Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 28

(Ayah 28) ➊ {يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ … :} The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) always preferred the Hereafter over the world, and despite having the right to a fifth of the spoils of war, he would spend everything on those in need. As a result, his household lived in straitened and difficult circumstances. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: [ مَا شَبِعَ آلُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مُنْذُ قَدِمَ الْمَدِيْنَةَ مِنْ طَعَامِ بُرٍّ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ تِبَاعًا حَتّٰی قُبِضَ ] [ بخاري، الرقاق، باب کیف کان عیش النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم و أصحابہ… : ۶۴۵۴ ] "The family of Muhammad (peace be upon him), since he came to Madinah, never ate their fill of wheat bread for three consecutive days, until he passed away." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also narrated: [ مَا أَكَلَ آلُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ أَكْلَتَيْنِ فِيْ يَوْمٍ إِلَّا إِحْدَاهُمَا تَمْرٌ ] [ بخاري، الرقاق، کیف کان عیش النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم … : ۶۴۵۵ ] "The family of Muhammad (peace be upon him) never ate twice in one day, except that one of those meals was only dates." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said to her nephew Urwah: [ ابْنَ أُخْتِيْ! إِنْ كُنَّا لَنَنْظُرُ إِلَی الْهِلاَلِ ثَلاَثَةَ أَهِلَّةٍ فِيْ شَهْرَيْنِ، وَمَا أُوْقِدَتْ فِيْ أَبْيَاتِ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ نَارٌ فَقُلْتُ مَا كَانَ يُعِيْشُكُمْ ؟ قَالَتِ الْأَسْوَدَانِ التَّمْرُ وَ الْمَاءَ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ قَدْ كَانَ لِرَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ جِيْرَانٌ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ كَانَ لَهُمْ مَنَائِحُ، وَكَانُوْا يَمْنَحُوْنَ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مِنْ أَبْيَاتِهِمْ، فَيَسْقِيْنَاهُ ] [بخاري، الرقاق، باب کیف کان عیش النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم … : ۶۴۵۹ ] "Nephew! We would see the moon, then the second, then the third in two months, and no fire would be lit in the houses of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." I asked, "Then what kept you alive?" She said, "The two black things, dates and water, except that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had some neighbors from among the Ansar who had milch animals, and they would send some milk as a gift to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) from their homes, and he would give it to us to drink."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: [ كَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ يَبِيْتُ اللَّيَالِيَ الْمُتَتَابِعَةَ طَاوِيًا وَ أَهْلُهُ لَا يَجِدُوْنَ عَشَاءً] [ ترمذي، الزھد، باب ما جاء في معیشۃ النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم و أھلہ : ۲۳۶۰، وقال الألبانی حسن ] "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would spend many nights hungry, and his family would not have supper." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) described the bed of the Prophet (peace be upon him): [ كَانَ فِرَاشُ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ مِنْ أَدَمٍ، وَحَشْوُهُ مِنْ لِيْفٍ ] [بخاري، الرقاق، باب کیف کان عیش النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم … : ۶۴۵۶ ] "The bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was made of leather stuffed with palm fibers." Remarkably, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was pleased with this state and had asked Allah for it. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْ رِزْقَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ قُوْتًا ] [ مسلم، الزکاۃ، باب في الکفاف و القناعۃ : ۱۰۵۵ ] "O Allah! Make the provision of the family of Muhammad just sufficient for their needs." Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ اَللّٰهُمَّ أَحْيِنِيْ مِسْكِيْنًا وَ أَمِتْنِيْ مِسْكِيْنًا وَاحْشُرْنِيْ فِيْ زُمْرَةِ الْمَسَاكِيْنِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ لِمَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ!؟ قَالَ إِنَّهُمْ يَدْخُلُوْنَ الْجَنَّةَ قَبْلَ أَغْنِيَائِهِمْ بِأَرْبَعِيْنَ خَرِيْفًا ] [ ترمذي، الزھد، باب ما جاء أن فقراء المھاجرین… : ۲۳۵۲ ] "O Allah! Let me live as a poor person, die as a poor person, and be raised among the group of the poor." Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Why is that?" He said, "They will enter Paradise forty (40) years before their wealthy ones." Clearly, this standard of living is extremely trying and difficult, and the noble wives shared this standard of living with him.

