33:50 Al-Ahzaab (The Clans)

يقول تعالى، ممتنًا على رسوله بإحلاله له ما أحل مما يشترك فيه، هو والمؤمنون، وما ينفرد به، ويختص: { يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ } أي: أعطيتهن مهورهن، من الزوجات، وهذا من الأمور المشتركة بينه وبين المؤمنين، [فإن المؤمنين] كذلك يباح لهم ما آتوهن أجورهن، من الأزواج.{ و } كذلك أحللنا لك { مَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ } أي: الإماء التي ملكت { مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ } من غنيمة الكفار من عبيدهم، والأحرار من لهن زوج منهم، ومن لا زوج لهن، وهذا أيضا مشترك.وكذلك من المشترك، قوله { وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالَاتِكَ } شمل العم والعمة، والخال والخالة، القريبين والبعيدين، وهذا حصر المحللات.يؤخذ من مفهومه، أن ما عداهن من الأقارب، غير محلل، كما تقدم في سورة النساء، فإنه لا يباح من الأقارب من النساء، غير هؤلاء الأربع، وما عداهن من الفروع مطلقًا، والأصول مطلقًا، وفروع الأب والأم، وإن نزلوا، وفروع من فوقهم لصلبه، فإنه لا يباح.وقوله { اللَّاتِي هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ } قيد لحل هؤلاء للرسول، كما هو الصواب من القولين، في تفسير هذه الآية، وأما غيره عليه الصلاة والسلام، فقد علم أن هذا قيد لغير الصحة.{ و } أحللنا لك { وَامْرَأَةً مُؤْمِنَةً إِنْ وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ } بمجرد هبتها نفسها.{ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَنْ يَسْتَنْكِحَهَا } أي: هذا تحت الإرادة والرغبة، { خَالِصَةً لَكَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ } يعني: إباحة الموهبة وأما المؤمنون، فلا يحل لهم أن يتزوجوا امرأة، بمجرد هبتها نفسها لهم.{ قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ } أي: قد علمنا ما على المؤمنين، وما يحل لهم، وما لا يحل، من الزوجات وملك اليمين. وقد علمناهم بذلك، وبينا فرائضه.فما في هذه الآية، مما يخالف ذلك، فإنه خاص لك، لكون اللّه جعله خطابًا للرسول وحده بقوله: { يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ } إلى آخر الآية.وقوله: { خَالِصَةً لَكَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ } وأبحنا لك يا أيها النبي ما لم نبح لهم، ووسعنا لك ما لم نوسع على غيرك، { لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ } وهذا من زيادة اعتناء اللّه تعالى برسوله صلى اللّه عليه وسلم.{ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا } أي: لم يزل متصفًا بالمغفرة والرحمة، وينزل على عباده من مغفرته ورحمته، وجوده وإحسانه، ما اقتضته حكمته، ووجدت منهم أسبابه.

