those who passed away of old – and the commandment of Allah is certain destiny –
39. Who delivered the messages of Allah and feared Him, and feared none save Allah. Allah keepeth good account.
40. Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things.
41. O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.
42. And glorify Him early and late.
43. He it is Who blesseth you, and His angels (bless you), that He may bring you forth from darkness unto light; and He is ever Merciful to the believers.
44. Their salutation on the day when they shall meet Him will be: Peace. And He hath prepared for them a goodly recompense.
45. O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner.
46. And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that giveth light.
47. And announce unto the believers the good tidings that they will have great bounty from Allah.
48. And incline not to the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Disregard their noxious talk, and put thy trust in Allah. Allah is sufficient as Trustee.
49. O ye who believe! If ye wed believing women and divorce them before ye have touched them, then there is no period that ye should reckon. But content them and release them handsomely.
50. O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thine uncle on the father’s side and the daughters of thine aunts on the father’s side, and the daughters of thine uncle on the mother’s side and the daughters of thine aunts on the mother’s side who emigrated with thee, and a believing woman if she give herself unto the Prophet and the Prophet desire to ask her in marriage – a privilege for thee only, not for the (rest of) believers – We are Aware of that which We enjoined upon them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess – that thou mayst be free from blame, for Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
51. Thou canst defer whom thou wilt of them and receive unto thee whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou desirest of those whom thou hast set aside (temporarily), it is no sin for thee (to receive her again); that is better; that they may be comforted and not grieve, and may all be pleased with what thou givest them. Allah knoweth what is in your hearts ( O men), and Allah is ever Forgiving, Clement.
52. It is not allowed thee to take (other) women henceforth, nor that thou shouldst change them for other wives even though their beauty pleased thee, save those whom thy right hand possesseth. And Allah is ever Watcher over all things.
53. O Ye who believe! Enter not the dwellings of the Prophet for a meal without waiting for the proper time, unless permission be granted you. But if ye are invited, enter, and, when your meal is ended, then disperse. Linger not for conversation. Lo! that would cause annoyance to the Prophet, and he would be shy of (asking) you (to go); but Allah is not shy of the truth. And when ye ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. And it is not for you to cause annoyance to the messenger of Allah, nor that ye should ever marry his wives after him. Lo! that in Allah’s sight would be an enormity.
54. Whether ye divulge a thing or keep it hidden, lo! Allah is ever Knower of all things.
55. It is no sin for them (thy wives) to converse freely) with their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or the sons of their sisters or of their own women, or their slaves. O women! Keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is ever Witness over all things.
56. Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.
57. Lo! those who malign Allah and His messenger, Allah hath cursed them in the world and the Hereafter, and hath prepared for them the doom of the disdained.
58. And those who malign believing men and believing women undeservedly, they bear the guilt of slander and manifest sin.
59. O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
60. If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and the alarmists in the city do not cease, We verily shall urge thee on against them, then they will be your neighbours in it but a little while.
61. Accursed, they will be seized wherever found and slain with a (fierce) slaughter.
62. That was the way of Allah in the case of those who passed away of old; thou wilt not find for the way of Allah aught of power to change.
63. Men ask thee of the Hour. Say: The knowledge of it is with Allah only. What can convey (the knowledge) unto thee? It may be that the Hour is nigh.
64. Lo! Allah hath cursed the disbelievers, and hath prepared for them a flaming fire,
65. Wherein they will abide for ever. They will find (then) no protecting friend nor helper.
66. On the day when their faces are turned over in the Fire, they say: Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and had obeyed His messenger!
67. And they say: Our Lord! Lo! we obeyed our princes and great men, and they misled us from the Way.
68. Our Lord! Oh, give them double torment and curse them with a mighty curse.
69. O ye who believe! Be not as those who slandered Moses, but Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged, and he was well esteemed in Allah’s sight.
70. O ye who believe! Guard your duty to Allah, and speak words straight to the point;
71. He will adjust your works for you and will forgive you your sins. Whosoever obeyeth Allah and His messenger, he verily hath gained a signal victory.
72. Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool.
73. So Allah punisheth hypocritical men and hypocritical women, and idolatrous men and idolatrous women. But Allah pardoneth believing men and believing women, and Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

[From Holy Quran Translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall]

Commentary

This is a Madani Surah. Most of its subjects feature is the loveable persona of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his special place with Allah. There it has been variously emphasized that showing reverence for him is obligatory and that causing any pain to him is haram (forbidden). Then the rest of the subjects taken up in the Surah also serve as complements to the ultimate perfection of his station.

The background of revelation

Some narrations have been reported outlining the cause of the revelation of this Surah

When the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) came to live in Madinah after his hijrah, the environs of the city were inhabited by Jewish tribes, some of whom being Quraizah, Nadir and Banu Qainuqa . Being the prophet of mercy for all, he wished and tried that they somehow embrace Islam. It so happened that a few men from among these Jews started visiting him and posing as Muslims hypocritically. There was no faith in their heart. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) took this as sufficient to begin within the hope that the incidence of some people becoming Muslims would make it easier for him to invite others. Therefore, he used to welcome everyone from among these people particularly and warmly, so much so that even if they happened to do something bad, he would ignore it as a measure of religious expediency. It was because of this event that the initial verses of Surah al-Ahzab were revealed. (al-Qurtubi)

According to another event reported by Ibn Jarir from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) ، it was after hijrah that Walid Ibn Mughirah and Shaibah Ibn Rabi’ah from among the kuffar of Makkah came to Madinah. They made an offer before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that they would let him have half of the entire wealth of the Quraish of Makkah, if he were to withdraw his claim of prophethood. And the hypocrites and Jews of Madinah gave him a threat that they would kill him, if he did not withdraw from his claim and call. Thereupon, these verses were revealed. (Ruh al-Ma’ ani)

The third event has been reported by Tha` alibi and Wahidi with no ascription of authority. This event, according to them, goes back to the time when a no war pact was signed between the pagans of Makkah and the Holy Prophet t at Hudaibiyah. It was at that time that Abu Sufyan, ` Ikrimah, Ibn Abi Jahl and Abu al-A’war Sulami came to Madinah. There they said to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، ` You stop speaking ill of our objects of worship – or simply say that they will also intercede on our behalf and bring benefits to us. If you do just that much, then we, on our part, will forget about you and your Lord – and the dispute will be all over.’

What they said was very unpleasant for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and for all Muslims who wanted to kill them. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, ` I have made a peace pact with them, therefore, this cannot be done.’ Thereupon, these verses were revealed. (Ruh al-Ma’ ani) Though, these reports are different but, in reality, there is no contradiction therein. These events could also be the cause of the revelation of the cited verses.

In these verses, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been asked to do two things: (1) اِتَّقِ اللہَ (ittaqillah), that is, ‘fear Allah.’ (2) لَا تُطِیعِ الکَافِرِینَ (la tuti’il-kafirin), that is, ‘do not obey the disbelievers.’ The order to fear Allah was given for the reason that killing them was a breach of trust which is haram (forbidden). As for the order of not obeying the disbelievers, it was given for the reason that the demands made by the infidels in all these events were unacceptable. Relevant details follow.

Explanation of Verses

In the opening verse of the Surah: یَٰایُّھَا النَّبِیُّ اتَّقِ اللہَ (0 Prophet, fear Allah – 1), the wording of the address to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is significant. This is a singular honor given and the high regard shown to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Nowhere in the entire Qur’an, has he ever been addressed directly by his name – as has been the case in addressing other prophets. They have been addressed as یَا آدَمُ (0 ‘Adam), یَا نُوحُ (0 Nuh), یَا اِبرَاھِیمُ (0 Ibrahim), یَا مُوسیٰ (0 Musa) and likewise, repeatedly. Contrary to this, wherever throughout the Qur’an an address was made to the last among the prophets, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, he was addressed by some title, like nabiyy (prophet) or rasul (messenger of Allah) etc. The only exception is that of four occasions [ 3:144; 33:40; 47:2; 48:29] where the very purpose was to declare that he is the rasul of Allah. It is there only that his blessed name has been mentioned – which was functionally necessary.

In this address, two orders were given to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) : (1) That of fearing Allah in the sense that the peace pact entered into with the Mushriks of Makkah should not be contravened. (2) That of not yielding to what is said by the disbelievers, hypocrites and the Jews. At this point, a question may arise. Is it not that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is, after all, protected from all sins? Now, a breach of solemn pledge is obviously a major sin, and similarly, it is also a great sin to accept the offer of disbelievers and polytheists, quoted under the background of revelation. Since the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was already protected from all kinds of sins, what was the need for such an order? According to Ruh al-Ma’ ani, these orders have the sense of instruction to abide by this conduct in future as well – as he did in the event concerned. And the order of: اِتَّقِ اللہ (ittaqillah: fear Allah) was made to come earlier for the reason that Muslims wanted to kill the Mushriks of Makkah with whom a treaty of peace was already in effect. Therefore, the instruction to avoid a breach of pledge was made to precede through the expression: اِتَّقِ اللہ (ittagillah: fear Allah). As for the instruction of not yielding to the kuffar and mushrikin, since no one had even wanted to do that, it was mentioned later.

And some respected commentators have said that, in this verse, though the address is to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، but the purpose is to warn the Muslim community at large. As for him, he was ma` sum, that is, protected in the sense that there was just no probability of the contravention of Divine injunctions from him. But, the law is for the whole community. So, a corresponding mode was employed to make the community hear it and become alerted, and the address was made to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which enhanced the importance of the order significantly by suggesting: When, even the rasul of Allah is the addressee of the order, how can any individual of the Muslim community remain exempted from it?

And Ibn Kathir has said: In this verse, the real purpose of prohibiting the obedience of the disbelievers is that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) should not consult with them or let them have the opportunity of sitting with him frequently, because such consultation or mutual interaction generally becomes the cause of ending up in a disposition favouring the acceptance of what they proposed. Though, there was no probability that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would do what they asked him to do, still, he was stopped from maintaining such liaison with them and from having them participate in his consultations. It is this idea that has been expressed through the word: اِطَاعَۃ (ita’ ah: obedience, submission or listening to and doing the bidding of someone), because such consultations and mutual interaction usually become the cause of ultimate acceptance. So, what has really been done here is that he has been prohibited from adopting the ways that could lead to such ‘itaa’ah or obedience. As for obedience itself, there was no probability that he would ever do that.

Now the second question that may arise here is that according to this verse, the disbelievers and the hypocrites were expected to propose things counter to the true Islamic position. To the extent of open disbelievers, such proposals coming from them were not improbable, and warning against yielding to them is understandable. But, if the hypocrites said anything counter to Islam, they would no longer remain hypocrites, because in that case they would become open disbelievers. What, then, was the need to mention them separately? The answer is that it is possible that although the hypocrites may not have said anything against Islam very openly, but that they may have said something in support of other disbelievers.

And if the event featuring the hypocrites, described under the background of revelation, is taken to be the cause of revelation, it simply leaves no difficulty or vagueness behind – because, in terms of this event, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has simply been prohibited from dealing with Jews calling themselves Muslims in a spirit of extra civility and accommodation.

Later, towards the end of this verse, by saying: اِن اللہَ عَلِیماً حَکِیمَاً (Surely, Allah is All- Knowing, Wise – 1), stated there is the wisdom of the order given immediately earlier – that is, ‘fear Allah and do not obey the disbelievers and hypocrites.’ The reason is that Allah Ta’ ala, who knows the consequences of everything, is most wise, and fully aware of what is better for His servants. This was said to counter some of the things put forth by the disbelievers or hypocrites which could generate for them certain advantages of lesser tension and increased mutual tolerance. But, from this Allah Ta’ ala prohibited him by declaring that even this tolerance of such people was counter to what was expedient under the circumstances and that such a policy was not going to end well.

What is said in verse وَاتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّ‌بِّكَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرً‌ا وَاتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّ‌بِّكَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرً‌ا (And follow what is revealed to you from your Lord. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what you do.) is actually a complement of the first order. It means: Do not be beguiled or taken in by what the disbelievers and hypocrites say and do not agree or yield to it. Instead of all that, whatever you have been told by Allah through walhy (revelation) remains the only thing you and your companions should follow. Since, the noble companions (رض) and Muslims at large are included under this address, therefore, by saying: بِمَا تَعمَلُونَ (what you do) in the plural form at the end, everyone was alerted.

 Once again, the last statement: وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّـهِ وَكِيلًا (And place your trust in Allah and Allah is enough as a guardian- 3) is also a complement of the same order. Here it is being said: As for your approach, just pay no heed to what they say and, in order to succeed in your objective, you should trust no one but Allah for He, in Himself and by Himself, is the ultimate doer, maker and fixer of all matters and things. With Him there, you do not need to acquiesce in the opinion of anyone.

Ruling

The cited verse proves that, in religious matters, even consulting with disbelievers is not permissible. In other matters relating to technical or functional experience, there is no harm in doing so. And Allah knows best.

Commentary

Previous verses carried instructions to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) asking him not to act upon their advice and not to be cajoled into what they wanted to achieve. In the cited verses, there is a refutation of three customs prevailing among disbelievers as well as of their false notions.

(1)          During jahiliyyah, Arabs used to say about a person who was smarter than others that he had two hearts in his chest cage.

(2)          Then they had a custom about their wives following which a person would declare his wife to be like the back of his mother, or some other part of the body, and go on to say, ‘you are, for me, like the back of my mother.’ This, in their usage, was called “Zihar.” It is a derivation from: Zahr, which means ‘back’. They thought that if a person who had done “Zihr” with his wife, she becomes haram (unlawful) to him forever.

(3)          And then they had another custom under which one person would make the son of another his so-called or adopted son and who so would take a son in that manner, the boy would become known as ‘his’ son and would be addressed as such. According to their practice, this so-called or adopted son used to be recognized in all rules and regulations as a ‘real’ son. For instance, he would be regarded as a sharer even in inheritance, like a real offspring along with the children from his loins. Then, they would also regard the marriage relations of the so-called or adopted son as falling under the standard rule whereby the marriage with a category of certain women is unlawful. For example, as marriage with the wife of one’s real son remains unlawful even after he has divorced her, they also took the divorced wife of the so-called or adopted son to be unlawful for that person.

Since the first of the three notions of the period of Jahiliyyah were not tied up with religious belief or conduct, therefore, the Shari’ah of Islam had no need to refute it. To determine whether there is just the one heart inside the chest or, may be, there are two as well was simply a case of anatomical inquiry. That it was obviously false was known to everyone. Therefore, most likely, the matter of its refutation was also introduced as a prologue to the other two issues and it was said: The way false is the saying of the people of Jahiliyyah – that ‘someone could have two hearts in his chest’, the falsity of which is known to everyone – similarly, false are their notions in the matters of Zihar (falsely declaring one’s wife unlawful to him like his mother) and adoption of sons.

As for the injunctions governing the two issues of Zihar and adopted son, these are among the social and familial issues that have a great importance in Islam – to the extent that even their subsidiary details have been given in the Qur’an by Allah Ta’ ala Himself. unlike other matters, this has not been left at the declaration of principles only with its detailed enunciation entrusted with the Holy Prophet t. Regarding both these issues, the people of Jahiliyyah, following their baseless whims, had a bunch of self-made laws relating to the lawful and the unlawful, the permissible and the impermissible. It was the duty of the True Religion that it should refute these false notions and make the truth manifest. Therefore, it was said:i It means: ‘You are wrong in thinking that, should someone call his wife the equal or like of his mother, the wife does not go on to become unlawful for him forever like his real mother. Just because you say so, a wife does not become a mother, in reality. Your mother is but she who gave birth to you.’ Now, at least, the notion of the people of Jahiliyyah that Zihar makes one’s wife unlawful for ever is refuted by this verse. What happens next? Does saying so bring about any legal effect? The standing injunction in this connection appears in Surah al-Mujadalah [ 58:2-4] where saying so has been called a sin and abstention from it obligatory. And it is provided there that he who has made such a declaration should offer a kaffarah (expiation) of having done zihar after which having intercourse with his wife becomes lawful for him. The details of this issue will appear in the Commentary on Surah al-Mujadalah

The second issue was that of the mutabanna, i.e adopted son. About that, it was said: وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَاءَكُمْ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ (nor did he make your adopted sons your (real) sons – 4). The word: اَدعِیَاء (ad’iya’ ) is the plural of: دَعِیُّ (da’iyy) which means a so-called son. The sense is that the way no man has two hearts inside him and the way by likening one’s wife to one’s mother, the wife does not become the mother – similarly, the so-called son does not become your real son. In other words, neither will he be entitled to a share in inheritance with other sons, nor the precepts of the unlawfulness of marriage will apply to him. For example, the way the divorced wife of a real son is unlawful for his father forever, the divorced wife of an adopted son is not unlawful for his so-called father. Since this last matter affects many other matters, therefore, it was complimented by another injunction, that is, even an adopted son should be attributed to his real father, and not to the person who has adopted him – because, this spells out the danger of misgiving and confusion creeping in many matters.

There is a hadith from Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar (رض) appearing in al-Bukhari, Muslim and others in which it has been said: ‘Before the revelation of this verse, we used to call Zayd Ibn Harithah by the name of Zayd Ibn Muhammad (because the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had taken him in as his mutabanna, adopted son). After the revelation of this verse, we abandoned this practice.’

Ruling

This tells us about many people who call the children of others as ‘son’ which, if because of simple affection, not because of declaring him an adopted son or a mutabanna , then, this would though be permissible, still, it is not the better choice, because it looks like violating the prohibition, at least in appearance. (As in Ruh a1-Ma` ni from al-Khafaji Ala al-Baidawi)

And this is the same matter which, by throwing the Quraish of Arabia into deception, led them to commit a sin of terribly serious proportions to the extent that they started blaming the Holy Prophet t by saying that he had married the divorced wife of his ‘son’, while in fact, he was not his son, but only a mutabanna (adopted son) – something that will be mentioned in this very Surah a little later.

Commentary

As stated earlier, most of the subjects in Surah al-Ahzab relate to the reverence of the Holy Prophet t and to the unlawfulness of causing pain to him. After the mention of pains caused to him by disbelievers and hypocrites at the beginning of the Surah, some instructions were given to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) following which three customs of the Jahiliyyah were refuted. Out of these, the last custom related to such a pain inflicted on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) because the disbelievers had – at the time of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab         (رض) the divorced wife of Sayyidna Zayd, and on the basis of their pagan custom of mutabanna – blamed the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) of having married the divorced wife of his ‘son.’ Thus, from the beginning of the Surah up to this point, the subject concerned the pain caused to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . In the present verse (6), it has been stated that the reverence of and the obedience to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) more than the whole creation is wajib (necessary in the degree of obligation)

The meaning of the expression: “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is closer to the believers than their own selves” mentioned by Maulana Thanavi is based on the saying of Ibn ` Atiyyah and others which has been opted for by al-Qurtubi and most commentators. According to it, every Muslim is duty-bound to obey and implement the command of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، more than the command of his parents. If one’s parents oppose any command of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، their obedience in that matter is not permissible. Similarly, the implementation of his command takes precedence even over the pulls of one’s own desiring self.

In a hadith of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) appearing in the Sahih of al-Bukhari and others, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been reported to have said:

There is no such believer for whom I am not the closest of all people in this world and in the world to come. Read if you wish (this verse of the Qur’an to confirm):… (The Prophet is …).

The sense of the statement is that his affection for every Muslim exceeds the affection of the whole world and, as such, the necessary outcome has to be no other but that every believer holds him dearer than anyone else – which is something also said in another hadith:

None of you can become a believer until I become the dearest one to him, dearer than his father, and his son, and the whole world full of people/and the rest of the human beings, all of them. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim – Mazhari)

Said in the following sentence of the verse was: وَ اَزوَاجُہُ اُمَّھَاتُھُم (and his wives are your mothers). Here, the reference to the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet as mothers of the Muslim community means being mothers in terms of their respect and honor. Injunctions relating to the mother and her children, and those of the forbiddance of marriage, and of the absence of hijab due to having the status of a mahram, and of holding a share in the inheritance are injunctions which have nothing to do with it – as made explicit towards the end of the verse. As for the forbiddance of the marriage of the blessed wives with anyone in the Muslim community, this has been declared in a separate verse. Therefore, it is not necessary that even this forbiddance of marriage may be for the reason of being mothers.

Ruling

The cited verse proves that the least breach of etiquette in the case of anyone of the blessed wives (رض) is forbidden for two reasons: (1) That they are the mothers of the Muslim community and (2) also because any pain caused to them would cause pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) – which is forbidden in a far too extreme a degree.

The literal sense of the expression: اُولُوا الاَرحاَم (ulu ‘l-arham) in the next sentence of the verse: اُولُوا الاَرحاَم بَعضُھُم اَولٰی بِبَعضٍ (And those having mutual kinship are closer to one another (for the purpose of inheritance) than (other) believers and emigrants) covers all relatives, whether they are those whom Muslim jurists call by the name of: عصبَات (` asbat: agnates) or those who are juxtaposed as اُولُوا الاَرحاَم “ulu ‘l-arham” against “` asbat” in the light of a particular terminology. This terminology used by Muslim jurists, a later day product, is not what is meant here in the Holy Qur’an.

Thus, it means that the relationship of the revered rasul and his blessed wives with the believers of the community is, though of a degree which precedes even that of a mother and father but, on the injunctions relating to the distribution of inheritance, this has simply no bearing. This inheritance, in fact, will be distributed only on the basis of lineal and closer relationships.

In the early stage of Islam, entitlement to shares in the inheritance was based on spiritual relationship. Later on, it was abrogated in favour of closeness of relationships which has been announced by the noble Qur’an itself. This entire detail of the abrogating and the abrogated verses has appeared in Surah al-Anfal. And in that context, the mention of وَالمُھَاجِرِين (and the emigrants) after: مِنَ المُؤمِنين (and the believers) is there to highlight their distinction.

And some early commentators have said that, at this place, the Believers (‘al-mu’minin’ ) mean the Ansar and the Emigrants (Muhajirin) mean the Quraish. When placed in contrast with the Muhajirin, it becomes clear that the word: ‘al-mu’minin’ (the believers) is for the Ansar. In that case, this verse will be an abrogator of the rule of inheritance on the basis of the Hijrah (تورات بالھجرۃ) because, during the early stage of Hijrah, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had, by establishing brotherly relations between the Muhajirin and the Ansar, ordered that they will also inherit from each other. This verse abrogated that rule of ‘inheritance by virtue of Hijrah’ (Qurtubi)

Soon thereafter, it was stated: إِلَّا أَن تَفْعَلُوا إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِكُم مَّعْرُ‌وفًا (unless you do some good to your friends (by making a will in their favour – 6). In other words, this means that inheritance as such will be received only on the basis of relationship – anyone unrelated will not be an inheritor – but, there may be people with whom you relate as your brothers in faith. If you wish to give them something, you have the right to do so. You could do so within your lifetime and give it to them as a gift, and it is also possible to make a will in their favour so that they get it after your death.

Commentary

At the beginning of the Surah, by saying: وَ اتَّبع مَا يُوحٰٓی اِلَيکَ , the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was asked to follow the Divine revelation sent to him. Then, in the previous verse: اَلنَّبِیُّ اَولٰی بِالمُؤمِنِینَ , the believers have been obligated with the implementation of the orders of the recipient of the revelation. It is to further confirm and emphasize these very two things that, in the present two verses as well, the same two subjects have been reiterated, that is, the recipient of the revelation has been obligated to follow the revelation received by him from Allah and the non-recipient of the revelation has been obligated to follow the recipient of the revelation.

The Covenant of the Prophets

The covenant taken from the blessed prophets, according to the cited verse, is in addition to the universal pledge taken from the entire creation as it appears in a saying of the Holy Prophet      صلى الله عليه وسلم reported by Imam Ahmad (رح) :

“It was the prophets only from whom the covenant of messenger-ship and prophethood was taken, and this is the meaning of what Allah Ta’ ala has said: …. (And when We took from the prophets their covenant…to the end of the verse).

This pledge from the prophets was the pledge of discharging the duties of prophethood and messenger-ship and of attesting to the veracity of each other and of being mutually helpful – as Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim and others have reported from Sayyidna Qatadah (رض) . And according to one narration, it was also included in this pledge of the prophets that they should also proclaim that “Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is the messenger of Allah, and the last of the prophets. After him, there will be no prophet [مُحَمَّدُ رَّسُولُ اللہِ لَا نَبِّی بَعدَہ،]

And this pledge from prophets was also taken in eternity (Azal) at the same time when the pledge of: اَلَستُ بِرَبِّکُم (alastu bi-rabbikum: Am I not your Lord?) was taken from the created at large. (Ruh a1-Ma’ ani and Mazhari)

After having generally mentioned prophets, peace be on them all, before saying: ومِنکَ وَ مِن نُّوح (and from you and from Nuh… up to the end of the verse), five of them were particularly named on the basis of the unique distinction they have among the group of prophets. Then, even within those, it was by using the word: مِنکَ (minka: from you) that the mention of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was made to precede that of others – although, his appearance in this world is later than all of them. The reason for this has been given in Hadith itself:

‘I am the first human being in the creation and the last of them in being sent (with the prophetic mission).’ (Reported by Ibn Sa’d and Abu Nu’aim in Al-Hilyah from Maisirah al-Mafjar and At-Tabarani in al-Kabir from Ibn ` Abbas (رض) – Mazhari)

Commentary

Identified in the previous verses was the great station of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) along with the instruction to Muslims that they should follow and obey him totally and perfectly. Congruent to this, these two full sections of the Qur’an have been revealed about the event of the battle of al-Ahzab. Mentioned therein is the simultaneous attack of the combined forces of many groups of disbelievers and polytheists, their threatening encirclement, the subsequent blessings bestowed on Muslims by Allah Ta’ ala and the several miracles that issued forth at the hands of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Then, very much as a corollary to this, there are many instructions and injunctions relating to different departments of life. It is because of these very priceless instructions that great commentators have written about the details of the event of Ahzab with considered details at this place, particularly al-Qurtubi, Mazhari and others. Therefore, some details of the event of Ahzab along with the instructions are being written here. Most of it has been taken from al-Qurtubi and Mazhari. That which has been taken from some other book carries the necessary reference.

The event of the battle of al-Ahzab

The word: (al-ahzab) is the plural form of: حِزب (hizb) which means party or group. In this battle, the combined forces of different groups of disbelievers had, under a pact to eliminate Muslims, mounted an attack on Madinah. Therefore, this battle has been named as the battle of al-Ahzab. And since, in this battle, a trench was also dug under the orders of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) across the line of enemy attack, therefore, this battle is also called the battle of the Trench (Khandaq). The battle of Banu Quraizah too – which took place immediately after the battle of al-Ahzab and finds mention in the cited verses as well – that too, was actually a part of the battle of al-Ahzab, as it would appear through the details of this event.

In the year only next to the year the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) graced Madinah after migrating from Makkah al-Mukarramah, the event of the battle of Badr came to pass. In the third year, came the battle of Uhud. In the fourth year, it was this battle of al-Ahzab. Some narrations say that this event came to pass in the fifth year. Nevertheless, the attacks of the disbelievers against Muslims had been continuing since the hijrah up to this time without any break. The attack on the occasion of the battle of al-Ahzab was made with full power, determination and mutual pledge. Therefore, this battle was the severest on the Holy Prophet t and the noble Sahabah as compared with other battles – because, the count of the attacking confederate forces of the disbelievers has been given as twelve to fifteen thousand. On the other side, there were Muslims, three thousand in all, and those too very ill-equipped. Then, the time was hard winter. The Qur’an describes the horrible severity of this event by saying things like: زَاغَتِ الاَبصَارُ (the eyes were distracted – 33:10), بَلَغَتِ القُلُوبُ الحَنَاجِرَ (and hearts reached the throats – 33:10) and وَ زُلزِلُوا زِلزَالاً شَدِیداً (they were shaken with a violent convulsion – 33:11).

But, the way this time was the hardest on Muslims, they were also compensated at its best by Allah Ta’ ala. It was with His help and support that the matter ended in favour of Muslims in the form of such a great success and victory that broke the back of all hostile groups of Mushriks, Jews and Hypocrites leaving them just about incapable of even thinking of some attack against Muslims in the future. From that angle, this battle was the last armed confrontation between kufr and Islam. – fought on the plains of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah in the fourth or fifth year of hijrah.

The event began when about twenty men from the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir and the tribe of Abu Wa’il who were morbidly hostile to the Holy Prophet and Muslims at large reached Makkah al-Mukarramah. They met with Quraish chiefs and roused them to start a war against Muslims. The Quraish chiefs were under the impression that the way Muslims took their idol-worship to be kufr (disbelief, infidelity) and for which reason they regarded their religion as ill-founded, the Jews too would be no different and their thinking would be similar to it. If so, how could they hope for a common ground of unity from them? Therefore, these chiefs asked the Jews, “You people know that there is difference of religion and creed between us and Muhammad t. And you are the people of the Book and the people of learning. First of all, you tell us as to which religion is better in your sight, ours or theirs?”

A lie is no novelty in the arena of politics!

The reply given by these Jews was totally contrary to their knowledge and conscience. To them, they said, “Your religion is better than the religion of Muhammad.” Thereupon, the infidels of Makkah were somewhat satisfied. Still, the matter was taken to a future demonstration of intent. It was decided that these twenty visitors joined by fifty men from among the Quraish chiefs would go to al-Masjid al-Haram, cling to the walls of the Baytullah by their chests and make a solemn pledge before Allah that they would continue fighting against Muhammad t to their last man.

A marvel of the forbearance and magnanimity of Allah Ta’ala!

Here are the enemies of Allah in the House of Allah clinging to the walls of the Ka’abah of Allah making a compact to fight a war against His Rasul – and then return satisfied with a new passion for war! This is unique manifestation of the forbearance and magnanimity of Allah Ta’ ala. Then, the ultimate end of this compact is not too far to find. It will appear towards the end of the narrative in that all of them bolted from this battle.

These Jews, after having made a pact with the Quraish of Makkah, reached the tribe of Ghitfan, a great warring tribe of Arabia. They told them that they and the Quraish of Makkah were in full agreement with the plan to eliminate the spreaders of this new religion (Islam) once for all with their combined power. They asked them too to join hands with them in that pact. Then, they also offered them a bribe. They promised to give them the total produce of dates in one year in Khaibar – according to some narrations, they promised the half of it to the tribe of Ghitfan. ` Uyaiynah Ibn Hisn, the chief of the tribe of Ghitfan, approved of his participation in the pact under this condition. Thus, they too became a part of the war effort.

Then, in accordance with the mutual pact, the Quraish armed force of four thousand men, three hundred horses and war supplies laden on one thousand camels came out of Makkah under the command of Abu Sufyan and stopped at Marr az-Zahran. Here, all tribes of Aslam, Ashja’, Banu Murrah, Banu Kinanah, Fazarah and Ghitfan joined them. Their total number has been reported in some narrations as ten thousand, as twelve thousand in some others and as fifteen thousand in still other.

The most lethal attack on Madinah

The armed force that fought against Muslims in the battle of Badr was that of one thousand men. Then, the army that attacked in the battle of Uhud had three thousand men. This time, the numerical strength of the attacking forces was greater than it was any time before that – the equipment and the combined power of the Arab and Jewish tribes were also to be counted as additional factors.

Three ingredients of Muslim war effort

When the information about this aggressive united front reached the Holy Prophet t, the very first verbal reaction came out from him in the words:

Allah is all-sufficient for us, and the best One to trust in – 3:173.

After that, he assembled opinion leaders from among the Emigrants and Helpers together and went into consultation with them. Although, the blessed recipient of Wahy (revelation) really needs no consultation for he acts directly with the permission of Allah Ta’ ala. But, there were two advantages in having such consultation: (1) To initiate and establish the Sunnah (practice) of consultation in the Muslim community and (2) to revive mutual liaison and unity in the hearts of the believers and to persuade them to the need of helping and supporting each other. After that, they talked about matters of defence and the physical resources needed in fighting a war. Present among the group of consultants. there was Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi (رض) who had recently freed himself from the artificially imposed slavery of a Jew and had devoted himself to the service of Islam. He advised that in his country, the Persian kings have used trenches they arranged to be dug across the enemy line of attack. This had always helped stop the enemy. Accepting his advice, the Holy Prophet      صلى الله عليه وسلم ordered that trenches be dug – and he himself participated with others doing that.

The digging of trenches

It was decided to dig this trench on the entire passage way behind the mount of Sal’ which could be used by the enemy to come into Madinah from the north. The ground marking of the length and width of this trench was personally drawn by the Holy Prophet t. Beginning from Shaikhayn, this trench came as far as the western corner of the mount of Sal’ and later it was extended to the intersection of the valleys of Buthan and Rana. The total length of this trench was approximately three and a half miles. The precise measurement of the width and depth could not be ascertained from any narration. But, it is obvious that the width and depth would have also been special, of the kind the enemy would have not found easy to cross.

It has appeared in the narration of the event relating to Sayyidna Salman digging the trench that he used to dig his allotted portion of the trench which, at the end of the day, came to be five yards long and five yards deep (Mazhari). From this, it can be said that the depth of the trench was five yards.

The size of the Islamic ‘army’

At that time, Muslims were a total of three thousand in number along with a total of thirty six horses.

