Christian
Churches of God
No. Q066
Commentary on the Koran: Surah 66 “The
Prohibition”
(Edition 1.0 20180501-20180501)
This Surah
is also referred to as “the Banning” from At
Tahrim in verse 1.
Christian
Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright
© 2018 Wade Cox and Alan Brach)
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Commentary on the Koran: Surah 66 “The
Prohibition”
Pickthall Translation; Bible Quotes are
from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
Introduction
There
are three views or traditions as to the origin of this Surah
from verses 1-4.
At-Tahrim takes its name
as the “Banning” or “Prohibition” from a word in verse 1.
The
Hadithic traditions attribute three origins to the Surah, only one of which could be true, and most probably
none are true.
An
important aspect of the translation and text is that according to Pickthall all the wives of the Prophet were widows except
for Ayeshah and she, like they all were, was thrust
on the Prophet out of necessity as widows or as with Ayeshah
as a legatee from Abu Bakr who outlived him anyway.
He
is noted by the Scholars, as recorded by Pickthall,
as having only one son who was named Ibrahim and thus he was not the father of
a son named Qasim which was his own true name. Abu Qasim is thus the misapplied name Father Qasim and not Father of Qasim.
The
traditions are recorded by Pickthall as:
1.
The prophet was fond of honey. One of his
wives was inveigled into staying with him longer than was customary. Ayesha knew of the Prophet’s horror of
unpleasant smells and with two other wives
held their noses and accused him of eating the produce of a rank
smelling tree, Maghafir. The Prophet allegedly said he had
eaten only honey and the women said the bees had then been fed on Maghafir. The Prophet allegedly then vowed to eat no more
honey.
2.
Hafsah allegedly found
the Prophet in her room with Marya the Coptic girl
given to the Prophet by the ruler of Egypt. Marya
became the mother of the only male child of the Prophet named Ibrahim. The
Prophet was remarried by this stage. This conduct was on a day that custom
allegedly was allocated to Ayesha. This could not have been earlier than a few
years before the death of the Prophet when she was 18. Allegedly, the Prophet,
moved by Hafsah’s distress vowed to shut Marya away and asked her not to tell Ayesha which she
promptly did boasting of how easily she had got rid of Marya.
3.
Before Al-Islam, it was
alleged that women had no rights in (Paganised)
Arabia, (which was not true) as the Church of God assigned Biblical rights to
the women and the Jews also accorded rights under Biblical law. The women were
accorded rights under the Koran in accordance with Biblical law which the
traditions of the Hadith alleges they were inclined
to exaggerate. Omar is recorded as remonstrating with Hafsah,
his wife, about her presumption when she said his own daughter Hafsah, the wife of the Prophet, was guilty of this
presumptuous behaviour.
The
purpose of all three traditions was to assert polygamy to the Prophet.
Pickthall considers tradition 2 most
likely and favoured by the commentators on the text
but acknowledges 1 and 3 are the best authenticated and favoured
by many of the great traditionists.
The
Biblical text of the NT allows only one wife to an elder of the Church of God.
The aspects of Polygamy are examined in the paper Polygamy in the Bible
and the Koran (No. 293).
The
Prophet’s position as head of the church and the state made him responsible for
widows and legatees. There are no children recorded as being born to the
Prophet by Ayesha. And Marya is the alleged mother of
Ibrahim, the only male child of the Prophet. He was faithful to his first wife
until her death. The obligation is on those who assert children to multiple
wives, to identify the wives and the names of the children. Polygamy is not
permitted to the elders of the Churches of God. Remarriage on death or
divorce is permitted.
Ali
was the Prophet’s nephew and he took over responsibility for the conduct of the
faith with Hussein after the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs. There were no
children recorded as being involved.
66.1. O Prophet! Why bannest thou that which Allah hath made lawful for thee,
seeking to please thy wives? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
66.2. Allah hath made lawful for
you (Muslims) absolution from your oaths (of such a kind), and Allah is your
Protector. He is the Knower, the Wise.
See
Deuteronomy 29:29 in Commentary on the
Koran: Surah 21 (No. Q021) at ayat 15 and Daniel
9:9 in Commentary on the
Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024) at ayat 5.
Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from
it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.
Deuteronomy 12:32 Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do.
You shall not add to it or take from it.
1Corinthians 7:4-5 For the wife does not have
authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does
not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5Do not
deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you
may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan
may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Numbers 30:8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he
opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless
utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive
her.
Numbers 30:13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her
husband may establish, or her husband may make void.
Numbers 12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.
Matthew 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.
Refer to Daniel 2:22 in Commentary
on the Koran: Surah 33 (No. Q033) at ayat 55.
God
knows how to deal with his prophets if they overstep his standards. They were
imperfect humans after all, and they will fall now and again in their journey
through life.
66.3. When the Prophet confided a
fact unto one of his wives and when she afterward divulged it and Allah appraised
him thereof, he made known (to her) part thereof and passed over part. And when
he told it her she said: Who hath told thee? He said: The Knower, the Aware
hath told me.