يقول تعالى مخاطبا نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم بأنه قد أحل له من النساء أزواجه اللاتي أعطاهن مهورهن وهى الأجور ههنا كما قاله مجاهد وغير واحد وقد كان مهره لنسائه اثنتي عشرة أوقية ونشأ وهو نصف أوقية فالجميع خمسمائة درهم إلا أم حبيبة بنت أبي سفيان فإنه أمهرها عنه النجاشي رحمه الله تعالى أربعمائة دينار وإلا صفية بنت حيي فإنه اصطفاها من سبي خيبر ثم أعتقها وجعل عتقها صداقها وكذلك جويرية بنت الحارث المصطلقية أدى عنها كتابتها إلى ثابت بن قيس بن شماس وتزوجها "0 أجمعين وقوله تعالى "وما ملكت يمينك مما أفاء الله عليك "أي وأباح لك التسري مما أخذت من المغانم وقد ملك صفية وجويرية فأعتقهما وتزوجهما وملك ريحانه بنت شمعون النضرية ومارية القبطية أم ابنه إبراهيم عليهما السلام وكانتا من السراري رضي الله عنهما وقوله تعالى: "وبنات عمك وبنات عماتك وبنات خالك وبنات خالاتك "الآية هذا عدل وسط بين الإفراط والتفريط فإن النصارى لا يتزوجون المرأة إلا إذا كان الرجل بينه وبينها سبعة أجداد فصاعدا واليهود يتزوج أحدهم بنت أخيه وبنت أخته فجاءت هذه الشريعة الكاملة الطاهرة بهدم إفراط النصارى فأباح بنت العم والعمة وبنت الخال والخالة وتحريم ما فرطت فيه اليهود من إباحة بنت الأخ والأخت وهذا شنيع فظيع وإنما قال "وبنات عمك وبنات عماتك وبنات خالك وبنات خالاتك "فوحد لفظ الذكر لشرفه وجمع الإناث لنقصهن كقوله: "عن اليمين والشمائل " "يخرجهم من الظلمات إلى النور" وجعل الظلمات والنور "وله نظائر كثيرة وقوله تعالي: "اللاتي هاجرن معك "قال ابن أبي حاتم رحمه الله حدثنا محمد بن عمار بن الحارث الرازي حدثنا عبيد الله بن موسى حدثنا إسرائيل عن السدي عن أبي صالح عن أم هانئ قالت خطبني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فاعتذرت إليه فعذرني ثم أنزل الله تعالى: "إنا أحللنا لك أزواجك اللاتي آتيت أجورهن وما ملكت يمينك مما أفاء الله عليك وبنات عمك وبنات عماتك وبنات خالك وبنات خالاتك اللاتي هاجرن معك "قالت فلم أكن أحل له لم أكن ممن هاجر معه كنت من الطلقاء ورواه ابن جرير عن أبي كريب عن عبيد الله بن موسى به ثم رواه ابن أبي حاتم من حديث إسماعيل بن أبي خالد عن أبي صالح عنها بنحوه ورواه الترمذي في جامعه وهكذا قال أبو رزين وقتادة أن المراد من هاجر معه إلى المدينة وفي رواية عن قتادة "اللاتي هاجرن معك "أي أسلمن وقال الضحاك قرأ ابن مسعود "واللائي هاجرن من معك " وقوله تعالى "وامرأة مؤمنة إن وهبت نفسها للنبي إن أراد النبي أن يستنكحها خالصة لك "الآية أي ويحل لك أيها النبي المرأة المؤمنة إن وهبت نفس لك أن تتزوجها بغير مهر إن شئت ذلك وهذه الآية توالي فيها شرطان كقوله تعالى إخبارا عن نوح "إنه قال لقومه ولا ينفعكم نصحي إن أردت أن أنصح لكم إن كان الله يريد أن يغويكم "وكقول موسى "يا قوم إن كنتم آمنتم بالله فعليه توكلوا إن كنتم مسلمين "وقال ههنا "وامرأة مؤمنه إن وهبت نفسها للنبي "الآية وقد قال الإمام أحمد حدثنا إسحاق أخبرنا مالك عن أبي حازم عن سهل بن سعد الساعدي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم جاءته امرأة فقالت يا رسول الله إنى قد وهبت نفسي لك فقامت قياما طويلا فقام رجل فقال يا رسول الله زوجنيها إن لم يكن لك بها حاجة فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هل عندك من شيء تصدقها إياه؟ فقال ما عندي إلا إزاري هذا فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن أعطيتها إزارك جلست لا إزار لك فالتمس شيئا فقال لا أجد شيئا فقال التمس ولو خاتما من حديد فالتمس فلم يجد شيئا فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم هل معك من القرآن شيء؟ قال نعم سورة كذا وسورة كذا السور يسميها فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم زوجتكما: بما معك من القرآن أخرجاه من حديث مالك وقال الإمام أحمد حدثنا عفان حدثنا مرحوم سمعت ثابتا يقول: كنت مع أنس جالسا وعنده ابنه له فقال أني جاءت أمرأته إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالت يا نبي الله هل لك في حاجة فقالت ابنته ما كان أقل حياءها فقال هي خير منك رغبت في النبي فعرضت عليه نفسها انفرد بإخراجه البخاري من حديث مرحوم بن عبد العزيز عن ثابت البناني عن أنس به: وقال أحمد أيضا حدثنا عبد الله بن بكير حدثنا سنان بن ربيعة عن الحضرمي عن أنس بن مالك أن امرأة أتت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالت يا رسول الله ابنة لي كذا وكذا فذكرت من