Al Islam

3071. It is related that one day one of the wives of the Holy Prophet gave him a drink made from honey, which he appeared to like. Some of his other wives, out of pique, pointed out to him that his breath smelt of Maghafir, a shrub the taste of which resembles that of honey but which gives out a bad smell. The Holy Prophet, because of his delicate nature, promised not to take honey any more (Buldan). It is to this incident that the verse under comment is generally taken to refer. But it seems improbable that the Holy Prophet, merely to satisfy the pique of his wife or wives, should have taken such a drastic step as to have permanently forbidden himself the use of something which was lawful, particularly of a thing in which, according to the Qur’an, there is cure for men' (16:70). It appears that the narrator or narrators of this 'incident had suffered from some misunderstanding or mental confusion, particularly when, according to one tradition, the Holy Prophet took honey from the house of Zainab, and ‘A’ishah and Hafsah contrived to draw him into making the aforesaid promise, while, according to another tradition, it was at the house of Hafsah herself that he was served with honey and that the wives who objected were ‘A’ishah, Zainab and Safiyyah. Moreover, according to the Hadith, two, or at the most three, of the Holy Prophet’s wives were concerned in the affair, but according to vv. 2 and 6 of the Surah, all of them were connected with it, two of them taking a leading part (v. 5). These facts show that the Surah refers to some incident of much greater significance than the mere taking of honey by the Holy Prophet at the house of one of his wives. In the commentary on this Surah, Bukhari (Kitabul-Mazalimi wal-Ghasb) quotes Ibn-e-‘Abbas as relating that he was always on the lookout to enquire of ‘Umar as to who were the two wives to whom reference is made in the verse: Now, if you two turn unto Allah, it will be better for you, and your hearts are already so inclined. One day, finding ‘Umar alone, he sought to satisfy his curiosity. He had hardly finished his question, says Ibn-e-‘Abbas, when ‘Umar said that they were ‘A’ishah and Hafsah, and then proceeded to relate the story thus: "One day, when my wife offered me her advice concerning some domestic affair, I curtly told her that it was no business of hers to advise me, for in those days we did not hold our women-folk in much respect. My wife sternly replied: 'Your daughter Hafsah takes so much liberty with the Prophet that she retorts back when he says something which she does not like till he feels offended, and you do not allow me to speak to you even about our domestic affairs.' Upon this I went to Hafsah and warned her that she should not be misled by ‘A’ishah in this matter as she was nearer to the Prophet’s heart. Then I went to Umm-e-Salmah and had hardly broached the matter with her when she also curtly told me not to interfere in affairs concerning the Prophet and his wives. A short time after this the Holy Prophet separated himself from his wives and decided not to go to the house of any of them for sometime. The news went round that the Holy Prophet had divorced his wives. I went to him and asked him if it was true that he had divorced his wives to which he replied in the negative."

This incident shows that ‘Umar, and Ibn-e-‘Abbas were of the view that the relevant verses of the Surah referred to this temporary separation of the Holy Prophet from his wives. The fact that the preceding Surah mentions the subject of Talaq which is separation of a permanent character, lends weight to the inference that these verses relate to the Prophet’s separation from his wives which, however, was of a temporary nature. Besides, as reported by ‘A’ishah in the above-mentioned tradition, immediately after the period of separation was over, v. 33:‌29 was revealed and the Prophet’s wives were given the choice between the Prophet’s companionship with a life of poverty and austere simplicity on the one hand, and separation from him with a life of ease and comfort and all sorts of material benefits on the other. The choice was given to all the wives and the verse under comment speaks of all the wives, as also v. 4. This shows that the incident referred to in these verses concerns all the wives in which two of them took a prominent part. And it is on record that the incident occurred when the Prophet’s wives, led by ‘A’ishah and Hafsah, demanded of him that since the financial condition of the Muslims had greatly improved they, like other Muslim ladies, may be allowed to enjoy amenities of life and comfortable living (Fathul-Qadir). In this context the words 'thou seekest the pleasure of thy wives' would seem to signify something like this: 'Since thou always desirest to please thy wives and meet their wishes, they have become so emboldened by this loving attitude of thine as to lose sight of thy high position as a great Prophet of God and to make excessive demands from thee.'

