The opening section of the surah speaks of an event in the lives of the Prophet and his wives. Although there are a number of reports giving different versions of what actually took place, we will leave these for now and return to them a little later. Based on this incident and the directives issued in connection with it, particularly the request that the two conspirators among the Prophets wives repent, the surah also calls on believers to repent of their sins and requires that heads of families ensure their families are well brought up. They are specifically urged to protect themselves and their families from hell. A direct image of hell is also included here. The surah then concludes by citing various examples. Noahs and Lots wives are shown as examples of unfaith in a house emanating belief, while Pharaohs wife is depicted as someone holding to right faith while living in a house full of unbelievers. Mary is also shown as a pure woman who received a breath of God’s spirit and believed in Gods words and scriptures.

Prophet, why do you prohibit yourself something that God has made lawful to you in your desire to please your wives? God is much- forgiving, ever merciful. God has already ordained for you [believers] a way to release you from such oaths. God is your Lord Supreme. He alone is the All-Knowing, the Wise. The Prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives. When she divulged it, and God made this known to him, he spoke of a part of it and passed over a part.

When he thus let her know of that, she asked, 'Who has told you this?* He said: 'The All-Knowing, the All-Aware told me. * Would that you two turn to God in repentance, for your hearts have swerved! But if you support each other against him, know that God is his protector, and that, therefore, Gabriel, all righteous believers and the angels will stand behind him. Were he to divorce you, his Lord may well give him in your stead spouses better than you: women who surrender themselves to God, true believers, devout, penitent, who worship in humility and reflect thoughtfully, be they women previously married or virgins. (Verses 1-5)

There are several reports about the event in question, one of which is related by al-Bukhari, which means that it is authentic. On ‘A’ishah’s authority, al-Bukhari relates: “The Prophet used to have a honey drink at Zaynab bint Jahsh’s home and then stay for some time with her. Hafsah and I secretly agreed that when he came to either of us we would say to him: ‘You have eaten Maghafi^\ I can smell it.’ When this occurred, he said: ‘No. I only had a honey drink at Zaynabs. I will not do it again, and I have made an oath to this effect. Do not tell anyone of this.’ This is what he prohibited himself, even though it was permissible for him to have.” It seems that either ‘A’ishah or Hafsah told her co-conspirator of the Prophet’s decision to no longer take this honey drink. God then informed him of the same. He went back to her and mentioned some of what went on between the two of them, but without recounting it all in order not to embarrass her. He only touched upon the subject so that she realized that he was aware of it all. Surprised, she asked him:

‘Who told you all this?’ It might have occurred to her that his other wife was the one to tell him. He, however, said to her: ‘ The All-Knowing, the All-Aware told me! (Verse 3) His information, then, was given by the One who knows it all, which, in turn, implies that the Prophet was also aware of it in toto, not merely what he mentioned to her.

This incident angered the Prophet, exposing as it did that intrigue was going on in his home. He, therefore, swore that he would not touch any of his wives for a full month. People in the Muslim community also heard that the Prophet was thinking of divorcing his wives. This surah was then revealed and the Prophet’s anger subsided. Subsequently, he resumed his life with his wives. We will presently mention how this happened, but we will first give a different version of the incident.

This second version is related by al-Nasa’T on Anas’s authority: “The Prophet had a bondswoman with whom he had sex. His wives, ‘A’ishah and Hafsah, put pressure to bear on him until he prohibited himself from doing so. God revealed the verses starting with “Prophet, why do you prohibit yourself something that God has made law fill to you in your desire to please your wives?1 * * * * * * *' (Verse 1) Another report given by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Ishaq mentions that the Prophet had sex with Maria, the mother of his son Ibrahim, in Hafsah’s home. Hafsah was very angry, considering this to be an insult against her person. The Prophet promised her he would banish Maria from him, swearing to this, and he asked Hafsah to keep this a secret, but she told ‘A’ishah.

Either one of these two incidents may have taken place. However, the second report involving Maria may be closer to what we can understand from the text of the surah and the consequences that led to the Prophet being so angry that he even considered divorcing his wives. Taken together, this suggests that the matter was very sensitive and involved.

