سورة الأحزاب

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whenever Jibra'il came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), he would sit before him and in his service like a slave before his master, and he never entered without the Prophet's permission.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When the time of Imam Hasan's (peace be upon him) death drew near, he said to Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): "O brother! Keep this bequest that I make to you. When I have departed from this world, prepare my body and take it to the presence of my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), so that I may renew my covenant with that noble one. Then take my body to the grave of my mother Zahra (peace be upon her), then bring my body back and bury it in Baqi. Be aware that soon a transgression from Aisha will befall my body, and the people will become aware of the deeds and behaviour and enmity of Aisha towards Allah and the Messenger and the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)." When Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) was martyred, they placed his body upon a bier and took it to the place where the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) used to pray over the deceased. When the prayer had been offered over the body of that noble one, his blessed body was brought into the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). When they held that blessed body over the grave of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), news reached Aisha that they had brought the body of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) to bury him beside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Aisha, while mounted upon a saddled mule — and Aisha was the first woman in Islam to ride upon a saddle — Aisha halted and said: "Take this body away from my house. For nothing should be buried in my house, nor should the sanctity of the Prophet of Allah be violated." Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) said: "You have previously violated the sanctity of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and brought into the house of that noble one someone whose nearness he did not love. O Aisha! For this you will bear responsibility before Allah. My brother Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) commanded me to bring him to his grandfather the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) so that he might renew his covenant with that noble one... O Aisha, know that my brother Hasan (peace be upon him) was more knowledgeable of Allah and the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) than the rest of the people, and more learned in the interpretation of Allah's Quran than to violate the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). For Allah the Exalted says: يا أَیُّهَا الَّذینَ آمَنُوا لا تَدْخُلُوا بُیُوتَ النَّبِیِّ إِلاَّ أَنْ یُؤْذَنَ لَکُم [O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you], whereas you brought men (the bodies of Abu Bakr and Umar) into his house without the permission of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)."

Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) [made this bequest to Imam Husayn (peace be upon him)]: O Husayn! I enjoin upon you concerning my household, my children, and your household, that you overlook the wrongdoing of any among them, accept the good deeds of any among them, and be to them as a father. Bury me beside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), for I have more right to him and to his house than those who entered his house without his permission; for after that great one, no Book was sent down to them. یَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُیُوتَ النَّبِیِّ إِلَّا أَن یُؤْذَنَ لَکُمْ [O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you]. By Allah, they were not permitted, during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), to enter his houses without permission, and no such permission came to them after his death either. But we, as the heirs of the great Prophet of Islam, have the right of disposition after him. However, if that woman (Aisha) prevents you, I adjure you by the right and the kinship which Allah has established for you with the Messenger of Allah, that you do not shed even a cupping-glass of blood on my account, until we meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and complain to him of the oppression and injustice the people did to us after him, and inform that great one of it." He said these words and was martyred. Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) called me together with Abdullah ibn Jafar and Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas, and said to us: 'Wash your cousin.' So we washed the body of Imam Hasan (peace be upon him), applied hanut, shrouded him, then brought him out of the washing place and into the mosque, and prayed over his body. Then Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) ordered that the door of the house be opened, but Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the family of Abu Sufyan, and those present from among the sons of Uthman ibn Affan prevented it and said: 'Shall Uthman, the martyr, be buried in the worst place, that is al-Baqi, while Hasan (peace be upon him) is buried beside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)?! This shall never come to pass unless spears and swords are broken between us and arrows are spent.' Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) said: 'Yes, by the right of that Allah who has honoured Mecca, indeed Hasan ibn Ali (peace be upon him), who is the son of Fatimah (peace be upon her), has more right to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) than those individuals (that is, Abu Bakr and Umar) who entered the house of that great one without permission.'"

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): یا أَیُّهَا الَّذینَ آمَنُوا لا تَدْخُلُوا بُیُوتَ النَّبِیِّ إِلاَّ أَنْ یُؤْذَنَ لَکُمْ إِلی طَعامٍ غَیْرَ ناظِرینَ إِناهُ وَ لکِنْ إِذا دُعیتُمْ فَادْخُلُوا فَإِذا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانْتَشِرُوا وَ لا مُسْتَأْنِسینَ لِحَدیثٍ إِنَّ ذلِکُمْ کانَ یُؤْذِی النَّبِیَّ فَیَسْتَحْیی مِنْکُمْ وَ اللهُ لا یَسْتَحْیی مِنَ الحَقِّ وَ إِذا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتاعاً فَسْئَلُوهُنَّ مِنْ وَراءِ حِجابٍ ذلِکُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِکُمْ وَ قُلُوبِهِنَّ وَ ما کانَ لَکُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَ لا أَنْ تَنْکِحُوا أَزْواجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَداً إِنَّ ذلِکُمْ کانَ عِنْدَ اللهِ عَظیماً [O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its preparation. But when you are invited, then enter, and when you have eaten, disperse, not seeking a talk to sit for. Indeed, that used to hurt the Prophet, and he was shy of you, but Allah is not shy of the truth. And when you ask them (his wives) for anything, ask them from behind a curtain; that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. It is not for you to hurt the Messenger of Allah, nor to marry his wives after him ever. Indeed, that is grievous with Allah]. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) married Zaynab bint Jahsh, whom he loved, he arranged a walimah on the occasion of the marriage and invited his companions.