The alleged incident of Mary, the copt, being too foolish and fantastic, a concoction of Christian writers and lacking all reliable historical evidence, does not merit serious notice. Incidentally, Mary was the Holy Prophet’s wedded consort and the respected Mother of the Faithful. The Holy Prophet never kept a slave girl. (close)

4278. Commentary:

It is related that one day one of the wives of the Holy Prophet gave him a drink made from honey, which he seemed to like. Some of his other wives, out of pique, pointed out to him that his breath smelt of Maghafir, a shrub the taste of which resembled that of honey but having a bad smell. The Holy Prophet, because of his delicate nature, promised not to take honey any more (Buldan). It is to this incident that the verse under comment is generally taken to refer. But it seems improbable that the Holy Prophet, merely to satisfy the pique of his wife or wives, should have taken such a drastic step as to have forbidden himself the use of some-thing which was lawful, particularly that in which, according to the Quran, "there is cure for men" (16:70). It appears the narrator or narrators of this incident in the traditions suffered from some misunderstanding or confusion, particularly when, accor-ding to one tradition, the Holy Prophet took honey from the house of Zainab, and it were ‘A’ishah and Hafsah who contrived to draw him into making the aforesaid promise, while, according to another tradition, it was at the house of Hafsah that he was served with honey and that the wives who objected were ‘A’ishah, Zainab and Safiyya. It appears, moreover, that according to the hadith, two, or at the most three, of the Holy Prophet’s wives were concerned in the incident, but, according to vv. 2 & 6 of the present Surah, all were connected with it, two of them taking a leading part (v.5). These considerations indicate that the Surah refers to some incident of much greater significance than the mere taking of honey by the Holy Prophet at the house of one of his wives and of having been drawn into making a promise not to take it anymore. In the commentary on this Surah, Bukhari (Kitabul-Mazalim wal Ghasb) quotes Ibn ‘Abbas as relating that he was always on the lookout to enquire of ‘Umar as to who were the two wives to whom reference had been made in the verse: "Now, if you two turn unto Allah, it will be better for you, and your hearts are already so inclined." One day, finding ‘Umar alone, he sought to satisfy his curiosity. He had hardly finished his question, says Ibn ‘Abbas, when ‘Umar said that they were ‘A’ishah and Hafsah and then proceeded to relate the story: "Once, when my wife offered me her advice concerning some domestic affair, I curtly told her that it was no business of hers to advise me, for in those days we did not hold our womenfolk in much respect. My wife sternly replied: 'Your daughter Hafsah takes so much liberty with the Holy Prophet that she retorts back, when he says something not to her liking till he feels offended, and you do not allow me to speak to you even about our domestic affairs.' Upon this I went to Hafsah and sternly told her that she should not be misled by ‘A’ishah in this matter as she was nearer to the Prophet’s heart. Then I went to Ummi Salma and had hardly broached the matter with her when she also curtly told me not to interfere in affairs concerning the Prophet and his wives. A short time after this, the Prophet separated himself from his wives and decided not to go to the house of any of them. The news went round that the Prophet had divorced his wives. I went to him and asked him if it was true that he had divorced his wives to which he replied in the negative." This incident shows that ‘Umar, and Ibn ‘Abbas were of the view that the relevant verses of the Surah referred to this temporary separation of the Holy Prophet from his wives. The fact that the preceding Surah mentions the subject of Talaq which is separation of a permanent character, lends weight to the inference that these verses relate to the Prophet’s separation from his wives, which, however, was of a temporary nature. Besides, as reported by ‘A’ishah in the above mentioned hadith, immediately after the period of separation was over, v. 33:‌29 was revealed, and the Prophet’s wives were given the choice between the Prophet’s companionship and a life of poverty and austere simplicity on the one hand, and separation from him with a life of ease and comfort and all sorts of material benefit on the other. The choice was given to all the wives and the verse under comment speaks of all the wives, as also does v. 4. This shows that the incident referred to in these verses concerns all the wives in which two of them took a more prominent part. And this was when the Prophet’s wives, led by ‘A’ishah and Hafsah, demanded of him that like other Muslim women they should also have amenities of life and comfortable living (Fathul-Qadir). In this context the words تبتغی مرضاة أزواجک would seem to mean something like this: "Since thou always desirest to please thy wives and meet their wishes, they have been encouraged by this loving attitude of thine naturally to lose sight of thy high position as a Prophet of God and to make excessive demands on thee."

