Commentary

Cause of Revelation

It is recorded in Sahih of Bukhari and in other collection of Ahadith, on the authority of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ that it was a daily practice of the Messenger of Allah to visit each of his wives after ` asr prayer for a short time inquiring about their welfare. Once he visited Sayyidah Zainab ؓ and spent more time with her than normal and had some honey offered by her. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ says: "I developed some envy and in consultation with Hafsah ؓ decided that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would visit any one of us, she should say to him 'you have had Maghafir', (a herb that resembled gum with a slightly unpleasant smell.) "1 They executed their plan. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "I have not had any Maghafir. I only had some honey." The Holy wife said: "It is possible that the honeybee might have sat on the Maghafir shrub and drank its nectar. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، because of his natural dislike for unpleasant odour, swore and promised not to take honey any more. However, he did not want the feelings of Sayyidah Zainab ؓ to be hurt, and therefore he said to his wife that the incident should be kept secret and should not be recounted to anyone else. But she told about it to another wife.

[ 1] It should be noted here that these words were spoken by them in an interrogative accent, and therefore it was not a false statement. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani).

Some reports say that it was at the house of Sayyidah Hafsah that he was served with honey, and that the wives who planned were Sayyidah ` A'ishah, Saudah and Safiyyah ؓ . Other reports recount the incident in other ways. It is possible that many incidents of similar nature might have taken place and these verses were revealed after them. [ Bayan-ul-Qur’ an ].

In brief, these verses tell us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ banned a lawful thing [ honey ] on himself by swearing an oath. If such an act is done for a genuine need or expedience, [ maslahah ], it is permissible; it is not a sin. But the incident does not show that there was no such need for him to have the trouble of baning a lawful thing on himself. He had done this for the pleasure of his holy wives. In such circumstances, it was not necessary for him to have pleased them. Therefore, the verse, compassionately addresses the Holy Prophet ا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّ‌مُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ لَكَ ۖ تَبْتَغِي مَرْ‌ضَاتَ أَزْوَاجِكَ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ غَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ ( O Prophet, why do you ban (on yourself) something that Allah has made lawful for you, seeking the pleasure of 'your wives? And Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very Merciful... 66:1) According to the principles of general stylistics, the Qur'an does not address the Holy Prophet' by his name but by his Prophetic title thus: '0 Prophet' which is his special honour. Although this is a loving question posed by way of compassion, it could have created the misunderstanding that he has committed a major error and he is being questioned about it. The concluding phrase allays this suspicion: وَاللَّـهُ غَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ; meaning that even if it would have been a sin (for the sake of argument), then 'Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very Merciful.'

Ruling

There are three ways in which one can prohibit a 'lawful thing' for himself, the details of which were given under verse [ 87] of Surah Al-Ma` idah in Ma’ ariful Qur'an Vol.3/pp239-241. يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحَرِّ‌مُوا طَيِّبَاتِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ '0 those who believe, do not make unlawful good things that Allah has made lawful for you__[ 5:87] The three ways may be summarised here thus: [ 1] If someone holds a lawful thing as unlawful as part of his religious belief, it is kufr and an enormous sin. [ 2] If he does not believe it as unlawful in religion, but bans something on himself by swearing an oath without any need to do so, it is a sinful act, and it is necessary for him to break the oath and expiate, which will be discussed later. However, If this is done for some need or advantage, it is permissible but undesirable. [ 3] If someone neither believes a lawful thing to be unlawful, nor swears an oath to ban it on himself, but makes a resolve in his/her mind to abandon the lawful thing for ever. If this resolution for permanent abandonment is with the intention of reward, it would be an innovation (bid'ah) in the established religion and monasticism which is a reproachable sin. If such a restriction is not with the intention of reward, but rather for some other reason, such as for treatment of a physical ailment or spiritual malady, it is absolutely permissible. Reports about some noble Sufis who abandoned some lawful things fall under this last category.

In this incident, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ swore an oath to abstain from honey. After the revelation of the verse, he broke the oath and expiated for it. As reported in Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur, he emancipated a slave in payment of his expiation. [ Bayan-ul-Qur’ an ]