For the one whom Allah has blessed with Islam, which is the greatest of blessings, and with Your success in freeing him and Your love for him and Your special favor upon him. You have blessed him with what Allah has guided you to, so he is in the favor of Allah and the favor of His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. And he is Zaid ibn Haritha. 'Hold on to your wife,' meaning Zainab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her. This is because the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, saw her after he had married her to him, and it occurred to him. He said: 'Glorified is Allah, the Turner of hearts.' This is because his heart had previously turned away from her, not wanting her. If he had wanted her, he would have proposed to her. Zainab heard the glorification and reminded Zaid of it, so he became aware, and Allah placed in his heart a dislike for her companionship and a desire for the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. He said to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'I want to part with my wife.' The Messenger asked: 'What is the matter with you? Is there something that bothers you about her?' He said: 'No, by Allah, I have seen nothing but good from her, but she is proud of her nobility and causes me harm.' The Messenger said to him: 'Hold on to your wife and fear Allah.' Then he divorced her. When her waiting period was over, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'I do not find anyone more trustworthy in my heart than you. Propose to Zainab for me.' Zaid said: 'So I went, and she was kneading her dough. When I saw her, she became great in my heart to the point that I could not look at her, when I knew that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had mentioned her. I turned my back to her and said: 'O Zainab, rejoice! The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, is proposing to you.' She was happy and said: 'I will not do anything until I consult my Lord.' So she went to her mosque, and the Qur'an was revealed: 'We married you to her.' The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, married her and consummated the marriage with her. He did not celebrate with any of his wives as he did with her: he slaughtered a sheep and fed the people bread and meat until the day extended. If you say: What did he mean by saying 'and fear Allah'? I say: He meant: 'And fear Allah, so do not divorce her,' and the intention was a prohibition of a recommendation, not a prohibition of a decree, because it is preferable not to divorce. It is said: He meant: 'And fear Allah, so do not speak ill of her in relation to her pride and the harm to the husband.' If you say: What did he conceal in his heart? I say: His heart was attached to her.

It was said: The affection is the separation of Zayd from her. It was said: His knowledge that Zayd will divorce her and will marry her, for Allah has informed him of that. And from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: If the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had concealed anything of what was revealed to him, he would have concealed this verse. If you say: What did Allah want him to say when Zayd said to him: I want to separate from her? And it was inappropriate for him to say: Do it, for I want to marry her? I say: It is as if what He, glorified and exalted is He, wanted from him was to remain silent at that moment, or to say to him: You know best about your own affairs, so that his inner self does not contradict his outer self, for Allah wants from the prophets the equality of the apparent and the hidden, firmness in matters, responsiveness in situations, and consistency on a stable path. As it came in the hadith regarding the intention of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to kill Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh and the objection of Uthman by interceding for him: Umar said to him: My eyes were on your eyes, do you indicate to me to kill him? He said: The prophets do not wink. Their apparent and hidden are one. If you say: How did Allah reprimand him for concealing what was inappropriate to state explicitly, while the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, does not find it inappropriate to state anything unless that thing itself is inappropriate? And why did He not reprimand him regarding the matter itself and command him to suppress his desire and refrain from pursuing Zaynab and following her?

And did not protect His Prophet ﷺ from the attachment of the jinn to him and what exposes him to gossip? I said: How many things does a person guard against and feels shy of people knowing about it, while in itself it is permissible, expansive, and absolutely lawful, with no criticism in it nor blame from Allah? Perhaps entering into that permissible matter is a means to fulfill obligations whose effects are great in religion and whose rewards are immense. If one did not guard against it, many people would freely speak about it, except for those who have been granted virtue, knowledge, religion, and insight into the realities of matters and their depths rather than their superficialities. Do you not see that when they hoped for the houses of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, they remained seated in their gatherings, not moving, enjoying conversation? And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was troubled by their sitting and his heart was constricted by their talk, and shyness prevented him from commanding them to disperse, until it was revealed: 'Indeed, that was distressing to the Prophet, and he was shy of you. And Allah is not shy of the truth.' If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had revealed what was hidden in his heart and commanded them to disperse, it would have been difficult for them, and it would have been some gossip. [His saying 'and it would have been some gossip' perhaps refers to 'the gossip.'] This is from that category, because the yearning of a person's heart for some of his desires, whether for a woman or otherwise, is not described as ugly in reason or in law, because it is not an action of the person nor does its existence depend on his choice. And consuming the permissible in the lawful manner is not ugly either, such as the proposal of Zaynab and her marriage without Zayd being removed from her, nor a request to him, while he is closer to her than the hem of his shirt, to console him with her separation. With the strong knowledge that Zayd's soul was not attached to her at all, rather it was distant from her, while the soul of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was attached to her. It was not strange to them that a man would separate from his wife for his friend, nor was it reprehensible if he separated from her for another to marry her. For when the emigrants entered Medina, the Ansar shared everything, such that if one of them had two wives, he would separate from one and marry her to the emigrant. And if the matter was permissible from all aspects and there was no aspect of ugliness, corruption, or harm to Zayd or anyone, but rather it was a means of benefits, let alone one of them being the daughter of the cousin of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who secured the imams and the community and attained honor and became a mother of the mothers of the believers. To what Allah, the Exalted, mentioned of the general benefit in His saying: 'So that there is not upon the believers any discomfort concerning their adopted fathers when they have concluded their need from them.' Therefore, it is more appropriate for Allah to admonish His Messenger when he concealed it and greatly concealed it with His saying: 'Keep your wife and fear Allah.' And that He would not be pleased for him except for the unity of the inner and outer, and steadfastness in the places of truth, so that the believers may follow him and not be shy of confronting the truth even if it is bitter. If you say: What is the 'wa' in 'And you conceal in yourself' and 'And you fear the people, and Allah is more deserving of you fearing'? I say: It is the 'wa' of the state, meaning: you say to Zayd: 'Keep your wife,' concealing in yourself the intention not to keep her, and you conceal it fearing the gossip of the people and fearing the people. It is more deserving in that to fear Allah, or it is the 'wa' of conjunction, as if it were said: 'And when you combine your saying: Keep, and concealing the opposite, and fearing the people. And Allah is more deserving that you fear Him, so that you do not do such a thing.'

When a mature person fulfills their need for something they have an interest in, it is said: he has satisfied his desire for it. The meaning is: when Zayd no longer had a need for it, and his interest in it diminished, and his soul found it pleasing, he divorced it, and her waiting period ended. We married you to her, and the reading of the people of the House is: we married you to her. It was said to Ja'far ibn Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with them: Do you not read to me something different? He said: No, by the One who there is no deity except Him, I did not read it to my father except like this, nor did al-Hasan ibn Ali read it to his father except like this, nor did Ali ibn Abi Talib read it to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, except like this. And the saying: 'And the command of Allah is certainly fulfilled' is an interjection, meaning: and the command of Allah that He intends to be, is certainly fulfilled without a doubt. It is similar to what He intended to be in the marriage of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to Zaynab, and in the removal of the hardship from the believers in the treatment of the wives of the adopted ones as the wives of the sons in prohibiting them after the ties of marriage between them and them have been severed. It may also be meant by the command of Allah: the created, because it is made by 'Be', and it is the command of Allah.