'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The saying of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic: "O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful for you your wives whom you have given their due compensation, and those whom your right hand possesses of what Allah has bestowed upon you, 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, and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to marry her exclusively for you, besides the believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess, so that there will be no discomfort upon you. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." The majority read: "the ones whom" with a 'taa' above, and Al-Amash read: "the ones who" with a 'yaa' below. Ibn Zayd and Al-Dahhak interpreted the saying: "Indeed We have made lawful for you your wives" to mean that Allah, the Exalted, has made it lawful for him to marry any woman to whom he gives her dowry. And He has permitted him, the Exalted, all women in this regard, and He has permitted him the possession of right hands, and the daughters of the paternal uncle and the paternal aunt and the maternal uncle and the maternal aunt from those who emigrated with him. He specified these by mentioning them for honor and reminder; among them, since He has addressed them - according to the interpretation of Ibn Zayd - by His saying: "O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful for you." And He has permitted to him the women who give themselves exclusively to him. Thus, according to the interpretation of Ibn Zayd, this is an absolute permission regarding all women except for those who are prohibited by kinship, especially - according to what Al-Dahhak mentioned - that in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud it says: "and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you." Then he said after this: "You defer whom you wish of them" [Al-Ahzab: 51], meaning: from all these categories, then the pronouns thereafter apply generally to His saying: "and not to exchange them for other wives" [Al-Ahzab: 52], so this pronoun comes disconnected from the first, returning only to his nine wives, differing in that matter. Other than Ibn Zayd interpreted His saying: "O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful for you your wives whom" to indicate Hafsa and Aisha, may Allah be pleased with them, and those under his protection whom he married with a dowry, and that the possession of right hands is after what is lawful for him, and that Allah, the Exalted, has permitted him, blessings and peace be upon him, along with those mentioned, the daughters of his paternal uncle and paternal aunts and maternal uncle and maternal aunts who emigrated with him, and the women who give themselves exclusively to him, so the matter - according to this interpretation - is narrower for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. This interpretation is supported by what Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, used to marry any of the people he wished, and that was difficult for his wives. So when this verse was revealed and it was prohibited for him to have any women except those whose names were mentioned as his wives." The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

For the ownership of the right hand is only related to rare matters. The daughters of uncles, aunts, maternal uncles, and maternal aunts are few. Those who can marry from among them are limited to his wives, especially since this is conditioned by the condition of migration. Likewise, the women who offer themselves are few. Therefore, his wives were pleased with the limitation of the matter. Then comes His saying: ﴿You may defer whom you will of them﴾ [Al-Ahzab: 51], indicating those previously mentioned. Then comes His saying: ﴿And you may not exchange them for other wives﴾ [Al-Ahzab: 52], indicating his wives to whom the text has previously permitted. Thus, the words come in a more consistent and coherent manner than their consistency in the first interpretation. The rewards are the dowries.

And His saying: ﴿Of what Allah has given you﴾ means His returning it to you in the spoils. He means: or to your community, for it is a spoils for him. The ownership of the right hand originally comes from the spoils of war, or from what has descended from those who were captured, and the purchase from the belligerents is like captives. Captives from the belligerents are permitted, and it is not permissible to capture one who has a treaty or to possess him. This is called the capture of the vile.

And His saying: ﴿And the daughters of your uncle﴾ it has been narrated from Umm Hani, the daughter of Abu Talib, that she said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, proposed to me, and I excused myself to him, so he excused me. Then this verse was revealed, and it prohibited me to him because I did not migrate with him, and I was among the freed ones."

And the majority of people read: ﴿If she offers﴾ with a kasra on the alif. This implies the initiation of the matter, meaning: if it occurs, it is lawful for him. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "There was no woman with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, except by a marriage contract or ownership of the right hand. As for by offering, there was no one among them with him." And Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Al-Thaqafi, and Al-Sha'bi read: "If she offers" with a fatha on the alif. This indicates what occurred from the women who offered themselves before the verse was revealed. The kasra on the alif aligns with the interpretation of Ibn Zayd that we have mentioned, and the fatha aligns with the other interpretation. Those who read with the fatha said: the indication is to those who offered themselves to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, from the women in general. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, in what Al-Tabari narrated, said: It is Maymunah bint Al-Harith. And Ali ibn Al-Husayn said: It is Umm Shurayk.

And Al-Sha'bi and Urwah said: It is Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, the mother of the poor. Al-Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr also said: It is Khawlah bint Hakim ibn Al-Auqas Al-Silmi. And in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "And a believing woman offered herself," without "If."

And His saying: ﴿A gift exclusively for you﴾ means: the offering of women themselves is exclusive and a privilege that is not permissible. It is not permissible for a woman to offer herself to a man, and the people have unanimously agreed that this is not permissible; except for what has been narrated from Abu Hanifah, Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan, and Abu Yusuf that they said: If she offers and he witnesses her on herself with a dowry, then that is permissible.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

There is nothing in their saying except the allowance of the expression and the wording of the gift. Otherwise, the actions they have stipulated are the very actions of marriage. It appears from the wording of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, that the meaning of his saying: "exclusively for you" refers to all of this permissibility. This is because the believers limited themselves to two, three, and four.

And his saying: "Indeed, we have known" refers to: We have made obligatory the guardian, the witness, the dowry, and the limitation to four. This was said by Qatadah and Mujahid. Ubayy ibn Ka'b said: It is two, three, and four. And his saying: "so that there is not" means: We have clarified this clarification and explained this explanation so that there is no hardship upon you and it is not thought of you that you have sinned before your Lord in anything. Then he reassured all of the believers with His forgiveness and mercy.