Participant age of maturity was set at fifteen years

Some non-pubert children had also come out with the Islamic ‘army’ with the desire to defend their faith. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) asked children below the age of fifteen years to leave. Those fifteen year old were accepted – included therein were Sayyidna ` Abduliah Ibn ` Umar, Zayd Ibn Thabit, Abu Said al-Khudri and Bara’ Ibn ` Azib (رض) When this Islamic force was ready to march for battle, the hypocrites who normally kept a face and remained intermingled among Muslims, started backing out. Some bolted away incognito. Others came up with false excuses and tried to get the permission of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to go back. This was a new trouble that rose from within. Some of the cited verses have been revealed about these very hypocrites. (Qurtubi)

Islamic nationality and Islamic unity do not contradict administrative and social division

For this Jihad, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) appointed Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah (رض) as the standard bearer of the Muhajirin and Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn ` Ubadah (رض) as the standard bearer of the Ansar. At that time, the mutual brotherhood among the Muhajirin and the Ansar stood established on very firm foundations. All of them were brothers to each other. But, it was in view of administrative convenience that the leadership of the Muhajirin was separated from the leadership of the Ansar: From this, we learn that Islamic nationality and Islamic unity are not contradictory to administrative and social division. In fact, by placing the burden of responsibility an each group helped strengthen the bond of mutual confidence and cooperation. And in the very first assignment, that is, in the digging of trenches before this battle, this mutual cooperation became all too evident as described below:

The job of digging the trenches was spread over the whole army

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) divided the whole army of the Muhajirin and the Ansar in groups of ten men each and made every group of ten men responsible for digging forty yards of the trench. Since Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi (رض) was the one who had advised the digging of the trench, knew the job, was strong and was neither one of the Ansar nor one of the Muhajirin, it created a sort of competition among the Ansar and Muhajirin for each of the two wanted to have him with them. The matter reached to the extent that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had to intervene in order to avoid any dispute. He gave his verdict by saying: سَلمَانُ مِنَّا اَھلُ البَیتِ (Salman is part of our family).

The discrimination of local and foreign in functional expertise

The universal wont in our time is that people do not like to treat those non-resident and non-local at par with them. But, this was a place where every group felt proud of having the competent one on their side and with them. It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) included him in his family on his own and thus put an end to the dispute. Then, he practically picked up some Muhajirin and some Ansar to form a group of ten which included Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn ` Awf, Sayyidna Hudhaifah and others who were from among the Muhajirin.

A great miracle

By chance, in the section of the trench entrusted with Sayyidna Salman and others with him, a huge, hard and glossy rock showed up. Sayyidna Salman’s colleague, Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn ` Awf (رض) says, “This rock broke our implements and we failed to cut it apart. Then I suggested to Salman that though it is possible to dig the trench bypassing the huge rock and join it up with the main trench with a minor crookedness in it, but we should not deviate from the line drawn by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as based on our opinion. So, you go, tell the Holy Prophet t about the position here and get an order from him about what we should do now.”

Divine reminders

It is strange that in this three and a half mile stretch of land no one from among the diggers of the trench faced any impediment which would render him helpless. The only one who did face it was Sayyidna Salman (رض) who had given the advice of digging a trench and the whole project had started on his advice. To him Allah Ta’ ala showed that there was no way out even after digging and making a perfect trench – except turning to Allah Ta’ ala for help in the face of the failure of all implements and instruments. Here, these blessed souls were being taugh اِنَّ بُيُوْتَنَا عَوْرَةٌ that assembling material means to the measure of capacity and ability was obligatory, but to place trust in these was not correct. The trust of a believer – even after having assembled all possible material means – should be in Allah Ta’ ala alone.

Sayyidna Salman (رض) presented himself before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and told him about what had happened. At that time, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was himself working in his part of the trench. He was busy hauling the dugout earth from the trench. Sayyidna Bara’ Ibn ` Azib (رض) says, “I saw him. Dust had covered his blessed body in a manner that the skin on his front and back was not visible.” Rather than give Sayyidna Salman (رض) any advice or order, he accompanied him in person to the problem spot. With the ten Sahabah busy digging the trench with Sayyidna Salman (رض) ، he too went down into the trench and joined the diggers. He took the pickaxe in his blessed hands, struck at the rock and recited the verse: تَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا (tammat kalimatu rabbika sidqa: And the Word of your Lord is perfect in truth… – al-An` am, 6:115). With this one single stroke from it, one third portion of the rock was cut off and released from this rock was a streak of light. After that, he struck at the rock once again and recited the said verse upto the end, that is: تَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَّعَدْلًا is (tammat kalimatu rabbika sidqan wa ‘adla : And the Word of your Lord is perfect in truth and justice – al-An` am, 6:115). Cut off with this second stroke was an additional one third portion of the rock which released a streak of light as before. The third time, he recited the same verse in full and executed the third stroke. With it, the rock was all finished. The Holy Prophet t came out of the trench, picked up the sheet wrap he had left at the edge of the trench and sat down on one side of it. At that time, Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi (رض) said, “Y Rasulallah, every time struck at the rock, every time I saw a light coming out of the rock.” The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) asked Sayyidna Salmn (رض) ، “Have you really seen this light?” He said, “Y Rasulallah, I have seen it with my own eyes.”

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “In the light that was released after the first strike, I saw the palaces of the cities of Yaman and those of Cyrus and Angel Jibra’il told me: ‘your Ummah will conquer these cities.’ And when I struck at the rock the second time, I was shown the red palaces of the Byzantines and Angel Jibra’il gave the good news, ‘your Ummah will conquer these cities as well.’ ” After having heard this, all Muslims felt at peace and became assured of their great successes in the future.

Hypocrites throw taunts at Muslims for believing in their Prophet’s promises

At that time, the hypocrites who were part of the digging operations of the trench, started asking other Muslims, ‘It is strange that you people are not surprised at what Muhammad is telling you. Is it not that he is making all those baseless promises to you in the depth of this trench being dug in Yathrib where he is claiming to be seeing the palaces of Hirah (in the South) and Mada’in (in the North)? And on top of it all, he is telling you that it is you people who are going to conquer them! Just look at yourself. Here you are, digging and digging, forgetful of all your needs. Frankly, you do not even have the time to take care of your human compulsions. Still, is it you who are going to conquer the countries of Cyrus and others?’ Thereupon, it was about this very event that, in the twelfth verse cited above, it was revealed:

(And (remember) when the hypocrites and those having malady in their hearts were saying, “Allah and His messenger did not promise us but deceitfully; – 12). Here, in this verse, by saying: الَّذِيْنَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ

those having malady in their hearts), reference is being made to the state of the same hypocrites hidden in whose hearts there was that disease of hypocrisy.

Just imagine the kind of time it was, a severe trial indeed. At stake was the very faith of Muslims for they had to believe in the word of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) with the full backing of their mind and heart despite being threatened by disbelievers from all sides. They had no servants to dig their trench for them. They were doing this hard work with their own hands braving the lashing winter. The unfriendly weather, the approaching enemy factor, theirs was a general climate of fear all around. In a situation like that, it was not easy to be sure of even one’s defence and survival within whatever means were available. How could they go on from here and start believing in the good news of the conquests of the great kingdoms of Byzantine and Persia? But, the value of ‘Iman (faith) is the highest of all deeds for the reason that they, even when facing totally contrary causes and conditions, did not have the least doubt or qualm of conscience about what the Holy Prophet t had told them.

Seniors must share every trial with their juniors – Great guidance for Muslims

Who does not know that the Sahabah of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) were such selfless servants of the Holy Prophet t that they never wanted to have him do the hard labor of digging the trench with them, but it was the personal initiative of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that he chose to share this hard labor with his noble companions to mollify their hearts and teach them their essential lesson to put mutual brotherhood to practice. Of course, the noble companions staked their lives for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on the basis of his most perfect attributes as prophet and messenger of Allah, but of the many outward causes for this attachment, there was this major cause that he would be with them on all occasions facing all sorts of trials and pains like everybody else. When he did that, nobody ever thought of what we know as a class difference. There was no ruler and there was no one being ruled. There was no king around and there was no subject paying homage. Who was the man in power and who was the man from the masses? This kind of difference was unimaginable at that time. Unfortunately, from the time the Muslim wielders of power abandoned this Sunnah (the blessed practice of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)) that, was the time these differences gushed forth bringing all sorts of tests and trials in their wake.

The master prescription of achieving success against something hard to accomplish

In the event mentioned above, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has recited the verse of the Qur’an: وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَّعَدْلًا ۭلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمٰتِهٖ (And the Word of your Lord is perfect in truth and justice. None is there to change His Words – al-An` am, 6:115) while striking at this invincible rock. This tells us that the recitation of this verse is a tested prescription for the resolution of something difficult.

The selfless mutual cooperation of the noble Sahabah

We already know that there were ten men appointed for the digging of the trench at every ten yards. But, it is obvious that some people are stronger and can finish their job sooner than others. The same was true here. The noble Sahabah who finished their allotted portion of digging would never go on to sit doing nothing and thinking that their duty was over. In fact, they would help out other Sahabah whose portion of digging was still incomplete. (Qurtubi, Mazhari)

Three and a half mile long trench was completed in six days

The outcome of the hard work put in by the noble Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them all, was before everybody in six days in that such a long, wide and deep trench stood all completed within that short period of time. (Mazhari)

An open miracle in the feast hosted by Sayyidna Jabir

It was during the digging of this very trench that the well known event came to pass. On one of those days, when Sayyidna Jabir (رض) looked at the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، he felt deep down in his heart that he was really affected by hunger. He went to his wife and told her, “If you have something with you, cook it. I simply cannot bear by seeing this effect of hunger on his blessed person.” His wife said, “We have about a sa` of barley grains in our home. I am going to grind them and make some flour.” One sa` is equal to about three and a half kilograms in terms of our weights. So, his wife got busy with the grinding of barley, making flour, preparing dough and baking bread. There was a goat kid in the house. Sayyidna Jabir (رض) slaughtered it, cooked the meat and was ready to go out and invite the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in when his wife called out to him saying, “Look, there is a crowd of the Sahabah with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Do something and somehow invite only the Holy Prophet alone. Please, do not put me to disgrace by causing such a big crowd of the noble Sahabah come in with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .” Sayyidna Jabir (رض) ، acting realistically, made the actual situation fully clear before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) telling him that they had only that much of food in the house. But, as for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، he made a public announcement before the entire work force asking everyone to come to the feast at Sayyidna Jabir’s (رض) home. Sayyidna Jabir (رض) was struck with wonder. When he reached home, his wife was extremely disturbed. She asked, “Did you tell the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) about the actual situation at home and the amount of food available?” Sayyidna Jabir (رض) said, “Yes, that I have told him.” This put his wife at peace and she said, “Then we have nothing to worry about. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is our master. Let him have it the way he wishes.”

Any more detail of the event is unnecessary at this place. It is enough to know the outcome that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) took it upon himself to distribute the bread and curry to everybody with his own blessed hands and see that they are entertained and fed satisfactorily. As a result, the whole crowd ate to their fill. And Sayyidna Jabir (رض) says that “even after everybody having finished eating, our stock pot showed no dearth of meat, nor our kneaded flour any signs of decrease. All of us in the family ate to our heart’s content and whatever remained we sent to the neighbours.”

Thus, when the digging of the trench was finished within six days, the Confederate army arrived and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, went into battle formation with the Mount of Sal’ thoughtfully kept towards their rear.

The Jews of the tribe of Bani Quraizah break their pledge and join the Confederate aggressors

That was a time when a group of three thousand ill-equipped people standing up to fight against an equipped army of some ten to twelve thousand men was something far too wild to believe. On top of all that, there came up a new factor. Out of the Confederate forces, Huyayy Ibn Akhtab, the chief of the tribe of Banu Nadir who had contributed most in rallying everyone against the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his Muslim followers, took another step. He reached Madinah and conspired to win over the Jewish tribe of Banu Quraizah over their side. The situation was that Banu Quraizah and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) already had a peace treaty signed between them. This was a solemn undertaking and the two parties naturally had no apprehensions from each other. Ka` b Ibn Asad was the chief of the tribe of Banu Quraizah. Huyayy Ibn Akhtab went to see him. When Ka’b heard about his reported arrival, he had the gate of his castle closed, so that this man would not reach him. But, Huyayy Ibn Akhtab hanged out there, he called and called and insisted that the gate be opened. Ka’b told him from inside the gate, “We have already made a peace treaty with Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and we know of nothing from his side other than truth, honesty and strict adherence to the treaty right to this day, therefore, we are bound with this treaty and cannot join hands with you.” For long, this dialogue between the two continued with Huyayy Ibn Akhtab insisting that the gate be opened and that Ka’b should talk to him and the later kept refusing to do that while staying inside the closed gate. But, consequently when Huyayy Ibn Akhtab challenged Ka’b’s sense of shame in that he was treating a visitor in such a crude manner, the gate was opened. Once called in, Huyayy Ibn Akhtab painted such a rosy picture of his proposals that Ka` b ultimately fell into the trap laid out by him and gave his word that he would take part in the Confederate expedition. When Ka’b related what he had done before other chiefs of his tribe, they all said in one voice, “You did something terrible. You broke your pledge with Muslims for no reason whatsoever and that by going along with the other side you have exposed your own self to danger.” Ka’b too was affected by their comments and even repented for what he had done. But, things had gone out of his control by that time and this very pledge-breaking finally went on to become the cause of the destruction of Banu Quraizah as it would be mentioned later.

At that particular time, when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and the noble Sahabah got this information, they were shocked by this breach of trust from Banu Quraizah. What worried them most was the strange situation created for them. They had a trench dug across the line of the marching forces of the Confederates who were coming from outside Madinah. But, these Banu Quraizah people were right there inside Madinah. How were they going to defend against them? About this when the Qur’an says that the disbelieving forces of the Confederate army had overtaken you: مِّنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ اَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ (from above you and from below you -10), Tafsir authorities say that the expression: فَوق (from above) means the Banu Quraizah and those who came from below them (اَسفَل) mean the rest of the Confederates.

To find out the reality of this breach of trust and to assess the correct situation in the whole matter, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent a deputation comprising Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn Mu’ adh (رض) ، the chief of the Ansar tribe of Aws and Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn ` Ubadah, the chief of the tribe of Khazraj, to Ka` b in order to talk to him about the matter. The instruction given to them was that should the event of this breach of trust turn out to be incorrect, they were to tell the whole truth before all the Sahabah openly. And should it turn out to be true, they should, on their return, say something ambivalent which will be a message only we shall understand while the rest of the Sahabah will remain safe from facing any panic because of it.

When both these elders named Sa’d reached there, they saw open proofs of the breach of pledge all over which even went to the extent of hot exchanges of words between them and Ka’b. On their return, following the instructions given to them earlier, they reported back their findings in unclear words and thus informed the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that the event of the breaking of the pledge was true.

At the time when the Jewish tribe of Banu Quraizah, once an ally of Muslims, also joined the war against them, something else started happening. The hypocrisy of people who posed to be a part of the Muslim community lost its cover. Some of them became far too vocal and started saying things against the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as was mentioned earlier in: وَاِذْ يَقُوْلُ الْمُنٰفِقُوْنَ (and when said the hypocrites – 12). Then, they were others who cooked up all sorts of excuses to run away from the battlefield and sought the permission of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to do that – which has been mentioned in verse 13:      اِنَّ بُيُوْتَنَا عَوْرَةٌ (Our homes are vulnerable).

Now according to the present state of the battle front, the Confederate forces could not march in because of the trench with the Muslim army positioned on the other side. There was almost a continuous exchange of arrows between them all the time. This state of affairs dragged on for nearly a month. They could neither confront each other in some open or decisive battle, nor could they turn heedless towards the opponent for any extended period of time. Day and night, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his noble Sahabah would stand guard by the trench. Although, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was personally involved in this hard task like everybody else, yet the thought that all his companions were suffering from extreme anxiety due to this impasse was very painful for him.

A strategic plan of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

It was already in the knowledge of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that the chief of the tribe of Ghitfan had joined hands with these Jews as tempted by the greed of having the fruits and dates of Khaibar. He sent an emissary to the two chiefs of the tribe of Ghitfan, ` Uyaynah ‘Ibn Hisn and Abu al-Harith Ibn ` Amr, with the message: “If you leave the battlefield with your men, we shall give you one-third of the fruit of Madinah.” This negotiation was still on. The two chief had agreed and a peace treaty was close to be signed. But, as was his wont and habit, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) decided to consult the noble Sahabah in this matter. He called the two Sa’ds, the chiefs of the tribe of Aws and Khazraj, that is, Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn ` Ubadah and Sa’d Ibn Muadh, and sought their advice.

The Faith, the Sense of Shame and the Granite of a Determination shown by a Sahabi of the Rasul of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

Both of them said, “Ya RasulAllah, if you have orders from Allah Ta’ ala to do this thing, then, we cannot dare say anything. We shall accept. If not, tell us: Is it your personal opinion or you have devised this as a measure to save us from all this hardship and suffering?”

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “Neither is there a Divine order for it, nor do I have any personal inclination to do so. In fact, I have come up with this via media in view of your pain and suffering because you are surrounded from all sides. So, I simply wished to shatter the power of the adversary in this manner without losing any time.” Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn Mu` adh (رض) said, “Ya RasulAllah, when we worshipped idols, we did neither know Allah nor did we worship Him. At that time, these people could not dare look at a single fruit of our city with greedy eyes – except that they be our guests and we offer some of it to them by way of hospitality, or that they would buy it from us and take it away with them. Today, when Allah Ta’ ala has, in His infinite grace, given us the ability of knowing Him, and has bestowed upon us the honor of Islam, shall we, on this day, let these people have our fruits and our wealth and our properties? We need no peace and compromise from them. As for us, we are not going to give them anything but the cutting edge of our swords – to the extent that Allah Ta’ ala Himself gives the ultimate verdict between us and them.”

When the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) heard Sayyidna Sa’d (رض) and saw this high determination and this great enthusiasm in the matter of his ‘Iman, he cast that thought of his aside and said, “You now have the right to do what you wish.” Sayyidna Sa` d (رض) took the peace treaty document from his blessed hands and erased the writing on it because it was not signed yet. ` Uyaynah and Harith, the chiefs of the Ghitfan tribes who were present in the meeting ready to sign this treaty found themselves personally unnerved in their hearts at this demonstration of power and determination from the noble Companions of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .

The wound received by Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn Mu’adh (رض) and his prayer

On the other side, the activity of throwing arrows and stones on each other continued unabated. Sayyidna Sa’d (رض) had gone into the fortress of Banu Harithah to see his mother where women had been housed under security. Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) says, “At that time, I too was in the same fortress and the injunctions of hijab for women were yet to be enforced. I saw that Sa’d Ibn Mu’adh (رض) was wearing a small coat of mail from which his hands were protruding out rather awkwardly and his mother was telling him to make haste, go and join the men fighting with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . I said to his mother, “A larger coat of mail would have been better for him. I apprehend that his hands and feet showing out of his coat of mail may be exposed to danger.” His mother said, “It does not matter. Whatever Allah has to do is what has to happen.”

When Sayyidna Mu’adh (رض) reached the battlefield, he was hit by an arrow which cut through his medial arm vein. At that time, Sayyidna Mu’adh  رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ made the following prayer:

“0 Allah, if there is yet another attack by the Quraish destined to come against the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، please keep me alive for that, because I have no worthwhile wish left in me but that I fight the people who have caused all sorts of pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، expelled him from his homeland and falsified his person and mission. And if, in Your ultimate knowledge, this process of war has come to an end, please bless me with the death of a martyr in the way of Allah – but, let not death come to me until such time that the treachery of Bani Quraizah is avenged as the parting delight of my eyes.”

Allah Ta’ ala answered both these prayers from him. This event of al-Ahzab was made to be the last attack of the disbelievers. After that, began the period of Muslim victories. First came Khaibar, then Makkah al-Mukarramah and then other areas. As for the event relating to Banu Quraizah, it follows later as to how they were brought forth as captives and their case was entrusted with none else but Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn Mu` adh (رض) for the final verdict. It was in accordance with his verdict that their men were killed and their women and children were taken prisoners.

During this event of al-Ahzab, the noble Sahabah (رض) and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had to maintain an all-night vigilance throughout the trench area. The slightest relaxation at any time had to be broken at the faintest sound of commotion from any side. In fact, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would himself put his arms back on and come out in the battle area. Umm ul-Mu’minin Sayyidah Umm Salamah (رض) says, “Every single night, this would happen several times that he would come in for a little rest and then heard some sound and went out immediately. The same thing happened again. The moment he would put his back for rest, he would hear some sound and leave as usual.”

Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyidah Umm Salamah (رض) ، also says, “I have been with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in many battles such as Muraisi’, Khaibar, Hudaibiyah, the battles of the conquest of Makkah and Hunain. None of these caused more hardship on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as did the battle of Khandaq. Muslims also received a lot more wounds in this battle. Then, they were hit by the severity of the winter chill as well. Furthermore, their circumstances were extremely straightened in terms of food and water available to them. (Mazhari)

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had to miss four Salahs in this Jihad

One of those days, the confronting disbelievers decided to launch a joint and simultaneous attack and force their way ahead by somehow crossing the trench. Once they had resolved to do that, they threw themselves dauntlessly against the Muslims and their archers rained their arrows so incessantly that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his noble Sahabah (رض) had to remain so engaged throughout the day that they did not find any respite to even make their Salah. As a result, four Salahs missed during the day had to be performed at the time of ` Isha’.

The prayers of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

When things became unbearably hard on Muslims, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) prayed against the Confederate forces of the disbelievers, doing that for three days consecutively on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday inside Masjid al-Fath imploring Allah Ta’ ala to bring defeat on the Confederates and victory for Muslims. It was on the third day, on Wednesday between Zuhr and ` Asr that the prayer was answered. Pleased, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) came to his noble Sahabah (رض) and gave them the glad tiding of victory. They say that after that time no Muslim faced any hardship any more. (Mazhari)

The unraveling of the causes of victory

In the combined forces of the enemy, the tribe of Ghitfan was a power to reckon with. It was the most perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala that put the light of faith in the heart of Nu’aim Ibn Masud who, as destiny would have it, was one of them. He presented himself before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، confessed to his faith in Islam and told him that no one from among his people is aware of the fact that he has become a Muslim. Then, he wished that he be told as to how he could serve Islam. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) told him, ` You being all alone here would not be able to do anything worthwhile. If you can go back to your people, be with them and still do something in defence of Islam, then, go ahead and do it.’ Nu’aim Ibn Mas’ud was an intelligent man. He conceived of a plan of action in his heart and sought the permission of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to be given the choice of saying what is expedient when he reaches those people. He gave the permission.

From here, Nu’aim Ibn Masud (رض) went to see the tribe of Banu Quraizah with whom he had age-old relations since the time of Jahiliyyah. He said to them: ‘0 people of Banu Quraizah, you know that I am an old friend of yours.’ They said, ‘We have, no doubt about your friendship.’ After that, Sayyidna Nu’aim Ibn Masud (رض) addressed the chiefs of Banu Quraizah as a well-wisher and asked them, ‘You know that none of us be they the Quraish of Makkah or our tribe of Ghitfan or the several other Jewish tribes – have their homes here. If these people face defeat and run, they do not lose much. Your case is different from all of them. Madinah is your home. Your women and your properties are all here. Now, if you were to participate in the war effort with them and if, later, when these people taste defeat and run, what would happen to you? Would you be able to fight against the Muslims all by yourselves?

Therefore, as one who wishes the best for you, I advise you not to take part in the joint war effort with them until such time that they do not put with you a certain number of their selected chiefs as ransom and guarantee that they would not throw you all at the mercy of Muslims and run.’ The people of Banu Quraizah found this advice good. They appreciated it and said so before him.

After that, Nu’aim Ibn Masud (رض) reached the Quraish chiefs and said to them, ‘You know that I am your friend and that I have nothing to do with Muhammad t. I have a little bit of information with me. Being one who wishes well for you, it is necessary that I pass on that information to you – of course, on the condition that you will not disclose my name as its source. Here is that information: The Jews of the tribe of Banu Quraizah have now regretted their decision after they had concluded their pact with you. They have sent a message to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) about it telling him that they will be willing to go along with him subject to the condition that they would hand over some chiefs of the tribes of Quraish and Ghitfan and that he would then put them to the sword. Once that was done, they would join hands with him and fight against all of them. Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has accepted this proposal made by them. Now the Banu Quraizah were going to demand that you put some of your chiefs as ransom with them and it was upto them to figure out what they were going to do in their case.

After that, Nu’aim Ibn Mas` ud (رض) went to his own tribe, Ghitfan and to them, he passed on the same information. Concurrent to this, Abu Sufyan appointed ` Ikrimah Ibn Abi Jahl on behalf of the tribe of Quraish and Warqa’ Ibn Ghitfan on behalf of the tribe of Ghitfan to the mission of going to Banu` Quraizah and telling them that their war supplies were diminishing and their men were getting tired of having to fight continuously. So, according to the provision of their pact, they were looking forward to their help and participation. The tribe of Banu Quraizah, acting in the light of ‘their’ (latest) understanding of the pact, told them that they will not take part in the war effort with them until such time that some chiefs from both of their tribes have been placed in their custody as ransom (guarantee, hostage). ` Ikrimah and Warqa’, the two emissaries carried the message back to Abu Sufyan. As a result, the chiefs of Quraish and Ghitfan came to believe that the information given by Sayyidna Nu’aim Ibn Masud (رض) was correct. So they sent a return message to Banu Quraizah telling them that they were not going to let them have any of their men. Now it was up to them. If they wished they could join the war effort with them and if they did not, they were free not to. When Banu Quraizah saw this state of affairs, their belief in what Nu` aim’ Ibn Masud (رض) had said became all the more firm. It was in this manner that Allah Ta’ ala caused a rift in the ranks of the enemy through a person who came from their camp and soon after they lost their foothold on the battlefield.

Along with it there came another calamity upon them. Allah Ta’ ala caused a cold stormy wind overtake them which uprooted their tents and blew their cooking pots from their stoves. As for these, they were only outward causes generated by Allah Ta’ ala to make them desert the battlefield. More came in the form of His angels who were sent to put awe in their hearts inwardly too. These two things have been mentioned at the beginning of the verses cited above as follows: فَأَرْ‌سَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِ‌يحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَ‌وْهَا (and We sent upon them a wind, and the forces (of angels) you did not see – 9). As a consequence, they had no choice but to run.

The event of Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) going into enemy lines and reporting back about conditions prevailing there

On the other side, when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) heard the report of what Nu’aim Ibn Masud (رض) had accomplished and how a rift was caused among the Confederate forces, he was strongly inclined towards the idea of someone from among the Muslims going into the enemy lines and returning with the much needed intelligence about the enemy formations and intentions. But, this severe and chilly wind storm that was sent upon the enemy, however, did affect the whole of Madinah and Muslims too were affected by it. The chill was bitter. The time was night. The noble Sahabah were, after the heavy grind of a long day, sitting all shattered because of the confrontation, huddled together feeling the pinch of bitter cold. Addressing the gathering, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “Is there someone who would stand up and go into the enemy lines and bring some news about them and may Allah Ta’ ala admit him into Jannah?” Of course, this was a gathering of Sahabah who would have normally staked their lives at his call. But, the objective conditions prevailing with them were such that no one could stand up. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) got busy with Salah. After remaining busy with Salah for a while, he addressed the gathering again saying, “Is there someone here who would bring me some news from the enemy lines and receive Jannah in return for it?” This time too, silence prevailed over the entire gathering. No one rose. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) got busy with Salah once again. After some time, it was the third time that he made the same appeal, “Whoever does it shall be in Jannah with me.” But, everyone was so broken down from fatigue, hunger and chill and so utterly helpless that no one could still bring himself up to rise.

The narrator of the hadith, Sayyidna Hudhaifah Ibn Yaman (رض) ، says, ‘at that time the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) called me by name and said, “Hudhaifah, you go.” My condition was no different from the others. But, once I was ordered by name, I had no option but to obey. I stood up while my whole body was shivering with bitter cold. He passed his blessed hand over my head and my face and said, “Go into the enemy lines and just bring back some news and do nothing before you return to me.” Then he prayed for my safety. I picked up my bow and arrows, tied up my own clothes on my body and took my way towards them.

When I started moving ahead from here, I noticed something strange. The shivering sensation that had me in its grips while I was in the tent was all gone. Actually, I was walking as if one was inside a hot bath all the way up to enemy camp. Once there, I saw that the wind storm had uprooted their tents and upturned their cooking pots. Abu Sufyan was seated by the make-shift fire place relaxing before the heat. When I saw this (a sitting target), I trained my bow and arrow over my shoulders and was about to shoot Abu Sufyan with my arrow, I remembered the order given by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) : ‘Do nothing before you return back to me.’ Abu Sufyan was absolutely within the striking range of my arrow, but it was in consideration of this order of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that I disengaged my arrow from the bow.

Disturbed by the condition around him, Abu Sufyan wanted to announce the plan to withdraw. But, in order to do that, it was necessary that he should talk to responsible people from among the combined armed forces. The night was dark and the place was desolate. The danger of a snooping spy nearby who may overhear what they were talking about was very much present. Therefore, Abu Sufyan did something smart. Before starting to talk, he asked the whole gathering to recognize the person sitting next to everyone so that no one who is not one of them would be able to hear what they said.’

Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) says, “Now, I was scared. What if the person sitting next to me were to ask me: Who are you? If so, my cover will blow up.’ It was with great presence of mind and courage that he himself took the initiative, and slapping the hand of the person sitting next to him, he himself asked: Who are you? The man said, ‘Strange that you do not know me. I am so and so the son of so and so.’ He was a member of the tribe of Hawazin. Thus, Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) was saved by Allah Ta’ala from being arrested on the spot.

When Abu Sufyan ensured it that the gathering was that of his own people and that there was no stranger present among them, he related the disturbing conditions around them, how the tribe of Banu Quraizah had committed a breach of pledge and the extent to which their war supplies had shrunk. After having recounted the situation, he said: In my opinion, all of us should now leave and go back and I too am going back. Immediately thereafter, a state of panic hit the Confederate army and everyone started going back.

Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) says, “As I started going back from there, I felt as if I had some sort of a hot bath around me that was shielding me from the bitter chill. When I reached the home base, I found the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) busy with Salah. When he turned for Salam, I reported the event. Pleased with this happy news, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) started laughing – to the extent that, in the darkness of the night, his blessed teeth were seen shining. After that, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) made room for me close to his feet and covered my body with a part of the sheet he had wrapped around him until I went to sleep in that condition. When morning came, he himself woke me up saying: قُم یا نَومَان (‘Up 0 big sleeper! )

Good News after the ambition of the disbelievers is shattered

According to a narration of Sayyidna Sulayman Ibn Surad (رض) appearing in the Sahih of al-Bukhari, when the Confederate forces retreated, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said:

Now, they shall not attack us, instead, we will attack them and run over their territory – )al-Bukhri as in Mazhari (.

After having said that, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his noble Sahabah returned to the city of Madinah and it was only after a month that Muslims formally disarmed themselves.

A special note

This event pertaining Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) appears in the Sahih of Muslim. It is an example-setter of great class as well as a bearer of many elements of guidance and miracles of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Those who ponder over it would themselves find these out, therefore, any more details are not needed.

The Battle of Banu Quraizah

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had just about reached Madinah when suddenly came Sayyidna Jibra’il al-Amin (عليه السلام) in the guise of the Sahabi, Sayyidna Dihyah Ibn Khalifah al-Kalbi (رض) and said, “Even though you people have disarmed yourselves but the angels have not. Allah Ta’ ala commands you to attack Banu Quraizah and I am going right there ahead of you.”

To announce this in Madinah, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent a proclaimer who proclaimed this order of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) before the people making sure that it reaches everyone. The order was:       لَا يُصَلِّینَ اَحَدُ العَصَر اِلَّا فِی بَنِی قُرَيظَۃَ (Let no man make his Salah of ` Asr until he reaches Banu Quraizah).

All Companions got ready for this second Jihad immediately and marched towards Banu Quraizah. On their way came the time of ` Asr. Some of them, following the outward sense of the prophetic order, did not make their Salah of ` Asr en-route – instead, made it only after having reached the designated destination of Banu Quraizah. And there were others who thought that objective of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was to reach Banu Quraizah within the time for ` Asr. So, they thought, if they made their Salah en route and reached there within the time for ` Asr, then, it would not be contrary to the order of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Thus, they made their Salah of ` Asr as it became due while still en route.

In the difference of Mujtahids, no side is sinful or blameworthy

When the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was informed about this difference in the practical compliance of his order on the part of the noble Sahabah, he put no blame on any of the two parties; in fact, he approved of both. From here, the religious scholars of the Muslim community have deduced the principle that none of the different sayings of Mujtahid ` Ulama’ who are Mujtahids in the real sense of the term and have the required expertise and ability of Ijtihad (arriving at a Shari’ah-based religious solution of problems at the highest conceivable level) can be called ‘sin’ or ‘blameworthy.’ For both such differing sides, reward is recorded against their action as based on their respective Ijtihad.

At the time of marching out for Jihad against Banu Quraizah, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) handed over the Muslim flag to Sayyidna ` Ali al-Murtada (رض) . Hearing about the coming of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، and his noble Sahabah, the Banu Quraizah decided to shut themselves into their fort. The Islamic army laid a siege around it.

The Speech of Ka’b, the Chief of Banu Quraizah

Ka’b, the Chief of the tribe of Banu Quraizah who had broken the pledge given to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in favor of a compact with the Confederates, assembled his people together, told them about the delicate situation and presented three possible solutions of the problem:

“To begin with, the first option is that you all embrace Islam and follow Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) because, and I tell you on oath, you already know that he is in the right and the prophecy of his coming is there in your Torah which you recite. If you were to do this, not only that you will find safety for your life, property and children in this mortal world but also that your Hereafter too will turn out to be good and correct.

The second option is that you start by first killing your women and children with your own hands and then go on to fight and kill them with all power at your command until such time that all of you are also killed in the process.

The third option is that you make a surprise attack on Muslims on the day of Sabbath – for Muslims know that fighting and killing on the day of Sabbath is unlawful in our religion. Therefore, they would not be expecting an attack from our side on that particular day. Now, if we were to launch a sudden attack, it is possible that we may succeed.”

