33:4 Al-Ahzaab (The Clans)

يعاتب تعالى [عباده] عن التكلم بما ادعوهم لآبائهم هو أقسط عند الله فإن لم تعلموا آباءهم فإخوانكم في الدين ومواليكم وليس عليكم جناح فيما أخطأتم به ولكن ما تعمدت قلوبكم وكان الله غفورًا رحيمًا لا حقيقة له من الأقوال، ولم يجعله الله تعالى كما قالوا،فإن ذلك القول منكم كذب وزور، يترتب عليه منكرات من الشرع. وهذه قاعدة عامة في التكلم في كل شيء، والإخبار بوقوع ووجود، ما لم يجعله اللّه تعالى.ولكن خص هذه الأشياء المذكورة، لوقوعها، وشدة الحاجة إلى بيانها، فقال: { مَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ قَلْبَيْنِ فِي جَوْفِهِ } هذا لا يوجد، فإياكم أن تقولوا عن أحد: إن له قلبين في جوفه، فتكونوا كاذبين على الخلقة الإلهية.{ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَزْوَاجَكُمُ اللَّائِي تُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْهُنَّ } بأن يقول أحدكم لزوجته: \"أنت عَليَّ كظهر أمي أو كأمي\" فما جعلهن اللّه { أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ } أمك من ولدتك، وصارت أعظم النساء عليك، حرمة وتحريمًا، وزوجتك أحل النساء لك، فكيف تشبه أحد المتناقضين بالآخر؟هذا أمر لا يجوز، كما قال تعالى: { الَّذِينَ يُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِهِمْ مَا هُنَّ أُمَّهَاتِهِمْ إِنْ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّائِي وَلَدْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَقُولُونَ مُنْكَرًا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَزُورًا } { وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَاءَكُمْ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ } والأدعياء، الولد الذي كان الرجل يدعيه، وهو ليس له، أو يُدْعَى إليه، بسبب تبنيه إياه، كما كان الأمر بالجاهلية، وأول الإسلام.فأراد اللّه تعالى أن يبطله ويزيله، فقدم بين يدي ذلك بيان قبحه، وأنه باطل وكذب، وكل باطل وكذب، لا يوجد في شرع اللّه، ولا يتصف به عباد اللّه.يقول تعالى: فاللّه لم يجعل الأدعياء الذين تدعونهم، أو يدعون إليكم، أبناءكم، فإن أبناءكم في الحقيقة، من ولدتموهم، وكانوا منكم، وأما هؤلاء الأدعياء من غيركم، فلا جعل اللّه هذا كهذا.{ ذَلِكُمْ } القول، الذي تقولون في الدعي: إنه ابن فلان، الذي ادعاه، أو والده فلان { قَوْلُكُمْ بِأَفْوَاهِكُمْ } أي: قول لا حقيقة له ولا معنى له.{ وَاللَّهُ يَقُولُ الْحَقَّ } أي: اليقين والصدق، فلذلك أمركم باتباعه، على قوله وشرعه، فقوله، حق، وشرعه حق، والأقوال والأفعال الباطلة، لا تنسب إليه بوجه من الوجوه، وليست من هدايته، لأنه لا يهدي إلا إلى السبيل المستقيمة، والطرق الصادقة.وإن كان ذلك واقعًا بمشيئته، فمشيئته عامة، لكل ما وجد من خير وشر.

