Surah Al-Ahzab (The Confederates)

1. O Prophet! Continue to fear Allah as you do, and obey Him, looking forward to His reward; refrain from disobeying Him, for fear of His punishment; pay heed neither to the unbelievers nor to the hypocrites in what they demand of you, and do not listen to them or consult them. Allah Almighty knows that they hide hostility and hate in their souls, whereas they pretend that they wish you well. Allah is wise in His judgement and management. (It is said that the reason for the revelation of this verse is that certain wealthy people of Quraish had offered to give the Prophet (peace be upon him) half of their goods if he would renounce converting their people to belief in Allah; similarly, the Jews and the hypocrites threatened to kill him if he did not cease preaching Islam. Then Allah sent down this verse.)

2. Follow the revelations of your Lord, and pay no attention to the words and threats of the unbelievers and hypocrites! For Allah is well informed about what you and your companions do, and about what the unbelievers and the hypocrites do. Nothing is hidden from Him. He will repay you, on the Day of Resurrection, either with good if your deeds are virtuous or bad if your deeds are evil.

3. And place your confidence in Allah alone, and trust in Him in all your affairs and all your doings. Allah will suffice you as a protector if you entrust Him with all your concerns.

4. Just as Allah has not placed two hearts in the breast of any man and since a man’s wife can never at the same time be his mother, as in the saying: “You are as illicit to me as my mother,” so the adopted child is not the son of his adoptive father just because the latter has claimed that the adopted child is his own child. Thus the words of a man to his wife, saying that she is, for him, like his mother, and the claim of an adoptive father that the adopted child is his own child, are mere words which issue from your mouths, without any truth in reality. Thus, a wife never becomes her husband’s mother and the claim of filiation by an adopted child has no foundation. Allah speaks reliably and speaks the truth; and He guides His servants in the true path. Therefore renounce your words and your claims and follow the word of Allah Almighty!

5. Allah Almighty in this verse abrogates the right of adoption which had been recognized before Islam. Adoption was permitted and remained widespread early in the Islamic era; thus, if a man adopted the child of another, that child would have the same rights as a legitimate child in inheritance and succession …. But Almighty Allah abrogated the right of adoption in this verse, and He ordered the believers to call adopted children by the names of their true fathers; for that was more accurate and more just. (Thus they must say: “Zaid bin Harithah” or “Zaid son of Harithah” and not “Zaid bin Mohammad” or “Zaid son of Mohammad”.) But when the name of the adopted child’s real father is unknown, then believers must consider him as their brother in the faith, if he has embraced Islam, and like their ally if he is a freed slave (so that one says Salim Moula or “ally” of Abu Hudhaifah). No harm will come to believers for what they do by mistake, in giving these adopted children names other than those of their true fathers, or after they have thoroughly searched and enquired, or by oversight. But those who deliberately seek to mislead will be culpable and held to account. On the other hand, Allah pardons those who repent or commit an error without premeditation, and He is merciful towards them and does not punish them after their repentance.

6. Allah Almighty has ordained that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has priority over believers and that his commands have precedence over theirs; for the Prophet’s orders are always in their interest, whereas an individual soul can issue bad commands and is capable of being ignorant of its own true interests. Allah has ordained that the Prophet’s wives are the mothers of the believers; therefore, they do not have the right to marry them and they must respect them. In the early days of Islam, allied or associated persons were treated as each other’s heirs, just like actual brothers, so that two associated persons could inherit, each from the other, over the heads of the rest of the family (even if they were not brothers of the same lineage). Then in this verse Allah Almighty puts an end to this practice and ordains that inheritance should be the right of the immediate family, and also that close relatives should have mutual priority, by right of succession, over other believers, by right of religion, and over immigrants (from Makkah), by right of immigration. But Allah Almighty has excluded from this ordinance any donation or legacy whereby a man bequeaths his goods to one of the immigrants or believers, who would in this case have rights of inheritance over the near relatives. Then Allah Almighty says: “The mutual priority of close relatives in matters of inheritance is a decision ordained and established by Allah in His Book which will never be modified or altered.”

7. Allah Almighty informs His messenger that the men of determination among His messengers are five in number: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad (peace be upon them); also that He has a covenant with these prophets and His other messengers that they would communicate the message of Allah to mankind and to establish Allah’s religion through mutual assistance, supporting each other: “Establish religion; and do not subject it to divisions” (see chapter 42- Ash-Shura (Consultation), 13). Allah has also informed His messengers and prophets that He will ask them whether they have communicated His message: “We will question the messengers” (see chapter 7- Al-A’raf (The Heights), 6). He considered that a solemn covenant of great importance.

8. Allah Almighty made a covenant with His prophets that He would ask them about the response of the generations to whom they were sent, and what the latter did after receiving their Lord’s message, so that He can take into account the sincerity of the truthful and reward them for it, and take into account the mendacity of the liars and punish them for it. For the latter, Allah has prepared a painful torture in hell.