After having heard this address of their chief, Ka’b, his people replied that they will never accept the first option of embracing Islam, because they did not want to abandon the Torah and start believing in some other Book. As for the second option, what wrong had their women and children done that they go about killing them? As for the third option, it was by itself against the commandment of the Torah and their religion. They could not do that too.

After that, all of them reached an agreement that they would lay down their arms before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and be ready to accept whatever he decided about them. Present there were some Ansari Sahabah belonging to the tribe of Aws. They had an age-old pact with Banu Quraizah. So these Sahabah from the tribe of Aws requested the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that these people may be handed over to them. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “Would you like me to entrust their case with one of your own chiefs?” When they agreed, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, “He is your chief, Sa’d Ibn Mu` adh. I entrust this matter with him for a judgment.” Everyone approved of it.

Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn Mu’ adh (رض) was fatally wounded during the battle of Khandaq (the Trench) by an arrow. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had housed him in a tent pegged within the compound of the Masjid so that he could be attended to. According to the order of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the verdict on the prisoners from Banu Quraizah was left up to him. The verdict that he gave was that the warring young from them should be killed and women, children and the aged should be treated as prisoners of war which is well-recognized in Islam. This very verdict was enforced. Soon after this verdict, the wound of Sayyidna Sa’d Ibn Muadh (رض) started bleeding suddenly. Therefrom he died. Allah Ta’ ala answered both prayers made by him – that there would be no attack from the Quraish against the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in the future, and that the Banu Quraizah would receive the punishment for their treachery which Allah caused to come upon them precisely through him.

Some of those earmarked for killing were set free because of having embraced Islam. ` Atiyyah al-Qurazi, well-known among the Sahabah, is one of them. Also among them, there was Zubayr Ibn Bata. His freedom was specially requested from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) by the Sahabi, Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays Ibn Shammas (رض) . The reason was that Zubayr Ibn Bata had done a favour to him during the days of the Jahiliyyah when, in the battle of Bu` ath, Thabit Ibn Qays had fallen a prisoner in the hands of Zubayr Ibn Bata who had simply cut the locks of his hair on the head and let him go free. He had not killed him.

Return of favour and national pride: Two unique models

After having received the order for the release of Zubayr Ibn Bata, Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays went to him and said, “I have done it to return your favor you had done to me during the battle of Bu’ ath.” Zubayr Ibn Bata said, “There is no doubt that one gentleman deals with another gentleman just like that. But, please tell me what for would a man whose entire family is no more there like to stay alive?” When Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays heard this, he presented himself before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and submitted that the life and honor of his family and children may also be spared. In his grace, he approved of it. When he informed Zubayr Ibn Bata about it, he took another step forward saying, “0 Thabit, now tell me how a man with a family would stay alive if he is left with nothing to support it?” Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays returned to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) once again and arranged to have whatever wealth or property he had also given back to him. Up to this point, narrated here was the case of the gentleness and gratitude of a true Muslim as demonstrated by Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays.

Now, we can go to have a look at what happened on the other side. When Zubayr Ibn Bata was fully satisfied after having earned his freedom and the freedom of his family and children as well as his wealth and property, he asked Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays about the chiefs of the Jewish tribes: “What happened to Ibn Abi al-Huqaiq whose face was like a Chinese mirror?” He said that he was killed. Then, he asked, “What became of the Banu Quraizah chiefs, Ka` b Ibn Quraizah and ` Amr Ibn Quraizah?” He told him that they too were killed. Then he asked about another two groups. In response, he was informed that all of them were killed.

Hearing this, Zubayr Ibn Bata said to Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays, “You have returned the favor done to you and you have fulfilled your responsibility as due. But, I am not going to rehabilitate myself on my property after they are no more. Include me among them.” He meant that he too should be killed. Sayyidna Thabit Ibn Qays refused to kill him. After that, it was on his insistence that some other Muslim killed him. (Qurtubi)

This was the national pride or sense of communal shame demonstrated by a disbeliever, a kafir who, even after having been given everything back, did not like to continue living without his companions. Here we have two models of conduct demonstrated by a believer and a disbeliever, a mu’min and a kafir. Both belong to significant historical record. This victory against Banu Quraizah had taken place in the fifth year of Hijrah towards the end of the month of Dhulqa’dah and the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah. (Qurtubi)

A special note of caution

That the battle of al-Ahzab and Banu Quraizah have been taken up here in a somewhat detailed manner is because of two factors. (1) First of all, the Qur’an has itself opted to describe it in details spread over two sections. (2) Then, there is another reason for it. These events carry many instructions about different departments of life and they also spell out many clear miracles and lessons. These have been highlighted in the text of the present commentary under bold headings. Once we come to know the whole event, the translation of the meanings of the verses given above under the Arabic text, along with the footnotes, would become easier to understand. There are a few things that should, however, be taken note of:

Firstly, mention has been made of extreme hardships faced by Muslims in this battle. One state of the anxiety of believers has been pointed to in the words: تَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّـهِ الظُّنُونَا ( and you were thinking about Allah all sorts of thoughts. – 10) These thoughts refer to scruples that emerge in one’s heart beyond his control at the time of acute anxiety under which one may feel death as near with no hope of deliverance left, or at other occasions like that. Such non-voluntary apprehensions and scruples are neither contradictory of the perfection of ‘Iman (faith) nor that of one’s nearness to Allah (wilayah). Nevertheless, they do point out to the extent of the severity of distress and anxiety under which scruples had started creeping into the hearts of even the noble Sahabah who, otherwise, were virtual mountains of fortitude.

The second state mentioned here is that of the hypocrites for they had started saying that the promises of Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) were a web of deception: إِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا اللَّـهُ وَرَ‌سُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُ‌ورً‌ا (And (remember) when the hypocrites and those having malady in their hearts were saying, “Allah and His messenger did not promise us but deceitfully; -12). This was an externalized demonstration of their inner disbelief. Onward from here, mention has been made of two groups of hypocrites who were practically a part of the Jihad effort along with Muslims, though outwardly only. One of the two groups started running without any permission saying: وَإِذْ قَالَت طَّائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَا أَهْلَ يَثْرِ‌بَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَارْ‌جِعُوا (and when a group of them said, “0 people of Yathrib (Madinah), there is no place for you to stay; so go back. – 13” And the other group requested the permission of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to go back on the basis of false excuses. Their conduct has been mentioned as: وَيَسْتَأْذِنُ فَرِ‌يقٌ مِّنْهُمُ النَّبِيَّ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ بُيُوتَنَا عَوْرَ‌ةٌ (And a group of them was seeking permission (to leave) from the prophet, saying, “In fact our homes are vulnerable,” while they were not vulnerable – 13). Thus, the Qur’an exposed the hollowness of their excuses as a pack of lies. The truth of the matter was no more than that they intended to run from the battlefront:إِن يُرِ‌يدُونَ إِلَّا فِرَ‌ارً‌ا (They wanted nothing but to escape – 13). Taken up in the next several verses is their mischief-making and enmity with Muslims following which their sad end has been pointed out.

After that, the text mentions sincere believers and praises their firmness and fortitude. In the same connection, there comes a strong assertion of the need to obey and follow the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) almost in the form of a legal rule of conduct: لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَ‌سُولِ اللَّـهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ (There is indeed a good model for you in the Messenger of Allah – 21). From here it stands proved that all sayings and doings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) have to be followed. But, the Shari’ah authorities have explained the rule about the different degrees of following required from a Muslim. The rule is that any act or omission of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) proved to have been done as an obligation would have to be obeyed and followed as wajib (obligatory, necessary). And any act or omission on his part that is proved to have been done as a preferable conduct (istihbab) and not as an obligatory one, should be followed by us too as a commendable (mustahab) conduct and not as a necessary obligation This, in other words, means that its contravention will not be declared to be a sin. (For a detailed discussion, see al-Jassas in Ahkam ul-Qur’an)

The last three (25-27) of the cited verses refer to the event relating to Banu Quraizah. In verse 26: وَأَنزَلَ الَّذِينَ ظَاهَرُ‌وهُم مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِن صَيَاصِيهِمْ it was said that Allah Ta’ ala had, by putting the awe of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his Muslim followers into the hearts of the people of the Book who had helped the Confederate forces, made them come down from their strong fortresses and had thus made Muslims the inheritors of their properties, homes and areas of concentration.

In the last verse (27), good news of future victories has been given. Gone is the time when disbelievers attacked. Now the cycle of Muslim victories will begin and they will come to be on lands their feet have not touched yet. And this prophecy unfolded itself during the tenure of the noble Sahabah and everyone witnessed the spectacle of great empires ruled by Cyrus and Caesar come under them. And Allah does what He wills.

Commentary

Out of the objectives of this Surah, the most important is the stress placed on avoiding everything that may cause pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . In addition to that, there is a reiteration of instructions to obey him and seek his pleasure. Mentioned in connection with the event of the battle of al-Ahzab appearing immediately earlier was the pain caused to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) at the hands of the disbelievers and hypocrites. Along with it, also mentioned there was their ultimate disgrace and the victory and success that came to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on every occasion. Also praised there were sincere believers who sacrificed what they had at the instance of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and it was said that they would have high ranks in the Hereafter.

In the verses cited above, the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) have been particularly taught to be careful that no word or deed that issues forth from them goes on to cause pain to him. And this is possible only when they devote themselves and become totally obedient to Allah and His Messenger. Some injunctions in this connection have been given by addressing the blessed wives directly.

As for giving the choice of the taking of divorce to the blessed wives in the initial verses, it is limited to one or some incidents that came from the side of the blessed wives. These were contrary to the intent of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which caused pain to him.

One of these incidents is reported from Sayyidna Jabir (رض) and appears in the Sahih of Muslim and elsewhere as well. It is said there that the blessed wives got together and asked the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that their sustenance allowance should be increased. Abu Hayyan explains it in Tafsir al-Bahr ul-Muhit by saying that the victories of Banu Nadir and Banu Quraizah after the battle of al-Ahzab coupled with the distribution of spoils had generated a certain improved economic wellbeing among common Muslims. At that time, the blessed wives thought the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would have also set aside a share for himself in the spoils. Therefore, they appealed to him jointly saying, “ya RasulAllah, the wives of Cyrus and Caesar are laden with all sorts of valuable ornaments and dresses and have maids appointed to serve them while you see how hungry and ill-clad we are. Therefore, some liberal treatment in our case seems to be in order now.”

When the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) heard this demand from the blessed wives that they should be treated at par with the life styles of kings and the worldly-wise rich, he was grieved about how much they had missed to appreciate the worth and value of living in the home of a prophet of Allah. On their part, the blessed wives never thought that their submission would cause pain to him. It was simply because of the wellbeing of common Muslims around them that they had also thought of the same for themselves. Abu Hayyan says that the description of this incident after the battle of al-Ahzab also supports the likelihood that this very demand of the wives became the cause of the choice of divorce given to them. According to some Hadith narratives, following the event of having a honey drink while at the home of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) which will appear in detail later under the commentary on Surah At-Tahrim, 66:1-5,  a situation created by the mutual sense of importance among the blessed wives became the cause of this choice of divorce. If both of these happened close in time to each other, then, it is also not remote to believe that they both could be the cause. But, the words of the Verse of Choice (1) are more supportive of the understanding that some financial demand had become its cause – for it was said in this verse: إِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِ‌دْنَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا (If you intend (to have the pleasure of worldly life and its charm – 28).

(1). The ‘Verse of Choice’ is the title of the verse 29 cited above where the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) are given a choice either to seek divorce from him or to remain with him, seeking the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger.

This verse gave all blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) the choice to either accept to continue living with him as their husband in the condition he is in (that is, in his straightened economic condition), or become free from him through divorce. If they were to take the first option, they will deserve greater reward and higher ranks in the Hereafter as compared to other women. And if they were to take the second option, that is, taking a divorce, they will not have to face any displeasure as customary with worldly people. In fact, they would be given a send-off with honor, and parting gifts in accordance with Sunnah.

Tirmidhi reports from Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) “When this verse of choice was revealed, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) disclosed it to me before any other wife. Before reciting the verse, he said: I am going to tell you something. But, you do not have to make haste in giving your response. You should rather consult your parents and then respond. Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) says, “This was his special favour to me that he prohibited me from expressing my opinion without having consulted my parents first, because he was certain that my parents would never advise me to opt for separation from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . When I heard this verse, I immediately submitted before him, “Do I have to go and consult my parents in this matter? As for me, I choose Allah and His Messenger and the Home of the Hereafter.” Then, after me, this command of the Qur’an was announced to all blessed wives. All of them said what I had said first (that is, none of them elected to have worldly affluence against the honor of being the wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .” (Tirmidhi said: This Hadith is Hasan Sahih).

(1). The ‘Verse of Choice’ is the title of the verse 29 cited above where the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) are given a choice either to seek divorce from him or to remain with him, seeking the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger.

Special Note

Choice of Divorce can be given to a woman in two different forms: (1) That the power of divorce is entrusted with the woman, that is, if she wishes, she can divorce herself and become free. (2) That the power of giving divorce, though, remains in the hands of the husband, yet the husband gives her a promise that when she will wish, he will divorce her. (in the first case, as soon as the wife opts for divorce, she becomes divorced automatically without any act on the part of the husband. But in the latter case, divorce is not effected merely by the woman opting for it unless the husband divorces her.

In the case of the cited verse (28), some commentators are of the view that the choice given to the wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was of the first form, while others have maintained that it was of the second form. The esteemed author of Bayan ul-Qur’an has commented that the verse has both probabilities. Until one of the two stands determined on the authority of some definitive text, there is no need to determine any form on one’s own.’

Ruling

This verse (28) tells us when there is no congruity between the temperaments of the married couple, the desirable approach is to give the wife the option to live with the husband while being content with whatever state he is in, otherwise, she should be allowed to leave honorably according to Sunnah with divorce and gift of pairs of apparel.

In this case, what can be proved from the cited verse (28) is its desirability only. There is no proof to support its obligation. Some leading Muslim jurists have argued in favour of the obligatory nature of this verse and, on the same basis, they have given the wife of a penniless man, who is incapable of providing living expenses for her, the right to secure a divorce from the court. Full details of this issue have been given in Ahkam ul-Qur’an, Part V, under this very verse.1 (1. This work in Arabic is available from Maktaba-e-Darul-‘Uloom, the publishers of the present Tafsir ]

The particular position of the blessed wives and the rationale of hard restrictions placed on them

O wives of the Prophet, whoever from among you will commit a clearly shameful act, the punishment will be doubled for her. And it is easy for Allah to do so. [ 30] And whoever of you stays obedient to Allah and His messenger, and acts righteously, We shall give her twice her reward, and We have prepared for her a prestigious provision. [ 31]

From the above verses we notice that the Qur’an mentions therein a particular position of the blessed wives: If they were to commit some sin, they will have to face a punishment which will be twice that of other women. In other words, one sin committed by them will be made to stand for two. Similarly, if they did good deeds, the reward given to them will also be twice that of other women – that is, one good deed done by them will stand for two.

In a way, this verse is a recompense of what the blessed wives did at the time of the revelation of the Verse of Choice whereupon they chose to remain wedded to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and sacrificed whatever material benefits there were in doing otherwise. In return for this, Allah Ta’ ala gave one good deed done by them the status of two. As for the two-fold punishment in the event of some sin from them, that too came to be because of their special superiority and distinctive gentleness and because it stands proved both rationally and textually that Divine punishment for heedlessness and rebellion does increase in proportion to the honor and regard in which one is held.

Certainly great are the blessings of Allah Ta’ ala upon the blessed wives. Allah Ta’ ala chose them to be the wives of His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . The Divine Revelation kept descending in their homes. Under such arrangements, is it not that the least error or shortcoming on their part would be nothing but big? And if, pain is caused to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) at the hands of others, then, it would be far more severe in effect that some such occasion of pain or discomfort issues forth from their side. The very words of the

Qur’an: وَاذْكُرْ‌نَ مَا يُتْلَىٰ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ (And be mindful of Allah’s verses and the wisdom that is recited in your homes) appearing in verse 34 point out to this reason.

Special Note

Looked at in terms of the Muslim community at large, this distinction of the blessed wives – that they receive a two-fold reward of their deed – does not make it necessary that no individual or group is not to be blessed with a two-fold reward for some distinction of theirs. For example, there is the case of those from among the people of the Book who embraced Islam. About them, it was said in the Qur’an: أُولَـٰئِكَ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَ‌هُم مَّرَّ‌تَيْنِ (Such people will be given their reward twice – al-Qasas, 28:54).

In the blessed letter the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) wrote to the Byzantine Emperor, it was because of this Qur’anic statement that he particularly wrote: یُوتِکَ اللہ ُ اَجرَکَ مَرَّتَینِ (you will be given your reward twice by Allah). As for the clarification of ‘giving a reward twice’ to the people of the Book who embrace Islam, it is already present in the Qur’an. Then, there is yet another Hadith where a similar two-fold reward has been mentioned for three persons. Details about it appear in the commentary on Surah al-Qasas under the verse: يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَ‌هُم مَّرَّ‌تَيْنِ (will be given their reward twice – 28:54) The reward for the good deed of an ` Alim exceeds that of others, and the punishment of his sin too

In Ahkam ul-Qur’an, Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) has said: The reason for which Allah Ta’ ala has declared the reward of the good deed of the blessed wives to be two-fold and the punishment of their disobedience also to be two-fold – i.e. their being the special recipients of the prophetic knowledge and Divine revelation— is also present there in the case of Muslim religious scholars (the ` ulama’ of deen). Therefore, an ` Alim (Muslim religious scholar) whose practice is in accord with his ‘ilm (knowledge) will find the reward of that deed of his to be more than others. And if he were to commit some sin, the punishment too will be more than others.

The word: فَاحِشَةٍ (fahishah) appearing in: بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ – 30) is used in the Arabic language for acts of shame as well as for disobedience and sin in an absolute sense. This word has been used in the Qur’an at many places. In this verse, this word cannot be taken to mean acts of shame because Allah Ta’ ala has kept the wives of all His prophets immune from this serious fault. None of the wives of the blessed prophets has ever committed any act of this nature. The wives of Sayyidna Lut (عليه السلام) and Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) deviated from the faith preached by them, rebelled, and were punished for it. But, none of them was ever charged of committing an act of shame. As for the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، there was absolutely no probability that any such act of immodesty will ever issue forth from them. Therefore, the word: فَاحِشَةٍ fahishah in this verse means common sins or the causing of pain and discomfort to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Then the word: مُّبَيِّنَةٍ (mubayyinah: open, clear, manifest) used here along with فَاحِشَةٍ s an evidence in support, because acts of shamelessness are not ‘mubayyinah’ ( clear, manifest) anywhere. That takes place secretly. So, the expression: فَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ ( clearly shameful act) means common sins, or the causing of pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Out of the Tafsir authorities, -Muqatil Ibn Sulaiman has declared that the sense of ‘shameful act’ in this verse is either disobeying the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) or demanding something from him the fulfillment of which is hard on him. (Reported by al-Baihaqi in As-Sunan)

It will be noticed that the two-fold punishment has been identified by the Qur’an only with ‘clearly shameful act’. But, for the two-fold reward, it has imposed several restrictions, as in: وَمَن يَقْنُتْ مِنكُنَّ لِلَّـهِ وَرَ‌سُولِهِ وَتَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا نُّؤْتِهَا أَجْرَ‌هَا مَرَّ‌تَيْنِ (And whoever of you stays obedient to Allah and His messenger, and acts righteously, We shall give her twice her reward– 31). Here, qunut, that is, staying obedience to Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is a condition. Then, acting righteously is yet another condition. The reason is that reward comes only when obedience is perfect while, for punishment, even a single sin is enough.

Special instructions given to the Blessed Wives

Before we describe these instructions in details as they appear from the next verse: يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ (0 wives of the prophet, you are not like any other women, if you observe taqwa. So, do not be too soft in your speech … 32), it will be useful to recollect that, in the previous verses, the blessed wives have been restrained from placing demands before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the fulfillment of which will be hard on him, or those which may be inappropriate in view of his high prophetic station. And once they have chosen to live in that arrangement, their status was raised higher than other women to the extent that one deed done by them was made to stand for two. Now, in and onwards from verse 32, they have been given some instructions in order to correct and groom their conduct as appropriate for wives living with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Though, all these instructions are not restricted to the blessed wives in particular, in fact, virtually all Muslim women are obligated to observe these. But, at this place, the blessed wives have been addressed specially to bring it to their attention that they should make it a point to observe these rules of conduct that apply to all Muslim women as incumbent and obligatory – more avidly as compared to others. It is this kind of particularity that is meant by the expression: لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ (you are not like any other women – 32).

Are the blessed wives superior to all women of the world?

The arrangement of these words in the verse seems to obviously suggest that the blessed wives (رض) are superior to the women of the whole world. But, in the verse of the Qur’an about Sayyidah Maryam (عليهما السلام) it has been said:  إِنَّ اللَّـهَ اصْطَفَاكِ وَطَهَّرَ‌كِ وَاصْطَفَاكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ (Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you over the women of all the worlds – ‘Al-` Imran, 3:42). This proves the superiority of Sayyidah Maryam (عليهما السلام) over the women of all the worlds. Then, there is the Hadith of Sayyidna Anas (رض) in Tirmidhi where the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been reported to have said, ‘Sufficient for you (to hold in esteem) out of all women are: Maryam daughter of ` Imran, Khadijah daughter of Khuwailid (Ummul- Mu’minin), Fatimah daughter of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and ‘Asiyah wife of the Pharaoh.’ In this Hadith, three other women along with Sayyidah Maryam (عليهما السلام) have been identified as superior to women of all the worlds.

Therefore, the superiority or precedence of the blessed wives described in this verse occurs here in itch special status, that is, the status of their being the wives and women of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the status in which they are doubtlessly superior to women of all the worlds. However, it does not prove the kind of universally absolute superiority which may be counter to other nusus (textual authority). (Mazhari)

Soon after the opening sentence of verse 32: لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ (you are not like any other woman), there appears the condition of: إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ (if you observe Taqwa. This condition refers to the superiority they have been blessed with by Allah Ta’ ala because of their being women and wives of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . The purpose thereby is to caution them against relying solely on this relationship of theirs with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that they are, after all, the wives of the Messenger of Allah. Instead of that, this superiority is based on the condition that they observe Taqwa and obey Divine injunctions. (Qurtubi and Mazhari)

After that, some instructions have been given to the blessed wives (رض)

The First Instruction

It relates to restrictions on the modality of voice and speech as part of the rules of hijab or pardah applicable to women and begins with the words: فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ (so do not be too soft in your speech- 32). It means, even if there be the need to talk to someone who is not a mahram from behind a screen (or something else obstructing the view), even then, while speaking, effort should be made to avoid the delicacy and grace in diction naturally present in the voice of women. The delicacy and grace mentioned here refer to a certain level of softness which might make some inclination rise in the heart of the addressee as stated immediately after: فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَ‌ضٌ وَقُلْنَ قَوْلًا مَّعْرُ‌وفًا (lest someone having disease in his heart should develop fancies (about you); and do speak with appropriate words. – 32) The sense is that one should not talk softly in a manner that would cause temptation and tilt in a person who already has some disease in his heart. Disease means hypocrisy, or its offshoots. That a real hypocrite will be so tempted is all too obvious. But, a person who, despite being a sincere believer, inclines towards something unlawful may not be a hypocrite but weak in faith he certainly is. And this weakness in faith which makes one tilt towards the unlawful is really nothing but an offshoot of hypocrisy. With faith being pure and having not the least element of hypocrisy in it, no one can ever tilt towards what is Haram, unlawful. (Mazhari)

In essence, the aim of the first instruction is to empower women to achieve the high station of self-protection from non-Mahram men through personal avoidance and legal hijab so that they do not go even near a non-Mahram weak in faith lest some temptation or tilt creeps into his heart. A detailed discussion of the hijab of women will appear within this Surah under the verses that follow. Being given at this point is simply an explanation of what has appeared here as part of the special instructions for the blessed wives. So, once the noble mothers of the believers had heard the instruction about speech or address, some of them were so alerted that they, while talking to a non-Mahram male after the revelation of this verse, used to put their hand over their mouth so that their voice would change. Therefore, it appears in a Hadith of Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn al-‘As: اِنَّ النَّبِیَّ (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) نَھٰی اَن یُّکَلِّمَ النِّسَآُء اِلَّا بِاذنِ اَزواجِھِنَّ (The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had prohibited that women talk without the permission of their spouses) (Reported by at-Tabarani with ‘good’ chain of authority, Mazhari)

Ruling

At least this much stands proved from this verse, and from the Hadith quoted above, that the voice of a woman is not included under satr, that is, under what must be concealed. But, a precautionary restriction has been placed here too. Then, consideration has also been given in religious injunctions and acts of worship that women do not talk at a high pitch that could be heard by men. If the Imam makes a mistake, those following him in the congregation are duty-bound to interrupt and correct him verbally. But, women have been taught that, instead of correcting the Imam verbally, they should simply clap by striking one hand over the back of the other so that the Imam is alerted. They have to say nothing verbally.

The Second Instruction

This concerns the observance of full hijab (purdah or veil). It was said: وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّ‌جْنَ تَبَرُّ‌جَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ (And remain in your homes, and do not display (your) beauty as it used to be displayed in the days of earlier ignorance – 33). Here, the expression: الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ (the days of earlier ignorance ) means the Jahiliyyah which prevailed in the world before the advent of Islam. Embedded in this expression is the hint that later than it there is to come yet another Jahiliyyah, a period of another ignorance in which a similar display of immodesty and disregard for proper covering of bodies would become rampant. That, probably, is the Jahiliyyah of modern times, something visible everywhere.

In this verse, the essential injunction about hijab is that women stay at home (that is, do not go out without the need as admissible in the Shari’ah). Along with it, it was also said that they should not go out moving around in public without hijab, as it used to be the wont of women in the earlier period of Jahiliyyah. The word: تَبَرُّ‌جَ (tabarruj) essentially means manifestation or display and, at this place, it means the display of personal embellishment before non-Mahram men – as it appears in another verse: غَيْرَ‌ مُتَبَرِّ‌جَاتٍ بِزِينَةٍ (not displaying embellishment – An-Nur, 24:60).

As said earlier, a full discussion of the hijab or pardah of women and the injunctions related with it will follow within this Surah. Our present comments shall remain restricted to the explanation of the cited verse. The verse tells us two things about hijab:

(1)          For women, the real thing desirable with Allah is that they should not go out of their homes. Their creation is an answer to whatever needs to be done at home. Let them stay involved in it. As for the real hijab desirable in the Shari’ah, it is a hijab that stands achieved by their staying at home, that is, the home becomes their veil or cover حجَاب بِالبُیُوت al-hijab-bil-buyut).

(2)          The other thing it tells us is: If a woman has to go out of the home to take care of some need, let her not go out with any display of embellishment. Instead, she should wear what covers her whole body, a burqa’, or jilbab (women’s gown, garment or cloak) – as in the verse of this very Surah Al-Ahzab: يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ (bring down over themselves part of their outer garments – 33:59), the details about which shall appear later, insha’Allah Ta’ ala.

Occasions of need have been exempted from the obligation of ‘staying in homes.’

In the opening sentence of verse 33: وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ ) (And remain in your homes), staying in homes was made obligatory (wajib) which apparently purports that it should be absolutely prohibited and Haram for a woman to go out of her home, but verse has, at the first place, already indicated through the use of the words: وَلَا تَبَرَّ‌جْنَ (And do not display your beauty) within this verse that going out as needed is not prohibited in an absolute sense. Instead, what is prohibited is going out in a manner which displays embellishment. Then, there is the injunction of: يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ (bring down over themselves part of their outer garments – 33:59) to appear later in Surah Al-Ahzab. This injunction is itself telling us that to a certain degree women do have the permission to go out of the home, of course on condition that they go out in hijab wearing an outer garment like burqa’ etc.

In addition to that, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has himself clarified that occasions of need are exempt from this injunction, as in a Hadith where, while addressing the blessed wives, he is reported to have said: قَد اُذِنَ لَکُنَّ اَن تخرُجنَ لِحَاجَتِکُنَ (You are permitted to go out for your needs – reported by Muslim). Then, the conduct of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) after the revelation of the verse of hijab proves that women have the permission to go out of homes on occasions of need, as the going of the blessed wives with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) for Hajj and ` Umrah stands confirmed on the authority of sound and authentic Ahadith. Similarly, their going with him in many battles stands proved. Then, there are many narrations of Hadith which also prove that the blessed wives (رض) used to go out of their homes to visit their parents, did their duty by calling on the sick among relatives and offering condolence on the death of someone among them. And during the blessed time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، they also had the permission to go to the Masajid.

And not only that it happened in the company of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) or in his time alone, but even after his passing away, it is a confirmed fact that the all his blessed wives went for Hajj and ` Umrah – with the exception of Sayyidah Saudah (رض) and Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) etc. No reproach or disapproval (nakair) thereupon has been reported from any of the noble Sahabah. In fact, Sayyidna ` Umar (رض)  sent the blessed wives of the Messenger of Allah for Hajj under arrangements specially made for them – he sent Sayyidna ` Uthman al-Ghani (رض) and Sayyidna ` Abd ur-Rahman Ibn al-‘Awf (رض) with them to supervise and manage their pilgrimage. And as for the incidence of Ummul-Mu’minin Sayyidah Saudah and Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) not going for Hajj and ` Umrah after the passing away of the noble Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، it was not on the basis of this verse, instead, it was on the basis of a Hadith. That is, when on the occasion of the Last Hajj (Hajjatul-Wadaa), the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) helped his blessed wives perform their Hajj with him personally, the remark that he made on return was: ھٰذِہٖ ثُمَّ لُزُومُ الحُضُر (This is it. After that, should stick to the mats at home). The first word: ھٰذِہٖ (hadhihi: translated here as ‘this is it’ ) refers to this very Hajj and حُصُر (husur) is the plural form of حَصَیر (hasiir) which means a mat (of straw, a modest version of other floor spreads such as rug, carpet, daree etc.). In essence, the Hadith is saying: Your going out for this alone is done. After that, you stick to the mats of your homes necessarily without having to part therefrom. Sayyidah Saudah bint Zam’ah (رض) and Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) took this Hadith to mean: Your going out was permissible for this very Last Hajj. Beyond that, it is not.’ The other blessed wives – including a jurist of the class of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) – unanimously interpreted these words of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to mean that ‘your going out of your homes is permissible for this kind of journey which aims at performing a recognized act of worship, otherwise you should stay at home’ In gist, from the sense of the verse: وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ (And remain in your homes – 33) – as supported by the indicators of the Qur’an, the practice of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and the consensus of the noble Sahabah – occasions of need are exempted which include religious obligations of Hajj and ` Umrah, taking care of the natural duties towards parents, visiting Mahram relatives in health and sickness and attending to other requirements of this nature. Similarly, if a woman has no arrangement for her living expenses, then, it is also permissible for her to go out in hijab in order to earn an honorable living. However, going out on occasions of need is subject to the condition that one does not go out to display personal embellishment. Instead, one should go out properly covered with burqa’ or jilbab (full mantle or chadar).

The offensive lapses of the Rawafid about the journey of Ummul-Mu’minin Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) to Basrah and the event of the battle of Jamal:

It has been made amply clear in the previous paragraph that the sense of the imperative of وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ ‘remain in your homes’ (33) as proved from the very indicators, rather, expressions of the Qur’an, as well as from the practice of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and after him from the consensus of the noble Sahabah, it is confirmed that occasions of need are exempt from it – which includes going for religious needs of Hajj and ` Umrah etc. Sayyidah ` A’ishah along with Sayyidah Umm Salamah and Sayyidah Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with all of them, had gone for Hajj. There they heard about the martyrdom of Sayyidna ` Uthman (رض) and about the incidents of rebellion against him. They were intensely grieved. The apprehension of an ill-omened disorder counter to unity among Muslims was weighing heavy on their minds. Under these circumstances, Sayyidna Talhah, Zubair, Nu` man Ibn Bashir, Ka’b Ibn` Ujrah and some other noble Sahabah escaped from Madinah and reached Makkah al-Mu’azzamah because the killers of Sayyidna ` Uthman (رض) wanted to kill them too. These people were not with the rebels. In fact, they had tried to dissuade them from acting in that manner. So, as they were after them as well, these people saved their lives by escaping to Makkah al-Mu’azzamah. Once there, they presented themselves before Ummul-Mu’minin Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) and sought her good counsel. She advised them not to go to Madinah until such time the rebels are gathered around Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) and he is exercising restraint against taking Qisas (retaliation) from them, lest the situation is aggravated further. In this situation, they should go to live for a few days at a place where they find themselves safe and the Amir al-Mu’minin succeeds in controlling the law and order situation in Madinah. As for making whatever efforts they can, the best they can do is to try that these people converged around the Amir al-Mu’minin get scattered and he is enabled to exercise his authority to exact Qisas (retaliation) or revenge from them.

To this, they agreed and thought of leaving for Basrah because at that time Muslim forces were converged there. Once their plan to go was firm, they also requested Ummul-Mu’minin Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) to stay at Basrah along with them until such time that the government resumes its normal function.

And the fact of the power and dominance of the killers of Sayyidna ` Uthman (رض) ، as well as of the leaders of disorder, and the lack of Sayyidna ‘Ali’s (رض) power to enforce the Islamic legal punishment against them is something clearly proven from the report of Nahjul-Balaghah itself.(1) It should be borne in mind that Nahjul-Balaghah is regarded to be authentic by Shiites. It appears in Nahjul-Balaghah: ‘To the noble Amir (Amir al-Mu’minin Sayyidna ` Ali), some of his companions and colleagues themselves said: If you punish the people who attacked ` Uthman (رض) ، it will be better. Thereupon, the noble Amir said: My brother, I am not unaware of this thing you are talking about. But, how can this be done when these very people are there all over Madinah – and your slaves and the Bedouins of the adjoining areas have also joined them. If, under these circumstances, I were to issue the orders for their punishment, how would these be implemented?