يقول تعالى موطئا قبل المقصود المعنوي أمرا معروفا حسيا وهو أنه كما لا يكون للشخص الواحد قلبان في جوفه ولا تصير زوجته التي يظاهر منها بقوله أنت علي كظهر أمي أما له كذلك لا يصير الدعي ولدا للرجل إذا تبناه فدعاه ابنا له فقال "ما جعل الله لرجل من قلبين في جوفه وما جعل أزواجكم اللائي تظاهرون منهن أمهاتكم" كقوله عز وجل "ما هن أمهاتهم إن أمهاتهم إلا اللائي ولدنهم" الآية. وقوله تعالى: "وما جعل أدعياءكم أبناءكم" هذا هو المقصود بالنفي فإنها نزلت في شأن زيد بن حارثة رضي الله عنه "مولى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان الني صلى الله عليه وسلم قد تبناه قبل النبوة فكان يقال له زيد بن محمد فأراد الله تعالى أن يقطع هذا الإلحاق وهذه النسبة بقوله تعالى: "وما جعل أدعياءكم أبناءكم" كما قال تعالى في أثناء السورة "ما كان محمد أبا أحد من رجالكم ولكن رسول الله وخاتم النبيين وكان الله بكل شيء عليما" وقال ههنا "ذلكم قولكم بأفواهكم" يعني تبنيكم لهم قول لا يقتضي أن يكون ابنا حقيقيا فإنه مخلوق من صلب رجل آخر فما يمكن أن يكون له أبوان كما لا يمكن أن يكون للبشر الواحد قلبان "والله يقول الحق وهو يهدي السبيل" قال سعيد بن جبير "يقول الحق" أي العدل وقال قتادة "وهو يهدي السبيل" أي الصراط المستقيم وقد ذكر غير واحد أن هذه الآية نزلت في رجل من قريش كان يقال له ذو القلبين وأنه كان يزعم أن له قلبين كل منهما بعقل وافر فأنزل الله تعالى هذه الآية ردا عليه. هكذا روى العوفي عن ابن عباس وقاله مجاهد وعكرمة والحسن وقتادة واختاره ابن جرير. وقال الإمام أحمد حدثنا حسن حدثنا زهير عن قابوس يعني ابن أبي ظبيان قال إن أباه حدثه قال قلت لابن عباس: أرأيت قول الله تعالى: "ما جعل الله لرجل من قلبين في جوفه" ما عنى بذلك؟ قال قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يوما يصلي فخطر خطرة فقال المنافقون الذين يصلون معه ألا ترون له قلبين قلبا معكم وقلبا معهم فأنزل الله تعالى: "ما جعل الله لرجل من قلبين في جوفه "وهكذا رواه الترمذي عن عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن الدارمي عن صاعد الحراني عن عبد بن حميد وعن أحمد بن يونس كلاهما عن زهير وهو ابن معاوية به ثم قال وهذا حديث حسن وكذا رواه ابن جرير وابن أبي حاتم من حديث زهير به. وقال عبد الرزاق أخبرنا معمر عن الزهري في قوله "ما جعل الله لرجل من قلبين في جوفه" قال بلغنا أن ذلك كان في زيد بن حارثة ضرب له مثل يقول ليس ابن رجل آخر ابنك وكذا قال مجاهد وقتادة وابن زيد أنها نزلت في زيد بن حارثة رضي الله عنه" وهذا يوافق ما قدمناه من التفسير والله سبحانه وتعالى أعلم.

Abolition of Adoption

Before Allah discusses ideas and theoretical matters, He gives tangible examples: one man cannot have two hearts in his body, and a man's wife does not become his mother if he says the words of Zihar to her: "You are to me like the back of my mother." By the same token, an adopted child does not become the son of the man who adopts him and calls him his son. Allah says:

مَّا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِى جَوْفِهِ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَزْوَجَكُمُ اللاَّئِى تُظَـهِرُونَ مِنْهُنَّ أُمَّهَـتِكُمْ

(Allah has not made for any man two hearts inside his body. Neither has He made your wives whom you declare to be like your mothers' backs, your real mothers...) This is like the Ayah:

مَّا هُنَّ أُمَّهَـتِهِمْ إِنْ أُمَّهَـتُهُمْ إِلاَّ اللاَّئِى وَلَدْنَهُمْ

(They cannot be their mothers. None can be their mothers except those who gave them birth) (58:2).

وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَآءَكُمْ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ

(nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons.) This was revealed concerning Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, the freed servant of the Prophet . The Prophet had adopted him before prophethood, and he was known as Zayd bin Muhammad. Allah wanted to put an end to this naming and attribution, as He said:

وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَآءَكُمْ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ

(nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. ) This is similar to the Ayah later in this Surah:

مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيماً

(Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the last (end) of the Prophets. And Allah is Ever All-Aware of everything.) (33:40). And Allah says here:

ذَلِكُمْ قَوْلُكُم بِأَفْوَهِكُمْ

(That is but your saying with your mouths.) meaning, `your adoption of him is just words, and it does not mean that he is really your son,' for he was created from the loins of another man, and a child cannot have two fathers just as a man cannot have two hearts in one body.

