Verses 36–43
33. Al-Ahzaab · The Clans
Madinan73 verses
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍۢ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَٰلًۭا مُّبِينًۭا
33:36A faithful man or woman may not have any option in their matter, when Allah and His Apostle have decided on a matter, and whoever disobeys Allah and His Apostle has certainly strayed into manifest error.1
وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِىٓ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَٱتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ وَتُخْفِى فِى نَفْسِكَ مَا ٱللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَىٰهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌۭ مِّنْهَا وَطَرًۭا زَوَّجْنَٰكَهَا لِكَىْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌۭ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْا۟ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَرًۭا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ مَفْعُولًۭا
33:37When you said to him whom Allah had blessed, and whom you [too] had blessed, ‘Retain your wife for yourself, and be wary of Allah,’ and you had hidden in your heart what Allah was to divulge, and you feared the people though Allah is worthier that you should fear Him, so when Zayd had got through with her, We wedded her to you, so that there may be no blame on the faithful in respect of the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have got through with them, and Allah’s command is bound to be fulfilled.2
مَّا كَانَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ مِنْ حَرَجٍۢ فِيمَا فَرَضَ ٱللَّهُ لَهُۥ ۖ سُنَّةَ ٱللَّهِ فِى ٱلَّذِينَ خَلَوْا۟ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ قَدَرًۭا مَّقْدُورًا
33:38There is no blame on the Prophet in respect of that which Allah has made lawful for him: Allah’s precedent with those who passed away earlier (and Allah’s commands are ordained by a precise ordaining),
ٱلَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَٰلَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُۥ وَلَا يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَدًا إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ حَسِيبًۭا
33:39such as deliver the messages of Allah and fear Him, and fear no one except Allah, and Allah suffices as reckoner.
مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًۭا
33:40Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, and Allah has knowledge of all things.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ذِكْرًۭا كَثِيرًۭا
33:41O you who have faith! Remember Allah with frequent remembrance,
وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةًۭ وَأَصِيلًا
33:42and glorify Him morning and evening.
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتُهُۥ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًۭا
33:43It is He who blesses you—and so do His angels—that He may bring you out from darkness into light, and He is most merciful to the faithful.
Tafsir
Commentary on this passage
1.In the matter of Zaid and Zainab a few questions are worthy of consideration. (1) Zaid was a slave and Zainab belonged to the noble class and this was unacceptable by the community. (2) Zaid belonged to a low class and Zainab was from the higher class and this was also intolerable. (3) Zaid was an adopted son of the Prophet (s.a.) and to marry the wife of the son is not permissible in any community. (4) After having physical relationship, Zaid divorced his wife and such women are not acceptable to common people, what to say of the highest personalilies of mankind like the Prophet (s.a.). (5) To divorce her was the cause of infamy for the Prophet (s.a.) that he had performed such a marriage that was to end in divorce. (6) It was also infamy in divorce that he had got her divorced for his own marriage. The Merciful Lord has replied to all these objections with a single word each and clarified that from the Islamic point of view, no decision of ignorance is having any value and whatever rules are made against the Divine are nothing but the code of ignorance.
Verse 40
2.By genealogy he is not the father of anyone. But by Apostleship he is the father of the whole community. This honour had only been given to Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (a.s.) that at the time of Mubahela they were stated to be sons of the Prophet (s.a.) and in this way became ‘our sons’ as mentioned in the ayat.
Footnotes
Explanations of words and phrases in these verses
Benefit
The intention of the Prophet (s.a.) was that if this marriage would not succeed he would make up for it by marrying Zainab himself. But for the custom of the divine law this step was in any case necessary.
- 1
These ayats are related to the marriage of Zaid bin Haritha and Zainab binte Jahash. Zaid was the freed slave of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) who refused to go with his father and opted to remain with the Prophet (s.a.). The father announced that Zaid was not his son anymore. The Prophet (s.a.) announced that from that day Zaid was his son. In this way Zaid became known as Ibne Muhammad. Zainab was the daughter of the sister of the Prophet’s father. She was a Qurayshite Sayyid. By the command of Allah the Holy Prophet (s.a.) sent her the proposal of Zaid but her family rejected it. Then the ayat was revealed that no one has a say against the order of Allah.
- 2
If there had been an element of sensuality, the Almighty would have exposed it or it would have been announced later that Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) has married her. But the ayat says “We got him married to Zainab”. This shows that it was by the desire and command of Allah. There was no scope for sensual desires etc.
Benefit
It should be clear that there is no contradiction between the 37th and 39th ayat and the fear of the 37th ayat was the fear of the effectlessness of propagation and it was not the fear of the difficulties in that position. Neither was it the fear of the people as it is against the dignity of a prophet.