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Lit., "them", i.e., the tribes allied against Muhammad and his community. The "followers of earlier revelation" (ahl al-kitab) referred to here were the Jews of the tribe of Banu Qurayzah, who despite their monotheistic faith had betrayed the Muslims and made common cause with the pagan Confederates. After the dismal rout of the latter, the Banu Qurayzah, anticipating the vengeance of the community which they had betrayed, withdrew to their fortresses in the vicinity of Medina. After a siege lasting twenty-five days they surrendered to the Muslims, forfeiting all that they possessed.
The Jews of Banu Quraiẓah who had violated their treaty with the Muslims and sided with the enemy alliance. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked how they wished to be judged, and they chose to be judged by their book, the Torah—in which the penalty for treason is death.
The reference is to the Jewish tribe of the Banu Quraiza. They counted among the citizens of Madinah and were bound by solemn engagements to help in the defence of the City. But on the occasion of the Confederate siege by the Quraish and their allies they intrigued with the enemies and treacherously aided them. Immediately after the siege was raised and the Confederates had fled in hot haste, the Prophet turned his attention to these treacherous "friends" who had betrayed his City in the hour of danger.
The Banu Quraiza (see last note) were filled with terror and dismay when Madinah was free from the Quraish danger. They shut themselves up in their castles about three or four miles to the east (or north east) of Madinah, and sustained a siege of 25 days, after which they surrendered, stipulating that they would abide by the decision of their fate at the hands of Sad ibn Mu'az, chief of the Aus tribe, with which they had been in alliance.
Sad applied to them the Jewish Law of the Old Testament, not as strictly as the case warranted. In Deut. xx. 10-18, the treatment of a city "which is very far off from thee" is prescribed to be comparatively more lenient than the treatment of a city "of those people, which the Lord thy God does give thee for an inheritance," i.e., which is near enough to corrupt the religion of the Jewish people. The punishment for these is total annihilation: "thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth" (Deut. xx. 16). The more lenient treatment for far-off cities is described in the next note. According to the Jewish standard, then, the Banu Quraiza deserved total extermination-of men, women, and children. They were in the territory of Madinah itself, and further they had broken their engagements and helped the enemy.
Sad adjudged them the milder treatment of the "far-off" cities which is thus described in the Jewish Law: "Thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: but the women and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself, and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee" (Deut. xx. 13-14). The men of the Quraiza were slain: the women were sold as captives of war; and their lands and properties were divided among the Muhijirs.
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I.e., lands which the Muslims were to conquer and hold in the future. This clause - with its allusion to yet more prosperous times to come - provides a connection between the present passage and the next.
This part of the Sura is considered a prophecy. It may refer to the conquest of Khaibar. Khaibar is a Harrat or volcanic tract, well-watered with many springs issuing from its basaltic rocks. It has a good irrigation system and produces good harvests of grain and dates in its wet valleys, while the outcrop of rocks in the high ground affords sites for numerous fortresses. In the holy Prophet's time there were Jewish colonies settled here, but they were a source of constant trouble especially after Siege of Madinah. It became a nest of all the hostile Jewish elements expelled for their treachery from elsewhere. Its capital, Khaibar, is about 90 miles due north of Madinah. Its inhabitants offered some resistance, and Hadhrat 'Ali, though he had just risen from a bed of illness, performed prodigies of valour. After its surrender, a land settlement was made, which retained the cultivators of the soil on the land, but brought them under control, so that no further focus of active hostility should remain near Madinah. The terms of the settlement will be found in Waqidi.
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By the time this verse was revealed (see note [65] on verse {52} of this surah) the Muslims had conquered the rich agricultural region of Khaybar, and the community had grown more prosperous. But while life was becoming easier for most of its members, this ease was not reflected in the household of the Prophet who, as before, allowed himself and his family only the absolute minimum necessary for the most simple living. In view of the changed circumstances, it was no more than natural that his wives were longing for a share in the comparative luxuries which other Muslim women could now enjoy: but an acquiescence by Muhammad to their demand would have conflicted with the principle, observed by him throughout his life, that the standard of living of God's Apostle and his family should not be higher than that of the poorest of the believers.