وَاللَّهُ يَقُولُ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ يَهْدِى السَّبِيلَ

(But Allah says the truth, and He guides to the way.) Sa`id bin Jubayr said:

يَقُولُ الْحَقَّ

(But Allah says the truth,) means, justice. Qatadah said:

وَهُوَ يَهْدِى السَّبِيلَ

(and He guides to the way) means, the straight path. Imam Ahmad said that Hasan told them that Zuhayr told them from Qabus, meaning Ibn Abi Zibyan, that his father told him: "I said to Ibn `Abbas, `Do you know the Ayah,

مَّا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِى جَوْفِهِ

(Allah has not made for any man two hearts inside his body.) What does this mean' He said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up one day to pray, and he trembled. The hypocrites who were praying with him said, `Do you not see that he has two hearts, one heart with you and another with them' Then Allah revealed the words:

مَّا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِى جَوْفِهِ

(Allah has not made for any man two hearts inside his body.)" This was also narrated by At-Tirmidhi, who said, "It is a Hasan Hadith". It was also narrated by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from the Hadith of Zuhayr.

An Adopted Child should be named after His Real Father

ادْعُوهُمْ لاًّبَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ

(Call them (adopted sons) by their fathers, that is more just with Allah.) This is a command which abrogates the state of affairs that existed at the beginning of Islam, when it was permitted to call adopted sons after the man who adopted them. Then Allah commanded that they should be given back the names of their real fathers, and states that this was more fair and just. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that `Abdullah bin `Umar said: "Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, the freed servant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, was always called Zayd bin Muhammad, until (the words of the) Qur'an were revealed:

ادْعُوهُمْ لاًّبَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ

(Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers, that is more just with Allah.)" This was also narrated by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i. They used to deal with them as sons in every respect, including being alone with them as Mahrams and so on. Hence Sahlah bint Suhayl, the wife of Abu Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: "O Messenger of Allah! We used to call Salim our son, but Allah has revealed what He has revealed. He used to enter upon me, but I feel that Abu Hudhayfah does not like that. The Prophet said:

«أَرْضِعِيهِ تَحْرُمِي عَلَيْه»

(Breastfeed him and he will become your Mahram. )" Hence when this ruling was abrogated, Allah made it permissible for a man to marry the ex-wife of his adopted son, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ married Zaynab bint Jahsh, the divorced wife of Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, Allah said:

لِكَىْ لاَ يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِى أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْاْ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَراً

(So that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them) (33:37). And Allah says in Ayat At-Tahrim:

وَحَلَـئِلُ أَبْنَآئِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَـبِكُمْ

(The wives of your sons from your own loins) (4:23). The wife of an adopted son is not included because he was not born from the man's loins. A "foster" son through breastfeeding is the same as a son born from one's own loins, from the point of view of Shari`ah, because the Prophet said in the Two Sahihs:

«حَرَّمُوا مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ مَا يُحَرَّمُ مِنَ النَّسَب»

(Suckling makes unlawful as lineage does.) As for calling a person "son" as an expression of honor and endearment, this is not what is forbidden in this Ayah, as is indicated by the report recorded by Imam Ahmad and the Sunan compilers -- apart from At-Tirmidhi -- from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "We young boys of Banu `Abd Al-Muttalib came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at the Jamarat; he slapped us on the thigh and said,

«(أُبَيْنِيَّ) لَا تَرْمُوا الْجَمْرَةَ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْس»

(O my sons, do not stone the Jamarah until the sun has risen.) This was during the Farewell Pilgrimage in 10 AH.

ادْعُوهُمْ لاًّبَآئِهِمْ

(Call them by their fathers.) This is concerning Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him. He was killed in 8 AH at the battle of Mu'tah. In Sahih Muslim it is reported that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«يَابَنِي»

(O my son.)" It was also reported by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi.