The alleged incident of Mariah, the Copt, being too foolish and fantastic a concoction of Christian writers and lacking all reliable historical evidence, does not merit serious notice. Mary was the Holy Prophet’s wedded consort and the respected mother of the Faithful. The Prophet never kept a slave girl. (close)

3072. The Holy Prophet had severely taken to heart his wives’ demand for amenities of life, and in order to show his extreme displeasure had sworn to keep away from them for one month. The present verse describes that a lawful thing does not become unlawful for a person merely by his swearing not to use it. In such a contingency he is required only to expiate his broken oath. (close)

4279. Commentary:

The Holy Prophet had severely taken to heart his wives’ demand for amenities of life, and in order to show his extreme displeasure had sworn to keep away from them for one month. The verse under comment prescribes that a lawful thing does not become unlawful to a person merely by his swearing not to use it. In such a contingency he is required only to expiate his broken oath. (close)

3073. It is difficult to say to what particular incident the present verse, in fact, refers. The reference which seems to be supported by the context may be to the incident described by ‘A’ishah herself, which is to this effect: When verse 33:29 was revealed, giving the Holy Prophet’s wives the choice between his companionship and separation from him in reply to their demand for a life of comfort and ease, the Prophet first of all broached the matter with ‘A’ishah (Bukhari, Kitabul-Mazalimi wal-Ghasb). The Holy Prophet appears to have taken that course because it was ‘A’ishah who had led the demand along with Hafsah, and it is not unlikely that ‘A’ishah should have passed on the Holy Prophet’s secret communication to Hafsah. Whatever the actual facts of the case may be, the verse emphasizes the obligation of a person to whom a secret is confided not to divulge it, particularly when the parties concerned are husband and wife and the secret relates to a private domestic affair; or for that matter, when the parties are a Prophet of God and one of his followers. (close)

4280. Commentary:

It is difficult to say to what particular incident the present verse in fact refers. The reference which seems to be supported by the context may be to the incident described by ‘A’ishah herself, which is to this effect: When verse 33:29 was revealed, giving the Holy Prophet’s wives a choice between his companionship and separation from him, by way of a reply to their demand for a life of comfort and ease, the Prophet first of all, broached the matter with ‘A’ishah (Bukhari, Kitabul-Mazalim wal Ghasb). The Holy Prophet appears to have taken that course because it was ‘A’ishah who had led the demand along with Hafsah, and it is not unlikely that ‘A’ishah passed on the Holy Prophet’s secret communication to Hafsah. Whatever the actual facts may be, the verse emphasizes the obligation of a person to whom a secret is confided not to divulge it, particularly when the parties concerned are husband and wife and the secret relates to a private domestic affair; or for that matter when they are a Prophet of God and one of his followers. (close)

3074. The words, "you two," seem to refer to ‘A’ishah and Hafsah who had led the demand for worldly comforts in their domestic lives. All the other wives of the Holy Prophet had, however, joined in the demand, though the leading part was taken by these two, and this, perhaps because they were the daughters respectively of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, the two most respected among the Holy Prophet’s Companions. The phraseology of the verse indicates that the matter referred to in these verses was of a very serious nature, but taking honey from the house of one’s wife evidently is not so serious an affair as to have led to separation of the Holy Prophet from all his wives for about a month. Nor was the admonition to the Prophet’s wives implied in the words, 'Allah is his helper and Gabriel and righteous among the believers' called for in such a case. (close)

4281. Commentary:

The words "you two," seem to refer to ‘A’ishah and Hafsah who led the demand for worldly comforts in their homes. All the wives of the Holy Prophet had, however, joined in the demand, though the leading part was taken by these two, and this, perhaps because they were daughters respectively of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, the two most respected among the Holy Prophet’s Companions. See also v. 2 above.

The phraseology of the verse indicates that the matter referred to in these verses was of a very serious nature, but taking honey from the house of one’s wife evidently is not so serious an affair as to have led to separation of the Holy Prophet from all his wives for nearly a month. Nor was the reprimand to the Prophet’s wives implied in the words "Allah is his Helper and Gabriel and believers…" called for. (close)

4282. Important Words:

سائحات (given to fasting) is feminine of سائحون which is plural of سائح which is act. part. from ساح. They say ساح فی الارض i.e. he went through the land for the purpose of devoting himself to religious services. سائح means, one who (1) goes through the land as a devotee; or forsakes his home for the sake of God; (2) who observes the obligatory fasts; (3) one who fasts constantly (Lane & Aqrab).

