Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Chapter 66: Surah al-Tahrim
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
(O Prophet! Why bannest thou that which Allah hath made lawful for thee…) [66:1].
Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Tusi informed us> ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar ibn Mahdi> al-Husayn ibn Isma‘il al-
Mahamili> ‘Abd Allah ibn Shabib> Ishaq ibn Muhammad> ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar> Abu’l-Nadr, the client
of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd Allah> ‘Ali ibn ‘Abbas> Ibn ‘Abbas> ‘Umar who said: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah
bless him and give him peace, entered the house of Hafsah along with the mother of his son, Mariyah.
When Hafsah found him with her [in an intimate moment], she said: ‘Why did you bring her in my
house You did this to me, to the exception of all your wives, only because I am too insignificant to you’.
He said to her: ‘Do not mention this to ‘A’ishah; she is forbidden for me [i.e. Mariyah] if I ever touch
her’. Hafsah said: ‘How could she be forbidden for you when she is your slave girl’ He swore to her that
he will not touch her and then said: ‘Do not mention this incident to anyone’. But she went ahead and
informed ‘A’ishah. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, decided not to go to his wives for a
month. He stayed away from them twenty nine days when Allah, glorious and exalted is He, revealed (O
Prophet! Why bannest thou that which Allah hath made lawful for thee, seeking to please thy wives)”. 1
Abu Ibrahim Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim al-Wa‘iz informed us> Bishr ibn Ahmad ibn Bishr> Ja‘far ibn al-Hasan
al-Firyabi> Minjab ibn al-Harith> ‘Ali ibn Mushir> Hisham ibn ‘Urwah> his father> ‘A’ishah who said:
“The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, used to like sweet and honey. It was also
his habit to go to his wives after finishing the ‘Asr prayer. In one occasion he went to Hafsah bint ‘Umar
and stayed with her more than he usually did. When I found out about this, I enquired about the reason
and I was told that a woman from her clan gifted her with a pot of honey which she offered to the
Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. I said to myself: by Allah I will spoil it for him. I said to
Sawdah bint Zam‘ah: ‘When he comes to your apartment and draws closer to you, say: O Messenger of
Allah, did you eat Maghafir’ 2 When he says: ‘Hafsah fed me some honey’, say: ‘The bees which produced
it must have eaten the ‘Urfut’. 3 I will say the same thing, and you, Safiyyah, should say the same’. Sawdah
said: ‘By Allah, the moment he stood at the door I was about to begin what she commanded me to do’.
When he drew closer to her she said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, did you eat Maghafir’ ‘No!’ he replied. She
said: ‘Then, what is this smell on you’ He said: ‘Hafsah fed me some honey!’ she said: “The bees which
produced it must have eaten the ‘Urfut’. When he came to me, I said the same thing. And when he went
to Safiyyah she also repeated the same thing. When it was Hafsah’s turn and the Prophet went to her, she
said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, shall I feed you some of that honey’ He said: ‘I do not feel like it!’
Sawdah said: ‘Glory be to Allah, we have deprived him [of honey]’. But I said to her: ‘Be quiet!’ ” 4 This
was narrated by Bukhari from Farwah ibn Abi al-Maghra’, and also by Muslim from Suwayd ibn Sa‘id ;
and both Farwah and Suwayd related it from ‘Ali ibn Mushir.
Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hamid informed us> Zahir ibn Ahmad> al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn
Mus‘ab> Yahya ibn Hakim> Abu Dawud> ‘Amir al-Khazzaz> Ibn Abi Mulaykah who related that Sawdah
bint Zam‘ah had relatives from her mother’s side in the Yemen who used to gift her honey. Among
all the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, Hafsah and ‘A’ishah were very close to
each other. One of them said to the other: “Do you not see this He goes to her when it is not her turn just
to have some of that honey. So when he comes to you hold your nose, and when he asks you about the
reason, say: I smell something in you that I do not know what it is. When he comes to me, I shall say the
same thing”. When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, went to her she held her nose. He
1
Tabari, :155-156; Qurtubi, :178; Durr, :214-215.
2
The Maghafir is a sweet herb or gum with a bad odour.
3
A plant which smells like wine.
4
Qurtubi, :177.