۞ تُرْجِى مَن تَشَآءُ مِنْهُنَّ وَتُـْٔوِىٓ إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ ۖ وَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن تَقَرَّ أَعْيُنُهُنَّ وَلَا يَحْزَنَّ وَيَرْضَيْنَ بِمَآ ءَاتَيْتَهُنَّ كُلُّهُنَّ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَلِيمًۭا
You, [O Muhammad], may put aside whom you will of them or take to yourself whom you will. And any that you desire of those [wives] from whom you had [temporarily] separated - there is no blame upon you [in returning her]. That is more suitable that they should be content and not grieve and that they should be satisfied with what you have given them - all of them. And Allah knows what is in your hearts. And ever is Allah Knowing and Forbearing.
Introduction
This is āyah 51 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 22. 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)
(Thou canst defer whom thou wilt of them�) [33:51]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �This verse was revealed when some of the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, felt jealous [of other co-wives] so much so that they harmed him and asked for increase in their maintenance. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not sleep with them in the same bed for a month until the verse of choice [33:29] was revealed. Allah, exalted is He, commanded him to ask them to choose between this worldly life and the Afterlife. He was commanded to divorce those who chose this worldly life and keep whoever among them chose Allah, glorified is He, and His Messenger as mothers of the believers who will never marry after him. He was also given permission to receive anyone of them he wanted to receive and defer anyone he wanted to defer; they had to be content whether or not he apportioned something for them, and regardless of whether or not he prefers some over the others with regard to the apportioning of provision and the time spent with them. It was all up to him to do as he wished. All of them accepted these terms. However, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, gave an equal part of maintenance to all his wives, even though Allah, exalted is He, had granted him wide compass [in his dealings with them]�. Abu �Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Muzakki informed us> �Abd al-Malik ibn al-Hasan ibn Yusuf al-Saqati> Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Halwani> Yahya ibn Ma�in> �Abbad ibn �Abbad> �Asim al-Ahwal> Mu�adhah> �A�ishah who said: �After the verse (Thou canst defer whom thou wilt of them�) was revealed, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, used to seek permission from us [to go to another of his wives] when it was the turn of one of us [to spend time with him]�. Mu�adhah asked her: �What did you use to say?� I used to say: �If this is my turn, I would not prefer anyone else to have you instead of me!� This was narrated by Bukhari> Hibban ibn Musa> Ibn al-Mubarak and also by Muslim> Shurayh ibn Yunus> �Abbad; and both �Abbad and Ibn al-Mubarak related it from �Asim.
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
No community resources for this verse yet.