033- AL-AHZAB

THE PARTIES 

IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

# O Prophet! Reverence God and obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Truly God is Knowing, Wise. # And follow that which is revealed unto thee from thy Lord. Truly God is Aware of whatsoever you do. # And trust in God; God suffices as a Guardian. # God has not placed two hearts in the breast of any man. Nor has He made your wives whom you repudiate with the practice of ẓihār your mothers. Nor has He made those whom you claim [as sons] your sons. Those are mere words from your mouths. But God speaks the Truth and guides upon the way. # Call them after their fathers. That is more equitable before God. And if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brethren in religion and your clients. There is no blame upon you for being mistaken therein, but only for that which your hearts intend. And God is Forgiving, Merciful. # The Prophet is closer to the believers than they are to themselves, and his wives are their mothers. Family relations are closer to one another, according to the Book of God, than are the believers and the emigrants. Nonetheless, you should act rightly toward your friends. That is inscribed in the Book. # And [remember] when We made with the prophets their covenant, and with thee, and with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary; We made with them a solemn covenant, # that the truthful may be questioned concerning their truthfulness. And for the disbelievers He has prepared a painful punishment. # O you who believe! Remember the Blessing of God upon you when the hosts came upon you and We sent against them a wind and hosts that you saw not—and God sees whatsoever you do— # when they came upon you from above you and below you, and when eyes swerved and hearts reached into throats, and you thought many things regarding God. # It was there that the believers were tried and shaken in a manner most severe. # And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, “God and His Messenger promised us naught but delusion.” # And when a group among them said, “O people of Yathrib! There is no stand for you; so turn back.” And a group among them sought permission from the Prophet, saying, “Truly our houses are exposed,” though they were not exposed. They wanted naught but to flee. # Had they been entered upon from the sides of the city, then were exhorted to treachery, they would have committed it and would not have hesitated, save a little, # though previously they had made a pact with God that they would not turn their backs; and the pact with God is called to account. # Say, “Fleeing will not benefit you if you flee from death or killing, for you will not be granted enjoyment, save a little.” # Say, “Who is it who will protect you from God if He desires evil for you or desires mercy for you?” They will find no protector or helper for themselves apart from God. # Surely God knows those among you who hinder and those who say unto their brethren, “Come hither unto us”; yet they come not to the battle, save a little, # greedy toward you. But when fear comes, thou seest them looking at thee with their eyes rolling like one whom death overwhelms. Then when fear subsides, they assail thee with their sharp tongues, greedy for good things. Such as these have not believed; so God made their deeds come to naught, and that is easy for God. # They suppose that the parties have not withdrawn, and if the parties were to come, they would wish they were in the desert among the Bedouin, seeking news of you. And were they among you, they would not fight, save a little. # Indeed, you have in the Messenger of God a beautiful example for those who hope for God and the Last Day, and remember God much. # When the believers saw the parties, they said, “This is what God and His Messenger promised; God and His Messenger spoke true.” And it increased them in naught but faith and submission. # Among the believers are men who have been true to that which they pledged unto God. Among them are those who have fulfilled their vow, and among them are those who wait, and they have not changed in the least, # that God may recompense the truthful for their truthfulness and punish the hypocrites if He will, or relent unto them. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful. # And God turned back those who disbelieved in their rage; they attained no good. God sufficed the believers in battle; and God is Strong, Mighty. # He brought the People of the Book who supported them down from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts—some you slew and some you took captive. # And He bequeathed unto you their land, their homes, their property, and a land you have not trodden. And God is Powerful over all things. # O Prophet! Say unto thy wives, “If you desire the life of this world and its ornament, then come! I shall provide for you and release you in a fair manner. # But if you desire God and His Messenger and the Abode of the Hereafter, then truly God has prepared a great reward for the virtuous among you.” # O wives of the Prophet! Whosoever among you commits a flagrant indecency, her punishment will be doubled; and that is easy for God. # And whosoever among you is devoutly obedient to God and His Messenger and works righteousness, We shall give her her reward twice over, and We have prepared for her a generous provision. # O wives of the Prophet! You are not like other women. If you are reverent, then be not overly soft in speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease be moved to desire; and speak in an honorable way. # Abide in your homes and flaunt not your charms as they did flaunt them in the prior Age of Ignorance. Perform the prayer, give the alms, and obey God and His Messenger. God only desires to remove defilement from you, O People of the House, and to purify you completely. # And remember that which is recited unto you in your homes from among the signs and Wisdom of God. Truly God is Subtle, Aware. # For submitting men and submitting women, believing men and believing women, devout men and devout women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, charitable men and charitable women, men who fast and women who fast, men who guard their private parts and women who guard [their private parts], men who remember God often and women who remember [God often], God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward. # And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have a choice regarding the matter. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has strayed into manifest error. # And [remember] when thou saidst unto him whom God has blessed and whom thou hast blessed, “Retain your wife for yourself and reverence God,” thou wast hiding in thyself that which God was to disclose; and thou didst fear the people, though God has more right to be feared by thee. Then when Zayd relinquished his claim upon her, We wed her to thee, so that there should be no restriction for the believers in respect to the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have relinquished their claims upon them. And the Command of God shall be fulfilled. # There is no restriction for the Prophet in what God has ordained for him. [That is] the wont of God with those who passed away before—and God’s Command is a decree determined, # those who convey God’s messages and fear Him, and fear none but God. And God suffices as a Reckoner. # Muhammad is not the father of any man among you; rather, he is the Messenger of God and the Seal of the prophets. And God is Knower of all things. # O you who believe! Remember God with frequent remembrance, # and glorify Him morning and evening. # He it is Who blesses you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out of darkness into light. And He is Merciful unto the believers. # Their greeting on the day they meet Him will be “Peace.” And He has prepared for them a generous reward. # O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner, # as one who calls unto God by His Leave, and as a luminous lamp. # Give glad tidings to the believers that there will be for them a great bounty from God. # Obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites; disregard their affront, and trust in God. God suffices as a Guardian. # O you who believe! If you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, there shall be no waiting period for you to reckon against them. But provide for them and release them in a fair manner. # O Prophet! We have made lawful for thee thy wives to whom thou hast given their bridewealth, as well as those whom thy right hand possesses of those whom God has granted thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thy paternal uncles and the daughters of thy paternal aunts, and the daughters of thy maternal uncles and the daughters of thy maternal aunts who emigrated with thee, and any believing woman if she gives herself [in marriage] to the Prophet and if the Prophet desires to marry her—for thee alone, not for [the rest of] the believers. We know well what We have enjoined upon them with respect to their wives and those whom their right hands possess, that there may be no blame upon thee. And God is Forgiving, Merciful. # Thou mayest put off whomsoever of them thou wilt and receive whomsoever thou wilt. And as for whomsoever thou mightest desire of those whom thou hast set aside, there is no blame upon thee. Thus is it likelier that they will be comforted, that they will not grieve, and that they will be content with that which thou hast given all of them. God knows what is in your hearts. And God is Knowing, Clement. # Women are not lawful for thee beyond that, nor [is it lawful] for thee to exchange them for other wives, though their beauty impresses thee, save those whom thy right hand possesses. And God is Watcher over all things. # O you who believe! Enter not the dwellings of the Prophet for a meal without waiting for its time to come, unless leave be granted you. But if you are invited, enter; and when you have eaten, disperse. Linger not, seeking discourse. Truly that would affront the Prophet, and he would shrink from telling you, but God shrinks not from the truth. And when you ask anything of [his wives], ask them from behind a veil. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And you should never affront the Messenger of God, nor marry his wives after him. Truly that would be an enormity in the sight of God. # Whether you disclose something or conceal it, surely God is Knower of all things. # There is no blame upon them with regard to their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their own women, or those whom their right hands possess. And reverence God. Truly God is Witness over all things. # Truly God and His angels invoke blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe! Invoke blessings upon him, and greetings of peace! # Truly those who affront God and His Messenger, God has cursed them in this life and the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment. # As for those who affront believing men and believing women for other than what they may have committed, they bear the burden of calumny and manifest sin. # O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters, and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks over themselves. Thus is it likelier that they will be known and not be disturbed. And God is Forgiving, Merciful. ` If the hypocrites do not desist, and likewise those in whose hearts is a disease, as well as those who spread false rumors in the city, We shall surely spur thee against them; then they will not be thy neighbors therein, save for a short while. # Accursed! They will be seized wheresoever they are found and utterly slain. # [That is] the wont of God with those who passed before; and you will find no alteration in the wont of God. # People question thee concerning the Hour. Say, “Knowledge thereof lies only with God. And what will apprise thee, perhaps the Hour is nigh.” # Truly God curses the disbelievers and prepares for them a blazing flame, # therein to abide forever; they will find no protector or helper. # On the Day when their faces are turned about in the Fire, they will say, “Oh, would that we had obeyed God and obeyed the Messenger!” # They will say, “Our Lord! Truly we obeyed our leaders and elders, and they caused us to stray from the way. # Our Lord! Give them a twofold punishment, and curse them with a great curse.” # O you who believe! Be not as those who affronted Moses, whereat God declared him innocent of what they alleged, and he was honored with God. # O you who believe! Reverence God and speak justly, # that He may set your deeds aright for you, and forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys God and His Messenger has achieved a great triumph. # Truly We offered the Trust unto the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were wary of it—yet man bore it; truly he has proved himself an ignorant wrongdoer. # That God may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, the idolatrous men and the idolatrous women, and that God may relent unto the believing men and the believing women. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

Commentary

# O Prophet! Reverence God and obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Truly God is Knowing, Wise.

1 The Prophet is commanded to not compromise with the disbelievers in a manner that would contravene the revealed law. Throughout the Quran, the Prophet is warned to avoid any such concessions, as in 45:18: Then We placed thee upon a clear path from the Command; so follow it, and follow not the caprices of those who know not (cf. 5:48–49; 42:1). The present verse was reportedly revealed with regard to some leaders of the Quraysh who had traveled to Madinah after the Battle of Uḥud (3/625) to see the Prophet. Muhammad had allowed them to come to speak with him with his assurance of protection. They requested that he cease rejecting their idols and recognize the idols’ ability to intercede on behalf of those who worship them. Upon hearing this, ʿUmar ibn alKhaṭṭāb said to the Prophet, “Let me kill them, O Messenger of God!” The Prophet replied, “I have given them my assurance of protection,” upon which ʿUmar said to them, “Leave with God’s Curse and Wrath upon you.” The Prophet then ordered ʿUmar to drive them out of Madinah (Ṭs, W). In this context, the command to reverence God, though general, can also be understood as a specific reminder to those who wanted to kill the delegation from the Quraysh that they must honor their agreement to grant them protection (Ṭs).

