Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:4

"Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his breast." Ahmed, Al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Al-Hakim (who classified it as sahih), Ibn Marduyah, and Al-Diya in al-Mukhtarah narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood up one day to pray and let out a sigh (or thought something to himself). The hypocrites who were praying with him said, "Do you not see that he has two hearts: one heart with you and one heart with them?" So this was revealed. In another narration from him (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) performed a prayer and was absent-minded during it, and a word slipped from him which the hypocrites heard, so they amplified it, saying: "Indeed, he has two hearts! Did you not hear his speech and words in the prayer? He has a heart with you and a heart with his companions." So this was revealed.

Muqatil mentioned in his Tafsir, as did Isma’il ibn Abi Ziyad al-Shami and others, that it was revealed concerning Abu Mu'ammar al-Fihri. The people of Mecca used to say, "He has two hearts due to the strength of his memory." The Arabs used to claim that every intelligent, astute person has two hearts in reality. This Abu Mu'ammar was famous among the people of Mecca as "Dhu al-Qalbayn" (The Man with Two Hearts). According to al-Isabah, he was Jamil ibn Asad (diminutive of Asad), though it is said Ibn Asad (unvocalized). Ibn Durayd named him Abdullah ibn Wahb. It is also said that Dhu al-Qalbayn was Jamil ibn Mu’ammar ibn Habib ibn Wahb ibn Hudhafa ibn Jumah al-Jumahi, who is the one meant by the saying: "How shall I stay in the house?"—as previously mentioned in the Tafsir of Surah Luqman. The reliance is upon what is in al-Isabah. It is recounted that he used to say, "I have two hearts; I understand with one of them more than Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) understands." It is narrated that he was defeated on the day of Badr, and he passed by Abu Sufyan while dragging one of his sandals in his hand, with the other on his foot. Abu Sufyan said to him, "What happened to the people?" He replied, "They are between the killed and the fleeing." Abu Sufyan said to him, "What is the matter with one of your sandals on your foot and the other in your hand?" He said, "I did not think but that both were on my feet." Thus, Allah the Exalted proved his statement and theirs to be a lie.

From Al-Hasan, it is narrated that there was a group among whom one would say: "A soul commands me and a soul forbids me," so this was revealed. "Making" here means creation. The intent is that He (Exalted is He) did not create for anyone—or for any animal with a heart, absolutely—two hearts. The specification of "man" is not intended; rather, it is specified by mention due to the perfection of life's necessity within him, and if this is not the case for him, then how much less for others (females)? As for children, their end is manhood. His saying (Exalted is He): "in his breast" is for emphasis and imagery, like "hearts" in His saying: "...but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that are blind."

He mentioned, in clarifying why He (Exalted is He) did not make two hearts in one breast, based on the apparent meaning that the heart is the pine-cone-shaped piece of flesh, that the rational soul—and likewise the animal soul—must have a locus. Its locus is the spirit (ruh), which is a subtle vaporous body formed from the subtlest parts of nutrients, because binding the nerves nullifies the powers of sensation and movement beyond the point of binding—a state which does not befit the direction of the brain. Binding does not prevent anything but the penetration of bodies, and medical experiments are witness to that. Since the soul is one, there must be a single organ to which it attaches or through which it acts upon the other organs.

Many have mentioned that the first organ created is the heart, for it is the gathering place of the spirit; therefore, the attachment must be to it first, and then, through it, to the brain, the liver, and the rest of the organs. Thus, the source of all powers is from it. This prevents multiplicity, for if it were to be multiple—meaning if there were two hearts—it would necessitate that each of them be either the origin of the powers or not the origin, or the meeting of two causes for one effect. It is not hidden from anyone who has a heart that this, while being built upon premises that are not proven by most Islamic scholars—whether the righteous predecessors (salaf) or the later successors (khalaf)—is, even if pursued with great effort, a persuasive argument rather than a definitive proof. Furthermore, the philosopher also has a discourse on this.

The heart may also be interpreted as the "soul" (nafs), based on the reason for revelation being what was narrated from Al-Hasan, applying the term "locus" to the "attached." They have explained the unity of the soul and that it is not permissible for two or more souls to attach to one body, a subject that would take long to elaborate, and there is room for research therein; so let it be consulted. Then, this interpretation—based on the reason for revelation being what was mentioned—is not definitive. Rather, it is permissible to interpret the heart according to its apparent and immediate meaning as well. Since the heart is the attachment point of the soul, the negation of making two hearts serves to negate the making of two souls; so reflect on this.

"And He has not made your wives whom you declare unlawful (by zihar) your mothers." This is an invalidation of what existed in the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era) of applying the rulings of motherhood to those upon whom zihar was performed. Zihar linguistically is a verbal noun from zahara, and it is a mufaa'alah (reciprocal) form from zuhr (the back). It is used for various meanings, returning to it in meaning and word according to different purposes. One says, "I zahartuhu" when you literally oppose your back to his back, and likewise if you anger him, considering that angering necessitates this opposition. "I zahartuhu" means I aided him, based on the saying: "He strengthened his back," meaning he supported him. "I zahartu between two garments" means I wore one over the other, considering that the side by which each is made to face the other is the "back" of the garment. It is said, "He performed zihar upon his wife" when he said to her, "You are to me like the back of my mother," similar to "saying labbayk" when he says "at your service," or "saying uff" when he says "uff." That the word "back" in some of these constructions is metaphorical does not prevent derivation from it; the derivative also becomes metaphorical. The meaning intended here is the last one, and that was a form of divorce among them.