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Ibn Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) married Zaynab bint Jahsh and arranged a wedding feast, and that feast was hays (a food made from dates, ghee and curd). He would invite ten of his companions at a time, and when they had finished eating they wished to talk with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and to seize the chance of gazing upon his face. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) wished that they would ease the burden so that he could be alone with the members of his household, for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had just wed and disliked that the believers should cause him distress. Thus Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed this verse: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَاظِرِينَ إِنَاهُ وَلَٰكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُوا فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانتَشِرُوا وَلَا مُسْتَأْنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ فَيَسْتَحْيِي مِنكُمْ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ [O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, without waiting for its cooking to be finished — but when you are invited, enter, and when you have eaten, disperse, not seeking to remain for talk. Indeed that used to trouble the Prophet, and he is shy of you, but Allah is not shy of the truth]. When this verse was revealed, after the people had eaten the food which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had prepared, they would leave the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) at once and go out. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) stayed with Zaynab bint Jahsh for seven days. Then he went to the house of Umm Salamah bint Abi Umayyah, and that night and the following morning he was with her. When the sun had risen high, Ali (peace be upon him) came to the door of that house and knocked very softly. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) recognised the sound of his knocking, but Umm Salamah denied that anyone had knocked. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Umm Salamah: "O Umm Salamah! Rise and open the door for him." Umm Salamah said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Who is he that he has such standing that I must rise and open the door for him, when only yesterday the verse وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ [And when you ask them (the wives of the Prophet) for anything, ask them from behind a curtain] was revealed concerning us (the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family))? So who is he that has such standing that I must go out to meet him with my adornments and my bracelets (the ornaments I wear on my head and hands)?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), his face flushed and angered, answered: "Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah (Nisa/80). Rise and open the door for him, for behind the door stands a man who is neither foolish nor light-headed, nor hasty in his affair. He loves Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), and Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) love him. He will not open the door until the sound of your footsteps has ceased and he is certain that you have returned behind the curtain." Umm Salamah rose without knowing who was behind the door, remembering only that description and praise of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) about him. She went towards the door, murmuring: "Bravo! Bravo to the man who loves Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), and whom Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) love." So Umm Salamah opened the door, and Ali (peace be upon him) took hold of the two door-posts and remained standing behind the door until the sound of Umm Salamah's footsteps ceased and she had gone into her inner chamber. Then Ali (peace be upon him) opened the door and entered and greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Umm Salamah! Do you know him?" Umm Salamah answered: "Yes, and may this description and praise be pleasing to him. He is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Abu Ali ibn Rashid and others, in a lengthy report, said that the Shia of Nishapur gathered and chose Muhammad ibn Ali al-Nishaburi and gave him thirty thousand dinars, fifty thousand dirhams, and a quantity of cloth. Shatita too brought one sound dirham and a piece of silk cloth she had woven herself, worth four dirhams, and said: "إِنَّ اللهَ لا یَسْتَحْیِی مِنَ الْحَقِّ [Indeed Allah is not ashamed of the truth]." I bent her dirham [because she could not put that single dirham in the special purse, so she inevitably bent it as a marker] ... Muhammad came to Medina and went to the Aftah, Abdullah ibn Ja'far, and tested him, and came out from him saying: "My Lord, guide me to the straight path!" He narrated: I was standing when a servant came to me and said: "Come to the one you seek, let us go!" He brought me to the house of Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him). As soon as he saw me, he said: "O Abu Ja'far! Why did you despair? And why did you take refuge with the Jews and the Christians? Come to me! I am the Hujjah of Allah and His Wali. Did not Abu Hamza introduce me to you at the door of my grandfather's mosque? Since yesterday I have answered all the questions you have brought with you in the volume. Bring me those monies, and Shatita's single dirham — the one whose weight is one dirham and two daniqs, which is in the purse containing four hundred dirhams belonging to al-Wazuri — together with that piece of her silk cloth which is placed in the packet of the two Balkhi brothers!" From the Imam's words my mind flew from my head. I brought everything he had commanded and placed it before him. He took Shatita's single dirham and the cloth. Then he turned to me and said: "إِنَّ اللهَ لا یَسْتَحْیِی مِنَ الْحَقِّ [Indeed Allah is not ashamed of the truth]. O Abu Ja'far! Convey my greetings to Shatita and give her this purse of money ...!"