We now come to the subject of the position of the Consorts of Purity (azwaj mutahharat), the wives of the holy Prophet. Their position was not like that of ordinary women or ordinary wives. They had special duties and responsibilities. The only youthful marriage of the holy Prophet was his first marriage-that with Hadhrat Khadija, the best of women and the best of wives. He married her fifteen years before he received his call to Prophethood; their married life lasted for twenty-five years, and their mutual devotion was of the noblest, judged by spiritual as well as social standards. During her life he had no other wife, which was unusual for a man of his standing among his people. When she died, his age was 50, and but for two considerations, he would probably never have married again, as he was most abstemious in his physical life. The two considerations which governed his later marriages were: (1) compassion and clemency, as when he wanted to provide for suffering widows, who could not be provided for in any other way in that stage of society; some of them, like Sauda, had issue by their former marriage, requiring protection; (2) help in his duties of leadership, with women, who had to be instructed and kept together in the large Muslim family, where women and men had similar social rights. Hadhrat Aisha, daughter of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, was clever and learned, and in Hadith she is an important authority on the life of the Prophet. Hadhrat Zainab, daughter of Khuzaima, was specially devoted to the poor; she was called the "Mother of the Poor". The other Zainab, daughter of Jahsh, also worked for the poor, for whom she provided from the proceeds of her manual work, as she was skillful in leather work. But all the Consorts in their high position had to work and assist as Mothers of the Ummat. Theirs were not idle lives, like those of Odalisques, either for their own pleasure or the pleasure of their husband. They are told here that they had no place in the sacred Household if they merely wished for ease or worldly glitter. If such were the case, they could be divorced and amply provided for.
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When, immediately after their revelation, the Prophet recited the above two verses to his wives, all of them emphatically rejected all thought of separation and declared that they had chosen "God and His Apostle and the [good of the] hereafter" (recorded in several compilations of ahadith, among them Bukhari and Muslim). Some of the earliest Islamic scholars (e.g., Qatadah and Al-Hasan, as quoted by Tabari) held that the subsequent revelation of verse {52} of this surah constituted God's reward, as it were, for this attitude.
They were all well-doers. But being in their exalted position, they had extra responsibility, and they had to be specially careful to discharge it. In the same way their reward would be "great", for higher services bring higher spiritual satisfaction, though they were asked to deny themselves some of the ordinary indulgences of this life.
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Regarding this connotation of the term fahishah, see surah {4}, note [14]. According to Zamakhshari, in his commentary on the present verse, this term comprises all that may be described as a "gross sin" (kabirah).
"Evident unseemly conduct" i.e., proved misconduct, as opposed to false slanders from enemies. Such slanders were of no account, but if any of them had behaved in an unseemly manner, it would have been a worse offence than in the case of ordinary women, on account of their special position. Of course none of them were in the least guilty.
Cf. xxxiii. 19 and n. 3692. The punishment in this life for a married woman's unchastity is very severe: for fornication, public flogging with a hundred stripes, under xxiv. 2; or for lewdness (see iv. 15) imprisonment; or stoning to death for adultery, according to certain precedents established in Canon Law. But here the question is not about this kind of punishment or this kind of offence. Even minor indiscretions, in the case of women who were patterns of decorum, would have been reprehensible; and the punishment in the Hereafter is on a higher plane, which we can scarcely understand.
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See note [5] on 8:4 .
Twice, i.e., once as a righteous woman, and again as a Mother of the Believers, serving the believing women and thus showing her devotion to Allah and His Apostle.
Sustenance: all that is necessary to sustain her in happiness in her future life.
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Sc., "and, thus, conscious of your special position as the consorts of God's Apostle and mothers of the believers".