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# And follow that which is revealed unto thee from thy Lord. Truly God is Aware of whatsoever you do.

2. The first verse makes clear who Muslims should not follow, and this verse reiterates what they should follow, namely, the Quran and the revealed laws (Ṭs). In a variant reading, whatsoever you do could also be “whatsoever they do” (Ṭs).

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# And trust in God; God suffices as a Guardian.

3. In this context, that God suffices as a Guardian (cf. 4:81, 132, 171; 33:48; see also 17:65) affirms that the Muslims do not need to make alliances that would compromise the principles of the revelation.

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# God has not placed two hearts in the breast of any man. Nor has He made your wives whom you repudiate with the practice of ẓihār your mothers. Nor has He made those whom you claim [as sons] your sons. Those are mere words from your mouths. But God speaks the Truth and guides upon the way.

4 When viewed in relation to the previous verses, that no one has two hearts refers to one’s inability to follow two contrary ways: those who believe in the revelation and the Quran, on the one hand, and the people of disbelief and rebellion, on the other (Ṭs); that is, one cannot both believe and disbelieve at the same time (Ṭs). It can also refer to the Quranic position that no person can have any true guardian other than God (R), just as no person can serve two masters. From a Quranic perspective, true reverence for God does not allow one to rely upon the teachings of God in some matters and upon the caprices of people in others, for one would then not reverence God as He should be reverenced (3:102). That one cannot have two hearts is also understood as a reminder that a heart preoccupied with one thing is distracted from anything other than that; so a heart preoccupied with this world is separated from the next (Qu), and the heart preoccupied with what is other than God cannot be focused upon God. In this regard al-Tustarī states, “So as long as one is preoccupied with oneself, one will be veiled from God.”

When viewed in relation to the remainder of this verse, that no person has two hearts means that just as a man’s wife cannot be his mother, because one cannot have two mothers, and that just as someone claimed as a son is not one’s true offspring, because no one can have two fathers, so too no one can have “two hearts” (IK, Z). To be both mother and wife of someone would also require existing in two mutually incompatible states (Z), which a heart cannot do.

Ẓihār was a pre-Islamic Arabian practice in which a man could repudiate his wife by declaring, “You are to me as my mother’s back.” By custom this implied that the husband was now free of all duties toward the wife, but the wife was not free to leave the husband and contract another marriage. For a more extensive discussion of ẓihār, see commentary on 58:1–4, which abolished this practice.

Nor has He made those whom you claim [as sons] your sons was reportedly revealed to clarify the nature of the Prophet’s relationship with Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, a freed slave of the Prophet who remained a part of the Prophet’s extended household. Sometime before the beginning of the revelations, Zayd’s father had repudiated him when Zayd declared that he preferred to remain with Muhammad as his slave rather than return to his family. Muhammad then declared Zayd to be his son and proclaimed, “He inherits from me, and I inherit from him.” When the Prophet married Zaynab bint Jaḥsh, the ex-wife of Zayd (see 33:37c), some of his detractors said, “Muhammad has married the wife of his son while forbidding people to do the same!” And so this verse was revealed clarifying that, although the Prophet had claimed Zayd as his son, such bonds were not subject to the same restrictions as bonds of blood (IK, Q, Ṭs, W).

Those are mere words from your mouths refers to those who criticized the Prophet, maintaining that Zayd was indeed his son. More generally, it indicates that words from the mouth are nothing more than words, but that words from the heart are true (R). Whereas the words spoken by a human being may arise from the mind, the heart, or the emotions, those spoken by God have only one source (R). God speaks the Truth can also be understood as a reference to God bringing all things into existence through Divine Speech, since His Command when He desires a thing is only to say to it, “Be!” and it is (36:82; cf. 2:117; 3:47; 6:73; 16:40; 19:35; 40:68), and He created the heavens and the earth in truth, or “through truth” (39:5).

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# Call them after their fathers. That is more equitable before God. And if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brethren in religion and your clients. There is no blame upon you for being mistaken therein, but only for that which your hearts intend. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

5 Regarding this verse, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar is reported to have said, “We did not use to call Zayd ibn Ḥārithah by any name other than Zayd ibn Muhammad until the Quran revealed, Call them after their fathers. That is more equitable before God” (Q, Ṭs, W). This verse abolished the pre-Islamic custom of adopting others the way the Prophet had adopted Zayd, enjoining Muslims instead to adopt one another as brothers and as clients (Q, Z). Clients translates mawālī (sing. mawlā), which is elsewhere translated heirs (4:33; 19:5), and which in other verses refers to God as Master (e.g., 2:286; 3:150; 6:62; 8:40), and is etymologically related to walī (pl. awliyāʾ), meaning “protector” or “protecting friend.” Both mawlā and walī are employed throughout the Quran to refer to a variety of close relations, such as inheritance, kinship, servitude, friendship, and alliance. There is no blame upon those who had engaged in the practice of adoption as the Prophet did in Zayd’s case, since they did not intend to go against God’s Will (Ṭs). Applied more broadly, this verse is understood to mean that people are not taken to account for unintended mistakes, regarding which the Prophet is reported to have said, “God exonerates my community of being mistaken, of forgetting, and of that which they are forced to do” (IK, Z).

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# The Prophet is closer to the believers than they are to themselves, and his wives are their mothers. Family relations are closer to one another, according to the Book of God, than are the believers and the emigrants. Nonetheless, you should act rightly toward your friends. That is inscribed in the Book.

6 Closer to the believers could also be rendered, “More worthy of the believers,” meaning he has more right over them than they have over themselves. In both renderings it refers to the centrality of the Prophet in the lives of Muslims. This applies legislatively, as in 4:65: By thy Lord, they will not believe until they have made thee the judge between them in their disputes, and find no resistance in their souls to what thou hast decreed, and surrender with full submission; and spiritually, as in a famous ḥadīth: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, none of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his own self, his wealth, his children, and mankind all together” (IK). Commenting upon this verse and citing this ḥadīth, al-Tustarī writes, “Whoever does not see himself [or his soul] as belonging to the Messenger and does not see the patronage (wilāyah) of the Messenger in every situation has in no way tasted the sweetness of his wont (sunnah). This is because the Prophet is the closest to the believers” (ST). From the logic of the Quran, this is because the Prophet is troubled by what the believers suffer and is solicitous, kind, and merciful toward them (9:128; Aj). It is also understood to mean that his supplication for the believers is more efficacious than their supplication for themselves (Ṭs).

This verse and v. 53 elevate the status of the Prophet’s wives. Thereafter they were known as the “mothers of the believers,” and marriage to them after the Prophet’s death was forbidden. Their position as the “mothers of the believers” implies by extension that, although the Prophet is not the biological or adoptive father of the believers (see 33:40c), from a spiritual perspective he is the father of all believers (Qm), which is also a basis for their brotherhood (Ṭs). That family relations are closer means that despite the bonds of brotherhood between Muslims, inheritance was based upon blood relations. When the Prophet first arrived in Madinah, he joined the Emigrants from Makkah and the Helpers from Madinah together in pacts of brotherhood, but the Prophet and the members of his family made the pact with one another. Until the revelation of this verse, it was reportedly the practice to observe these pacts of brotherhood when dividing the property of the deceased. After this verse, that practice was no longer followed (IK, Q, Ṭs), but believers were permitted to make limited bequests to nonrelatives (Ṭs). That refers to the abrogation of inheritance based upon religion and emigration (IK, JJ, Ṭs); see also 8:72–75, which is interpreted as having nullified the legal implications of the pacts of brotherhood. Here the Book refers to the Preserved Tablet (85:22; JJ, Ṭs) or to the Quran (Ṭs).

Some Shiite commentaries connect this verse to the events at Ghadīr Khumm, which took place during the Prophet’s return from Makkah to Madinah after the Farewell Pilgrimage in 10/632, at which time 5:67 is reported to have been revealed. After this revelation, the Prophet called for the people to gather. When they had gathered, he delivered a lengthy sermon during which he said, “I have been called [by God], and I shall answer. I am leaving for you two great things. If you adhere to them both, you will never go astray after me. They are the Book of God and my progeny, that is, the People of my Household. The two shall never separate from each other until they come to me by the Pool [of Paradise].” Toward the end of the sermon, he took the hand of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and said, “O people! Am I not closer to you than yourselves?” To which they responded, “Indeed! O Messenger of God.” Then he said, “For whosoever I am his master (mawlā), ʿAlī is his master,” to which some report he added, “O God, love those who love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him.” He is also reported to have then said to ʿAlī, “You are to me as Aaron to Moses, save that there is no prophethood after me.” For the Shiites, this event is understood to mean that ʿAlī had been designated the successor to the Prophet and to have been given the same rights over the believers that the Prophet had over them, and the reference to family relations is understood as a reference to the Shiite Imams who came after him (Qm). According to this interpretation, the reference to the covenant in the next verse then applies to the Shiite Imams as well.

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# And [remember] when We made with the prophets their covenant, and with thee, and with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary; We made with them a solemn covenant,

7 Covenant (mīthāq) can be understood as a reference to the covenant made by all of humanity while they were still in Adam’s loins (Mw) or to the pacts (ʿuhūd) made by the messengers to convey the message and call to the upright religion (30:30; Bg, Mw, Q, Z). According to some commentators, this verse pertains to a covenant that is particular to the prophets in which they pledged to worship God, call others to worship God, and confirm one another (Mw, Sh).

Some say that this was an additional covenant made after the covenant to which all of humanity bore witness on the Day of the Covenant (see 7:172; IK). These five prophets are said to be mentioned for their exalted status as the resolute among the messengers (46:35), who brought the known Divine laws (Bg, Q, Sh) and revealed books (Q). The mention of the five prophets can also be understood to stand for all prophets. With regard to the order in which the prophets are mentioned, the Prophet is reported to have said, “I was the first prophet to be created and the last of them to be sent; so He began with [the mention of] Me before them” (IK, Mw, Q). In this regard, a Companion of the Prophet said, “I asked, ‘O Messenger of God, when were you a prophet?’ and he replied, ‘While

Adam was between spirit and body.’” Another ḥadīth states, “Truly I was with

God, the Seal of Prophets, when Adam was still kneaded in his clay.”

The second mention of covenant in the verse can be seen as a repetition and reaffirmation of the first; or the first mention can be seen as a covenantal affirmation of God’s supreme Sovereignty and the second as pertaining to the particularities of prophethood; see 3:81. According to al-Zajjāj, “[God] made the covenant when they were brought forth from Adam’s loins as progeny, then He affirmed the covenant He had made with the prophets by repeating the mention of it and describing it as a solemn covenant, meaning ‘a pact firm in fulfillment’ of that which they had been made to carry and of that which God had enjoined upon them” (Sh).