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The reason for the revelation of the verse وَ ما کانَ لَکُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ [And it is not for you to hurt the Messenger of Allah] is this: when Allah revealed the verse "The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers [i.e. the mothers of the believers]" (Al-Ahzab/6), and Allah forbade the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to the Muslims, Talha became upset and said: "Muhammad forbids us his own wives, while he marries our women! If Allah causes Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to die, we will surely run among the anklets and ornaments of his wives [and marry them], just as he ran among the anklets of our women." It was thus that Allah revealed this verse: وَمَا کَانَ لَکُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَلَا أَن تَنکِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا إِنَّ ذَلِکُمْ کَانَ عِندَ اللهِ عَظِیمًا * إِن تُبْدُوا شَیْئًا أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ فَإِنَّ اللهَ کَانَ بِکُلِّ شَیْءٍ عَلِیمًا [And it is not for you to hurt the Messenger of Allah, nor to marry his wives after him ever; indeed that is with Allah a grievous thing. If you do a thing openly or do it in secret, then surely Allah is Cognizant of all things].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "If Allah had not, through the verse: وَ مَا کَانَ لَکُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَ لَا أَن تَنکِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا [It is not permissible for you to cause harm to the Messenger of Allah, nor ever to marry his wives after him], made the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) forbidden to the people, then by the reason of the verse: وَ لاَ تَنکِحُواْ مَا نَکَحَ آبَاؤُکُم مِّنَ النِّسَاء [And do not marry those women whom your fathers had married], marrying them would certainly have been forbidden upon Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) and Imam Husayn (peace be upon him); for a man cannot marry the wife of his grandfather."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): If a person is a believer, would he consider marriage with their mothers permissible? And the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) are, in terms of prohibition, like their mothers.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu al-Jarud said: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: 'We have enjoined upon man kindness to his parents.' (Ankabut/8)" He said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is one of the two parents." Abdullah ibn Ajlan said: "And who is the other?" He said: "Imam Ali (peace be upon him), and his women are forbidden to us. And this verse was revealed concerning us, and we are the referent of this verse."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): As for what you say — that they made permissible marriage with the close relatives (arham) whom Allah has forbidden in the Quran — this is because they supposed the intent was marriage with the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), since this act is a sign of honouring the right of Allah and of the dignity of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the respect of his followers for that noble one is this: وَ ما کانَ لَکُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَ لا أَنْ تَنْکِحُوا أَزْواجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَداً [It is not permissible for you to cause harm to the Messenger of Allah, nor ever to marry his wives after him] — that by their conduct they should not harm the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and should not marry the wives of that noble one.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Hasan al-Basri narrates: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) married a woman from the tribe of Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa'a named Sana, who was more beautiful than the women of her time. When Aisha and Hafsa laid eyes on her, they said: "This woman, with her beauty, will surely take a bigger place in the heart of the Messenger of Allah than us and will dominate over us." So they said to that woman: "Do not let the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) see any eagerness for intimacy from you!" So when that woman went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) stretched out his hand towards her, and the woman said: "I seek refuge with Allah [from you]!" So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) withdrew his hand from her, divorced her, and returned her to her family. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) married a woman from the tribe of Kinda, the daughter of Abu al-Jawn. When Ibrahim, the son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), the son of Mariya al-Qibtiyya, passed away, this woman said: "If Muhammad were the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), his son would not have died." And so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) returned her to her family before he had consummated the marriage with her. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) passed away and Abu Bakr took over the leadership of the people, those two women from the tribes of Banu Amir and Kinda, who had been proposed to, came to Abu Bakr to ask whether they could marry or not. Abu Bakr and Umar consulted each other and said to them: "You have the choice: if you wish, do not marry, and if you wish, marry." Those two women chose the second option and married. As a result, one of the two men who had married them was afflicted with leprosy, and the other lost his mind and became insane. Umar ibn Udhayna says: "Zurara and Fudayl narrated this hadith from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), and the Imam said in it: 'In all the things which Allah has forbidden, disobedience and defiance have taken place; even after the passing of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), they married his wives.'" The Imam, in that hadith, mentioned the story of those two women from the tribes of Banu Amir and Kinda. Then he said: "If you were to ask them about a woman who married a man, and that man divorced her before consummating the marriage with her — is it lawful for that man's son to marry her?" They would answer: "No." So [although] the prohibition of marrying the wives of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was greater than the prohibition of marrying the wives of their fathers, [how did they allow themselves to marry his wives after the passing of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)]?

The Imams (peace be upon them): Muhammad ibn Marwan, in a marfu' hadith, narrates from the Imams (peace be upon them): Regarding the occasion of revelation of the verse وَ مَا کَانَ لَکُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللهِ [And it is not for you to trouble the Messenger of Allah], he said: "This verse was revealed concerning Ali (peace be upon him) and the Imams (peace be upon them): Do not be like those who troubled Musa, and Allah cleared him of what they said about him. (Al-Ahzab/69)"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) at the time of his martyrdom had four wives: Umama, who was the daughter of Zaynab the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and Asma bint Umays, and Layla al-Tamimiyya, and Umm al-Banin al-Kilabiyya. These women did not marry after his passing. Mughira ibn Nawfal proposed to Umama, and then Abu al-Hayyaj the son of Abu Sufyan proposed to her, but she narrated from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) that it is not permissible for the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and his successor (peace be upon him) to marry anyone other than the Prophet or the Prophet's successor (peace be upon him and his family) after them. Therefore, on the basis of this narration, none of his wives or the mothers of his children married anyone.