Tafseer of The Clans · Al-Ahzaab · 33:51
You, [O Muhammad], may put aside whom you will of them or take to yourself whom you will. And any that you desire of those [wives] from whom you had [temporarily] separated - there is no blame upon you [in returning her]. That is more suitable that they should be content and not grieve and that they should be satisfied with what you have given them - all of them. And Allah knows what is in your hearts. And ever is Allah Knowing and Forbearing.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of His word, the Exalted: turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayka dhālika adnā an taqarra aʿyunuhunna wa-lā yaḥzanna wa-yarḍayna bi-mā ātaytahunna kulluhunna wa-llāhu yaʿlamu mā fī qulūbikum wa-kāna llāhu ʿalīman ḥalīman ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will; and whomever you desire of those you have set aside, there is no blame upon you. That is most fitting that their eyes should be cooled and that they should not grieve and that they should all be content with what you give them. And Allah knows what is in your hearts, and Allah is All-Knowing, Forbearing" (33:51)).
The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the explanation of His word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"). Some of them said: by His word "turjī" is meant: you put off, and by His word "tuʾwī" is meant: you take to yourself.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna ("You may put off whom you will of them"), he says: you put off.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna ("You may put off whom you will of them"), he said: you set aside, without divorce (ṭalāq), whom you will of your wives. wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("and take to yourself whom you will"), he said: you bring her back to yourself.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"), he said: Allah made it permitted to him that he leave aside whom of them he willed and come to whom of them he willed without apportionment (of the turns), even though the Prophet of Allah used to keep to an apportionment.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Razīn: turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"), he said: when they feared that he would put them away, they said: "O Prophet of Allah, make of your property and your person for us what you will." Among those whom he put off were Sawda bint Zamʿa, Juwayriya, Ṣafiyya, Umm Ḥabība and Maymūna; and among those whom he took to himself were ʿĀʾisha, Umm Salama, Ḥafṣa and Zaynab.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"): whatever he willed, he did regarding the apportionment among the women; Allah made that permitted to him.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Razīn, concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"): among those whom he — peace and blessings be upon him — took to himself were ʿĀʾisha, Ḥafṣa, Zaynab and Umm Salama; and his turn for them from himself was in addition to his (other) apportionment. And among those whom he put off were Sawda, Juwayriya, Ṣafiyya, Umm Ḥabība and Maymūna; he apportioned for them what he willed. He had wished to leave them, but they said to him: "Apportion for us of your person what you will and let us remain in our condition."
Others said: the meaning of that is: you divorce and set free whom you will of your wives, and you hold fast to whom of them you will and do not divorce her.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna ("You may put off whom you will of them") — the Mothers of the Believers — wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("and take to yourself whom you will") — by it are meant the wives of the Prophet ﷺ. And by "al-irjāʾ" (the putting off) He means — He says: whom you will, you set free of her. And by "al-īwāʾ" (the taking to oneself) He means — He says: whom you love, you hold fast of her.
Others said: rather the meaning of that is: you leave off marriage with whom you will and you marry whom you will of the women of your community.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Ḥasan said concerning his word turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"), he said: when the Prophet of Allah ﷺ asked a woman in marriage, it was not permitted to any man to ask her in marriage until he should marry her or release her. And it was said: Allah established that for His Prophet only when some of them were jealous of the Prophet ﷺ and some of them desired more provision than what he used to give them. So Allah commanded him to make them choose between the abode of this world and the Hereafter, and to set free whoever chose the worldly life and its adornment, and to hold fast whoever chose Allah and His Messenger. So when they chose Allah and His Messenger, it was said to her: now abide in contentment with Allah and with His Messenger; whether the Messenger of Allah ﷺ now apportions a turn for you or does not apportion, or apportions for some of you and does not apportion for some of you, and favors some of you over others in provision or does not favor, makes equality among you or makes no equality — verily, the matter concerning that rests with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, you have no say in it. And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used, according to what has been related, in addition to what Allah had permitted him concerning that, to maintain equality among them in the apportionment, except for one woman among them whom he wished to divorce and who consented that the turn for her be left off.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the interpreters have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū Razīn, he said: when the Prophet ﷺ wished to divorce his wives, they said to him: "Decide for us of your person and your property what you will." So Allah commanded him, and he took four of them to himself and put off five.
Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbīda ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that she said: does a woman not feel ashamed to offer herself to a man? — until Allah sent down turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will"). Then I said: "Verily, your Lord truly hastens in that which you desire."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bishr — that is, al-ʿAbdī — related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, that she used to reproach the women who offered themselves to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and she said: does a woman not feel ashamed to offer herself without a bridal gift (mahr)? Then it was sent down — or: then Allah sent down — turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will; and whomever you desire of those you have set aside"). Then I said: "Verily, I see that your Lord hastens for you in that which you desire."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the word of Allah turjī man tashāʾu minhunna wa-tuʾwī ilayka man tashāʾu... ("You may put off whom you will of them and take to yourself whom you will...") — the verse — he said: his wives had become jealous of the Prophet ﷺ, and so he kept away from them for a month. Then there was sent down from Allah the option concerning them, and he recited until he reached wa-lā tabarrajna tabarruja al-jāhiliyyati al-ūlā ("and do not flaunt yourselves as in the flaunting of the former age of ignorance"). He made them choose between their preferring that he set them free and let them go, and their remaining — if they desired Allah and His Messenger — on the condition that they were the Mothers of the Believers and would never marry (another), and on the condition that he take to himself whom of them he willed of those who had offered themselves to him, until he raised his head toward her, and put off whom he willed until he raised his head toward her. And whomever he desired of one who was with him and (whom he had first) set aside — there was no blame upon him in that. "That is most fitting that their eyes should be cooled and that they should not grieve and should be content" when they realize that it belongs to My disposal over them that some be favored over others. dhālika adnā an ("that is most fitting that") they should be content. He said: wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta ("and whomever you desire of those you have set aside") — whomever he desired, he had access to her, and whomever he set aside, he had no access to her. Thus he made them choose between their being content with this or his leaving them, and they chose Allah and His Messenger, except for one bedouin woman who went away. And so it remained — Allah's prayers be upon him — while Allah had granted him this condition, and he continued unceasingly to maintain equality among them until he met Allah.
And the most correct of the statements concerning this, according to my judgment, is that one should say: verily Allah — exalted is His mention — granted His Prophet that of the women whom He had permitted to him, he put off whom he willed and took to himself whom he willed of them. For He did not restrict the meaning of the putting off and the taking to oneself to the married women who were in his marriage bond when this verse was sent down, to the exclusion of others among them whose taking in or putting off would occur later.
When that is so, then the meaning of the word is: you put off whom you will of one who has offered herself to you and whose marriage I have permitted you, so that you do not accept her and do not marry her; or of those who are in your marriage bond, so that you do not approach her. And you take to yourself whom you will of one who has offered herself to you, or whom you desired, of the women whose marriage I have permitted you, so that you accept her or marry her; and of one who is in your marriage bond, so that you have intercourse with her when you will and leave her when you will, without apportionment of turn.
His word wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayka ("and whomever you desire of those you have set aside, there is no blame upon you") — the interpreters differed concerning the explanation of that. Some of them said: the meaning of that is: and whomever you marry of your wives, with whom you have intercourse, of those with whom you had (not yet) had intercourse and whom you had held back from intercourse — there is no blame upon you in that.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayka ("and whomever you desire of those you have set aside, there is no blame upon you"), he said: all of this concerns his wives; if he willed, he came to whom of them he willed, and there was no blame upon him in that.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta ("and whomever you desire of those you have set aside"), he said: whomever he desired, he had access to her, and whomever he set aside, he had no access to her.