حسنها وجمالها فأثرتك بها فقال قد قبلتها فلم تزل تمدحها حتى ذكرت أنها لم تصدع ولم تشك شيئا قط فقال لا حاجة لي فى ابنتك لم يخرجوه وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا أبي حدثنا منصور بن أبي مزاحم حدثنا ابن أبي الوضاح يعني محمد بن مسلم عن هشام بن عروة عن أبيه عن عائشة قالت التي وهبت نفسها للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم خوله بنت حكيم وقال ابن وهب عن سعيد بن عبد الرحمن وابن أبي الزناد عن هشام بن عروة عن أبيه أن خولة بنت حكيم بن الأوقص من بني سليم كانت من اللاتي وهبن أنفسهن لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفي رواية له عن سعيد بن عبد الرحمن عن هشام عن أبيه كنا نتحدث أن خولة بنت حكيم كانت وهبت لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وكانت امرأة صالحة فيحتمل أن أم سليم هي خولة بنت حكيم أو هي امرأة أخـرى وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا محمد بن إسماعيل الأحمسي حدثنا وكيع حدثنا موسى بن عبيدة عن محمد بن كعب وعمر بن الحكم وعبد الله بن عبيدة قالوا: تزوج رسول الله ثلاث عشرة امرأة ستا من قريش: خديجة وعائشة وحفصة وأم حبيبة وسودة وأم سلمة وثلاثة من بني عامر بن صعصعة وامرأتين من بني هلال بن عامر ميمونه بنت الحارث وهي التي وهبت نفسها للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وزينب أم المساكين وامرأة من بني بكر بن كلاب من القرظيات وهي التي اختارت الدنيا وامرأة من بني الجون وهي التي استعاذت منه وزينب بنت جحش الأسدية والسبيتين صفية بنت حيي بن أخطب وجويرية بنت الحارث بن عمرو بن المصطلق الخزاعية وقال سعيد بن أبي عروبة عن قتادة عن ابن عباس "وامرأة مؤمنة إن وهبت نفسها للنبي "قال هي ميمونه بنت الحارث فيه انقطاع هو مرسل والمشهور أن زينب التي كانت تدعى أم المسلمين هي زينب بنت خزمة الأنصارية وقد ماتت عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في حياته فالله أعلم والغرض من هذا أن اللاتي وهبن أنفسهن للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كثير كما قال البخاري حدثنا زكريا بن يحيى حدثنا أبو أسامة قال حدثنا هشام بن عروة عن أبيه عن عائشة قالت كنت أغار من اللاتي وهبن أنفسهن للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأقول أتهب المرأة نفسها؟ فلما أنزل الله تعالى "ترجي من تشاء منهن وتؤوي إليك من تشاء ومن ابتغيت ممن عزلت فلا جناح عليك "قلت ما أرى ربك إلا يسارع في هواك وقد قال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا علي بن الحسين حدثنا محمد بن منصور الجعفي حدثنا يونس بن بكير عن عنبسة بن الأزهر عن سماك عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس قال لم يكن عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم امرأه وهبت نفسها له ورواه ابن جرير عن أبي كريب عن يونس بن بكير أي أنه لم يقبل واحدة ممن وهبت نفسها له وإن ذلك مباحا له ومخصوصا به لأنه مردود إلى مشيئته كما قال الله تعالى "إن أراد النبي أن يستنكحها "أي إن اختار ذلك وقوله تعالى "خالصة لك من دون المؤمنين "قال عكرمة أي لا تحل الموهوبة لغيرك ولو أن امرأة وهبت نفسها لرجل لم تحل له حتى يعطيها شيئا وكذا قال مجاهد والشعبي وغيرهما أي إنها إذا فوضت المرأة نفسها إلى رجل فإنه متى دخل بها وجب عليه بها مهر مثلها كما حكم به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في تزويج بنت واشق لما فوضت فحكم لها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بصداق مثلها لما توفي عنها زوجها والموت والدخول سواء في تقرير المهر وثبوت مهر المثل في المفوضة لغير النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأما هو عليه السلام فإنه لا يجب عليه للمفوضة شيء ولو دخل بها لأن له أن يتزوج بغير صداق ولا ولي ولا شهود كما في قصة زينب بنت جحش رضي الله عنها ولهذا قال قتادة في قوله "خالصة لك من دون المؤمنين "يقول ليس لامرأة تهب نفسها لرجل بغير ولي ولا مهر إلا للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وقوله تعالى "قد علمنا ما فرضنا عليهم في أزواجهم وما ملكت أيمانهم "قال أبي بن كعب ومجاهد والحسن وقتادة وابن جرير في قوله "قد علمنا ما فرضنا عليهم في أزواجهم "أي من حصرهم في أربع نسوة حرائر وما شاءوا س الإماء واشتراط الولي والمهر والشهود عليهم وهم الأمة وقد رخصنا لك فلم نوجب عليك شيئا منه "لكيلا يكون عليك حرج وكان الله غفورا رحيما ".