9. After having ordered His servants to fear Him and to fear no one else but Him, Allah Almighty reminds His servants of His graces towards them and of the victory He promised them when the factions (confederates) came against them. At that time Allah sent a violent freezing wind against them which overturned their cooking-pots and tore down their tents, and also sent His angels to assist them, soldiers whom the Muslims could not see, who filled the idolaters with terror; thus they retreated on a bitterly cold night. Meanwhile, Allah continues to observe the deeds of the believers and the sincerity of their intentions, and takes charge of their defence. The history of the factions, as related in the traditional books of Islam, is as follows: Jewish emissaries from Medina were sent to Quraish in Makkah in the tenth month of the fifth Hijra year (the year of the emigration of the Prophet from Makkah to Medina) to incite the idolaters to make war against the messenger. They came to the Ghatafan, Qais, ‘Ailan, and Assad tribes and their allies to bring them over to their side and form a coalition against the Messenger (peace be upon him) and the Muslims. Then these tribes set out towards Medina. When the Messenger learned of their march towards Medina, he consulted his companions. Salman al-Farsi suggested digging a trench around Medina in order to help the Muslims to prevent the unbelievers from advancing into the interior, and this was done. When the allied tribes arrived at Medina, they found the famous trench, and laid siege to it. Skirmishes took place between the Muslims and the idolaters. During the siege, the Bani Quraizah broke their pact with the Messenger (peace be upon him), incited to do so by Hoyaya bin Akhtab, the leader of the Bani al-Nadir Jews, whom the Messenger had already banished to Khaibar; this made things even more difficult for the Muslims. Then Nu’aim bin Mas’oud of the Ghatafan tribe came to the Messenger to say that unknown to his fellows he had embraced Islam, and asked him to command him to do whatever would be of most use to the Muslims. The Messenger therefore said to him: “In our ranks you are but one man, but war is a matter of stratagems; persuade as many of the factions to defect as you can.” So he went to the Bani Quraizah, he had been their friend before his conversion, and said to them: “You know that Quraish and the tribes allied with it are not going to stay in Medina, and if the war goes badly for them they will return to their lands, and you will be left here on your own to face Mohammad (peace be upon him), whom you cannot stand up against. I therefore advise you to demand hostages from the tribes which are besieging Medina, so that they do not retreat or abandon the fight against Mohammad until it is finished.” They followed his advice. Then he went to Quraish, Ghatafan, and the other tribes, to tell them that the Bani Quraizah regretted having broken their pact with Mohammad, and that they were promising him that they would deliver leaders of the tribes to him to be beheaded, so that their pact would be re-instated as before. Dissension, defection, doubt, and mistrust reigned between the tribes and the Bani Quraizah. Each party was wary of the other. One rainy night, a violent and freezing wind blew up, overturning cooking-pots and tearing down tents, so that Abu Sufyan proposed flight, and the factions departed.

10. When the factions came upon you from higher up the valley (the east) and from down the valley (the west), countenances were pale and eyes were wide with the fear and trembling which so seized the Muslims that their hearts rose into their throats (this describes the difficulty, the great fear, and the despair which afflicted the Muslims). During this time, the hypocrites set about sowing fear throughout Medina and instilling doubts by way of false and discouraging rumours, which they spread abroad to undermine the believers’ self-confidence and their belief in their fighting capacities, until some of them whose faith was weak came to believe that the clans would destroy the Muslims. Mu’tib bin Koshair said: “Mohammad used to promise us that we would enjoy the riches of Croesus and Caesar, but now not one of us dares go to the toilet alone, for sheer fear.” But the faithful believers knew that the promise made by Allah and His messenger was true, and that Allah would help the Muslims as well as His religion, which He will make triumph over all religions.

11. Allah at that time subjected the believers to a very severe test, so that one could tell the faithful and true believer from the hypocrite who does not stand firm; and they were deeply troubled by the terror which afflicted them.

12. As for the hypocrites, their hypocrisy was made manifest. Mu’tib bin Koshair, together with those whose faith was weak, and recent converts whose souls were still unsure about embracing Islam (“those whose souls are sick”), said: “Allah and His messenger have deceived us with their promises,” meaning that what Allah promised concerning victory was a false promise by which He meant to deceive them.

13. Remember, O Mohammad, when a group of hypocrites (such as Abdullah bin Ubay and his companions) said: “O people of Medina (“Yathreb”)! This is not a good dwelling-place for you if you persist in supporting the Prophet! Return therefore to your homes in order to defend them and defend yourselves and your children.” Then some of them asked the prophet for permission to return home (it was the Bani Harithah), telling him that they feared that their houses would be burgled, since there was no one to protect them. Allah Almighty answers them: “Their homes are not without protection, nor are they threatened as they claim; in reality, they seek merely to flee and avoid combat, and not support the Muslims in their struggle against the enemies of Allah.”

14. If their enemies had come to them from all parts of Medina (it is said that this refers to their houses) and had asked them to abjure Islam and return to idolatry, they would have hastened to do so because of their great fear; this was a sign of the weakness of their faith.

15. Those who asked the Prophet’s permission to leave, the Bani Harithah, deserted on the day of the Battle of Ohod and fled from contact with the enemy; then they repented and vowed to Allah that they would never flinch or do such a thing again. Whoever makes a vow to Allah will be called to account by Allah on Judgement Day, and He will repay him.

16. O Mohammad, tell those who asked for permission to leave and who fled the battle and contact with the enemy: “Flight will be of no use whatever to you and will not prevent the death that Allah has predestined for you. Even if your flight was useful and you were not killed on the battlefield, your stay on earth is limited, just as your joys are brief, and death will come to you at the appointed time, neither earlier or later.”