The present verse could also be understood to mean that God made a covenant with them twice, the first time without “making it solemn” (taghlīẓ) and without firmness (tashdīd), then a second time making it solemn and firm, as in 3:81 (Sh). Its being solemn can also be understood as a reference to the sobering obligation of bearing God’s message and conveying Divine laws (Ṭs). Although the covenant is mentioned throughout the Quran (see the essay “The Quranic View of Sacred History and Other Religions”), a solemn covenant is only mentioned here, in 4:21, where it describes the marriage pact, and in 4:154, where it describes the covenant with Moses and the Israelites.

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# that the truthful may be questioned concerning their truthfulness. And for the disbelievers He has prepared a painful punishment.

8. God made the covenant with the prophets so that He could ask “the believers who confirm their pact when He makes them testify about themselves regarding their truthfulness toward their pact” (Bg); for had God not enjoined the prophets to deliver revelation, it would be unjust to hold human beings accountable for having failed to uphold the covenant, as they would have received no specific reminders. In this respect, al-Zamakhsharī relates the mention of the covenant in the previous verse to the pretemporal covenant alluded to in 7:172. When they are questioned, the response of the truthful will be, The messengers of our Lord certainly brought the truth (7:43; IK).

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# O you who believe! Remember the Blessing of God upon you when the hosts came upon you and We sent against them a wind and hosts that you saw not—and God sees whatsoever you do—

9. The first mention of hosts refers to the Quraysh and their allies, who came upon Madinah “as parties” at the Battle of the Trench in 5/627; see the introduction to this sūrah. A wind refers to the sandstorm that came at the end of the siege of Madinah and eventually led many members of the confederacy to quit the battlefield. Hosts that you saw not is understood as a reference to angels who untied the tents of the confederacy during the storm, leaving them exposed to the elements (Ṭ). In an alternate reading, the last sentence could also be understood to mean, “God sees whatsoever they do,” referring to the disbelievers (Ṭs).

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# when they came upon you from above you and below you, and when eyes swerved and hearts reached into throats, and you thought many things regarding God.

10. From above you and below you (cf. 5:66; 6:65; 29:55) is an idiomatic expression meaning to be enveloped on all sides. In this context it refers to the Muslims being surrounded by the confederate forces on all sides (JJ). From above could thus be seen as a reference to the tribes that came upon Madinah from the east, those of Qurayẓah, Naḍīr, and Ghaṭafān. Below you would then refer to those who came from the west, meaning the Quraysh and the smaller tribes that followed them (Ṭs). Eyes swerved to gaze upon the enemy, and hearts reached into throats due to the intensity of their fear (IK, JJ). During the siege of Madinah, in which any severe lapse could have led to the downfall of Madinah, some had misgivings, others thought they would receive Divine assistance, and others despaired (JJ). As the situation worsened, a Companion of the Prophet is reported to have asked, “O Messenger of God, is there anything we should say, for our hearts have reached our throats?” He replied, “Yes. Say, ‘O God, cover our weaknesses and calm our fears’” (IK, Ṭs). The different groups involved thought many things regarding God: the believers were certain that God’s Help would come and they would be victorious; the hypocrites believed that the Prophet and his followers would be eliminated; and others despaired of the situation (IJ, IK, Ṭ, Ṭs). Thought many things regarding God could also refer only to those whose hearts were weak and thus doubted God or to the general state of mind in which those who lack courage might find themselves (Ṭs).

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# It was there that the believers were tried and shaken in a manner most severe.

11. The nearly month-long siege the Muslims endured was a test through which their faith and patience became manifest (Ṭs), and the true believers were clearly distinguished from the hypocrites (IJ, Ṭ). For the spiritual benefit of trials, see commentary on 29:2–3.

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# And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, “God and His Messenger promised us naught but delusion.”

12. Those in whose hearts is a disease (2:8–11; 5:52; 24:47–50; 33:60; 47:20, 29; 74:31) is usually employed to describe the hypocrites and those with impure intentions (see v. 32). But its use here for a separate group in addition to the hypocrites may indicate that it refers to those believers whose convictions were weak because they still harbored some doubt within their souls (Ṭs).

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# And when a group among them said, “O people of Yathrib! There is no stand for you; so turn back.” And a group among them sought permission from the Prophet, saying, “Truly our houses are exposed,” though they were not exposed. They wanted naught but to flee.

13. A group among them refers to the hypocrites, here identified by most as ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy and those with him. Yathrib was the name of Madinah before Islam; so their call is to all the inhabitants of Madinah. There is no stand for you is meant to communicate to the Madinans that there is no way for them to oppose the forces now gathered against them (JJ) or that their particular strategy of manning the trench leaves them unduly exposed to attack (IJ). Turn back enjoins them to retreat to their houses in the city rather than man the trench on its outskirts.

A group sought to leave the hardships of maintaining watch over the trench by claiming that their houses were in need of defense (IJ, JJ). Before the siege, this same group had argued that it was better to fight the confederates from within the city.

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# Had they been entered upon from the sides of the city, then were exhorted to treachery, they would have committed it and would not have hesitated, save a little,

14. Had the confederates entered the city and exhorted the hypocrites to revert to polytheism, they would have done so with little hesitation (IJ, Ṭs) and would have fought against the Muslims (Z). Alternately, and would not have hesitated, save a little could mean “and would not have remained in it, save a little”; that is, had they reverted and fought against the Muslims, they would not have remained in Madinah very long, because God would have destroyed them (Z) or the believers would have expelled them soon thereafter (R).

***

# though previously they had made a pact with God that they would not turn their backs; and the pact with God is called to account.

15. This verse makes clear the corruption of the hypocrites (R). They had previously pledged to fight with the Prophet, aiding him in defending Madinah, just as he had pledged to aid in their defense. Some say that this verse refers to the pledge taken with the Prophet at ʿAqabah before the emigration (Ṭs, Z). Others say that it refers to those who were absent from the Battle of Badr, but vowed to fight in the future if called upon to do so (Ṭ, Z). Another opinion names the tribe of Banū Ḥārithah, who had abandoned the Muslim armies at the Battle of Uḥud, leading to their rout that day; they vowed that they would never do the same, but now wavered again in the face of the enemy (Ṭ). That the pact with God is called to account (cf. 17:34) means that one is bound to it until it has been fulfilled (Z) and that one will be held accountable for it in the Hereafter (Ṭs).

***

# Say, “Fleeing will not benefit you if you flee from death or killing, for you will not be granted enjoyment, save a little.”

16. Fleeing will benefit the hypocrites in neither a metaphysical sense, because they cannot escape what is destined to befall them, whether natural death or being slain (Z), nor an earthly sense, because they would not be able to escape the confederate army that would deal with them after having dealt with the other forces. You will not be granted enjoyment, save a little then means that there will only be a short respite before they too would be overwhelmed by the Quraysh and the confederates. Alternately, it could mean that they might only have comfort for the remainder of life in this world (JJ), thus indicating that they might receive some comfort during the time that God has decreed for them, but no reward in the Hereafter (Ṭ).

***

# Say, “Who is it who will protect you from God if He desires evil for you or desires mercy for you?” They will find no protector or helper for themselves apart from God.

17. That no one can find any protector or helper apart from God is a recurrent Quranic theme (cf., e.g., 2:107; 4:123, 173; 9:74, 116; 11:113; 29:22; 33:65; 42:8, 31), as from a Quranic perspective God suffices as a Protector, and God suffices as a Helper (4:45); see 29:22c. In relation to the Battle of the Trench, this verse also evokes 3:28: Let not the believers take the disbelievers as protectors apart from the believers (cf. 4:144; 5:55–57; 9:71).

***

# Surely God knows those among you who hinder and those who say unto their brethren, “Come hither unto us”; yet they come not to the battle, save a little,

# greedy toward you. But when fear comes, thou seest them looking at thee with their eyes rolling like one whom death overwhelms. Then when fear subsides, they assail thee with their sharp tongues, greedy for good things. Such as these have not believed; so God made their deeds come to naught, and that is easy for God.

18–19 Those among you who hinder refers to the hypocrites who sought to dissuade others from manning the defenses with the Prophet and the believers (R, Ṭs). They come not to the battle, save a little means that they engage in the battle only for outward show and to maintain their reputations (JJ, Ṭs), or because they are greedy toward you, meaning greedy to attain the material spoils of victory (Ṭ). Greedy toward you could also mean “miserly toward you,” referring to their refusal to “spend in the way of God” (Ṭ, Ṭs) and to the fact that they would not fight on the side of the Muslims (Ṭs). But when they fear defeat, they look to the Prophet as if they were in the throes of death, seeking shelter and aid from him (Ṭ). Yet afterwards they turn their focus again to the objects of this world. Then they assail the Prophet and the believers, claiming it was they themselves who had fought and through whose help the enemy had been defeated (R) and that the Prophet has no more right to the spoils than do they (Ṭs), because they are greedy for good things, that is, for the spoils of war (R, Ṭ). They have not believed; so although they may obtain some of the spoils of victory in this life, in the absence of sincere belief, their deeds will provide no reward in the next life. Regarding the broader Quranic discussion of deeds coming to naught, see 2:217; 5:5, 53; 7:147; 9:17; 11:16; 18:105; 33:19; 47:9, 28, 32; 3:22c; 6:88c; 39:65c.

***

# They suppose that the parties have not withdrawn, and if the parties were to come, they would wish they were in the desert among the Bedouin, seeking news of you. And were they among you, they would not fight, save a little.

20. That the hypocrites think that the parties had not withdrawn implies the depth of their fear and cowardice (Z), for they fear an enemy that is no longer there. If the parties were to come a second time (Ṭs, Z), the hypocrites would prefer to be with the tribes in the desert awaiting news of the Muslims’ defeat (Ṭ). Similar to v. 18, that they would not fight, save a little indicates that they would only do so halfheartedly, out of concern for maintaining their reputations (Ṭs, Z), rather than out of a sincere desire to aid the Prophet and his followers or to strive in the way of God.

***

# Indeed, you have in the Messenger of God a beautiful example for those who hope for God and the Last Day, and remember God much.