ثیبات (widows) is the plural of ثیب which is derived from ثاب. They say ثیبت المرأة i.e. the woman became a ثیب which means.(1) a woman who has become separated from her husband by his death or by being divorced by him; (2) one who is not a virgin; (3) a woman to whom a man has gone in; (4) a man who has gone in to a woman; (5) a person who has married, whether man or woman; (6) a woman who has attained the age of puberty, though a virgin. رجل ثیب means a man who has been married to a woman (Lane & Aqrab.) (close)

a. 2:25. (close)

a. 2:25. (close)

4283. Commentary:

As the Surah deals particularly with domestic disagreements and conflicts, believers are enjoined to train and educate members of their household in such a way that there should reign complete harmony, peace and concord in the house as it prevails in Paradise. (close)

a. 9:66. (close)

b. 9:66. 77:37. (close)

b. 48:6; 64:10. (close)

3075. The never-ceasing desire for perfection on the part of believers in Paradise as expressed in the words, 'Our Lord perfect our light for us,' shows that life in Paradise will not be one of inaction. On the contrary, spiritual advance in Paradise will know no end, for as the believers will attain excellence, characteristic of a certain stage, they will not stop at that, but seeing in front of it a higher stage of excellence and finding that the stage at which they had arrived was not the highest stage will proceed further, and so on without end. (close)

3076. It further appears that after entering Paradise, the believers will seek Maghfirah, i.e. suppression of defects (Lane). They will be continually praying to God for the attainment of perfection and complete immersion in Divine Light and will be continually going upwards regarding each state as defective in comparison with a higher one, to which they will aspire, and will therefore pray to God to suppress the defective state that they may be able to get to the higher one. This is the true significance of Istighfar of which the literal meaning is, 'asking forgiveness for one’s lapses.' (close)

a. 8:30; 48:6; 64:10. (close)

4284. Commentary:

The never-ceasing desire for perfection on the part of believers in Paradise as expressed in the words, "Our Lord perfect our light for us," shows that life in Paradise will not be a life of inaction. On the contrary, spiritual advance in Paradise will know no end, for as the believers will attain excellence, characteristic of a certain stage, they will not stop at that, but seeing in front of it a higher stage of excellence and thus finding that the stage at which they had arrived was not the highest stage, will desire the attainment of the next higher stage, and so on without end.

In short the believers will go on making advancement in Paradise and shall never recede a step. Their activity far from ceasing will rather increase. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that in Paradise the believers will be imparted knowledge of new attributes of God which they will try to copy in themselves.

From the verse it further appears that after entering Paradise, the believers will seek maghfirah, i.e. "suppression of a defect." In this sense of maghfirah the verse means that the righteous will be continually praying to God for the attainment of perfection and complete immersion in divine light. They will be continually going upwards and will regard each state as defective in comparison with a higher one to which they will aspire and will, therefore, pray to God to suppress the defective state that they may be able to get to the higher one. This is the true significance of Istighfar of which the literal meaning is, "asking forgiveness for one’s lapses." (close)

3077. No advance is possible unless the disbelievers and the Hypocrites are strenuously striven against. Incidentally, the verse explains the real significance of Jihad which means, 'striving hard.' Since the Hypocrites were regarded as part of the Muslim Community, Jihad in the sense of fighting with the sword was never waged against them. (close)

4285. Commentary:

Whereas, in the preceding verse it was stated that spiritual progress, not only in this world but in the life after death, is endless, in the verse under comment we are told that no advance is possible unless the disbelievers and the hypocrites are strenuously striven against. Incidentally, the verse explains the real significance of jihad which means, "striving against". Since the hypocrites were regarded as part of the Muslim Community, jihad in the sense of fighting with the sword was never waged against them. (close)

3078. The disbelievers are compared to the wives of Noah and Lot in order to show that the companionship of a righteous man, even a Prophet of God, does not benefit an evilly-inclined person who is bent upon rejecting truth. The wife of Pharaoh represents those believers, who though passionately desiring and praying to get rid of sin, cannot fully dissociate themselves from evil influences which are represented by Pharaoh, and having arrived at the stage of the "self-accusing soul" sometimes fail and falter. Mary, the mother of Jesus, represents those righteous servants of God who, having closed all avenues of sin and having made peace with God, are blessed with Divine inspiration; the pronoun hi in fihi standing for such fortunate believers. Or, the pronoun may stand for Farj which, literally meaning a cleft or fissure, signifies an opening through which sin can find access. (close)