(1) Nahjul-Balaghah is a compilation of the lectures of Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) held by the Shiites as authentic.

On one side, Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) realized the helplessness of Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) in this matter while, on the other, she also knew that the hearts of Muslims were wounded in the face of the shahadah of Sayyidna ` Uthman (رض) . Moreover, the delay in taking the due revenge from his killers on the part of Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) was being watched as his helplessness while the killers of Sayyidna ` Uthman (رض) also used to participate in the meetings of the Amir al-Mu’minin. People who were not aware of his helplessness had found their reason for complaint against him as well. It was possible that this kind of complaint may trigger some other trial. Therefore, it was to exhort people to observe patience, to strengthen the hands of Amir al-Mu’minin for the purpose of stabilizing the rule of law in the state, to remove mutual complaints and to achieve the objective of making things work better among people that Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) decided to embark on the journey to Basrah. In this journey, her Mahram nephew, Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Zubair (رض) and others were with her. She had herself stated the purpose of this journey before Sayyidna Qa` qa` (رض) as it would appear later. And it is also obvious that the mission of conciliation and betterment among believers at the time of such a terrible trial was really a significant religious service. If, for this purpose, the Ummul-Mu’minin (رض) took to the journey of Basrah while accompanied by her Mahrams and seated in a metal-framed camel litter, why would the Shiites and Rawafid raise such a dust storm about it and say that the Ummul-Mu’minin contravened the injunctions of the Qur’an? What justification is there for it?

Later on the war-like situation, created by the mischief of the hypocrites and the agent provocateurs of disorder, was something even the thought of which had never crossed the mind of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) . For the explanation of this verse, this much is enough. Onwards from here, this is not the occasion for going into the details of the event of the battle of Jamal. But, in order to make the reality clear in brief, a few lines follow.

Circumstances that one confronts in this world at the time of mutual discord simply cannot be neglected by people of insight and experience. The same circumstances developed here too when the journey of Basrah undertaken by Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) in the company of the noble Sahabah who had come from Madinah was reported before Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) in a totally deformed manner by the hypocrites and the manipulators of disorder. The version they gave to him was that all those people were going to Basrah to join up with forces stationed there and from where they would come out to confront him. If he was the Amir of the time, they instigated, it was his duty to preempt this threat and stop them by going to where they were, lest the danger increases any further. There were noble Sahabah of the stature of Sayyidna Hasan and Husain (رض) ، ` Abdullah Ibn Ja’far and ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas            رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہم who even differed with this line of action. The advice they gave was that he should not throw his forces against them until such time that he had the correct assessment of the prevailing situation before him. But, the majority present there was of those who had tendered the first option. Sayyidna ` Ali, also tilting towards the same option, came out with the armed forces, and along with him, came these wicked votaries of disorder and rebellion.

When these gentlemen reached the environs of Basrah, they sent Sayyidna Qa` qa` (رض) to Ummul-Mu’minin Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) to find out the circumstances of her visit. They asked her, ‘0 Mother of the Believers, what was the reason that brought you here?’ Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) said, اَی بُنَیَّ الاِصلَاحُ بَین النَّاس       (My dear son, [ I am here to seek nothing but ] the betterment of relations between people) ‘. Then, she also called Sayyidna Talhah and Sayyidna Zubair (رض) in this meeting with Sayyidna Qa` qa`. He asked them, ‘What do you want?’ They submitted, ‘We want nothing but that the Islamic legal punishment be enforced against the killers of ` Uthman (رض) .’ In response, Sayyidna Qa’qa’ (رض) explained by saying, ‘This thing cannot be done until Muslim forces are organized and firmly established. Therefore, at this time, it is necessary that you take to a stance of conciliation.’

These blessed souls submitted to the advice. Sayyidna Qa` qa` (رض) went to Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) and told him about it. He too was very pleased, and satisfied. Everyone decided to go back. For three days, they stayed on the camping grounds in a state that no one had any doubt about the forthcoming declaration of truce between the two parties. And, on the fourth day, this announcement was going to be made and a meeting between Sayyidna ` Ali and Sayyidna Talhah and Zubair (رض) was due to take place – in which these killers of Sayyidna ` Uthman (رض) were not included. This thing was too hard for them to take. They made a plan. They told their colleagues, ‘First you go into the group around Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) and unleash a spate of killing and pillage so that she and her compatriots think that the pledge was broken from the side of Sayyidna Ali (رض) ، as a result of which, becoming victims of this misunderstanding, they would hurl themselves against the armed forces of Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) .’ This shaitanic device engineered by them worked. So, when the attack on the group accompanying Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) came from the side of the agents of disorder who had infiltrated the forces of Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) ، they were excusable in taking this attack to have come from the forces of the Amir al-Mu’minin – and thus began their counter action in defence. When Sayyidna ` Ali (رض) saw this state of affairs, he had no option left but to fight. And the unintended mishap of mutual infighting that was to occur did occur. إِنَّا لِلَّـهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَ‌اجِعُونَ ! It is exactly like this that this event has been reported by at-Tabari and other reliable historians from the narrations of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Ja’far, Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas and others (رض) (Ruh u1-Ma` ani).

In short, as a result of the wickedness of the agent provocateurs of disorder, this event of fighting between two revered groups came to pass unconsciously. And when this fitnah subsided, these very two revered personalities were the ones who were intensely grieved over it. Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) ، when recalled this event, would weep so much that her scarf became all wet with her tears. Similarly, Sayyidna ` Ali b was also terribly shocked over this event. When, after the fitnah had subsided, he went to see the dead bodies of those killed, he beat his thighs with his hands and said, ‘Would that, much before this happened, I were dead, forgotten, lost!’

And according to some narrations, when Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) would recite the verse: وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ And stay in your homes – 33) in the Holy Qur’an, she used to break into tears until her scarf would be all wet with tears. (Reported by ` Abdullah Ibn Ahmad in Zawa’iduz-Zuhd and Ibn ul-Mundhir and Ibn Abi Shaibah from Masruq, (Ruh ul-Ma` ani)

That she wept on the recital of the cited verse was neither because the contravention of the command of ‘staying in homes’ was a sin in her sight nor because the journey was prohibited. Instead of all that, the serious and unwelcome event that came to pass was the cause of her natural grief. (All these narrations and the subject matter have been taken from Tafsir (Ruh ul-Ma` ani)

The third, fourth and fifth instruction of the Qur’an to the blessed wives

Two instructions have appeared in detail earlier. They related to the avoidance of addressing non-Mahram men softly and tenderly and of going out of homes unnecessarily. Now, the other three instructions are contained in the next sentence of verse 33: وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّـهَ وَرَ‌سُولَهُ (and establish Salah, and pay Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger). These are a total of five instructions. For women, these are matters of great consequences.

These five instructions apply to all Muslims universally

At least in the case of the later instructions mentioned above, no one can presume that they could be special to the blessed wives. These are Salah, Zakah and Obedience to Allah and His Messenger. How can any Muslim anywhere be taken as exempted from these? As for the first two instructions which relate to the hijab or pardah of women, a little deliberation would make it clear that they too are not special to the blessed wives. In fact, the same injunction applies to all Muslim women. The only question that has to be answered is that the Holy Qur’an has said before these instructions,: لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ (32) that is, the blessed wives are not like common women, if they take to Taqwa. This sentence apparently indicates to the speciality of the blessed wives. A clear answer to this doubt is that the speciality seen here does not mean that these injunctions are restricted to them, instead, it revolves round the care and concern to be observed in acting in accordance with them. In other words, it means that the blessed wives are not like common women, because the state of their dignity is the highest of all. Therefore, they should show the highest care and concern for following the injunctions made obligatory for all Muslim women. And Allah subhanahu wa Ta’ ala knows best.

We now move to the last sentence of verse 33 which says: إِنَّمَا يُرِ‌يدُ اللَّـهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّ‌جْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَ‌كُمْ تَطْهِيرً‌ا (Allah only intends to keep (all sorts of) filth away from you, 0 members of the family (of the prophet), and to make you pure through a perfect purification. – 33). In the verses previous to this, the instructions given to the blessed wives by addressing them directly were, though, not special to them in person, rather, the entire Muslim community is obligated with these injunctions, yet the blessed wives were addressed particularly for the reason that they, in consonance with their dignity and the sanctity of the home of the Prophet, would be showing added care and concern for deeds that match their two singularities. Given in this verse is the wisdom of this particular address, that is, by the special instruction of the betterment of deeds, Allah intends to bless the household of the Messenger of Allah with an ideal state of purity by removing everything counter to it.

The word: الرِّ‌جْسَ (ar-rijs) has been used in the Qur’an for several meanings. At one place, ar-rijs has appeared in the sense of idols: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّ‌جْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ (So refrain from the filth of idols – 22:30) and on other occasions, it is used in the sense of sin in absolute terms and at times it is employed to carry the meaning of punishment or impurity or filth. The outcome is that everything which is legally or naturally (or rationally) considered detestable is ar-rijs. In the present verse, the word: الرِّ‌جْسَ ar¬rijs) appears in this very general sense. (A1-Bahr u1-Muhit)

What does أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ : Ahl al-Bayt: People of the House” signify in this verse?

In verses appearing earlier in the present sequence, the address was to the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، therefore, the form used was in the feminine gender. Here, the expression: أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ ahl al-bayt) includes, along with the blessed wives, their children and fathers as well, therefore, the form used was in the masculine gender, that is: عَنکُم (from you) and: وَيُطَهِّرَ‌كُمْ (purifies you). And some Tafsir authorities take ‘ahl al-bayt’ to mean the blessed wives only. ` Ikrimah and Muqatil have said exactly this. And Sayyidna Said Ibn Jubayr (رض) has reported the same narration from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) saying that he has declared ‘ahl al-bayt’ in this verse to mean the blessed wives and then cited the next verse: وَاذْكُرْ‌نَ مَا يُتْلَىٰ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ (and remember what is recited in your homes-34) as proof (because the address here is to the blessed wives only, as is evident from the feminine gender used in the verse and from the ‘ reference to their homes.) [ reported by IbnAbi Hatim and lbn Jarir). And the words of the address: نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ. (0 women [ wives ] of the prophet) in the immediately previous verses are also its contextual evidence. Early commentator ` Ikrimah … used to go about proclaiming in the bazaars that ‘ahl al-bayt’ in the verse means the blessed wives, because this verse has been revealed to highlight their dignified status and he used to say that he was ready to enter into a mubahalah* (imprecation) on it.

* A form of resolving religious disputes through bi-partite invocation. For details, please see Ma’ariful-Qur’n, Volume II, pp. 90, 91.

But, several narrations of Hadith reported by Ibn Katar at this place bear witness that Sayyidah Fatimah, Sayyidna ` Ali and Sayyidna Hasan and Husain (رض) are also included in ‘ahl al-bayt’ – as in a Hadith of Sahih Muslim where Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) narrates: Once the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) went out of the house with a black sheet from Byzantine wrapped around his blessed body. When Hasan Ibn ` Ali (رض) came out, he took him inside the sheet. Then Sayyidna Husain (رض) came. He took him too inside the sheet in the same manner. After that, came Sayyidah Fatimah (رض) and then Sayyidna ` Ali al-Murtada (رض) . He also made them come inside the sheet. Thereafter, he recited the verse: يُرِ‌يدُ اللَّـهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّ‌جْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَ‌كُمْ تَطْهِيرً‌ا (Allah only intends to keep (all sorts of) filth away from you, 0 members of the family (of the prophet-33). And it also appears in some narrations that, after having recited the verse, he said: اللَّھُمَّ ھٰٓؤلٓآِء اَھلُ بَیتِی (0 Allah, these are members of my family) (reported by Ibn Jarir)

After having reported several reliable ahadith on this subject, Ibn Kathir has said: In reality, there is no contradiction in the two sayings reported from Tafsir authorities. Those who said that this verse was revealed in relation to the high station of the blessed wives and ‘ahl al-bayt’ means them does not go contrary to the possible inclusion of other people too under the purview of ‘ahl al-bayt.’ Therefore, the sound position is that under the words: ‘ahl al-bayt’, the blessed wives are included in any case, because they themselves are the cause of the revelation of this verse. And the inclusion of the direct addressees of the revelation cannot be subjected to any doubt. And Sayyidah Fatimah and Ali and Hasan and Husain (رض) too – in accordance with the saying of the noble Prophet – are included in ‘ahl al-bayt.’ And at both places in this verse, before and after it, the address is to the wives of the prophet using the form of feminine gender. In previous verses, beginning from: فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ (So, do not be soft with your address – 32) up to the end all forms employed are feminine. Then, later on in: وَاذْكُرْ‌نَ مَا يُتْلَىٰ (and remember what is recited – 34) the form used in the address is in the feminine gender once again. Now, when the text departs from the context in this verse (33) in between and elects to employ the form of masculine gender as in: عَنکُم (antrum) and: يُطَهِّرَ‌كُمْ (yutahhirakum), it also becomes a strong evidence of the fact that included here are not only the wives, but some men as well.

As for what has been said in the verse under study: لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّ‌جْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَ‌كُمْ تَطْهِيرً‌ا (Allah only intends to keep (all sorts of) filth away from you, 0 members of the family (of the prophet-33), it obviously means that, through these instructions, Allah Ta’ ala will keep the ‘ahl al-bayt’ protected against satanic instigations, sins and evils and cleanse them pure. In short, what is meant here is legal تَشرِعِی (tashri’i) purification – not the creational تَکوِنِی (takwini) purification which is the hallmark of prophets. It does not become necessary thereby that they all be مَعصُوم ‘ma` sum’ (infallible) and the commission of any sin by them should not be possible as is the case with the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all – which is the distinctive feature of creational purification. The people of Shiite persuasion have, by differing from the majority of the Muslim community, first of all claimed that the expression: ‘ahl al-bayt’ is restricted to the progeny and male relatives of the Messenger and that his blessed wives are excluded from it. Then, they went on to declare the word: تطْهِير (tathir: purification) in the cited-verse (34) as standing for their عِصمَہ (‘ismah: the state of being protected, infallible) and thus made the ‘ahl al-bayt’ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ (ma` sum: infallible) like prophets. This humble writer has given an answer to this approach and has taken up the subject in full details in his Ahkam ul-Qur’an under Surah Al-Ahzab. This work defines عِصمَہ ` ismah, and proves that it is restricted to prophets and angels and that no one is مَعصُوم (ma` sum) other than them—all this on the basis of Islamic legal arguments and proofs. People of knowledge may see it at their discretion. Others just do not need it.

The word: اللہ آیَات (ayatillah) in verse 34: وَاذْكُرْ‌نَ مَا يُتْلَىٰ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّـهِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ (And be mindful of Allah’s verses and the wisdom that is recited in your homes) means the Qur’an and: حِکمَہ (hikmah) means the teachings and the sunnah of the noble Messenger of Allah – as the commentators at large have explained — : hikmah at this place to mean sunnah. And the word: اذْكُرْ‌نَ (udhkurna) could have two meanings: (1) To personally remember and be mindful of these verses and the points of wisdom, which should result in acting according to them. (2) To mention and pass on to other members of the Muslim community whatever of the Qur’an was revealed in their homes before them as well as the teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) of which they were the recipients.

Special Note

In his Ahkam ul-Qur’an, Ibn al-Arabi has said: From this verse it stands proved that a person who hears a verse of the Qur’an, or a statement of Hadith, is duty-bound to convey it to the Muslim ummah, so much so that even the blessed wives were bound with the duty of conveying to members of the Muslim community whatever verses of the Qur’an are revealed in their homes or the teachings that they receive from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Both were a matter of trust placed by Allah in their hands which they had to pass on to others.

The Protection of Qur’an and Hadith

The way the spreading of the message of the verses of the Qur’an and the making of arrangements to teach it have been made necessary for the Muslim community, it is in the same way that, by calling it hikmah, the spreading and teaching of the ahadith of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) have also been made necessary (in the degree of incumbency). Therefore, the noble Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them all, have obeyed and implemented this injunction under all circumstances. There is this incident related to the Sayyidna Mu’ adhin the Sahih of al-Bukhari. He heard a Hadith from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، but he did not narrate it publicly for the reason that he feared that people may not give it the status it deserved or may succumb to some misunderstanding. However, when came the time of his death, he assembled people around him and narrated the Hadith before them and said, ‘Up to this time, I had not mentioned it before anyone because of religious expediency. But, now the time of death is near, therefore, I consider it necessary to deliver this thing held in trust back to the Muslim ummah, its real owner.’ The words of the statement in the Sahih al-Bukhari are: فَاَخبَرَ بِہٖ مَعَاذُ عِندَ مَوتہٖ تا ثماً that is, ‘Sayyidna Mu` adh (رض) made people hear this Hadith at the time of his death lest he becomes a sinner by not having conveyed the Hadith of the Rasul of Allah to the Muslim ummah.’

This incident too is an apt testimony to the fact that all Sahabah considered the implementation of this injunction of the Qur’an to be obligatory, and necessary. And since the noble Sahabah had demonstrated the highest care and concern in conveying Hadith to people with utmost precaution, the protection of Hadith too came, in a certain degree, fairly close to that of the Qur’an. Picking doubts in this matter really amounts to picking doubts in the Qur’an. Allah knows best.

Commentary

The Qur’anic addresses in masculine gender normally include women: The Wisdom behind it

In the usual injunctions of the noble Qur’an, though, both men and women have been included as addressees, but generally the address is made to men. Women are included there as a corollary. Everywhere, by using the words: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ (0 those who have believed) women have been addressed as being included and contained therein. This releases a hint suggesting that all matters relating to women are shielded, concealed and curtained. In this, there is honor and esteem for them. Particularly, if we were to ponder over the entire Qur’an, we shall discover that no woman except Sayyidah Maryam bint ` Imran (عليهما السلام) has been referred to by her personal name. Instead, when comes the occasion to mention them, they have been mentioned under the cover of their attribution to men, such as, اِمرَأۃ فِرعَون (the woman or wife of the Pharaoh), اِمرَٔۃُ نُوح (the wife of Nuh) and اِمرَأۃ لُوط (the wife of Lut). The exception of Sayyidah Maryam (عليهما السلام) may perhaps be for the reason that Sayyidna ‘Isa (عليه السلام) ‘Sell could have not been attributed to any father, therefore, the attribution had to be to the mother. So, it was for this attribution that her name was disclosed. And it is Allah who knows best.

Though, this style of the Qur’an was rooted in great wisdom and expediency, yet it was natural that women should have a feeling of some sort of discomfort about it. Therefore, there are several narrations in Hadith in which women have been reported to have said to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ،”We see that Allah Ta’ ala mentions only men everywhere in the Qur’an and it is them alone that He addresses. This tells us that women have almost no good in them. We are scared about our acts of ` Ibadah. May be, even that is not accepted from us (reported by al-Baghawi from the blessed wives). Similar submissions of this nature from Sayyidah Umm ‘Umarah al-Ansariyyah appear in Tirmidhi with the authority rating of hasan (good) and from Sayyidah Asma’ bint ` Umays (رض) in some other narrations. And in all these narrations, this very submission has been identified as the cause of the revelation of the verse cited above.

In these verses special mention has been made of the acceptability of their deeds to mollify the hearts of women. Here, it has been made very clear that the touchstone of acceptance and appreciation with Allah Ta’ ala is the righteousness of deeds and the spirit of obedience to Him. In this, there is no discrimination between man and woman.

The Injunction of Making the Dhikr of Allah Abundantly and Its Wisdom

Islam stands on five acts of ` Ibadah or worship – Salah, Zakah, Siyam (fasting), Hajj and Jihad. But, there is just no injunction in the entire Qur’an that commands any act of Ibadah from out of these to be done abundantly. However, the doing of the Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah (by heart or tongue) abundantly has been ordered in several verses of the Holy Qur’an as in Surah Al-Anfal (8:45) and Surah Al-Jumu’ah (62:10) while in the present verse of Surah Al-Ahzab it was said:        وَالذَّاكِرِ‌ينَ اللَّـهَ كَثِيرً‌ا وَالذَّاكِرَ‌اتِ (and the men remembering Allah much and the remembering women – 35).

What is the wisdom behind it? To begin with, it can be said that the Dhikr of Allah is the essential spirit of all acts of worship as it appears in a narration of Sayyidna Mu` adh Ibn Anas (رض) . Someone asked the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ،”Who from among the Mujahidin deserves the best of returns?” He said, “One who makes the Dhikr of Allah most abundantly.” It was asked again, “Who from among the fasting is most reward-worthy?” He said, “One who makes the Dhikr of Allah most abundantly.” Then, similar questions were asked about Salah, Zakah, Hajj and Sadaqah. Every time he said: ‘One who makes the Dhikr of Allah most abundantly,’ that is, he or she is more deserving of the reward (reported by Ahmad, from Ibn Kathir)

Secondly, it is the easiest of all acts of ` Ibadah. The Shari’ah too has placed no condition for it. Be it with wudu’ or without, be it lying, sitting, or walking, the Dhikr of Allah can be done at all times. It demands no hard labor from anyone nor does it require any formal free time. Yet, so great is the effect and benefit of the Dhikr of Allah that, through it, even worldly chores transform into worship and religious acts. The prayers that are made before and after eating, on going out and on coming back, before travel, in travel and on returning home, and before and after starting a business have all been taught to us by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . The outcome of this enormous, treasure of prophetic prayers is that no Muslim should do anything at any time while he or she may be heedless toward or negligent of Allah. And should one make it a point to recite these prayers as part of what he or she has to do in life and its work, then, dunya becomes deen, i.e. worldly duties start releasing the fragrance of faith, a wonderful experience indeed.

Commentary

It has been repeatedly explained earlier that the majority of injunctions appearing in Surah Al-Ahzab relate to the reverence, love and perfect obedience of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) or to the prohibition of causing any pain to him. The verses cited above have also been revealed in connection with some incidents of this nature.

One such incident related to Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah who was the slave of someone. It was during the days of Jahiliyyah that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had bought him from the famous bazaar of ` Ukaz. He was still very young at that time. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had freed him after purchasing him, and further honored him by adopting him as his son as was the common practice under the Arab custom of the time and went on to bring him up. In Makkah al-Mukarramah, he was called by the name of Zayd Ibn Muhammad. The Qur’an declared it to be an erroneous custom of the Jahiliyyah and prohibited the calling of the so-called or adopted son of a person as his ‘son’ and ordered that he should be attributed to his real father. Revealed in this connection were verses that have appeared earlier within this Surah: ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ (Call them by (the name of) their (real) fathers – 5) After the revelation of these injunctions, the noble Sahabah abandoned the practice of calling him by the name of Zayd Ibn Muhammad and started attributing him to his father, Harithah.

A subtle point

Not even the name of the greatest of the great Sahabi – of course, except that of the blessed prophets – was ever mentioned throughout the Qur’an with the sole exception of Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah! Some respected elders while describing the wisdom behind it have said that the attribution of his parentage to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) when severed under the injunction of the Qur’an had him deprived of a great personal honor. However, Allah Ta’ ala had it compensated by mentioning him in the Qur’an by name. Thus, the word: زَید (Zayd), being a word of the Qur’an, has its own distinct status. On every letter of this word, in accordance with the promise in Hadith, ten good deeds are recorded in the Book of Deeds. So, when his name is recited in the Qur’an, the reciter gets thirty good deeds in return just for pronouncing his name!

Even the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) used to give him respect. Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) says, ‘Whenever he has sent him on a military expedition, it is invariably him that he has made the commander of the forces.’ (Ibn Kathir)

A lesson to remember

This, in a nutshell, was the reality of slavery at the advent of Islam when slaves were educated and trained till they became achievers and whoever from them proved his class and capability was given the rank of leaders.

When Zayd Ibn Harithah grew to be a young man, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) chose Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh, the daughter of his paternal aunt for marriage with him. A formal proposal of marriage was sent. Since Sayyidna Zayd was branded with the conventional label of being a freed slave, Sayyidah Zainab and her brother, ` Abdullah Ibn Jahsh rejected this proposal on the basis that they were nobler than him in terms of family and lineage.

Revealed upon this incident was the verse: مَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ (And it is not open for a believing man or a believing woman – 36). The instruction given there is: When the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) orders someone to do something as an obligation, it becomes obligatory for that person to do it. The choice of not doing it does not remain valid under Islamic Law – even if the required act may not be obligatory or necessary in its origin. But, once he does order someone to do that, it become incumbent and obligatory on him. And should someone not do so, his or her action has been termed as open error at the end of the verse.

When Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) and her brother heard this verse, they retracted from their rejection and agreed to the proposal of marriage. Thus, the marriage was solemnized. The dower of the bride was paid by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on behalf of Sayyidna Zayd which was ten dinars [ equal to approximately 4 tolas of gold), (equal to approximately 18-1/2 tolas of silver), one beast of burden, complete pair of ladies dress, 15 mudd (approximately 25 kilos) of flour and 10 mudd (approximately 5 kilos) of dates (Ibn Kathir). The well-known event in the background of the revelation of this verse is, according to the majority of commentators, no other but this very account of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi and Mazhari).

Ibn Kathir and some other commentators have also reported two additional events of this nature. There too, it has been said that the cited verse has been revealed in the background of those events. One of these events is about Sayyidna Julaibib (رض) whose proposal to marry the daughter of an Ansari Sahabi was turned down by the father and his family. When this verse was revealed, they agreed and the marriage was solemnized. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) made a du’a (prayer) for extended means of livelihood for them. The noble Companions say that Allah had placed such barakah in their home that it was known to be the most generously kept home of Madinah at-Tayyibah. Later, Sayyidna Julaibib (رض) met with his shahadah in a Jihad. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) bathed and shrouded his body with his own blessed hands.

A similar event relating to Umm Kulthum bint ‘Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu’ait has been reported in Hadith narrations (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi) and there is no contradiction in them. It is possible that several events of this nature may have been the cause of the revelation of the verse.

The Injunction to consider the principle of کفو (kuf) in marriage

The reason why Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) and her brother ` Abdullah had initially rejected the proposal of marriage with Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah was that the two of them had no familial and lineal homogeneity, which is desirable even in the sight of the Shari’ah. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said that girls should be married in their کفو (kuf’: equal, alike, matching) (to be explained later). Therefore, a question arises here as to why the excuse of Sayyidah Zainab and her brother was not accepted in this case?

The answer is that the equality, rather equalness (کَفَاءت :kafa’ ah) and likeness of spouses in their religion is certainly incumbent and necessary for the validity of the marriage. The marriage of any Muslim girl with any disbeliever is not halal (lawful) under the consensus of the Muslim ummah – even if the girl agrees to it. The reason is that this is not simply the right of a woman which may be dropped at her pleasure. Instead, it is the right of Allah and a Divinely imposed duty. On the contrary, equality of the spouses in financial and lineal status is the right of the girl and in the matter of lineal equality, the guardians too have right along with the girl. If a sane and adult girl, despite being from a wealthy family, were to drop her right by agreeing to marry some pauper, the choice is hers. And in lineal equality, if the girl and her guardians, all of them, abandon this right for the sake of some other major expedient consideration and agree to the proposal of marriage from a person who is lesser than them in terms of lineage and family status, then, they have the right to do so. In fact, should this be in view of higher religious consideration, the act of surrendering this right is most desirable and praiseworthy. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has, on several occasions, recommended that this right should be ignored and marriage should be solemnized because of higher and more beneficial religious considerations.

And clear indicators set forth in the noble Qur’an prove that the right of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) on the men and women of his ummah is more than that of anyone else. In fact, it is more than that of their own self – as the Qur’an says: النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ that is, ‘The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves – 33:6.’ Therefore, in the case of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) and her brother, ` Abdullah, when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) advised them to ignore their right to lineal equality and ordered them to agree to the marriage with Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah (رض) ، it was their duty to bypass their personal opinion and their own rights in the face of this prophetic order. Therefore, it was on this refusal from them that this injunction of the Qur’an was revealed.

As for the lineal consideration in marriage, one may ask when it was worthy of consideration in the sight of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself, why would he himself not go by it? The answer to this doubt is already clear from the earlier submission, that is, this consideration is worth surrendering in favour of other higher and more beneficial religious considerations. During the blessed period of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، several marriages were solemnized among non-equals (ghayr-kuf’ ) as based on these very kinds of beneficial religious considerations which do not violate the principle.

The Issue of Equality in marriage (Kaf’ah)

Marriage (nikah) is a matter in which the absence of homogeneity in the temperaments of the spouses disturbs the purpose of marriage, disturbs the process of fulfilling each other’s rights and breeds mutual disputes. Therefore, the Shari` ah has ordered that kafa’ah (mutual likeness) should be taken into consideration. But, it never means that a man of high family background starts taking a man from a family lesser than him as low and mean. In Islam, the criterion of low and high is based on Taqwa and love for one’s faith. Whoever does not have it, no matter how noble his family is, he yet has no status in the sight of Allah. So, this order to take kafa’ah (mutual equality) into consideration in marriages has been given only to keep the management of matters smooth and straight.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been reported to have said that the nikah (marriage) of girls should invariably be through their guardians (that is, it is not appropriate even for a pubescent girl that she settles the transaction of her nikah (marriage) all by herself. Modesty demands that this matter should be handled by her parents and guardians). And he said that the nikah of girls should invariably be solemnized within their kuf’ (equal, like). Though, the authority of this Hadith is weak but, with the support from the reports and sayings of the noble Sahabah, it becomes worth being used as an argument. In Kitab ul-‘Athar, Imam Muhammad has reported Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) saying: “I shall issue an operative order that no girl from some high and recognized family should be given in marriage to another having a lesser status.” Similarly, Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) and Sayyidna Anas (رض) have also stressed that kafa’ah (likeness) should be taken into consideration in nikah (marriage) – as reported from several authorities. Imam Ibn Humam has also written about it in details in Fath al-Qadir.

Hence, the outcome is that the consideration of kafa’ah (equalness and likeness) in nikah (marriage) is desirable in religion, so that the spouses live in accord and harmony. But, should some other important consideration, more important than this kafa’ah, come up, then, it is permissible for the woman and her guardians that they surrender this right of theirs and marry in ghayr kuf, that is, other than equal and like. Particularly so, when there is some religious consideration in sight – if so, it is better and more merit worthy to do so, as proved from several events pertaining to the noble Sahabah. Incidentally, from this we also know that these events do not negate the basic premise of the issue of kafa’ah. Allah knows best.

The Second Event

As ordered by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) ‘ was solemnized with Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah (رض) . But, their temperaments did not match and merge with each other. Sayyidna Zayd used to complain about the sharpness of her tongue, the airs she assumed because of her inborn lineal nobility and her failure to listen to him. On the other side, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was informed through revelation that Zayd would divorce her where after she would be married to him. On a certain day, Sayyidna Zayd presented these very complaints before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and showed his intention to divorce her. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had, though, come to know through Divine revelation that things would transpire in a way that Zayd would divorce her after which she would be married to him, but it was for two reasons that he stopped Sayyidna Zayd from giving a divorce. Firstly, because giving a divorce, though permissible in the Shari’ah of Islam, it is not desirable. In fact, it is the most detested and repugnant of things permissible – and the happening of something as a creational (Takwini) imperative does not affect the operative religio-legal order (al-hukm at-tashri’ ).

Secondly, also crossing his blessed heart there was the thought: If Zayd were to give divorce and Zainab were to be married to him consequently, the Arabs would, very much in line with their custom of the Jahiliyyah, throw taunts on him that he had married the wife of his son. Although, the Qur’an has already demolished this custom of Jahiliyyah in the previous verse of this very Surah Al-Ahzab, following which there was no danger for a believer, even no scruple about it. But disbelievers, who reject the authority of the Qur’an itself, would still come out with their taunts because of their pagan custom of taking an adopted son as the real son in all aspects of the Law. This very apprehension also became the cause of his prohibiting Sayyidna Zayd from divorcing his wife. Revealed thereupon was an endearing reprimand from Allah Ta’ ala in the following verses of the Qur’an:

And (remember) when you were saying to the one who was favored by Allah and favored by you,” Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allah.” And you were concealing in your heart what Allah was going to reveal, and you were fearing people, while Allah is more entitled to be feared by you. (33:37)

The ‘one favored’ referred to here means Sayyidna Zayd (رض) and the first favour bestowed on him by Allah was that he was made a Muslim and secondly, that he was given the honor of staying in the company of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . As for the favour done to him by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the first thing he did was that he gave him his freedom from slavery. Secondly, he favored him by grooming and training him under his personal charge, he made him into a person who was respected even by the greatest of the great among the Sahabah. Onwards from here appears what he said to Sayyidna Zayd: اِمسِک عَلَیک زَوجَکَ وَ اتَّقِ اللہَ (Keep your wife to yourself and fear Allah). It means: ‘Hold your wife in your bond of marriage, and do not divorce her and fear Allah.’ The order to fear Allah at this place could also be taken to mean that divorce is a detested and repugnant act from which he should abstain. And it could also be taken in the sense that once he decides to hold her in his nikah, let not his temperamental distaste become a cause of falling short in the fulfillment of her due rights. What the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said was correct and sound in its place.

But, after having learnt about the event as it would transpire through Divine revelation and after the intention of nikah with Sayyidah Zainab (رض) having emerged in his heart, this advice of not divorcing given to Sayyidna Zayd (رض) had remained at the level of a sort of formal expression of good wishes – something not appropriate to the station of a messenger of Allah, particularly so because, along with it, included therein was the apprehension of taunts from the people. Therefore, in the cited verse, the admonition was revealed in the words which mean, ‘you were concealing in your heart what Allah was going to reveal.’ When the information about his marriage with Sayyidah Zainab (رض) was conveyed to him from Allah and the intention of marriage had already crossed his heart, then, the act of hiding this intention and indulging in such formal remarks was not appropriate to his station. As for the apprehension of taunts from people, it was said, ‘and you were fearing people, while Allah is more entitled to be feared by you – (37). In other words, ‘when you knew that this thing is going to take place as a matter destined by Allah Ta’ ala – without there being any apprehension or danger of His displeasure in that case – then, simply because of the apprehension of taunts from people, such remarks were not appropriate.’

