Surah 33. Al-Ahzab, Ayah 28
| يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ إِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلًا |
| Transliteration | : | yaa 'ayyuhaa an- nabey qul li- azwaaj -ka 'in kuntunna turidna al- h.ayaah ad- dunyaa wa- zenah -haa fa- tacaalain umattic -kunna wa- usarrih. -kunna saraah.(an) jamel(an) |
| Pickthall | : | O Prophet! Say unto thy wives: If ye desire the world's life and its adornment, come! I will content you and will release you with a fair release. |
| Asad | : | O PROPHET! Say unto thy wives: "If you desire [but] the life of this world and its charms - well, then, I shall provide for you and release you in a becoming manner;31 |
| Malik | : | O Prophet! Say to your wives: "If you desire the life of this world and its glitter, then come, I shall give you of these and let you go in an honorable way." |
| Yusuf Ali | : | O Prophet! say to thy Consorts: "If it be that ye desire the life of this world and its glitter then come! I will provide for your enjoyment and set you free in a handsome manner." 3706 |
Note - 31By the time this verse was revealed (see note [65] on
verse {52} of this surah) the Muslims had conquered the
rich agricultural region of Khaybar, and the community
had grown more prosperous. But while life was becoming
easier for most of its members, this ease was not
reflected in the household of the Prophet who, as before,
allowed himself and his family only the absolute minimum
necessary for the most simple living. In view of the
changed circumstances, it was no more than natural that
his wives were longing for a share in the comparative
luxuries which other Muslim women could now enjoy: but an
acquiescence by Muhammad to their demand would have
conflicted with the principle, observed by him throughout
his life, that the standard of living of God's Apostle
and his family should not be higher than that of the
poorest of the believers.
|
Note - 3706We now come to the subject of the position of the
Consorts of Purity (azwaj mutahharat), the wives of the
holy Prophet. Their position was not like that of
ordinary women or ordinary wives. They had special duties
and responsibilities. The only youthful marriage of the
holy Prophet was his first marriage-that with Hadhrat
Khadija, the best of women and the best of wives. He
married her fifteen years before he received his call to
Prophethood; their married life lasted for twenty-five
years, and their mutual devotion was of the noblest,
judged by spiritual as well as social standards. During
her life he had no other wife, which was unusual for a
man of his standing among his people. When she died, his
age was 50, and but for two considerations, he would
probably never have married again, as he was most
abstemious in his physical life. The two considerations
which governed his later marriages were: (1) compassion
and clemency, as when he wanted to provide for suffering
widows, who could not be provided for in any other way in
that stage of society; some of them, like Sauda, had
issue by their former marriage, requiring protection; (2)
help in his duties of leadership, with women, who had to
be instructed and kept together in the large Muslim
family, where women and men had similar social rights.
Hadhrat Aisha, daughter of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, was clever
and learned, and in Hadith she is an important authority
on the life of the Prophet. Hadhrat Zainab, daughter of
Khuzaima, was specially devoted to the poor; she was
called the "Mother of the Poor". The other Zainab,
daughter of Jahsh, also worked for the poor, for whom she
provided from the proceeds of her manual work, as she was
skillful in leather work. But all the Consorts in their
high position had to work and assist as Mothers of the
Ummat. Theirs were not idle lives, like those of
Odalisques, either for their own pleasure or the pleasure
of their husband. They are told here that they had no
place in the sacred Household if they merely wished for
ease or worldly glitter. If such were the case, they
could be divorced and amply provided for.
|
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By the time this verse was revealed (see note [65] on verse {52} of this surah) the Muslims had conquered the rich agricultural region of Khaybar, and the community had grown more prosperous. But while life was becoming easier for most of its members, this ease was not reflected in the household of the Prophet who, as before, allowed himself and his family only the absolute minimum necessary for the most simple living. In view of the changed circumstances, it was no more than natural that his wives were longing for a share in the comparative luxuries which other Muslim women could now enjoy: but an acquiescence by Muhammad to their demand would have conflicted with the principle, observed by him throughout his life, that the standard of living of God's Apostle and his family should not be higher than that of the poorest of the believers. |
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We now come to the subject of the position of the Consorts of Purity (azwaj mutahharat), the wives of the holy Prophet. Their position was not like that of ordinary women or ordinary wives. They had special duties and responsibilities. The only youthful marriage of the holy Prophet was his first marriage-that with Hadhrat Khadija, the best of women and the best of wives. He married her fifteen years before he received his call to Prophethood; their married life lasted for twenty-five years, and their mutual devotion was of the noblest, judged by spiritual as well as social standards. During her life he had no other wife, which was unusual for a man of his standing among his people. When she died, his age was 50, and but for two considerations, he would probably never have married again, as he was most abstemious in his physical life. The two considerations which governed his later marriages were: (1) compassion and clemency, as when he wanted to provide for suffering widows, who could not be provided for in any other way in that stage of society; some of them, like Sauda, had issue by their former marriage, requiring protection; (2) help in his duties of leadership, with women, who had to be instructed and kept together in the large Muslim family, where women and men had similar social rights. Hadhrat Aisha, daughter of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, was clever and learned, and in Hadith she is an important authority on the life of the Prophet. Hadhrat Zainab, daughter of Khuzaima, was specially devoted to the poor; she was called the "Mother of the Poor". The other Zainab, daughter of Jahsh, also worked for the poor, for whom she provided from the proceeds of her manual work, as she was skillful in leather work. But all the Consorts in their high position had to work and assist as Mothers of the Ummat. Theirs were not idle lives, like those of Odalisques, either for their own pleasure or the pleasure of their husband. They are told here that they had no place in the sacred Household if they merely wished for ease or worldly glitter. If such were the case, they could be divorced and amply provided for. |