The Women who are Lawful for the Prophet

Allah says, addressing His Prophet that He has made lawful for him of women his wives to whom he has given the dowery, which is what is meant by "their due", which is used here, as was stated by Mujahid and others. The dowery which he gave to his wives was twelve and half `Uqiyah (measures of gold) so they all received five hundred Dirhams except for Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan, to whom An-Najashi, may Allah have mercy on him, gave four hundred Dinars (on behalf of the Prophet ) Safiyyah bint Huyay, whom he chose from among the prisoners of Khaybar, then he set her free, making her release her dowery. A similar case was that of Juwayriyah bint Al-Harith Al-Mustalaqiyyah -- he paid off the contract to buy her freedom from Thabit bin Qays bin Shammas and married her. May Allah be pleased with them all.

وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّآ أَفَآءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ

(those (slaves) whom your right hand possesses whom Allah has given to you,) means, `the slave-girls whom you took from the war booty are also permitted to you.' He owned Safiyyah and Juwayriyah, then he manumitted them and married them, and he owned Rayhanah bint Sham`un An-Nadariyyah and Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah, the mother of his son Ibrahim, upon him be peace; they were both among the prisoners, may Allah be pleased with them.

وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّـتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَـلَـتِكَ

(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) This is justice which avoids going to either extreme, for the Christians do not marry a woman unless there are seven grandfathers between the man and the woman (i.e., they are very distantly related or not at all), and the Jews allow a man to marry his brother's daughter or his sister's daughter. So the pure and perfect Shari`ah came to cancel out the extremes of the Christians, and permitted marriage to the daughter of a paternal uncle or aunt, or the daughter of a maternal uncle or aunt, and forbade the excesses of the Jews who allowed marriage to the daughter of a brother or sister which is an abhorrent thing.

وَامْرَأَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِىِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِىُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ

(and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her -- a privilege for you only,) means, `also lawful for you, O Prophet, is a believing woman if she offers herself to you, to marry her without a dowery, if you wish to do so.' This Ayah includes two conditions. Imam Ahmad recorded from Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah, verily, I offer myself to you (for marriage)." She stood there for a long time, then a man stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you do not want to marry her." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«هَلْ عِنْدَكَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ تُصْدِقُهَا إِيَّاهُ؟»

(Do you have anything that you could give to her as a dowery) He said, "I have only this garment of mine." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنْ أَعْطَيْتَهَا إِزَارَكَ جَلَسْتَ لَا إِزَارَ لَكَ، فَالْتَمِسْ شَيْئًا»

(If you give her your garment, you will be left with no garment. Look for something.) He said, "I do not have anything." He said:

«الْتَمِسْ وَلَوْ خَاتَمًا مِنْ حَدِيد»

(Look for something, even if it is only an iron ring.) So he looked, but he could not find anything. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him:

«هَلْ مَعَكَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ شَيْءٌ؟»

(Do you have know anything of the Qur'an) He said, "Yes, Surah such and such and Surah and such," he named the Surahs. So, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«زَوَّجْتُكَهَا بِمَا مَعَكَ مِنَ الْقُرْآن»

(I marry her to you with what you know of the Qur'an.) It was also recorded by (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) from the Hadith of Malik. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded a narration from his father that `A'ishah said: "The woman who offered herself to the Prophet was Khawlah bint Hakim." Al-Bukhari recorded that `A'ishah said, "I used to feel jealous of those women who offered themselves to the Prophet and I said, `Would a woman offer herself' When Allah revealed the Ayah:

تُرْجِى مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِى إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ وَمَنِ ابْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ

(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you) I said, `I see that your Lord hastens to confirm your desires."' Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not have any wife who offered herself to him. " This was recorded by Ibn Jarir. In other words, he did not accept any of those who offered themselves to him, even though they were lawful for him -- a ruling which applied to him alone. The matter was left to his own choice, as Allah says:

إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِىُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا

(and if the Prophet wishes to marry her) meaning, if he chooses to do so.

خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers.) `Ikrimah said: "This means, it is not permissible for anyone else to marry a woman who offers herself to him; if a woman offers herself to a man, it is not permissible for him (to marry her) unless he gives her something." This was also the view of Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi and others. In other words, if a woman offers herself to a man, when he consummates the marriage, he has to give her a dowery like that given to any other woman of her status, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled in the case of Barwa` bint Washiq when she offered herself in marriage; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled that she should be given a dowery that was appropriate for a woman like her after her husband died. Death and consummation are the same with regard to the confirmation of the dowery, and the giving of a dowery appropriate to the woman's status in the case of those who offer themselves to men other than the Prophet is an established ruling. With regard to the Prophet himself, he is not obliged to give a dowery to a woman who offers herself to him, even if he consummated the marriage, because he has the right to marry without a dowery, Wali (representative) or witnesses, as we have seen in the story of Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her. Qatadah said, concerning the Ayah:

خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers.) no woman has the right to offer herself to any man without a Wali or a dowery, except to the Prophet .

قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِى أَزْوَجِهِـمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـنُهُمْ

(Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (servants) whom their right hands possess,) Ubayy bin Ka`b, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ibn Jarir said, concerning the Ayah:

قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِى أَزْوَجِهِـمْ

(Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives) means, `concerning the limiting of their number to four free women, and whatever they wish of slave-girls, and the conditions of a representative, dowery and witnesses to the marriage. This is with regard to the Ummah (the people), but We have granted an exemption in your case and have not imposed any of these obligations upon you.'

لِكَيْلاَ يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.)

