Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 32

(Ayah 32) ➊ { يٰنِسَآءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَاَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَآءِ … :} That is, your status and rank are not like ordinary women; rather, the honor that has been granted to you by being the wives of the Prophet has elevated your position above other women, and you are a model for them. Some scholars have deduced from this verse that the pure wives are superior to other women, except for Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh, Maryam bint Imran, and Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), because their superiority is established by authentic texts. See Surah Al Imran (42). Zamakhshari said: The word {’’أَحَدٍ‘‘} is used for masculine, feminine, singular, dual, and plural, and the meaning is that you are not like any group among the groups of women. That is, when the community of women is considered group by group, there is no group among them that is equal to you in virtue and precedence.

➋ { اِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ :} This is connected to the previous sentence, meaning that being superior to other women is conditional upon piety. This was said so that they do not become fearless, but always remain in awe of Allah and avoid those actions from which Allah has forbidden. The pure wives remained steadfast upon piety until the end, which is an established fact; therefore, their superiority is also certain. {’’ اِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ ‘‘} can also be connected to the following sentence, meaning that if you adopt piety, then do not speak with softness and gentleness.

➌ { فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ … :} Just as Allah has placed sexual attraction for men in the existence of women, for the protection of which the command of veiling and lowering the gaze has been given, similarly, there is a natural charm, softness, and delicacy in the voice of a woman, which attracts men towards her. Therefore, the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were commanded that when speaking to men, they should adopt a tone in which, instead of softness and charm, there is some firmness and strength, so that no one with a diseased heart is emboldened by any wrong thought to proceed further. From this, it is understood that the Mothers of the Believers were permitted to speak to non-mahram men in such a tone that was devoid of softness and gentleness. Especially because regarding the household life of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the issues of women, they could best and most fully inform the Ummah, and indeed, they fulfilled this duty in the best manner. Generally, it is said that it is not permissible for a non-mahram to hear a woman's voice, but this is not correct. It should be clear that this command is not exclusive to the Mothers of the Believers, but is for all the women of the Ummah, because the pure wives are a model for the women of the Ummah. The commands mentioned in the next verse are also evidence of this, that although the primary addressees are the Mothers of the Believers, this command is for everyone; otherwise, other women would be permitted to display their adornment openly like the women of the time of ignorance, whereas they are not even allowed to stamp their feet loudly to reveal hidden adornment. See Surah An-Nur (31).

➍ { وَ قُلْنَ قَوْلًا مَّعْرُوْفًا :} The prohibition of speaking softly does not mean to say something that is against good manners or that insults the addressee, but only that the tone should be firm; in any case, the speech must be good and according to custom.