Surah At-Tahrim (66) — Ayah 5

5. It is not unlikely that if the Prophet divorces you [7], his Lord will give him in your place better wives [8]—submissive, faithful, obedient [9], repentant, worshipful, and fasting [10], whether previously married [11] or virgins.

[7]
Rebuke to Sayyidah Aisha and Hafsah:

While warning these two pure wives, it was said that if you repent, that is better for you, and stop causing distress to the Prophet. Sometimes, the domestic matters between spouses seem very trivial at first, but if the reins are loosened even a little, they can take on a very dangerous and destructive form. Especially, if a woman belongs to a noble family, she naturally takes pride in her father, brother, and family. Sayyiduna Umarؓ understood this nature of women very well. Thus, during those days, Sayyiduna Umarؓ went to his daughter Hafsahؓ and said: Daughter! What is the matter that you keep questioning and answering the Messenger of Allah to the extent that he remains angry the whole day? Sayyidah Hafsahؓ said: By Allah! We do keep questioning and answering. Sayyiduna Umarؓ said: Understand well, and I warn you of Allah’s punishment and the anger of His Messengerﷺ. Daughter! Do not be deceived by that woman who is proud of her beauty and the love of the Messenger of Allahﷺ, and by this he meant Sayyidah Aishaؓ. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير۔ تفسير سورة تحريم]
That is why Allah Almighty, while warning both of them, said that if you continue to act together and display such behavior, nothing will harm the Messengerﷺ of Allah. Because Allah Himself, His angel Jibreelؑ, and the righteous believers, all in their respective ranks, are his helpers, and none of your schemes can succeed before them.

[8]
The Wives Distressing the Prophet Regarding Household Expenses:

Previously, the discussion was about the two wives (Sayyidah Aishaؓ and Sayyidah Hafsahؓ), but in this verse, all the wives are addressed and rebuked. In the matter of declaring a lawful thing unlawful, indeed only Sayyidah Aishaؓ and Sayyidah Hafsahؓ were involved. But there was another matter that concerned all the wives. That was, after the victories of Khaybar and the spoils of war, the economic condition of the Muslims improved. So all the pure wives of the Prophetﷺ demanded an increase in household expenses from himﷺ. And if they were not the Prophet’s wives but ordinary women, there would have been nothing wrong in such a demand, and if the Prophet wished, he could have given them more from the spoils of war, and Allah had given him such authority. But since the Prophetﷺ naturally preferred poverty, this demand from the wives was burdensome for him. Then the wives did not keep this matter to just a demand, but would unite and argue and quarrel with him. And often, a whole day would pass in such mutual discord. When Sayyiduna Umarؓ learned of this situation, he went to his daughter’s house and advised her, saying: Look, stop arguing with the Messenger of Allah, and do not try to compete with Sayyidah Aishaؓ by thinking yourself equal to her, nor support others in this matter. And if you need anything, such as expenses, then ask me for it. Then Sayyiduna Umarؓ went to Sayyidah Umm Salamahؓ and gave her the same advice, because she was also related to Sayyiduna Umarؓ. But she gave Sayyiduna Umarؓ a blunt reply, saying: Who are you to interfere in our matters? Then when Umarؓ told the Messenger of Allahﷺ about this, heﷺ smiled. During those days, Sayyiduna Umarؓ, after assessing the situation, expressed the thought mentioned in the following hadith, and this is the reason for the revelation of this verse: Sayyiduna Umarؓ says that the wives of the Messenger of Allahﷺ gathered together and began to quarrel with him, so I said to them: “It is not unlikely that the Prophet may divorce all of you, and his Lord will give him better wives in your place.” At that time (just as I had said), this verse was revealed. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
But even after that, when the pure wives did not withdraw from their demand, it became so difficult for the Messenger of Allahﷺ that he separated himself from all his wives for a month and went to reside in an upper room. This incident is called the incident of Ilaa, which has already been discussed in detail in the footnotes of Surah Ahzab, verses 28 and 29.

[9] ﴿قَانِتَاتٌ﴾ ﴿قنوت﴾ refers to such obedience that is performed with complete humility, full attention, and heartfelt willingness. And this obedience can be to Allah, to His Messenger [33: 31], and for women, to their husbands [4: 34], and in this verse, all three types of obedience are meant.

[10]
The Difference Between ﴿سائح﴾ and ﴿صائم﴾:

﴿سَائِحَاتٌ﴾ means the wandering of water, and ﴿ساحة﴾ means a spacious place, and ﴿ساحة الدار﴾ means the courtyard of a house, and saah means to travel or wander, whether for recreation or any other purpose, and in these meanings, this word has also been used in the Quran. [9: 2]
In this sense, ﴿سائح﴾ means merely a traveler. But later, this word began to be used for such dervishes who used to wander, fast, and observe all the prescribed restrictions. Then this word also began to be used for such fasting people who, besides abstaining from food and drink, also tried to protect their limbs, i.e., eyes, ears, and tongue, etc., from sins, and according to Sahib Munjid, it refers to such a fasting person who stays mostly in the mosque, whereas sa’im can be said for every fasting person.

[11] That is, the pure wives are being addressed and told not to fall into the delusion that after all, a man needs wives, and where can he find better women than us, so if we put pressure, all our demands will be accepted. Remember, if Allah wills, He can provide His Prophet with better wives than you and dismiss you. This does not mean that the mentioned qualities were not present in the pure wives, but that these qualities should be present in the wives of the Prophet to the highest degree, and the demand of the pure wives was due to a shortcoming in the quality of obedience.