O Prophet! Indeed We have made lawful for you your wives whom you have given their dowries and what your right hand owns of those whom God has given you as spoils of war from the disbelievers whom you have taken captive such as Safiyya and Juwayriyya 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 as opposed to those who did not emigrate and any believing woman if she gift herself in marriage to the Prophet and if the Prophet desire to take her in marriage and ask for her hand in marriage without paying her a dowry — a privilege for you exclusively not for the rest of the believers nikāh ‘marriage’ when expressed by the term hiba ‘gift’ denotes marriage without dowry. Indeed We know what We have imposed upon them namely the believers with respect to their wives in the way of rulings to the effect that they should not take more than four wives and should only marry with the consent of a legal guardian the presence of witnesses and the payment of a dowry and with respect to what their right hands own of slavegirls in the way of purchase or otherwise so that the handmaiden be one lawful for her master such as a slavegirl belonging to the People of the Scripture kitābiyya and not a Magian or an idolater and that she should be ascertained as not carrying child with the necessary waiting period istibrā’ before copulation; so that li-kaylā is semantically connected to what came before this last statement there may be no unnecessary restriction for you no constraint in marriage for you. And God is Forgiving of what is difficult to guard against Merciful in giving dispensations allowing for latitude in this respect.

Commentary

These verses contain seven injunctions about marriage and divorce that are specific to the Holy Prophet t and these specifics signify his distinctive eminence and his special honor. Some of these injunctions are such that their being specific to the Holy Prophet t is absolutely plain and obvious and some of them are such that, despite their being general for all Muslims, they are subject to certain conditions and qualifications that are specific to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The details are given below:

The First injunction

إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَ‌هُنَّ (0 prophet We have made lawful (halal) for you all your wives whom you have given their dowers - 50.) Apparently, this ruling is general for all Muslims, because their existing wives are lawful for them too, but the reason for its being specific is that, at the time of revelation of this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had more than four wives, while it is not permissible for Muslims in general to keep more than four wives at any time. So it was particular for the Holy Prophet ﷺ that having more than four wives was made lawful for him.

The words, اللَّاتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَ‌هُنَّ "whom you have given their dowers" in this verse are not of restrictive nature nor a pre-condition for permissibility of keeping them as wives, but it is a statement of fact that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had paid the mahr (dower) of all the women with whom he had performed nikah promptly in cash and did not leave it as debt payable by him. His noble practice was to pay or give whatever was due to him immediately and became free of the liability, without delaying it unnecessarily. The statement of this fact is to persuade Muslims in general to follow this practice.

The second Injunction

وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّـهُ عَلَيْكَ (And those (bond women) whom you own out of the captives Allah has given to you as spoils of war" ).

The word أَفَاءَ used here for the spoils of war is فَیٔ 'fai' which in its technical sense is restricted to the wealth acquired from the enemy without actual fighting. But at times it is used for the spoils of war acquired through actual fighting. Here the word is used in a general sense. Moreover, it does not mean that only those slave-girls will be lawful for him who would come to him as his share in the spoils of war, but the permissibility covers those bondwomen also who were purchased by him. But, apparently, in this injunction, there is nothing particular for the Holy Prophet ﷺ because this is a rule for all Muslims and the whole Ummah that those bondwomen whom they own as their share in the spoils of war or those who are purchased for a price are lawful for them. At the same time the style of the context indicates that the injunctions contained in these verses should have some special applications for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . As such it is stated in 'Ruh ul-Ma’ ani' as a particularity of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that just as the nikah of any of his wives with any other Muslim is not lawful after him, similarly any of his bondwomen is not lawful for any Muslim after him ﷺ . Accordingly the nikah of Sayyidah Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah ؓ who was sent by the Roman Emperor Muqauqis as gift to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، was not made lawful for anyone after him.

The third Injunction

بَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ The daughters of paternal uncle and of paternal aunts and the daughters of the maternal uncle and of maternal aunt have been made lawful for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This injunction includes all the women of his "father's family and of his mother's family". And this rule is, though, applicable to all Muslims in general, yet in the case of the Holy Prophet ﷺ it has been subjected to a condition imposed on him exclusively that they must have migrated with him from Makkah- not necessarily in his company or at the same time, but the words, "with you" are to denote that they should have migrated at any time in accordance with his command. If any of them did not migrate for any reason, they did not become lawful for him as was the case with Umm Hani' رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہا the daughter of his paternal uncle Abu Talib who, as per her statement, was not lawful for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، because she did not migrate from Makkah.

