Sūrah At-TaḥrīmThe Prohibition · Madinah · 12 āyāt · 3 themes

The tafsīr in brief

The Prophet ﷺ is asked why he forbids himself what Allāh made lawful, seeking his wives' approval; Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful, and has legislated the expiation of oaths for him. When a confided matter was disclosed and made known to him, part of it is mentioned and part overlooked, and two wives are told that if they repent it is best, for their hearts have deviated, while if they support one another against him, Allāh, Jibrīl and the righteous believers stand as his supporters.

• Do not treat family approval as a reason to prohibit what Allāh permits. If an oath is involved, recognize that Allāh has provided a way to dissolve it rather than assuming it must bind you forever.
• Treat another person’s confidence as a trust. When a breach needs addressing, correct what matters without unnecessarily rehearsing every detail.
• When corrected, turn toward repentance and renewed devotion rather than seeking an ally in resistance. A close relationship does not remove personal responsibility.
• Receive correction without despair: this passage names the fault while also speaking of Allāh’s forgiveness and opening the way to repentance.

The tafsīr in brief

Believers are commanded to guard themselves and their families from a Fire fuelled by people and stones, and are called to sincere repentance (tawbatan naṣūḥan), which may erase misdeeds and admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, on a Day when Allāh will not disgrace the Prophet ﷺ and those who believed with him — their light proceeding before them as they ask their Lord to perfect it.

• Make caring for your family’s faith an active responsibility: teach, help, and correct rather than assuming your own good practice is enough.
• Let the warning about unanswered excuses move you toward repentance now, rather than preparing justifications for wrongdoing.
• Keep asking Allāh for forgiveness and help. Even the believers whose light shines before them ask Him to perfect it.
• Hold hope and accountability together: the invitation to repentance does not make disbelief and hypocrisy harmless.

The tafsīr in brief

Allāh presents an example for the disbelievers: the wives of Nūḥ and Lūṭ, under two righteous servants, who betrayed them and were told to enter the Fire with those who enter, their prophetic husbands availing them nothing before Allāh. And an example for the believers: the wife of Firʿawn, who asked her Lord for a house near Him in Paradise and to be saved from Firʿawn, his deeds, and the wrongdoing people; and Maryam bint ʿImrān, who guarded her chastity, so Allāh breathed into her of His spirit, and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was among the devoutly obedient.

• Value righteous company, but do not treat it as a substitute for accepting and living by faith yourself.
• When those around you do wrong, ask Allāh for rescue while refusing to make their deeds your own.
• Let belief show in conduct: Maryam’s example brings together trust in Allāh’s words, chastity, and devoted obedience.
• Do not judge someone’s standing before Allāh by their spouse. Neither a righteous spouse guarantees salvation nor a disbelieving spouse prevents it.