Tafsir of Surah Al-Ahzab - Verse 51

The Prophet has the Choice of either accepting or rejecting Women who offer Themselves to Him

Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to feel jealous of the women who offered themselves to the Prophet . She said, "Would a woman not feel shy to offer herself without any dowery" Then Allah revealed the Ayah,

تُرْجِى مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِى إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ

(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will.) She said, "I think that your Lord is hastening to confirm your desire." We have already stated that Al-Bukhari also recorded this. This indicates that what is meant by the word:

تُرْجِى

(postpone) is delay, and

مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ

(whom you will of them) means, `of those who offer themselves to you.'

وَتُؤْوِى إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ

(and you may receive whom you will.) means, `whoever you wish, you may accept, and whoever you wish, you may decline, but with regard to those whom you decline, you have the choice of going back to them later on and receiving them.' Allah says:

وَمَنِ ابْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ

(And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you (to receive her again).) Others said that what is meant by:

تُرْجِى مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ

(You can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them,) means, `your wives: there is no sin on you if you stop dividing your time equally between them, and delay the turn of one of them and bring forward the turn of another as you wish, and you have intercourse with one and not another as you wish.' This was narrated from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Abu Razin, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others. Nevertheless, the Prophet used to divide his time between them equally, hence a group of the scholars of Fiqh among the Shafi`is and others said that equal division of time was not obligatory for him and they used this Ayah as their evidence. Al-Bukhari recorded that `A'ishah said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to ask permission of us (for changing days) after this Ayah was revealed:

تُرْجِى مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِى إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ وَمَنِ ابْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ

(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you.)" I (the narrator) said to her: "What did you say" She said, "I said, `If it were up to me, I would not give preference to anyone with regard to you, O Messenger of Allah!"' This Hadith indicates that what is meant in this Hadith from `A'ishah is that it was not obligatory on him to divide his time equally between his wives. The first Hadith quoted from her implies that the Ayah was revealed concerning the women who offered themselves to him. Ibn Jarir prefered the view that the Ayah was general and applies both to the women who offered themselves to him and to the wives that he already had, and that he was given the choice whether to divide him time among them or not. This is a good opinion which reconciles between the Hadiths. Allah says:

ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَن تَقَرَّ أَعْيُنُهُنَّ وَلاَ يَحْزَنَّ وَيَرْضَيْنَ بِمَآ ءَاتَيْتَهُنَّ كُلُّهُنَّ

(that is better that they may be comforted and not grieved, and may all be pleased with what you give them.) meaning, `if they know that Allah has stated that there is no sin on you with regard to dividing your time. If you wish, you may divide you time and if you do not wish, you need not divide your time, there is no sin on you no matter which you do. Therefore if you divide your time between them, this will be your choice, and not a duty that is enjoined upon you, so they will feel happy because of that and will recognize your favor towards them in sharing your time equally among them and being fair to all of them.'

وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى قلُوبِكُمْ

(Allah knows what is in your hearts.) means, `He knows that you are more inclined towards some of them than others, which you cannot avoid.' Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to divide his time between his wives fairly and treat them equally, then he said:

«اللَّهُمَّ هَذَا فِعْلِي فِيمَا أَمْلِكُ،فَلَا تَلُمْنِي فِيمَا تَمْلِكُ وَلَا أَمْلِك»

(O Allah, I have done as much as I can with regard to what is under my control, so do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine.)" It was also recorded by the four Sunan compilers. After the words "so do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine," Abu Dawud's report adds the phrase:

«فَلَا تَلُمْنِي فِيمَا تَمْلِكُ وَلَا أَمْلِك»

(So do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine.) meaning matters of the heart. Its chain of narration is Sahih, and all the men in its chain are reliable. Then this phrase is immediately followed by the words,

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيماً

(And Allah is Ever All-Knowing,) i.e., of innermost secrets,

حَلِيماً

(Most Forbearing.) meaning, He overlooks and forgives.

Sixth Injunctions

تُرْ‌جِي مَن تَشَاءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِي إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ ("You may postpone (the turn) of any one you wish from among them, and may accommodate with you any one you wish." - 51) This rule is specific to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The normal rule is that a Muslim husband having more than one wife must distribute his nights between his wives in equal numbers and similarly must provide means of sustenance and maintenance to each one of them equally. It is not permissible to violate the principle of equality. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been exempted from this rule and has been allowed to postpone the turn of any one of his blessed wives according to his own expedience; he could also recall the one whose turn he had postponed earlier.

