Al-Ahzaab (The Clans)

51. “You may put off whom you please of them, and you may take to you whom you please, and whom you desire of those of whom you have separated, no blame shall be on you, this is most proper to give them the joy of their eyes and they may not grieve, and that they should be pleased, all of them with what you give them, and Allah knows what is in your hearts; and Allah is Knowing, Forgiving.”

Those who have heavy responsibilities should be offered some particular authorities.

According to the previous statements and the proofs which were mentioned in the explanation of the verse, the numerous marriages of the holy Prophet (S) were often formed by political, social, and emotional aspects, and they were, in fact, a part of the fulfilment of his Divine messengership, but in the meantime, the opposition between his wives and their normal woman rivals created a conflict inside the Prophet’s house, and it would make his thought busy.

It is here that Allah has mentioned another quality of the Prophet (S) and, by putting an end to these conflicts, made his mind free from this point of view and, as we recite in the verse, He said:

“You may put off whom you please of them, and you may take to you whom you please…”

The Arabic term /turji/ is derived from /’irja’/ in the sense of delay; and the term /tu’wi/ is derived from /’iwa’/ in the sense of ‘to take in one’s place’.

We know that one of the ordinances of Islam is that when a man has numerous wives he must divide his time justly among them. If one night he is with one of them, another night he must be with another wife, and there is not any difference between them from this point of view. This subject has been explained in the books of Islamic jurisprudence under the title of /haqq-i-qasm/.

One of the qualities of the Prophet (S) was that this right, mentioned in the above verse, was not upon the Prophet (S), because of the specific conditions of his difficult life, specially when he was inside Medina and approximately every month a war was imposed on him during this very time that he had numerous wives.

Then he could divide his time in any form he desired, though, as the Islamic history books explicitly denote, he tried to observe equality among them as much as possible. Yet, the existence of this divine ordinance gave a kind of peace to the Prophet’s wives and to the interior environment of his life.

Then, the verse adds:

“…and whom you desire of those of whom you have separated, no blame shall be on you…”

Thus, not only at the beginning the authority was with the holy Prophet (S) but also this choice was with him in the continuation of it, and, in other words, this choice was a ‘continuous choice’.

By this expansive and vast ordinance any kind of excuse due to the Prophet’s wives was ceased from the programs of his life, and he could concentrate his thought on the great and heavy responsibilities of prophetship.

Then in order that the wives of the holy Prophet (S) should also know that besides obtaining the honour of being the Prophet’s wives, by submitting to this particular program of the Prophet’s time division they have shown a kind of self-sacrifice from them and that there is no objection upon them at all, because they have submitted to the ordinance of Allah, it adds:

“…this is most proper to give them the joy of their eyes and they may not grieve, and that they should be pleased, all of them with what you give them…”

This is so because: firstly this is a general ordinance about all of them, and, thus, there is no difference between them. Secondly: this is an ordinance from the side of Allah which has been ordained for some important interests.

Therefore, they must accept it willingly and contently in a way that they not only should not be annoyed but also be pleased with it.

At the end, the Holy Qur’an concludes the verse with the following sentence:

“…and Allah knows what is in your hearts; and Allah is Knowing, Forgiving.”

Yes, Allah knows well that which ordinance you are heartily pleased by and submitted to, and which one you are unpleased with. He knows that in which of your wives you are more interested and in which one less, and how you observe the ordinance of Allah when confronting these affairs.

Again, He knows who, protesting in their hearts, sit here and there and object these Divine ordinances concerning the Prophet (S), and who eagerly accept them all.

So, the application of the Qur’anic term /qulubikum/ has a vast meaning that involves both the Prophet (S) and his wives, and all the believers who submit to these ordinances with consent, or protest and deny them though they do not make it manifest.

In Islamic jurisprudent, there is a discussion that whether it was obligatory for the Prophet (S) to divide his time equally among his numerous wives in the same way that is incumbent for the Muslims in general, or the Prophet (S) had the exception ordinance of ‘choice’.

It is known among the jurisprudents of Shi‘ah and among a group of the jurisprudents of the Sunnites that he was made an exception of this ordinance.

They take the above verse as its evidence that says:

“You may put off whom you please of them, and you may take to you whom you please…”