Tafsir for verses: 66:11, 66:12
وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلٗا لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱمۡرَأَتَ فِرۡعَوۡنَ إِذۡ قَالَتۡ رَبِّ ٱبۡنِ لِي عِندَكَ بَيۡتٗا فِي ٱلۡجَنَّةِ وَنَجِّنِي مِن فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَعَمَلِهِۦ وَنَجِّنِي مِنَ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ١١ ﴿11 وَمَرۡيَمَ ٱبۡنَتَ عِمۡرَٰنَ ٱلَّتِيٓ أَحۡصَنَتۡ فَرۡجَهَا فَنَفَخۡنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا وَصَدَّقَتۡ بِكَلِمَٰتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَكَانَتۡ مِنَ ٱلۡقَٰنِتِينَ ١٢ ﴿12
11And Allah has cited for the believers the example of the wife of Fir’aun (Pharaoh), when she said, “My Lord, build for me, near You, a house in the Paradise, and deliver me from Fir’aun and his deeds, and deliver me from the unjust people.” 12And (Allah has also cited the example of) Maryam, daughter of ‘Imrān who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her Our spirit, and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and His books, and she was one of the devout.
AI-Assisted Translation: This translation was produced by AI agents carefully trained over several months and thoroughly reviewed. It does NOT replace the scholarship of traditional scholars and is intended as a step in the right direction to make classical tafsir more accessible. There may still be inaccuracies—please report them promptly so we can improve the translation quality.

Commentary

And the wife of Pharaoh: Asiya bint Muzahim. It is said that she is the aunt of Musa, peace be upon him. She believed when she heard about the swallowing of the staff of Musa. Pharaoh tortured her. Abu Huraira reported that Pharaoh pinned his wife with four pegs, faced her towards the sun, laid her on her back, and placed a millstone on her chest. It is said that he ordered a huge rock to be thrown on her, so she prayed to Allah and her soul was raised, and the rock was thrown on a body that had no soul in it.

And from Al-Hasan: Allah saved her in the best way, raising her to Paradise where she eats, drinks, and enjoys herself. It is said that when she said, "My Lord, build for me a house with You in Paradise," her house in Paradise was shown to be built. It is said that it was made of pearl.

It is said that she was tortured in the sun, and the angels shaded her. If you say: What is the meaning of combining "with You" and "in Paradise"? I say: She sought closeness to the mercy of Allah and distance from the punishment of His enemies. Then she clarified the place of closeness by saying "in Paradise," or she intended the elevation of rank in Paradise, and that her garden would be among the gardens that are closest to the Throne, which are the Gardens of Refuge. She expressed closeness to the Throne by saying "with You."

From Pharaoh and his deeds, meaning from the deeds of Pharaoh, or from the evil self of Pharaoh and his oppressive authority, especially from his deeds which are: disbelief, idol worship, injustice, and torture without a crime. And save me from the wrongdoing people, from all the Copts. This indicates that seeking refuge in Allah, turning to Him, and asking for salvation from Him during calamities and disasters is part of the path of the righteous and the traditions of the prophets and messengers: "So judge between me and them with a decisive judgment, and save me and those who are with me from the believers. Our Lord, do not make us a trial for the wrongdoing people, and save us by Your mercy from the disbelieving people." This contains a reference to relief. Ibn Mas'ud read: "in it," as it was read in Surah Al-Anbiya, and the pronoun refers to the sentence, and I have previously mentioned a discussion regarding this context. Among the innovations in interpretations is that relief is the opening of the armor, and the meaning of "I fortified him" is that Gabriel prevented him. It combines in the example between the one who has a husband and the one who does not have a husband, as a consolation for the widows and to soothe their souls. And "she believed" is read with emphasis and without emphasis, meaning she made the words and books truthful, indicating that she described them with truthfulness, which is the meaning of belief itself. If you say:

So what are the words of Allah and His books? I said: It is permissible that by His words, it is meant the scrolls that He revealed to Idris and others. He named them words due to their brevity. [Mahamud said: "It is permissible that by the words it is meant the scrolls that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, revealed to Idris and others: He named them words due to their brevity ... etc." Ahmad said: He believes in the creation of the speech of Allah and denies the eternal speech. Therefore, his words do not go beyond the indication that the words of Allah are finite, because in the first aspect he made them a collection of few due to their brevity, and in the second he restricted them by saying 'all'. And where is his description of them as brief and restricted from the two twin verses, one of which is His saying, 'Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord,' and the other is His saying, 'And if all the trees on earth were pens ...' The verse, and what is in reality is only a non-believer in the words of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. The truth is that the speech of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is a quality of His perfection, eternal and everlasting, not finite. Thus, the wife of Pharaoh believed, her praise is recited in the Book of Allah, the Mighty. May Allah keep us steadfast in faith and protect us from disgrace, and Allah is the One whose help is sought.] And by His books: the four books. [The saying 'And by His books, the four books' perhaps it is known by the descent of the Gospel and the Qur'an. (A)] And it may mean all that Allah spoke with His angels and others, and all that He wrote in the Tablet and elsewhere. And it was read: by the word of Allah and His book. That is: by Jesus and by the book revealed to him, which is the Gospel. If you say: Why was it said 'of the obedient' in the masculine form? I said: Because obedience is a quality that includes those who obey from both genders, so the males predominated over the females. And 'of' is for partitive. It may also be for the beginning of a limit, as she was born from the obedient, because she is from the descendants of Harun, the brother of Musa, blessings of Allah be upon them both. And from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Many men have completed, but no women have completed except four: Asiya bint Muzahim, the wife of Pharaoh, Maryam bint Imran, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, and Fatimah bint Muhammad. And the superiority of Aisha over women is like the superiority of thareed over all food.' [This was narrated by Al-Thalabi through the chain of Amr ibn Marzooq from Shubah from Amr ibn Murrah who heard it from Abu Musa in this manner. And Abu Na'im narrated it in Al-Hilya in the biography of Amr ibn Murrah from this route. He said: Suleiman ibn Ahmad narrated to us, Yusuf the judge narrated to us, Amr ibn Marzooq narrated this. And it is in Al-Bukhari from the narration of Murrah from Abu Musa without mentioning Khadijah and Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with them. And in Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim from the narration of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, raised up: 'The best of the women of the worlds are four ... and he mentioned it.'] As for what was narrated that Aisha asked the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, how did Allah name the Muslim woman? meaning Maryam, and did not name the disbeliever? He said: 'By her evil deeds.' She said: 'And what is her name?' He said: 'The name of the wife of Nuh is 'Waila' and the name of the wife of Lut is 'Wahila.' So the narration of the craft upon it is clear. And indeed, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, named a group of disbelievers by their names and nicknames. And if the naming were for love and leaving it for hatred, He would have named Asiya, and He has placed her alongside Maryam in the example for the believers. And Allah has refused except to make for the created a sign that indicates it, and the words of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, are more precise and safer than that. About the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Whoever recites Surah Al-Tahrim, Allah will grant him a sincere repentance.' [This was narrated by Al-Thalabi and Ibn Mardawayh with their chains to Abu ibn Ka'b.]

Explore Other Scholars on This Verse

Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah At-Tahrim verse 12

Al-ZamakhshariAbū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
Learn more about Al-Zamakhshari
2775 / 2978