Allah Almighty so honored the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he was exempted from observing equality between his wives but the Holy Prophet ﷺ never availed of this concession in practice; he always maintained full equality between all his blessed wives. Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) has stated that as per narrations of Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ always maintained equality between the blessed wives even after the revelation of this verse; he goes on to a Hadith from Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ ، with his own chain of narrators, which is also available in Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa` i, Abu Dawud etc.:

کَانَ رَسولُ اللہِ ﷺ یَقسِمُ فَیَعدِلُ : اللّٰھُمَّ ھٰذَا قسمی فَیمَا اَملِکُ فلا تَلمُنِی فِیمَا لَا اَملِکُ قالَ اَبودَاؤد یَعنِی القَلبَ

"The Messenger of Allah used to maintain equality between all wives and used to supplicate, "0 Allah I have maintained equality in whatever is within my power (meaning provision of means of sustenance and in spending of nights), so do not reprove me for that which is not within my power (meaning love and affection being more for someone and less for another that is not within one's control).

According to another narration, also from Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ and reported by Bukhari, if the Holy Prophet ﷺ had to postpone his visit to any of the blessed wives at her turn, for some reason, he would seek her permission even after the revelation of this verse wherein he was exempted from observing equality between his blessed wives.

Another Hadith is also well known and is found in all books of Hadith that when it became difficult for the Holy Prophet ﷺ during his last illness to move between the houses of his blessed wives on daily basis, he sought permission from all of them before staying in the house of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ where he passed the remaining days of his illness.

It was the habit of all the prophets in general, and that of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in particular, that whenever a concession was given to them by Allah Ta’ ala in a rule of Shari` ah, they generally used to act upon the original rule as a demonstration of their gratitude to Allah, and did not avail of the concession except at a time of a dire need.

The wisdom of Sixth Injunction

The Holy Qur'an has then stated the wisdom of the sixth injunction i.e. exempting the Holy Prophet ﷺ from maintaining equality between his wives and making all options open for him in this regard. In the words of the Holy Qur'an the wisdom behind this exemption was the following, ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَن تَقَرَّ‌ أَعْيُنُهُنَّ وَلَا يَحْزَنَّ وَيَرْ‌ضَيْنَ (it is more likely, in this way, that their eyes will stay content, and they will not grieve, and all of them will be happy with whatever you give to them. - 51)

A doubt may arise here that, apparently, this rule of exemption would be against the wishes and intent of the blessed wives ؓ and may cause them anguish; how can it be considered to be a source of their happiness? In answer to this question, one has to bear in mind that the real reason for one's grievance-is one's perception of his or her due rights. If one believes that a certain right is due on somebody and he is neglecting or violating it, then one feels hurt and aggrieved. But if somebody who does not owe us anything and still gives us something, this act of kindness generates sheer pleasure. Accordingly, when it has been stated that it is not obligatory upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ to observe equality among all the blessed wives ؓ rather he may use his discretion, then whatever attention and company a wife gets from him would be considered a favor and an act of courtesy and kindness which would be a source of happiness and satisfaction.

At the end of this injunction the Holy Qur'an has declared:

وَاللَّـهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًا

"And Allah knows whatever lies in your hearts. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise." - 51

The context of the foregoing and forthcoming verses is the mention of the rules peculiar to the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the matter of marriage. In between these rules, the statement that Allah knows whatever lies in your hearts and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise does not appear to bear any nexus with the subject. It is stated in Ruh ul-Ma’ ani that the permission given to the Holy Prophet ﷺ to marry more than four wives or to marry without dower could have created satanic scruples in somebody's mind. So, this verse, coming in between, has directed that Muslims have to guard themselves against such suspicions and scruples and have to firm up their faith that all these exclusive exemptions are given by Allah Almighty on the basis of His infinite wisdom and expedience, and that the selfish desires have no room here.

Where a number of ladies are involved, the scope for complaint increases. The Prophet Muhammad had many wives. In view of this, there was a possibility that these ladies might have grievances about ineqalities in conjugal rights, as a result of which giving his full concentration to the performance of his missionary work might have been hampered. So, it was laid down that his case was a special one and that he was not subject to the provisions regarding the observance of equality in conjugal rights which were applicable to Muslims in general. If there had been any clash between the provisions regarding conjugal rights and those regarding Islamic rights, then it would have been legitimate for the Prophet to give preference to Islamic rights. The purpose of granting exemption to the Prophet from the general provisions, was to prevent the growth of resentment among his wives; as a matter of fact, the Prophet hardly ever took advantage of these powers in practice.