The details of this event appearing above have all been taken from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi and Ruh ul-Ma’ ani. As for the particular tafsir of the verse: تُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّـهُ مُبْدِيهِ (you were concealing in your heart what Allah was going to reveal – 37) that is, ‘the thing that he kept to himself was the intention that should Zayd give the divorce, he would marry her in accordance with the Divine decree’ – this tafsir was reported by Tirmidhi, Ibn Abi Hatim and other Hadith experts from a narration of Sayyidna ` Ali Ibn Husain Zain ul-` Abidin. Its words are as follows:

Allah Ta` la had informed the Holy Prophet t through revelation that Zainab is going to be divorced by Zayd and after that she was to be married to him – Ruh ul-Ma’ani from Tirmidhi.

And Ibn Kathir has reported the following words with reference to Ibn Abi Hatim:

Allah Ta’ ala had made His prophet know that she (Sayyidah Zainab) will also become one of his blessed wives. After that, when Zayd came to him with a complaint against her, he said, ‘Fear Allah, keep your wife, do not divorce her.’ Thereupon, Allah Ta’ ala said, ‘I had made it known to you that I shall have her married to you, and you were concealing in your heart the thing that Allah was going to disclose.’

The majority of commentators – Zuhri, Bakr Ibn al-` Ala’, al-Qushairi and Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi – have adopted this very tafsir, that is, the mention of the thing he was keeping to himself was but this intention of marriage under Divine revelation. Counter to this there are narrations in which the words,” and you were concealing in your heart” have been explained as love for Zainab. About this tafsir, Ibn Kathir has said, ‘we did not like to mention these narrations as none of these is sound.’

Then the words of the Qur’an themselves lend support to this very tafsir mentioned above on the authority of Sayyidna Zain ul-` Abidin because, in this verse, Allah Ta’ ala has Himself said very clearly that the thing hidden in the heart was what Allah Ta’ ala is going to disclose – and the thing that Allah Ta’ ala disclosed in the next verse (37) is nikah or marriage with Sayyidah Zainab as said in: زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا (We gave her into your marriage -37) (Ruh ul-Ma’ani)

To protect oneself against taunts thrown by people is praiseworthy unless it affects some objective of the Shari’ah

A question arises here as to why the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) chose to conceal this matter which became the cause of Divine displeasure only to avoid the taunts of a hostile people? To answer that, it can be said that there is an essential general rule in this matter which stands proved from the Qur’an and Sunnah. According to this rule, when doing an act may cause misunderstanding among people or may invite their taunts, then, in order to protect the faith of people and save them from the sin of throwing taunts, it is permissible to avoid that act, subject to the condition that this act itself should not be one of the objectives of the Shari’ah, and no religious injunction of halal and haram is related with it – even though, the act in itself be praiseworthy; In this matter, a precedent exists in the Hadith and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) who said: When the Baytullah was constructed during the period of Jahiliyyah, several things have been done contrary to the original structure laid out by Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) .

First of all, some part of Baytullah was left outside the constructed area. Then, there were two doors for people to enter inside the Baytullah in the original foundational plan of Sayyidna Ibrahim (عليه السلام) ، one towards the East and another towards the West because of which there used to be no difficulty with the entry in and exit from Baytullah. The people of the Jahiliyyah made two unwarranted changes in it. They blocked the Western door totally and raised the Eastern door which used to be at ground level so high that no one could enter inside it without the help of a ladder. The purpose was to let only those they permitted go in.

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: ‘Had there been no danger of throwing neo-Muslims into misunderstanding, I would have raised the Baytullah once again in accordance with the Abrahimic foundation.’ This Hadith is present in all authentic books. From this we know that it was to save people from misunderstanding that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) abandoned this intention of his, an intention which was, otherwise, praiseworthy in the light of the Shari’ah. And against this there came no admonition from Allah which also shows that this conduct of his was acceptable with Him. But, this matter of reconstructing the Baytullah in accordance with the Abrahimic foundation was not something among the objective of Shari’ah, nor something relating to the precepts of halal and haram.

As for the event of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) ، there was an Islamic legal objective to be achieved therewith, that is, to refute an evil custom of the Jahiliyyah and to dispel, practically and openly, the erroneous notion of marriage being unlawful with the divorced wife of an adopted son. The reason is that eradication of wrong customs, dragging on and on among peoples for ages, becomes actually possible only when it is implemented practically and demonstrated openly. The Divine command had unfolded to fulfill this objective in a perfect manner in the case of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) . On the basis of this deposition, the apparent dichotomy between the abandonment of the reconstruction of Baytullah and the implementation of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) as Divinely ordained stands resolved, and answered.

And it seems that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) took the oral communication of this injunction which has appeared in the earlier verses of Surah Al-Ahzab (Verses 4 & 5) as sufficient for declaring the law, while the need and wisdom of its practical demonstration escaped his attention. Therefore, he let it remain concealed despite the knowledge and intention. Allah Ta’ ala put it right and said: لِكَيْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَ‌جٌ فِي أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَائِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْا مِنْهُنَّ وَطَرً‌ا (so that there may not be a problem for the believers in marrying wives of their adopted sons, when they finish their desire for them – 37). It means: We gave Zainab in marriage to you so that Muslims do not have to face any practical difficulty in marrying the divorced wives of adopted sons.

And the statement: زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا literally means: ‘We solemnized her nikah with you’ or ‘We gave her into your marriage.’ This tells us that Allah Ta’ ala blessed this nikah with such distinction that He Himself solemnized it – which makes it exempt from the usual conditions of nikah or marriage. And it could also mean : ‘We gave the command for this nikah, now you marry her in accordance with the Islamic rules and conditions.’ Some of the commentators have preferred the first probability while some others have gone by the second.

As for the saying of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) before other women, “Your nikah was done by your parents. My nikah was done by Allah Ta’ ala Himself on the heavens,” which appears in Hadith narrations, it turns out to be true both ways. Under the first probability, it is very clear while the other one too is not contrary to it.

Prefacing an answer to doubts and objections

The opening sentence of verse 38: سُنَّةَ اللَّـهِ فِي الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ‌ اللَّـهِ قَدَرً‌ا مَّقْدُورً‌ا (a customary practice of Allah in the case of those who have gone before— And Allah’s command is pre-determined by destiny – 38) is a preface to doubts to be encountered in the wake of this marriage, particularly about why so much concern was shown in the case of this marriage despite there being other wives in the household. It was said: ‘This is a sunnah of Allah (His customary practice not restricted to Muhammad al-Mustafa t. It has continued to be so in the case of earlier prophets as well, that is, under the dictate of beneficial religious considerations, permission was given for multiple marriages. Well recognized among them are Sayyidna Dawud (عليه السلام) and Sayyidna Sulaiman Sayyidna Dawud (عليه السلام) had one hundred wives in his nikah and Sayyidna Sulaiman (عليه السلام) ، three hundred. Now, if permission came for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to have several marriages under beneficial religious considerations – this nikah being included therein – why should it be taken as something far-fetched? Neither is it contrary to the dignity and status of a prophet and messenger of Allah, nor against the norms of zuhd and taqwa. In the last sentence, it was also said that the matter of nikah (marriage) too, like that of rizq or sustenance, is Divinely decided as to who will be married to whom. That which is written in the eternal destiny has to occur. In this event relating to Sayyidna Zayd (رض) and Sayyidah Zainab (رض) the factors of their mutual temperamental difference, the displeasure of Sayyidna Zayd (رض) and then his resolve to divorce her were all chains of this very creational and destined imperative.

Mentioned next are particular attributes of the prophets    عليهم السلام about whom we have learnt a while ago that they were permitted to have several wives in earlier times. It was said: الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِ‌سَالَاتِ اللَّـهِ (those who convey the messages of Allah and have awe of Him and have no awe of anyone except Allah – 39), that is, all these esteemed prophets, may peace be upon them, convey the messages of Allah to their respective communities without fear of anyone.

A wise consideration

Perhaps, in this, there may be a hint towards the wisdom behind the multiplicity of marriages allowed to the noble prophets (عليهم السلام) in that all their sayings and doings must necessarily reach their communities, while being men, they spend a substantial part of their time in the section of the house where women and children live. During this time, if there comes a revelation or the prophet himself gives some order or does something, it all becomes a property held by their wives in trust on behalf of the community which can be transferred to it through wives alone. Other alternates are not free of difficulties. Therefore, should prophets have several wives, it would become easier to convey accounts of their words and deeds and their personal character in family life. Allah knows best.

The second attribute of the noble prophets has been described as: وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَدًا إِلَّا اللَّـهَ (and have awe of Him and have no awe of anyone except Allah – 39) It means that these prophets keep fearing Allah and fear none but Allah. It is also included there that they, if appointed to preach something by practicing it as based on beneficial religious consideration, never fall short in it – and if some people throw taunts at them for doing so, they do not fear it.

A doubt and its answer

Here, while mentioning the prophets, it has been said that they do not fear anyone except Allah. But, in the verse previous to it while referring to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) it was said: تَخْشَى النَّاسَ (you fear people – 37). How would this be correct? The answer is that, in the cited verse, this matter of prophets not fearing anyone other than Allah has been mentioned in connection with the conveying of Divine messages while the Holy Prophet t, faced the fear of being taunted in a matter which was obviously of a worldly nature. It had nothing to do with his mission and prophethood. But, as soon as it became clear to him from the cited verses that this marriage too was a part of the practical aspect of his mission and prophethood, no fear of taunts, thereafter, from anyone stopped him from doing what he had to. And this marriage took place despite the objections raised by many disbelievers – which they still keep doing.

Commentary

The verse quoted above refutes the contention of those people who, in accordance with the custom of the days of ignorance, used to call Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah  رضی الله تعالیٰ عنه as son of the Messenger of Allah and used to taunt at the nikah (marriage) of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) with Sayyidah Zainab (رض) ، after she had been divorced by Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had married his son’s wife. It was enough to say in refutation that the father of Sayyidna Zayd (رض) is not the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) but Harithah (رض) . But in order to emphasis the matter, the statement has been generalized in the following words: مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّ‌جَالِكُمْ (Muhammad is not a father of any of your men). The sense is that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has no son at all. How can it be asserted against him that he has a son and that his divorced wife is forbidden to him because of being his son’s wife?

A brief expression for this statement could have been (Muhammad is not a father of any of you). But the wise Qur’an, by adding the word (مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّ‌جَالِكُمْ ) (any of your men) has removed a possible objection that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is father of four sons – three sons Qasim, Tayyib and Tahir (رض) born to Sayyidah Khadijah (رض) and Ibrahim born to Sayyidah Mariyah al- Qibtiyyah (رض) but all of them died during childhood and none of them reached manhood. It can also be said that at the time of revelation of this verse, none of his sons was alive, because Qasim, Tayyib and Tahir had died, while Ibrahim (رض) was not born at that time.

Although the objection of the opponents had been adequately replied by the above sentence, yet in order to remove other doubts as well, it is stated لَـٰكِن رَّ‌سُولَ اللَّـهِ (but a messenger of Allah). The word لٰکِن lakin (but) is used in Arabic language to remove any doubt that could be raised about the preceding statement. In this case, a doubt could be raised against the negation of the statement that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is not a father of any one. One could say that every prophet and messenger is the father of every man and women of his Ummah, and therefore the negation of his fatherhood would be tantamount to negation of his prophethood. This doubt has been dispelled by لَـٰكِن رَّ‌سُولَ اللَّـهِ )but a messenger of Allah) which means that the rules regarding permissibility or impermissibility of marriage are applicable to the real and biological fatherhood that is quite different from a spiritual fatherhood enjoyed by the prophets in relation to the members of their Ummah. In this relationship these laws do not apply. Now the meaning of the full sentence is that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is not the biological father of any of the men of the Ummah but he is the spiritual father of all of them.

This is also a rejoinder for another sarcasm that some Mushriks (polytheists) had uttered against the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that (Allah forbid) he is اَبتَر (issueless) that is, since he has no male offspring to continue the lineage and to propagate his message further; after a few days the whole story would come to an end. The above words have made it clear that although he has no biological sons, yet the biological sons are not in any case essential to spread the message of prophethood or to maintain and propagate it. This function is normally performed by one’s followers who are his spiritual children, and since he is the spiritual father of the whole Ummah who are there to carry forward his mission, he excels all of you in the number of his (spiritual) children.

Then, once the prophethood and messenger-ship of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was mentioned here in which he carries a very special and distinct excellence over all other prophets, this distinctive eminence surpassing all other prophets has been indicated by the following words: وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ ( and the Last of the Prophets).

There are two ways to read the word Imam Hasan (رض) and ‘Asim read this word as خَاتَمَ khatam whereas other leading scholars read it as khatim. The meaning remains the same in both cases, that is, ‘the last of the prophets’. In both the cases, the word means the ‘last’ as well as the ‘seal’. The meaning of the seal is also the ‘last’ because the seal is applied to something when it is intended to be closed. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been called the seal of the prophets because the process of sending new prophets has come to an end on his advent. This is the gist of the explanation given in Tafsir Ruh ul Ma’ ani, Tafsir of Al-Baydawi and Ahmadi. The fact that both the words ‘ khatam’ and ‘khatim’ carry the same meaning in this sentence has been affirmed by all the famous lexicons of the Arabic language.

Ibn Sidah, for example, in his Almuhkam states that the the words ‘khatim’ and ‘khatimah’ with regard to everything means its end and its termination.

The gist is that both readings of the verse (khatam and khatim) convey the same meaning, that is, the Holy Prophet has concluded the line of prophets; he has succeeded all the prophets and he is the last among all of them.

The Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) attribute of being the last of all the prophets demonstrates his excellence and distinction in all the perfections of prophethood and messenger-ship, because in general, all things progress gradually reaching completion at the highest stage, and the end result is the real objective. The Holy Qur’an has stated this clearly in الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي (Today, I have perfected your religion for you and have completed My blessings upon you, – 5:3).

The religions of the previous prophets were also complete with regard to their respective times – none was defective. But absolute perfection was reached by the religion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which is the authority for all the ancient and modern human beings and will continue to be so up to the Doomsday.

By adding the phrase ‘last of the prophets’ after negating his being a father of a male boy, another point has been clarified here. The polytheists used to pass negative remarks against the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) by saying that he has no son, and therefore his lineage would not continue. By saying that he is the last of the prophets it is indicated that these remarks are based on ignorance, because he is the spiritual father of the whole Ummah which follows him and being the last prophet, all the races and nations to come in this world till the Doomsday would be included in his Ummah; as such the number of persons in his Ummah would be more than in other Ummah and his spiritual sons would be more than those of other prophets.

The Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) being the last prophet has also told us that his kindness and affection for his spiritual sons (i.e. for his Ummah) would be more than that of other prophets and he would be fully seized of the concern to identify and appreciate the needs which may arise till Doomsday because no prophet or wahy (Divine revelation) would come after him. The prophets preceding him did not have this concern because they knew that when the nation would deviate and adopt erring ways, other prophets would come after them and reform the nation. But the Last Prophet t was seized of the concern that he should impart instructions to the Ummah for all the situations that it may face uptill Doomsday. The ahadith of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) bear witness to the above, because he has told us even the names of most of those people who could be followed and who would come after him. Similarly, he has told us the details about the leaders who would misguide humanity in a manner that anybody who cares to ponder over those warnings would not have the slightest doubt left in his mind. That is why the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said تَرَکتُم علٰی شَرِیعَۃِ بَیضَآِء لَیلُھَا و نَھَارُھا سَوَاُء I have left (you) on such an illuminated path where it does not make any difference whether it is day or night; there is no danger of being misguided at any time.”

Another point to note in this verse is that Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been referred to in the beginning of the sentence as a rasul (messenger) and as such it would have been apparently more appropriate to use the word khatam-ur-rusul or khatam-ul-mursalin (the last of the messengers ) for him. But the wise Qur’an has, instead, used the word khatam-un-nabiyyin (the last of the prophets). The reason is that according to the consensus of scholars, there is a difference between Nabi (prophet) and rasul (messenger). Nabi is that person whom Allah Ta’ ala (the Almighty) has selected for the reformation of His slaves and has honored him with His Wahy (revelation), irrespective of whether He has given him a Book and a new Shari’ah (set of revealed rules and precepts) or He has appointed him to guide the followers of a previous Nabi according to a previous Nabi’s Book and Shari’ah, like Sayyidna Harun (عليه السلام) was appointed to guide and reform his followers according to the Book and Shari’ah of Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) . On the contrary, the word rasul (messenger) is used exclusively for a particular Nabi who has been given a Book and a new Shari’ah. As such Nabi is more general than Rasul.

So the meaning of this verse is that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، being the last of the prophets, has concluded the line of prophets and no prophet will come after him, irrespective of whether he is given a Book and a Shari’ah or he succeeds a previous Nabi to follow his Book and Shari’ah.

It is now very clear that all kinds of prophets appointed by Allah came to an end with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ; no prophet will be appointed after him.

Imam Ibn Kathir, in his Tafsir, says:

“This verse is the unambiguous proof of the belief that there would be no Nab’ after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and since there would be no Nabi , there is no question of there being any rasul after him because Nabi is a general term and rasul is particular. And this is the belief which is evidenced by mutawatir ahadith which have reached us through the reports of a very large number of the Noble Companions (رض) .”

The Literal explanation of this verse has been given here in considerable detail because one imposter by the name of Mirza Qadiyani, considering this verse to be a hindrance in his way, has distorted the meanings of the verse and has introduced a host of conjectures in its explanation. The foregoing, al-Hamdulillah, is a befitting reply.

The Issue of Termination of Prophethood

That the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was the last of the prophets who has sealed and thus terminated prophethood, and that no other prophet is to be appointed after him and every claimant to prophethood is a liar and an infidel are well-settled issues on which there has been complete unanimity and consensus right from the days of the noble companions upto the date. Therefore there was no need for a lengthy discussion on this subject. But the Qadiyani sect has put in a lot of effort to create doubts in the minds of Muslims on this issue; by publishing hundreds of pamphlets and books they have tried to misguide those Muslims who are not well versed in religious knowledge. So this humble author has written a book titled “Khatm-e-Nabuwwat” in which this issue has been fully detailed and clarified in the light of one hundred Qur’anic verses, more than two hundred ahadith and hundreds of dictum of the classic as well as later scholars and learned people; the Qadiyani deception and doubts created thereby have been fully refuted. Some important points from that book are being reproduced here.

The Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) Being the Last Prophet does not negate the descent of Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) in the last days

It is proved from many verses of the Qur’an and from mutawatir ahadith that in the last days before the doomsday, Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) would come into this world again, kill Dajjal (the Antichrist) and bring all misguidance to an end. The detailed proofs of this fact are given in my Arabic book ‘At-tasrih’. Mirza Qadiyani, denying the descent of Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) has proclaimed himself to be the predicted Masih with the reasoning that if reappearance of Sayyidna ` Isa Ibn Maryam (عليهما السلام) who was a prophet of Israelites, is accepted, then it would negate the Holy Prophet’s t being the last of the prophets.

The clear reply is that the Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) being the last prophet means that nobody would be appointed as a prophet after him; it does not imply that somebody who was appointed a prophet earlier would be dismissed from his prophethood or that such a prophet would not be able to return to this world. But, of course, the prophet who returns to this world for the reformation of the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) while maintaining his prophethood, would carry out the reforms in the Ummah in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، as clarified in authentic ahadith.

Imam Ibn Kathir, in explanation of this verse, has said:

“The Holy Prophet being the last of the prophets means that the office of prophethood stands terminated after him. No one would get this office after him. But it does not have any effect on the fact of the descent and reappearance of Sayyidna ` Isa (عليه السلام) in the last days on which there is a consensus of the whole Ummah and which is proved by a large number of ahadith that are almost mutawatir and by the Qur’an itself according to some interpretations, because he had been given prophethood before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .”

Distortion of the Meaning of Prophethood and invention of new kinds of Prophethood

This claimant of prophethood adopted a new trick to pave the way for his claim by inventing a new kind of prophethood which simply does not exist in Qur’an and Sunnah and neither is there any proof for it, but according to him this new kind of prophethood does not negate the decree of Qur’an regarding the termination of prophethood. Briefly, he has introduced in prophethood the concept of reincarnation, which is well known in Hinduism and other religions. His contention is that if a person is dyed in the color of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، by virtue of his complete obedience to him and by following his footsteps, his coming to this world is the coming of the Holy Prophet himself; such a person is in fact the shadow and incarnate demonstration of none else but the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Therefore, his claim does not negate the belief in the termination of prophethood after him.

But how can this invented kind of prophethood find its way to Islamic beliefs? There is no proof of it. Besides, the belief in termination of prophethood is a basic belief of Islam and as such it has been so thoroughly clarified by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) under different topics at various times that no imposter can distort it. The full details can be seen in this author’s book referred to earlier, but only some necessary proofs of this belief are being presented here.

Sahih of Bukhari, Sahih of Muslim and almost all books of Hadith have reported from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) with authentic chain of narrators that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said,

“The example of all the prophets before me and of myself is like a man has built a very strong and well decorated house in one corner wall of which space has been left vacant for one brick; people roam about in the home to see it and admire the construction but all of them say that why did not the builder put a brick in that space also which would have completed the construction. I am that last brick (of the palace of prophethood) ” and in some versions he said “I have filled up that vacant space and thus completed the palace of prophethood.”

The gist of this eloquent simile is that prophethood is like a grand palace composed of Prophets (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . This grand palace was complete in all respects before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) except for the placement of one brick. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) completed this grand palace by filling up that vacant space for one brick. Now there is no more space for any prophet or messenger. Even if it is supposed that there are other kinds of prophets and messengers, there is just no more space for them in the palace of prophethood.

In another Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) reported in Sahihs of Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad of Ahmad, etc., the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said:

“The politics and administration of Banu Isra’il was being handled by the prophets themselves. When one prophet expired, another prophet would take his place. And after me there is no prophet, but of course, there would be my khulafa’ (caliphs – successors) who would be numerous.”

This Hadith has made it clear that there would be no prophet after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and the education and instruction of the Ummah would be carried out by his Khulafa’. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has explicitly and clearly told us that there is no prophethood of any kind after him, otherwise he would have mentioned it in this Hadith where he has mentioned Khulafa’.

Sahih of Bukhari and Muslim have reported a Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah

“Nothing is left of prophethood except mubashshirat (true dreams ) “.

As reported in Musnad Ahmad, etc., Sayyidah Siddiqah ‘A’ ishah (رض) and Sayyidah Umm Kurz al- K’abiyyah (رض) have stated that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said:

“Nothing is left of prophethood after me except mubashshirat. The noble companions asked: 0 Holy Prophet ! What is mubashshirat? He replied, ‘True dreams that a Muslim sees himself or somebody else sees about him.”

This Hadith has so explicitly told that no kind of prophethood, either one with a new law or without it, either Zilli (shadowy) or Buruzi (incarnate), is possible after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ; people would only have mubashshirat (true dreams) through which they would find out a few things.

Musnad of Ahmad and Tirmidhi carry a narration of Sayyidna Anas Ibn Malik (رض) wherein the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said:

“No doubt risalah (messenger-ship) and nubuwwah (prophethood) stand terminated after me; after me there would neither be a rasul (messenger) nor a Nabi (prophet)

This Hadith has made it clear that prophethood even without a new law is simply not there after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) what to say of zilli or buruzi prophethood which are neither any form of prophethood nor are they recognized as such in Islam.

The objective is not to collect here all the ahadith pertaining to the issue of termination of prophethood; more than two hundred ahadith on this subject have been put together in my book “Khatm-e-Nabuwwat”. The objective, by quoting a few of them is to advise that the categories of zilli and buruzi prophethood invented by Mirth Qadiyani is without any basis or proof, and moreover the ahadith quoted above have told explicitly that there is no kind of of prophethood whatsoever left to come after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .

That is why, right from the days of the noble companions uptill today, all the schools of Muslim Ummah are unanimous on the belief that there cannot be any kind of Nabi or Rasul after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and whoever claims to be so is a liar and denier of the Qur’an and is a disbeliever. The first general consensus of the noble companions had evolved on this very issue as a result of which a holy war (jihad) was fought with Musaylimah, the liar, the false claimant of prophethood, during the period of the first Khalifah Sayyidna Abu Bakr (رض) in which he (Musailimah) and his followers were killed.

The dictums and clarifications of the past Imams and wise scholars of the Ummah are reproduced in considerable detail in the book “Khatm-e-Nabuwwat”, some of them are being copied here also.

Ibn Kathir, in his tafsir, writes under this verse:

“Allah Ta’ ala in this Book and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in successive ahadith has informed that there is no Nabi after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) so that people should know that whoever claims to be a prophet after him is a liar, a cheat, an imposter, a deviator who misguides others, no matter how many conjuring tricks he shows, magic spells he binds or talismanic wonders and sorceries he performs which are, in fact, sheer fallacies recognized as such by the people who have knowledge and understanding. Allah Ta’ ala had let such perverse acts and utterances manifested at the hands of Aswad Al-‘Ansi (claimant of prophethood) in Yemen and Musaylimah, the liar, (another claimant of prophethood) in Yamamah in a way that every intelligent and comprehending person, after hearing and seeing them, knew that both of them were liars and misguided. May Allah curse them. In the same way anyone who claims to be a prophet upto the Doomsday is a liar and an infidel and this stream of claimants of prophethood would end at Dajjal, the Anti-Christ.”

Imam Ghazzali, while explaining the above mentioned verse and discussing the belief in the termination of prophethood, has observed in his book ‘Al-Iqtisad fil I’tiqad’ الاقتصاد في الاعتقاد للغزالي (ص: 137) as follows,

“The entire Ummah has unanimously understood from these words and from circumstantial evidences that there will never be a prophet after him ever, nor will ever come a messenger of Allah. These words (of the verse) can neither be interpreted in any other sense, nor can their generality be restricted.”

Qadi ` Iyad in his book ‘Ash-shifa’, after declaring that a person who claims to prophethood after the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is a liar and an infidel who does not believe in this verse, has observed as follows:

“The Ummah holds by consensus that this discourse bears the obvious meaning and that this verse means what it says, without any other interpretation or any exception. Therefore, there is no doubt in the kufr (infidelity) of all those sects (who follow any claim out of prophethood) rather their kufr stands absolutely proved in view of the consensus of the Ummah and the express texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Commentary

Mentioned in the preceding verse was the incident of Sayyidna Zaid (رض) and Sayyidah Zainab (رض) and in relation to it the Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) being the last of the prophets has been stated in the context of directions for the respect and reverence of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and saving oneself from causing any pain to him.

Further on also, the perfect attributes of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) are going to be stated; his person and attributes are the greatest blessings for Muslims in this world. The instruction of remembering Allah in abundance is given in the above verse to show gratitude for those blessings.

Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) has stated that there is no form of worship except ذِکرُ اللہ dhikrullah (remembrance of Allah) for which Allah has not fixed a limit; for example, Salah is prescribed five times a day and the number of rak’ at are determined for each Salah; fasting throughout the month of Ramadan is determined, Hajj can be performed only at a particular place and at a particular time, Zakah is prescribed once a year at a particular rate. But dhikrullah is a form of worship for which there is no limit or defined quantity, no particular time or period, no defined posture or position, nor even the state of purity through ablution is required. Dhikrullah is required all the time, in all circumstances, whether one is traveling or is at home, whether one is healthy or ill, whether one is on land or at sea, whether it is day or night – dhikrullah is required all the time.

Therefore no excuse is acceptable for neglecting dhikrullah except that one may have lost his senses and become unconscious. In case of all forms of worship, other than dhikrullah, if one becomes unable due to illness or compelling circumstances, one is allowed reduction, brevity or exemption altogether, but in case of dhikrullah there are no extenuating circumstances. Therefore, no excuse is considered valid for omitting it and the merits, blessings and rewards for doing it are also numerous.

Imam Ahmad (رح) has reported from Sayyidna Abu ad-Darda’ (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said to the noble companions (رض) ‘Should I not tell you a thing that is better than all your deeds and is most acceptable to your Lord, and which would raise your grades, and is better than giving silver and gold in charity and alms and is also better than your embarking for Jihad wherein you face and kill the enemy and the enemy kills you? The noble companions (رض) asked the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) about that thing. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, ذِکرُ اللہِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ that is, remembrance of Allah, the Mightiest the Most Glorious”. (Ibn Kathir)

Imam Ahmad and Tirmidhi رحمهما الله also have reported that Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) said that he had heard a prayer from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) which he does never miss. It is the following:

“0 Allah make me so that I keep thanking You profusely, I keep obeying your instructions, I keep remembering You abundantly and I safeguard (to follow) your advice.” (Ibn Kathir)

Here the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has supplicated to Allah Ta’ ala for ability to engage in dhikrullah abundantly.

A Beduin said to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that the number of good deeds, obligations in Islam are many; so please tell me something concise and comprehensive which I could hold on to firmly. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) told him,

That your tongue remains always wet with the dhikr of Allah. (Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Kathir)

Sayyidna Abu Said (رض) has narrated that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said اُذکُرُو اللہَ تَعَالٰی حَتّٰی یقُولُوا مَجنُونُ “Remember Allah, the Almighty so much so that people start calling you crazy.” (Ibn Kathir from Musnad Ahmad)

And Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar (رض) has narrated that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said that a gathering of people wherein Allah is not mentioned would prove to be a matter of remorse on the Doomsday for those sitting therein. (Ahmad, Ibn Kathir)

وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَ‌ةً وَأَصِيلًا (“And proclaim His purity at morn and eve”. 33:42) Here morning and evening may, metaphorically, mean all the time. Alternatively, morning and evening have been mentioned specifically to lay emphasis on carrying out dhikrullah during these times and to indicate that it carries more blessings – otherwise dhikrullah is neither specified nor limited to any particular time.

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ (He is such that He and His angels send blessings to you. 33:43) It means that when you have become used to dhikrullah in abundance and have become regular in recounting the perfections of Allah morning and evening, Allah would honor you and respect you by bestowing His Blessings and by the angels supplicating for you.

The word ‘Salah’ has been used in this verse for Allah Ta’ ala as well as for the angels but the applicable meaning are different. For Allah it means His bestowing blessings, and for angels who have no volition on their own, it means their supplication to Allah to bestow His blessings.

Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) has stated that Salah from Allah is blessing, from angels it is prayer for forgiveness and from humans it is supplication. The word Salah carries all the three meanings.

تَحِيَّتُهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَهُ سَلَامٌ (Their greeting, the Day they will meet Him, will be, “Salam” – 33:44). This is the explanation of the Salah that is sent to believers from-Allah. It means that the day they would meet Allah, they will be respectfully addressed by Him with the word, ‘Salami i.e. (Assalamu ` alaykum) . The day of meeting Allah according to Imam Raghib, would be the Doomsday; some other leading exegetes say that it would be when they enter Paradise and they would receive Salam from Allah Ta’ ala as well as from the angels; and yet other scholars consider it to be the day of death when they would leave the whole world to be present before Allah as stated by Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud (رض) that when the Angel of Death goes to a believer to extract the spirit of life out of him, he gives him a message that his Lord has sent to him Salam. The word ‘meeting’ is true in all the three cases. Therefore there can be no objection or contradiction in the traditions, because Salam from Allah Ta’ ala is sent on all the three occasions.

Note

This verse has proved that when Muslims meet each other, their greeting should be assalamu ` alaykum whether from the older to the younger or from the younger to the older.

Special Attributes of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)

O prophet, We have sent you as a witness and a bearer of good news and a warner and as one who calls (people) towards Allah with His permission, and as a luminous lamp. (33:45-46)

The text here reverts to the special perfect attributes of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Five attributes have been mentioned here – ‘Shahid’, ‘mubashshir’, “nadhir’, da` i ila Allah’. ‘siraj munir’. ‘Shahid’ (a witness) means that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) will be a witness of the ummah on the Day of Judgment according to a hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri (رض) and reported by Bukhari, Nasa` i and Tirmidhi. It is mentioned in some parts of that Hadith that on the Day of Judgment when Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) will be presented before Allah, he will be asked whether he had conveyed Allah’s Message to his Ummah. He will reply that he did. Then his Ummah will be presented and they will deny having received any message of Allah. Then Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) will be asked whether he has any witness to his claim of having conveyed the message of truth, and he will reply that Muhammad and his Ummah are witnesses. Some narrations have it that he will present the Ummah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as witness and this Ummah will give evidence in his favour. At this, the Ummah of Sayyidna Nuh (عليه السلام) will argue ‘How can they, who were not even born at that time, give evidence in our case?’

Now the Ummah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) will be asked to substantiate their evidence and they will answer that no doubt they were not born at that time but they were told about it by their Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in whom they believe and trust. At this time the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) will be asked to give testimony regarding the veracity of his Ummah’s statement.

Briefly, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) through his testimony, will confirm and verify the statement of his Ummah that, of course, he had given them that news.

Another general meaning of being a witness for the Ummah may be that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) will give evidence about the good and bad deeds of all the individuals of his Ummah. And this evidence would be on the basis that the deeds of the Ummah are presented before the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) every morning and evening daily; some narrations state that the deeds are presented once a week. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) thus recognizes each and every individual of his Ummah by their deeds and as such he will be made witness for the Ummah on the Doomsday. (Ibn al-Mubarak from Sa’id Ibn al- Musayyab, Mazhari)

‘Mubashshshir’ means bearer of good news, and as such the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is the announcer of the good news of Paradise for the righteous people of his Ummah.

