Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ { مَا جَعَلَ اللّٰهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّنْ قَلْبَيْنِ فِيْ جَوْفِهٖ … : ’’ أَدْعِيَاءُ‘‘ ’’دَعِیٌّ‘‘} (the plural of {فَعِيْلٌ } meaning object) is the plural. Before stating the main purpose, it is mentioned as a preface that Allah Almighty has not placed two hearts in any man's chest, that in one there is faith and in the other disbelief. There is only one heart in the chest, it will either be that of a believer, a hypocrite, or a disbeliever. Similarly, every person has only one mother, from whose womb he was born. It cannot happen that after that, by calling someone else a mother, she becomes his mother, nor do your wives become your mothers by declaring them forbidden like your mothers. And every person has only one father; it cannot happen that at first his father was one, then someone called him a son, so he became his father. These are only words from your mouths; Allah Almighty does not accept any of these things. He only says what is reality and truth, and He guides only to the straight path. The word "Zihar" is derived from {’’ ظَهْرٌ ‘‘}, which means "back," i.e., to say to one's wife that you are forbidden to me like my mother's back. Its detailed rulings will come in Surah Mujadila. The details regarding an adopted son are being mentioned here, and the details about marrying his divorced wife will come a few verses later.

➋ In these verses, making someone an adopted son is prohibited, as a result of which he was considered like a real son, he would be known by the lineage of the adopter and would be considered his heir. However, there is no harm in calling someone a son as an expression of love and affection, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) {’’يَا بُنَيَّ‘‘ }. [دیکھیے مسلم، الآداب، باب جواز قولہ لغیر ابنہ یا بنيّ … : ۲۱۵۱ ] And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on the night of Muzdalifah made the young boys of Banu Abdul Muttalib ride on donkeys and sent them ahead, so on that occasion the Prophet (peace be upon him) patted our thighs and said: [ أُبَيْنِيَّ ! لاَ تَرْمُوا الْجَمْرَةَ حَتّٰی تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ ] [ أبوداوٗد، المناسک، باب التعجیل من جمع : ۱۹۴۰ ] "My dear sons! Do not throw pebbles at the Jamrat until the sun rises."

4-1 Some narrations indicate that a hypocrite used to claim that he had two hearts. One heart was with the Muslims and the other heart was with disbelief and the disbelievers. This verse was revealed in refutation of him. The meaning is that among the polytheists of Makkah, there was a person named Jameel bin Ma'mar Fihr, who was very clever, cunning, and extremely sharp. He claimed that he had two hearts with which he thought and understood, whereas Muhammad had only one heart. This verse was revealed in response to him. (Aysar al-Tafasir) Some commentators say that the two issues being mentioned ahead are an introduction to this, meaning just as a person cannot have two hearts, similarly, if a person performs zihar with his wife, that is, says to her, "Your back is to me like the back of my mother," then by saying this, his wife does not become his mother. Thus, he cannot have two mothers. Similarly, if a person adopts someone as his son, that person does not become his real son, rather, that son will remain the son of his own father; he cannot have two fathers.

4-2 This issue is called zihar; its details will come in Surah Mujadilah.

4-3 Its details will come ahead in this surah.

4-4 That is, by calling someone a mother, she does not become a mother, nor by calling someone a son does he become a son, meaning the legal rulings of lineage will not apply to them.

4-5 Therefore, follow this and do not call the woman of zihar a mother, nor the adopted child a son. Note that calling someone a son out of love and affection is one thing, and calling an adopted child a son while considering him a real son is another thing. The first is permissible; here, the prohibition is intended for the second.

Allah has not placed two hearts [2] in any man's chest. Nor has He made your wives whom you declare to be like your mothers your actual mothers, nor has He made your adopted sons [3] your real sons. These are only words from your mouths, but Allah speaks the truth and He alone shows the right way.

[2]
The Meaning of Allah Not Making Two Hearts:

In this verse, Allah Almighty has stated three facts. The first is that Allah has made only one heart for all humans, not two. Therefore, one heart can accept only one reality at a time. It cannot accept two contradictory realities. It is impossible for a person to be a believer and a hypocrite at the same time, or to be a disbeliever and a Muslim simultaneously. Out of these, only one reality can be accepted at a time, because out of two contradictory things, only one can be true. And if a hypocrite hides hypocrisy in his heart while claiming faith, he is not stating the truth. Rather, he is lying and deceiving, and as a result of this marriage, Muslims will also come to know how many among them are sincere Muslims and who they are, and who are the hypocrites who, contrary to Allah’s command, speak out just like other enemies.

The Custom of Zihar is Invalid, as is the Custom of Adoption, Because There Can Only Be One Mother and One Father:

Among the Arabs, besides divorce, there was also a custom that if a man was angry with his wife or had a dispute with her, he would say, “You are to me like the back of my mother.” This act was called zihar. Upon saying this, the woman would become forbidden to her husband. This custom also needed reform. The method of its correction and its expiation has been explained in detail in Surah Mujadilah. Here, it is only being stated that by your saying so, your wife does not become your mother. A mother is only she who gave birth. So just as a person cannot have two hearts, similarly, no one can have two mothers. Now, if you call your wife your mother and actually consider her your mother, this is merely a statement from your mouth, which has nothing to do with reality.

Reform of the Custom of Adoption and Inheritance:

And the third fact is that an adopted son cannot take the place of a real son. It is also impossible for someone to have two fathers. The father is only he from whose seed he was born. No other person can be his real father, nor can he be his real son. An adopted son cannot inherit from his adoptive father, nor can the father inherit from the adopted son. Every person can marry the divorced or widowed wife of his adopted son. Similarly, the adopted son can marry the divorced or widowed wife of his adoptive father. And this was the wrong custom prevalent in society, which Allah Almighty wanted to reform through the marriage of the Prophet ﷺ with Lady Zainab.
[3] In this verse, some details of this reformative step are being stated. The first thing is that every person should be called by reference to his real father. Thus, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar ؓ says that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Sayyiduna Zaid his adopted son, we used to call him Zaid bin Muhammad. When this verse was revealed, we started calling him Zaid bin Harithah. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself also began to call him Zaid bin Harithah. Incidentally, from this verse it is also understood that Sayyiduna Isa had no father. Otherwise, Allah Almighty would never have said Isa ibn Maryam. For the deniers of the miraculous birth of Sayyiduna Isa ibn Maryam, this is a point to ponder, because the Quran has not mentioned the name of any man or woman with filiation except him.