His wife should have kept the fact to herself as he had confided in her.
Nothing is hidden from God.
Proverbs 21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of
trouble.
66.4. If ye twain
turn unto Allah repentant, (ye have cause to do so) for your hearts desired
(the ban); and if ye aid one another against him (Muhammad) then lo! Allah,
even He, is his Protecting Friend, and Gabriel and the righteous among the
believers; and furthermore the angels are his helpers.
Leviticus 5:4-6 or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil
or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from
him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; 5when
he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, 6he
shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed,
a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest
shall make atonement for him for his sin.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Numbers 12:1-9 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2And they said, "Has the LORD indeed
spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the
LORD heard it. 3Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all
people who were on the face of the earth. 4And suddenly the
Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent
of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5And the Lord came down
in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and
Miriam, and they both came forward. 6And he said, “Hear my words: If
there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision;
I speak with him in a dream. 7Not so with my servant Moses. He is
faithful in all my house. 8With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly,
and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not
afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9And the anger of the
Lord was kindled against them, and he departed
God sided with Moses when Miriam and Aaron spoke up against him. Who were they
to oppose the prophet of the Almighty?
Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us?
2Kings 6:16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are
more than those who are with them.”
66.5. It may happen that his Lord,
if he divorce you, will give him in your stead wives better than you,
submissive (to Allah), believing, pious, penitent, devout, inclined to fasting,
widows and maids.
God
told David that if he wanted anything all he had to was ask God for it and God
would have given him much more.
See
Job 42:2 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 47 (No. Q047)
at ayat 32
2Samuel 12:7-8 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the
Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you
out of the hand of Saul. 8And I gave you your master’s house and
your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of
Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.
In Exodus 32: 9-10 God told Moses that he was
able to raise up a nation from Moses. God is able to do all things.
Job 42:10 And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed
for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
66.6. O ye who
believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire whereof the fuel is
men and stones, over which are set angels strong, severe, who resist not Allah
in that which He commandeth them, but do that which
they are commanded.
66.7. (Then it will be said): O ye
who disbelieve! Make no excuses for yourselves this day. Ye are only being paid
for what ye used to do.
Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving
the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but
a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the
adversaries.
Psalm 103:20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do
his word, obeying the voice of his word!
Read
Revelation 20:11-15 as quoted at ayat 15 in Commentary on the Koran: Surah 17 (No. Q017) and Psalm 28:4 at ayat
13 in Commentary on the
Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024).
66.8. O ye who
believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will
remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which
rivers flow, on the day when Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who
believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands;
they will say: Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and forgive us! Lo! Thou art
Able to do all things.
See Isaiah 8:20 in
Commentary on the Koran: Surah 49 (No.
Q049) at
ayat 6.
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out
1Peter 3:11-12 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek
peace and pursue it. 12For the eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is
against those who do evil.
Romans 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous
before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not
with God. For all things are possible with God.”
See 1Peter 2:9 in Commentary on the
Koran: Surah 24 (No. Q024) at ayat 36 and Revelation 20:6 Commentary on Koran:
Surah 30 (No. Q030) at ayat 15.
66.9. O Prophet!
Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them.
Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end.
1Timothy 5:20-21 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence
of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21In the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules
without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.
Titus 1:13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may
be sound in the faith.
They were given a chance in this life and will again be given a second chance during
the 100 years of the White Throne Judgment and if they refuse to repent they will
end up in the lake of fire.
66.10. Allah citeth an example for those who
disbelieve: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot, who were under two of Our
righteous slaves yet betrayed them so that they (the husbands) availed them
naught against Allah and it was said (unto them): Enter the Fire along with
those who enter.
Noah’s wife is mentioned very briefly in the Bible but from the above record it
would seem that she would have been a thorn in his flesh. Perhaps she had been
compromised by the society around her. She was however saved in the ark.
The
Bible states that Noah walked with God and he was blameless. Nothing is noted
about the character of his wife but it is obvious from the comments here that
she was regarded as not walking with God and being rebuked..
Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man,
blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your
household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
Lot’s wife could not achieve deliverance as she desired the things of this
world.
Genesis 19:26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar
of salt.
Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks
back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Hebrews 10:38-39 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks
back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39But we are not of those who
shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
66.11. And Allah citeth an example for those
who believe: the wife of Pharaoh when she said: My Lord! Build for me a home
with thee in the Garden, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver
me from evil-doing folk;
66.12. And Mary,
daughter of 'Imran, whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And
she put faith in the words of her Lord and His scriptures, and was of the
obedient.
The
verse above states that the wife of Pharaoh was a believer.
Verse 12 of
this text also refers to Mariam daughter of Imran the father of Moses (see also Surah
3). She was the sister of Moses and was given the Holy Spirit and became a
prophetess of Israel as Aaron and Moses were prophets.
She must not
be confused with Mariam the Mother of Christ who is
referred to in the texts in Luke 1:27, 28, 35, 38, 42 and 45, Matthew. 1:18,
and John 19:26,27
We are required to be at peace with our spouses.
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (KJV)
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