Sura-33 [Al Ahzab madina 90]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا
النَّبِيُّ
اتَّقِ اللَّهَ
وَلَا تُطِعِ
الْكَافِرِينَ
وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ...
33:1. O Prophet! Fear Allah, and hearken not to the Unbelievers and the Hypocrites:
C3666. The fifth year A.H. was a critical year in the external history of early Islam, and this Surah must be read in the light of the events that then took place.
As explained in the Introduction, the Grand Confederacy against Islam came and invested Madinah and failed utterly. It consisted of the Makkan Unbelievers, the desert Arabs of Central Arabia, the Jews previously expelled for treachery from Madinah, the Jews remaining in Madinah and the Hypocrites led by Abdullah ibn Ubi, who have already been described in 9:43-110.
Their bond of union was the common hatred of Islam, and it snapped under the reverses they met with. It is important to note three points.
1. The Jews as a body now lost their last chance of bearing the standard of Islam: the best of them had already accepted the renewal of Allah's Message.
2. A definite status was given to Prophet's household, after the slanders on Hadhrat Aisha had been stilled (24:11-26), and the true position of the Mothers of the Believers had been cleared.
3. A further exposition of the purity of sex relation was given, based on the story of Hadhrat Zaynab, the "Mother of the Poor". These points will be referred to in later notes.
...إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا ﴿١﴾
verily Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.
وَاتَّبِعْ
مَا يُوحَى
إِلَيْكَ مِن
رَّبِّكَ...
33:2. But follow that which comes to thee by inspiration from thy Lord:
...إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا ﴿٢﴾
for Allah is well acquainted with (all) that ye do.
C3667. In the most adverse circumstances, in the midst of the assaults of Evil, the plots of treason and hypocrisy, the darts of slanders and false charges, and stupid superstitions and taboos, the Prophet of Allah should steer his course steadily according to Allah's Law and not fear human evil, in whatever form it appears.
Men may misjudge, but Allah knows all. Men may try to overthrow Good, but Wisdom is with Allah. (R).
وَتَوَكَّلْ
عَلَى اللَّهِ
وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ
وَكِيلًا ﴿٣﴾
33:3. And put thy trust in Allah, and enough is Allah, as a Disposer of affairs.
C3668. We must wholly trust Allah; He is the true and efficient Guardian of all interests.
مَّا
جَعَلَ
اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ
مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ
فِي جَوْفِهِ...
33:4. Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his (one) body:
C3669. "Two hearts in his (one) breast": two inconsistent attitudes:
- such as serving Allah and Mammon; or
- subscribing to both Truth and Superstition; or
- hypocritically pretending one thing and intending another.
Such a thing is against Allah's Law and Will.
Apart from the condemnation of general hypocrisy, two pagan customs of the Times of Ignorance are mentioned, and their iniquity pointed out.
See the notes 3670 and 3671.
Nor can a man love two women with equal love; hence the injustice of marrying more than one wife; see the second clause in 4:3. (R).
...وَمَا جَعَلَ أَزْوَاجَكُمُ اللَّائِي تُظَاهِرُونَ مِنْهُنَّ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ...
nor has He made your wives whom ye divorce by Zihar your mothers:
C3670. This was an evil Arab custom, by which the husband selfishly deprived his wife of her conjugal rights and yet kept her to himself like a slave without her being free to remarry. He pronounced words importing that she was like his mother. After that she could not demand conjugal rights but was not free from his control and could not contract another marriage.
See also 58:1-5. where this is condemned in the strongest terms and punishment is provided for it.
A man sometimes said such words in a fit of anger; they did not affect him, but they degraded her position.
...وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَاءكُمْ أَبْنَاءكُمْ...
nor has He made your adopted sons your sons.
C3671. If a man called another's son "his son", it might create complications with natural and normal relationships if taken too literally.
It is pointed out that it is only a facon de parler in men's mouths, and should not be taken literally. The truth is the truth and cannot be altered by men's adopting "sons".
"Adoption" in the technical sense is not allowed in Muslim Law.
Those who have been "wives of your sons proceeding from your loins" are within the Prohibited Degrees of marriage; 4:23: but this does not apply to "adopted" sons.
...ذَلِكُمْ قَوْلُكُم بِأَفْوَاهِكُمْ...
Such is (only) your (manner of) speech by your mouths.
...وَاللَّهُ يَقُولُ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ يَهْدِي السَّبِيلَ ﴿٤﴾
But Allah tells (you) the Truth, and He shows the (right) Way.
Asad’s Version:
In The Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
33:1 O PROPHET! Remain conscious of God, and defer not to the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites: for God is truly all-knowing, wise.
(33:2) And follow [but] that which comes unto thee through revelation from thy Sustainer: 1 for God is truly aware of all that you do, [O men].
(33:3) And place thy trust in God [alone]: for none is as worthy of trust as God.
NEVER has God endowed any man with two hearts in one body: 2 and [just as] He has never made your wives whom you may have declared to be "as unlawful to you as your mothers' bodies" [truly] your mothers, 3 so, too, has He never made your adopted sons [truly] your sons: 4 these are but [figures of] speech uttered by your mouths - whereas God speaks the [absolute] truth: 5 and it is He alone who can show [you] the right path.
[[ Asad’s notes -
1 Lit., "what is revealed to thee from thy Sustainer" - indicating that He is the source of all revelation.
2 Lit., "within him". In the first instance, this connects with the preceding passage, implying that man cannot be truly conscious of God and at the same time defer to the views of "the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites" (Razi) Beyond this, however, the above sentence forms a conceptual link with the sequence, which states that it is against the God- willed laws of nature - and, therefore, unreasonable and morally inadmissible - to attribute to one and the same person two mutually incompatible
roles within the framework of human relationships (Zamakhshari).
3 This is a reference to the pre-islamic Arabian custom called zihar, whereby a husband could divorce his wife by simply declaring, "Thou art [henceforth as unlawful] to me as my mother's back", the term zahr ("back") being in this case a metonym for "body". In pagan Arab society, this mode of divorce was considered final and irrevocable; but a woman thus divorced was not allowed to remarry, and had to remain forever in her former husband's custody. As is evident from the first four verses of surah 58 (Al-Mujadalah) - which was revealed somewhat earlier than the present surah - this cruel pagan custom had already been abolished by the time of the revelation of the above verse, and is
mentioned here only as an illustration of the subsequent dictum that the "figures of speech [lit., "your sayings"] which you utter with your mouths" do not necessarily coincide with the reality of human relations.
4 I.e., in the sense of blood relationship: hence, the marriage restrictions applying to real sons - and, by obvious implication, daughters as well do not apply to adoptive children. This statement has a definite bearing on verses 37 ff below.
5 Sc, by bringing into being the factual, biological relationship of parent and child in distinction from all man-made, social relationships like husband and wife, or foster-parent and adoptive child. In this connection it should be borne in mind that the Qur'an frequently uses the metaphor of God's "speech" to express His creative activity. ]]
Yuksel 33:3 Put your trust in God. God suffices as an advocate.
33:4 God did not make any man with two hearts in his body. Nor did He make your wives whom you estrange to be as your mothers. Nor did He make your adopted children to be your sons. Such is what you claim with your mouths, but God speaks the truth, and He guides to the path.*