Period of Revelation
In connection with the incident of tahrim referred to in this Sura
the traditions of the Hadith mention two ladies who were among the wives of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) at that time Hadrat Safiyyah and Hadrat Mariyah Qibtiyyah. The former (i. e. Haurat Safiyyah) was taken to wife by the Holy Prophet after the conquest of Khaiber
and Khaiber was conquered
as has been unanimously reported
in A. H. 7. The other lady
Hadrat Mariyah
had been presented to the Holy Prophet by Muqawqis
the ruler of Egypt
in A. H. 7 and she had borne him his son
Ibrahim
in Dhil-Hijjah
A. H. 8.These historical events almost precisely determine that this Sura was sent down some time during A.H. 7 or A. H 8.
Theme and Topics
This is a very important Sura in which light has been thrown on some questions of grave significance with reference to some incidents concerning the wives of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allahøs peace). First
that the powers to prescribe the bounds of the lawful and the unlawful
the permissible and the forbidden
are entirely and absolutely in the hand of Allah and nothing has been delegated even to the Prophet of Allah himself
not to speak of any other man. The Prophet as such can declare something lawful or unlawful only if he receives an inspiration from Allah to do so whether that inspiration is embodied in the Qur'an
or imparted to
him secretly. However
even the Prophet is not authorised to declare anything made permissible by Allah unlawful by himself
much less to say of another man. Second
that in any society the position of a Prophet is very delicate. A minor incident experienced by an ordinary man in his life may not be of any consequence
but it assumes the status of law when experienced by a Prophet. That is why the lives of the Prophets have been kept under close supervision by Allah so that none of their acts
not even a most trivial one
may deviate from Divine Will. Whenever such an act has emanated from a Prophet
it was rectified and rectified immediately so that the Islamic law and its principles should reach the people in their absolute purity not only through the Divine Book but also through the excellent example of the Prophet
and they should include nothing which may be in disagreement with Divine Will
Thirdly
and this automatically follows from the above mentioned point
that when the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) was checked on a minor thing
which was not only corrected but also recorded
it gives us complete satisfaction that whatever actionsand commands and instructions we now find in the pure life of the Holy Prophet concerning which there is nothing on record in the nature of criticism or correction from Allah
they are wholly based on truth
are in complete conformity with Divine Will and we can draw guidance from them with full confidence and peace of mind. The fourth thing that we learn from this discourse is that about the Holy Messenger himself
whose reverence and respect Allah Himself has enjoined as a necessary part of the Faith of His servants
it has been stated in this Sura that once during his sacred life he made a thing declared lawful by Allah unlawful for himself only to please his wives; then Allah has severely reproved for their errors those very wives of the Holy Prophet
whom He Himself has declared as mothers of the faithful and worthy of the highest esteem and honour by them. Then
this criticism of the Prophet and the administration of the warning to the wives also has not been made secretly but included in the Book
which the entire ummah has to read and recite for ever. Obviously
neither the intention of making mention of it in the Book of Allah was
nor it could be
that Allah wanted to degrade His Messenger and the mothers of the faithful in the eyes of the believers; and this also is obvious that no Musliin has lost respect for them
in his heart after reading this Sura of the Qur'an. Now
there cannot be any other reason of mentioning this thing in the Qur'an than that Allah wants to acquaint the believers with the correct manner of reverence for their great personalities. The Prophet is a Prophet
not God
that he may commit no error. Respect of the Prophet has not been enjoined because he is infallible
but because he is a perfect representative of Divine Will
and Allah has not permitted any of his errors to pass by unnoticed. This gives us the satisfaction that the noble pattern of life left by the Prophet wholly and fully represents the will of Allah. Likewise
the Companions of the holy wives of the Prophet
were human
not angels or supermen. They could commit mistakes. Whatever ranks they achieved became possible only because the guidanc