It is connected with min (from), even though it usually connects directly, because it contains the meaning of distancing and similar concepts involving estrangement. It connects with min, and "back" here is a metaphor—as is said—for the belly, because one only mounts the belly; so his saying "like the back of my mother" means "like her belly," by the relation of proximity, and because it is its column. Ibn al-Humam said, "However, there is no apparent subtlety that diverts from the literal meaning." Al-Azhari said, in effect: They specified the "back" because it is the place of mounting, and a woman is mounted when she is having intercourse, so it is a suggestive metonymy; it shifted from the "back" to the "mount," and from there to the "one mounted." The meaning is: You are forbidden to me, you shall not be mounted just as the back of a mother is not mounted. It is said: The back was specified because approaching a woman from her back in her front was forbidden among them, so approaching a mother from her back was even more forbidden; thus the severity was increased. It is also said: They used the "back" as a metonym for the "belly" because they considered mentioning the private parts and what is near them to be indecent, especially regarding the mother and those like her. But this is not strong. In the Shari'ah, it is the likening of a wife—or a part of her, if it is commonly used to express the whole—to someone whose looking at her is not permitted for someone forbidden permanently, whether by breastfeeding or affinity. He added in al-Nihayah the condition of "agreement" to exclude the likening to someone whose looking at her is not permitted but regarding whom there is disagreement, such as a daughter born out of adultery. The verification of the truth of this is in Fath al-Qadir. It was singled out by the name Zihar, giving precedence to the "back" because it was the origin in their usage. Its condition in the woman is that she be a wife, and in the man that he be a person liable for expiation. Its pillar is the word containing that comparison, and its ruling is the prohibition of intercourse and its preludes until the expiation is made. The full discussion of this is in the books of Furu' (branches of law), and some of it will come, God willing, in its proper place.

Qalun and Qunbul read here, as well as in al-Mujadalah and al-Talaq, "al-la'i" with a hamza without a ya. Warsh read it with a ya with a weakened kasra. Al-Bazzi and Abu Amr read "al-la'i" with a quiescent ya as a substitute for the hamza—a substitute that is heard, not analogical; it is the dialect of Quraysh. The people of Kufa, other than Asim, read "tazzahharuna" with a fat-ha on the ta and a shadda on the za; its origin is as mentioned, but the second ta was assimilated into the za. Al-Hasan read "tuzzahhiruna" with a damma on the ta, a fat-ha on the za (unvocalized), and a shadda on the kasra-bearing ha—the imperfect of zahhara with a shadda on the ha, meaning zahar (to perform zihar), just as aqada means aqid. Ibn Wathab read, as reported by Ibn Atiyyah, "tuzzihiruna" with a damma on the ta, a sukun on the za, and a kasra on the ha—the imperfect of azhara. Harun, from Abu Amr, read "tazzaharuna" with a fat-ha on the ta and the ha and a sukun on the za—the imperfect of zahara with a light ha. In the Mushaf of Ubayy, it is "tatazzahharuna" with two tas. The meaning of all is the same.

"And He has not made your adopted sons your sons." This is also an invalidation of what was in the Jahiliyyah and what occurred in Islam: that if a man adopted another’s child, the rulings of sonship were applied to him. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had adopted, before his mission, Zayd ibn Haritha, and similarly Amir ibn Rabi’ah, and Abu Hudhayfah had adopted his client Salim, among others. Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Mujahid that the saying of the Exalted "And He has not made..." etc., was revealed concerning Zayd ibn Haritha (may Allah be pleased with him).

"Ad'iya" (adopted sons) is the plural of "da'i," which is he who is called a son; it is a fa'il form in the sense of a passive participle. Analytically, it should be pluralized as fu'ali—like jarih and jarha—not af'ila. Af'ila is the analogical plural of fa'il with a weak final letter in the sense of an active participle, like taqi and atqiya. It seems it was likened to it in wording, so it was carried upon it, and then its plural was gathered, just as they said for asir (captive) and qatil (slain), usara and qatla. It is also said that this plural is analogical in all words with a weak final letter, but there is some doubt in that.

"That is..." It is said: This is a reference to what is understood from the three clauses: that there may be two hearts in one breast, zihar, and adoption. It is said: It refers to what is understood from the last two. It is said: It refers to what is understood from the last one. "your saying with your mouths"—merely that, without having a counterpart or truth in reality and the essence of the matter. Therefore, it is far from acceptance or from entailing rulings, as you claimed.

"And Allah says the truth"—that which is established and confirmed in the essence of the matter—"and He guides to the [right] way."—meaning the way of truth—so abandon your saying and take the saying of the Mighty and Majestic.

Qatada read, as mentioned in al-Bahr, "yahdi" with a damma on the ya, a fat-ha on the ha, and a shadda on the dal. In al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that he read, "And He is the One who guides to the way."