The first report concerning the Prophets favourite honey drink is more authentic with regard to its transmission. While it is not as serious as the second incidence implies, it might have led to such serious consequences if we take into account the high moral standards prevailing in the Prophets home. Regardless though of what actually did happen, we should place our trust in God for He knows the truth of it all

What, then, were the effects of this incident and the Prophets decision to stay away from his wives for a month? This is best described in a hadith related by Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad, which quotes ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas:

I was keen to ask ‘Umar about the Prophets two wives in reference to whom God says in the Qur’an: ‘ Would that you two turn to God in repentance, for your hearts have swerved' When ‘Umar went on pilgrimage, I went with him. As we were travelling, he moved from the rest and I went with him, carrying a water container. He relieved himself and came back to me. I poured water for him to do his ablution. I then asked him: ‘Which two of the Prophets wives are referred to in Gods statement, ‘ Would thatyou two turn to God in repentance, for your hearts have swerved V He said: ‘I wonder at you, Ibn ‘Abbas!’ [Al-Zuhri comments here that ‘Umar disliked being asked about this, but he did not withhold the information.] ‘Umar said: ‘They were ‘A’ishah and Hafsah.’ He then told me the story.

We, the Quraysh, used to have complete authority over our wives. When we settled in Madlnah, however, we found its people more submissive to their wives. Our women started to learn from their women. I used to live in Umayyah ibn Zayd’s home in the highlands. One day, I was angry with my wife, as she objected to something I said. I disliked the fact that she should object to me.

She said: ‘Why are you so surprised that I should object? Gods Messenger s own wives may object to something he says, and any of them may not speak to him the whole day, until night time/ I, therefore, went straight to Hafsah9 and asked her: ‘Do you sometimes object to what the Prophet says?’ She confirmed that she did. I asked: ‘Would any of you refrain from speaking to him throughout the day, until nightfall?’ She again answered in the affirmative. I said: ‘Ill-advised and a loser indeed is any of you who does that! Do you not consider that any of you might incur God’s anger as a result of His Messenger being angry, and then you end in ruin? Do not object to God’s Messenger in anything he says, and do not ask anything from him. Take from me instead whatever you want. Do not be deluded by the fact that your friend [meaning ‘A’ishah] is more pretty and is loved best by the Prophet.’ I had a neighbour from the Ansar, with whom I took turns in going down to see the Prophet. He would go one day and I the next day. Each of us would inform the other of any new Quranic revelations and of any events or developments. At the time, we were aware that the Ghassan10 were preparing to invade us. My neighbour went to the Prophet one day and then came to me in the evening, knocking on my door. He called out and I went to see him. He said: ‘A very serious matter took place.’ I asked whether the Ghassan army was approaching. He said: ‘No, something more serious than that. The Prophet has divorced his wives.’ I said: ‘Ill-advised and lost is Hafsah! I thought that this might happen.’ In the morning, after I had prayed Fajr, I put on my clothes and went to Hafsah. I found her crying. I asked her whether the Prophet had divorced his wives. She said: ‘I do not know. He has shut himself in this room close by.’ I went there and found a black servant. I said to him: ‘Seek permission for ‘Umar to enter.’ He went in and came back, and said: ‘I mentioned you to him but he did not reply.’ I went away, and I found close to the pulpit in the mosque a few men sitting down, some of whom were in tears. I sat there for a short while and I was then overcome by my own grief.

Such is the reporting of the incident in historical sources. We will now look at its treatment in the Qur’an. The surah begins with a mild reproach by God to His Messenger:

Prophet, why do you prohibit yourself something that God has made lawful to you in your desire to please your wives? God is much-forgiving, ever merciful. God has already ordained for you [believers] a way to release you from such oaths. God is your Lord Supreme. He alone is the All-Knowing, the Wise. (Verses 1-2)

The reproach is mild but effective. It is not proper for a believer to prohibit himself something that God has made lawful. The Prophet had not imposed a legal prohibition on himself with regard to the honey drink he liked or to Maria. He only decided to refrain from enjoying either. This gentle reproach makes it clear that it is not right to deliberately deprive oneself of what God has made lawful in order to appease someone else. The comment at the end of the verse is: ‘God is much-forgiving, ever merciful' This suggests that such deliberate action would require questioning unless it was overlooked by an act of Gods forgiveness and grace.

