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Draft:Verse 5 of Sura al-Tahrim

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Verse 5 of Sura al-Tahrim
Verse's Information
Suraal-Tahrim (Qur'an 66)
Verse5
Juz'28
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Harassment of the Prophet (s) by some of his wives and threatening them with divorce
Place of
Revelation		Medina
AboutThreatening the Prophet's (s) wives with divorce and the characteristics of worthy wives
Related VersesQur'an 66:1, Qur'an 66:2, Qur'an 66:3, Qur'an 66:4


Qur'an 66:5 issues a stern warning to the wives of the Prophet (s), declaring that should the Prophet divorce them, God would replace them with superior spouses. The prominent Sunni exegete Tantawi (d. 1431/2010) posited that this warning of divorce was specifically directed at the wives who had distressed the Prophet by disclosing his secret. The verse subsequently enumerates six defining characteristics of a virtuous wife: Islam, faith, humility, repentance, worship, and obedience.
Regarding the exact nature of the Prophet's (s) disclosed secret, exegetical sources offer varying accounts. Some interpretations identify the secret as the Prophet's oath to abstain from consuming honey, while others suggest it was his vow to cease marital relations with his wife Mariya al-Qibtiyya. Additionally, certain traditions claim the secret pertained to the Prophet's confidential foretelling of the future caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar.

Introduction and Text of the Verse

Classified among the Madani verses,[1] Qur'an 66:5 serves as a divine admonition to the wives of the Prophet (s), most notably Hafsa and A'isha. It cautions them that if the Prophet were to divorce them, God would provide him with better wives in their stead.[2] Tantawi, a renowned Sunni exegete, maintained that this threat of divorce targeted the specific wives who had aggrieved the Prophet by revealing his secret—an incident previously referenced in Qur'an 66:3.[3]

The verse proceeds to detail six exemplary traits (Islam, faith, humility, repentance, worship, and obedience) that characterize worthy wives.[4] According to Tabrisi, the Arabic term sa'ih (literally meaning traveling or touring) metaphorically denotes one who travels in obedience to God, a migrant, or a fasting person.[5] Tabrisi further elucidated that a fasting individual is likened to a sa'ih because they continuously abstain from sustenance, much like a traveler continuously journeys across the earth.[6]

Cause of Revelation

Various sources indicate that the threat of divorce directed at the Prophet's (s) wives stemmed from their distressing behavior, specifically the disclosure of a confidential matter by some among them.[7] However, the precise nature of this secret and the context of its revelation are subjects of diverse reports across both Shi'a and Sunni commentaries.[8] It is noteworthy that 'Allama Tabataba'i argued that many of these historical reports do not align seamlessly with the opening verses of this Sura.[9]

Abstaining from Honey

Several commentaries identify the Prophet's secret as an oath he took to stop eating honey. In Majma' al-bayan, it is reported that Hafsa had received a jar of honey. Whenever the Prophet visited her, she would serve him the honey to prolong his stay. Displeased by this, A'isha conspired with the other wives of the Prophet. They agreed that whenever the Messenger of God approached them, they would remark, "We smell the scent of Maghafir (a foul-smelling tree sap) on you." Consequently, whichever wife the Prophet visited, he encountered the same complaint. The Prophet, who was deeply averse to bearing any unpleasant odor, swore an oath to A'isha that he would never eat honey again,[10] explicitly asking her to keep this a secret.[11] Some exegetes maintain 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, resulting in the Prophet swearing the oath to Hafsa instead.[12] Tafsir-i namuna considers this version of events to be the most widely accepted and contextually fitting.[13]

Suspending Relations with Mariya

Other reports claim that the Prophet's secret involved his vow to abstain from intimacy with Mariya al-Qibtiyya. Shaykh Tabrisi recounts an incident where the Prophet (s) was intimate with Mariya al-Qibtiyya in Hafsa's quarters while she was absent. When Hafsa discovered this, she protested vehemently. To placate her, the Prophet swore an oath that he would no longer engage in relations with Mariya, instructing Hafsa to keep the vow confidential.[14] Related accounts suggest the Prophet (s) made relations with Mariya haram (forbidden) for himself either at Hafsa's direct insistence or due to a threat from A'isha declaring she would never look at him again.[15]

The Caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar

Alternatively, some historical sources assert that the Prophet's secret was his foretelling of the caliphates of Abu Bakr and 'Umar. 'Ali b. Ibrahim al-Qummi, a prominent Shi'a hadith scholar and exegete, documents in his commentary that after swearing to abandon relations with Mariya al-Qibtiyya, the Prophet confided a second secret to Hafsa: that Abu Bakr and subsequently 'Umar would succeed him in the caliphate. He implored Hafsa to keep this revelation hidden; however, she immediately divulged it to A'isha. As a result, Abu Bakr and 'Umar learned of the prophecy and allegedly conspired to poison the Prophet, which subsequently triggered the revelation of these verses.[16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Maʿrifat, Āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 168.
  2. ↑ Thaqafī Tihrānī, Rawān-i jāwīd, 1398 AH, vol. 5, p. 231.
  3. ↑ Ṭanṭāwī, al-Tafsīr al-wasīṭ, 1997, vol. 14, p. 473.
  4. ↑ Dihqān, Bā Qurʾān dar Makka wa Madīna, 1391 Sh, p. 298.
  5. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 475.
  6. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 475.
  7. ↑ For example, see: Ṣābūnī, Ṣafwat al-tafāsīr, 1421 AH, vol. 3, p. 383; Markaz-i Farhang wa Maʿārif-i Qurʾān, Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Qurʾān-i Karīm, 1382 Sh, vol. 6, p. 441; Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr-i aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 11, p. 229.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 19, pp. 337-338.
  10. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, p. 471.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 271.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 24, p. 271.
  14. ↑ Ṭabrsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1382 Sh, vol. 10, pp. 471-472.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, Manshūrāt Ismāʿīlīyān, vol. 19, p. 338.
  16. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, 1404 AH, vol. 2, pp. 375-376.

References

  • Qur'an, translated by Ḥusayn Anṣāriān.
  • Thaqafī Tihrānī, Muḥammad, Tafsīr-i rawān-i jāwīd, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Burhān, 3rd edition, 1398 AH.
  • Dihqān, Akbar, Bā Qurʾān dar Makka wa Madīna, Tehran, Mashʿar, 2nd edition, 1391 Sh.
  • 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.
  • Ṣābūnī, Muḥammad ʿAlī, Ṣafwat al-tafāsīr, Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, 1st edition, 1421 AH.
  • 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.
  • Ṭanṭāwī, Muḥammad, al-Tafsīr al-wasīṭ lil-Qurʾān al-karīm, Egypt, Nahḍat Miṣr, 1st edition, 1997.
  • Qurashī Banābī, ʿAlī Akbar, Tafsīr-i aḥsan al-ḥadīth, Tehran, Bunyād-i Biʿthat, Markaz-i Chāp wa Nashr, 2nd edition, 1375 Sh.
  • Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm, Tafsīr al-Qummī, ed. Sayyid Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazāyirī, Qom, Dār al-Kitāb, 3rd edition, 1404 AH.
  • Markaz-i Farhang wa Maʿārif-i Qurʾān, Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i Qurʾān-i Karīm, Qom, Būstān-i Kitāb, 3rd edition, 1382 Sh.
  • 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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