بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَآ أَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ لَكَ ۖ تَبْتَغِى مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَٰجِكَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking the approval of your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Introduction
This is āyah 1 of Sūrat At-Tahrim (The Prohibition), the 107th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 28. 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
- 107 of 114
- Surah
- At-Tahrim (66)
(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?)�. 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?' When he says: 'Hafsah fed me some honey', say: 'The bees which produced it must have eaten the 'Urfut'.
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.
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