17. And tell them: “Nobody on earth can prevent Allah’s fate from befalling you. If Allah wishes you ill, nobody can prevent it, and if He wishes you well and shows mercy towards you, nobody can oppose His will; for all things are in Allah’s hands, and He disposes of them according to His wishes. These hypocrites will find no ally apart from Allah, nor any assistance which will stave off the will of Allah and the misfortune or misery which He has predestined for them.”

18. Almighty Allah knows well those who sow defeatism and who set out to discourage people from fighting and from supporting the Prophet (peace be upon him), and who seek to flee in order to avoid battling by his side. He knows those who say to their companions and their families: “Hurry up and join us and come to our comfortable home, under the shade and the fruits, where we are settled.” They appear in the Muslim camp only for a short while, in order to be seen, and then they disappear into their hiding places.

19. They are miserly; they do not help the believers with their goods, nor offer them assistance or help. Thus, when the battle commences and the fighting begins, you can see them, O Mohammad, filled with terror and watching you, with their eyes rolling with fear like someone in the midst of his death-throes. Once their fear and the reasons for it have passed and their souls feel safe again, they raise their voices and talk of rescue, and of the wisdom and bravery they showed in battle, whereas they are mere liars. If the believers have triumphed, then they are rapacious and make sure that they do not miss out on the booty. So during the battle they are cowards and during the division of the spoils they are rapacious. (It is said that the meaning of this verse is: When fear is past, they malign you and insult you with their sharp tongues.) Those of whom Allah has spoken have not believed in Allah and His messenger with certainty, nor purified their deeds for Allah, because they were hypocrites, so Allah destroys their works, carries off their rewards, and annuls them. For Allah this is an easy task.

20. They are so surprised and their faith is so weak that they still believe that the clans have not departed from Medina; whereas Allah has defeated them and they have departed. If the clans return to fight the Muslims and lay siege to Medina, they would wish to be in the desert with the bedouins far from Medina, so that no harm might come to them, and they would be quite content just to hear news of you from passing travellers. If they are among you in the battle, they will only fight a little, through hypocrisy and through fear of the battle, not in the hope of earning rewards from Allah in the hereafter.

21. Allah Almighty urges the believers to follow the example of His messenger and to emulate his endurance, his patience, his application, and his resilience, so He says to those who have shown signs of disgruntlement and who were troubled and worried during the war against the factions: “Do you wish to follow the example of the Messenger and guide yourselves according to his fine qualities? For you have in the Messenger (peace be upon him) an excellent model to follow; if you hope for Allah’s reward, fear His punishment and praise His name frequently; for the praise of Allah leads one to obey Him and to follow the example of His messenger.”

22. When the true believers saw the clans encircling Medina, they said: “This is the testing through great difficulties foretold to us by Allah and His Messenger, which will be followed by subsequent victory. Allah and His messenger spoke the truth concerning the victory and also concerning the test.” This only increased their endurance, their belief in the coming of those things foretold by Allah and His messenger, and their submission to their fate. (Ibn Abbas says: “This signifies the word of Allah in the chapter of Al-Baqara (The Heifer, 214): ‘Misery and misfortunes had descended upon them, and they were so shaken that the Messenger, and those with him who had believed, would have cried, ‘When will Allah’s help come?’ What! Allah’s help is surely close at hand.’ ”)

23. After recalling the hypocrites who broke their word, Allah Almighty describes the believers who have continued loyally to respect their pacts and their promises to Allah. Some amongst them have remained truthful regarding the pacts they have made with Allah to endure their difficulties and misfortunes. Some of them died as martyrs at the Battle of Badr, some in the Battle of Ohod or in other battles, and some still await the fate which Allah has ordained. In this way, those who died have remained faithful to their pact with Allah, and have in no way departed from their promises. (It is said that this verse was revealed in connection with Anas bin Nadir who died at the Battle of Ohod. Being absent from the Battle of Badr, he said: “It is my wish that Allah will permit me to be at some other battle with Allah’s messenger, so that I may show Allah what I shall do.”) And it is said that it was revealed in connection with a group of the Prophet’s companions, including Othman bin ‘Affan, Hamzah bin ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Talhah bin ‘Ubaidallah, Mus’ab bin ‘Umair and others, who vowed to apply themselves and fight well to a martyr’s death if they found themselves in battle alongside the Messenger of Allah.

24. Allah Almighty tests His servants by subjecting them to fear, in order to distinguish the bad from the good and to reveal each man’s intentions, so that He may reward the truthful for their sincerity in keeping their promises to Allah, and punish the hypocrites who have violated the covenant and disobeyed their Lord’s commands, if they persist in their hypocrisy until they meet Allah face to face. But if they repent and perform good deeds, then Allah will pardon their former sins and evil deeds. Allah remains forgiving and merciful, and his compassion for His servants outweighs His anger.