فَإِن لَّمْ تَعْلَمُواْ ءَابَاءَهُمْ فَإِخوَانُكُمْ فِى الدِّينِ وَمَوَلِيكُمْ

(But if you know not their father's then they are your brothers in the religion and Mawalikum (your freed servants).) Here Allah commands that adopted sons should be given back their fathers' names, if they are known; if they are not known, then they should be called brothers in faith or freed servants, to compensate for not knowing what their real lineage is. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ left Makkah after performing his `Umrat Al-Qada', the daughter of Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with her, started following him, calling, "O uncle, O uncle!" `Ali took her and said to Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, "Take care of your uncle's daughter," so she picked her up. `Ali, Zayd and Ja`far -- may Allah be pleased with them -- disputed over of which of them was going to take care of her, and each of them gave his reasons. `Ali said, "I have more right, because she is the daughter of my paternal uncle." Zayd said, "She is the daughter of my brother." Ja`far bin Abi Talib said: "She is the daughter of my paternal uncle and I am married to her maternal aunt -- meaning Asma' bint `Umays." The Prophet ruled that she should stay with her maternal aunt, and said:

«الْخَالَةُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأُم»

(The maternal aunt has the same status as the mother.) He said to `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him,

«أَنْتَ مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْك»

(You belong to me and I belong to you.) He said to Ja`far, may Allah be pleased with him,

«أَشْبَهْتَ خَلْقِي وَخُلُقِي»

(You resemble me both in your looks and in your attitude.) And he said to Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him,

«أَنْتَ أَخُونَا وَمَوْلَانَا»

(You are our brother and our freed servant.) This Hadith contains a number of rulings, the most important of which is that the Prophet ruled according to the truth, and that he sought to appease all the disputing parties. His saying to Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him,

«أَنْتَ أَخُونَا وَمَوْلَانَا»

(You are our brother and our freed servant.) is as Allah says in this Ayah:

فَإِخوَانُكُمْ فِى الدِّينِ وَمَوَلِيكُمْ

(your brothers in faith and your freed servants. ) Then Allah says:

وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَآ أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ

(And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake,) meaning, if you call one of them after someone who is not in fact his father, by mistake, after trying your best to find out his parentage, then Allah will not attach any sin to this mistake. This is like the Ayah in which Allah commands His servants to say:

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا

(Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error) (2:286). It was reported in Sahih Muslim that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«قَالَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: قَدْ فَعَلْت»

(Allah says, "Certainly I did (so).") In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it was recorded that `Amr bin Al-`As, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِذَا اجْتَهَدَ الْحَاكِمُ فَأَصَابَ فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ، وَإِنِ اجْتَهَدَ فَأَخْطَأَ فَلَهُ أَجْر»

(If the judge makes Ijtihad and reaches the right decision, he will have two rewards; if he makes Ijtihad and reaches the wrong decision, he will have one reward.) In another Hadith:

«إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالى رَفَعَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي الْخَطَأَ وَالنِّسْيَانَ وَمَا يُكْرَهُونَ عَلَيْه»

(Allah will forgive my Ummah for mistakes, forgetfulness and what they are forced to do.) And Allah says here:

وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَآ أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَـكِن مَّا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) meaning, the sin is on the person who deliberately does something wrong, as Allah says elsewhere:

لاَّ يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ اللَّهُ بِالَّلغْوِ فِى أَيْمَـنِكُمْ

(Allah will not call you to account for that which is unintentional in your oaths) (2:225). Imam Ahmad narrated from Ibn `Abbas that `Umar said: "Allah sent Muhammad ﷺ with the Truth and revealed to him the Book. One of the things that was revealed in it was the Ayah of stoning, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stoned adulterers and we stoned them after he died." Then he said, "We also used to recite, `Do not attribute yourselves to anyone other than your fathers, for this is disbelief, to attribute yourselves to anyone other than your fathers."' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«لَا تُطْرُونِي كَمَا أُطْرِيَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا عَبْدُاللهِ، فَقُولُوا: عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُه»

(Do not exaggerate in praising me as `Isa bin Maryam was praised upon him be peace and blessings. I am just a servant of Allah. Say, "He is His servant and Messenger.") Or Ma`mar may have said:

«كَمَا أَطْرَتِ النَّصَارَى ابْنَ مَرْيَم»

(As the Christians praised the son of Maryam. ) This was also narrated in another Hadith:

«ثَلَاثٌ فِي النَّاسِ كُفْرٌ: الطَّعْنُ فِي النَّسَبِ، وَالنِّيَاحَةُ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ، وَالْاسْتِسْقَاءُ بِالنُّجُوم»

(Three things that people do are parts of disbelief: slandering a person's lineage, wailing over the dead and seeking rain by the stars.)