21. This is among a number of verses that establish the importance of obeying the Prophet and following his example, even in matters not addressed directly by the Quran (see also 3:31; 4:59, 83; 24:63; 33:21). In the immediate context, the beautiful example that is found in the Prophet refers to being steadfast in combat and holding one’s ground (JJ), but this verse is also among the most important regarding the position of the Prophet in Islam in general. Although his function as God’s messenger is unique and inimitable, the Prophet’s words and actions are considered to provide the archetype of a life lived in full submission to God. Regarding the Prophet’s example, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is reported to have said, “He was the most generous of people, the most truthful of the people in speech, the gentlest of them in temperament, and the noblest of them in social affability. If someone saw him unexpectedly, he was awestruck by him, and if someone associated with him knowingly, he loved him. . . . I have never seen the like of him, either before him or after him.” The example provided by the Prophet is for those who look forward to reward from God (Q, Ṭs) or to the meeting with God (Q), thus for those who believe in the Resurrection (Q). In this context, and remember God much can be seen as a reference to the heart of the prophetic example, since to live in accord with the prophetic model is to live in constant remembrance of God. For more on the nature of the Prophet, see commentary on 68:4, which addresses the Prophet saying, Truly thou art of an exalted character.

***

# When the believers saw the parties, they said, “This is what God and His Messenger promised; God and His Messenger spoke true.” And it increased them in naught but faith and submission.

22. In contrast to the hypocrites, when the disbelievers saw the confederate troops amassed on the other side of the trench, they saw that it was a manifestation of God’s Promise, as in 2:155: And We will indeed test you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth, souls, and fruits (cf. 2:214; 29:2). Whereas the hypocrisy of the hypocrites became manifest when they wavered, as in vv. 12–18, the faith of the believers was strengthened.

***

# Among the believers are men who have been true to that which they pledged unto God. Among them are those who have fulfilled their vow, and among them are those who wait, and they have not changed in the least,

23. True to that which they pledged refers to those who remained alongside the Prophet in battle (JJ) and more broadly to those who complete their religious commitments in full (cf. 2:40; 3:76; 5:1; 13:20; 16:91). Those who have fulfilled their vow refers to those who died or were killed while remaining steadfast (JJ), which many take as a reference to those killed at the Battle of Uḥud (Ṭs), such as the Prophet’s uncle Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, regarding whom some say this verse was revealed (Ṭs, Ṭū). Those who wait refers to those who remain true to their vow or those who wait patiently for the help that God has promised and do not waiver or become changed in the least (JJ), as did the hypocrites (IK, Ṭs).

Some relate this verse specifically to the death of Anas ibn al-Nadr, who had been absent from the Battle of Badr and said, “O Messenger of God! I was absent from the first battle you fought against the idolaters. By God, if God affords me the opportunity to fight the pagans, no doubt God will see how I shall fight.” Then at the Battle of Uḥud, when the Muslims turned their backs and fled, he said, “O God! I apologize to Thee for what these [Muslims] have done, and I denounce what these [idolaters] have done.” While advancing toward the enemy, he met Saʿd ibn Muʿādh and said “O Saʿd! By the Lord of al-Nadr, the Garden! I smell its aroma coming from before [Mount] Uḥud.” Later Saʿd said regarding Anas, “O Messenger of God! I cannot achieve or do what he did. We found more than eighty wounds by swords and arrows on his body” (IK, Q, W).

***

# that God may recompense the truthful for their truthfulness and punish the hypocrites if He will, or relent unto them. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful.

24. Within the context of this sūrah, this verse can been seen as a continuation of v. 11; that is, It was there that the believers were tried and shaken in a manner most severe . . . that God may recompense the truthful for their truthfulness. In this regard, Ibn Kathīr glosses this verse with a reference to 47:31: And We shall test you until We know those among you who strive and those who are patient, and We shall test your proclamations. The truthful are then recompensed for having remained true to their covenant (IK, Ṭs).

***

# And God turned back those who disbelieved in their rage; they attained no good. God sufficed the believers in battle; and God is Strong, Mighty.

25. In this context, those who disbelieved refers to the confederate troops that gathered outside of Madinah at the Battle of the Trench (JJ). They attained no good in that their siege of Madinah was unsuccessful (JJ). God sufficed the believers in battle by sending upon the disbelievers a violent sandstorm and a host of angels who untied their tents. This demoralized the confederates, and they disbanded, thus sparing the Muslims from the need to fight. This is also understood as a reference to a major turning point in the relations between the Muslims and the Quraysh, as the Battle of the Trench was the last occasion when the Quraysh sought to launch an assault against Muhammad and his followers. Thus the Prophet is reported to have said, “Now we will attack them, and they will not attack us” (IK).

***

# He brought the People of the Book who supported them down from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts—some you slew and some you took captive.

# And He bequeathed unto you their land, their homes, their property, and a land you have not trodden. And God is Powerful over all things.

26–27 In this context, the People of the Book refers to the Banū Qurayẓah, the last remaining Jewish tribe in Madinah; the others, Banū Naḍīr and Banū Qaynuqāʿ, had previously been exiled from Madinah for breaking their treaty with the Prophet and the Muslims. (Regarding the expulsion of Banū Naḍīr, see the introduction to Sūrah 59). After the confederate troops had abandoned the siege of Madinah, the Muslims laid siege to the tribe of Banū Qurayẓah for having plotted against the Muslims and having actively supported the efforts of the Quraysh and their allies. Rather than fighting, the Banū Qurayẓah retreated to their strongholds, and the Muslims surrounded them for twenty-five days (IK). Eventually both sides agreed to let the matter of the tribe’s treason be decided by Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, a prominent Madinan Companion and the leader of the ʿAws tribe, who had been a close ally of the Banū Qurayẓah. Despite the pleas of many in his tribe, Ibn Muʿādh decreed, “My judgment is that their fighters should be killed and their children and wealth should be seized” (IK). The Prophet is said to have approved of Ibn Muʿādh’s judgment, saying, “You have judged in accord with the judgment of the Sovereign” (IK). Some you slew refers to the adult males who were offered the opportunity to renounce the treason of their tribe and accept Islam or be executed. A few accepted Islam, but the majority (between four and nine hundred, depending upon the account) did not do so and were executed. Some you took captive then refers to the women and children, who were not slain. He bequeathed unto you their land, their homes, their property then sanctions the Muslims’ taking the possessions of the Banū Qurayẓah as booty; a land you have not trodden is understood as an allusion to the eventual conquest of Khaybar in 629 (IK, JJ), some of whose inhabitants had been among the confederate forces. Others say it refers to the lands of the Persian and Byzantine empires, or to all three (IK).

***

# O Prophet! Say unto thy wives, “If you desire the life of this world and its ornament, then come! I shall provide for you and release you in a fair manner.

# But if you desire God and His Messenger and the Abode of the Hereafter, then truly God has prepared a great reward for the virtuous among you.”

28–29 These verses shift the discussion from the Battle of the Trench to the Prophet’s marital affairs. The Prophet’s wives, seeing the spoils of war that the Muslims had acquired, reportedly asked the Prophet for more of the “ornaments of this world.” The Prophet is thus told to offer them the option of divorce or remaining married to him. I shall provide for you means, “I will pay you the appropriate compensation for divorce,” and release you in a fair manner means, “I will not coerce you” (JJ), and that his wives would then be free to remarry. When the Prophet offered this choice to his wives, they each chose to remain with him (IK). The juxtaposition between the two choices that the Prophet is here told to offer his wives is similar to the one in 3:145: Whosoever desires the reward of this world, We shall give him of it; and whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We shall give him of it. Throughout the Quran it is emphasized that the Abode of the Hereafter is better than the abode of this world (see 16:30, 41; 28:60, 79–80; 29:64; 40:39; 42:36; 43:35; 57:20–21; 87:16–17; 93:4).

***

# O wives of the Prophet! Whosoever among you commits a flagrant indecency, her punishment will be doubled; and that is easy for God.

30. Inasmuch as the Prophet’s wives chose to remain with him, this verse now clarifies that the privilege pertaining to their status carries with it responsibilities. In this context, indecency is understood to mean disobedience toward the Prophet (Q, Z) or “discord and animosity” (nushūz; IK, Z). Indecency (fāḥishah) usually implies more severe transgressions, such as adultery (see 3:135–36c; 4:15c), and is interpreted by some as having that same meaning in this context (Bḍ). But here the use of fāḥishah may also be meant to express the gravity of the offense in bringing discord into the household of the Prophet. Her punishment will be doubled means either that she will be punished in this life and in the Hereafter or that her punishment will be twice the punishment for other women (IK, JJ, Q, Ṭ), because, in view of their greater blessings and place of honor, an offense committed by the Prophet’s wives would be greater than one committed by other women (Q, Z).

***

# And whosoever among you is devoutly obedient to God and His Messenger and works righteousness, We shall give her her reward twice over, and We have prepared for her a generous provision.

31. To be devoutly obedient translates the verb qanata, which indicates spiritual and religious obedience rather than obedience (ṭāʿah) in the general sense (cf. 2:116, 238; 3:17, 43; 4:34; 16:120; 30:26; 33:35; 39:9; 66:12) and also conveys a sense of constancy and serenity. Nonetheless, most commentators interpret devoutly obedient here as obedience (ṭāʿah) generally (IK, Q, Ṭ, Z). Her reward twice over means that their reward is twice that of others (JJ, Q, Ṭ). A generous provision refers to a life of ease in Paradise (Ṭ).

***

# O wives of the Prophet! You are not like other women. If you are reverent, then be not overly soft in speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease be moved to desire; and speak in an honorable way.

32. Previous verses (vv. 28–31) clarified some aspects of the Prophet’s relations with his wives and their special status; this verse follows upon v. 6 in clarifying the relationship between the Prophet’s wives and the Muslim community. Although the Prophet’s wives are the “mothers of the believers” (see 33:6c), they are not to have any unduly familiar interactions with the men of the community. This was ordered to avoid any misunderstandings that could arise. Be not overly soft in speech, though addressed to the wives of the Prophet, is also understood as counsel for all Muslim women; they should avoid the soft, sweet, and flirtatious affectations employed by women in the pre-Islamic period (Q), as this can give rise to sexual desire (Ṭ). More broadly, the Quran enjoins speaking in an honorable (or goodly) way to others (2:83, 235; 4:5, 8) as well as speaking justly (4:9; 33:70).

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# Abide in your homes and flaunt not your charms as they did flaunt them in the prior Age of Ignorance. Perform the prayer, give the alms, and obey God and His Messenger. God only desires to remove defilement from you, O People of the House, and to purify you completely.

33. As with the previous verse, although the injunction is directed to the Prophet’s wives, this verse is understood by some as an injunction pertaining to all Muslim women (IK, Q), as in 24:31: And tell the believing women to lower their eyes and to guard their private parts, and to not display their adornment except that which is visible thereof. And let them draw their kerchiefs over their breasts, and not display their adornment.