As for the oath that the Qur’anic text suggests the Prophet made, God stated a way for him to release himself from it. This means that an oath that establishes a situation other than what is best should be atoned for so as to release oneself from it and then take up the better option. “ God is your Lord Supreme." (Verse 2) He helps you to overcome your weaknesses and to cope with what may be hard for you. Hence, he has ordained for you a way out of your oaths so as to ensure that you do not incur unnecessary hardship. “He alone is the All-Knowing, the Wise." (Verse 2) He legislates for you on the basis of His absolute knowledge and perfect wisdom. He only commands you to do what is within your power and what is best suited for you. Therefore, do not prohibit yourselves anything other than what He has forbidden, and continue to make lawful only what He has made lawful. It is clear that the comment here fits perfectly with the directive already stated.

The surah then refers to what the Prophet said to one of his wives, but mentions neither its subject matter nor its details. None of this is important. What is important, however, is what it signified and the knock-on effects it generated: “The Prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives." (Verse 3) What we are looking at here is something unique in human history. We are looking at a period when there was direct contact between heaven and ordinary people.

Here is a direct, public and detailed intervention by heaven in human affairs. God informs the Prophet of a conversation between two of his wives concerning something he had told one of them in confidence.

When the Prophet mentioned this to the wife who had divulged it, he only hinted at a certain aspect of it, rather than giving her a detailed account. At the same time, he also informed her of the source of his information: it was the One solid source that could not be mistaken:

Now the surah addresses the believers enjoining them to fulfil their family duties, providing good education, admonition and reminders so that they protect themselves and their families from hell. It provides an image of the fire and how the unbelievers stand before it. In line with the call to those involved in the earlier event to turn to God in repentance, the same call is made to the believers, adding an image of heaven which awaits those who repent of their sins. This second section of the surah concludes with a call on the Prophet to strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites:

Believers! Guard yourselves and your families against a fire fuelled by people and stones, over which are appointed angels, stern and mighty, who never disobey God in whatever He commands them and always do what they are bidden to do. Unbelievers! Make no excuses today. You will only be requited for what you used to do. Believers! Turn to God in sincere repentance. It may well be that your Lord will efface your bad deeds and admit you into gardens through which running waters flow, on a day when God will not disgrace the Prophet or those who believed with him. Their light will spread out before them, and on their right.

They will say: ‘Our Lord! Perfect our light for us and forgive us. You certainly have power over all things.' Prophet, strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and press hard on them. Their ultimate abode is hell, and how vile a journey's end. (Verses 6-9)

A believers responsibility with regard to himself and his family is heavy and awesome. He and his family are liable to punishment in the fire of hell and it is his responsibility to protect himself and his family from such a dreadful fate. It is a terrible fire, “fuelled by people and stonesT (Verse 6) People there are treated in the same way as stones: cheap, abject and thrown away with a total disregard as to what may happen to them. A fire fuelled by stones must blaze fiercely, and a torment that combines its scourge with humiliation compounds the suffering. Everything about it is absolutely terrible: “over [it] are appointed angels, stern and mighty," so that they suit the punishment they are required to administer. They “never disobey God in whatever He commands them and always do what they are bidden to do." (Verse 6) By nature they always obey every command God gives them, and are well able to carry out any such assignment.

Possessing such qualities, they are chosen to guard the fire of hell, while every believer is responsible for protecting himself and his family from it. He has to attend to his responsibility now, in this life, before it is too late. When the chance is gone, no excuse is acceptable. The unbelievers will try to present excuses, but they are confronted with the facts that leave them in utter despair: “ Unbelievers! Make no excuses today. You will only be requited for what you used to do." (Verse 7) That day is not a time for presenting excuses. It is the day when reward and punishment are given. The unbelievers will only take what their own actions incur.

The situation with the first Muslim community was easier than it is in our present day. A Muslim society was already established in Madinah, where Islam, its vision of a clean, virtuous human life and its laws based on this vision were the driving force. Men and women looked up to God and His Messenger for judgement. When judgement was given, it was accepted as final. In such a society, it was easy for women to mould themselves as Islam wanted them to be. Likewise, it was easy for husbands to advise their wives and bring up their children in line with the Islamic system.

We are now in a totally different situation, as we have sunk back into a state of jdhiliyyah that influences our society, its laws, morality, traditions, systems, manners and culture. Women find themselves in the midst of this society and feel its crushing pressures as they try to bring their lives in line with Islam, whether on their own initiative or guided by their fathers, husbands or brothers.