This is the core of the whole passage. The Prophet's Consorts were not like ordinary women, nor was their marriage an ordinary marriage, in which only personal or social considerations enter. They had a special position and special responsibilities, in the matter of guiding and instructing women who came into the fold of Islam. Islam is a Way of Life, and the Muslims are a family: women have as much place in Islam as men, and their intimate instruction must obviously be through women.
While they were to be kind and gentle to all, they were to be guarded on account of their special position lest people might misunderstand or take advantage of their kindness. They were to make no vulgar worldly displays as in the times of Paganism.
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The term jahiliyyah denotes the period of a people's - or civilization's - moral ignorance between the obliteration of one prophetic teaching and the emergence of another; and, more specifically, the period of Arabian paganism before the advent of Muhammad. Apart from these historical connotations, however, the term describes the state of moral ignorance or unconsciousness in its general sense, irrespective of time or social environment. (See also note [71] on 5:50 .)
Obedience to Allah's Law sums up all duties. Regular Prayer (seeking nearness to Allah) and Regular Charity (doing good to fellow-creatures) are mentioned as special features of our Religion.
Ahl al-Bait: i.e. the household of the Prophet (S.A.S) which includes his wives as well as his daughter Fatima, his son-in-law Ali and his grandsons, Hasan and Husain generally in accordance with the narrative of Umm Salama.
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For the meaning of the term latif as applied to God, especially in combination with the term khabir, see note [89] on 6:103 .
Allah’s revelations refers to verses of the Quran whereas prophetic wisdom refers to the sayings and teachings of the Prophet (ﷺ), known collectively as ḥadîth.
The verb is uzkurna, feminine gender, as referring to the Azwaj again. It means not only "remember", but "recite", "teach", "make known", "publish", the Message which ye learn at home from the holy Prophet, the fountain of spiritual knowledge. The "Signs of Allah" refer specially to the verses of the Qur-an, and Wisdom to the resulting Instruction derived therefrom.
Cf. xxii. 63 and n. 2844. Allah's understanding is perfect in every detail, however minute. Therefore use His Revelation for every phase of life.
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The term sa'im, usually rendered as "fasting", has here its primary connotation of "one who abstains [from anything]" or "denies to himself [anything]": cf. 19:26 , where the noun sawm denotes "abstinence from speech".
Lit., "the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard [them]": see note [36] on 24:30 .
Though Islam and Îmân are sometimes used interchangeably in the Quran, Îmân is a higher state of Islam. A Muslim is someone who observes the five pillars of Islam, but a believer is someone with strong faith, who does everything purely for the sake of Allah, and is mindful of Allah in everything they say or do. Every Mu'min (believer/faithful) is a Muslim, but not every Muslim is a Mu'min. See 49:14.
Islam, or submitting our will to Allah's Will, includes all the virtues, as particularly specified in this verse. See n. 3720.
A number of Muslim virtues are specified here, but the chief stress is laid on the fact that these virtues are as necessary to women as to men. Both sexes have spiritual as well as human rights and duties in an equal degree, and the future "reward" of the Hereafter.
The virtues referred to are: (1) Faith, hope, and trust in Allah, and in His benevolent government of the world; (2) devotion and service in practical life; (3) love and practice of truth, in thought and intention, word and deed; (4) patience and constancy, in suffering and in right endeavour; (5) humility, the avoidance of an attitude of arrogance and superiority; (6) charity, i.e., help to the poor and unfortunate ones in life, a special virtue arising out of the general duty of service (No. 2); (7) self-control, typically in food, but generally in all appetites; (8) chastity, purity in sex life, purity in motive, thought, word, and deed; and (9) constant attention to Allah's Message, and cultivation of the desire to get nearer to Allah.
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I.e., whenever a specific law has been formulated as such in the Qur'an or in an injunction promulgated by the Prophet.