Abide translates qirna, which derives from either waqara or qarara (R, Ṭ, Z), both of which mean “to stay” or “to settle,” but carry different implications. The latter derivation indicates that one should remain in one’s residence, and viewed in this manner, it has led to strident puritanical interpretations that severely limit the freedom of women. Waqara, however, conveys a sense of dignity and sobriety. Abide in your homes can thus be understood as counsel to be people of sobriety and tranquility (Ṭ). The phrase is understood to mean that the Prophet’s wives should not leave the home unnecessarily (IJ, IK), an injunction that is then interpreted by some as applying to all women (Q). The “flaunting of charms” renders tabarraja, which is understood to mean “walking flirtatiously” (IJ, IK, Ṭ), exposing one’s ornaments (IJ, Ṭ), or exposing one’s ornaments that arouse the desire of men (IJ, Sh); see 24:31c.

This is one of four verses counseling Muslims to abandon the ways of preIslamic Arabia, referred to as the Age of Ignorance (jāhiliyyah; 3:154; 5:50; 48:26), or the age of impetuous and destructive behavior; for the zealotry of this period, see 48:26c. In this context, the prior Age of Ignorance may mean the period between the prophets Adam and Noah or Idrīs and Noah, the time in which Abraham lived, or the period between Jesus and Muhammad (IJ, Ṭ, Z). To obey

God and His Messenger (8:1, 20, 46; 58:13; cf. 3:32; 4:59; 5:92; 24:54; 47:33; 64:12; see also 3:132) is held to be a virtue of the believers (see also 5:80; 24;56; 49:14), since from a Quranic perspective whosoever obeys the Messenger obeys God (4:80; see also 24:56; 49:14c).

According to some commentators, People of the House refers to the wives of the Prophet (IK, JJ, Ṭ, W, Z). Other commentators understand it as a reference to the Prophet’s blood relations, and still others say that it refers to both (Bḍ, Q). In this regard, in the famous “Ḥadīth of the Cloak,” the Prophet’s wife Umm Salamah is reported to have said that the Prophet was in her house when he said to his daughter Fāṭimah, “Call for me thine husband and thy sons!” Then ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his sons, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, came in and sat down to eat while the Prophet was sitting on his bed on top of a cloak. He grabbed the extension of the cloak and covered them with it. Then he raised his hands toward Heaven and said, “O God, these are the people of my house and my closest family members; remove defilement from them and purify them completely.” Umm Salamah reported that when she asked, “And I am with thee, O Messenger of God?” he answered, “Thou shalt obtain good. Thou shalt obtain good” (IK, Sy, Ṭb, W; similar versions of this ḥadīth can be found in Bḍ, Bg, and Qm, among others). Based upon this event, some say People of the House applies only to those who descended from the Prophet through Fāṭimah and ʿAlī. But others say that it also applies to his cousins, such as the families of ʿAbbās and Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib, or to those among them who were close to the Prophet (Ṭb). The Shiite commentator al-Qummī argues that the use of the second-person plural masculine pronoun in from you means that this verse applies to blood relations and not the Prophet’s wives. Such a position would hold when arguing against limiting the term “People of the House” to the wives of the Prophet, but it does not preclude them from being among the People of the House.

Defilement indicates the evil deeds and false beliefs that arise from the sickness of the heart, as in 9:125: As for those in whose hearts is a sickness, it added defilement to their defilement, and they die while they are disbelievers. God’s desire to purify the People of the House completely of all defilement is thus understood as a reference to God’s wanting to remove any incorrect action or belief from them and to provide them with ʿiṣmah, an innate protection against any and all false beliefs or evil deeds (Ṭb). ʿIṣmah can be understood as a God-given form of knowledge or consciousness that is completely different from other types of knowledge in that it can never be overpowered by any other faculty; rather, it overpowers all other faculties and uses them according to its own wisdom. In this way, one who is endowed with ʿiṣmah is completely protected from going astray and committing sins (Ṭb).

Regarding the importance of the People of the House, the Prophet is reported to have said to his followers, “I am leaving behind two things with you, the first of which is the Book of God, in which is guidance and light; so seize the Book of God and hold fast to it, and [the second] the People of my House. Heed God with regard to the members of my family. Heed God with regard to the members of my family. Heed God with regard to the members of my family” (IK). The Prophet is also reported to have said regarding those who did not exhibit love for his family members, “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, faith will never enter a person’s heart until he loves them for the sake of God and for the fact that they are my kin.” Furthermore, the Prophet is reported to have said, “The likeness of the People of my House is the ship of Noah: whosoever boards it is saved and whosoever abandons it is drowned.”

***

# And remember that which is recited unto you in your homes from among the signs and Wisdom of God. Truly God is Subtle, Aware.

34. The wives of the Prophet are enjoined to remember their special blessings in living in houses in which the verses of the Quran were revealed (Ṭ, Z). The signs . . . of God refers to the verses of the Quran, while Wisdom refers to the wont, or sunnah, of the Prophet (JJ, R, Sy, Ṭ). According to some, this verse is meant to encourage the Prophet’s wives to memorize the Quran and his sayings (Ṭs). For the combination of the Divine Names the Subtle and the Aware, see 67:14c.

***

# For submitting men and submitting women, believing men and believing women, devout men and devout women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, charitable men and charitable women, men who fast and women who fast, men who guard their private parts and women who guard [their private parts], men who remember God often and women who remember [God often], God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.

35. Regarding the revelation of this verse, it is reported that when Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays returned with her husband, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib, from Abyssinia, she went to the wives of the Prophet and asked, “Has anything from the Quran been revealed about us [women]?” When they answered that nothing had been revealed about them, she went to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of God, women are disappointed and at a loss!” He asked, “How is that?” She replied, “They are not mentioned [in the Quran] in goodness as are the men,” after which this verse was revealed (Ṭs, W). Others say that it was revealed after Umm ʿUmārah alAnṣāriyyah came to the Prophet and said, “I do not see but that everything is about men, and I do not find the women mentioned with regard to anything.” According to another account, Umm Salamah said to the Prophet, “Why is it that we are not mentioned in the Quran as are the men?” Then later that day she heard him reciting this verse in the mosque (IK, Ṭ). This verse may also be related to 4:32 and 3:195, both of which explicitly confirm an otherworldly reward—without differentiation—for both men and women who uphold the moral requirements of Islam; see 4:32c.

Regarding men and women who remember God often, al-Tustarī writes, “One who observes true remembrance (al-dhākir ʿala’l-ḥaqīqah) is one who is aware that God witnesses him. He perceives Him with his heart as being close to him, and therefore feels shame before Him. Then he gives Him priority over himself and over everything else in every situation.”

***

# And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when God and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have a choice regarding the matter. Whosoever disobeys God and His Messenger has strayed into manifest error.

36. The meaning of this verse is general, indicating that one cannot contravene the Divine Law. In this way, it reiterates the Quranic injunction to obey God and obey the Messenger (3:32; 4:59; 5:92; 24:54; 64:12; see also 3:132; 4:80; 7:156–57; 8:1, 20, 46; 33:33; 49:14; 58:13); see 3:32c; 4:59c. The revelation of this verse was reportedly connected to one of two historical events. In the first account, it is said to refer to Zaynab bint Jaḥsh, who at first declined the Prophet’s recommendation that she marry Zayd ibn Ḥārithah (IJ, IK, Ṭ, Z), but then accepted after the revelation of this verse (IK, Ṭ). In the second account, it is said to refer to Umm Kulthūm, who offered herself in marriage to the Prophet, but the Prophet suggested she marry Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, to which both she and her brother objected (IJ, IK, Ṭ, Z). For manifest error, see 36:24c.

***

# And [remember] when thou said unto him whom God has blessed and whom thou hast blessed, “Retain your wife for yourself and reverence God,” thou wast hiding in thyself that which God was to disclose; and thou didst fear the people, though God has more right to be feared by thee. Then when Zayd relinquished his claim upon her, We wed her to thee, so that there should be no restriction for the believers in respect to the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have relinquished their claims upon them. And the Command of God shall be fulfilled.

37. Him whom God has blessed and whom thou hast blessed refers to Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, who was blessed by God when He guided him to Islam and by the Prophet when he set him free (JJ). When Zayd told the Prophet that his wife, Zaynab bint Jaḥsh, wished to divorce him, the Prophet replied, Retain your wife for yourself and reverence God (IJ, IK, Q), in order to dispel the appearance that he was in favor of the divorce so that he himself could marry Zaynab. Apparently he was hiding what was in his soul, which could have been his love for Zaynab, or that God had willed Zaynab to be His wife, or that he preferred that she divorce Zayd, or that he would marry Zaynab, were Zayd to divorce her (IJ). That the Prophet “feared the people” refers to his worrying that people would misunderstand and say, “He commands a man to divorce his wife and then marries her” (IJ, Q), or, “He has married his son’s wife,” since at that time Zayd was still known by his adopted name, Zayd ibn Muhammad (JJ). The Prophet is thus reminded that God has more right to be feared than do people. Given the rebuke that is here delivered to the Prophet, it is said that no verse was more severe with him and that were the Prophet to have hidden any verse of the revelation, it would have been this verse (IJ, Q).

Despite the Prophet’s advice to remain married, Zayd divorced Zaynab. Then

God reportedly announced to the Prophet that Zaynab was now his wife. Thus Zaynab is said to have boasted to the Prophet’s other wives, “You were given in marriage by your family, but I was given in marriage by God from above the seven heavens” (Q).

***

# There is no restriction for the Prophet in what God has ordained for him. [That is] the wont of God with those who passed away before—and God’s Command is a decree determined,

# those who convey God’s messages and fear Him, and fear none but God. And God suffices as a Reckoner.

38–39 As God is reported to have commanded the Prophet to marry Zaynab, he is here reminded that he cannot be blamed for following anything that God has ordained for him (IK, JJ), even though others may deride him for it. That is the wont of God (cf. 3:137; 33:62; 35:43; 40:85; 48:23) with the prophets who came before him (IK, JJ, Q). These verses also refer to God having allowed the Prophet to now take more than four wives, which was the wont of God with previous prophets such as David and Solomon (Q). The prophets fear none but God, as their function is to implement His Law rather than follow human laws. In this vein, 49:7 states, Know that the Messenger of God is among you. Were he to obey you in many matters, you would suffer. In the context of this passage, the idea that God suffices as a Reckoner (cf. 4:6) thus alludes to the belief that in the end the only account with which one must reckon is the one kept by God.

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# Muhammad is not the father of any man among you; rather, he is the Messenger of God and the Seal of the prophets. And God is Knower of all things.