In that first Muslim community, the man, the woman and society all had the same perspective and looked to the same source for judgement.

In our own time, the man is looking up to a theoretical abstract while the woman writhes under the heavy pressure of a society that is extremely hostile to her perspective. There is no doubt that the pressures society brings to bear on women are many times greater than its pressure on men. Hence, a believing man has a double duty: he must not only protect himself from the fire but also protect his family that is exposed to such pressures.

A Muslim man must realize the size of his responsibility in order to address it properly. This requires that he exert much greater efforts than a Muslim man in the first Muslim community. This is why it is essential for anyone who wants to establish a Muslim home to look first of all for a partner who can guard his fort. She must be a woman who derives her perspective from the same source, Islam. He will have to sacrifice certain things. He must sacrifice superficial attractions that society presents, looking instead for a woman of firm belief who will help him in building a Muslim family. Muslim fathers who want to be part of the Islamic revival must also realize that the new cells in this revival are a trust they must safeguard. It is their task to educate, cultivate and bring them up on Islamic lines before they address their message to anyone else. Only in this way can they fulfil Gods orders as He bids them to protect themselves and their families from the fire.

Once more we refer to the nature of Islam that requires the establishment of a community that runs its affairs according to Islam and gives it a practical presence. Islam is based on the need to establish a community that believes in it and adopts it as a way of life and a code of law. It is from Islam, the complete and perfect system, that this community derives all its concepts and perspectives. Suqh a community is the fertile soil where Islam finds its practical model. Within this community, people look at this model and feel free of the pressures of an un-Islamic society. Moreover, the Muslim community ensures that its members are not subjected to any persecution.

The third and final section of the surah sounds as if it is a direct continuation of its first section. It speaks of unbelieving women married to prophets and women believers in the midst of unbelievers:

God has given examples of unbelievers: Noah's wife and Lot's wife. They were married to two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them. Their husbands could be of no avail to them against God. They were told:

'Enter both of you the fire with all those who will enter it.' God has also given examples of believers: Pharaoh's wife, who said: ‘My Lord! Build me a mansion in heaven near You, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings, and save me from the wrongdoing folk. 'And Mary, the daughter of Tmrdn, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed of Our spirit into her. She accepted the truth of her Lord's words and His revealed books. She was truly devout. (Verses 10—12)

Reports speaking of the betrayal of Noah and Lot by their wives suggest that it was a betrayal of their messages, rather than their being unfaithful to their marriage bonds. Noahs wife used to join the unbelievers in his community in making fun of him, while Lots wife used to inform his people when he received guests, knowing what they tried to do with such visitors.

Similarly, reports concerning Pharaohs wife make it clear that she lived in his palace as a believer in God Almighty, and suggest that she was of Asian origin following a divine religion that was revealed before Moses’ time. Historical reports mention that the mother of Eminhuteb IV, the Pharaoh who advocated belief in one god, making the sun a symbol of the divine being, calling himself Ekhnaton, was Asian and believed in a religion other than that known in Egypt. God only knows if she is the one referred to in this surah, or whether the reference is made to the Pharaoh challenged by Moses and his wife. Moses’ Pharaoh is definitely different from Eminhuteb IV. We need not, however, be particularly concerned about the exact identity of Pharaoh’s wife. What is important is that the Qur’anic statement confirms a permanent fact in which individual people are only examples.

Having made an order to believers to protect themselves and their families from incurring punishment in hell, the surah now highlights the principle of individual responsibility. The Prophet’s wives, and indeed wives of all believers, are told here that ultimately they are personally accountable for what they do and the decisions they make.

Their individual responsibility cannot be waived merely because they are married to a prophet or to a devout believer. Both Noah’s and Lot’s wives “were married to two of Our righteous servants but betrayed them. Their husbands could be of no avail to them against God. They were told: 'Enter both of you the fire with all those who will enter it.”' (Verse 10) When the question is one of belief or unbelief, or one of betrayal of faith, there can be no special privilege for anyone, not even for prophets’ wives.

Pharaohs’ wife gives the perfect contrast. She was living in the midst of sweeping unbelief, but that did not deter her from seeking her own personal safety. She disowned all connection with Pharaohs palace, praying to God to grant her a home in heaven. She disavowed any relation with Pharaoh, praying that God grant her safety from him.