25. Allah Almighty sent off the polytheists of Quraish, Ghatafan, Assad, and Sulaim full of rancour at having failed to achieve what they had hoped for, at having been unable to triumph over Mohammad (peace be upon him) and his companions, and at their failure to carry off any booty; also because the believers were not obliged to fight them in order to force them to withdraw. Allah sent against them a great wind and angels, which filled them with terror, so that they retreated humiliated and beaten; and He spared the believers any fighting, granted victory to His servant, honoured His armies, and alone conquered the factions. There are no divinties other than Allah. He is All-powerful and Almighty, and He is Invincible and Unconquerable.

26. When the clans came to Medina, there was a pact between Allah’s Messenger and the Bani Quraizah Jews, so Hoyaye bin Akhtab, leader of the Bani an-Nadir Jews who was allied with the clans, came to the Bani Quraizah to persuade them to cancel their pact with Allah’s Messenger and to join with the clans in their battle against the Muslims. They agreed, which made the situation much more difficult for the Muslims. After having vanquished the clans, Allah ordered His noble messenger to punish the Bani Quraizah for their treachery and for having broken their word. After twenty-five days of conflict, they were obliged to accept the judgement of Sa’d bin Mu’adh, who had been their ally before he embraced Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) entrusted him with this task while he was recovering from his wounds in Medina, and Sa’d handed down the sentence of death to the fighters, the capture of their children and confiscation of their possessions. It is for this reason that Allah Almighty says that He sent terror into the hearts of the Bani Quraizah (people of the Book who had lent their support to the factions) and forced them to abandon their forts after the judgement of Sa’d bin Mu’adh. So the Muslims killed some of them and made prisoners of the others.

27. Allah made the believers inheritors of the lands of the Bani Quraizah, their plantations as well, their goods and their cattle. Allah has made the believers inheritors of the lands they have conquered since then, those of the Jews and the idolaters and others, in Arabia and elsewhere, lands that the believers had hitherto not treaded. Allah is perfectly capable of all things; nothing is impossible to Him.

28. After Allah Almighty had granted His messenger victory over the clans and the Bani Quraizah, his wives thought that he would turn his attention to the treasures and possessions of the Jews, so they came to him to ask him to be generous towards them and to treat them as the wives of kings are treated. This saddened the Messenger (peace be upon him), so Allah commanded him to recite to them His revelations concerning them.

After having requested the Messenger’s permission to enter, Abu Bakr and Omar bin al-Khatab entered and found the Messenger (peace be upon him) surrounded by his wives, who were silent. Omar spoke and said: “O messenger of Allah, if you intended to give a pension to the daughter of Zaid (that is, Omar’s wife), I would cut off her head.” The messenger smiled at this and said: “They stand around me for the same reason.” Abu Bakr stood up in order to strike his daughter, and Omar did the same, to strike his daughter Hafsah, saying: “You are asking the messenger of Allah for something he does not possess!” But the Messenger forbade them to strike their daughters. Then both of the women said: “By Allah! We will never again ask the messenger for something he does not possess.”

Allah Almighty sent down this choice. The messenger began with Aisha, saying to her: “I have a proposition to put to you, and I hope that before rushing to answer me you will consult your parents.” She said: “What is this proposition?” Then he recited this verse: “O Prophet, tell your wives….” Aisha said: “You wish me to consult my parents in matters concerning you? No; I choose Allah and His messenger, and I beg you not to reveal to your other wives the choice I have made.” He said to her: “Allah did not send me to chide but to teach and to make things easier. Every time one of my wives asks me what your choice was, I will tell her.”

Then Allah exhorted them, after they had chosen Allah and His messenger, and prescribed rules for them. The meaning of this noble verse is : O noble Prophet, tell your wives to choose one of the following:
– The first is: If you love this present life and its adornments, you shall no longer abide with me; for I care nothing for such things. Come therefore to me that I may give you the compensation a man must grant his wife when he divorces her.
– The second comes in the next verse.

29. The second choice that Almighty Allah ordered His messenger to propose to them was: If they wish to satisfy Allah and His messenger, be rewarded in the hereafter and be content with a rough life, then they must obey Allah and His messenger; for Allah has prepared for the virtuous among them a magnificent reward in comparison with which those of this life are as nothing.

30. Allah Almighty counselled the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who had chosen Allah, His messenger, and the eternal dwelling-place, telling them that whichever of them commits a sin, such as the violation of her conjugal duties or immorality (‘a manifest evil”), her punishment will be doubled to twice that of other women, because they are so highly placed. For Allah, that is an easy matter.

31. As for her who obeys Allah and His messenger and remains devoted to them, Allah will double her reward, and He has prepared for her in paradise a generous gift; she will have in paradise a place in the prophet’s own dwelling.

32. O wives of the prophet! No other woman resembles you, nor will she have the same place and the same status as you, if you comport yourselves piously, as Allah has commanded. Do not therefore speak to men in a subtle manner capable of awakening sensual desire in those of them who are weak, perverse, or debauched! Therefore, do not let your words raise any doubt which might allow anyone to desire you!

33. And remain indoors and do not go out unless it is necessary to do so. (In a Hadith reported by al-Tirmuthi and al-Bazzar, the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “A woman should not show herself; when she goes out, the devil observes her attentively; the place where she is closest to Allah is her home”). And do not display your beauty coquettishly before men, in the manner of the women of the former pre-Islamic period. Observe the prayer-times (sala) scrupulously, and offer the prescribed alms (zakat) as Allah has commanded! Allah Almighty wishes to purify the people in the bosom of the Prophet’s dwelling of every vice and misdeed, and to cleanse them of every impurity.