Migration being the condition of lawfulness for the Holy Prophet ﷺ was only with regard to the women of his parent's family. This condition was not applicable to other women in general - their being Muslim was enough. The wisdom in applying this condition of migration for the women of his parent's family was perhaps that the women of the family are proud of their family which is unbecoming for the wife of a prophet. This propensity was taken care of by imposing the condition of migration, because only that women would migrate whose love for Allah and His Messenger t prevails over her love for her family, home and property. Also, one has to suffer great difficulties during migration and these sufferings in the way of Allah have a special place in ones spiritual reform.

Fourth Injunction:

وَامْرَ‌أَةً مُّؤْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَ‌ادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

"And a believing woman who offers herself for (marrying) the prophet without dower if the prophet wishes to bring her into his marriage, these rules being exclusive for you, and not for the (rest of the) believers". (33:50)

The exclusiveness of this exception for the Holy Prophet ﷺ is absolutely obvious, because dower is an essential condition for the marriage of common Muslims, so much so that if, at the time of marriage, the woman says that she does not want any dower or the man says that he will not pay any dower, even this mutual agreement is considered by Shari'ah as null and void, and dower as prevalent in their families would become compulsory. Only the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been exclusively permitted to marry without dower when the woman is desirous of marriage with him without dower.

Scholars differ in determining whether the Holy Prophet ﷺ did actually marry a woman without dower who offered herself for marriage without dower. Some scholars say that marriage of the Holy Prophet t with a woman in this way is not proved, whereas some others have proved some such marriages (Ruh ul-Ma’ ani)

Some scholars have considered the sentence خَالِصَةً لَّكَ ( exclusively for you) to be specific to the fourth injunction, whereas some other commentators like Zamkhshri, etc., have applied it to all the injunctions mentioned before it, meaning that all the above mentioned rules are exclusively for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . And at the end it is stated ' لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَ‌جٌ which means that these injunctions have been made exclusive for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to save him from any difficulty. Of these exclusive rules mentioned above, the first rule wherein more than four wives have been allowed for him and the fourth rule that marriage without dower has been made lawful for him are obviously meant to facilitate and remove difficulties; but the second, third and fifth rules apparently add more conditions which should increase difficulty. But this is a hint that despite these conditions being apparently more strict, they are, in fact, for his good because in their absence he would have suffered from mental anguish. As such, even the additional conditions are to remove his difficulty.

Fifth Injunction:

The fifth injunction deduced from the words "believing women" in the above verses is that unlike the common Muslims who can marry the Christian or Jewish women, it is not permissible for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to marry them. It is necessary for him that his wives are Muslims.

After stating the exclusiveness of the five rules for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، the Holy Qur'an has briefly mentioned the rule for Muslims in general:

قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَ‌ضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ

"We know what We have prescribed for them in respect of their wives and the slave girls they own" - 50.

It means that the above mentioned rules are exclusive for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، but as for the marriage of other Muslims, Allah Knows what He has prescribed for them. For example, no Muslim can marry a woman without dower and a Muslim is allowed to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman. Similarly, the conditions in the previous rules determined to be obligatory for the Holy Prophet ﷺ are not applicable to other Muslims.

Towards the end, it is said, لِكَيْلَا يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَ‌جٌ (so that there should be no difficulty for you - 50). It means that these special injunctions in the matter of nikah for the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، were prescribed so that he does not face any difficulty. As for the restrictions and conditions imposed on the Holy Prophet ﷺ and not on other Muslims which appear to be difficult, but keeping in view the expedience and wisdom under which the restrictions were placed, those restrictions were, in fact, to remove the spiritual discomfort and embarrassment. So far five rules of marriage have been enunciated which have some exclusiveness for the Holy Prophet ﷺ Further on two rules have been stated which are related to the above five rules.