40 Muhammad is not the father of any man among you refers to the Prophet’s relationship with Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, whom the Prophet had claimed as his son after Zayd’s father disowned him and whom others had referred to thereafter as the “Son of Muhammad” before the revelation of this sūrah; see 33:5c. Although this proclamation clarifies the Prophet’s biological relationship with members of his community and the rights and restrictions pertaining thereto, it is also understood as opening onto the spiritual reality of the Prophet as the father of all true believers (Aj, Ṭs); see 33:6c. That the Prophet is the Seal of the prophets is understood to mean that he is the last Prophet sent to humanity. The Prophet is reported to have said, “No prophethood shall remain after me, save for true visions” (IK, Q), and “Messengerhood and prophethood have ceased. There will be no messenger or prophet after me” (IK). The most frequently cited ḥadīth pertaining to his place as the Seal of the prophets states, “My likeness among the prophets before me is that of a man who has built a house, completed it, and beautified it, yet left empty a place for a brick. Then the people come to the house, are amazed by it, and say, ‘If only you were to place this brick, your house would be complete!’ I am this brick” (IK, Q). According to the Prophet, being the Seal of the prophets is one of six qualities that distinguish him from other prophets: “I have been favored above the prophets in six things: I have been endowed with consummate succinctness of speech; I have been made triumphant through dread; war booty has been made lawful for me; the whole earth has been made a place of worship for me and a means of purification; I have been sent to all created beings; and the succession of prophets has been completed in me” (IK).

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# O you who believe! Remember God with frequent remembrance,

41. This verse instructs one to not forget God ever, at any moment (Aj), as when the Prophet counseled a man, “Let thy tongue be always moist with the remembrance of God,” and when he is reported to have said, “Remember God much, till they call [you] mad” (Aj). Regarding this verse, Ibn ʿAbbās is reported to have said, “God did not enjoin any duty upon His servants without setting known limits and accepting the excuses of those who have a valid reason, except for remembrance, for God has not set any limits for it, and no one has any excuse for not remembering God, unless he is oppressed and forced to neglect it” (IK). It is said that remembering God frequently arises from the sincerity of the heart, while remembering God little arises from hypocrisy, like the remembrance that is only upon the tongue (Q). Thus Ibn ʿAjībah says that what is meant by this verse is remembrance of the heart, as that is the one type of remembrance that does not cease. The remembrance and invocation of God (dhikr Allāh) is considered the quintessential prayer and thus to be at the core of every act of worship. In this vein, it is reported that when the Prophet was asked, “Which of those who strive has the greatest reward?” he responded, “Those who remember God most.” When asked, “Which of the righteous has the greatest reward?” he replied, “Those who remember God most.” Then when asked the same about prayer, alms (zakāh), pilgrimage, and charity, he said, regarding each, “Those who remember God most.” Then Abū Bakr said to ʿUmar, “Those who remember have acquired every good,” to which the Prophet replied, “Indeed” (Aj). For more on the remembrance of God, see 13:28c; 29:45c.

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# and glorify Him morning and evening.

42. Glorify Him morning and evening (cf. 6:52; 18:28; 19:11; 24:36; 48:9; 76:25) can be understood as an injunction to glorify God at all times. It is also interpreted as a reference to the morning prayer and the afternoon prayer, or to the five daily prayers, or to performing supererogatory devotions such as night vigil (R, Ṭ); cf. 30:17–18. Some relate this verse specifically to acts of prayer and invocation performed between the morning prayer and sunrise, and then between the sunset prayer and the night prayer.

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# He it is Who blesses you, as do His angels, that He may bring youout of darkness into light. And He is Merciful unto the believers.

43. God has mercy upon the believers who remember God much and perform the prayers enjoined in the previous verses, and His angels watch over them and make supplications for them, thus bringing them out of darkness into light (2:257; 5:16; 14:1, 5; 57:9; 65:11; see also Isaiah 42:16: “I will turn the darkness before them into light,” and 1 Peter 2:9), which is understood to mean bringing them from being astray to being guided (Ṭ), from disbelief to belief (Aj, JJ), from disobedience to obedience (Aj), or from the darkness of heedlessness to the light of awareness (Aj). For a fuller discussion of the Quranic symbolism of light, see 6:1c; 24:35c.

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# Their greeting on the day they meet Him will be “Peace.” And Hehas prepared for them a generous reward.

44. The greeting of “Peace” may be from God, the angels (Aj), the other people of Paradise (Ṭ), or perhaps all of them. This is one of several verses that speak of the greeting of “Peace” that awaits believers in the Hereafter, as in 16:32: Those whom the angels take while they are in a state of goodness. They will say, “Peace be upon you! Enter the Garden for that which you used to do” (see also 7:46; 10:10; 13:23–24; 14:23; 19:62; 25:75; 36:58c; 39:73; 56:25–26).

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# O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a witness, as a bearer ofglad tidings, and as a warner,

45. Cf. 48:8. The Prophet is a witness to the Oneness of God and for the people, as in 2:143: Thus did We make you a middle community, that you may be witnesses for mankind and that the Messenger may be a witness for you (cf. 4:41; IK), or against the disbelievers and for the believers in the Hereafter, as in 73:15: We have indeed sent you a messenger as a witness concerning you, just as We sent unto Pharaoh a messenger. This is one of several passages that refer to the Prophet as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner (5:19; 7:188; 11:2; 17:105; 25:56; 34:28; 35:24; 48:8); in other verses these functions are also attributed to all prophets (2:213; 4:165; 6:48; 18:56).

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# as one who calls unto God by His Leave, and as a luminous lamp.

# Give glad tidings to the believers that there will be for them a greatbounty from God.

46–47 That the Prophet was sent as a luminous lamp refers foremost to his function as a spiritual guide. According to many reports this inner reality was also manifest in his outward physical nature and countenance. When asked to describe the Prophet, one of his Companions replied, “My son, had you seen him, you would have seen the shining sun.” The Prophet’s stepson is also reported to have said, “He was dignified and awe-inspiring, and radiant like the radiance of the moon on the night when it is full.” In this same vein, the Prophet’s servant Anas ibn Mālik is reported to have said, “On the day when the Messenger of God entered Madinah, everything in it was illuminated. Then, on the day when he died, everything in it became dark. And we had barely dusted off our hands after burying him when our hearts changed.”

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# Obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites; disregard their affront, and trust in God. God suffices as a Guardian.

48 The Prophet is enjoined to not follow the disbelievers’ and hypocrites’ caprice and thus not assent to what contravenes the revelation. Similarly, the believers are told, And know that the Messenger of God is among you. Were he to obey you in many matters, you would suffer (49:7). Here, disregard their affront means not to retaliate against them unless a command to do so is issued (JJ) and to bear their insults patiently (Ṭ). In this regard, the Prophet is also told to bear patiently that which they say (20:130; 38:17; 50:39; 73:10). That God suffices as a Guardian (4:81, 132, 171; 33:3; see also 17:65) means that one should entrust all of one’s affairs to Him (Ṭ).

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# O you who believe! If you marry believing women and then divorce them before you have touched them, there shall be no waiting period for you to reckon against them. But provide for them and release them in a fair manner.

49 Before you have touched them refers to the consummation of marriage; see also 2:236c. This verse clarifies that women do not need to observe any waiting period before contracting another marriage, if the previous marriage had not been consummated (IK, Q). Nonetheless, some jurists maintain that a woman must still observe the waiting period of four months and ten days, if the woman’s husband dies before the consummation of the marriage (IK). In the case of divorce, when the bridewealth has been paid, women are entitled to retain half the bridewealth even if the marriage has not been consummated (JJ), and all of it if the marriage has been consummated. When the amount of the bridewealth has not yet been settled, the man should provide something for the woman according to his means; this is what some understand by release them in a fair manner (IK).

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# O Prophet! We have made lawful for thee thy wives to whom thouhast given their bridewealth, as well as those whom thy right hand possesses of those whom God has granted thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thy paternal uncles and the daughters of thy paternal aunts, and the daughters of thy maternal uncles and the daughters of thy maternal aunts who emigrated with thee, and any believing woman if she gives herself [in marriage] to the Prophet and if the Prophet desires to marry her—for thee alone, not for [the rest of] the believers. We know well what We have enjoined upon them with respect to their wives and those whom their right hands possess, that there may be no blame upon thee. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

50. That God has made lawful the Prophet’s wives indicates that God has made lawful the various means by which the Prophet obtained his wives (IJ). In this context, those whom thy right hand possesses . . . as spoils of war refers to two of the Prophet’s wives, Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy, who had been among the captives of the Battle of Khaybar and whose father had been among the staunchest opponents of the Prophet, and Juwayriyah bint Ḥārithah, whom the Prophet had purchased from Thābit ibn Qays after the Muslims had defeated her tribe, the Banū Muṣṭaliq. After the marriage, the Muslims released the captives from the Banū Muṣṭaliq, as they were now kinsmen of the Prophet. In both instances the Prophet freed his prospective wives before marrying them (IJ).

The reference to women who emigrated with thee is understood to mean that Muslim women who had the opportunity to emigrate and did not do so were not permitted to become wives of the Prophet (IJ, Q). The Prophet is then told that he may take in marriage the believing women who offered themselves to him, without the need to pay a bridewealth (IJ, IK), a ruling for him alone, not for [the rest of] the believers. Some maintain that despite the permission granted here and in the following verse, the Prophet did not marry any of the women who had offered themselves to him (IK), while others maintain that he did, but that he did not consummate the marriages (IJ, Q), and they were thus annulled. We know well what We have enjoined upon them with respect to their wives refers to the limit of four wives for Muslims, which this verse makes clear is not the same limit set for the Prophet. With this verse, all the limitations of marriage set for other Muslims were removed for the Prophet. He does not need to pay the bridewealth, the woman does not need a protector (as in the case of Zaynab), the marriage does not need to have witnesses (as in the marriage to Zaynab), and he may marry as many women as he wishes.

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# Thou mayest put off whomsoever of them thou wilt and receivewhomsoever thou wilt. And as for whomsoever thou mightest desire of those whom thou hast set aside, there is no blame upon thee. Thus is it likelier that they will be comforted, that they will not grieve, and that they will be content with that which thou hast given all of them. God knows what is in your hearts. And God is Knowing, Clement.

