Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 5

(Ayah 5) ➊ { اُدْعُوْهُمْ لِاٰبَآىِٕهِمْ :} That is, those who have been adopted, now call them by reference to their own fathers. After the revelation of these verses, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade attributing anyone to a father other than his real father and mentioned a severe warning about it. Thus, Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) also began to be called Zaid bin Harithah instead of Zaid bin Muhammad. Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: [ أَنَّ زَيْدَ بْنَ حَارِثَةَ مَوْلٰی رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مَا كُنَّا نَدْعُوْهُ إِلاَّ زَيْدَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ حَتّٰی نَزَلَ الْقُرْآنُ : «{ اُدْعُوْهُمْ لِاٰبَآىِٕهِمْ هُوَ اَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ }» ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب : « أدعوھم لآبائھم… » : ۴۷۸۲ ] "We used to call Zaid bin Harithah, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Zaid bin Muhammad, until the Quran was revealed: «{ اُدْعُوْهُمْ لِاٰبَآىِٕهِمْ هُوَ اَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ }» 'Call them by their fathers' names; that is more just in the sight of Allah.'" Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنِ ادَّعٰی إِلٰی غَيْرِ أَبِيْهِ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ غَيْرُ أَبِيْهِ فَالْجَنَّةُ عَلَيْهِ حَرَامٌ ] [ بخاري، الفرائض، باب من ادعٰی إلیٰ غیر أبیہ : ۶۷۶۶ ] "Whoever attributes himself to someone other than his father, knowing that he is not his father, Paradise is forbidden for him." Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: [ لَا تَرْغَبُوْا عَنْ آبَاءِ كُمْ فَمَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ أَبِيْهِ فَهُوَ كُفْرٌ ] [ بخاري، الفرائض، باب من ادعی إلی غیر أبیہ : ۶۷۶۸] "Do not disown your fathers, for whoever disowns his father, this act is disbelief." Wathilah bin Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْفِرٰی أَنْ يَّدَّعِيَ الرَّجُلُ إِلٰی غَيْرِ أَبِيْهِ، أَوْ يُرِيَ عَيْنَهُ مَا لَمْ تَرَ، أَوْ يَقُوْلَ عَلٰی رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مَا لَمْ يَقُلْ ] [بخاري، المناقب، باب : ۳۵۰۹ ] "Among the greatest lies is that a man attributes himself to someone other than his father, or claims to have seen what his eyes did not see (fabricates dreams), or says about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) what he did not say."

➋ { هُوَ اَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ:’’ اَقْسَطُ ‘‘} is the superlative form. Here, a question arises that this implies that attributing someone to the adoptive father is also justice, but attributing to the real father is more just. Sha'rawi has answered this by saying that Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him), while being the slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), preferred to stay with him over his own father, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), seeing in him a son-like devotion, adopted him as a son. So Allah Almighty, considering the honor of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), did not express displeasure. However, by calling attribution to the real father {’’ اَقْسَطُ ‘‘}, He forbade attribution to anyone else, because this is the truth, and Allah Almighty only speaks the truth.

➌ {فَاِنْ لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوْۤا اٰبَآءَهُمْ فَاِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّيْنِ وَ مَوَالِيْكُمْ : ’’مَوَالِيْ‘‘ ’’مَوْلٰي‘‘} is the plural of "Mawla", and here it means friends. That is, if their fathers are not known, then they are your brothers and friends in religion. Instead of attributing them to someone, call them {’’يَا أَخِيْ، يَا مَوْلَايَ‘‘} (O my brother, O my friend).

➍ { وَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيْمَاۤ اَخْطَاْتُمْ بِهٖ …:} That is, before the prohibition, you used to call adopted sons by the name of their caretakers, or due to lack of knowledge, called someone the son of another, or unintentionally called someone the son of another, then there is no sin in this. The sin is in knowingly and deliberately calling someone the son of another after the prohibition. There is no sin on your mistake because Allah Almighty has always been Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. He has forgiven mistakes and forgetfulness. Note that some people consider the making of adopted sons to be abrogated by these verses, but this is not correct, because something is abrogated only when it was previously from Allah Almighty. This was a pre-Islamic custom which Allah Almighty ended; it cannot be called abrogated.

5-1 With this command, the custom that had continued from the time of ignorance and was also prevalent in the early days of Islam, that adopted sons were considered real sons, was prohibited. The Companions state that we used to call Zaid bin Harithah, whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had freed and adopted as a son, as Zaid bin Muhammad, until the verse of the Noble Quran ادعوھم لآبائھم was revealed. After the revelation of this verse, an issue also arose in the house of Abu Hudhaifah, who had adopted Salim as a son. When it was forbidden to consider adopted sons as real sons, it became necessary to observe veiling from them. The Prophet ﷺ told Abu Hudhaifah's wife to breastfeed him and make him her foster son, because in this way she would become unlawful for him. So she did so. That is, those whose real fathers are known, now end all other attributions and attribute them to their real fathers. However, those whose fathers are not known, consider them your religious brothers and friends, not sons.

5-2 Because mistakes are forgiven, as is explicitly stated in the hadith.

5-3 That is, whoever knowingly attributes himself to someone other than his father will be a severe sinner. It is mentioned in the hadith, "Whoever knowingly attributes himself to someone other than his father has committed disbelief." (Sahih Bukhari)

Call them (your adopted sons) by their fathers' names. That is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers [4], then they are your brothers in faith and your friends. There is no blame on you for what you say by mistake [5], but only for what your hearts intend [6]. And Allah is surely Most Forgiving [7], Most Merciful.

[4]
Salman al-Farsi ؓ and Suhaib al-Rumi ؓ:

Just as Sayyiduna Salman al-Farsi ؓ himself did not know of his father. He was made a slave in his childhood. He himself says that he was bought and sold more than ten times. [بخاری۔ کتاب المناقب۔ باب اسلام سلمان الفارسی]
And just as Sayyiduna Suhaib al-Rumi ؓ, who was originally Iranian. But when the people of Rome attacked Persia, they took him as a prisoner to Rome in his childhood, and both of these noble companions did not even know the names of their respective fathers.
[5] That is, if someone affectionately calls another person a son or daughter, or out of respect calls an elder man "father" or an elderly woman "mother," or uses these words merely out of good manners, then there is nothing wrong with it. The problem arises when someone calls another a son or daughter and also takes upon himself the duties and rights of a real son or daughter.
[6]
Attributing Oneself to Another Person or Nation is a Major Sin:

Just as ordinary believers are commanded to attribute a person to his real father and not to anyone else, similarly, it is also commanded that a person should not attribute himself to anyone other than his father or to any other nation. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Dharr ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever knowingly makes another person his father has become a disbeliever, and whoever claims to belong to another nation, let him take his abode in Hell." [بخاری۔ کتاب المناقب۔ باب نسبۃ الیمن الی اسمٰعیل]
In our country, it is common to claim to be a Sayyid or to establish a connection with a high caste. Such people can see their end in the light of this hadith.
[7] One meaning of this is that whatever slips and mistakes you have made in this matter before, Allah is Forgiving of them. And another meaning is that if you unknowingly say something like this or say it by mistake, Allah is Forgiving of such errors as well.