‘Nadhir’ means the one who warns; thus the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) also puts the fear of Allah’s punishment in the hearts of his Ummah in case they violate or disobey the injunctions of Shari’ah.

‘One who calls people to’ Allah’ means that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) calls his Ummah to believe in Allah’s Being, Oneness and obedience. The act of calling towards Allah has been qualified by the phrase ‘with His permission’. It means that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) calls and invites people towards Allah with His permission. This condition is an indication that preaching and inviting towards Allah are very difficult tasks which cannot be performed successfully without Allah” permission and help.

سِرَاج (Siraj) means lamp and مُنِير (‘Munir’ ) means luminous. The fifth attribute of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، has been stated that he is a luminous lamp, and some are of the view that ‘luminous lamp’ refers here to the Qur’an. But the context suggests that this is also an attribute of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .

Qadi Thana’ullah has stated in Tafsir Mazhari that “the Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) function of calling towards Allah pertains to his speech and outward acts, his attribute of being a ‘luminous lamp’ pertains to his blessed heart. Just as the sun illuminates the whole world, in the same way, the hearts of the faithful become illuminated by the radiant light of his heart. That is why the noble companions who were the beneficiaries of his company in this world are superior and more exalted than the whole of the Ummah, because their hearts were illuminated and graced by his heart directly; the rest of the Ummah received this radiant light indirectly through the noble companions and their successors and so on.”

It can also be said that all prophets, specially the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، after having passed away from this world are alive in their graves. Their life in barzakh (transition between death and the Day of Resurrection) is much more superior than the transit-life of common people, the reality of which is known to Allah Ta’ ala only. However due to this life, the hearts of all Muslims would keep on receiving the radiant light of his blessed heart, and the share of each individual would be in accordance with the intensity of love and reverence he has towards the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and the abundance of Salah (durud) he offers to him.

The radiant light of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been metaphorically described as a ‘lamp’, even though his inner radiance is far brighter than the sun. This is because the sun illuminates only the surface of the world, whereas his blessed heart illuminates the inside of the whole world and the hearts of the faithful. The reason for this simile appears to be that obtaining advantage from the light of a lamp is voluntary and available all the time easily, whereas approaching the sun is well-nigh impossible and its light is not available all the time.

The attributes of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، as stated in the Holy Qur’an, are also mentioned in Torah as reported by Imam Bukhari that Sayyidna ` Ata’ Ibn Yasar says that one day when I met Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Amr Ibn al-As (رض) asked him to tell me the attributes of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as stated in Torah. He said, “of course, I will tell you. By Allah! some of the attributes of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) mentioned in the Qur’an are also there in Torah” And then he quoted the following extract.

“0 Prophet! We have sent you as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, as a warner and as a refuge and protection for the illiterate Arabs. You are My slave and messenger. I have named you “mutawakkil’ (i.e. one who trusts in Allah). You are neither ill-tempered nor hard natured nor one who raises noise in the markets; you do not repay wickedness with wickedness, rather you forbear and forgive. Allah Ta’ ala would not recall you from the world till He has straightened out the crooked Ummah through you and they start saying ‘la ilaha illallah’. Allah would open up unseeing eyes, un-hearing ears and locked-up hearts through you”.

The Holy Qur’an, after attributing the above qualities to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، is asking him to carry on his functions, that is, to give the good news to the faithful that they are going to receive great bounties and mercy from Allah and not to obey the desires of the infidels and hypocrites. It was, though, not possible for the Holy Prophet obey the infidels and the hypocrites or to give up preaching and inviting people, yet there was a chance that, in order to avoid people’s sarcasm and taunts, he might have inclined to avoid marrying Sayyidah Zainab (رض) that was, in fact, a practical demonstration of the divine rule of Shari’ah. This has been alluded to as obeying the infidels and hypocrites. He was further directed not to mind any vexation that he may receive from the infidels and hypocrites (as he did) and also not to worry about physical harm afflicted by them, but in case such a thought crosses his mind, he was directed to trust in Allah, because Allah is enough to put all matters right – He will protect him from all harms, and if an apparent harm is caused during preaching, it is a gain in reality, and is not against the promise of protection and putting things right.

Commentary

Some attributes and the special eminence of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 الصحيحۃ (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 (رض) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . As such it is stated in ‘Ruh ul-Ma’ ani’ as a particularity of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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  صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم . Accordingly the nikah of Sayyidah Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah (رض) who was sent by the Roman Emperor Muqauqis as gift to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، because she did not migrate from Makkah.

Migration being the condition of lawfulness for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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

“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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . And at the end it is stated ‘ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَ‌جٌ which means that these injunctions have been made exclusive for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the Holy Qur’an has briefly mentioned the rule for Muslims in general:

“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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، were prescribed so that he does not face any difficulty. As for the restrictions and conditions imposed on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that he was exempted from observing equality between his wives but the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) always maintained equality between the blessed wives even after the revelation of this verse; he goes on to a Hadith from Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) ، with his own chain of narrators, which is also available in Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa` i, Abu Dawud etc.:

“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 (رض) and reported by Bukhari, if the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (رض) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (رض) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to observe equality among all the blessed wives (رض) 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:

“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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) for their criticism. But if the whole life of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is kept in view, even the Satan cannot find scope to cast doubts on the character of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (رض) ، he married Sayyidah Sawdah (رض) who was also a widow.

After migration to Madinah, at the age of fifty-four, in the second year of Hijrah, Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) 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 (رض) a few days after that, who expired a few months later. He married Sayyidah Umm Salamah (رض) 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 (رض) 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 (رض) 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 (رض) 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 (رض) would constitute a separate book. More than two hundred noble companions of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) were disciples of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) who learnt hadith, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and fatawa from her.

Another wisdom of bringing a number of the blessed wives (رض) to the house of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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’.

Seventh Injunction

(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 (رض) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (رض) has stated that Allah Ta’ ala has restricted the blessed wives (رض) exclusively to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in that they could not marry anybody after him. Similarly, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been restricted to the blessed wives in the sense that he could not marry any other women. Sayyidna ` Ikrimah (رض) 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 (رض) ، according to some narrations is that مِن بَعدِ “after this” means it is not lawful for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (رض) 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 (رض) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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 (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) 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.

Commentary

These verses have laid down some etiquettes and rules of Islamic social behavior. The reason for mentioning them in the context of the previous verses is that these rules were initially revealed for the Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) household and his wives, although their applicability is not specific or exclusive to him.

The First Injunction Etiquettes for hosts and guests

(0 those who believe, do not enter the houses of the Prophet, unless you are permitted for a meal, not (so early as) to wait for its preparation. But when you are invited, go inside. Then, once you have had the meal, then disperse, and (do) not (sit for long) being keen for a chat. This (conduct of yours) hurts the Prophet, but he feels shy of (telling) you (about it). And Allah is not shy of the truth). (33:53)

This verse has laid down three rules pertaining to a situation where a person is invited to have meal in someone’s house. These rules are applicable to all Muslims in general, but since they were prompted by an incident which took place in the house of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، therefore the Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) house has been mentioned in the text.

The first rule is: لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ “Do not enter the houses of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، unless you are permitted..”

The second etiquette is that despite invitation to dine and permission to enter the house, one should not enter the house so early as to wait for the meal’s preparation; rather he should go inside the house when he is invited to do so.

The third etiquette is that once the invitees have had the meal, they should disperse and should not sit for long being keen for a chat. This direction is restricted to the general cases where guests’ sitting for long after having the meal causes inconvenience to the host, either because the host wants to get busy with his own work, or because he has to serve meals to others after these guests. But where the practice and norm is that the guests remaining busy in conversation till late after they had their meals does not pose any problem for the hosts, as it has become customary in dinners and parties these days, this rule would not apply, because the next sentence of the verse has specifically highlighted the reason of this rule where it is said that this behavior brings discomfort to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . In the specific incident that was the cause of the revelation of this verse, the meals were served in the ladies apartments of the Holy Prophet t and the discomfort caused to the family members because of the guests staying till late is obvious.

The verse also states that although such behavior of the guests hurts the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، yet since they are his own guests, he feels shy of telling and educating them about it, but Allah Ta’ ala is not shy of telling them the truth.

The above sentence of the verse also tells us the extent to which a host is required to show respect and give honor and regard to his guests, because despite the fact that it was one of the obligations of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to teach people how they should behave when they are invited as guests, he postponed to teach his own guests this etiquette (lest they should feel disgraced) till Allah Ta’ ala Himself taught this etiquette in the Qur’an.

The Second Injunction – Hijab for Women

And when you ask anything from them (the blessed wives of the Prophet), ask them from behind a curtain. That is better for the purity of your hearts and their hearts. (33:53)

This rule has also been prompted by a particular incident involving the blessed wives (رض) ، but the rule is general for the whole Ummah. Briefly, the rule states that if non-mahram men have to ask anything of common use from women, they should ask them from behind a curtain – not face to face. The reason stated for this rule is that it is better for the purity of the hearts of both.

The special Importance of Women’s Hijab

It is worth noting here that the men and women who are the direct addressees of these rules of hijab are, on the one hand, the women who are the blessed wives (رض) of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) the purification of whose hearts has been undertaken by Allah Ta’ ala Himself as mentioned in the verse preceding the present one, and on the other hand they are the men who are the noble companions (رض) ، of the Holy Prophet t many of whom have been exalted even above angels. Despite all these credentials, hijab was deemed to be necessary between men and women for the purity of their hearts and to protect them from sensual scruples. Who can claim that his inner-self is purer than those of the noble companions             and the inner-selves of his women are purer than those of the blessed wives (رض) and thus believe that mixing of men and women would not have any bad consequences?

The Background of the revelation of these verses

Different incidents have been related by the commentators as the background for the revelation of the these verses. But there is no contradiction between these narrations, because it is likely that all these incidents combined together constitute the reason for the revelation. As for the first verse which lays down the etiquettes of guests, its background is mentioned by Sulayman Ibn Arqam, as reported by Ibn Abi Hatim, that it was revealed about some boorish people who would enter a house without being invited and keep waiting there for the preparation of a meal.

And Imam ` Abd Ibn Humaid has reported the statement of Sayyidna Anas (رض) that this verse was revealed about some people who would look for an opportunity to enter and sit in the Holy Prophet’s (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) house well before the time of dining, remain busy in conversation between themselves till the preparation of the meal and then would join the dining. These incidents took place before the injunction of hijab when men used to enter women’s apartments.

As for the second rule relating to the hijab of women, Imam Bukhari (رح) has cited two narrations about the reason for its revelation. One is narrated by Sayyidna Anas (رض) that Sayyidna ` Umar Ibn Khattab (رض) said to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، “0 Messenger of Allah! you are visited by all sorts of people, and as such it appears advisable that you order your blessed wives (رض) to observe Hijab”. At this, the verse of hijab was revealed.

Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim both have reported the following statement of Sayyidna ` Umar Ibn Khattab:

“My opinion appeared to be in consonance with my Lord in three things. One is that I asked the Holy Prophet to adopt the Station of Ibrahim (Maqam Ibrahim) as the place of your prayers (Salah). Then Allah Ta’ ala revealed the verse (And take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer). And I said to the Holy Prophet that all sorts of good and bad people appear before your blessed wives ; it would be better if you ask them to observe hijab. Then the verse of hijab was revealed. And when the blessed wives iii ~ of the Holy Prophet developed envy between themselves, I told them that if the Messenger of Allah divorces you, it is not unlikely that Allah Ta’ ala may provide him wives better than you. So Qur’an was revealed in the same very words.”

Sayyidna ` Umar’s (رض) respectful speech is worth noting that instead of saying that his Lord accorded with him in three things, he said that his opinion was found to be in consonance with Him in three things.

Another narration reported in Sahih of Bukhari, also from Sayyidna Anas  رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ is that he said:

“I know the facts about the verse of hijab more than anybody else, because I was present when Sayyidah Zainab hint Jahsh (رض) ، after her marriage with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، entered his house and was present in the house with him, when some of the people whom he had invited for walimah (the dining arranged after consummation of marriage) which he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had got prepared for them, just kept sitting there and talking. The narration in Tirmidhi adds that the Holy Prophet was also present there along with Sayyidah Zainab (رض) and she had turned her face towards the wall due to modesty. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was displeased by the people sitting there so long; he went out of the house to meet and greet other blessed wives (رض) . When he came back, they were still there. And then they realized and dispersed. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) entered the house, but came out after a little while. I was present there. He recited this verse of (hijab which had been revealed just at that time.

The narrations of Hadith mention these three incidents as the causes for the revelation of the verses of hijab. There is no contradiction between them, because possibly all the three incidents combined together constitute the cumulative cause of the revelation of these verses.

The Third Injunction

وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا رَ‌سُولَ اللَّـهِ وَلَا أَن تَنكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا (“And it is not allowed for you that you hurt Allah’s Messenger, nor that you ever marry his wives after him” ) (33:53)

The first part of this verse has declared all such utterances and actions unlawful (haram) which cause anguish or hurt to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Then it is laid down that no one can marry his blessed wives after him.

All the rules mentioned in this verse are though addressed to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) or his blessed wives (رض) ، their application is general for the whole Ummah, except this last rule which is specific to the blessed wives (رض) that they cannot marry any one after him, while the rule for the Ummah in general is that after the death of the husband, his wife can marry another person after the expiry of the period of ` iddah. The reason may be that according to Qur’an, the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) are mothers of the Muslims, and although their being mothers does not affect their spiritual offspring in the sense that, being brothers and sisters, they would not be able to marry each other, yet their motherhood was limited to their own-selves in the sense that they cannot marry anyone.

It may also be said that they Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is alive in his honored grave, his t expiry being like a husband missing from his home. That is why his inheritance was not distributed, and that is why his blessed wives (رض) were not in the same situation as that of the wives of common men after the death of their husbands.

Another reason for this injunction is that according to the rule of Shari` ah, every woman in Paradise would be with her last husband. Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) had told his wife at his death that if you wish to be my wife in Paradise, do not marry any one after me because in Paradise, a woman would go to her last husband. (Qurtubi)

So, the honor that Allah Ta` la had bestowed upon the blessed wives (رض) in this world was thus preserved for them in paradise also by forbidding their marriage to anyone after him.

Besides, no husband naturally likes that his wife should marry anyone, but for common people, the Shari` ah did not make it necessary to fulfill this desire. Allah Ta` ala, by respecting this natural desire of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) bestowed an exclusive honour upon him.

There is a consensus in the Ummah that the above rules apply to all the blessed wives (رض) ، who remained in the bond of marriage with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) till his expiry. However there are different views about whether or not this rule is applicable to those of his wives who were either divorced by him or who separated from him for some other reason. Qurtubi has detailed these views.

إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ عِندَ اللَّـهِ عَظِيمًا (Indeed, it would be an enormity in the sight of Allah – 53). It means that causing any harm to or to hurt the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in any way or to marry his wives after him would be an enormity in the eyes of Allah.

Injunctions of Hijab And the Islamic system for prevention of misdeeds

Immodesty, adultery and the overtures leading to them are some of those destructive evils of this world which do not only affect the individuals, but also ruin families and tribes, and sometimes destroy large countries as well. If the cases of murder and plunder in this world are thoroughly investigated, sexual emotions would be found behind the scenes. This is the reason that ever since this world came into existence, there has been no nation, religion or region that has not unanimously believed in the evil and destructive nature of these misdeeds.

The European nations in the present age, after doing away with the religions limits and breaking away from their ancient and entrenched customs and traditions, do not consider adultery a crime in itself and they have moulded their culture and society in such a fashion that sexual anarchy and immodest acts are permitted freely, but even they could not exclude the consequences of these evil acts from the list of the crimes – prostitution, rape and obscenities in public had to be declared punishable offences.

This is really comparable to somebody collecting inflammables, sprinkling oil on them, then setting them on fire and when it bursts into flames, then prohibiting the flames and taking measures to stop them. Another example would be to kindle a fire under a cooking pot and then try to stop it from steaming and boiling.

Islam, on the other hand, when declares some harmful acts as punishable offences, it also imposes restrictions on the overtures leading to them and declares them forbidden also. In the present case the real objective was to prevent adultery and fornication. So the start was made by the rule to keep one’s eyes down, by preventing free mixing of men and women, by directing women to stay inside the four walls of houses; by requiring women to cover their bodies from head to feet by means of a covering dress called’ burqa’ or simply by a longish shawl when they have to go out due to some need, and to walk on the side of the street and not to wear perfume or to wear a ‘ringing ornament when going out. If someone crosses all these limits, breaks all these barriers and defies all the restrictions to do what is forbidden, then the punishment is so severe and terrifying that once it is given to some adulterer or fornicator, the whole nation would learn an unforgettable lesson.

The Europeans and their camp-followers have put forward arguments justifying their obscenities by trying to prove the hijab for women to be harmful for the society in regard to women’s health, economic and social status and by trying to prove the benefits for women being without hijab. Their detailed rejoinder has been given by many modern scholars in their books. Here it would be adequate to understand that no crime or sin is devoid of some gain or benefit. Even stealing, robbery, cheating are very profitable in some respects. But when the destructive harms that take place as a result and consequence of these acts come to view, nobody dares to call them profitable businesses. The absence of hijab for women, even if it has economic gains, cannot be called beneficial by sensible and wise people when it engulfs the whole nation and the country in mischief and disorder.

The Golden Islamic Principle of Barring the Ways and Means for Prevention of Crimes in a moderate manner

Just as the basic principles of faith, like belief in the Oneness of Allah, the prophethood and in the life Hereafter are common the religious systems of all the prophets, similarly crimes, obscenities and evil deeds have been held unlawful (haram) in all revealed laws and divine religions. But in the previous religions and their laws, the ways and means which led to the violations were not declared absolutely unlawful in themselves, unless a crime or sin was committed through them. But since the Shari’ah of Islam has to be in force till the Doomsday, it has been safeguarded by Allah Ta’ ala specially in that not only the crimes and sins but even their causes and means that normally lead one to those crimes and sins have been declared unlawful themselves.

For example, when drinking was forbidden, the processing, selling purchasing and presentation of alcoholic drinks was also forbidden. Similarly when interest and usury was forbidden, then all affairs involving interest or resembling usury were also declared unlawful. That is why the Islamic jurists have declared all profits derived from invalid businesses to be filthy earning like interest. To associate any being with Allah Ta’ ala (Shirk) and idolatry have been declared by Qur’an to be the greatest injustice and unpardonable sins, so severe prohibitions have been placed on their causes and means also. Since the polytheists (mushrikin) used to worship the sun at sunrise, sunset and at midday, saying of prayers (Salah) in those particular times would bear a resemblance to sun worshipers and this resemblance itself could lead to ‘Shirk’, therefore the revealed laws declared even saying of prayers (Salah) and prostration (Sajdah) to be unlawful (Haram) in those times. Statues and pictures of idols are very close to idolatry, so sculpturing of idol’s statues and making of their pictures is forbidden and their usage is not permissible.

Similarly while forbidding adultery, all its immediate causes and means have also been declared unlawful by Shari’ah. To look at any boy or woman with sexual lust is held as a fornication through the eyes, to hear their speech with that intent is held as fornication through the ears, to touch them as fornication through the hands and to walk in their pursuit as fornication through the feet, as recorded in authentic Hadith. The injunctions of hijab for women were revealed to safeguard one against these very sins.

But there is a very long list of causes and means – immediate and distant. if even the distant causes of a sinful act are forbidden, life would become very difficult and considerable difficulty would be faced in carrying out day-to-day affairs which is against the nature of this religion. The Holy Qur’an’s open declaration in this matter is: مَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَ‌جٍ. It means that no difficulty has been placed on you in religion. Therefore, in the matter of causes and means, it was wisely decided that those acts and deeds which are such immediate causes of any sin that, generally, one who commits them does necessarily get involved in that sin, have been annexed with the real sin and forbidden as well. If one commits some acts and deeds that are distant causes of a sin and do not necessarily involve one generally in that sin, but they do have some share in the involvement in it, they have been declared reprehensible (makruh). Those causes which are even farther away from involving one in a sin, and which cause one’s involvement in very rare cases, they have been considered permissible.

An example of the first case is selling of alcoholic drinks which has been declared as unlawful as drinking itself, because it is an immediate means of drinking. Similarly touching a non-mahram woman, although not fornication in itself, but since it is an immediate cause and means for it, it has also been declared unlawful like the fornication is unlawful.

An example of the second case would be selling of grapes to a person about whom it is known that he would make wine out of the grapes, either because he is a wine maker by profession or because he has clearly said that this is his purpose for its purchase. This is not unlawful in the same way as selling of alcoholic drinks, but this is reprehensible and not permissible. The same rule applies to renting out land or building for a cinema house or an interest-based bank that if it was known at the time of finalizing the deal or contract that the purpose of living for rent is not permissible, then renting would be Makruh Tahrimi (reprehensible bordering on being unlawful).

An example of the third case would be selling of grapes to the common public. While it is possible that anyone of them might make wine out of the grapes, but neither has anyone said that he will do so, nor is it in the seller’s knowledge that anyone makes wine, such sale and purchase has been considered permissible under the rules.

Important Caution

It is important to note that all those acts and deeds which have been declared unlawful by the rules because they are immediate causes or means of involving one in sin, all of them are absolutely unlawful now after the injunction, irrespective of whether these acts involved one in sin or not; their being unlawful is itself a permanent rule of the religion and its violation is impermissible.

It is easier to understand, after this introductory explanation that hijab for women is also based upon this principle of barring the ways and means of a sin that leads to getting involved in sin. Here also the rules for the three categories of causes aforementioned would apply. For example, a young woman’s uncovering her body in front of a young man is such an immediate cause of commission of sin that as per general nature of men and women, this act would almost certainly lead to commission of sin. Therefore the rules declare it to be forbidden just as fornication is forbidden. Now that this act has been ruled to be the same as fornication, it is absolutely prohibited, even if the person involved is innocent or he is positive that he would not commit the further sin because he has control over himself. The exemption of the circumstances of necessity, medical treatment, etc., do not effect its being forbidden. Even the change of times and ages do not affect it because the rule is just as applicable today in these times of evil and adultery as it was in the first period of Islam.

The second category of the causes would be that women step out of the four walls of their houses wearing burqa’ (dress which covers from head to feet) or a longish shawl to cover their bodies completely from head to feet. This is a distant cause of fitnah (mischief). The rule in this case is that if doing so would cause fitnah, then it is not permissible but if there is no apprehension of fitnah in doing so, then it is permissible. Therefore this rule is subject to change depending upon circumstances and times. Such outings of women were not cause of mischief during the period of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . That is why he had given permission to women to go to mosques after having covered themselves completely from head to feet, subject to certain conditions and he had forbidden people from preventing women from going to mosques. Even at that time, although women were being persuaded to offer their prayers in their own homes, because, for them, the reward of offering prayers in their homes is greater than the reward of offering their prayers in mosques, but they were not disallowed from saying their prayers in mosques because there was no apprehension of fitnah. The noble companions, after the expiry of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، realized that going of women to mosques, even if they are covered from head to feet, was no longer free from apprehension of fitnah, so they evolved a consensus among themselves and stopped women from joining the congregation in mosques. Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) stated that if the Holy Prophet t could see the circumstances prevailing today, he would, most certainly, have stopped women from going to mosques. This tells us that the decision of the noble companions was no different from that of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، rather the rule itself changed according to the change in conditions as laid down by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .

The rules regarding Hijab for women have been stated in seven verses of the Holy Qur’an – three in Surah An-Nur earlier, four in Surah Al-Ahzab out of which one is mentioned earlier, the second is under review and the other two would come later, wherein the determination of the category of Hijab, details of the rules and the exemptions have been stated in detail. Similarly, in more than seventy ahadith of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the verbal and practical orders of Hijab have been stated. All these injunctions, rules and regulations have been collected by the author in a booklet titled “Tafsilul Khitab fi Tafsir ‘Ayat-il-hijab” in Arabic language, already published as a part of Surah Al-Ahzab in “Ahkam- ul Qur’an”, some important extracts of which are being reproduced below.

The Advent of Hijab in Historical Perspective

Free mixing among men and women has never been considered appropriate in the entire history of the world from Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) to the last prophet, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، and it is no peculiarity of the people following religious codes; in fact, such mixing has not been held as proper in good families universally.

At the time when Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) was traveling through Madyan, two women are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an who were standing aside, holding their flock of goats while waiting for their turn to take these to the water trough. The reason given for this is no other but that these women did not like to push and shove into the crowd of men, instead, preferred to remain content with whatever water was left. The first verse of Hijab was revealed at the time of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) . Even before its revelation, a narration appearing in the Jami’ of Tirmidhi describes the position in which she was sitting in the house: وَ ھِیَ مُوَلِّیَۃُ وَجھِھَا اِلَی الحَآیٔطِ (and she was [ sitting ] with her face turned towards the wall).

This tells us that, even before the revelation relating to Hijab, the custom of free mixing among men and women, no-holds-barred dates, rendezvous, get-togethers and chats did not exist among good people anywhere. The First Age of Ignorance marked by personal display (tabarruj) by its women referred to in the Qur’an was something peculiar to bondwomen and women of loose character – certainly, not in good families of Arabia. They saw it as low and reprehensible. The whole history of Arabia bears testimony to this. In India, among the adherents of Hindu, Buddhist and other polytheistic faiths, free mixing between men and women was not tolerated.

All those claims of working with men shoulder to shoulder, parading in bazaars and streets, free mixing of men and women in almost every department of life and the chain of intimate contacts in parties and clubs are the product of immodesty and obscenity among Europeans – a disease they too have been afflicted with after having veered away from their past. In those earlier days of theirs, they too were no victims of this situation they are in. Allah Ta’ ala has created women physically different from men. Similarly, He has also placed in their temperaments the essential ingredient of natural modesty which automatically inclines them to maintain a certain aloofness from the general run of men and to remain properly covered. This screen of natural and temperamental modesty has always been present there between women and men since the very beginning. In the early period of Islam too, the mutually imposed absence of free mixing – a forerunner of the Hijab – was of this very nature.

The particularly kind of Hijab of women – that the real place for women be within the walls of the home and when they have to go out to take care of a need valid in the sight of the Shariah, then, they go out after having covered their whole body – was instituted after the Hijrah to Madinah in the Hijrah year 5. Relevant details follow.

By a consensus of the scholars of Muslim Ummah, the first verse about this kind of Hijab is the one mentioned above: لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ (do not enter the houses of the Prophet – 53) and this verse was revealed at the time of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab bint Jahsh (رض) and her entry into the home of the prophet as his blessed wife. As for the date of this marriage, Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Isabah and Ibn ` Abd-ul-Barr in Isti` ab have reported two sayings that it took place in the Hijrah year 3, or in the Hijrah year 5. Ibn Kathir has preferred Hijrah year 5. Ibn Sa’d has reported Hijrah year 5 also from Sayyidna Anas (رض) ، This very view seems to be the preferred one from some narrations of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) as well. And Allah knows best.

In the cited verse, women were ordered to observe Hijab and men were ordered to ask from them, if they have to ask for something, from behind the Hijab. Here, particular emphasis has been placed on the observation of Hijab in the sense that non-mahram men and women have to remain apart, however, should there be the need to talk to women, men could do so from behind a Hijab, curtain or something that obstructs the view.

Revealed in the noble Qur’an there are seven verses about the Hijab of women and its details. Out of these, four have gone by right here in Surah Al-Ahzab while three of them have already appeared in Surah An-Nur. It is universally agreed upon that the first verse to have been revealed about Hijab is this very verse: لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ (Do not enter the houses of the prophet, unless you are permitted for a meal – 53). The three verses of Surah An-Nar and the initial verse of Surah Al-Ahzab where the blessed wives have been commanded to stay in their homes though appear earlier in the order of the Qur’an, yet in terms of their revelation, they come later. It has been explicitly said in the initial verse of Surah Al-Ahzab that the said command has been given at a time when the blessed wives were divinely given the right to choose one of the following two courses. If they wanted to have extended worldly means, they should take a divorce from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، and if they preferred the benefits of the Hereafter and were willing to remain satisfied with whatever worldly means were available to them in their present state of life, then, they could stay married to him.

It has also been mentioned in this event of choice that, among the wives given this choice, Sayyidah Zainab hint Jahsh (رض) was also included. This tells us that her marriage was already solemnized before the revelation of this verse. The said verse came after that. Similarly, there are the verses of Surah An-Nur that carry details relating to Hijab. These are, though earlier in the order of the Qur’an, but in terms of their sequence of revelation, they too have been revealed with the incident of Ilk which came to pass on return from the battle of Bani al-Mustaliq or Muraisi’. This battle took place in the Hijrah year 6 – and the injunctions governing the Islamic legal Hijab came to be enforced from the time when the verse of Hijab was revealed in relevance to the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) .

The difference between the injunctions of Satr-ul-` Awrah and Veiling of Women (Hijab)

The part of the body, of a man or woman, called ` awrah in Arabic, satr (سَتَر) in Urdu and Persian is something the concealing of which is obligatory for everyone – legally, naturally and rationally – and is, after the initial article of Faith (‘Iman), the foremost obligation which must be carried out necessarily by concealing the private parts of the body. This duty has remained an obligation since the very beginning and has been a standing obligation in all religious codes brought by the noble prophets (عليهم السلام) In fact, even before the advent of religious codes when, because of the tasting of the forbidden fruit in Jannah, the Paradisiacal apparel of Sayyidna ‘Adam and Sayyidah Hawwa’ (علیہما السلام) came off leaving the cover-worthy parts of the body uncovered, even in that situation which was beyond his control, Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) did not take it as permissible. Therefore, both of them, Sayyidna ‘Adam and Sayyidah Hawwa’ (عليهماا السلام) ، covered their private parts by placing a string of leaves over them. Thus, their ` awrah came to be concealed. This is what is meant by the verse of the Qur’an: طَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَ‌قِ الْجَنَّةِ (and they began to patch together upon themselves some leaves of Paradise – 7:22).

From the coming of Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) into this world right up to the last of the prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، the concealment of ` awrah has remained obligatory in the religious code of every prophet. There could be a difference in the precise determination and limitation of body parts to be concealed, but the essential obligation of satr is decisively established in all religious codes of the prophets. Then, this obligation applies to all human beings, men and women, in its own right – whether nor not there be someone else to see. For this reason, should there be a person who offers his Salah in naked state in the darkness of night -then, despite the fact that nobody is seeing him, his Salah will not be acceptable, if he does have with him something to wear that is sufficient to cover the private parts of his body (Satr) – (Al-Bahr- ur-Ra’iq).

There is no difference of opinion in the fact that it is obligatory to cover those parts of the body which are included in ‘awrah’ before people, even when one is not performing Salah. But, in a state of privacy where no one is around to look, even there, it is not permissible, according to the correct view, to sit naked with one’s coverable parts (` awrah) exposed without a need recognized by the Shari` ah, (A1-Bahr from Sharh al-Munyah).

This much was about the injunction of satr-ul-‘awrah (the concealment of the coverable parts of the body) which has been obligatory from the advent of Islam, rather, from the very beginning, in all religious codes of the noble prophets, and in which, men and women are equal, equal in private and in public, just as it is not permissible to be naked before people, it is also not permissible to stay unnecessarily naked when alone or in private.

The second issue – the Hijab of women

Hijab essentially requires that women do not appear before male strangers without proper cover. About this issue, at least this much has always remained established among prophets and the righteous and noble persons that there should be no free mixing between male strangers and women. In the incident about the two daughters of Sayyidna Shu’aib (عليه السلام) it is mentioned in the Qur’an (Surah Al-Qasas, 28:23, Part 20) that when the girls went to water their goats on the public well in the locality, they found it crowded with people who were watering their own flocks. It appears in the Qur’an that these girls were standing aside, aloof from them. Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) ، who was passing by as a traveler, saw the girls standing so aloof from others. When he asked them about the reason for it, they told him two things:

1. ‘Right now, there is a crowd of men out there. We shall water our goats when these people will have finished watering gone’.
2. ‘Our father is old and weak’ which indicates that coming out to water domestic animals was not the job of women in terms of the commonly recognized practice. But, it was because of the old age and weakness of the father, or because of the absence of any other man around, they had to do this job.

This state of the daughters of Sayyidna Shu’aib (عليه السلام) pointed out in the noble Qur’an tells us that, even during that time and in their religious code too, free mixing of men and women and their working together shoulder to shoulder was not liked. In fact, any job which caused free contact with men was just not entrusted with women. However, keeping this whole thing in view, it appears that the injunction requiring women to observe regular Hijab was yet to be enforced formally. Similarly, during the early period of Islam, the same situation kept prevailing. It was in the Hijrah year 3 or 5 that women were obligated with the observance of Hijab before male strangers, the details of which appear later.

Now we know that the satr of ` awrah and the Hijab of women are two separate issues and different from each other. Satr-ul-‘awrah (concealment of coverable parts) has always been obligatory. The Hijab of women was made obligatory in the Hijrah year 5. Satr-ul-‘awrah is obligatory on men and women both while Hijab is obligatory on women only. Satr-ul-‘awrah is obligatory both in public and in private while Hijab is obligatory only in the presence of male strangers. These details have been provided for the reason that by the jumbling of both these issues so many doubts rise impeding the understanding of the rulings and injunctions of the Qur’an. For example, the face and the palms of a woman are excluded from Satr-ul-‘awrah under the authority of consensus (ijma). Therefore, should the face and palms remain uncovered in the state of Salah, the Salah is permissible, as agreed upon and as borne by consensus. As for face and palms, these are exempt in accordance with definitive textual authority. The feet have been exempted by Muslim jurists on the analogy of face and palms.

But, whether or not the face and palms are exempted in the observance of Hijab before male strangers is a matter in which difference exists, details of which have appeared earlier under the commentary on the verse of Surah An-Nur: (and must not expose their adornment except that which appears thereof – 24:31), a summary of which will follow later.