Lit., "to have a choice in their concern (min amrihim)" - i.e., to let their attitude or course of action be determined, not by the relevant law, but by their personal interests or predilections.
Meaning, if Allah makes a ruling in the Quran or the Prophet (ﷺ) makes a ruling, then a Muslim is not allowed to seek judgment from anyone else, nor follow their own desires.
We must not put our own wisdom in competition with Allah's wisdom. Allah's decree is often known to us by the logic of facts. We must accept it loyally, and do the best we can to help in our own way to carry it out. We must make our will consonant to the Allah's Will.
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For this rendering of the particle idh, see surah {2}, note [21]. - With the above verse, the discourse returns to the problem of "elective" relationships touched upon in verses {4} ff. Several years before Muhammad's call to prophethood, his wife Khadijah made him a present of a young slave, Zayd ibn Harithah, a descendant of the North-Arabian tribe of Banu Kalb, who had been taken captive as a child in the course of one of the many tribal wars and then sold into slavery at Mecca. As soon as he became the boy's owner, Muhammad freed him, and shortly afterwards adopted him as his son; and Zayd, in his turn, was among the first to embrace Islam. Years later, impelled by the desire to break down the ancient Arabian prejudice against a slave's or even a freedman's marrying a "free-born" woman, the Prophet persuaded Zayd to marry his (Muhammad's) own cousin, Zaynab bint Jahsh, who, without his being aware of it, had been in love with Muhammad ever since her childhood. Hence, she consented to the proposed marriage with great reluctance, and only in deference to the authority of the Prophet. Since Zayd, too, was not at all keen on this alliance (being already happily married to another freed slave, Umm Ayman, the mother of his son Usamah), it was not surprising that the marriage did not bring happiness to either Zaynab or Zayd. On several occasions the latter was about to divorce his new wife who, on her part, did not make any secret of her dislike of Zayd; and each time they were persuaded by the Prophet to persevere in patience and not to separate. In the end, however, the marriage proved untenable, and Zayd divorced Zaynab in the year 5 H. Shortly afterwards the Prophet married her in order to redeem what he considered to be his moral responsibility for her past unhappiness.
I.e., Zayd ibn Harithah, whom God had caused to become one of the earliest believers, and whom the Prophet had adopted as his son.
Namely, that the marriage of Zayd and Zaynab, which had been sponsored by Muhammad himself, and on which he had so strongly insisted, was a total failure and could only end in divorce (see also next note).
Lit., "whereas God was more worthy (ahaqq) that thou shouldst stand in awe of Him". Referring to this divine reprimand (which, in itself, disproves the allegation that the Qur'an was "composed by Muhammad"), A'ishah is reliably quoted as having said, "Had the Apostle of God been inclined to suppress anything of what was revealed to him, he would surely have suppressed this verse" (Bukhari and Muslim).
Lit., "ended his want of [or "claim on"] her", se., by divorcing her (Zamakhshari).
Thus, apart from the Prophet's desire to make amends for Zaynab's past unhappiness, the divine purpose in causing him to marry the former wife of his adopted son (stressed in the phrase, "We gave her to thee in marriage") was to show that - contrary to what the pagan Arabs believed - an adoptive relationship does not involve any of the marriage-restrictions which result from actual, biological parent-and-child relations (cf. note [3] on verse {4} of this surah).
This refers to Zaid ibn Ḥârithah, the Prophet’s adopted son before adoption was made unlawful. His wife, Zainab bint Jaḥsh was from a prestigious family. Because Zaid and Zainab came from two different social classes, the marriage was not successful. Eventually, Zaid insisted on divorcing his wife, despite several appeals from the Prophet (ﷺ). Since one’s adopted son was no longer considered to be one’s own son, the Prophet (ﷺ) was later allowed to marry Zainab.
Allah’s favour to Zaid was to guide him to Islam, and the Prophet’s favour was to free him from slavery.
