Transliteration:( Turjee man tashaaa'u minhunna wa tu'weee ilaika man tashaaa'u wa manibta ghaita mimman 'azalta falaa junaaha 'alaik; zaalika adnaaa an taqarra a'yunuhunna wa laa yahzanna wa yardaina bimaa aataitahunna kulluhunn; wal laahu ya'lamu maa fee quloo bikum; wa kaanal laahu 'Aleeman haleemaa )
"You may put behind any of your wives you select and may give place near you any of them you like. And if you desire to have any one of those whom you have put aside, there is no blame on you. This is better so that their eyes may be cooled and that they may not grieve, and they may be pleased with what you have given them. And Allah knows what is in the hearts of you all. And Allah is Knowing, Forbearing."
(Kanzul Imaan Translation)
This verse confirms that the Prophet ﷺ was not obligated to maintain the usual equality of nights and turns among his wives, as required for other Muslim men.
This special allowance:
Enabled him to defer or bring close any wife as he chose.
Was part of his distinct status as a Messenger.
Yet, despite this divine exemption, the Prophet ﷺ maintained remarkable justice among his noble wives—offering an example of moral excellence and consideration, above obligation.
If the Prophet ﷺ had temporarily set aside a wife (e.g., postponed her turn or reduced closeness), and then wished to resume marital intimacy or affection, there was no blame upon him for doing so.
This flexibility ensured that the Prophet ﷺ could manage his personal responsibilities without undue constraint, while still maintaining fairness and dignity among his household.
This divine system:
Was meant to calm the hearts of the noble wives,
So they would not feel grief or jealousy,
And instead accept any preference from the Prophet ﷺ as a gift from Allah—not a right being denied.
By understanding that these matters were under divine dispensation, they would experience inner peace and contentment.
Allah reminds believers that He knows the inner states of the heart:
Even if someone’s emotions naturally incline toward a particular spouse,
They must still strive to act justly and not violate any rights.
The Prophet ﷺ and his followers are reassured that:
Desire is natural, but must be restrained by fairness,
And Allah is All-Knowing and Forbearing, aware of all intentions and feelings—even those not outwardly expressed.
51. You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you: that is better that they may be comforted and not grieved, and may all be pleased with what you give them. Allah knows what is in your hearts. And Allah is Ever All-Knowing, Most Forbearing.
Imam Ahmad recorded that `A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to feel jealous of the women who offered themselves to the Prophet . She said, “Would a woman not feel shy to offer herself without any dowery” Then Allah revealed the Ayah,
(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will.) She said, “I think that your Lord is hastening to confirm your desire.” We have already stated that Al-Bukhari also recorded this. This indicates that what is meant by the word:
(postpone) is delay, and
(whom you will of them) means, `of those who offer themselves to you.’
(and you may receive whom you will.) means, `whoever you wish, you may accept, and whoever you wish, you may decline, but with regard to those whom you decline, you have the choice of going back to them later on and receiving them.’ Allah says:
(And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you (to receive her again).) Others said that what is meant by:
(You can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them,) means, `your wives: there is no sin on you if you stop dividing your time equally between them, and delay the turn of one of them and bring forward the turn of another as you wish, and you have intercourse with one and not another as you wish.’ This was narrated from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Abu Razin, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others. Nevertheless, the Prophet used to divide his time between them equally, hence a group of the scholars of Fiqh among the Shafi`is and others said that equal division of time was not obligatory for him and they used this Ayah as their evidence. Al-Bukhari recorded that `A’ishah said: “The Messenger of Allah used to ask permission of us (for changing days) after this Ayah was revealed:
(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you.)” I (the narrator) said to her: “What did you say” She said, “I said, `If it were up to me, I would not give preference to anyone with regard to you, O Messenger of Allah!”’ This Hadith indicates that what is meant in this Hadith from `A’ishah is that it was not obligatory on him to divide his time equally between his wives. The first Hadith quoted from her implies that the Ayah was revealed concerning the women who offered themselves to him. Ibn Jarir prefered the view that the Ayah was general and applies both to the women who offered themselves to him and to the wives that he already had, and that he was given the choice whether to divide him time among them or not. This is a good opinion which reconciles between the Hadiths. Allah says:
(that is better that they may be comforted and not grieved, and may all be pleased with what you give them.) meaning, `if they know that Allah has stated that there is no sin on you with regard to dividing your time. If you wish, you may divide you time and if you do not wish, you need not divide your time, there is no sin on you no matter which you do. Therefore if you divide your time between them, this will be your choice, and not a duty that is enjoined upon you, so they will feel happy because of that and will recognize your favor towards them in sharing your time equally among them and being fair to all of them.’