God has not placed two hearts inside any man this was revealed in order to refute those disbelievers who said that they each had two hearts with which they could reason better than Muhammad’s single mind; nor has He made your wives whom read as allā’ī or allā’ you repudiate by zihār read tazzahharūna or tuzāhirūna; the original tā’ of tatazāharūna has been assimilated with the zā’ — a man would say to his wife for example ‘You are for me as untouchable as my mother’s back’ — your mothers in other words He has not made you wives like your mothers so that they are illicit for conjugality in that respect a practice which in pre-Islamic times was considered a valid form of divorce. An atonement with necessary conditions is necessary in such a case as mentioned in sūrat al-Mujādila Q. 582-3. Nor has He made those whom you claim as adopted sons ad‘iyā’ the plural of da‘iyy which is one claimed as the son of one who is not his biological father your sons in reality. That is a mere utterance of your mouths namely of the Jews and the hypocrites. When the Prophet s married Zaynab bt. Jahsh who had been Zayd b. Hāritha’s wife the adopted son of the Prophet s they said ‘Muhammad married his son’s wife!’ and so God proved them liars in this. But God speaks the truth in this matter and He guides to the way the way of truth.

Commentary

Previous verses carried instructions to the Holy Prophet ﷺ asking him not to act upon their advice and not to be cajoled into what they wanted to achieve. In the cited verses, there is a refutation of three customs prevailing among disbelievers as well as of their false notions.

(1) During jahiliyyah, Arabs used to say about a person who was smarter than others that he had two hearts in his chest cage.

(2) Then they had a custom about their wives following which a person would declare his wife to be like the back of his mother, or some other part of the body, and go on to say, 'you are, for me, like the back of my mother.' This, in their usage, was called "Zihar." It is a derivation from: Zahr, which means 'back'. They thought that if a person who had done "Zihr" with his wife, she becomes haram (unlawful) to him forever.

(3) And then they had another custom under which one person would make the son of another his so-called or adopted son and who so would take a son in that manner, the boy would become known as 'his' son and would be addressed as such. According to their practice, this so-called or adopted son used to be recognized in all rules and regulations as a 'real' son. For instance, he would be regarded as a sharer even in inheritance, like a real offspring along with the children from his loins. Then, they would also regard the marriage relations of the so-called or adopted son as falling under the standard rule whereby the marriage with a category of certain women is unlawful. For example, as marriage with the wife of one's real son remains unlawful even after he has divorced her, they also took the divorced wife of the so-called or adopted son to be unlawful for that person.

Since the first of the three notions of the period of Jahiliyyah were not tied up with religious belief or conduct, therefore, the Shari'ah of Islam had no need to refute it. To determine whether there is just the one heart inside the chest or, may be, there are two as well was simply a case of anatomical inquiry. That it was obviously false was known to everyone. Therefore, most likely, the matter of its refutation was also introduced as a prologue to the other two issues and it was said: The way false is the saying of the people of Jahiliyyah - that 'someone could have two hearts in his chest', the falsity of which is known to everyone - similarly, false are their notions in the matters of Zihar (falsely declaring one's wife unlawful to him like his mother) and adoption of sons.

As for the injunctions governing the two issues of Zihar and adopted son, these are among the social and familial issues that have a great importance in Islam - to the extent that even their subsidiary details have been given in the Qur'an by Allah Ta’ ala Himself. unlike other matters, this has not been left at the declaration of principles only with its detailed enunciation entrusted with the Holy Prophet t. Regarding both these issues, the people of Jahiliyyah, following their baseless whims, had a bunch of self-made laws relating to the lawful and the unlawful, the permissible and the impermissible. It was the duty of the True Religion that it should refute these false notions and make the truth manifest. Therefore, it was said:i It means: 'You are wrong in thinking that, should someone call his wife the equal or like of his mother, the wife does not go on to become unlawful for him forever like his real mother. Just because you say so, a wife does not become a mother, in reality. Your mother is but she who gave birth to you.' Now, at least, the notion of the people of Jahiliyyah that Zihar makes one's wife unlawful for ever is refuted by this verse. What happens next? Does saying so bring about any legal effect? The standing injunction in this connection appears in Surah al-Mujadalah [ 58:2-4] where saying so has been called a sin and abstention from it obligatory. And it is provided there that he who has made such a declaration should offer a kaffarah (expiation) of having done zihar after which having intercourse with his wife becomes lawful for him. The details of this issue will appear in the Commentary on Surah al-Mujadalah (Ma` ariful-Qur'an, Volume VIII).