➋ { قُلْ لِّاَزْوَاجِكَ :} When, as a result of the wealth of Banu Qurayzah and other victories, the condition of the Muslims improved somewhat, the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him), seeing the women of the Ansar and Muhajirin, also demanded an increase in maintenance and expenses. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was in no way willing to abandon his life of asceticism and contentment. At the insistence of his wives, he was deeply grieved and distressed, and he swore that he would not come to them for a month. This is called "Ilaa." (See Baqarah: 226, 227) Then these verses were revealed to him. Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to seek permission to enter upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and saw that people were sitting at his door, and none of them had been granted permission. Anyway, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was granted permission, and he entered. Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to seek permission, and he too was granted permission. They found the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sitting, and his wives were around him, and he was sad and silent. He said, "I will certainly say something to make the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laugh." So he said, "O Messenger of Allah! If you had seen the daughter of Kharijah (my wife), she asked me for expenses, so I got up and pressed her neck." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) laughed and said, "These are all sitting around me, as you see, and they are asking me for expenses." So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) got up to press the neck of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) got up to press the neck of Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her). Both were saying, "Do you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for what he does not have?" They both said, "By Allah! We will never ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for what he does not have." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) stayed away from them for a month or twenty-nine days, then this verse was revealed to him: «{ يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِّاَزْوَاجِكَ اِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيٰوةَ الدُّنْيَا وَ زِيْنَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ اُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَ اُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيْلًا }» [ الأحزاب : ۲۸ ] [ مسلم، الطلاق، باب بیان أن تخییرہ امرأتہ… : ۱۴۷۵ ]

➌ { اِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيٰوةَ الدُّنْيَا وَ زِيْنَتَهَا :} In Sahih Bukhari, in a long narration from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that one of the reasons for the oath to stay away from his wives for a month was also Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) disclosing a secret of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), which is mentioned in Surah At-Tahrim. In the same narration, it is mentioned that when twenty-nine days had passed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) first went to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). She said to him, "You swore not to come to us for a month, and only twenty-nine nights have passed; I have counted them well." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This month is of twenty-nine days." And that month was indeed of twenty-nine days. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "Then Allah revealed the verse of giving the choice, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) first asked me, saying, 'I am going to say something to you, there is no harm if you do not hasten to reply and consult your parents.' " Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "I knew well that my parents would never advise me to separate from you." Then he said, "Allah the Exalted said: «{ يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِّاَزْوَاجِكَ اِنْ كُنْتُنَّ … اَجْرًا عَظِيْمًا }» [ الأحزاب : ۲۸، ۲۹ ] I said, 'Will I consult my parents about this? I want Allah and His Messenger and the home of the Hereafter.' " Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave the choice to his other wives as well, and they all said what Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) had said. [ بخاري، المظالم، باب الغرفۃ و العلیۃ … : ۲۴۶۸ ]

➍ Ibn Kathir has narrated the statement of Ikrimah that at that time the Prophet (peace be upon him) had nine (9) wives in his marriage: five from Quraysh: Aisha, Hafsah, Umm Habibah, Sawdah, and Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with them), and from Banu Nadir, Safiyyah bint Huyayy; from Banu Hilal, Maymunah bint Harith; from Banu Asad, Zaynab bint Jahsh; and from Banu Mustaliq, Juwayriyyah bint al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with them).

➎ Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave us the choice, and we chose Allah and His Messenger, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not count it as anything." [ بخاري، الطلاق، باب من خیّر أزواجہ… : ۵۲۶۲ ] From this, it is understood that if, after being given the choice, the wife chooses to remain with her husband, then no kind of divorce takes place.

➏ { فَتَعَالَيْنَ اُمَتِّعْكُنَّ: ’’تَعَالَيْنَ‘‘} (Come) {’’عَلَا يَعْلُوْ‘‘ } is the plural feminine imperative form from the verb pattern "tafaa'ul." Originally, it is used when someone standing at a high place calls someone to come up, then it began to be used for calling anyone: {’’تَعَالَ‘‘} (Come).

➐ { اُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَ اُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيْلًا :} The meaning of the verse is that, O Prophet! Say to your wives that choose one of two things for yourselves: the first is that if you desire the life of this world and its adornment and beauty, then there is no way for you to remain with me; so come, I will give you some provision (which is the command to give according to one's means at the time of divorce, called {’’متعه طلاق‘‘}. See Surah Baqarah: 236 to 241), and I will release you in a good manner, meaning I will set you free by giving divorce without any taunt, reproach, or harm. The mention of the second thing is in the next verse.