The degrees of Islamic legal Hijab and the injunctions relating to them

The sum of seven verses of the Qur’an and seventy narrations of Hadith about the Hijab of women seems to be that the real objective desirable in the sight of the Shari’ah is Hijab-ul-ashkhas i.e. physical hiding of women from strangers. In other words, women and their movement should remain hidden from the sight of men, something that can be accomplished by means of the four walls of homes or tents or hanging curtains. All forms of Hijab allowed other than this are all restricted by or conditional with the ground of need, time of need and measure of need.

Thus, the first degree of Hijab – which is the really desired objective of the Shari’ah – is that women stay in their homes. But, the Shari` ah of Islam is a comprehensive and complete social system in which full consideration has been given to all human needs. Then, it is all too obvious that women will face inevitable circumstances when they have to go out of the house at some or the other time. For this purpose, the second degree of Hijab, in the light of the Qur’an, and Sunnah, seems to be that they should go out wearing a burqa’ or long shawl concealing their whole body. To see their way, they leave only one eye open from inside the sheet, or use a patch of net before the eyes as is placed in a burqa’ for this purpose. On occasions of need, this second degree of Hijab too – like the first one – is agreed upon among all Muslim scholars and jurists.

From some narrations of Hadith, there seems to emerge a third degree of Hijab as well – in which the views of Sahabah, the Tabi’in and the jurists of Muslim community differ – according to which women, when they go out from the house, of necessity, they can let their face and palm remain open before people subject to the condition that their entire body is concealed. A detailed description of these three degrees of Islamic legal Hijab follows.

The first degree of Hijab from people by virtue of staying home

According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, this degree is the one really desired. It stands clearly proved by the verse of Surah Al-Ahzab under study right now: وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَ‌اءِ حِجَابٍ And when you ask anything from them (the blessed wives of the Prophet), ask them from behind a curtain – 53`.’ Still more explicit is the very initial verse of Surah Al-Ahzab, that is: وَقَرْ‌نَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ (And remain in your homes.) The manner in which the Holy Prophet put the guidance given in these verses into practice hardly leaves room for any further explanation.

We have already come to know that the first verse about the Hijab of women was revealed at the time of the marriage of Sayyidah Zainab (رض) . As in the narrations of Hadith, Sayyidna Anas (رض) said, “I know this event of Hijab more than anyone else for the reason that, at that time, I was present in the company of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . When this verse requiring the observance of Hijab was revealed, he put a sort of make-shift curtain from a sheet and had thus made Sayyidah Zainab (رض) seated hidden behind it – not that he would conceal her personally in a burqa` or long sheet.

The event relating to Sayyidna ` Umar Ibn Khattab (رض) عنہ      appearing under the Background of Revelation described earlier also seems to indicate that Sayyidna ` Umar (رض) عنہ     simply wished that the blessed wives stay inside, away from the sight of men – as is evident from the words he used on this occasion: يَدخُلُ عَلَيکَ البِرُّ وَ الفَاجِرُ (among those coming to you there are [ all sorts of people ] the righteous and the sinning).

According to a narration of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) appearing in the chapter of the battle of Mutah in the Sahih of al-Bukhari, when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was informed of the Shahadah (martyrdom) of Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah, Ja’far and ` Abdullah Ibn Rawahah (رض) ، he was in the Masjid. His blessed face showed signs of intense grief and shock. I was watching what was happening there from inside my room through a crack in the door.

This proves that, the Ummul-Mu’minin, even at the time of such a shocking occurrence, did not come out in a burqa’ to join the crowd of people, instead, witnessed the proceedings from a crack in the door.

And in the chapter on ` Umratul-Qada’ in Kitab- ul-Maghazi of the Sahib of al-Bukhari, it appears that the nephew of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) ، Sayyidna ` Urwah Ibn Zubayr (رض) ، and Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (رض) were sitting in the Mosque of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) fairly close to the outer side of the living quarters of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) and were busy talking about the ` Umra visits of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar (رض) says that, during that time, we could hear the voice of Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) doing her miswak and clearing her throat coming out from inside the living quarters. Onward from here, mentioned there are the ‘Umra visits of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . From this narration too, we learn that soon after the revelation of the verses of Hijab, it had become the regular practice of the blessed wives that they would observe Hijab virtually by staying at home.

Similarly, there is a Hadith in the chapter on the battle of Ta’if in the Sahih of al-Bukhari saying that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) gargled in a utensil of water and gave it to Sayyidna Abu Musa and Bilal to drink and wipe their faces with. Ummul-Mu’minin, Sayyidah Umm Salamah (رض) was watching this incident from behind a curtain. She called the two blessed souls from inside the curtain asking them to spare a little from that tabarruk for their mother (meaning for herself).

This Hadith too testifies that soon after the revelation of the order of Hijab, the blessed wives used to stay inside homes and behind curtains.

Special Note

Also noteworthy in this narration is the fact that even the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) were fond of his tabarrukat (plural of tabarruk meaning something blessed) just like other Muslims. This too is a singularity of his sanctified person alone, otherwise, the informal relationship a husband has with his wife would have made it habitually impossible to maintain this degree of reverence.

And according to a narration of Sayyidna Anas (رض) in Kita-b-ul-‘Adab of the Sahih of al-Bukhari, he and Sayyidna Abu Talhah (رض) were once going somewhere with the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . He was riding a camel. Ummul-Mu’minin, Sayyidah Safiyyah (رض) was also riding with him. En route, the camel stumbled all of a sudden and, according to the report of Sayyidna Abu Talhah (رض) ، when he and Sayyidah Safiyyah (رض) fell down from the back of the camel, Abu Talhah (رض) presented himself before him and submitted, ‘May Allah accept me as ransom for you, are you hurt?’ He said, ‘No, you take care of the woman.’ The first thing Sayyidna Abu Talhah (رض) did was to hide his face with a piece of cloth, then he reached Sayyidah Safiyyah (رض) and threw a sheet of cloth over her after which she stood up. Then, in the same manner, keeping her hidden behind proper cover, he had her mount her camel.

In this event too which came suddenly in the form of an accident, there is a lesson. It provides testimony to the fact that the noble Sahabah and the blessed wives gave great importance to the matter of Hijab. The attention paid and the care and concern shown in this incident hardly leave any room for further explanations.

A Hadith of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud (رض) in Jami’ of Tirmidhi reports that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said:

When a woman comes out (of her house), the Shaytan marks her out (that is, makes her a means of spreading evil among Muslims) – (Tirmidhi has termed this Hadith as hasan, sahih, gharib’ ).

And Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban have also reported the following additional words in this Hadith: وَ اَقرَبُ مَا تَکُونُ مِن وَّجہِ رَبِّھَا وَ ھِيَ فِي قَعرِ بَيتِھَا (And [ a woman ] is closer to her Rabb [ Lord ] when she is [ hidden ] in the midmost [ section ] of her house.

Present in this Hadith too is the evidence of the fact that the real thing for women is no other but that they stay in their homes and do not go out (occasions of need remaining an exception).

And in a Hadith; the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said: لیسَ لِلنِّسآءَ نَصِیبُ فِی الخُرُوجِ (For women, there is no share in going out except when inevitable) – reported by Tabarani, as quoted by Kanz, p. 283, v. 8)

And says a narration from Sayyidna ` Ali: (رض) Once I was present in the company of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . He asked the noble Sahabah اَیُّ شَیءِ خَيرُ لِلمَرأۃِ What is better for women? The Sahabah kept silent. They said nothing in response. Later, when I went home, I repeated the same question before Fatimah (رض) . She said, لَآيرَينَ الرِّجال وَ لَا يَرَونَھُنَّ [ that is, it is better for women that ] ‘neither they see men, nor are seen by them.’ When I reported the answer given by her to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، he said, صَدَقتُ اِنَّھَا بِضعَۃُ مِنِّی (She said it right. Of course, she is a part of me).

The reason why Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) was left behind in the wilderness during the event of Ifk was no other but that the Hijab of the blessed wives was not simply restricted to the burqa’ or long sheet, in fact, even while traveling, they used to be in their camel-litter (shughduf or hawdaj). This shughduf itself was mounted on the camel and was dismounted as such. A shughduf is like a miniature roomette for the traveler. During the course of this event, when the caravan started leaving, the attendants following their usual practice mounted the shughduf on the back of the camel assuming that the Ummul-Mu’minin (رض) was already in there. But, the truth of the matter was that she was not there in it, rather, had gone out of it for physical relief. It was in this misunderstanding that the caravan departed and the Ummul-Mu’minin (رض) was left behind in the wilderness.

This event too is a strong evidence of the fact that the sense of Islamic legal Hijab as understood by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and his blessed wives was but that women stay in their homes and, if traveling, in their shughduf (camel-litter), their presence was not to be exposed before men. Then, this was the care and concern shown regarding the observance of Hijab from men in the state of travel. From this, one can imagine the level of importance of Hijab when a woman is in her normal residence.

The second degree of Hijab with burqa’

On occasions of need, when a woman has to go out of her house, she is required to be covered up from the head to the feet in some burqa’ or long sheet in a manner that no part of the body is left exposed. This has its proof in the verse (59) of Surah Al-Ahzab that is coming up a little later:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ (0 prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they should draw down their shawls over them – 33:59). The original word used by the Qur’an for ‘shawls’ is jilbab (plural: jalabib) which is a long sheet in which a woman gets to be hidden from the head to the feet. (This has been reported from Sayyidaa Ibn ` Abbas (رض)

Ibn Jarir has, citing his own chains of authority, has reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas (رض) the manner in which a jilbab is used, that is, a woman should be wrapped therein, from the head to the feet, and that her face and nose too be hidden behind it – leaving only one eye uncovered to see the way. A detailed explanation of this verse will appear later. Here, the only purpose is to point out that, on occasion of need, when a woman has to go out of the house, then, she has to opt for this degree of Hijab, that is, she be covered up with a jilbab or something similar from the head to the feet, and that her face too – with the exception of one eye – be hidden.

This form too is permissible on occasions of need in accordance with the consensus of the jurists of the Muslim community. But, there are Sahib (sound) ahadith where some restrictions have been placed even on the choice of this form, for example, she should not be wearing perfume, or ringing ornaments, and that she should walk on the side of the street and that she should not enter a crowd of men.

The third degree of Islamic legal Hijab about which jurists differ

The third degree of Hijab is that the whole body of the woman is hidden from the head to the feet, but the face and palms remain open. The question whether this degree of Hijab (where face and palms are exposed) is permissible has been a matter of difference of opinion between Muslim jurists which has emerged from different interpretations of the wordsإِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ‌ (except that which is open) occurring in Surah An-Nur (24:31) Some commentators have interpreted these words to mean the face and palms, and therefore they have exempted them from Hijab, and have held that it is permissible to leave them open. (as reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) . But there are others among them who take the expression to mean burqa’, jilbab etc. These commentators hold it impermissible to expose face and palms. (as reported by Sayyidna Ibn Mas` ud (رض) . But, even according to those who have called it permissible, the permissibility is subject to the condition that there should be no apprehension of fitnah (situation resulting in some evil consequence). Since the face of a woman is at the center of her beauty and embellishment, therefore, the absence of any apprehension of fitnah is a rare likelihood. Ultimately, for this reason, under normal conditions, opening the face etc. is not permissible even according to the first group of commentators.

Three Imams – Malik, Shafi` i and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal – out of the four took to the strict position and held it absolutely impermissible to expose face and palms, whether or not there is an apprehension of fitnah. As for Imam Abu Hanifah, he has, though, taken a different view, yet he has subjected it to the condition that there is no apprehension of fitnah, and since this condition remains customarily missing, therefore, Hanafi jurists too have not permitted the opening of the face and palms before non-Mahrams.

The citations regarding the views of the four Imams have been given in detail with reference to authentic books of these schools in this humble writer’s treatise entitled Tafsil-ul-Khitab, published as part of the major work on Ahkam-ul-Qur’ an. Since the original ruling of the Hanafi jurists opts for the exemption of the face and palms from Hijab, therefore, a few citations of the Hanafi jurists are being given here in which it is mentioned that, due to the apprehension of fitnah, exposing face and palms is forbidden :

“Let it be understood that there is no incumbency between the non-cover-worthiness of a certain part of the body and the permissibility of looking at it, because the permissibility of looking at it depends on there being no apprehension of sexual desire – although, that part of the body is not included under ‘awrah (that which is coverable). For this reason, casting a look at the face of a female stranger (non-Mahram woman) or at the face of a beardless boy is forbidden when there is no doubt about the emergence of any sexual desire, although, the face is not included under ‘awrah (that which has to be hidden).” (Fath-ul Qadir, page 181, volume 1)

From this observation of Fath-ul-Qadir, we also come to know the exact meaning of the ‘apprehension of sexual desire’ i.e. for all practical purposes, though there may not exist any actual desire, but one may have a reasonable apprehension that such a desire will develop by looking at the face, it will be included in the fitnah. When such a doubt does exist, then, it is forbidden to look not only at the face of female strangers, rather, even at the face of beardless boys. In addition to that, another explanation of the ‘apprehension of sexual desire’ appears in Jami’ ar-Rumuz where it is said: ‘It means that one’s inner self is inclined to be close to her.’ It is obvious that the absence of such a degree of inclination was rare even during the time of the early forbears of Islam (salaf (. That the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، when he saw Sayyidna Fadl (رض) looking at a woman, had turned his face to the other side with his own blessed hands is mentioned in Hadith and is a clear proof of it. So, in this age infested with all sorts of corruption, who can claim to be immune to this apprehension?

And Imam Sarakhsi, the famous Hanafi scholar, has concluded his detailed discussion on the issue by saying:

And all this (the permissibility of looking at the face and palms) is restricted to a situation where one does not look at a woman with sexual desire. And if the person doing it knows that his looking at the face of a woman may motivate sexual inclinations, then, it is not lawful for him to cast a look towards any part of her body. (Mabsut, page 152, volume 10)

And in Kitab-ul-Karahiyah of Radd-ul-Muhtar, ` Allamah Shami has said:

“If there exists an apprehension or doubt of sexual desire, looking at her will stand forbidden, because the lawfulness of looking is tied up with the absence of sexual desire, and when this condition is missing, it will be haram (forbidden) – and this is how it was during the time of the early forbears of Islam (salaf (. But, as for our time, looking at women stands prohibited in an absolute sense – unless looking is needed for a valid reason recognized by the Shari’ ah, such as, in the case of a judge or witness who have to give a verdict or evidence.” And in Shurut-us-Salah, the author has further observed, “A young woman is prohibited from leaving her face open before (non-Mahram) men not because the face is included in the ‘awrah, but because of the apprehension of fitnah.”

The gist of this debate and difference among jurists is that Imam Shafi` i, Imam Malik and Imam Alhmad Ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on them, have held the act of glancing at young women as prohibited absolutely, because it is usually a cause of fitnah, even though in a particular case it does not cause fitnah in actual terms. This approach has many precedents in Shari` ah. For instance, since traveling is usually a cause of difficulties, therefore, traveling itself has been held as a ‘difficulty’ for allowing concessions meant for difficult situations; thus a person may enjoy all concessions in Salah and fasting etc. when traveling, even if he does not face any difficulty during his journey and finds it more comfortable than his home. Similarly, since one is unconscious while asleep and wind would pass usually, therefore, sleep itself has been taken by the Shari` ah as passing of wind, and it is held that every sleep invalidates wudu’, whether or not wind has passed in reality.

But, Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) did not hold the exposure of a woman’s face and palms as fitnah in itself. Instead of that, he subjected the prohibition to the existence of fitnah in actual terms. In other words, this would be a situation in which there exists the apprehension or the probability of being attracted towards the woman seeking nearness to her. If so, it would stand prohibited; where this probability does not exist, it will be permissible. But, as we already know, the absence of such probability in this time of ours is absolutely rare. Therefore, the Hanafi jurists of later days, too, ultimately gave the same ruling given by the other three Imams, that is, it is prohibited to look even at the face and palms of a young woman.

Now the outcome of this presentation is that, by a consensus of the four Imams, this third degree of Islamic legal Hijab, which stipulated that a woman appears before men after having covered her whole body in a burqa’ or sheet etc., but leaving her face and palms exposed, stands prohibited. Therefore, what remains now of Hijab is no more than its first two degrees. One of these is the real objective, that is, women remain inside their homes and do not go out without need. The other is going outcovered with burqa’ or sheet on the basis of need, only at a time of need and to the extent of need.

Ruling

In the injunctions of Hijab mentioned above, there are some exceptions . For example, some males identified as Mahrams are exempted from Hijab and very old women too are somewhat exempted from the purview of the common injunction of Hijab. Some of its related detail has appeared in the commentary on Surah An-Nur. (Ma` ariful-Quran, volume vi) Some of it will appear later in the verses of Surah Al-Ahzab where this exemption finds mention.

In view of the importance of the issue of Hijab, we have reproduced a few essential points from our treatise entitled Tafsil-ul-Khitab fi Ahkam-il-Hijab, something sufficient for common readers. Should someone be interested in an exhaustive treatment of the subject, it could be seen in the treatise under reference. This treatise has been published in Ahkam-ul-Qur’n under the section dealing with the TafsIr of Surah Al-Ahzab. (And Allah, the Pure, the High, knows best).

إِن تُبْدُوا شَيْئًا أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا (If you disclose any thing, or conceal it, Allah is All-Knowing about everything – 33:54). It has been repeated again in this verse that Allah Ta’ ala knows even the intents and thoughts hidden in the hearts. So whether you disclose or conceal, Allah Ta’ ala knows it all. What is being emphasized here is that one should not let any doubt or suspicion enter one’s mind or heart about the above-stated rules, and must avoid any violation of these rules.

The issue of Hijab for women, out of the three injunctions in the above mentioned verse, needs some further elaboration which is being given below.

Commentary

In verses previous to this, some peculiarities and distinctions of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) were mentioned as an adjunct to which the command to observe Hijab was revealed while some injunctions of Hijab will also appear later on. In between, the present verse contains a command to do something for which all these peculiarities and distinctions have been instituted in his blessed person, that is, the recognition and expression of the greatness of the station of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) as well as an invitation to imbibe into one’s own self the virtues of reverence, love and obedience for him.

The real purpose of the verse was to obligate Muslims to send Salah (durood) and Salam upon the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . But the command was given in a manner that, first of all, Allah Ta’ala pointed out that He Himself and His angels perform the act of Salah for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . After that, common Muslims were ordered to follow suit. By doing so, it is indicated that the station of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is so high that the act asked to be done by common Muslims in his respect is something already done by Allah Ta’ ala Himself as well as angels with Him. Now then, common believers who are indebted to so many favours done to them by as their noble Prophet should certainly give high priority to making this act their essential concern. Then there is yet another good outcome of this modality of expression. It proves the great merit accredited to Muslims who send Salah and Salam as Allah Ta’ala makes them share in doing what Allah Ta’ ala Himself does and so do His angels.

The Meaning of Salah (durood) and Salam

The word: صَلوٰۃ (Salah) is used in the Arabic language to convey the sense of: Mercy (rahmah), prayer (du a’ ) and praise (madh مدح and ثناء thana’ ). The Salah attributed to Allah Ta’ala in the cited verse means His sending of mercy, but Salah from the angels denotes their prayer for him, and the sense of Salah (durood) from common believers is a combination of dua’ (prayer) and thana’ (praise). Most commentators have given these very meanings and Imam Al-Bukhari has reported from Abu-l-` Aliyah that the Salah of Allah Ta’ ala means the honor accorded to him and the praise showered on him before the angels. As for the honor bestowed on him by Allah Ta’ ala within this mortal world, it translates as the high rank he was blessed with when, on many an occasion, his mention was joined with the mention of Allah Ta’ ala in adhan (the initial call for prayers) and iqamah (the call announcing the immediate start of the prayer) and elsewhere, and that Allah Ta’ ala made the religion brought by him spread and prevail throughout the world, and that He enjoined upon all people to keep acting in accordance with the Shari’ ah brought by him right through the last day of al-Qiyamah and, along with it, He has undertaken to keep his Shari’ ah stand perennially protected. Then, as for the honor bestowed upon him in the Hereafter, it can be said that his station was made to be the most exalted of the entire creation and, at a time when no prophet or angel could dare intercede on behalf of anyone, it was right at that time that he was blessed with the celebrated station of intercession called: مقام محمود (Al-maqam-ul- mahmud: Praised Station).

Given the interpretation that Allah’s Sala in favour of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) means praise, someone may raise a doubt that, according to the narrations of Hadith, Salah and Salam are also offered to the family and companions of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . If so, how can anyone other than him be made to share in the honor bestowed and praise done by Allah Ta’ ala? This doubt has been answered in Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani etc. by saying that the degrees of such honor and praise are many. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has it at its highest, while his family and companions and believers in general are included with him only to a certain degree.

As for the word: سلام (Salam), it is an infinitive in the sense of اَلسلامہ (as-salamah) and means staying in peace. And السلامُ علیک (As-sala mu’alaik: conveniently taken as ‘peace on you’ ) means: May the state of peace and security from losses, defects and calamities be with you. And since, according to the rule of Arabic grammar, this is not the occasion to use the word: عَلٰی          ([ ala: on, upon), but since the word ‘Salam’ implies praise, hence the word: عَلٰی (` ala) is appended with it.

And some other early commentators have taken the word: Salam here to mean the sacred Being of Allah Taala, because Salam is among the beautiful names of Allah Ta’ ala. According to this view the sentence will mean that Allah is enough to take care of your security and well-being.

The method of Salah and Salam

There appears a Hadith in the Sahih of Bukhari and Muslim, as well as in other books of Hadith, where Sayyidna Ka’b Ibn ‘Ujrah (رض) has been reported to have said: ‘ (When this verse was revealed), someone asked the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) (The verse orders us to do two things, Salah and salam.) We already know the method of saying salam, (being السلامُ علیکَ اَیُّھَا النَّبِیُّ that is, may peace and safety be on you. 0 Prophet) now tell us the method of Salah also.” He said: Say these words:

“0 Allah, send mercy on Muhammad and on the progeny of Muhammad, as You sent mercy on Ibrahim and on the progeny of Ibrahim. Verily, You are Praised, Glorious. 0 Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and on the progeny of Muhammad as You sent blessings on Ibrahim and on the progeny of Ibrahim. Verily, You are Praised, Glorious.”

Some other words in this respect have also been reported in other narrations of Hadith.

As for the reason why the noble Sahabah asked this question, perhaps it is that they had already been taught the method of offering their Salam in the تَشَھُّد : (tashahhud or saying of اَلتَّحِیَّت وَ رَحمَۃُ اللہِ وَ بَرَکَاتُہ، At-tahiyyat) where it is said: (as-salamu alaika aiyuhannabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh: Peace and safety on you, 0 Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings). Therefore, they did not like to determine, on their own, the precise words in the case of the saying of Salah. Instead of that, they wanted the exact words of saying the Salah to be determined by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself. It is for this reason that صَلوٰط (Salah) has generally been adopted in these very words as part of the prescribed prayers, Namaz or Salah. But, it does not mean that the obligation of sending Salah (durud) is restricted to these specific words, because many different forms of Salah (durud), have been authentically reported from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself. The requirement of sending Salah and Salam can be fulfilled by every such sentence that has the words of Salah and Salam in it. Then, it is also not necessary that those words should have been reported exactly as said by the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . In fact, the obligation may be discharged and the reward of sending Salah may be achieved by any style of address that conveys the words of Salah and Salam. But, it is obvious that the exact words reported from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) are certainly much more blessed and are the cause of bringing many more rewards. It was for this very reason that the noble Sahabah had asked the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself to determine the words of ; صَلوٰط (Salah).

In the Qa’dah (sitting position) of the prescribed prayer (Salah or Namaz), the saying of the words of Salah and Salam exactly in the manner reported above is masnun (per Sunnah) right up to the last day of Qiyamah, (even though these words are meant to address the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) by saying ‘ Salam on you, 0 prophet’ ) As for occasions outside the prescribed prayers (Salah or Namaz), these exact words should have been employed when the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was addressed during his lifetime. When, after his departure from this mortal world, one has the good fortune of standing before the sacred Rawdah (the holy tomb) of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and submitting his Salam to him, then, there too, it is masnun to employ the form of second person: السلام عليک (as-salamu ‘alaik). Other than that, wherever Salah and Salam is recited in absentia, then, the use of the third person form has been reported from the Sahabah, Tabi` in and the Imams of the Muslim Ummah for example:… (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam i.e. May Allah send mercy and peace to him.- as fully demonstrated by books of Hadith at large.

The wisdom behind the aforesaid method of Salah and Salam

The outcome of the method of Salah and Salam which stands proved from the blessed words spoken by him and demonstrated practically through his deeds is no other but that all of us in the Muslim Ummah should pray to Allah Ta’ ala for mercy, peace and safety for him. At this point, a question is worth noting. Is it not that the verse required us to personally fulfill the right of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that he be revered and honored, but the method proposed was that we pray to Allah? Embedded here is the hint that fulfilling the due right of honoring and obeying the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was not within the power and control of any of us, therefore, it was made mandatory for us that we should supplicate before Allah Ta’ ala. (Ruh-ul- Ma’ ani)

The injunctions of Salah and Salam

In the last Qa’dah (sitting position) of the prescribed prayers, (namaz or Salah), the saying of درود شریف (Salah, that is, the noble durud) is Sunnah Mu’akkadah (emphasized Sunnah) according to the majority of the Imams. But, with Imam Shafi` i and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (رح) ، it is wajib (necessary). If abandoned, it becomes necessary, according to them, to make namaz or Salah all over again.

Related Rulings

1. When someone mentions the name of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، or hears someone mentioning it, reciting the words of sending Salah (the noble durud) becomes wajib (obligatory) on him or her. This is a point of consensus among the majority of Muslim jurists. The reason is that there are warnings in Hadith against not reciting the noble durud when his blessed name is being referred. According to Jami’ of Tirmidhi, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: رَغِمَ اَنفُ رَجُلِ ذُکِرتُ عِندَہ، فَلَم یُصَلَّ عَلَیَّ : “Disgraced is the man before whom I am mentioned, yet he does not send Salah (Durud) on me”. (Tirmidhi calls this Hadith ‘Hasan’, and Ibn-us- Sunni reports it with strong authorities).

And in another Hadith it has been said: اَلبَخِيلُ مَن ذُکِرتُ عِندَہ، فَلَم يُصَلِّ عَلَیَّ “ A miser is he before whom I am mentioned yet he does not send Salam (Durud) on me”. (reported by Tirmidhi who rated it as ‘Hasan Sahih’ ).

2. If his blessed mention is made repeatedly in a single sitting, reciting the Salah (Durud) only once may discharge the obligation. But, the desirable (mustahabb) thing is to recite the noble Durud every time one makes his blessed mention himself, or hears someone else make it. Who can claim to mention the name of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) more frequently than the scholars of the Hadith? Their function is nothing but to narrate the ahadith of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in which they have to mention his name repeatedly. Still, their consistent practice was to recite or write the Salam each and every time. All books of Hadith bear testimony to this fact. In doing so, they never bothered about this incidence of repetition of Salah and Salam which would increase the volume of the book in a sizable measure, because fairly often, there come very short ahadith in which his blessed name finds mention after every one or two lines – and at places, it appears more than once within one single line – still, these respected scholars and experts of Hadith never abandon or ignore Salah and Salam anywhere.

3. The way it is Wajib (necessary) to say Salah and Salam vocally at the time one makes his blessed mention verbally, similarly, it is also wajib to write Salah and Salam with the pen when one uses it at the time of writing. In this case, there are people who would abbreviate its words and get away by writing صلعم (of which, “SAW” is a counterpart). This is not enough. One should write the full Salah and Salam (that is: (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) Sallallahu ` alaihi wa sallam).

4. At the time his blessed mention is being made, the better, higher and more desirable choice is no other but that both Salah and Salam be recited and written. But, should someone take one of these, that is, only Salah or only Salam, as sufficient, then, it is no sin in the sight of the majority of Muslim jurists. Shaykh-ul-Islam Nawawi and others have declared it as makruh (reprehensible) to take only one as sufficient. Ibn Hajar Al-Haithami said that by Karahah (reprehensibility) they mean its being Khilaf-ul-awla (contrary to the ‘preferred choice) which is known as Makruh Tanzihi (not desirable). And the consistent practice of the ` ulama’ of the Muslim Ummah bears testimony to the fact that they invariably put these together while, on some occasions, they would go by only one as well.

5. Using the word: صَلوٰۃ (Salah) for anyone other than prophets (عليهم السلام) is not permissible in the sight of the majority of ` Ulama’. In his Sunan, Imam Baihaqi has reported the fatwa of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) as follows:

(Salah is not sent upon anyone except the Holy Prophet but prayer is made for Muslim men and Muslim women to seek forgiveness for them.)

With Imam Shafi` i, using the word: صَلوٰۃ (Salah) for anyone other than a prophet is perennially Makruh (reprehensible, repugnant). Imam Abu Hanifah and his pupils also hold the same view. However, it is permissible that after saying Salah for the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، some other people are also included in the same sentence, like his family members (‘Al آل ), Companions and all believers.

And Imam Juwaini said that the rule about the word: صَلوٰۃ (Salah) is the same as the rule about the word: سلام (Salam), since it is not correct to use it for someone other than a prophet – except that one says السلام علیکم (as-salantu-` alaikum) as a greeting while addressing someone. This is permissible, and Masnun. But, saying or writing: (عليه السلام) (alaihissalam) with the name of someone absent is not correct in the case of someone other than a prophet (Al-khasa is-ul-kubr, by Suyuti, v.2, p. 262)

` Allamah Liqa’i has quoted Qadi ` Iyad saying: Major authentic scholars of the Muslim Ummah have gone by this view, and this is the view of Imam Malik, Sufyan and many Muslim jurists who hold that its use is not permissible for anyone other than a prophet. This is similar to the case of the use of اللہُ سبحانَہُ و تعالیٰ (Subhanahu wa Ta’ ala) which is particular to Almighty Allah. Thus, in the case of common Muslims – with the exception of prophets – there should be a prayer for forgiveness and pleasure from Allah. This is as it appears in the Qur’an: رَّ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَ‌ضُوا عَنْهُ (Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him – 5:119, 9:100, 98:8). (Ruh-ul- Ma’ ani)

A detailed discussion about the injunctions of Salah and Salam appears in the treatise Tanqih-ul-kalam fi Ahkam-is-Salah was-salam written by this humble author. It was published as part of the commentary on Surah Al-Ahzab in the major work Ahkam-ul- Qur’an in Arabic.

Commentary

In the previous verses, Muslims were warned against doing what caused pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . But, some Muslims used to get involved into doing such things unintentionally simply because of their lack of knowledge or attention. For example, walking into his living quarters without having been invited or, in the event of an invitation to eat at the house, coming in and sitting there much earlier than the time set for it or, once the meals were over, just keep hanging at the house talking to each other and keep delaying their due departure. Upon this, a warning has been served in the verse: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ (0 those who believe, do not enter the houses of the Prophet – 33:53). This was the pain caused to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) without any volition or intention, simply by negligence. On this, only a warning was considered sufficient. Mentioned in the two verses cited above is the pain that was caused to him intentionally by the disbelievers and hypocrites. It is for this reason that Maulana Ashraf Thanavi (رح) has parenthetically added the word: قَصدَاً (qasdan: intentionally) at this place in his abridged summary which includes many a physical pain caused to him at the hands of disbelievers on different occasions as well as the emotional ones that were caused to him in the form of taunts and insults and false accusations against his blessed wives. The cited verses also gives a warning of Divine curse and punishment to those who cause such pains to him by intention.

Although, in the beginning of the verse, warning is given to those who cause pain to Allah (Surely, those who cause pain to Allah… 33:57), while Allah Ta’ ala is beyond any effect or impression, and no one can cause pain to Him in real terms, yet the deeds that usually cause pain to others have been referred to as ‘causing pain to Allah.’

Leading authorities of Tafsir, however, differ in defining the acts that are termed here as ‘causing pain to Allah’. Some of them have maintained that these are the words and deeds about which it has been specifically declared in the spoken ahadith of the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that they cause pain to Allah Ta’ ala. For example, it is mentioned in a Hadith that those who curse the ‘time’ cause pain to Allah. The background of this Hadith is that the people in the days of ignorance used to blame the ‘time’ for all sorts of accidents and sufferings, because they believed that the ‘time’ is the real cause of all happenings in this world. Therefore whenever they faced a suffering, they used to curse and hurl abuses to the ‘time’, while in fact the real doer of all acts is none but Allah Ta’ ala, and in this context their curse and abuses would turn to Him. It is therefore mentioned in the of Divine curse and punishment Hadith that this behavior causes pain to Allah Ta’ ala. Moreover, as it appears in Hadith narrations, making pictures of living creatures cause pain to Allah Ta’ ala. the expression of ‘causing pain to Allah’ would be referring to these very words and deeds.

And other authorities of Tafsir said that the real purpose at this place is to warn against causing pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . But, it has been termed in the verse as causing pain to Allah Ta’ ala, because causing pain to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is tantamount to causing pain to Allah Ta’ ala Himself. This interpretation is supported by the context of the Qur’an, because it is the subject of causing pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that was mentioned in the text earlier and the same subject is repeated again in the forthcoming words. And that the pain caused to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) turns out to be pain for Allah Ta’ ala stands proved from the narration of Sayyidna ` Abdur-Rahman Ibn Mughaffal al-Muzani            given below:

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: “Fear Allah, fear Allah in the matter of my Companions. Do not make them the target of your objections and criticisms because whoever loves them loves them because of his love for me, and whoever dislikes them dislikes them because of his disliking against me, and whoever caused pain to them has definitely caused pain to me and whoever caused pain to me has definitely caused pain to Allah, and whoever caused pain to Allah, it is likely that he will be seized by Him. (Tirmidhi)

Just as this Hadith tells us that the pain inflicted on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) causes pain to Allah Ta’ ala, very similarly, it also tells us that inflicting pain on any of the noble Companions or being audacious enough as to speak ill of them becomes pain caused to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .

