Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 50 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:50

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِنَّآ أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَٰجَكَ ٱلَّـٰتِىٓ ءَاتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّـٰتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَـٰلَـٰتِكَ ٱلَّـٰتِى هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَٱمْرَأَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِىِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ ٱلنَّبِىُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۗ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُهُمْ لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation[1205] and those your right hand possesses from what Allāh has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her; [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort [i.e., difficulty]. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Even the Prophet's own household was arranged by Allah's permission and knowledge, set out openly, with dignity for every woman named, and closed with mercy.

A reflection

Permission is not his to write

A tenant decides that the wall between his kitchen and living room should go. It is his home, he reasons; he lives there. One Saturday he takes a sledgehammer to it. The wall turns out to carry the floor above. The landlord's permission was never a formality. It belonged to the one who knew what the building needed.

This ayah begins with innā aḥlalnā laka: We have made lawful for you. The speaker is Allah, in the plural of majesty. The one addressed is the most honoured man in creation. Even his own household, his marriages, his most private life, rests on a permission he did not write. Near the end the ayah adds qad ʿalimnā mā faraḍnā: We know well what We have laid down for the others. Permission and knowledge both belong to Allah.

That cuts against an ego that runs deep in us. Many people now draft their own permissions. What is right for me, they say, is mine to decide. The Prophet ﷺ is not given that standing. If he receives his permissions, no one else issues their own.

Is that controlling, a God who needs to rule the bedroom? The root of aḥlalnā answers. It means opening, above all untying a knot. A traveller ties his loads tight, and when he halts, he unties them. So ḥalāl is what has been untied and opened to you. Permission from Allah is a release, given by the One who knows the whole building. And the ayah ends not on authority but on ghafūran raḥīmā: Forgiving, Merciful.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.