Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 53

(Ayah 53) ➊ { يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَدْخُلُوْا بُيُوْتَ النَّبِيِّ … :} In the previous verses, guidance was given regarding the mutual matters between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his pure wives. Now, a few etiquettes are being taught to the Ummah regarding the Mothers of the Believers, and a few rulings are being stated about entering the houses of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which, after some time, were also enforced for entering the houses of all Muslims in Surah An-Nur. In the era of ignorance, the Arabs used to enter each other's houses without hesitation; they did not consider it necessary to stand at the door to seek permission or wait to meet someone. Rather, every person would go inside the house, talk to the women, and inquire about the owner of the house, and the women also did not observe hijab. Sometimes, this would lead to the beginning of many moral evils. Therefore, first, this rule was established for the houses of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that whether a friend or a relative, no one should enter his houses without permission. Then, in Surah An-Nur (27), this rule was announced for entering all houses.

➋ {اِلٰى طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نٰظِرِيْنَ اِنٰىهُ … : ’’ اِنٰىهُ ‘‘} is the verbal noun of {’’إِنًي‘‘ ’’أَنٰي يَأْنِيْ‘‘} (ض), which means "the time of something has come." As it is said: « اَلَمْ يَاْنِ لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اَنْ تَخْشَعَ قُلُوْبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ» [ الحدید : ۱۶ ] "Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humble for the remembrance of Allah?" This word is also used in the meaning of food being cooked, because when it is cooked, its time to be eaten arrives. Among the uncivilized customs that were widespread among the Arabs was that they would estimate the time of food and arrive at someone's house, or they would come and sit in the house until the time of food arrived. This would put the owner of the house in difficulty; he could neither say that it is my mealtime, please leave, nor was he able to prepare food for those who came along with his own meal. Sometimes, people were invited for food, but the invited guests would arrive before time and sit, which would cause great discomfort to the household. Allah Almighty forbade this indecent habit and commanded that you should not go and sit in advance waiting for the food to be prepared, but rather go when the owner of the house calls you for food. This ruling also started as an example from the house of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), otherwise, this is the ruling for the houses of the entire Ummah.

➌ { وَ لَا مُسْتَاْنِسِيْنَ لِحَدِيْثٍ :} This is a correction of another indecent habit. Some people are invited to a meal, and after finishing the food, they start a conversation there, which does not seem to end. They do not care how much discomfort this causes to the household, as due to modesty, they cannot ask them to leave, nor can they freely do their own work.

➍ { اِنَّ ذٰلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ فَيَسْتَحْيٖ مِنْكُمْ:} That is, after finishing eating and drinking, your sitting there engaged in conversation always causes discomfort to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The meaning of "always" is indicated by {’’ كَانَ ‘‘}. Then, out of modesty, he cannot say to you, "Now get up and leave." But Allah Almighty does not shy away from saying the truth, so He has given these rulings. In this verse, Allah Almighty did not tolerate freeloaders (uninvited guests) and those who become a burden for His Prophet, so how can an ordinary person tolerate them?

➎ In this verse, the command of hijab for the Mothers of the Believers was revealed, so it is also called the verse of hijab. This is among the concurrences of Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), that is, among those matters in which the Qur'an was revealed in accordance with his opinion. But his beautiful etiquette was that instead of saying that the Qur'an agreed with my opinion, he said, "I agreed with my Lord in three matters." So, one of them is: [ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! لَوْ أَمَرْتَ نِسَاءَكَ أَنْ يَحْتَجِبْنَ، فَإِنَّهُ يُكَلِّمُهُنَّ الْبَرُّ وَالْفَاجِرُ، فَنَزَلَتْ آيَةُ الْحِجَابِ ] [ بخاري، الصلاۃ، باب ما جاء في القبلۃ… : ۴۰۲ ] "I said, O Messenger of Allah! Good and bad people (for religious or worldly matters) come to your wives; I wish you would command them to observe hijab." So Allah Almighty revealed the verse of hijab.

➏ The occasion of the revelation of this verse has been described by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her), (at the wedding feast) meat and bread were served. I was sent to invite people. People would come, eat, and leave, then others would come, eat, and leave. I invited everyone until no one was left. Finally, I said, 'O Messenger of Allah! Now I cannot find anyone else to invite.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Alright, now remove the food.' (All the people ate and left) and three people remained sitting in the house, talking. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out and went towards the room of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and said, 'O people of the house! { ”اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ“ }' They said: [ وَ عَلَيْكَ السَّلَامُ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ، كَيْفَ وَجَدْتَ أَهْلَكَ بَارَكَ اللّٰهُ لَكَ ] 'Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you too. How did you find your family? May Allah bless you.' In the same way, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to all his wives' houses and greeted them as he did Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and all replied as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) did. Then, when he returned, he saw that those three men were still sitting in the house, talking. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was extremely modest, so he again went to the room of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). I do not know whether I informed him or someone else did that those people had left. So, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned, and in such a state that one foot was inside the threshold of the door and the other was outside, he hung a curtain between me and himself, and the verse of hijab was revealed." [ بخاري، التفسیر، باب قولہ : « لا تدخلوا بیوت النبي…» : ۴۷۹۳ ]

➐ { وَ اِذَا سَاَلْتُمُوْهُنَّ مَتَاعًا … :} With the revelation of this verse, it was commanded that no one except mahram men should enter the house of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and whoever needs anything from the women should speak from behind a curtain, whether it is to ask for something, or to ask a question or a religious issue.

➑ { ذٰلِكُمْ اَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوْبِكُمْ وَ قُلُوْبِهِنَّ :} With a little attention to this sentence, it can be understood that when the Mothers of the Believers, who were the purest women in the world, and the Companions, who were the purest men in the world, were commanded to observe hijab when speaking to each other to keep their hearts pure, then what possibility can there be in Islam for men and women to meet each other without hijab, that is, for free mixing in homes, hospitals, schools, colleges, parks, courts, and assemblies, and what guarantee can there be for the purity and cleanliness of their hearts? Now, those people who, despite being Muslims, say that the real hijab is of the heart, because modesty and evil thoughts are related to the heart, and this apparent hijab is not necessary, such people have not truly accepted the commands of Allah and His Messenger from the heart.

➒ { وَ مَا كَانَ لَكُمْ اَنْ تُؤْذُوْا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ :} That is, to cause harm to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), whether it is entering his house without permission, or sitting in his house without his wish, or speaking to the pure wives without hijab, or, like the hypocrites, saying any kind of hurtful words—in short, in any way—is not permissible for you, nor does it ever befit you.

➓ { وَ لَاۤ اَنْ تَنْكِحُوْۤا اَزْوَاجَهٗ مِنْۢ بَعْدِهٖۤ اَبَدًا :} This is a grave sin in the sense that the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are the mothers of the believers. If anyone were to marry them, it would be as if he married his own mother. Then, the respect that Allah has granted them he would never be able to observe, and instead, he would ruin his own hereafter.