Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 51

(Ayah 51) ➊ { تُرْجِيْ مَنْ تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ … :} In this verse, further concessions regarding wives are mentioned for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). One of these concessions is that among the women who offer themselves to you, you may defer whomever you wish and give a place to whomever you wish; it is not obligatory for you to accept their offer. Another concession is that regarding the women who are in your marriage, you are not bound to visit them in turn; you may spend the night with whomever you wish and defer whomever you wish.

➋ { وَ مَنِ ابْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ :} The third concession is that if you have ended the turn of any of them and wish to call her again, there is no harm upon you in this either.

➌ { ذٰلِكَ اَدْنٰۤى اَنْ تَقَرَّ اَعْيُنُهُنَّ … :} The purpose of waiving the rights of the wives was to remove hardship from both the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his wives. Removing hardship from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is obvious; removing hardship from the wives is in the sense that when each of them knows that on the day of a certain turn, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spending the night with her is not her right, then their disputes and quarrels with each other and with you will automatically end, because the basis of disputes is the claim of rights. When there is no right, then what is the quarrel about? Then, when you go to any wife, with the feeling that it was not necessary for you to go to her by Allah’s command, she will be happy with your coming and her eyes will be cooled, and knowing that your not coming is by Allah’s command and permission, she will not be grieved, and whatever time or attention you give to your wives, all will be pleased with it and grateful.

➍ Note that despite these concessions from Allah, you did not avail yourself of them; nor did you marry any woman who offered herself to you, nor did you end the turn of any wife. Only Sawdah (may Allah be pleased with her) gave her turn to Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), and you permitted it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit all his other wives in turn. The extent to which you observed this is evident from these hadiths:
(1) Mu’adhah ‘Adawiyyah narrated from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that after the revelation of this verse: « تُرْجِيْ مَنْ تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَ تُـْٔوِيْۤ اِلَيْكَ مَنْ تَشَآءُ» (You may defer whomever you wish among them and give a place to whomever you wish), even then, when you were with any of us on her turn, you would seek permission from us. [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب قولہ : «ترجي من تشاء منھن…» : ۴۷۸۹ ] It is mentioned in Fath al-Bari, meaning that if you wished to go to another wife on the day of one’s turn, you would seek her permission.
(2) Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to go on a journey, he would draw lots among his wives, then whoever’s lot came out, he would take her with him, and he would stay one day and night with each wife in turn, except Sawdah bint Zam’ah (may Allah be pleased with her), for she had given her turn to Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), by which she sought the pleasure of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” [ بخاري، الھبۃ، باب ھبۃ المرأۃ لغیر زوجھا… : ۲۵۹۳ ]
(3) Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) became heavy (due to illness) and his illness became severe, he sought permission from his other wives to spend the days of his illness in my house, and they gave him permission.” [ بخاري، الھبۃ، باب ہبۃ الرجل لامرأتہ والمرأۃ لزوجھا : ۲۵۸۸ ]
(4) ‘Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said to him: “My nephew! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not give preference to any of us over another in the division of staying, and rarely would a day pass except that he would visit all of us and stay with each one without intimacy, until he reached the wife whose turn it was and spent the night with her. When Sawdah (may Allah be pleased with her) became old and feared that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would separate from her, she said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I have given my turn to Aishah.’ So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted it from her.” She says: “We used to say that this verse was revealed about her and women like her: « وَ اِنِ امْرَاَةٌ خَافَتْ مِنْۢ بَعْلِهَا نُشُوْزًا اَوْ اِعْرَاضًا فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَاۤ اَنْ يُّصْلِحَا بَيْنَهُمَا صُلْحًا وَ الصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ وَ اُحْضِرَتِ الْاَنْفُسُ الشُّحَّ وَ اِنْ تُحْسِنُوْا وَ تَتَّقُوْا فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ خَبِيْرًا » [ النساء : ۱۲۸ ] ‘And if a woman fears from her husband any ill-treatment or aversion, there is no sin upon them if they make terms of settlement between them, and settlement is best. And present in (human) souls is stinginess. But if you do good and fear Allah—then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.’” [ أبو داوٗد، النکاح، باب في القسم بین النساء : ۲۱۳۵، و قال الألباني حسن صحیح ]

➎ { وَ اللّٰهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِيْ قُلُوْبِكُمْ :} In this, there is an address to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as well as to all believers, that the concessions Allah has given His Prophet in view of his great responsibilities, so that he may perform the duty of calling (to Allah) in peace, free from domestic worries—if there is acceptance and contentment or dislike and rejection in your hearts regarding this, Allah knows everything. Therefore, the people of faith must strictly avoid even the slightest ill thought regarding the Messenger.

➏ { وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ عَلِيْمًا حَلِيْمًا:} That is, Allah always has complete knowledge of everything, but His forbearance is also limitless, so He does not immediately seize you for any mistake, rather He gives you the opportunity to reform yourselves.

51. 1 In this, another characteristic of you ﷺ is mentioned, that is, in assigning turns among wives, you ﷺ were given the authority that you ﷺ could suspend the turn of whomever you wished, meaning while keeping her in marriage, you would not have marital relations with her, and with whomever you wished, you could maintain this relationship.