34. Recall Allah’s beneficence towards you, for He has ordained that the verses and regulations revealed to the messenger should be recited in your homes! Thank your Lord for His favours; for it is thanks to Him that His verses are recited in your homes, so that they may then be applied according to the tradition of His messenger. Allah remains well informed about you, since He has chosen you as the prophet’s wives.

35. Ibn Abbas says: “The women said to the Prophet: ‘Why does Allah talk of men and not of women?’ Then Allah Almighty sent down this verse.” In this verse Allah makes a distinction between the fact of being a Muslim and the fact of being a believer, and He declares that faith is something more specific than submission (Islam). He has said: “The Bedouins say: ‘We have the faith.” Say: You do not yet have the faith. Say rather: ‘We have merely submitted,’ for the faith has not yet penetrated into your hearts.” (See chapter 49- Al-Hujurat (The Inner Apartments), 14).

In an authentic Hadith in Al-Sahihain, the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “The fornicator is not in a state of faith when he fornicates.” For when the fornicator commits adultery the designation “believer” is withdrawn from him, but he is not considered an unbeliever, since the designation “Muslim” is not withdrawn from him, as is unanimously agreed by Muslim scholars. In this verse, Allah Almighty cites the qualities whereby His servants shall deserve that Allah should forgive them, wipe out their faults, and reward them with eternal bliss. The required qualities are as follows:
– Manifest submission in observing the laws of the religion in word and deed.
– Internal submission (faith), believing with total conviction and submitting to the laws of the religion.
– Dedication, which is consistency in working with serenity and assurance.
– Truth in word and deed, which is a sign of faith, just as lies are a sign of hypocrisy.
– Endurance in the face of misfortunes and patience in the face of difficulties, practising one’s religion and abandoning desires.
– Humility and modesty towards Allah Almighty, in one’s heart and in one’s limbs, desiring His reward and fearing His punishment.
– Generosity towards the needy who lack the necessities of life.
– Fasting, for it helps one to resist the keen edge of desire. (In a Hadith reported by Ibn Maja: “Fasting is the almsgiving tax imposed by religion.”)

36. Ibn Abbas reports that the Messenger (peace be upon him) asked for the hand of his cousin, Zainab the daughter of Jahsh, for his ally Zaid bin Harithah. But she refused, saying that she was of a higher social class than him. Then Allah sent down this verse, so she agreed to marry him, obedient to the will of Allah. (In a Hadith: “By Him who possesses my soul! No one is a believer until his desires are consistent with the religion I bring.”) The marriage of Zainab with Zaid bin Harithah served divine wisdom, since it resulted in the establishment of the regulations concerning adoption. The Arabs accorded to the adopted son the same rights as those of an actual son, in terms of succession and inheritance and the prohibition of marriage with family members. Allah Almighty wished to abolish this practice in Islam, so that true succession might be observed, and it is for this reason that Allah said: “He has not made your adopted sons your actual sons. These are mere words which issue from your mouths.” (See verse 4, above.)

The meaning of this verse is: “Once Allah and His messenger have made a decision, it is not for a believer, male or female, to allow themselves to make a choice contrary to the decision of Allah and His messenger, nor to contradict the order of Allah and His messenger. Whoever disobeys Allah and His messenger is straying from the true path and following a course other than the path of righteousness.

37. Zainab bint Jahsh had a fiery temperament; when this verse was revealed, she agreed to marry Zaid bin Harithah. She was not, however, a good wife to him, for she looked down on him, and he for his part constantly complained to the prophet, who counselled him to keep his wife and fear Allah. Allah had revealed to the prophet that he would marry Zainab once she was divorced from Zaid, in order to eradicate the old beliefs about adoption which were still widespread among the Arabs. However, the messenger loved Zaid, who was given the sobriquet of “favourite” or “the favourite of Allah’s messenger.” Zaid suffered deeply from Zainab’s scorn, and when his complaints became too numerous Allah sent down this noble verse in which He says to His messenger: “Remember what you said to your protege, Zaid, on whom Allah had showered His blessings — such as faith–, being the messenger’s disciple and ally, as well as being given a good education and freed from slavery: ‘Keep your wife and fear Allah with regard to her, and do not divorce her because of her pride and because she looks down on you; for divorce will hurt her and wound her pride.’ But you well knew that the divorce would take place one day and that you would marry her, in order to be a good model for the believers to follow. But the shameful idea that people would say that Mohammad had married the wife of his adopted son overcame you. So you hid in your soul what Allah wanted to make public; and you feared men’s comments and recriminations, whereas Allah, who ordered you to marry Zainab, has a greater right to be feared. You must therefore continue to obey Allah in this matter in order to establish His law. Thus when Zaid had satiated his desire for her and lost interest in her and repudiated her, we made you marry her, so that the Muslims would see no harm in a man marrying a woman who had formerly been the wife of his adopted son. What Allah has pre-ordained will inevitably happen, and thus since Allah has decided that Zainab would be your wife, this will happen.”

