God has willed that Islam should be His final message, and the code of living it outlines should be the one suitable for the rest of human life.

Furthermore, the life of those who believe in Islam should be consistent with the law that governs the universe, and Islam should be the faith to guide human life and shape all its activities. Therefore, He made this code of living comprehensive and perfect, catering for all human abilities and potentials. At the same time, this code elevates such abilities and potentials to the level suited for the creature God has placed in charge of the earth, honouring him above many of His other creatures, and blowing into him of His own spirit. Consistent with this will of His, God has made Islam naturally forward-looking. It enables life to grow while at the same time elevating it to the highest standard of purity.

It does not stop any creative aspect or suppress a useful potential. On the contrary, it awakens and enhances these while ensuring a proper balance between forward movement and rising to a higher horizon.

It is this which prepares the human spirit in this life for the superior happiness and bliss of the life to come, and the human mortal for a life everlasting.

God has also willed that the Messenger who delivers this final message should be a man who reflects the faith, with all its distinctive characteristics and its special nature. Thus, as he goes through life, the Prophet becomes a true and practical translation of this faith, its nature and direction. He is an ordinary human being whose human abilities have attained a high standard: physically strong, with perfect constitution, sound senses, alert, able to perfectly feel all there is to feel.

At the same time, he is full of emotion, naturally alert and sensitive, appreciates beauty, and is receptive and responsive. Moreover, he is of great intelligence, broad-minded, strong-willed, and he controls his feelings and reactions. Above all this, he is the Prophet whose soul reflects pure light, able to undertake the night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and his subsequent ascendance to heaven. He is the one who is addressed from on high, sees the light of his Lord, and whose nature is in touch with the nature of everything in the universe: small and large stones greet him, the branches of trees yearn for contact with him, and Uhud, the mountain, shakes at his presence. All these powers and potentials are balanced within his personality in such a way as to reflect the balance of the faith he has been chosen to present to humanity.

God has made the Prophets life, its private and public aspects, an open book for the benefit of his followers and humanity at large. They can read in it all aspects of the Islamic faith and its practical implementation.

Hence, there is nothing in it that is secret or limited to a closed circle.

Indeed, many of its aspects are stated in the Qur’an, revealing things that for an ordinary person are normally kept private. Indeed, even those aspects of human weakness, which are beyond our control, are left open for all to see. We almost see the wisdom behind so revealing such aspects of the Prophets life to mankind. Nothing in his person or in his life belongs exclusively to him. He and all aspects of his life belong to his message. Why should, then, any aspect of his life be hidden? His life is the Islamic faith, something that is both close to us and easy to implement. The Prophet is assigned the task of presenting it in practice in his own life, just as he presents it by word and directive. This is the role assigned to him.

His Companions - may God be pleased with them and reward them well - conveyed to us all the details of his life. Nothing, whether of little or great importance in his daily life, is left unrecorded. It was part of Gods will to have such a detailed record of His Messenger s life, or rather to have a detailed record of Islam as lived by the Prophet. What his Companions reported is added to what the Qur’an records of the Prophets life and both form an everlasting record of this noble life, which benefits all humanity.

In its opening section, this surah presents an episode of life in the Prophets home, showing some of the reactions and responses between some of his wives, and between them and himself. It also shows how these reactions and responses were reflected in the life of the Muslim community as a whole. This is followed by directives given to the community on the basis of what took place in the Prophets homes, between his wives.

The time when these events took place is not precise, but reference to the various reports detailing them confirm that they definitely occurred after the Prophets marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh.

It may also be useful to give here a summary of the Prophet s marriages and his home life at that time. This will enable us to visualize the events referred to in the surah. This brief outline is based on Jawami' al-Slrah by Ibn Hazm and the Prophet’s biography by Ibn Hisham. We will also add some brief comments as appropriate.

The Prophets first wife was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. He was 25, or perhaps 23,’ when he married her. She was 40 or even older.12 She died three years before the Prophets migration to Madinah. He did not marry another wife during her lifetime, and by then he was over 50 years of age.

After Khadijah’s death, the Prophet married Sawdah bint Zima'h.

There are no reports to suggest that she was either pretty or young.

She was a widow of al-Sakran ibn (Amr ibn (Abd Shams. Her husband was one of the early Muslims, and he was among the first migrants to Abyssinia. When he died, the Prophet married her.

He then married ‘A’ishah bint Abu Bakr. She apparently was young, and he did not hold his wedding with her until he had settled in Madinah. She was the only virgin he married, and she was the one he loved most. It is said that she was only nine years of age at the time of her marriage.3 By the time he passed away, she had been with him nine years and five months.

The Prophet then married Hafsah bint ‘Umar, just over two years after settling in MadTnah. She had been married before. Her father had offered her in marriage to Abu Bakr and to ‘Uthman, but they both declined. The Prophet had promised her father something better for her so he married her himself.

He then married Zaynab bint Khuzaymah. Her first husband, ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, was killed at the Battle of Badr. Zaynab died during the Prophet s lifetime. It is also reported that her first husband was ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh who fell a martyr at the Battle of Uhud. Perhaps this report is more accurate.

The Prophet also married Umm Salamah. Her first husband, Abu Salamah, was wounded at the Battle of Uhud, and his wound did not heal until he died. The Prophet then married her, looking after her children by her first husband.

Zaynab bint Jahsh was his next wife. He himself had given her in marriage to Zayd ibn Harithah, his former servant whom he had adopted as a son, but marital life between her and Zayd was fraught with difficulties. So, he divorced her. We related their story when discussing verses 36—40 of Surah 33, The Confederates, in Volume XIV.