51. Put off . . . and receive whomsoever thou wilt means that the Prophet may accept or decline marriage to the women who offered themselves to him as he desires (IK). The next sentence then allows the Prophet to return to those whom he had previously declined to marry (IK). According to others, this verse was revealed in relation to those to whom the Prophet was already married. Some of his wives were jealous of other wives and asked that their own maintenance be increased. Their jealousy reached the point where they became harsh with him, and the Prophet said to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, “They ask of me what I do not have.” The Prophet was vexed by this matter and did not sleep in the same bed with them for a month until vv. 28–29 were revealed, granting them the choice between remaining wed to the Prophet or accepting an amicable divorce. God commanded him to ask them to choose between this life and the Hereafter and then to divorce those who chose this life and keep those who chose the Hereafter. They all chose the latter, were then referred to as “mothers of the believers,” and undertook to never remarry after him. Then in this verse he was given permission to receive any of his wives he wanted to receive and defer anyone he wanted to defer (W), meaning that he could postpone the days allotted to spending time with them. He nonetheless continued to divide his time equally between each of his wives. This made it likelier that they will be comforted, that they will not grieve, because they would know that he did not spend time with them out of an obligation toward God, but out of a genuine desire on his own part (IK). Some reconcile these two interpretations by saying that this verse applied to both those who had offered themselves to the Prophet in marriage and his wives (IK, Ṭ).

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# Women are not lawful for thee beyond that, nor [is it lawful] forthee to exchange them for other wives, though their beauty impresses thee, save those whom thy right hand possesses. And God is Watcher over all things.

52. According to many early commentators, although the permission granted to the Prophet to marry Zaynab bint Jaḥsh (see 33:50c) allowed him to marry more than four wives, this verse, revealed some time later, restricted the Prophet to the wives he had already chosen (IK, Ṭ). In this way it was revealed as a reward to the wives for their decision to choose the Prophet in vv. 28–29 (IK, Ṭ). Though the Prophet is said to have been granted the opportunity to take more wives again before he died (IK, Q), he nonetheless took no more wives after the revelation of this verse. Beyond that would thus refer to the number of his wives, which was nine at this time, and the prohibition against exchanging them for other wives would mean that he could not divorce them and take other wives (IK). According to others, beyond that means beyond the types of women described in v. 50 (IK, Ṭ).

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# O you who believe! Enter not the dwellings of the Prophet for ameal without waiting for its time to come, unless leave be granted you. But if you are invited, enter; and when you have eaten, disperse. Linger not, seeking discourse. Truly that would affront the Prophet, and he would shrink from telling you, but God shrinks not from the truth. And when you ask anything of [his wives], ask them from behind a veil. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And you should never affront the Messenger of God, nor marry his wives after him. Truly that would be an enormity in the sight of God.

53. The first part of this verse, known as the “Veiling Verse,” was reportedly revealed to clarify proper conduct with the Prophet. Anas ibn Mālik said, “When the Messenger of God married Zaynab bint Jaḥsh, he invited people to a wedding ceremony. People ate and then remained in their seats talking to each other. The Prophet acted as if he was preparing himself to leave, but people did not take the hint. He then left the room and people left with him, except for three people who remained sitting. When the Prophet returned and found them still sitting, he went out again. When they saw this, the three men left. I went and informed the Messenger of God that they had left. He returned and entered his room. I wanted to enter with him, but he drew the curtain between us. Then God revealed [this verse]” (IK, Q, Sy, Ṭ, W). If you are invited, enter is also understood as a general injunction to accept invitations from other Muslims, as in a saying attributed to the Prophet, “When one of you invites his brother, be it for a wedding or something else, he should respond” (IK). In the immediate context, God shrinks not from the truth refers to God’s telling others to respect the Prophet’s privacy (JJ). More broadly, it means that God does not prevent truth from being manifested and clarified (Q).

That men must ask the Prophet’s wives from behind a veil indicates that, just as it is forbidden for a man to be alone in an intimate manner with a woman to whom he is not related, so too it is forbidden for a man to look upon the wives of the Prophet. This injunction may be a clarification, lest anyone think that the Prophet’s wives’ status as “mothers of the believers” would allow for the same familiarity that a man would have with his biological mother. The prohibition against marrying the Prophet’s wives is linked by some to the prohibition against marrying one’s mother (4:23) and against marrying those women whom your fathers married (4:22), since the Prophet is closer to the believers than they are to themselves, and his wives are their mothers (33:6). This may also be because the Prophet’s wives are believed to continue to be his wives in the Hereafter (IK, Q).

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# Whether you disclose something or conceal it, surely God is Knower of all things.

54. All human beings will be taken to account for everything that they have done and said in this world, as in 2:284: And whether you disclose what is in your souls or hide it, God will bring you to account for it (cf. 4:149), an idea mentioned throughout the Quran, since God knows what lies within breasts (3:119, 154; 5:7c; 8:43; 11:5; 31:23; 35:38; 39:7; 42:24; 57:6; 64:4; 67:13).

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# There is no blame upon them with regard to their fathers, or theirsons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their own women, or those whom their right hands possess. And reverence God. Truly God is Witness over all things.

55. This verse clarifies which of the relations of the Prophet’s wives were exempt from the requirement to address them from behind a veil (Q). The list is similar to those men in whose presence women are not required to wear the veil in 24:31. For God as Witness over all things, see also 4:33; 5:117; 22:17; 34:47; 41:53; 58:6; 85:9. Regarding the requirements of the veil, or ḥijāb, see 24:31c.

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# Truly God and His angels invoke blessings upon the Prophet. Oyou who believe! Invoke blessings upon him, and greetings of peace!

56. This frequently cited verse is among the most important in the Quran for understanding the place of the Prophet in Islam. In its immediate context, it answers questions one might ask of the previous verses: why the Prophet should be obeyed (v. 33), why he is a beautiful example (v. 21), and how it is that he is a luminous lamp (v. 46). That he is a human being of another order also explains why he is permitted more than four wives (v. 50), why he can marry without giving a bridewealth (v. 50), why his wives are “the mothers of the believers” (v. 6), and why they may not remarry after his passing (v. 53).

Invoke blessings translates the verb ṣallā/yuṣallī, which is from the same root as ṣalāh, “prayer.” In this context, commentators differentiate between the manner in which this verb relates to God and the angels, saying that God’s ṣalāh is loving Mercy and that of the angels is seeking forgiveness (IK, Ṭ). Human beings then invoke blessings by supplicating for the Prophet (Aj) and by following him and loving him (Su). Regarding the role of human beings in invoking blessings upon the Prophet, the Companions are reported to have asked the Prophet after this verse was revealed, “We know how to give thee greetings of peace, but how do we invoke blessings upon thee?” To which he answered, “O God! Bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as Thou hast blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham. And shower grace upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as Thou hast showered grace upon Abraham and upon the family of

Abraham in all the worlds. Truly Thou art Praised, Glorious” (IK, Ṭ, R). As al-

Ālūsī observes, the manner in which human beings invoke blessings upon the Prophet, by calling for God’s Blessings upon him, means that they are in fact realizing their inability to do anything more than to ask God to shower His Blessings upon the Prophet. In this sense, to say, “O God! Grant blessings upon the

Messenger!” is not so much a request as it is participation in and affirmation of the Divine Act (see also 3:194c). Thus from a metaphysical perspective, in all modes of asking blessing upon the Prophet, it is only God Who invokes blessings upon him (K).

On one occasion the Prophet told his Companions that the Angel Gabriel came to him and said, “O Muhammad, does it not please thee that thy Lord says, ‘No member of thy community invokes blessings upon thee but that I bless him tenfold, and no member of thy community offers thee greetings of peace but that I offer him greetings of peace tenfold?’” To which the Prophet responded, “Indeed!” (IK). In another account, the Prophet said, “The miser is one who when I am mentioned in his presence does not invoke blessings upon me” (IK). Once when the Prophet overheard a man making supplications in a hasty manner, he called to him and said, “When one makes supplication, let him begin by praising God. Then let him invoke blessings upon the Prophet. Then let him make supplication after that as he wishes” (IK). In this regard, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb is reported to have said, “A supplication is suspended between Heaven and earth and does not ascend any further until you invoke blessings upon your Prophet” (IK).

In all such sayings, invoking blessings upon the Prophet is not a benefit for the Prophet, but for the believers themselves. For this reason this verse is understood as a command for all believers. Some say that invoking blessings upon the Prophet is a commendable deed (mandūb), while others consider it to be obligatory (wājib; IK, Q, R). Some maintain that its being obligatory may simply mean that such blessings must be invoked at some point during the course of one’s life, while others maintain that it must be said in every prayer (Aj). According to Imam al-Shāfiʿī and many followers of his legal tradition, one must invoke blessings upon the Prophet in every prayer in order for that prayer to be valid (Aj, Q). From a spiritual perspective, invoking blessings upon the Prophet is essential for drawing closer to God. Increasing invocation of blessings upon the Prophet therefore engenders love for him, which in turn engenders love for God, and God’s Love for the human being attracts the human being to His Presence (Aj).

The injunction to invoke . . . greetings of peace refers to the standard Muslim greeting, “Peace be upon you,” but it also indicates being at peace with the Prophet, in accord with what he has brought, and yielding to him and the Divine Law (Āl). According to Islamic tradition, just as trees, stones, and all creation prostrate to God (see 16:40; 22:18; 55:6), so too do they extend greetings of peace to the Prophet. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib is reported to have said, “I went out with the Prophet through the environs of Makkah. Every rock and tree welcomed him, saying, ‘Peace be upon thee, O Messenger of God.’”

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# Truly those who affront God and His Messenger, God has cursedthem in this life and the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.

57. An affront to God is understood as disbelief and attributing partners to Him (Q). Although this verse is addressed to all who do the Prophet harm in word or deed (IK), it is said to have been revealed in response to those who criticized the Prophet for his marriage to Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy (IJ, IK), whose father had been among the staunchest of the Prophet’s opponents. It may also refer to all those who remained opposed to him (IJ, Ṭ). Others say that it refers to those who created graven images (IJ, IK, Ṭ).

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# As for those who affront believing men and believing women forother than what they may have committed, they bear the burden of calumny and manifest sin.

58. This verse is understood by some as a reference to those who accused others falsely (IK, JJ), as calumny is considered a serious crime in 24:4: And as for those who accuse chaste women, but then do not bring four witnesses, flog them eighty lashes, and never accept any testimony from them. See also 49:12c. Others understand this verse as having been revealed regarding adulterers who would follow women when they would leave their houses at night to answer a call of nature. When they saw a woman, they would make an advance. If the woman did not say anything, they would follow her; but if she rebuked them, they would leave her alone. These adulterers were only after slave girls. But at that time, free women were indistinguishable from slave girls, since all women used to go out wearing a long dress and a headscarf. The women complained of these advances, and so God revealed this and the following verse (W, Z on v. 59).