38. No harm befell the prophet as a result of what Allah had permitted and imposed upon him, such as his marriage to Zainab, the divorced wife of his adopted son Zaid bin Harithah. Such was the rule of Allah with earlier prophets. He permitted them marriage with free women and with slaves; thus, Solomon and David and other prophets had many wives. And what Allah predestines will inevitably take place. In this verse there is an answer to the Jews who had reproached the Prophet for his marriage to many wives.

39. In this verse, Allah Almighty describes the noble prophets of earlier times, saying that they communicated Allah’s messages to the people Allah had sent them to, which they did not hesitate to do, even if Allah’s judgement was difficult for them to communicate to the people. They feared Allah’s chastisement if they ceased to communicate His messages, and they feared nobody other than Allah. And how satisfying Allah is as a helper and support, as an overseer over the deeds of mankind, and as a reckoner of accounts!

40. When the idolaters and the Jews said that Mohammad had married his son’s wife, Allah sent down this noble verse in which He says: Mohammad has never been the father of any one of you men, that you might forbid him to marry the divorced wife of his adopted son, but he is the messenger of Allah, sent to communicate His message to mankind; and he is the seal of all the prophets and the last in time of all the prophets, for there will be no more prophets after him. (The messenger’s sons all died before him.)

41. Allah Almighty commands the believers to celebrate His name abundantly. Allah has indeed been benevolent towards them, and the act of evoking His name will earn them plentiful rewards.

42. Allah also commands them to purify Him of all that is not fitting, in the morning when they rise and in the afternoon when they stop work. In this way they will evoke Allah in the morning to thank Him for having woken them from sleep and in the evening to thank Him for having helped them to earn their living by their work.

43. Allah encourages believers to remember their Lord and says that He is mindful of them. He is merciful towards them and praises them in the presence of the sublime ranks of His servants; even the noble angels sue for pardon on their behalf. Thanks to His mercy, His guidance, and the prayers of His angels, Allah thus leads them out of the shadow of disbelief into the light of faith. He is compassionate towards His servants the believers, both here below and in the hereafter. Thus in the present life He guides them towards the truth and the path of righteousness, and in the hereafter He will preserve them from great fear, and will order the angels to welcome them with good news and announce to them that they have merited Paradise and that they are saved from hell.

44. On the Day of Resurrection they will be greeted with the word “Peace” (salaam): there are three accounts concerning those who will greet them:
– It is Allah Almighty who will greet them with the word “Peace” on the day they meet Him, for Allah says in another verse: “‘Salaam!’ (peace and health!). A word from a Lord Who is all merciful.” (See chapter 36- Ya-Sin, 58.)
– It is the noble angels who will greet them when they enter Paradise, according to Allah’s word: “From every gate the angels will enter unto them: ‘Peace be upon you, for all that you have endured!’” (See chapter 13- Al-Ra’d (Thunder), 24.)
– It is they themselves who will greet each other on the day when they meet their Lord, as Allah says: “In that place, their invocation will be: ‘Glory be to you, O Allah’ and their salutation: ‘Salaam’ (Peace)!” (See chapter 10- Yunus (Jonah), 10.)
In Paradise, Allah Almighty has prepared for them an enormous reward for their faith and their good works during their life here on earth.

45. O Prophet! Allah Almighty has sent you as a witness concerning those to whom you have been sent, so that you might observe their state, see their deeds, and give evidence against them on the Day of Resurrection. He sent you to announce Paradise to them if they believe you and follow the message you bring to them from Allah, and to warn them of hellfire if they treat you as a liar and go against your commands and your prohibitions.

46. Allah sent you to invite mankind to worship Allah alone and no divinity other than Him, and to pay heed to Him both privately and publicly. He caused your mission to be manifest, like the sun when it lights up and illuminates the universe, which means that only the most obtuse can fail to recognize it. (The meaning could also be as follows: We made you like a bright lamp by means of which those who had strayed could guide themselves and from which the righteous could receive enlightenment.)

47. Give the believers the good news that they have a great advantage over other nations: it is they who will be charged by Allah to spread the faith throughout the earth and lead mankind out of the shadows into the light.

48. Do not pay heed to the words of an unbeliever or a hypocrite in matters concerning religion and the message; ignore their persecution, forgive them, bear whatever they subject you to, and put your trust in Allah. How satisfying a support and protection is Allah!

49. In this verse the word “marriage” signifies the marriage contract. Allah Almighty says: “O believers! If you have made a marriage contract with women of faith and later you are divorced from them without having touched them, they are not obliged in that case to wait for a certain time, in your interest, before she remarries (the leading Islamic scholars are unanimous on this point). But the husband must grant the wife certain goods, according to his means (the wealthy man according to his means and the poor man according to his). He must accord her an honourable and noble departure, and provide means of transportation, provisions, and good treatment, in order to gratify and satisfy her family, and console them for the disrepute which touches them because of the divorce.