Others said: the meaning of that is: and whomever you take in place of one whom you have put off and for whom you have set free of your wives, or of one among them who has died of those whom I have permitted you — there is no blame upon you in that.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word wa-mani ibtaghayta mimman ʿazalta fa-lā junāḥa ʿalayka dhālika adnā an taqarra aʿyunuhunna wa-lā yaḥzanna wa-yarḍayna bi-mā ātaytahunna kulluhunna ("and whomever you desire of those you have set aside, there is no blame upon you; that is most fitting that their eyes should be cooled and that they should not grieve and that they should all be content with what you give them"), he means by it: the women whom Allah has permitted to him, of the daughters of the paternal uncle, the paternal aunt, the maternal uncle and the maternal aunt, allātī hājarna maʿaka ("who have emigrated with you"). He says: if one of your wives who are with you dies, or you set free for her, then I have permitted you that, in place of one who has died of your wives who are with you, or for whom you have set free of them, you take a replacement of those whom I have permitted you; but it is not lawful for you to add anything to the number of your wives who are with you.
And the most correct of the two interpretations concerning this is the interpretation of the one who said: the meaning of that is: and whomever you desire to have intercourse with of your wives, of those whom you had held back from that, there is no blame upon you — because of the indication of His word dhālika adnā an taqarra aʿyunuhunna ("that is most fitting that their eyes should be cooled") upon its correctness, since there is no meaning to it that their eyes should be cooled when he ﷺ should take, in place of the deceased or the divorced among them, a replacement — unless one means by it: that is most fitting that the eyes of the married one among them should be cooled; but that, while it is something to which the outward wording of the Revelation points, is far-fetched.
His word dhālika adnā an taqarra aʿyunuhunna wa-lā yaḥzanna ("that is most fitting that their eyes should be cooled and that they should not grieve") — He says: this which I have established for you, O Muḥammad, of My grant to you that you put off whom you will of the women whose putting off I have permitted you, and take to yourself whom you will of them, and My lifting from you of the embarrassment in your desire for intercourse with whomever you desired to have intercourse of your wives, and your setting aside thereof of whomever you set aside of them — this is nearest for your wives that their eyes be cooled thereby and that they not grieve, and that they be content with all that you give them, of the favoring of whomever you have favored in turn or in provision, and of the precedence that you have granted to whomever you have thereby preferred over others among your wives — when they realize that it proceeds from My agreement with you concerning that, My grant to you for it, and a permission from My side, not from your side.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the interpreters have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: dhālika adnā an taqarra aʿyunuhunna wa-lā yaḥzanna wa-yarḍayna bi-mā ātaytahunna kulluhunna ("that is most fitting that their eyes should be cooled and that they should not grieve and that they should all be content with what you give them") — when they realize that this has come from Allah as a permitted grant, that is more pleasing to their hearts and lessens their grief.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning that word something similar.
And the correct view in the reading of His word bi-mā ātaytahunna kulluhunna ("with what you give them all") is the nominative (rafʿ); anything else is not permissible with us. That is because "kulluhunna" is not an adjectival qualifier to the "hāʾ" in His word "ātaytahunna"; the meaning of the word is rather: and they are all content. It is thus merely a corroboration of that which is contained in "yarḍayna" of the mention of the women. And if one were to make it a corroboration of the "hāʾ" that is in "ātaytahunna," it would have no meaning. The reading with the accusative (naṣb) is therefore not permissible, and also because of the consensus of the authoritative proof among the reciters upon declaring erroneous the one who recites thus.
His word wa-llāhu yaʿlamu mā fī qulūbikum ("and Allah knows what is in your hearts") — He says: and Allah knows what is in the hearts of men of their inclination toward some of the women who are with them to the exclusion of others, out of affection and love. He says: therefore He has lifted the embarrassment from you, O Muḥammad, in that which He has lifted from you of the desiring of whomever you desired of them, of one whom you had set aside — as a bestowal of favor from Him upon you thereby and as an honoring. wa-kāna llāhu ʿalīman ("and Allah is All-Knowing") — He says: and Allah is possessor of knowledge concerning the deeds of His servants and concerning all the rest of matters in their entirety. ḥalīman ("Forbearing") — He says: possessor of forbearance toward His servants, so that He does not hasten the sinners among them with punishment, but He is possessor of forbearance and patience toward them, so that whoever of them repents may repent, and whoever of them turns away from his sins may turn away.
