سُوْرَةُ الْاَحْزَابِ
Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 6
ٱلنَّبِىُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَأَزْوَٰجُهُۥٓ أُمَّهَـٰتُهُمْ ۗ وَأُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ فِى كِتَـٰبِ ٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ إِلَّآ أَن تَفْعَلُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآئِكُم مَّعْرُوفًا ۚ كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَسْطُورًا ﴿6﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers (as regards respect and marriage). And blood relations among each other have closer personal ties in the Decree of Allâh (regarding inheritance) than (the brotherhood of) the believers and the Muhâjirûn (emigrants from Makkah), except that you do kindness to those brothers (when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم joined them in brotherhood ties). This has been written in the (Allâh’s Book of Divine) Decrees - (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz)."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
ٱلنَّبِىُّ
al-nabiyu
The Prophet
أَوْلَىٰ
awlā
(is) closer
بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
bil-mu'minīna
to the believers
مِنْ
min
than
أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ
anfusihim
their own selves
وَأَزْوَٰجُهُۥٓ
wa-azwājuhu
and his wives
أُمَّهَـٰتُهُمْ ۗ
ummahātuhum
(are) their mothers
وَأُو۟لُوا۟
wa-ulū
And possessors
ٱلْأَرْحَامِ
l-arḥāmi
(of) relationships
بَعْضُهُمْ
baʿḍuhum
some of them
أَوْلَىٰ
awlā
(are) closer
بِبَعْضٍۢ
bibaʿḍin
to another
فِى
fī
in
كِتَـٰبِ
kitābi
(the) Decree
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
(of) Allah
مِنَ
mina
than
ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
l-mu'minīna
the believers
وَٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ
wal-muhājirīna
and the emigrants
إِلَّآ
illā
except
أَن
an
that
تَفْعَلُوٓا۟
tafʿalū
you do
إِلَىٰٓ
ilā
to
أَوْلِيَآئِكُم
awliyāikum
your friends
مَّعْرُوفًۭا ۚ
maʿrūfan
a kindness
كَانَ
kāna
That is
ذَٰلِكَ
dhālika
That is
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ
l-kitābi
the Book
مَسْطُورًۭا
masṭūran
written
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
6-1. The extent to which the Prophet was compassionate and well-wishing for his Ummah needs no explanation. Seeing this compassion and goodwill of yours, Allah Almighty, in this verse, has made you more entitled to the believers than their own selves, your love superior to all other loves, and your command more important than all their desires. Therefore, it is necessary for the believers that whatever wealth you demand from them for Allah, they should lavish it upon you, no matter how much they themselves need it. They should love you more than their own selves (as is the incident of Hazrat Umar). They should give precedence to your ﷺ command over everything and consider obedience to you ﷺ the most important. Until this self-surrender happens, (فَلَا وَرَبِّکَ لَا یُؤمِنُوْنَ) (an-Nisa 65), according to which a person will not be a believer. Similarly, until your love prevails over all other loves, he will not be a true believer. 6-2. That is, in respect and honor, and in not marrying them. They are also the mothers of believing men and believing women. 6-3. That is, now inheritance will not be due to migration, brotherhood. Now inheritance will only be on the basis of close kinship. 6-4. Yes, you can deal with non-relatives with kindness and maintaining ties, and you can also make a bequest for them from one third of your wealth. 6-5. That is, in the Preserved Tablet, the original ruling is this, although temporarily, for expediency, others were also made heirs, but Allah knew that this would be abrogated. Thus, by abrogating it, the first ruling has been restored. Similarly, when your ﷺ love does not prevail over all other loves, then according to "None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father and his son," he is not a believer. In exactly the same way, negligence in obedience to the Messenger will make one fall under "None of you truly believes until his desires follow what I have brought." 6-2. That is, in respect and honor, and in not marrying them. They are also the mothers of believing men and believing women. 6-3. That is, now inheritance will not be due to migration, brotherhood, and alliance. Now inheritance will only be on the basis of close kinship. 6-4. Yes, you can deal with non-relatives with kindness and maintaining ties, and you can also make a bequest for them from one third of your wealth. 6-5. That is, in the Preserved Tablet, the original ruling is this, although temporarily, for expediency, others were also made heirs, but Allah knew that this would be abrogated. Thus, by abrogating it, the first ruling has been restored.
