The Prohibition (Al-Tahrim): (2-3) Allah has ordained...

{Allah has ordained for you the dissolution of your oaths} (Al-Tahrim: 2).

• Qatadah said: It means Allah has clarified it, as in the verse: {A Surah We have revealed and enjoined} (An-Nur: 1).
• The rest said: It means He has made it obligatory (awjaba).
• The author of Al-Nathm stated: When farada (ordained) is followed by ’ala (upon), it only implies obligation, as in {Indeed, We know what We have ordained for them} (Al-Ahzab: 50). When followed by li (for you), it can carry both meanings.

{The dissolution of your oaths} (tahlata aymānikum): This means resolving them through expiation (kaffārah). Tahlata is on the pattern of taf’ulatan, originally tahlilata. There are two interpretations for the dissolution of an oath:

1. Resolving it through expiation, as in this verse.
2. Using it to mean a short period of time. This is more common, as narrated in the Hadith: "No one will enter the Fire except for the duration of an oath's dissolution" (meaning a brief time).

It was also recited as {expiation of your oaths} (kaffārat aymānikum).

A group of commentators narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) swore not to approach his concubine. Allah then mentioned to him what He had ordained regarding the expiation of an oath.

Ibn Abbas narrated from Sa'id ibn Jubayr that what is forbidden (al-ḥarām) is an oath. That is, if someone says to his wife, "You are forbidden to me" (anti ‘alayya ḥarām) without intending divorce or ẓihār (a form of pre-Islamic divorce), this utterance necessitates the expiation of an oath.

{And Allah is your Patron} (Mawlākum): Meaning your protector and supporter. He is the All-Knowing of His creation and the Wise in what He has legislated.

{And [recall] when the Prophet confided to some of his wives a private matter} (Al-Tahrim: 3): This refers to what he secretly told Hafsa about forbidding the concubine to himself, asking her to keep it secret.

Alternatively, when the Prophet (PBUH) saw jealousy in Hafsa's face, he wanted to appease her, so he confided two things to her: forbidding the slave girl to himself, and the glad tidings that the Caliphate after him would belong to Abu Bakr and his father, Umar. This was stated by Ibn Abbas.

{So when she reported it} (falamma nabba’at bihi): Meaning when she informed Aisha, and Allah revealed it to the Prophet (PBUH), informing him of Hafsa’s statement to Aisha. The Prophet (PBUH) then confronted Hafsa with some of what she said, which is covered by: {He made known to some of it} (to Hafsa): {and ignored some of it}. He did not tell her that she had informed Aisha, as a sign of honor and overlooking. What he ignored was the mention of the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar.

It was also recited as {‘arraf} (with a light r), meaning he punished her for it, derived from saying to the wrongdoer, "I will certainly make you know the consequence of that" (la-u’arrifanna laka dhālika), meaning, "I have become aware of what you have done."

Allah said: {Those are the ones whom Allah knows what is in their hearts} (An-Nisa: 63), meaning He will recompense them, as He knows what is in the hearts of all creation.

{So when she informed him of it, she said: "Who told you this?" He said: "The All-Knowing, the All-Aware told me"}: He described Himself as Khabīr (All-Aware) after describing Himself as ’Alīm (All-Knowing) because Khabīr implies a greater degree of intensity than ’Alīm.

In this verse, there are discussions:

Answer: It is related because forbidding a woman constitutes an oath. Thus, if a man says to his wife, "You are forbidden to me," it is an oath, and he becomes one who has sworn (mūliyan) by mentioning it afterward, and he must offer expiation.

Answer: Al-Hasan said he did not offer expiation because whatever sins he had committed previously or would commit later were forgiven for him. This verse was merely instruction for the believers.

Muqatil said that he freed a slave for forbidding Marya (his concubine).

{If you two repent to Allah, then your hearts have inclined [toward error]; and if you cooperate against him, then indeed, Allah is his protector, and Gabriel and the righteous of the believers, and the angels, moreover, are his supporters. [As for] the latter part, perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you, will substitute for him wives better than you—submitting, believing, devoutly obedient, turning to Allah in repentance, worshipping, travelers, previously married and virgins.} (Al-Tahrim: 4-5)