Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 51 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:51

۞ تُرْجِى مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُـْٔوِىٓ إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ ۖ وَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن تَقَرَّ أَعْيُنُهُنَّ وَلَا يَحْزَنَّ وَيَرْضَيْنَ بِمَآ ءَاتَيْتَهُنَّ كُلُّهُنَّ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًا

“You, [O Muḥammad], may put aside whom you will of them[1206] 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 Allāh knows what is in your hearts. And ever is Allāh Knowing and Forbearing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah eased the Prophet's household arrangements so that his wives' eyes would be cooled, and He knows every heart's hidden leaning, with forbearance.

A reflection

He knows the leaning you cannot help

After the details of a household, the ayah lifts its eyes. 'Allah knows what is in your hearts, and Allah is ever Knowing, Forbearing.' The address is plural. It reaches every heart in that house, and every heart reading it now.

The commentaries name what such hearts hold. One explains it as leaning towards some more than others, the kind of leaning no one can simply push away. Another turns it the other way. If anyone conceals something different from what they show, Allah knows the hidden part.

Picture a grandmother at Eid who says, often and sincerely, that she has no favourites. Then one grandson comes through the door, and her whole face changes. The other grandchildren notice. They always have. She would deny it honestly, and be hurt to be told.

This is where the ego takes its quiet knock. We are proud of our fairness, and we measure it by what can be seen: equal gifts, equal time, equal words. But the heart has a tilt we rarely see in ourselves. The ayah says that tilt is fully known, by Someone other than us.

Then comes the second name. Knowledge alone would be frightening. A knowledge of every hidden leaning, with no patience behind it, would leave no one standing. So the ayah pairs it with ḥalīm. One lexicon defines ḥilm as holding oneself back against the surge of anger. Another notes that every ḥilm is a respite, though not every respite is ḥilm.

Why say this at all? Not because He needs to be admired. He says it so that we stop pretending to a fairness we cannot manufacture, and ask Him for it instead. The humble answer is not 'I have no favourites'. It is closer to this: You know what is in my heart, so make my hands fair where my heart is not.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.