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Draft:Verse 2 of Sura al-Tahrim

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Verse 2 of Sura al-Tahrim
Verse's Information
Suraal-Tahrim (Qur'an 66)
Verse2
Juz'28
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		The Prophet's oath to abandon some permissible things
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicPermissibility of breaking the Prophet's oath
Related VersesQur'an 66:1, Qur'an 66:3, Qur'an 66:4, Qur'an 66:5


Qur'an 66:2 establishes the permissibility of breaking an Oath when the object of that oath is not inherently preferable or morally advantageous. According to several jurists, while breaking such an oath is permitted, it is highly recommended to pay the expiation (kaffara) in order to preserve the sanctity and respect of taking an oath.
This verse was revealed after the Prophet (s) bound himself by an oath to make a permissible act haram (forbidden) for himself. According to the documented cause of revelation, the Prophet (s), seeking to placate certain members of his household, swore to either abstain from consuming honey or cease marital relations with one of his wives, Mariya al-Qibtiyya. In response, God revealed the opening verses of Sura al-Tahrim, gently admonishing the Prophet (s) for forbidding what God had made lawful, and explicitly sanctioning the dissolution of such oaths.

General Points and Text of the Verse

Qur'an 66:2, which is classified among the Madani verses,[1] addresses the concept of an Oath and provides a divine mechanism for its dissolution.[2] When read in conjunction with Qur'an 66:1, exegetes understand the referenced oath to be one in which the Prophet had rendered a permissible act haram for himself.[3]

Linguistically, Raghib Isfahani explains that whenever the Arabic word "fard" is paired with the preposition "'ala," it denotes strict obligation. However, when it is paired with the preposition "lam"—as seen in the verse's phrase "farada Allahu lakum"—it signifies permission or divine accommodation.[4] Additionally, the term "tahilla" is interpreted as an action that "unties the knot" of an oath, which jurisprudentially corresponds to the payment of the expiation of the oath.[5]

Cause of Revelation

Regarding the cause of revelation of the verse and the specific nature of the Prophet's oath, two primary narrative traditions have emerged across Shi'a and Sunni commentaries.[6] It should be noted that the prominent exegete 'Allama Tabataba'i maintained that neither of these reports seamlessly aligns with the broader context of the first verses of this Sura.[7]

Oath on Abandoning Honey

The first tradition posits that the Prophet swore an oath to never again consume honey. According to Majma' al-bayan, someone gifted a jar of honey to Hafsa. Whenever the Prophet visited her, she would serve him the honey, thereby keeping him in her company longer. Displeased by this favoritism, A'isha colluded with other wives of the Prophet. They agreed that whenever the Messenger of God approached them, they would collectively complain, "We smell the scent of Maghafir" (a tree sap known for its unpleasant odor). Consequently, whichever wife the Prophet visited, he was met with the same reaction. Being highly sensitive to unpleasant odors, the Prophet swore an oath to A'isha that he would completely abstain from eating honey, effectively making it haram for himself.[8] Other exegetes specify that the honey was actually consumed in the residence of Zaynab bt. Jahsh, Umm Salama, or Sawda bt. Zam'a, and that A'isha and Hafsa orchestrated the plot together.[9] The contemporary commentary Tafsir-i namuna considers the honey narrative to be the more widely recognized and contextually appropriate explanation.[10]

Oath on Abandoning Intercourse with Mariya

The second tradition suggests the Prophet swore an oath to cease marital relations with Mariya al-Qibtiyya. Tabrisi recounts an incident where the Prophet (s) was intimate with Mariya in Hafsa's quarters while she was away. Upon discovering this, Hafsa was deeply distressed and protested to the Prophet. To placate her, he swore a solemn oath that he would no longer sleep with Mariya.[11] Following this, God ordained that His Prophet should dissolve the oath by paying the requisite expiation. The Prophet (s) complied by freeing a slave and subsequently resumed his relations with Mariya.[12]

While 'Allama Tabataba'i expressed reservations about how well these narratives fit the text of Sura al-Tahrim,[13] he nonetheless cited a hadith from Tafsir al-Qummi, attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a), which closely mirrors the Mariya narrative, doing so without raising explicit objections to its authenticity.[14]

Is Breaking an Oath Permissible?

In Islamic jurisprudence, jurists generally prohibit the breaking of a valid oath and mandate the payment of expiation if a violation occurs.[15] However, the ruling is nuanced. According to Nasir Makarim, a prominent Shi'a jurist and exegete, if an oath requires the abandonment of an action that is religiously or morally preferable to avoid, fulfilling that oath is obligatory, and breaking it incurs expiation. Conversely, if the oath entails abandoning an action that is not inherently problematic—such as the scenario addressed in this verse—breaking the oath is legally permissible. Nevertheless, to uphold the solemnity of taking an oath in God's name, it is highly recommended that the individual still pay the expiation.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 168.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 274.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 19, p. 330.
  4. ↑ Rāghib Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt, 1412 AH, p. 630.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 274.
  6. ↑ For example, see Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 471; Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 4, pp. 562-563; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, 1404 AH, vol. 6, p. 239; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 271.
  7. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 19, pp. 337-338.
  8. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 471.
  9. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 471; Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 4, p. 563; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, 1404 AH, vol. 6, p. 239; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 271.
  10. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 271.
  11. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, pp. 471-472.
  12. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 473.
  13. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 19, pp. 337-338.
  14. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, 1404 AH, vol. 2, p. 375; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 19, p. 337.
  15. ↑ Imām Khumaynī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, Qom, Dār al-ʿIlm, vol. 2, p. 111; Muʾassasa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh al-Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh, 1426 AH, vol. 3, p. 379.
  16. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 274.

References

  • Imām Khumaynī, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, Qom, Muʾassasa-yi Maṭbūʿāt-i Dār al-ʿIlm, 1st edition, n.d.
  • Rāghib Iṣfahānī, Ḥusayn, al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qurʾān, ed. Ṣafwān ʿAdnān Dāwūdī, Beirut, al-Dār al-Shāmiyya, 1st edition, 1412 AH.
  • Zamakhsharī, Maḥmūd, al-Kashshāf ʿan ḥaqāʾiq ghawāmiḍ al-tanzīl, Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 3rd edition, 1407 AH.
  • Suyūṭī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, al-Durr al-manthūr fī l-tafsīr bi-l-maʾthūr, Qom, Kitābkhāna-yi ʿUmūmī-yi Ḥaḍrat-i Āyatullāh Marʿashī Najafī, 1st edition, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, ed. Aḥmad Qaṣīr ʿĀmilī, Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn, al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, Qom, Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 5th edition, 1417 AH.
  • Ṭabrsī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, intro. Muḥammad Jawād Balāghī, Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 3rd edition, 1382 Sh.
  • Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm, Tafsīr al-Qummī, ed. Sayyid Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazāyirī, Qom, Dār al-Kitāb, 3rd edition, 1404 AH.
  • Muʾassasa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh al-Islāmī, Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a), supervised by Sayyid Maḥmūd Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Qom, Muʾassasa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1426 AH.
  • Maʿrifat, Muḥammad Hādī, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, Qom, Markaz-i Chāp wa Nashr-i Sāzmān-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, 1st edition, 1371 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Tafsīr-i namūna, Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1st edition, 1374 Sh.
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