66. At-Tahrim | 12 verses | The Prohibition | Medinan

1. O Prophet! Why do you forbid (for yourself) that which Allah has allowed to you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

2. Allah has already ordained for you (O men) the absolution from your oaths. And Allah is your Maula (Lord, or Master, or Protector) and He is the All-Knower, the All-Wise.

3. And (remember) when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives (Hafsah), then she told it (to another i.e. 'Aishah). And Allah made it known to him; he informed part thereof and left a part. Then when he told her (Hafsah) thereof, she said: "Who told you this?" He said: "The All-Knower, the All-Aware (Allah) has told me."

4. If you two (wives of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم : 'Aishah and Hafsah رضي الله عنهما) turn in repentance to Allah, (it will be better for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم likes); but if you help one another against him (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), then verily, Allah is his Maula (Lord, or Master, or Protector), and Jibril (Gabriel), and the righteous among the believers; and furthermore, the angels are his helpers.

5. It may be if he divorced you (all) that his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you - Muslims (who submit to Allah), believers, obedient (to Allah), turning to Allah in repentance, worshipping Allah sincerely, given to fasting or emigrants (for Allah's sake), previously married and virgins.

6. O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.

7. (It will be said in the Hereafter) O you who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism)! Make no excuses this Day! You are being requited only for what you used to do.

8. O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will expiate from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise) - the Day that Allah will not disgrace the Prophet (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and (with their Records - Books of deeds) in their right hands. They will say: "Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us [and do not put it off till we cross over the Sirat (a slippery bridge over the Hell) safely] and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You are Able to do all things."

9. O Prophet (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم)! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be severe against them; their abode will be Hell, and worst indeed is that destination.

10. Allah sets forth an example for those who disbelieve: the wife of Nuh (Noah) and the wife of Lut (Lot). They were under two of our righteous slaves, but they both betrayed them (their husbands by rejecting their doctrine). So they [Nuh (Noah) and Lut (Lot) عليهما السلام] availed them (their respective wives) not against Allah and it was said: "Enter the Fire along with those who enter!"

11. And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir'aun (Pharaoh), when she said: "My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his work, and save me from the people who are Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers and disbelievers in Allah).

12. And Maryam (Mary), the daughter of 'Imran who guarded her chastity. And We breathed into (the sleeve of her shirt or her garment) through Our Ruh [i.e. Jibril (Gabriel) ], and she testified to the truth of the Words of her Lord [i.e. believed in the Words of Allah: "Be!" - and he was; that is 'Îsa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) as a Messenger of Allah], and (also believed in) His Scriptures, and she was of the Qanitun (i.e. obedient to Allah) .