The second issue was that of the mutabanna, i.e adopted son. About that, it was said: وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَاءَكُمْ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ (nor did he make your adopted sons your (real) sons - 4). The word: اَدعِیَاء (ad'iya' ) is the plural of: دَعِیُّ (da'iyy) which means a so-called son. The sense is that the way no man has two hearts inside him and the way by likening one's wife to one's mother, the wife does not become the mother - similarly, the so-called son does not become your real son. In other words, neither will he be entitled to a share in inheritance with other sons, nor the precepts of the unlawfulness of marriage will apply to him. For example, the way the divorced wife of a real son is unlawful for his father forever, the divorced wife of an adopted son is not unlawful for his so-called father. Since this last matter affects many other matters, therefore, it was complimented by another injunction, that is, even an adopted son should be attributed to his real father, and not to the person who has adopted him - because, this spells out the danger of misgiving and confusion creeping in many matters.

There is a hadith from Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar ؓ appearing in al-Bukhari, Muslim and others in which it has been said: 'Before the revelation of this verse, we used to call Zayd Ibn Harithah by the name of Zayd Ibn Muhammad (because the Holy Prophet ﷺ had taken him in as his mutabanna, adopted son). After the revelation of this verse, we abandoned this practice.'

Ruling

This tells us about many people who call the children of others as 'son' which, if because of simple affection, not because of declaring him an adopted son or a mutabanna , then, this would though be permissible, still, it is not the better choice, because it looks like violating the prohibition, at least in appearance. (As in Ruh a1-Ma` ni from al-Khafaji Ala al-Baidawi)

And this is the same matter which, by throwing the Quraish of Arabia into deception, led them to commit a sin of terribly serious proportions to the extent that they started blaming the Holy Prophet t by saying that he had married the divorced wife of his 'son', while in fact, he was not his son, but only a mutabanna (adopted son) - something that will be mentioned in this very Surah a little later.

(Allah hath not assigned unto any man two hearts within his body�) [33:4]. This verse was revealed about Jamil ibn Ma'mar al-Fihri who was a sensible man who memorised whatever he heard. The Quraysh said: �He could not have memorised all these things unless he had two hearts�. Labib used to say: �I have two hearts and my perception by means of either one of them is better than the perception of Muhammad�. When the Battle of Badr took place and the idolaters were defeated, Abu Sufyan met Jamil ibn Ma'mar, who had accompanied the idolaters. Jamil was wearing one shoe and holding the other shoe in his hand. Abu Sufyan asked him: �What is the state of people?� He said: �They were defeated�. Abu Sufyan asked him again: �But why are you wearing one shoe and holding the other in your hand?� Jamil said: �I thought I was wearing both shoes�. On that day, people knew that he would not have forgotten his shoe in his hand if he really had two hearts. (hath He made those whom ye claim (to be your sons) your sons) [33:4]. This verse was revealed about Zayd ibn Harithah. He was a slave of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, but he freed him and adopted him before he was sent as a Prophet. When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, married Zaynab bint Jahsh, who was the divorcee of Zayd ibn Harithah, the Jews and hypocrites said: �Muhammad has married the wife of his son while forbidding people from doing the same!� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. Sa'id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Nu'aym al-Ishkabi informed us> al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Makhlid> Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Thaqafi> Qutaybah ibn Sa'id> Ya'qub ibn 'Abd al-Rahman> Musa ibn 'Uqbah> Salim> 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar who used to say: �We did not use to call Zayd ibn Harithah with any other name except Zayd ibn Muhammad until the Qur'an revealed (Proclaim their real parentage. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah) [33:5]�. This was narrated by Bukhari> Mu'alla ibn Asad> 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Mukhtar> Musa ibn 'Uqbah.