(Allah knows what is in your hearts.) means, `He knows that you are more inclined towards some of them than others, which you cannot avoid.’ Imam Ahmad recorded that `A’ishah said: “The Messenger of Allah used to divide his time between his wives fairly and treat them equally, then he said:
(O Allah, I have done as much as I can with regard to what is under my control, so do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine.)” It was also recorded by the four Sunan compilers. After the words “so do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine,” Abu Dawud’s report adds the phrase:
(So do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine.) meaning matters of the heart. Its chain of narration is Sahih, and all the men in its chain are reliable. Then this phrase is immediately followed by the words,
(And Allah is Ever All-Knowing,) i.e., of innermost secrets,
(Most Forbearing.) meaning, He overlooks and forgives.
(33:51) Of them you may put off any of them you wish, and you may take any of them whom you wish, and you may call back any of those whom you had (temporarily) set aside: there will be no blame on you (on this account). It is likelier that they will thus be comforted, and will not grieve, and every one of them will be well-pleased with what you give them.[91] Allah knows what is in your hearts. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Forbearing.[92]
91. This verse was meant to relieve the Prophet (peace be upon him) of the domestic worries and anxieties so that he could carry out his duties with full peace of mind. When Allah clearly gave him the power and the authority to treat any of his wives as he liked, there remained no chance that those believing ladies would trouble him in any way, or would create complications for him by their mutual rivalries and domestic squabbles. But in spite of having this authority from Allah the Prophet (peace be upon him) meted out full justice to his wives. He did not prefer one to the other and would visit each of them regularly by turns. Only Abu Razin from among the traditionalists has said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited only four of his wives, Aishah, Hafsah, Zainab and Umm Salamah by turns and no turn had been fixed for the other wives. But all other traditionalists and commentators contradict this and prove by authentic traditions that even after having this authority the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited all his wives in turn and treated there alike. Bukhari, Muslim, Nasai, Abu Daud and others have reported on the authority of Aishah that even after the revelation of this verse the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) practice was that whenever he wanted to visit any of us, his wives, on the turn of another wife, he would first ask her permission for it. Abu Bakr al-Jassas relates from Urwah bin Zubair that Aishah told him, “As to our rants the Prophet (peace be upon him) never preferred any of us to the other, although it seldom happened that he did not visit all his wives on the same day, but he never touched a wife unless it was her day by turn.” And this also is a tradition from Aishah that during his last illness when it became difficult for him to move about he asked for his other wives’ permission to stay with her, and only on their approval he passed his last days in her apartment. Ibn Abi Hatim has cited this from Imam Zuhri that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not known to have deprived any of his wives of her turn. To this only Saudah was an exception, who on account of her advanced age had willingly surrendered her turn in favor of Aishah.
Here, nobody should entertain the doubt that Allah had, God forbid, shown an undue privilege to His Prophet (peace be upon him) and deprived his wives of their rights. As a matter of fact, the great objectives for the sake of which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been made an exception to the general rule in respect of the number of wives, also demanded that he should be afforded full peace in domestic life and anything that could cause him distraction and embarrassment should be eradicated. It was a unique honor for the wives that they were privileged to be the life-partners of the greatest of all men like the Prophet (peace be upon him), and by virtue of this they got the opportunity to become his companions and helpers in the great task of reform and invitation that was to become the means of true success for mankind till the end of time. Just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) was offering every kind of sacrifice for the sake of this objective and the companions were also following his example according to their capabilities, so it was also the duty of his wives to display selflessness in every way. Therefore, all the wives accepted Allah’s decision with regard to themselves happily and willingly.
92. This is a warning for the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) wives as well as for all other people. For the wives it is a warning in the sense that if after the coming down of this divine command they did not feel reconciled to it in their hearts, they would not escape Allah’s punishment. And for others the warning is that if they entertained any kind of suspicion in their hearts in regard to the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) matrimonial life, or harbored any misgiving in any recess of their minds, this would not remain hidden from Allah. Along with this Allah’s attribute of forbearance has also been mentioned so that they know that although even a thought of insolence in regard to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is punishable, yet if a person got rid of such a suspicion he might have the hope of His forgiveness.
[1206]- Those mentioned in the previous verse as being lawful to the Prophet (ﷺ) or his wives to which he was married.
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