50. Allah Almighty says that among women He permitted the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) to marry wives to whom he had given a dowry as well as slaves who were his share of the spoils of war (he had possessed in this way Safiyah bint Hoyaye bin Akhtab and Juwairiah of the Bani al-Mustaliq, but he had freed them and married them). In addition, Allah made it legal for him to marry his cousins, both paternal and maternal. In this regard, the Islamic laws are a medium between the exaggeration of the Christians, which just makes things difficult, and the looseness of the Jews; for a Christian cannot marry a woman of his family unless there are at least seven different grandfathers between him and her; by contrast, a Jew can marry his niece. Among his cousins, Allah permitted the prophet to marry only those who had emigrated in his company and had chosen exile with him.
Allah also permitted the Prophet marriage with a woman of the faith who had given herself to him without his having paid a dowry, so long as the Prophet consented to marry her (the permission described in this verse applies only to the Prophet, not to the believers; for if a woman gives herself to a man he must give her a dowry, just like her peers). But the Prophet did not marry any of the women who had given themselves to him. However, Allah permitted him to do so, in order that there might not be any awkwardness or bar against him to marry a wife from among those mentioned beforehand. Allah remains forgiving and merciful towards His Messenger and all believers.

51. No blame would attach to you if you wished to forgo sharing yourself out fairly between your wives; you could, if you so wished, give precedence to one over another or make any of them wait; and you could take to your couch whichever of them you might wish, and abandon whichever of them you might wish. This was more likely to satisfy their souls when they realized that although Allah had removed any obligation from the Prophet concerning sharing himself out equally, and it was up to the Prophet to share or not to share, he had of his own free will, chosen sharing himself out fairly; also, they recognized his generosity in treating them equally and being just towards them. Allah knows what the heart contains in the way of inclination towards certain wives to the exclusion of the others, something which one cannot prevent. Allah knows all secrets, and is patient and forgiving.

52. This verse was revealed to recompense the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) for having chosen Allah, His prophet, and the last Dwelling-place when the Messenger asked them to choose. Allah therefore rewards them by forbidding the Prophet to marry anyone but them or to replace them with other wives by divorcing one and marrying another in her place, with the exception of the slaves in his possession. The Messenger later lay with Maria al-Coptiya, who bore him his son Abraham, who died in infancy. Allah remains the observer of everything, and He knows all secrets and confidences. Beware therefore of going beyond the bounds He has set, and turning from the licit to the illicit. (It is said that the phrase “Henceforth you are no longer permitted” means: now that I have defined the women you are permitted to marry, such as those to whom you have paid a dowry, the slaves whom you own, your cousins, and those who have given themselves to you. As for other categories of women, they are not permitted to you.)

53. O believers! Do not enter into the Prophet’s dwelling unless you have been invited there for a meal, and even then, do not enter while the meal is still being cooked. But if the Prophet invites you to enter, then do; and after you have eaten, leave, and do not linger to chat. That displeases the prophet and disturbs him and his family, but he is embarrassed to tell you so or ask you to leave. Allah wishes to teach you discipline and tell you the truth so that you will follow it. Therefore, if you have eaten with the Prophet, leave, and do not stay behind to chat. And if you wish to ask the Prophet’s wives for anything, let it be through a curtain; for it is purer for the hearts of men as well as the hearts of women to protect them from the promptings of the devil, and further from doubts and suspicions. Believers must not do anything which might trouble the Prophet either during his life or after it, by marrying one of his wives. For, to trouble the Prophet during his life or after his death is a grave fault, the gravity of which can be weighed only by Allah himself.

54. Whether you divulge something which might trouble the Prophet or hide it in your heart, Allah knows everything. He knows what motives lie hidden behind your actions, and what there is in your soul, for nothing can be concealed from Him; and He will repay every man according to his acts and his intentions. (It is said that the reason for which this verse was revealed is as follows: When the verse was sent down in which Allah orders the believers to speak to the Prophet’s wives through a curtain, one man said: “We are forbidden to talk to our cousins except through a curtain? I swear that when Mohammad dies we will marry his wives.”)

55. Allah Almighty excludes in this verse all those who were permitted to speak to the Prophet’s wives (and women generally) without a curtain: fathers, sons, brothers, nephews, Muslim women, and the slaves they own and who serve them, in which case covering themselves would be inconvenient. Then Allah ordered the Prophet’s wives to fear Him in what they hide and what they reveal, for He is witness to everything: nothing is hidden from Him.

56. Allah Almighty informs His servants the believers that the place of His servant Mohammad is among the hosts of angels, and that the angels pray for him and ask forgiveness for his sake. Allah orders His servants to pray for him and to salute him so that he will be praised by people in both worlds, both high and low. (As reported by al-Imam Ahmad, the messenger of Allah said: “Gabriel came to me to announce the glad tidings: ‘Allah Almighty says to you: ‘Whoever prays for you, I pray for him; and whoever salutes you, I salute him.’”)

57. Those who offend Allah by transgressing against His prohibitions, by disbelieving or by sinning (including the Jews who said, “The hand of Allah is chained,” and the Christians who said, “Jesus is the son of Allah,” and the idolaters who said, “The angels are the daughters of Allah”), and those who offend Allah’s messenger (such as those who said that he was a poet or a soothsayer, or offended him in some other way), for them Allah has prepared a humiliating torture on the Day of Resurrection: enclosing them in a place of humiliation, disgrace and contempt.

58. And those who insult the believers, both male and female, by attributing to them acts that they have not committed, in order to reproach and dishonour them, are guilty of terrible lies and manifest sin. Those who offend the believers offend the Prophet, and those who offend the Prophet offend Allah. (The Messenger (peace be upon him) says: “The worst usury in Allah’s eyes is permitting oneself to dishonour a Muslim.” Then he read this verse.) (Reported by Ibn abi Hatem.)