This was Zaid son of Haritha, one of the first to accept the faith of Islam. He was a freedman of the holy Prophet, who loved him as a son and gave him in marriage his own cousin Zainab. The marriage however turned out to be unhappy. See next note.
Zaid's marriage with the Prophet's cousin Zainab daughter of Jahsh did not turn out happy. Zainab the high-born looked down upon Zaid the freedman who had been a slave. And he was not comely to look at. Both were good people in their own way, and both loved the Prophet, but there was mutual incompatibility and this is fatal to married life. Zaid wished to divorce her, but the Prophet asked him to hold his hand, and he obeyed. She was closely related to the Prophet; he had given a handsome marriage gift on her marriage to Zaid; and people would certainly talk if such a marriage was broken off. But marriages are made on earth, not in heaven, and it is no part of Allah's Plan to torture people in a bond which should be a source of happiness but actually is a source of misery. Zaid's wish-indeed the mutual wish of the couple-was for the time being put away, but it became eventually an established fact, and everybody came to know of it.
All actual facts are referred to Allah. When the marriage is unhappy, Islam permits the bond to be dissolved, provided that all interests concerned are safeguarded. Apparently there was no issue here to be considered. Zainab had to be considered, and she obtained the dearest wish of her heart in being raised to be a Mother of the Believers, with all the dignity and responsibility of that position. See n. 3706 to xxxiii. 28 above.
The Iddat or period of waiting after divorce (ii. 228, and n. 254) was duly completed.
The Pagan superstition and taboo about adopted sons had to be destroyed. See xxxiii. 4-5 and notes 3671-3672 above.
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I.e., his marriage with Zaynab, which was meant to exemplify a point of canon law as well as to satisfy what the Prophet regarded as his personal moral duty.
I.e., the prophets who preceded Muhammad, in all of whom, as in him, all personal desires coincided with their willingness to surrender themselves to God: an inborn, harmonious disposition of the spirit which characterizes God's elect and - as the subsequent, parenthetic clause declares - is their "destiny absolute" (qadar maqdur).
See n. 3724 above.
The next clause is parenthetical. These words then connect on with verse 39. Among the people of the Book there was no taboo about adopted sons, as there was in Pagan Arabia.
Allah's ordering of the world is always full of wisdom. Even our unhappiness and misery may actually have a great meaning for ourselves or others or both. If our first Plan seems to fail, we must not murmur and repine, but retrieve the position by adopting a course which appears to be the best possible in the light of our duties as indicated by Allah. For Allah's Plan is framed on universal principles that cannot be altered by human action.
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Our responsibility is to Allah, not to men. Men's opinions may have a bearing on our own interpretation of duty, but when that duty is clear, our only course is to obey Allah rather than men.
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I.e., he is the spiritual "father" of the whole community (cf. note [8] on verse {6} of this surah), and not of any one person or particular persons - thus, incidentally, refuting the erroneous idea that physical descent from a prophet confers, by itself, any merit on the persons concerned.
I.e., the last of the prophets, just as a seal (khatam) marks the end of a document; apart from this, the term khatam is also synonymous with khitam, the "end" or "conclusion" of a thing: from which it follows that the message revealed through Muhammad - the Qur'an - must be regarded as the culmination and the end of all prophetic revelation (cf. note [66] on the first sentence of the second paragraph of 5:48 , and note [126] on 7:158 ). See also note [102] on 21:107 .
He (ﷺ) is not the father of Zaid (mentioned in 33:37) or any other man. The Prophet (ﷺ) had three biological sons, who all died in childhood.
When a document is sealed, it is complete, and there can be no further addition. The holy Prophet Muhammad closed the long line of Messengers. Allah's teaching is and will always be continuous, but there has been and will be no Prophet after Muhammad. The later ages will want thinkers and reformers, not Prophets. This is not an arbitrary matter. It is a decree full of knowledge and wisdom: "for Allah has full knowledge of all things."
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