There are several narrations relating to the background in which this verse was revealed. According to some of these, it was revealed about the false accusation made against Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) . For example, a narration from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas                 رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما says: When false accusation was made against Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) ، some people gathered at the home of the hypocrite, ` Abdullah Ibn ‘Ubayy and indulged in the conspiracy of giving currency to this false accusation. At that time, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) complained before his noble Companions (رض) saying that the man was causing pain to him – (Mazhari).

According to some other narrations, this verse was revealed when some hypocrites had thrown taunts at the time of the marriage of Sayyidah Safiyyah (رض) . However, the fact of the matter is that this verse has been revealed concerning each such case which caused pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Thus, included here is the false accusation made against Sayyidah ` A’ishah (رض) the taunts thrown by the hypocrites on the occasion of the marriages of Sayyidah Safiyyah and Zainab (رض) as well as calling other noble Companions (رض) bad, passing ill remarks against them or maligning them in any other way, public or private تَبَرَّاء (tabarra).

Causing pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in any form or manner is kufr (infidelity)

Ruling

A person who inflicts any pain on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ، suggests any fault in his person or attributes, whether expressly or in an implied manner, becomes a kafir – and according to this verse (57), the curse of Allah Ta’ ala will be upon him in this world as well as in the Hereafter. (As stated by Qadi Thana’ullah in at-Tafsir al-Maz hari).

The second verse has declared that causing pain to any believer is also forbidden (haram) as being a grave sin a manifest slander, but in the case of common believers the prohibition of causing pain is subjected to a condition that they should not have deserved it by committing a wrongful act. This is because, in their case it is possible that they have done something as a consequence of which causing pain to them is permissible under the dictates of the Shari’ah, while in the case of the Allah and the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) it is simply impossible that causing pain to Allah and His Messenger may be justified on any ground. Therefore, no such condition is mentioned in verse 57.

Hurting or causing pain to any Muslim without a valid Islamic legal justification is forbidden (Haram)

It stands proved from the cited verse (58): الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (And those who hurt believing men and believing women without their having done anything (wrong), they shall bear the burden of slander and a manifest sin.) that it is forbidden (Haram) to cause any pain, harm or hurt any Muslim without a justification recognized by Shari’ ah. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has said:

A (true) Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands all Muslims remain unharmed and safe. And a (true) mu’min (believer) is the one from whom people remain unaffected and safe in the matter of their lives (lit., bloods) and their properties (being his or her duty to ensure that so these do) – reported by Tirmidhi from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) . (Mazhari)

Commentary

The previous verses have maintained that causing pain to any Muslim, man or woman, is forbidden and is a major sin, and in particular, inflicting pain on the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is an act of infidelity, liable to Allah’s curse. Now, there were two kinds of pain caused by the hypocrites to all Muslims and to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . Preventive measures against these have been provided in the verses cited above. As a corollary, stated there are a few additional injunctions in a certain congruity to be unfolded later on. One of these two kinds of pain caused was at the hands of vagabonds from among the general run of hypocrites who used to molest bondwomen from Muslim homes when they came out to take care of family chores. Then on occasions, they would mistreat free women under the impression that they were bondwomen because of which pain was caused to Muslims at large and to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) .

On the other hand, the Shari’ ah of Islam has maintained a difference between free women and bondwomen in the matter of Hijab. The limits of Hijab prescribed for bondwomen are the limits observed by the free women before their mahrams (marriage with whom is forbidden), for example, as leaving the face open before their mahrams is permissible for free women, the same was permissible for bondwomen even when they went out of their homes, because their very job was to serve their masters, an occupation that took them out of the home repeatedly which made it difficult for them to keep their face and hands hidden. This is contrary to the case of free women who, even if they have to go out for some need, would be doing so rarely, an eventuality in which the observance of full Hijab should not be difficult. Therefore, the command given to free women was that the long sheet with which they cover themselves when going out should be pulled from over their head downwards before their face, so that it does not get exposed before male strangers. Two things were accomplished thereby. It made their own Hijab come out perfect while covering their faces served another purpose of distinguishing them from bondwomen, because of which they automatically became safe from being teased by wicked people. As for the arrangements made to keep bondwomen protected, the hypocrites were served with a warning to the effect that, should they fail to abstain from their low behavior, (the torment of the Hereafter aside) Allah Ta’ ala would have them punished at the hands of His Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) and Muslims in this world as well.

The words used in the command about the Hijab of free women in the verse under study (59) appear as follows: يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ in which the word: يُدْنِينَ (yudnina) has been derived from: اِذنَا (idna) which literally means to draw, pull or make come closer. The second word: عَلَيْهِنَّ (` alaihinn) means ‘on’ or ‘over themselves’ (hanging as a screen for the face). The third word: جَلَابِيبِ (jalabib) in: جِلبَاب (jalabibihinn) is the plural form of: جِلبَاب (jilbab) which is the name of a particular long sheet. Sayyidna Ibn Masud identified the form of this sheet as the one that is worn over the scarf (Ibn Kathir) and Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ` (رض) described its form in the words given below:

“Allah Ta’ ala commanded women of the believers that, when they go out of their homes to take care of some need, they hide their faces with the long sheet (hanging down) from over their heads leaving only one eye open (to see the way).” – (Ibn Kathir)

And Imam Muhammad Ibn Sirin says: ‘When I asked ` Ubaidah Salmani (رض) about the meaning of this verse and the nature of Hijab, he demonstrated it by hiding his face with the long sheet pulled from the top of his head and left to hang in front of it – and thus, by keeping only his left eye open to see, he explained the words: idna’: (bring close) and: jilbab (long sheet or shawl) practically .’

‘To have the long sheet come from over the head and hand on, or in front of, the face’ which appears in the statement of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas and ` Ubaidah Salmani is the explanation (Tafsir) of the Qur’anic word: عَلَيْهِنَّ (alaihinn: over them), that is, the sense of bringing the sheet close over them is to let the sheet come from over the head and hang on, or in front of, the face.

This verse commands the hiding of the face with ample clarity which comprehensively supports what has been stated under the commentary on the first verse of Hijab appearing earlier. There it was said that, though the face and the palms of the hands are not included under satr as such but, under the apprehension of fitnah, hiding these too is necessary. Only situations of compulsion stand exempted.

A necessary point of clarification

This verse instructs free women to observe Hijab in a particular manner, that is, they should hide their face by bringing the sheet from over the head to hang on, or in front of, the face so that they could be recognized as distinct from bondwomen in general, and thus could stay protected from the fitnah of wicked people. The statement referred to immediately earlier has already made it very clear that it never means that Islam has allowed some difference to exist between free women and bondwomen in the matter of providing protection to the chastity and honor, and has protected free women and left bondwomen (to fend for themselves). Instead, the truth of the matter is that this difference was made by these wicked and low people themselves, as they simply did not dare act high-handedly against free women, but chose to tease bondwomen. The Shari’ ah of Islam took a functional advantage from this difference put into practice by them by ordering the free women to distinguish themselves, so that the majority of women becomes automatically protected through their own standing conduct in this matter. As far as the matter of bondwomen is concerned, the protection of their chastity and honor is as much necessary in Islam as that of free women. But, it could not be carried out except by using the legal authority. So, the next verse spells out that those who violate the law will not be forgiven – in fact, as and where they are found, they will be caught and killed. This is what provided a security shield for the chastity and honor of bondwomen as well.

This submission makes it clear that the interpretation offered in this verse by ` Allamah Ibn Hazm and others – as different from the majority of scholars and in an effort to escape the doubt mentioned above – is something just no necessary. A doubt could have come up only when no arrangement was made for the protection of bondwomen.

A person who turns an apostate (murtadd) after having embraced Islam is killed in punishment

Two mischiefs made by the hypocrites have been mentioned in the cited verse and it has been said that should they fail to abstain from indulging in these any further, the punishment they shall face will be: مَّلْعُونِينَ ۖ أَيْنَمَا ثُقِفُوا أُخِذُوا وَقُتِّلُوا تَقْتِيلًا (Wherever they are found, they shall be seized, and shall be killed thoroughly – 61). This punishment is not meant for disbelievers at large. Numerous textual authorities from the Qur’an and Sunnah bear it out that this is not the law of the Shari’ ah of Islam for disbelievers. In fact, the law is that they should first be invited to embrace Islam along with sincere efforts to remove any doubts they may have. If, even then, they elect not to enter the fold of Islam, they should be asked to live as Dhimmi subjects of the Muslim state. If they accept that, the protection of their life, property and honor becomes obligatory on Muslims very much like that of Muslims themselves. Yes, if there are those who do not accept this too, and choose the option of fighting, then, the command is to fight back against them.

The reason why this punishment to seize and kill them has been awarded in an absolute sense in the present verse is because this matter related to the hypocrites who used to call themselves Muslims – and when a Muslim starts demonstrating open hostility to and denial of Islam, such a person is called: Murtadd: apostate) in the terminology of the Shari` ah. With such a man, there is no compromise in the Shari’ ah of Islam – except that he repents and reverts to Islam and accepts the injunctions of Islam in word and deed. Otherwise, this person will be killed as it stands proved from clear statements of the Holy Prophet A and the collective practice of the noble Sahabah. The Jihad waged against the Liar Musaylimah and his cohorts with the collective approval of the Sahabah and the consequent killing of Musaylimah is sufficient as its proof. Then, in the last verse as well (62), this has been cited as the customary law and practice of Allah Ta’ ala which tells us that the punishment of an apostate (murtadd) in the religious laws of past prophets was no other but killing.

Some Rulings:

This verse proves that

(1)          When women have to go out of the house to take care of some need, they should go with their whole body covered with a long sheet and walk face-hidden with this sheet brought from over the head to hang on, or in front of, the face. The common ‘burqa’ also serves the same purpose.

(2) Spreading rumors among Muslims that subject them to anxiety or worry or cause harm is haram (forbidden, unlawful).

Commentary

Those hostile to Allah and the Messenger were warned of and alerted to curse and punishment in the present world and in the Hereafter while many factions among the disbelievers, in their own place, simply denied the eventuality of any Qiyamah (Doomsday) or ‘Akhirah (Hereafter) and, because of their denial, used to mockingly ask: When would that Qiyamah come? An answer to their question has been given in the cited verse, that the Doomsday may be in near future. It has been said so because nobody knows the exact date of the Doomsday, and therefore everyone should be prepared for it as if it were very close. Another reason for its being declared as close is that after facing the horrible incidents of Qiyamah the entire worldly life of thousands of years will seem to be very short (and the Qiyamah very close to it).

Commentary

That causing pain to Allah and His Messenger brings fatal consequences was the subject of the previous verse. The present verse instructs Muslims that they should particularly guard against falling into any stance of hostility to Allah and His Messenger because it causes pain to them.

In the first verse (69), by mentioning an event relating to Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) an event in which his people had caused pain to him, Muslims have been warned that they should never do something like that. From this, it does not necessarily follow that Muslims may have actually done so. Instead of that, by relating this incident, they have been forewarned as a matter of precaution. As for the incident of some Sahabah (رض) reported in a narration, it is likely that they would have not realized at that time that the word being said would cause pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) . That a Sahabi would intentionally cause pain to the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is not possible. Whatever incidents of intentional causing of pain there are, they all relate to hypocrites. Then, by citing the incident relating to Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) ، the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has himself explained the meaning of this verse as it has been reported by Imam al-Bukhari from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah (رض) in Kitabut-Tafsir and Kitabul-Anbiya’.

There it is said that Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) was a man of modesty and very particular in keeping his body properly covered. No one had the occasion to see his body uncovered. Whenever he needed a bath, he would take it inside a screened place. Conversely, his people, the Bani Isra’il, had a common custom of their own. Among them, men would bathe naked before everybody. So, some of them started saying that the reason why Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) would not take a bath before anyone is that he had some defect in his body, either leprosy or enlarged testicles or some other evil-fated deformity because of which he preferred to remain hidden. Allah Ta’ ala willed that Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) be cleared from the attribution of such defects. On a certain day, Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) went in for a bath in private while he put off his clothes and placed these on a rock. When done with his bath, he moved to pick up his clothes from the rock. At that time, this rock (moving under Divine command) started running away. Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) with his staff in hand, went after the rock saying: ثَوبِی حَجَرُ ثَوبِٰ حَضَرُ (0 rock, my clothes! 0 rock, my clothes! ). But the rock kept moving until it stopped at a place crowded with the people of Bani Isra’il. At that time, when the Bani Isra’il saw Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) undressed from the head to the feet, they saw a body that was perfect (having no defect attributed by them). Thus, Allah Ta’ ala made it clear before everyone that Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) was free from these supposed defects. The rock had stopped at this place. Once Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) had picked up his clothes and put these on, he started beating up the rock with his staff. “By Allah,” said the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) “the strikes of Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) against the rock left some three or four or five traces on it!”

After having recounted this event, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: This is what this verse of the Qur’an means, that is, the verse under study: كَالَّذِينَ آذَوْا مُوسَىٰ (Like those who caused pain to Musa (عليه السلام) . – 33:69). The explanation of the pain caused to Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) in this incident has been reported from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself. There is yet another story relating to the pain caused to Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) reported from the noble Sahabah (رض) which is also necessarily appended to it. But, the weightier Tafsir or explanation is the one that is present in the Hadith reported from the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) himself.

At the end of verse 69, it was said: وَكَانَ عِندَ اللَّـهِ وَجِيهًا (And he was honorable in the sight of Allah). The Arabic word used for Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) wajih denotes the honor and elegance of someone who deserves regard and consideration. When used with: عِندَ اللَّـهِ ` indallah: in the sight of Allah), it would mean a person whose prayer is answered by Allah Ta’ ala and whose wish He does not turn down. Hence, the station of Sayyidna Musa   عليه السلام as a person whose prayers were answered (popularly known as: mustajab-ud-da’ awat) is proved from many events mentioned in the Qur’an where he prayed to Allah for something and He answered it the way he wanted it to be. Most unique of these is the prayer he made about Sayyidna Harun (Aaron) (عليه السلام) where he wished that he be made a prophet. Allah Ta’ala accepted his prayer and made him a co-prophet with Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) – although, the high office of prophethood is not given to someone on someone’s recommendation. (Ibn Kathir)

Customarily, Allah Ta’ala keeps prophets free from physical defects causing aversion

In this event, Allah Ta’ala has demonstrated such unusual concern to have Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) absolved of the blame imputed to him by his people which took no less than a miracle whereby a rock ran away with Sayyidna Musa’s clothes and he, compelled by circumstances beyond his control, came out undressed before the people. This extra-ordinary care shown by Allah Ta’ ala to free his prophet from this blame points out to the fact that Allah Ta’ala keeps even the bodies of His prophets generally free and pure from defects that appear repulsive and undignified – as it stands proved from the Hadith of Bukhari that all prophets are lineally high-born. The reason is that it would be hard to agree to listen to, accept and follow someone from the line and family regarded by people as customarily low. Similarly, the history of prophets does not bear out that any prophet was blind, deaf, dumb or handicapped. As for the case of Sayyidna Ayyub (عليه السلام) it cannot be used to raise any objection, for what happened to him was the dictate of Divine wisdom, a particular trial, a temporary discomfort which was eliminated later on. Allah knows best.

O those who believe, fear Allah, and speak what is straight forward. Allah will correct your deeds for your benefit, and forgive for you your sins. (33:70-71)

The original word used in the text for “what is straight forward” is ‘sadid’ which has been explained by some exegetes as what is the truth. Others explain it as straight, while still others, as correct. Quoting all of these, Ibn Kathir calls all these true (on the beam hitting the target). The Holy Qur’an has chosen this word, instead of sadiq or mustaqim, because the present word holds all these attributes of ideal speech within itself. It was for this reason that Kashifi said in Ruh-ul-Bayan: Qawl Sadid is the saying of what is true having no trace of falsity; correct having no trace of error, right thing being no joke or fun; spoken softly, not harshly.

Correct use of one’s power of speech is an effective source of correcting all deeds issuing forth from other parts of the body

The basic command given to all Muslims in this verse is: اِتَّقُوا اللہَ (Take to taqwa, that is, fear Allah and act accordingly). The reality of taqwa lies in one’s total obedience to all Divine injunctions whereby one carries out everything enjoined and abstains from everything declared prohibited and repugnant. And it is obvious that doing so is no easy task for human beings. Therefore, immediately after the main guideline of اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ (ittaqullah: Fear Allah and act accordingly), there appears an instruction to start doing something particular, that is, the correction and reform of one’s speech. Though, this too is nothing but a part of taqwa itself, yet it is one such part of it that, should this thing come under control, all other remaining components of the comprehensive requirement of taqwa would start becoming achievable automatically, as the verse itself has promised that, as a result of one’s making his or her speech truthful and straight, Allah will correct his deeds. In other words it means that, ‘should you succeed in holding your tongue and avoiding errors of speech and get used to saying what is correct, straight and right, Allah Ta’ ala will correct every other deed you do and make all of them better.’ Then, concluding the verse, another promise was made and it was said: يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ (and He will forgive for you your sins). It means: ‘One who gains control over his tongue, learns to harness his or her power of speech and becomes used to saying what is true and right, then, Allah Ta` a1a will take care of the rest of his or her deeds, have them corrected and made better as well as forgive any errors or slips made therein.’

Injunctions of the Qur’an were made easy to follow

Deliberation in the general style of the noble Qur’an shows that at a place where acting upon a Qura’nic injunction seems to be difficult, a method has also been suggested along with it to make it easy. And since taqwa is the essence of the entire religion of Islam and fulfilling its dictates on all counts is very hard indeed, therefore, speaking generally, wherever the command to observe taqwa (‘ittaqullah’ ) has been given, there appears soon after, the suggestion to do something that facilitates acting in accordance with the rest of the elements of Taqwa, something that comes from the side of Allah as His grace and taufiq. An apt and ready at hand example of it lies in this very verse where the suggestion of: قُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا (say the right thing) follows soon after the command of: اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ (ittaqullah: Fear Allah). And immediately earlier too, in verse 69, after saying: اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ ittaqullah:( Fear Allah), it was said: “Do not be like those who caused pain to Musa) whereby people were reminded that causing pain to righteous and favoured servants of Allah is the most serious impediment in the achievement of taqwa and, once this impediment was removed, the way to taqwa will become easy.

Similarly in another verse the command to observe Taqwa has been supplemented by the direction of having the company of ‘truthful persons’ (9.118) which means that the easiest way to acquire the quality of taqwa is to remain in the company of righteous people. At another place the command of taqwa is followed by the direction of pondering on what one has sent ahead for the Hereafter, because it leads one to observe Taqwa (59.18).

Saying what is right leads to doing what is right both here and Hereinafter

Shah ` Abdul-Qadir of Delhi (رح) has translated this verse in a way that leads to the conclusion that the promise of correction and betterment of deeds made to those who get used to speaking in straight forward manner is not restricted to religious deeds alone. In fact, everything one does in this material world is also included therein. Anyone who gets used to saying the right thing – that is, never lies, speaks with deliberation without erring or wavering, does not deceive anyone and does not say what would hurt – shall find his spiritual deeds for his eternal life in the Hereafter, also come out right for him. As for the things he must do to live in this mortal world, these too will turn for the better. (The Urdu speaking readers should refer to the original translation of Shah Abdul Qadir to have a taste of its sweetness-editor)

Commentary

Emphasis has been placed in this entire Surah on the reverence of the Messenger of Allah and on the obligation of obeying him. Now in the later part of the Surah, the great station and rank of this obedience has been identified. Here, the obedience to Allah and His Messenger and the implementation of their commands has been expressed through the word: amanah: (Trust), the reason of which will appear later.

What does “amanah” mean?

What is meant by the word: amanah at this place? many views of the leading exegetes among Sahabah and Tabi` in, and others, have been reported to answer this question. Different things have been held to be the ‘amanah’, such as, Islamic Legal Obligations, Protection of Chastity, Properties held under Trust, Removal of Impurity through having bath, Salah, Zakah Fasting, Hajj etc. Therefore, the majority of commentators have said that all areas of religious conduct are included in it. (Qurtubi)

In Tafsir Mazhari, it was said: The whole package of all obligations and prohibitions set by the Shari’ ah is amanah. In Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit, Abu Hayyan said:

Apparently everything one is trusted with (by the Shari’ah) from obligations and prohibitions, and every state of life which relates to this world or the Hereafter – in fact, the Shari’ ah, all of it, is amanah. And this is the position the majority of Muslim scholars has taken.

In short, amanah (trust) means to be obligated with the precepts and injunctions of the Shari` ah and being under command to carry these out. Once this is accomplished to the best of one’s ability, the eternal blessings of Jannah (Paradise) have been promised, and on any contravention or shortcoming, there shall be the punishment of Jahannam (Hell). Some early commentators have said that amanah (trust) refers to the capability of fulfilling the heavy responsibility placed by Divine injunctions, something that depends on a particular degree of reason and awareness – and moving forward therein and deserving Divine vice-regency depends on this very capability. The species of creation that do not have this capability, no matter how high or superior their placement, simply cannot advance from their given place. For this reason, the skies and the earth, even angels, have no inherent ability to go forward from the place they are in. Everything from these creatures is restricted to whatever station of nearness (to the Creator) it has. Their state is aptly pointed to in a verse of the Qur’an where it was said: مَا مِنَّا إِلَّا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ (There is no one among us who does not have a known station – As-Saffat, 37:164)

Under this sense of amanah (trust), all narrations of Hadith about amanah turn out to be symmetrical and the sayings of the majority of commentators also converge on almost a mutual agreement.

In the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, and in the Musnad of Ahmad, there is a narration from Sayyidna Hudhaifah (رض) saying that, ‘the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) had told us about two things. One of these we have already witnessed with our own eyes. The unfolding of the other is still awaited. The first thing was that, “First of all, amanah was sent down into the hearts of the men of faith. Then, the Qur’an was revealed and then the people of faith acquired knowledge from the Qur’an, and practice from the Sunnah”.

After that, he narrated the other Hadith as follows: “A time will come when no sooner does a man rise from sleep, amanah (trust) will be confiscated from out of his heart leaving some of its traces behind, just like you would roll down an ember from the fire on your feet (and this ember will certainly roll away but) its traces will survive in the form of inflammation or blister – although, no constituent element of the fire itself is left out there. So much so that people will enter into mutual transactions and contracts, but no one will fulfill the obligations of amanah due against him and (there will be such a dearth of trustworthy men that) people will be found saying that there is a trustworthy man in such and such tribe!”

In this Hadith amanah has been declared to be something which relates to the heart and this alone has the ability of fulfilling the obligations and duties imposed by the Shari` ah of Islam.

And according to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr (رض) appearing in the Musnad of Ahmad, the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) has been reported to have said, “There are four things which, if you come to have them, and you have nothing out of so many worldly things, you are still no loser. (Those four things are): Guarding of trust, telling the truth, good morals and lawful sustenance. (From Ibn Kathir)

An investigation into the way the ‘trust’ was ‘offered’

In the cited verse (72), it was said that Allah Ta’ ala placed this amanah (trust) before the heavens, the earth and the mountains and all of them refused to bear the burden of this responsibility shrinking from it out of the danger of not being able to fulfill its due right – but, man did.

Here, it is worth pondering that the heavens, the earth and the mountains that are inanimate and, obviously devoid of knowledge and consciousness, how then would it be possible to rationalize the presentation of such an offer before them and that of their response to it? Some early commentators have taken this to be a figure of speech – as the noble Qur’an has said elsewhere by way of comparison: لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـٰذَا الْقُرْ‌آنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَّرَ‌أَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّـهِ (Had We sent down this Qur’an to a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, burst apart out of awe for Allah – Al-Hashr 59:21). It is obvious that this example has been given as a matter of supposition – not that it was really revealed to or on a mountain. So, these commentators have taken the ‘offer’ of ‘trust’ to the heavens etc. also in a figurative or metaphorical sense.

But, in the sight of the majority of Muslim scholars, it is not correct, because in the verse of Surah Al-Hashr, the Qur’an has itself made it clear, by initiating the statement with the word: ‘if, ‘that it is just a hypothetical statement. On the contrary, the present verse is an affirmation of an incident in a descriptive style, and it is not permissible to take it in figurative or metaphorical sense without any proof. And if it is argued that these things have no senses and therefore no question can be asked from them and no answer is expected from them, then this argument stands rejected on the basis of other express statements of the Qur’an. The reason is that the Qur’an has explicitly said: وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ (And there is not a single thing that does not extol His purity and praise – Al-Isra’, 17:44). And it is obvious that knowing Allah Ta’ ala, realizing that He is the Creator, the Master, the highest and the best, and glorifying Him consequently is something not possible without knowledge and consciousness. Therefore, it stands proved from this verse that knowledge and consciousness do exist in all elements of creation to the extent that these are also there in what is considered to be inanimate. On the basis of this knowledge and consciousness, these can be addressed and a response can be expected from them. Their response could take different forms. It could take the form of words and letters and – it is not rationally impossible – that Allah Ta’ ala could bestow on the heavens and the earth and the mountains the functional ability to verbalize and speak. Therefore, in the sight of the majority of the learned among the Muslim Ummah, the phenomenon of this ` ard of amanah (the placement or offer of trust) came to pass in reality and these entities expressed their inability to bear the burden of this responsibility – also in reality. There is no simile or metaphor at work here.

The acceptance of the offer of the ‘trust’ was optional, not mandatory

A question may be asked here. When Allah Ta’ ala personally made the offer of this great trust before the heavens and the earth and the mountains, how could they dare refuse it? If they had contravened the Divine order, they would have been destroyed totally. In addition to that, the obedience of the heavens and the earth to divine orders is also proved from the verse: أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ (we come in obedience – Fussilat, 41:11) which means: When Allah Ta’ ala ordered the heavens and the earth to come to implement His command, be it willingly or unwilling, both of these responded by saying that they were pleased to come to obey His command.

The answer is that, in the cited verse (41:11), the command given had a mandatory command with it where it was also said that they were to come with pleasure, or without it but, no matter what is the case, they had to obey the command. This is contrary to the present verse featuring the offer of the trust where following its presentation, they were given the choice of taking or not taking this awesome responsibility.

Ibn Kathir has, with the support of various authorities, reported from several Sahabah and Tabi` in – Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Hasan al-Basri, Mujahid and others – the following details of this offer of the trust:

‘What Allah Ta’ ala offered first to the heavens, then to the earth, and then to the mountains as a matter of choice was: Would you undertake to carry out the responsibility imposed by this trust (obedience to given injunctions) from Us against a return fixed for it?’ Everyone asked, ‘What is the return?’ It was said, ‘If you fulfill the demands of this trust (obedience to given injunctions) to the best of your ability, you will have the best of reward, and particularly the honor of having nearness to Allah, and if you failed to implement these injunctions, or fell short in it, you will be punished.’ Hearing this, all these huge big bodies responded by saying, ‘0 our Lord, we are operating under Your command even now. But (now when we have been given a choice), we find ourselves weak and unable to bear the burden of this heavy responsibility. As reward, we do not want it, and as for punishment, we cannot bear it.’ And Tafsir Qurtubi, with reference to Hakim Tirmidhi, has reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: ‘ (After the offer of the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and after their response), Allah Ta’ ala addressed Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) and said: ‘We offered Our trust to the heavens and the earth but they expressed their inability to bear the burden of this responsibility. Now, would you assume this responsibility knowing that which goes with it?”Adam (عليه السلام) asked, ‘0 Lord, what is it that goes with it?’ The answer was: ‘If you succeeded in fulfilling the demands of this trust to your best (that is, remained obedient to your best), you will be rewarded (which will be in the form of the nearness and pleasure of Allah and the eternal bliss of Jannah (Paradise), and if you let this trust go to waste, you will be punished.’ ‘Adam (عليه السلام) (eager to advance towards nearness and pleasure of Allah Ta’ ala) went ahead and assumed this responsibility. However, from the moment he assumed the burden of this heavy trust, not much time had passed, not even that much as is between the Salah of ` Asr and Zuhr, within which the Shaitan snared him into that well-known slip and he was made to leave Jannah.

During which period of time did this event of the offer of trust take place?

From the narration of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas (رض) which has appeared immediately above, it seems that this offer of trust made to the heavens and the earth and the mountains was made before the creation of ‘Adam. Then, following the creation of Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) it was also said before him that this trust was also offered to the heavens and the earth earlier, and that they did not have the ability to bear the burden of this responsibility, therefore, they excused themselves out of it.

And what is apparent here is that this event of the offer of trust came before the Covenant of Eternity, that is, the Covenant of ‘Alast because the Covenant of أَلَسْتُ بِرَ‌بِّكُمْ (Am I not your Lord?) is a phase of this very acceptance to carry out the responsibility of fulfilling the trust – and stands for taking a solemn pledge to hold and discharge the responsibilities enjoined by an office.

For vicegerency on the earth, the ability to bear the responsibilities of the great trust was necessary

As eternally predestined, Allah Ta’ ala had already decided to appoint Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) His Khalifah (vicegerent) on the earth and this Khilafah (vicegerency) could only be entrusted with one who bears the responsibility of upholding the essential obedience to Divine injunctions – because, it is the very objective of this Khilafah that the Law of Allah be implemented on the earth and that the creation of Allah be induced to obey Divine injunctions. Therefore, as a matter of creational imperative, Sayyidna ‘Adam ‘JI agreed to bear the burden of the responsibility of this trust – although the inability of other humongous units of creation to bear it was already in his knowledge. (Mazhari and Bayan-ul-Qur’ an).

In the last sentence of verse 72:إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا : Surely, he was unjust (to himself) unaware (of the end), the word: ‘Zalum’ means one who is unjust to himself, and ‘jahul’ means one who is unaware of the end. From this sentence, it is generally assumed that it has appeared here blaming man in an absolute sense, that is, so ignorant was man that he went ahead inflicting injustice upon himself by accepting to carry such a big burden of responsibility, something beyond his power. But, in the light of explicit statements in the Qur’an, this is not actually so because ‘man’ may mean either Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) or whole mankind. Now Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) is, as a prophet, protected by Allah from committing sins. The burden of responsibility which he had assumed was carried out by him duly and certainly. As a result of this, he was made a vicegerent of Allah (Khalifatullah) and sent to the earth. He was made the object of prostration by angels and, in the Hereafter, his station is far higher than that of the angels. And if ‘man’ must mean mankind, then, in this class, there are several hundred thousands of noble prophets (عليهم السلام) and several millions of the righteous and the men of Allah (awliya’ Allah) even angels emulate – those who proved by their conduct in life that they were capable of handling and deserving this Divine trust. It was because of the basis laid out by these very noble souls, who duly vacated the rights and demands inherent in the great trust, that the Holy Qur’an declared mankind to be the noblest of Divine creation: وَلَقَدْ كَرَّ‌مْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ (And We bestowed dignity on the Children of ‘Adam – Al-Isra’, 17:70). This proves that neither is Sayyidna ‘Adam (عليه السلام) blameworthy, nor the mankind as a whole. Therefore, commentators have said that this sentence is not there to impute a blame, rather, it appears there as the description of the actual event with regard to the most of individuals in the class. As such, the sense is that the majority of human kind proved to be zalum (one who inflicts injustice upon himself) and jahul (one who is unaware of the end) that failed to fulfill the rights and demands of this trust and fell into the abyss of loss. And since this was the state of affairs with the majority, therefore, it was attributed to humankind.

In short, in the verse, the two words (Zalum and Jahul) mentioned above have been used for those particular individuals among human beings who did not obey the injunctions of the Shari’ ah as they were expected to, and failed to fulfill the right entailed by the amanah or trust placed with them – that is, the disbelievers, hypocrites, transgressors, the wicked, and sinning Muslims of the community. This Tafsir has been reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Sayyidna Ibn Jubayr (رض) ، Hasan Al-Basri (رح) and others. (Qurtubi)

And there are others who have said that Zalum and Jahul has been used at this place in the sense of ‘naive’, as an affectionate form of address carrying the thought that man, brimming with love for his Creator and in quest of the station of nearness to Him, simply forgot the end of the whole thing. Similarly, these words could also be taken to have been spoken for the entire humankind. In Tafsir Mazhari, details of this aspect have been reported from Mujaddid Alf Thani and other noble Sufis.

لِّيُعَذِّبَ اللَّـهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ (with the result that Allah will punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the Mushriks, men and women, and will accept the repentance of the believing men and women. Surely Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful. [ 73]) The letter ‘lam’ used in the beginning of this verse is not for mentioning the cause or aim, as generally understood in common usage, but it is the lam of ‘aqibah in the terminology of Arabic linguistics. It points out to the end of something, as it appears in a line of Arabic poetry which reads:

‘Be born only to be dead and build only to be ruined’.

It does not mean that the aim of one’s birth was to be dead or that the aim of constructing of a building was that it could be ruined, but it simply means that the end of everyone born is death and the end of every building is falling into ruins.

The sense of the verse is that, as a result of man’s assumption of responsibility for the trust, mankind will split in two groups: (1) Dis¬believers, hypocrites and others who will rebel against Divine orders and become wasters of the great ‘trust’. They will be punished. (2) There will be believing men and believing women who, through their obedience to Divine injunctions, will fulfill the dictates of the trust reposed in them. They will be treated with mercy and forgiveness.

The Tafsir of the two words: Zalum and Jahul that has been reported above from most Tafsir authorities finds additional support in this last sentence as well – that these words are not meant for the whole mankind. In fact, they particularly refer to those individuals who wasted away the Divine trust reposed in them. And Allah, Pure and High, knows best.

[From Ma’ariful Quran English by Mufti Taqi Uthmani]