'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' Allah, the Exalted, says: "O wives of the Prophet, whoever among you commits a clear immorality, the punishment will be doubled for her, and that is easy for Allah." "And whoever among you is obedient to Allah and His Messenger and does righteous deeds, We will give her a reward twice, and We have prepared for her a noble provision." "O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women. If you fear Allah, do not be soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease should covet, and speak a good word." Abu Rafi' said: Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, often recited Surah Yusuf and Surah Al-Ahzab in the morning. When he reached "O wives of the Prophet," he raised his voice with it. It was said to him, and he replied: I remind them of the covenant. The majority read: "Whoever comes" with a 'ya' and a 'ta', and "And whoever is obedient" with a 'ya' based on the wording. Amr ibn Faid, Al-Jahdari, and Ya'qub read: "Whoever comes" with two 'ta's and "is obedient" with a 'ta' from above based on the meaning. Some said: The immorality, when it is defined, is adultery and sodomy, and when it is indefinite, it refers to all sins and every act of immorality. When it is described with clarity, it refers to disobedience to the husband and corruption of the marriage. Therefore, it is described with clarity because it cannot be concealed. Adultery and others are things that can be concealed and are not clear. There is no doubt that the warning applies to what is hidden and what is apparent. A group said: Rather, His saying: "with a clear immorality" encompasses all sins, and thus the immorality as it has been mentioned. Since the wives of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, were in the place of revelation and in the abode of Allah's commands and prohibitions, the matter was stronger upon them and they were more obligated due to their status than others. Thus, their reward and punishment were doubled, and the reference to immorality indicates adultery and others. Ibn Kathir, Shibl, and Asim read: "clear" with a fathah on the 'ya'. Nafi', Abu Amr, and Qatadah read it with a kasrah. A group read: "will be doubled" with a 'ya' attributing the action to Allah, the Exalted. Abu Amr, in what has been narrated from him, read: "We will double" with a 'noon' that is pronounced, "the punishment" in the accusative, which is the reading of Ibn Muhaysin. This is a mutual action from one, like I struck the sandal and punished the thief. Nafi', Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "will be doubled" with a 'ya' and an open 'ain', "the punishment" in the nominative. Abu Amr read: "will double" with a shaddah on the 'ain' based on the form of exaggeration, "the punishment" in the nominative, which is the reading of Al-Hasan, Ibn Kathir, and Isa. Ibn Kathir and Ibn Amir read: "We will double" with a 'noon' and a kasrah on the doubled 'ain', "the punishment" in the accusative, which is the reading of Al-Jahdari.

And His saying: ﴿ "Double" ﴾ means: that the punishment is twofold, that is, an additional punishment is added to the punishment of other people, similar to it. Abu Ubaidah and Abu Amr said - as narrated by al-Tabari from them - that rather two punishments like it are multiplied to him, so there will be three punishments. Al-Tabari weakened this, and it is also incorrect, even though it has a possible connection by the wording. The reward will be doubled, which invalidates this saying; because the punishment for immorality is in proportion to the reward for obedience, and this indicates the intensification of the punishment.

And "to be devoted" means: to obey and submit in servitude, as said by al-Sha'bi and Qatadah. Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Asim, Abu Amr, and Ibn Amer read: "is devoted" with a 'ya', and "you do" with a 'ta', ﴿ "We will give it" ﴾ with a 'nun', and this is the reading of the majority. Abu Ali said: "is devoted" was attributed to a pronoun, so when it became clear that it is feminine, it was taken in "you do" according to the meaning. Hamzah and al-Kisai read all three instances with a 'ya', taking the first two according to the wording of "who", and this is the reading of al-A'mash, Abu Abd al-Rahman, and Ibn Wathab. Al-A'mash also read: "So Allah will surely give her her reward."

And "the accustomed" means: ease and preparation, and "the noble provision" means: Paradise. It may be that there is a worldly promise in that, meaning that her provision in this world is upon Allah, and it is noble in that it is lawful and intended and pleasing to Allah in attaining it. Some of the interpreters said: the punishment which He has promised with double is the punishment of this world and then the punishment of the Hereafter, and likewise the reward. This is weak, unless it is said that the wives of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, do not have the limits of this world preventing them from the punishment of the Hereafter, as is the case with people, according to the narration of Ubadah ibn al-Samit. This matter has not been narrated regarding the wives of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, nor has its establishment been preserved.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, addressed them that they are like any of the women of their time, but they are better on the condition of piety; for what Allah has granted them of companionship with the Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, and the great status with him and the revelation of the Qur'an concerning them. He specified the women because among those who preceded were Asia and Maryam, so reflect on this, and Qatadah has pointed to this.

Then Allah prohibited them from what was the case with the women of the Arabs of speaking to men with a soft voice. ﴿ "So do not be soft in speech" ﴾ that is: do not be lenient, and it may be that softness is in the saying in the very words and their smoothness and appearance, even if the meaning is not suspicious. The Arabs use the term softness in the sense of inclination in love, and from it is the saying of Layla al-Akhiliyya when al-Hajjaj said to her: "Have you ever seen anything from Tawbah that you deny?" She said: "No, by Allah, O Amir; except that he recited to me poetry one day which I thought he was yielding to some matter, so I recited to him:

And with a need, we said to him: do not disclose it ∗∗∗ for there is no way to it as long as you live.

The story.

And Ibn Zayd said: softness in speech is what enters into the hearts the inclination.

And the majority read: "fa-yatma'a" with the case of the accusative, as it is an accusative due to the conjunction in response to the wish. Al-A'raj and Aban ibn 'Uthman read: "fa-yutammic" with the jussive and a kasra for the meeting, and this is a pure conjunction. The prohibition was without an apparent response. The reading of the majority is more eloquent in the prohibition, as it indicates that submission is due to desire. Abu Amr al-Dani said: Al-A'raj and 'Isa ibn 'Umar read: "fa-yatmi'a" with a fatha on the ya and a kasra on the mim.

And "the disease" in this verse, Qatadah said: it is hypocrisy. And 'Ikrimah said: it is immorality and flirtation, and this is more correct. There is no entrance for hypocrisy in this verse, and the well-known saying is the correct one that neither the Shari'ah nor the souls deny.