Prohibition
(At-Tahrîm)

1O prophet! why do you hold to be forbidden that which Allah has
made lawful to you? You seek to please your consorts. But Allah is often
forgiving, most merciful.1

2Allah has already ordained for you the dissolution of your
oaths: and Allah is your protector and He is full of knowledge and wisdom.2

3When the prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his
consorts and she then divulged it and Allah made it known to him, he
confirmed part thereof and repudiated a part. Then when he told her thereof
she said “Who told you this?” He said “He told me who knows and is well
acquainted with all things.”

1. The following Hadith is what this verse
refers to: Sahih Al-Bukhari’s Hadith 7.193

Narrated by Aisha: Allah’s Apostle was fond of honey and sweet edible things
and (it was his habit) that after finishing the ‘Asr prayer he would visit
his wives and stay with one of them at that time. Once he went to Hafsa, the
daughter of ‘Umar and stayed with her more than usual. I got jealous and
asked the reason for that. I was told that a lady of her folk had given her
a skin filled with honey as a present, and that she made a syrup from it and
gave it to the Prophet to drink (and that was the reason for the delay).

I said, “By Allah we will play a trick on him (to prevent him from doing
so).” So I said to Sauda bint Zam’a “The Prophet will approach you, and when
he comes near you, say: ‘Have you taken Maghafir (a bad-smelling gum)?’ He
will say, ‘No.’ Then say to him: ‘Then what is this bad smell which I smell
from you?’

He will say to you, ‘Hafsa made me drink honey syrup.’ Then say: Perhaps the
bees of that honey had sucked the juice of the tree of Al-’Urfut.’ I shall
also say the same. O you, Safiyya, say the same.” Later Sauda said, “By
Allah, as soon as he (the Prophet ) stood at the door, I was about to say to
him what you had ordered me to say because I was afraid of you.” So when the
Prophet came near Sauda, she said to him, “O Allah’s Apostle! Have you taken
Maghafir?” He said, “No.” She said, “Then what is this bad smell which I
detect on you?” He said, “Hafsa made me drink honey syrup.” She said,
“Perhaps its bees had sucked the juice of Al-’Urfut tree.” When he came to
me, I also said the same, and when he went to Safiyya, she also said the
same. And when the Prophet again went to Hafsa, she said, ‘O Allah’s
Apostle! Shall I give you more of that drink?” He said, “I am not in need of
it.” Sauda said, “By Allah, we deprived him (of it).” I said to her, “Keep
quiet.”

Maulana Ali points
to a different story regarding Mary the Copt, who was an Egyptian wife of
the prophet and because of that was looked down upon and for this reason the
wives of the prophet conspired against him to at least prevent him from
going to Mary’s house. Muhammad gave in to the trickery of his wives and
this verse speaks about what he did which he should not have done for the
fear of his wives.

2. Once an oath is given, one is bound to keep
the words of the oath, but here Allah is making an exception for men, not
women. The Bible says that God does not favor those who make foolish oaths;
Ecclesiastes 5:4: “When
you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in
fools. Pay what you vow.”
In comparison to the Qur’an, God will not tolerate men from taking an oath
and getting out of the oath.

4If you two turn in repentance to Him, your hearts are indeed so
inclined; but if you back up each other against him, truly, Allah is his
protector and Gabriel and every righteous one among those who believe, and
furthermore, the angels will back him up.

5It may be if he divorced you, that Allah will give him in
exchange consorts better than you who submit, who believe, who are devout,
who turn to Allah in repentance, who worship, who travel, and fast,
previously married or virgins.

6O you who believe! save yourselves and your families from a fire
whose fuel is men and stones over which are angels stern and severe who
flinch not from executing the commands they receive from Allah but do what
they are commanded.

7“O you unbelievers! make no excuses this day! You are being but
requited for all that you did!”

8O you who believe! turn to Allah with sincere repentance: in the
hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to gardens
beneath which rivers flow, the day that Allah will not permit to be
humiliated the prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run
forward before them and by their right hands while they say “Our Lord!
perfect our light for us and grant us forgiveness; for You have power over
all things.”

9O prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the
hypocrites and be firm against them. Their abode is hell, an evil refuge
indeed.3

10Allah sets forth for an example to the unbelievers, the wife of
Noah and the wife of Lut: they were under two of Our righteous servants, but
they were false to their and they profited nothing before Allah on their
account but were told: “Enter you the fire along with others that enter!”4

3. If Muhammad is the Holy Spirit who was to
come, why is he being told to strive (fight) against unbelievers and the
hypocrites instead of convicting them of sin, righteousness and judgment.
Jesus said that that will be the work of the Holy Spirit when he comes; John
16:8: “When he comes,
he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.”
Muhammad's commission was to be firm against the non-Muslims, something not
shared by the Holy Spirit.

4. The wife of Lot became a pillar of salt, not
so the wife of Noah. There is no Biblical support for this claim by Allah.

[Commentary continues below.]

11And Allah sets forth as an example to those who believe, the
wife of Pharaoh: Behold she said: “O my Lord! build for me in nearness to
You a mansion in the garden and save me from Pharaoh and his doings and save
me from those that do wrong”;

12And Mary the daughter of Imran who guarded her chastity; and We
breathed into her of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words
of her Lord and of His revelations and was one of the devout servants.5