قَدْ سَمِعَ اللَّهُْ ْ 1392 اَلتَّحْرِیْم
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ تَبْتَغِي مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَاجِكَ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ﴿۱﴾
﴾1﴿ tuharrimu maaa ahallal laahu laka tabtaghee mardaata azwaajik; wallaahu ghafoorur raheem
﴾1﴿ O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful
And its other names are Surah An-Nabi, Surah Lam Tuharrim, and Surah Al-Mutaharrim.
Relevancy:
This surah is connected to the previous one in several ways.
The first connection is that the previous surah mentioned matters related to divorce, while this surah discusses the morals that prevent divorce.
The second connection is that since the previous surah explained the rulings of separation between husband and wife, this surah mentions the rulings that lead to their union.
Claim of this surah:
It mentions the rights of marriage, emphasizes that marriage does not necessarily guarantee salvation from punishment, and highlights the Beautiful Names of Allah to affirm Tawhid (Oneness of Allah).
Summary of the surah:
There are two addresses from the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) and two from the believers.
In the first address, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) seeks to remove hardship from himself regarding appeasing his wives in matters that are not their right. Then, there is encouragement for the wives to maintain the Prophet's (May Allah bless him and give him peace) secrets and to refrain from opposing (publicly challenging) him. Additionally, there is encouragement for them to uphold five noble qualities up to the fifth point.
Then, the right of the husband over the wife is mentioned.
The first address to the believers follows, mentioning the right of the wife over the husband in matters that lead to salvation from punishment.
The second address to the believers encourages repentance as a means of salvation from punishment and contains a promise of the Hereafter.
The second address of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) follows, emphasizing striving in Allah's cause so that he is not distracted by dealings with his wives from this crucial mission.
Then, two misconceptions are addressed:
The first misconception: If a wife's belief contradicts her husband's due to her committing shirk, does merely being married to a monotheist benefit her? The answer is no, and the examples of the wives of Noah (peace be upon him) and Lot (peace be upon him) are given.
The second misconception: If the wife is a monotheist and the husband is a disbeliever or polytheist, does this marriage harm or diminish the woman's faith? The answer is that it does not harm her at all, with the example of Pharaoh’s wife being mentioned. Alongside this, the example of Maryam is also cited to encourage believers to remain steadfast in the religion of Allah, the Exalted.
[1] The commentator Qurtubi and most other exegetes have recorded many narrations regarding the reason for the revelation of these verses. However, the narration that Imam Bukhari has transmitted with an authentic chain is as follows:
The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) drank honey syrup at the house of Zainab (May Allah be pleased with her). Out of jealousy, Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) and Hafsa (May Allah be pleased with her) agreed that when the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) came to each of their houses, they would tell him, "A smell of maghafeer is coming from you. Have you eaten maghafeer?" (Maghafeer is the plural of maghfura, also known as arfit. It is a type of plant whose nectar was consumed by Arabian bees, producing honey with its scent. Therefore, their statement that a smell of maghafeer was coming from him was truthful.)
The second statement, "Have you eaten maghafeer?" was a question, and in questions, truth and falsehood do not apply. (The Prophet [May Allah bless him and give him peace] would avoid consuming anything with an unpleasant odor.) He replied, "I have not eaten maghafeer, but I have drunk honey syrup. From now on, I will not drink it; it is forbidden for me."
Another narration, also authentic but not recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim, states that the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace) had told Hafsa (May Allah be pleased with her) that Maria (May Allah be pleased with her), the mother of Ibrahim, was forbidden for him.
In both narrations, the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) instructed Hafsa (May Allah be pleased with her) not to disclose this secret. The underlying purpose behind all of this was that his other wives would be pleased while ensuring that neither Zainab (May Allah be pleased with her) nor Maria (May Allah be pleased with her) would feel saddened.
Then, Allah the Exalted revealed the opening verses of this surah: "O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you?" (Surah At-Tahrim, 66:1).
Here, tahrim (forbidding) carries its linguistic meaning, which is to refrain from and not take benefit from something. It does not mean declaring as forbidden what Allah has made lawful, because holding such a belief is an act of disbelief. The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) was free from all sins, as mentioned by Khateeb Shirbini.