مَّا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍۢ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِى جَوْفِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَزْوَٰجَكُمُ ٱلَّٰٓـِٔى تُظَٰهِرُونَ مِنْهُنَّ أُمَّهَٰتِكُمْ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَآءَكُمْ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ قَوْلُكُم بِأَفْوَٰهِكُمْ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَقُولُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَهُوَ يَهْدِى ٱلسَّبِيلَ
Allah has not made for a man two hearts in his interior. And He has not made your wives whom you declare unlawful your mothers. And he has not made your adopted sons your [true] sons. That is [merely] your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides to the [right] way.
Introduction
This is āyah 4 of Sūrat Al-Ahzaab (The Combined Forces), the 90th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 21. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 90 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Ahzaab (33)
(Allah hath not assigned unto any man two hearts within his body�) [33:4]. This verse was revealed about Jamil ibn Ma'mar al-Fihri who was a sensible man who memorised whatever he heard. The Quraysh said: �He could not have memorised all these things unless he had two hearts�. Labib used to say: �I have two hearts and my perception by means of either one of them is better than the perception of Muhammad�. When the Battle of Badr took place and the idolaters were defeated, Abu Sufyan met Jamil ibn Ma'mar, who had accompanied the idolaters. Jamil was wearing one shoe and holding the other shoe in his hand. Abu Sufyan asked him: �What is the state of people?� He said: �They were defeated�. Abu Sufyan asked him again: �But why are you wearing one shoe and holding the other in your hand?� Jamil said: �I thought I was wearing both shoes�. On that day, people knew that he would not have forgotten his shoe in his hand if he really had two hearts. (hath He made those whom ye claim (to be your sons) your sons) [33:4]. This verse was revealed about Zayd ibn Harithah. He was a slave of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, but he freed him and adopted him before he was sent as a Prophet. When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, married Zaynab bint Jahsh, who was the divorcee of Zayd ibn Harithah, the Jews and hypocrites said: �Muhammad has married the wife of his son while forbidding people from doing the same!� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. Sa'id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Nu'aym al-Ishkabi informed us> al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Makhlid> Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Thaqafi> Qutaybah ibn Sa'id> Ya'qub ibn 'Abd al-Rahman> Musa ibn 'Uqbah> Salim> 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar who used to say: �We did not use to call Zayd ibn Harithah with any other name except Zayd ibn Muhammad until the Qur'an revealed (Proclaim their real parentage. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah) [33:5]�. This was narrated by Bukhari> Mu'alla ibn Asad> 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Mukhtar> Musa ibn 'Uqbah.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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