59. Allah Almighty commands His Messenger to order his wives, his daughters, and all believers’ wives to wear long veils, and to cover their faces and their breasts, in order that they be recognized as free women, so that nobody does them any ill and no vicious men accost them. Your Lord will always pardon a certain negligence concerning the veil, and He is very merciful towards all those who obey Him and ask His pardon if they are negligent in covering their bodies.

60. The hypocrites who hide their disbelief behind a pretended belief, and the people infected with doubt and vice (“those with sick hearts”) who do harm to believers by following their wives and offending them, and also the alarmists who hurt the prophet and the believers by spreading false rumours which dishearten the believers (such as telling them that Mohammad has been defeated, and that invincible armies of unbelievers have come to fight the Muslims…); if all such people do not desist, Allah will give His prophet power against them and will urge him to resist them and forcibly cast them out of Medina, so that they will no longer dwell there with him, and Medina will soon be rid of them.

61. During the short time they remain in Medina, they will be cursed and deprived of Allah’s grace, and when they leave, their humiliation will cling to them, and they will find no shelter which can protect them from the believers; wherever they are, and at any moment, they will be in danger of being captured and massacred without pity.

62. Such is the treatment accorded by Allah and His law to hypocrites and those like them at all times and in all places. If they persist in their disbelief and their obstinacy and do not abandon their evil ways, Allah will give the believers power over them. Nobody can change or affect Allah’s laws.

63. People question the Prophet too often about when the final Hour will sound. The idolaters ask about it in order to hasten its arrival, because they do not believe in it; the Jews ask about it in order to test the Messenger, and to find out whether he will ascribe to Divine revelation what is announced in the Torah, or whether he will say something else. Allah Almighty has ordered His messenger to answer all such people by saying: “Allah’s knowledge is with Him; and He has not communicated His knowledge on this subject to any being in His creation.” Then He says to His Messenger: “What do you know of it? It may be that the Hour is near.”

64. Allah Almighty has cursed the unbelievers. He has deprived them of all manner of good and of His mercy, and He has prepared for them in the hereafter a fire of burning flame.

65. They will remain eternally in the fires of hell; they will never escape it, and they will find nobody to rescue them from Allah’s torment.

66. They will find neither patron nor helper to assist them and save them from Allah’s torture when they twist their heads from one side to the other in the fire, just as meat is turned on the spit. Then, filled with regret, they will say: “Alas! If only we had obeyed Allah and His messenger during our life on earth and followed the message he brought us, and spread his invitation to come closer to Allah and His warning against His torture, we would not today be turned and turned like this in the fire, without finding any helper or protector from Allah’s torment.”

67. While they are suffering the sharpness of hellfire, the unbelievers will say: “O Lord! We obeyed our superiors and the leaders of our people, but they led us astray from the path of righteousness and truth which leads towards belief in you and your uniqueness.”

68. “O Lord! Afflict them with double torments: first because they disbelieved in you, and second because they led us astray. Lord! dishonour them and deprive them of Your mercy.”

69. O believers! Do not wrong the Messenger of Allah by saying things which he detests and doing things which displease him, and do not behave like those who wronged the prophet Moses when they invented lies and falsehoods about him, saying that he had a fault in his body; but Allah freed him from the lies they had concocted against him by providing proofs of their falsehood; for Moses was honourable in the eyes of Allah.

70. O believer! Fear Allah and do not disobey Him, and speak to the believers with pertinent words, without any falsity or injustice.

71. Whosoever believes in Allah and in the ultimate Dwelling place, and speaks righteously, Allah will lead him to virtuous deeds, and will guide him and pardon his sins. Whosoever obeys Allah and His messenger and does what He commands and refrains from that which He has forbidden, will achieve rewards and honour on the Day of Judgement (his achievement will most certainly be great).

72. Ibn Abbas says: “The word ‘trust’ here means ‘obedience,’” and he also says: “The reference is to religious duties.” Allah Almighty says that he laid duties (obligations) upon the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they were unable to bear such responsibilities and were intimidated by them, because they feared that they would fail to carry out Allah’s commandments. Then He proposed them to Adam, saying to him: “I proposed this trust to the sky and the earth and the mountains, but they could not accept the responsibility; do you wish to take responsibility for this trust and everything it encompasses?” Adam said: “What does it encompass, O Lord?” Allah said: “If you act well you will be rewarded, and if you act badly you will be punished.” Adam agreed to bear this responsibility and everything it encompassed. Thus mankind bore this responsibility, despite their weakness, for they did not know how weighty the responsibility was, and they did themselves a disservice in bearing it, except those whom Allah preserved.

73. Allah has charged man with this responsibility (“his duties”) in order to torment anyone who betrays this trust and fails in his duty towards Allah, like the hypocrite men and women who out of fear conceal their disbelief and idolatry and outwardly proclaim belief, and the unbelievers who deny the existence of Allah and His uniqueness, and in order to accept the repentance of the believers, both male and female, who return to Him contrite and submissive. Allah Almighty is the pardoner of sins and the suppresser of faults, and is all-merciful towards His repentant servants.