It is a Medinan surah, and it is called the Surah of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. It consists of twelve verses. It was revealed after Al-Hujurat. 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'

It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, secluded himself with Mariyah on the day of Aisha. Hafsah learned of this, so he said to her: 'Keep it a secret from me, and I have made Mariyah unlawful for myself.' [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: '...'] Al-Zamakhshari reported regarding the reason for its revelation that he, peace be upon him, secluded himself with Mariyah on the day of Aisha, and Hafsah learned of this, so he said to her: 'Keep it a secret from me, and I have made Mariyah unlawful for myself... etc.' Ahmad said: What Al-Zamakhshari stated regarding the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is a slander and a falsehood, and the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is free from it. This is because making unlawful what Allah has made lawful occurs in two ways: The first is believing in the existence of the ruling of prohibition in it, and this is akin to believing in the ruling of permissibility regarding what Allah, the Exalted, has prohibited. Both are forbidden and do not come from those who bear the mark of faith. If it occurs, it negates the ruling of faith and its name from the believer. The second is refraining from what Allah, the Exalted, has made lawful, and carrying the prohibition by itself is valid, due to His saying: 'And We had prohibited to him the wet nurses before.'

That is, we have prohibited only, and it may be confirmed by an oath while believing it to be permissible. This is purely permissible and absolutely lawful. If it were the case that the prohibition was to leave the permissible and abstain from it, it would certainly change the reality of the situation without any doubt. So, when you understand the difference between the two categories, the verse applies to the second category, and the correct interpretation supports it. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, swore by Allah that he would not approach Maria. When the verse was revealed, he expiated for his oath. This is indicated by: 'Indeed, Allah has decreed for you the expiation of your oaths.' Malik said in the Mudawwana, from Zaid ibn Aslam, that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, only expiated for his prohibition of his son’s mother because he swore not to approach her. The same is reported from Al-Shabi. This amount is permissible, and there is no sin in committing it. However, it was said to him: 'Why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?' out of kindness and compassion for him, and to elevate his status and position, blessings and peace be upon him, that he should consider the satisfaction of his wives, which is burdensome for him. This is in line with what is customary from Allah’s kindness towards His Prophet and His elevation above being constrained by anyone from among the humans who are his followers and for whose sake they were created. This is to manifest the perfection of his prophethood by showing their shortcomings compared to him. Al-Zamakhshari certainly did not interpret the prohibition in this manner, as he made it a slip, thus he must interpret it in the first sense. May Allah protect and keep away from Him, and may the individual believers be spared from believing in the prohibition of what Allah has made lawful for him. How could he not be elevated above the status of the general community? What Al-Zamakhshari has said is nothing but audacity against Allah and His Messenger, and a statement made without precision, and the presentation of a corrupt opinion without proper consideration. We seek refuge with Allah from that, and He is the one we ask to make our means to Him a means of honoring our Prophet, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, and to keep us away from the steps of Satan, and to accept our slips of the tongue. Ameen. And I give you glad tidings that Abu Bakr and Umar will hold the matter of my nation after me. I informed Aisha, and they were in agreement. I have not found in any of the narrations that this occurred in the house of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, except for what was narrated by Ibn Saad from Al-Waqidi from Umar ibn Uqba from Shuba, who is a client of Ibn Abbas. I heard Ibn Abbas say: 'Hafsa came out of her house. It was Aisha's day, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, entered with Maria the Copt into Hafsa's house. Hafsa came and the door was ajar, and she pushed it until the girl came out. Hafsa said: 'I have seen what you have done.' He said to her: 'Keep it a secret.' And she was on a prohibition. Hafsa went to Aisha and informed her, and Allah, the Exalted, revealed: 'O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?' So he was commanded to expiate for his oath and to confine his wives.' Al-Tabarani narrated in 'The Ten Women' and Ibn Mardawayh in the Tafsir from him through Musa ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Kathir ibn Abdul Rahman from Umar from Abu Bakr ibn Abdul Rahman from Abu Salama from Abu Huraira, who said: 'The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, entered with Maria the Copt into the house of Hafsa bint Umar and found her with him. She said: 'O Messenger of Allah, in my house, and you do this to me without your other wives?' He said: 'It is prohibited for me to touch her, O Hafsa. Should I give you glad tidings?' She said: 'Yes.' He said: 'This matter will be overseen by Abu Bakr after me, and then your father will follow him. Keep this a secret.' Hafsa went out until she reached Aisha and mentioned all of that. In it, it is said: 'And the greatest joy was that he prohibited her for himself.' Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed: 'O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?' Al-Tabarani narrated from Al-Dahhak from Ibn Abbas that he said: 'Hafsa entered upon the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in her house while he was with Maria. He said to her: 'Do not inform Aisha until I give you glad tidings, for your father will succeed Abu Bakr after I die.' Hafsa went and informed Aisha. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: 'I will not look at you until you prohibit Maria.' So he prohibited her. Then Allah revealed the verse.' It was said: 'He secluded himself with her on the day of Hafsa, so he pleased her with that and kept it secret from her, but she did not keep it secret.' It was narrated by Ibn Ishaq and from him by Ibn Abi Khaythama. It was said: 'Some of the family of Umar informed me that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, had relations with his Coptic slave woman, the mother of Ibrahim, in the house of Hafsa and on her day. Hafsa stumbled upon that. She said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you have done something you have not done with any of your wives in my house and on my bed, and in my time?' He said: 'Would you be pleased if I prohibit her and never touch her again?' She said: 'Yes.' So he prohibited her for himself. He said: 'Do not mention it to anyone.' Hafsa did not keep anything from Aisha, so when she left, she went to Aisha and informed her. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed: 'O Prophet, why do you prohibit?' So he expiated for his oath and approached his slave woman.' And his saying: 'And he divorced her and stayed away from his wives and remained twenty-nine nights in the house of Maria': I have not seen this. He divorced her and stayed away from his wives and remained twenty-nine nights in the house of Maria. It was narrated that Umar said to her: 'If there were any good in the family of Al-Khattab, he would not have divorced you.' Then Gabriel, peace be upon him, came and said: 'Return to her, for she is a fasting, praying woman, and she is one of your wives in Paradise.' I have not seen it like this, and it is with Al-Hakim and others without mentioning the reason.