51. 2 That is, regarding those wives whose turns had been suspended, if you ﷺ wished to establish marital relations with them as well, then this permission was also granted to you ﷺ.

51. 3 That is, despite the suspension of turns and giving preference to one over another, they would be pleased, not saddened, and would remain content with whatever they received from you ﷺ, because they knew that the Prophet ﷺ was doing all this by Allah's command and permission, and these pure wives were pleased and content with Allah's decision. Some say that even though the Prophet ﷺ was given this authority, you ﷺ did not use it, and except for Hazrat Sawda (who herself gifted her turn to Hazrat Aisha), you ﷺ assigned equal turns to all the pure wives. That is why, during your final illness, you ﷺ, after taking permission from the pure wives, spent the days of illness at Hazrat Aisha's place. (Their eyes may be cooled) refers to this very practice of yours, that although division was not obligatory upon you (like it is for others), you still chose to divide equally, so that your wives' eyes may be cooled and they may be pleased with your good conduct and justice, that instead of using your special authority, you ﷺ took care to comfort and please them.

52. 4 That is, whatever is in your hearts, surely this is also included, that the love for all wives in the heart is not equal, because a person has no control over the heart. Therefore, equality among wives is necessary in turns, maintenance, and other necessities and comforts of life, which a person can manage. Since equality in the inclinations of the heart is not within one's control, Allah will not hold one accountable for it, provided that heartfelt love leads to preferential treatment of one wife. That is why the Prophet ﷺ used to say, "O Allah, this is my division which is within my control, but regarding that which is under Your control, I have no power over it, so do not blame me for it." (Musnad Ahmad)

You may put off whom you will of them, and take to yourself whom you will, and if you desire any whom you have set aside, there is no blame on you [81]. That is more likely that their eyes may be cooled and they may not grieve [82], and may all be pleased with what you give them. Allah knows what is in your hearts [83], and Allah is All-Knowing, Forbearing.

[81]
Special Instruction for You Regarding the Turn of Wives:

Another concession granted to youﷺ by Allah Almighty is that the obligation of staying with your wives in turn has been lifted from youﷺ. In other words, the right of your wives over you that you must stay with a particular wife on her designated night according to the turn has been abrogated. The purpose of this waiver of the right from Allah Almighty was to remove hardship from both the Prophet and his wives. The removal of hardship for the Prophet is obvious, and for the wives, it is in the sense that when they come to know that on the day of a particular turn, the Prophet’s staying overnight with her is not her right, then their mutual disputes and quarrels will automatically come to an end, because the basis of disputes is related to rights. So when there is no right, how can there be disputes? However, the Prophetﷺ never availed himself of this concession granted by Allah Almighty and always observed the turn of his wives, as is clear from the following hadiths.

Despite the Concession, You Always Observed the Turn:

(1) Sayyidah Aishaؓ says that when the Prophetﷺ wished to go to another wife on the day of one wife’s turn, he would seek permission from the wife whose turn it was. Ma‘adhah (the narrator) says that after the revelation of this verse, I asked Sayyidah Aishaؓ: “If the Prophetﷺ had asked you for permission, what would you have said?” She replied, “I would say that if youﷺ asked me, I would want youﷺ to stay with me.” [حواله ايضاً]
(2) Sayyidah Aishaؓ says that when the Messenger of Allahﷺ wanted to go on a journey, he would draw lots among his wives, and the one whose name was drawn would accompany him, and he would stay one day and night with each wife in turn. Only Sawdah bint Zam‘ahؓ (who had become very old) gave her day and night to Sayyidah Aishaؓ. Her intention was that the Messenger of Allahﷺ would be pleased. [بخاری۔ کتاب الھبة۔ باب ھبۃ المرأۃ لغیر زوجھا]
(3) Sayyidah Aishaؓ says that when the Prophetﷺ became ill and his illness became severe, he sought permission from his other wives to stay at my house during his illness, and they granted permission. [بخاری۔ کتاب الھبۃ۔ باب ھبۃ الرجل لامرأتہ والمرأۃ لزوجھا]

[82] That is, they should be pleased with Allah’s commands and, instead of getting entangled in mutual rivalry and competition, should single-mindedly assist the Prophet in his mission, and just as the Prophet is striving fully in his work, enduring hardships, and remaining indifferent to difficulties and hardships, they too should act with contentment and self-sacrifice. Rather, they should consider the propagation and dissemination of Islam as their purpose in life and perform all tasks cheerfully, understanding that the waiver of the right of turn did not happen by your will but by Allah’s command.

[83] The address “your hearts” can also be directed towards the wives, meaning that if you have acted upon Allah’s commands not with happiness but with a constricted heart or displeasure, Allah knows that too and will hold you accountable for it. And if this address is to the general people, it would mean that if, instead of these facts, any other suspicion regarding the Prophet’s marital life arises in your hearts, that too will not remain hidden from Allah. Allah Almighty has also mentioned His attribute of Forbearance here, which means that if any whisper arises in someone’s heart and he removes it from his heart, Allah will not hold him accountable for it.