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Qur'an 33:4

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Qur'an 33:4
Verse's Information
NameVerse 4
SuraSura al-Ahzab (Qur'an 33)
Verse4
Juz'21
AboutThere are not two hearts within a person ● A wife does not become equivalent to one's mother through zihar ● An adopted son does not have the same legal status as a biological son.


Qur'an 33:4 addresses three beliefs and customs prevalent at the time of revelation. First, the statement that God has not placed two hearts within a man is understood as rejecting the possibility of holding contradictory beliefs simultaneously, such as faith and hypocrisy, or simultaneously loving two opposing sides. Second, it invalidates zihar (likening one's wife to one's mother), making clear that this declaration does not turn a wife into a mother. Third, by distinguishing an adopted son from a biological son, it rejects the pre-Islamic custom of prohibiting marriage to the former wife of an adopted son, as illustrated by the Marriage of the Prophet (s) with Zaynab bt. Jahsh.

Introduction

Qur'an 33:4 addresses three topics: the rejection of the notion that a person can have two hearts, the invalidation of zihar (likening a wife to one's mother), and the distinction between the legal status of an adopted son and that of a biological son. According to exegetes, this verse illustrates the consequences of following disbelievers and hypocrites,[1] since, in the preceding verses, God commanded the Prophet (s) not to obey them but to follow the Revelation alone.[2]


No Two Hearts in One Body

Exegetes interpret the phrase "God has not placed two hearts within any man" as a metaphor for the impossibility of holding contradictory beliefs, such as Faith and hypocrisy, simultaneously.[3] In line with this interpretation, some have regarded it as a refutation of the hypocrites.[4] Some narrations transmitted from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) state that a person cannot combine love for the Ahl al-Bayt with enmity toward them; this verse is cited as evidence.[5]

In Tafsir-i Nimuna, this verse is interpreted as a rejection of polytheism and belief in multiple gods, on the grounds that the human heart can be devoted to only one God.[6] Fakhr al-Razi, a Sunni exegete, connects this part of the verse with Qur'an 33:1 and interprets it as a sign of true Taqwa (God-wariness), a state in which the heart is devoted solely to God.[7] Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya, a Shi'a exegete, cites simultaneous belief in Islam and Christianity, as well as the view that injustice is permissible, as examples relevant to this verse.[8]

Occasion of Revelation

Several narrations have been transmitted concerning the occasion of revelation of the first part of the verse. According to one narration, the verse was revealed in response to Abi Ma'mar's claim that he had two hearts and understood more with one of them than the Prophet (s).[9] Another narration, attributed to Ibn Abbas in Tafsir al-Tabari, relates that when the Prophet (s) experienced waswasa (intrusive thoughts or whisperings) during prayer, the hypocrites claimed that he had two hearts, and the verse was revealed to refute their claim.[10] Another report states that the verse was revealed in response to a person who claimed to have two souls, one commanding and the other restraining.[11]

Wives Will Not Be Like Mothers through Zihar

The phrase "Tuẓāhirūn" (Arabic: تُظاهِرُون) in the verse refers to zihar,[12] a practice that was common in the Jahiliyya era. Under this custom, men likened their wives to their mothers,[13] believing that this declaration permanently ended the marriage.[14] Islam invalidated this custom. The verse makes clear that a declaration of zihar does not make a wife her husband's mother.[15] This is because a declaration of zihar does not change the actual relationship between a husband and wife.[16]

According to the Qur'an, zihar does not constitute divorce; rather, the expiation prescribed for this act must be paid.[17] Some exegetes have highlighted the connection between this part of the verse and its opening statement, arguing that just as a person cannot have two hearts, a person cannot have two mothers either.[18]

Adopted Son and Real Son

The phrase "Adʿiyāʾakum" (Arabic: أَدْعِیاءَکُمْ) in Qur'an 33:4 refers to adopted sons. This verse is discussed in connection with the marriage of the Prophet (s) to Zaynab bt. Jahsh, who had previously been married to Zayd b. Haritha, the Prophet's (s) adopted son.[19] Contrary to the Jahiliyya tradition, which prohibited marriage to the former wife of an adopted son,[20] Islamic law does not give an adopted son the same legal status as a biological son;[21] therefore, marriage to his former wife is permissible. Al-Tabrisi, a Shi'a exegete, connects this part of the verse with its opening statement, arguing that just as a person cannot have two hearts, one person cannot have two paternal lineages.[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 17, p. 192.
  2. ↑ See: Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 274; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 17, p. 192.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 16, p. 274.
  4. ↑ Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 14, p. 117.
  5. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 171; Mufīd, al-Amālī, p. 233.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 17, p. 193.
  7. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 25, p. 155.
  8. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 6, p. 190.
  9. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 526; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 25, p. 155.
  10. ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 21, p. 74.
  11. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 8, p. 314.
  12. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 18, p. 254.
  13. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 6, p. 191.
  14. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 4, p. 162.
  15. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 4, p. 162.
  16. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 315.
  17. ↑ Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Tafsīr Ibn Abī Zamanīn, p. 157.
  18. ↑ Thaʿlabī, al-Kashf wa l-bayān, vol. 8, p. 6.
  19. ↑ Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 14, p. 118.
  20. ↑ Mubārakfūrī, al-Raḥīq al-makhtūm, p. 265.
  21. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 527.
  22. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 526.

References

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  • Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Mafātīḥ al-ghayb. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 3rd ed, 1420 AH.
  • Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Mullā Muḥsin. Tafsīr al-ṣāfī. Edited by Ḥusayn Aʿlamī. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Al-Ṣadr, 2nd ed, 1415 AH.
  • Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Yaḥyā b. Salām. Tafsīr Ibn Abī Zamanīn. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥasan Ismāʿīl Shāfiʿī & Aḥmad Farīd Mazīdī. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2003.
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