Indeed, Gabriel came to me and said to me: 'Return to Hafsah, for she is a fasting and praying woman, and she is your wife in Paradise.' Al-Hakim narrated it through the chain of Hasan ibn Abi Ja'far from Thabit from Anas in a similar manner and added 'one divorce,' and Hasan is weak. There is disagreement about it, and it was narrated by Al-Tabarani and Al-Bazzar from the narration of the mentioned Hasan from Asim from Ammar, may Allah be pleased with him. It was narrated that he drank honey in the house of Zainab bint Jahsh, and Aisha and Hafsah conspired and said to him: 'We smell from you the scent of the gum of the mastic tree,' and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, disliked spitting, so he prohibited honey. It is agreed upon from the hadith of Umar without the phrase 'he disliked spitting'; rather, they have 'and it was hard for him to find the scent from it.' Its meaning is: Why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you of what your right hand possesses or honey? And you seek either an explanation to prohibit, or a state, or a new statement. This was a slip from him because no one has the right to prohibit what Allah has made lawful, for Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has made lawful what He has made lawful for a wisdom and benefit that He knows in His making it lawful. If he prohibited it, that would be turning the benefit into harm, and Allah is Forgiving, He has forgiven you for what you have erred in, Merciful, He has had mercy on you, so He did not hold you accountable for it. Allah has ordained for you the expiation of your oaths, in it are two meanings. One of them is: Allah has legislated for you the exception in your oaths, from your saying: 'So-and-so is lawful in his oath,' if he makes an exception in it. And from it: 'Hala, may I be cursed,' meaning: make an exception in your oath if you release it, that is to say, 'If Allah wills' following it, so that he does not break his oath. The second is: Allah has legislated for you its expiation by atonement. From it is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: 'No man dies who has three children and the fire touches him except by the expiation of the oath.' It was narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyib from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him. And the saying of Dhul-Rumah: 'A little like the expiation of the oath.' If you say: What is the ruling on prohibiting the lawful? I say: There is disagreement about it. Abu Hanifa considered it an oath in everything, and he considers the intended benefit in what he prohibits. If he prohibited food, he has sworn to eat it, or a female slave, then to have intercourse with her, or a wife, then to abstain from her if he has no intention. If he intended to pronounce the zihar, then it is zihar, and if he intended divorce, then it is a clear divorce. Likewise, if he intended two, and if he intended three, then it is as he intended. And if he said: 'I intended the lie, a debt between me and Allah, the Exalted,' and he does not consider it in the judgment to invalidate the abstention. And if he said: 'Every lawful thing is forbidden upon me,' then it is upon food and drink if he did not intend, otherwise it is upon what he intended, and Al-Shafi'i does not see it as an oath. But it is a cause for expiation in women alone, and if he intended divorce, it is revocable according to him. And from Abu Bakr, Umar, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, and Zaid, may Allah be pleased with them: that the forbidden is an oath. The hadith of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah from the narration of Juwaybir from Al-Dahhak: that Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ibn Mas'ud said: 'Whoever says to his wife: She is forbidden upon me, then she is not forbidden upon him and he owes an expiation for the oath.' Its chain is weak and disconnected. And the hadith of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, is similar, and there is another route narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah also from the narration of Khalid Al-Hadhdhah from Ikrimah from him who said: 'The forbidden is an oath.' This is disconnected, and the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, is similar and is agreed upon from the narration of Ibn Jubayr from him who said: 'The forbidden is an oath that he expiates.'

