Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 30

(Ayah 30) ➊ In {يٰنِسَآءَ النَّبِيِّ مَنْ يَّاْتِ مِنْكُنَّ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ … :} it is stated: {’’اَلْفَاحِشَةُ الزِّنَا وَمَا يَشْتَدُّ قَبْحُهُ مِنَ الذُّنُوْبِ وَ كُلُّ مَا نَهَي اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ ‘‘} meaning “Fahishah means adultery and those sins which are extremely vile, and everything from which Allah Almighty has forbidden.” In the Noble Qur’an, the word { ’’اَلْفَاحِشَةُ‘‘} (the specific indecency, with definite article) is used for adultery, as He said: «{ وَ الّٰتِيْ يَاْتِيْنَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِّسَآىِٕكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوْاش عَلَيْهِنَّ اَرْبَعَةً مِّنْكُمْ }» [ النساء : ۱۵ ] “And those among your women who commit adultery, call to witness four men from among you against them.” Whereas {’’فَاحِشَةٌ‘‘} (indefinite) refers to any sin, and {’’فَاحِشَةٌ مُّبَيِّنَةٌ‘‘} refers to obscene speech, bad character, causing harm, or any open sin, which includes adultery as well. See Surah An-Nisa (19). From here, a few admonitions are given to teach manners to the Mothers of the Believers, because they are a model for the Ummah. It is said, O wives of the Prophet! Whoever among you commits an open indecency, her punishment will be doubled, meaning whoever among you deals with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with bad character, obscene speech, or causes him harm, she will be given double punishment, because the higher the status of a person, the more severe the punishment in case of disobedience. Allah Almighty said to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in case of inclining towards the disbelievers: «{ اِذًا لَّاَذَقْنٰكَ ضِعْفَ الْحَيٰوةِ وَ ضِعْفَ الْمَمَاتِ }» [ بني إسرائیل : ۷۵ ] “Then We would have made you taste double (punishment) in life and double after death.”
In Al-Wasit (by Tantawi) it is written: “Someone said to Ali Zain al-Abidin, the son of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), ‘You, the Ahl al-Bayt, are already forgiven.’ So he became angry and said that the law should apply to us even more, which Allah Almighty applied to the wives of His Prophet (peace be upon him), that the one among us who does evil will have double punishment and the one who does good will have double reward.” If the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) committed a sin, it would also reflect upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), and this would be a great distress for him, which is a greater sin than causing distress to ordinary Muslims and is a cause of Allah’s curse. He said: «{ اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ يُؤْذُوْنَ اللّٰهَ وَ رَسُوْلَهٗ لَعَنَهُمُ اللّٰهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ الْاٰخِرَةِ وَ اَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُّهِيْنًا }» [ الأحزاب : ۵۷ ] “Indeed, those who harm Allah and His Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world and the Hereafter and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.”
➋ The word { ’’ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ ‘‘} is general because it is indefinite, so besides bad character and obscene speech, adultery can also be meant. In this case, the question arises: God forbid, was there any fear of evil from the pure wives? The answer is that this is a conditional sentence; it is not necessary for it to actually happen. The purpose is only to warn the pure wives, considering their status, that in case of committing a sin, they will receive double punishment, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was warned of the consequence of an even greater, in fact, the greatest of all sins, as He said: «{ وَ لَقَدْ اُوْحِيَ اِلَيْكَ وَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَىِٕنْ اَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَ لَتَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الْخٰسِرِيْنَ }» [ الزمر : ۶۵ ] “And verily, it has been revealed to you and to those before you: If you associate (partners with Allah), surely your deeds will become worthless and you will surely be among the losers.” This does not mean that there was any fear of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) or the previous Prophets committing shirk.
➌ { وَ كَانَ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ يَسِيْرًا :} meaning you should not be under the misconception that you are the wives of the Prophet and there will be no accountability for you.

30-1 In the Qur'an, الفَاحِشَۃُ (مُعَرَّف بلام) is used in the meaning of adultery, but فاحِشَۃ (indefinite) is used for evil, as it is here. Here, its meaning is immorality and inappropriate behavior. Because immoral and inappropriate behavior towards the Prophet ﷺ is to cause him ﷺ harm, and committing this is disbelief. Moreover, the noble wives ؓ themselves held a high status, and even minor mistakes of people of high rank are considered major, therefore they were warned of double punishment.

30. O wives of the Prophet! Whoever among you commits a clear act of indecency [42], she will have her punishment doubled, and that is easy for Allah [43].

[42]
The Status of the Prophet’s Wives:

The status of the Prophet’s wives is much higher than that of ordinary women because they are the Mothers of the Believers. Just as the person of the Prophet is a model for the believers, in the same way, the Prophet’s household and his wives are also a model for everyone. If a wife of the Prophet commits a mistake, she will not only receive the punishment for her own mistake, but she will also receive a share of the punishment for all those who follow her in that mistake. Therefore, her punishment can be double or even much more than that of ordinary people. In this verse: ﴿بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ﴾, what is meant is adultery, and this is by way of supposition, just as Allah said to His beloved Prophet that if you also commit shirk, your deeds will be wasted. So, just as it is not possible for you ﷺ to commit shirk, in the same way, it is not possible for the Prophet’s wives to commit adultery. And this manner of address has been adopted for further emphasis.

[43] That is, Allah will not consider that if you do something wrong, you will be let off because you are the Prophet’s wives; rather, the demand of justice and fairness will be that you will be given double the punishment compared to others, and Allah has full power over this.