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# O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters, and the women of thebelievers to draw their cloaks over themselves. Thus is it likelier that they will be known and not be disturbed. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

59. This is one of the most important verses for understanding the Quranic teaching regarding wearing the veil (see also 24:31c). As with the previous verse, it seeks to establish social norms that will protect all members of society. The injunction to draw their cloaks over themselves is thus meant to ensure modesty and distinguish the free women from the slave women (Ṭ), so that men do not seek illicit relations with the former (R). Cloaks translates jilbāb, which means a piece of fabric that is larger than a shawl but smaller than a large sheet and derives from the root j-l-b, which describes an object that completely covers something, like the darkness of night (Lisān al-ʿarab). It is here employed to mean the outer cover (IK), which would cover the entire body (Āl, Ṭ). The manner in which one draws the cover has been debated. Some say that it is to be done in such a way that it covers all but one eye, while others say it means that it must cover the forehead and most of the face, but not the eyes (Āl, IK, Ṭ, Q).

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# If the hypocrites do not desist, and likewise those in whose hearts is a disease, as well as those who spread false rumors in the city, We shall surely spur thee against them; then they will not be your neighbors therein, save for a short while.

# Accursed! They will be seized wheresoever they are found andutterly slain.

60–61 Those in whose hearts is a disease describes those of impure intentions (v. 32) or those who “secretly harbor in their souls” deep religious hypocrisy or doubt (2:8–11; 5:52; 24:47–50; 33:12; 47:20; 74:31). In this instance, some understand it as a specific reference to adulterers (IK, Ṭ, Z), and others see it as a general reference to those whose faith is weak (Z). Those who spread false rumors refers to hypocrites who would attempt to undermine the Madinan community by reporting that the Prophet’s expeditions had been defeated or its members slain (Z). We shall surely spur thee against them means that God will grant the Prophet power over the hypocrites and inform him about them, after which they will soon cease to dwell in Madinah (IK, Ṭ). Then, wherever they may flee, they will be seized by God, taken to task for their disbelief, and utterly slain if they manifest their hypocrisy in word or deed (Ṭ).

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# [That is] the wont of God with those who passed before; and youwill find no alteration in the wont of God.

62. The wont of God (cf. 3:137c; 33:38; 35:43c; 40:85; 48:23) refers in general to the manner in which God conducts all affairs. In this context, it refers specifically to the manner in which God deals with the likes of the hypocrites mentioned in v. 60, who seek to sow dissension among the followers of a prophet. That there is no alteration in the wont of God (cf. 35:43; 48:23) thus means that God will not deal differently with the hypocrites of Madinah than He did with the hypocrites and disbelievers among previous communities (Ṭ, Z); see 35:43c.

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# People question thee concerning the Hour. Say, “Knowledge thereof lies only with God. And what will apprise thee, perhaps the Hour is nigh.”

63. That knowledge of the end of time lies only with God is mentioned in several Quranic verses; see, e.g., 7:187; 31:34; 41:47; 43:85; 67:25–26; 79:42–46. That the Hour may be nigh (cf. 42:17) is understood as an injunction to prepare for death and the end of time, since both will come upon people while they are unaware (12:107; 26:202; 29:53; 43:66; cf. 39:55). It is said that the time of the final hour is hidden and known only to God so that people will always be prepared for it (Q); see 42:17c.

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# Truly God curses the disbelievers and prepares for them a blazingflame, e therein to abide forever; they will find no protector or helper.

64–65 That God curses the disbelievers means that God casts them far from

any good and drives them far away from Himself (Ṭ). It also indicates that no one can save them from this predicament, since whomsoever God curses, thou wilt not find for him any helper (4:52).

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# On the Day when their faces are turned about in the Fire, they willsay, “Oh, would that we had obeyed God and obeyed the Messenger!”

66 That their faces are turned about in the Fire indicates that whichever way they turn, the Fire smites their faces (Ṭ) and that they are tormented by the Fire in different ways (Q). As the face is considered the most noble part of the human body, revealing the soul most directly, that it is subject to the Fire indicates that they are completely debased (Z). Elsewhere it is said that their faces shall be cast down into the Fire (27:90), and the Fire is said to cover their faces (14:50) or to smite their faces (23:104), while the angels are said to strike their faces (8:50) and they are gathered upon their faces (25:34; cf. 17:97), all of which points to their utter humiliation and suffering in the Hereafter. This is one of several passages to convey the regrets of the disbelievers in the Hereafter. Elsewhere, it is reported that they will say, “Would that we were sent back! Then we would not deny the signs of our Lord, but we would be among the believers!” (6:27). That they express such regrets and admit their sin (67:11; cf. 40:11) is, nonetheless, of no avail to them, since they had been offered ample opportunity to repent and make amends during the life of this world; see 32:12c; 35:37c.

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# They will say, “Our Lord! Truly we obeyed our leaders and elders,and they caused us to stray from the way.

# Our Lord! Give them a twofold punishment, and curse them witha great curse.”

67–68 Rather than following God and His Messenger, the disbelievers followed human beings who led them astray (R). Leaders are often considered partially responsible for people’s rejection of the messages with which prophets have been sent, since the leaders have influence over their communities and usually stand to gain the most from the maintenance of a corrupt social order, alluded to in 6:123: Thus have We made great ones among the guilty in every town, that they may plot therein (cf. 25:31), and stated most clearly in 43:23: We sent no warner unto a town before thee, but that those living in luxury therein said, “We found our fathers upon a creed, and we are surely following in their footsteps” (cf. 34:34). One who chooses to follow the leaders and reaffirm their creed will then bite his hands, saying, “Would that I had taken a way with the Messenger! Oh, woe unto me! Would that I had not taken so-and-so for a friend!” (25:27–28). But when people realize they have been led astray, they ask that the leaders receive twice the punishment that they themselves are to receive (JJ), that is, punishment for having been astray and punishment for having led others astray (Z). In this vein, 29:13 says of those who sought to lead others astray, Surely they will bear their own burdens, and others’ burdens along with their own (see also 7:38–39c).

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# O you who believe! Be not as those who affronted Moses, whereatGod declared him innocent of what they alleged, and he was honored with God.

69 This verse was reportedly revealed to chastise those who spoke ill of the Prophet because of his marriage to Zaynab bint Jaḥsh (Z); see 33:37c. The affront to Moses is said to refer to the people’s suspicion that Moses had a physical defect, because he was extremely modest and never showed his skin. Then at one point when bathing, he was forced to chase after his clothing and suddenly came upon a group of his followers, who then knew that what had been said of him was false, because God had shown him to be innocent of what they alleged (IK, Q).

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# O you who believe! Reverence God and speak justly,

# that He may set your deeds aright for you, and forgive you yoursins. And whosoever obeys God and His Messenger has achieved a great triumph.

70–71 Speak justly (cf. 4:9) enjoins testifying truthfully, speaking in a manner that is upright and free from any corruption, and speaking so that the outward locution corresponds to the inward meaning (Ṭs). The injunction to truthful testimony is most evident in 6:152: And when you speak, be just, even if it be [against] a kinsman (cf. 4:135). The injunction to speak with integrity is found in other verses that enjoin speaking in an honorable (or goodly) way (2:83, 235; 4:5, 8; 33:32). If one does so, then God will rectify one’s deeds by facilitating travel upon the straight path and purifying them (Ṭs). Forgiveness in this context is understood to be manifest through the ability to perform good deeds that will be accepted by God (ST, Ṭs). Obeying God and His Messenger leads to the Garden, the attainment of which is referred to as a great triumph in over a dozen verses; for the blessings of the Garden, see commentary on 5:119; 44:51–57. In contrast, whosoever takes Satan as a protector apart from God has surely suffered a manifest loss (4:119).

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# Truly We offered the Trust unto the heavens and the earth and themountains, but they refused to bear it, and were wary of it—yet man bore it; truly he has proved himself an ignorant wrongdoer.

72 The Trust is understood as relating to the dictates of faith and belief, as in a famous saying: “Whosoever has no trust has no belief” (Q, Sy). Many relate the Trust to obedience (IK, Ṭ, Ṭs, Z), and it is thus understood by most as a reference to the requirements (farāʾiḍ) of religion (IJ, JJ, Q, Ṭ), though others see it as a reference to prayer alone (Q). The Trust can also be understood as pertaining to the manner in which one manages each aspect of one’s being, such as the tongue, the eye, the stomach, the private parts, and so forth (IJ, Q). Thus some connect it to 8:27: Betray not God and the Messenger, and betray not your trusts knowingly (M). It is also said that the Trust pertains to faith inwardly and performing the requirements of religion outwardly (Aj). Some also allow that the Trust refers to the pact or covenant of tawḥīd (Divine Oneness) and the witness to God’s Lordship made with all of humanity before they came into this world (Aj; see 7:172c).

That the Trust was offered to the heavens and the earth and the mountains is taken literally by many commentators, but is understood by some to mean that it was offered to their inhabitants (R), that is, to all the people of the earth, the jinn, and the angels (Ṭs, Ṭū). They refused to bear it not out of defiance, but because they shrank from what they knew to be too heavy a burden. Many understand this to mean that they knew they would be subject to reward and punishment and thus chose to remain passively obedient rather than risk the consequences of being held accountable before God (Bḍ, IJ, IK, Q, Ṭ). In this sense, the heavens, the earth, and the mountains saw their own weakness, but human beings realized their place and assumed their responsibility (R) as creatures possessing intellect and thus fit to observe the obligations of religion (Z).

This passage can also be seen as a metaphorical account to show that the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, despite their tremendous size and magnificent bearing, do not have the capacity to undertake the burdens of revealed laws (Q, Ṭū), as in 59:21: Had We made this Quran descend upon a mountain, thou wouldst have seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of God. That man bore it thus indicates the unique responsibility human beings bear to remain in a state of tawḥīd and to follow the practices of their respective religious laws. When they do not, they break the covenant they made with God before entering this world (see 7:172c) and thus fail to live in accord with their true nature.

Man . . . has proved himself an ignorant wrongdoer insofar as he has failed to bear the full weight of the Trust. Thus some understand this phrase as a reference only to disbelievers and hypocrites, who are ignorant of God, and tyrants or wrongdoers (Q), though others take it as a reference to Adam, meaning that when he accepted the Trust, he did not realize its full import (M). It can also be understood as a reference to all human beings who are ignorant of the responsibility of the Trust and wrong themselves by committing acts of disobedience (Ṭū), thus failing to fulfill the Trust (Z).

In a minority reading, the expression “bear the Trust” is understood to mean failing to uphold it and thus failing to bear the burden that it implies (IJ, Ṭū). In this sense it is said that Cain bore the burden of the Trust for having murdered Abel (IJ).

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# That God may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, the idolatrous men and the idolatrous women, and that God may relent unto the believing men and the believing women. And God is Forgiving, Merciful.

73 God punishes the hypocrites and the idolaters, because they have broken the Trust that man bore; yet God relents to the believers who keep the Trust and forgives their sins (JJ, M).

Source: The Study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 Others

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