In a narration from Muslim, "When a man prohibits his wife, it is an oath that he must expiate." The hadith of Ibn Mas'ud is similar, and there is another chain reported by Abdul Razzaq from the path of Al-Tabarani from Ibn 'Uqbah from Ibn Abi Najih from Mujahid from him, who said: "In the prohibited, it is an oath that he must expiate." Its narrators are trustworthy despite its disconnection. The hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, is similar. And from 'Umar: "If he intends divorce, it is revocable." And from 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: "Three." This was reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah and Abdul Razzaq from the narration of Ja'far ibn Muhammad from his father from 'Ali regarding the saying of a man to his wife: "You are prohibited to me; it is three." This is also disconnected. And from Zayd: "One is irrevocable." And from 'Uthman: "It is a declaration of separation."

And Masruq did not see it as anything and said: "I do not care whether I prohibited her or a bowl of stew," and similarly from Al-Sha'bi who said: "It is nothing," arguing with the saying of Allah, the Exalted: "And do not say about what your tongues describe: 'This is lawful' and 'This is unlawful'" and His saying: "Do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful for you," and what Allah has not prohibited, no one has the right to prohibit it, nor can it become prohibited by their prohibition. And it has not been established from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said about what Allah made lawful: "It is unlawful for me." Rather, he refrained from Mariyah due to an oath he had previously taken, which is his saying, peace be upon him: "By Allah, I will not approach her after today." It was said to him: "Why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?" This means: "Fulfill what you swore to, and expiate for your oath." And similar is His saying: "And We prohibited for him the wet nurses," meaning: "We forbade him from them." And the apparent meaning of His saying: "Indeed, Allah has prescribed for you the expiation of your oaths" indicates that there was indeed an oath from him.

If you say: Did the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, expiate for that? I say: According to Al-Hasan, he did not expiate, because he was forgiven for what had preceded of his sins and what would come after. It has not been found. And in the mursal reports of Abu Dawood, there is a contradiction, as it was reported from the path of Qatadah from him regarding the prohibition of the mother of Ibrahim. He said: "He was commanded to expiate for his oath," and Ibn Ishaq also mentioned it as previously stated that he expiated for his oath. And it is only a teaching for the believers. And from Muqatil: That the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, emancipated a slave in the prohibition of Mariyah. "And Allah is your Lord, your Master, and the One who manages your affairs, and He is the All-Knowing of what benefits you, so He legislates for you. The All-Wise does not command you or prohibit you except by what wisdom necessitates. And it was said: Your Master is more deserving of you than yourselves, so His advice is more beneficial to you than your own advice.