Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:37

Zayd said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), "I wish to separate from my companion." The Prophet replied, "What is the matter? Has she caused you any suspicion?" He said, "No, by Allah; I have seen nothing from her but good, but she is arrogant toward me because of her noble lineage and she harms me." The Prophet said, "Keep your wife to yourself and fear Allah."

Later, Zayd divorced her. When her waiting period (‘iddah) ended, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "I do not find anyone more trustworthy in my heart than you; propose to Zaynab on my behalf." Zayd said, "I went to her while she was kneading her dough. When I saw her, she became so great in my heart that I could not look at her, knowing that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had mentioned her. I turned my back to her and said, 'O Zaynab, rejoice! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) proposes to you.' She rejoiced and said, 'I will not do anything until I consult my Lord.' She stood up in her prayer niche, and the Quran was revealed: {We have married her to you}."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married her and consummated the marriage. He did not provide a wedding feast for any of his wives as he did for her: he slaughtered a sheep and fed the people bread and meat until the day grew long.

If you ask: What did he mean by {And fear Allah}? I say: He meant: Fear Allah and do not divorce her. He intended a prohibition of disapproval (tanzih), not prohibition (tahrim), because it is better not to divorce. It is also said: He meant, "Fear Allah and do not blame her regarding her pride and the harming of her husband."

If you ask: What was it that he concealed in his heart? I say: The attachment of his heart to her. It is also said: The desire for Zayd to separate from her. Or, his knowledge that Zayd would divorce her and that he would marry her, for Allah had informed him of that.

From ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): "If the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) were to have concealed anything of what was revealed to him, he would have concealed this verse."

If you ask: What did Allah want him to say when Zayd told him, "I wish to separate from her"? It would have been shameful for him to say, "Do it, for I wish to marry her." I say: It is as if the Almighty wanted him to remain silent at that moment, or to say, "You know best regarding your own affair," so that his outward speech would not contradict his inner secret. Allah desires from the Prophets that their outward and inward states be equal, that they be firm in matters, consistent in their conditions, and steadfast upon a straight path.

If you ask: How did Allah rebuke him for concealing what it would be shameful to declare, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) only considers something shameful to declare if it is inherently shameful, and public opinion only attaches itself to what is considered ugly by reason and custom? Why did He not rebuke him for the matter itself and command him to suppress his desire and restrain his soul from yearning for Zaynab? Why did He not protect His Prophet (peace be upon him) from an attachment that is considered shameful and exposes him to gossip?

I say: How many things does a person guard against and feel shy of people knowing, while it is in itself permissible, vast, and absolutely lawful—having no fault before Allah? Sometimes, entering into that permissible thing is a ladder to achieving obligations whose impact on religion is great and whose reward is immense. If he did not guard against it, many people would let their tongues loose, except for those granted virtue, knowledge, religion, and insight into the realities of things rather than their shells.

Do you not see that when they would covet the houses of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), they would remain rooted in their seats, not leaving, enjoying conversation? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would be harmed by their sitting and his heart would be constricted by their talk, yet shyness prevented him from ordering them to disperse, until {Indeed, that was troubling the Prophet, and he was shy of you; but Allah is not shy of the truth} (Al-Ahzab: 53) was revealed. If the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had revealed his inner thoughts and ordered them to disperse, it would have been difficult for them, and there would have been some gossip.

This is of that same category. For the inclination of a human heart toward some of its desires—whether a woman or otherwise—is not described as ugly in reason or in the Law, because it is not the person's action, nor is its existence by his choice. Taking the permissible through the legal path is also not ugly. This was the proposal to Zaynab and marrying her without forcing Zayd to give her up, nor asking him—even though he was closer to him than the button of his shirt—to favor him by separating from her, especially with the strong knowledge that Zayd’s soul had no attachment to her; rather, it was averse to her, while the soul of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was attached to her.

It was not considered reprehensible among them for a man to give up his wife for his friend, nor was it considered shameful if, having given her up, the other married her. When the Emigrants (Muhajirun) entered Medina, the Helpers (Ansar) shared everything with them, to the point that if a man had two wives, he would give up one of them and marry her to the Emigrant.

Since the matter was permissible from all sides and contained no aspect of ugliness, corruption, or harm to Zayd or anyone else—but rather brought about interests, not least of which is that the daughter of the Messenger of Allah’s aunt was secured from widowhood and poverty, attained honor, and became a Mother of the Believers—along with what Allah mentioned of the general interest in His saying: {So that there will be no restriction upon the believers concerning the wives of their adopted sons when they have fulfilled their desire for them}, it was fitting that Allah should rebuke His Messenger when he concealed it and went to extremes in concealing it by saying: {Keep your wife to yourself and fear Allah}, and that He should not be satisfied for him except with the unity of his conscience and his outward appearance, and steadfastness in the places of truth, so that the believers may follow his example and not be shy of confronting the truth, even if it is bitter.

If you ask: What is the waw in {And you were concealing in your heart} and {And you were fearing the people, while Allah is more worthy}? I say: It is the waw of state (hal). Meaning: You say to Zayd, "Keep your wife to yourself," while concealing in your heart the desire that he not keep her, and you conceal it fearing the gossip of the people, and you fear the people, while you are more worthy of fearing Allah in that. Or it is the waw of conjunction, as if it were said: "And when you combine your saying 'Keep her' with the concealment of the opposite, and the fear of the people—while Allah is more worthy that you should fear Him, so that you do not do such a thing."

{When Zayd had fulfilled his desire for her}—when a person reaches his need for something he has an interest in, it is said he has "fulfilled his desire." The meaning is: When Zayd no longer had a need for her, his interest in her diminished, his soul was content to let her go, he divorced her, and her waiting period ended, {We married her to you}.

The reading of the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt) is: Zawwajtuka-ha (I married her to you). Ja'far ibn Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked, "Do you not recite it otherwise?" He said, "No, by the One besides Whom there is no god, I did not recite it to my father except thus, nor did Al-Hasan ibn Ali recite it to his father except thus, nor did Ali ibn Abi Talib recite it to the Prophet (peace be upon him) except thus."

{And the command of Allah is ever executed} is a parenthetical sentence. Meaning: The command of Allah, which He wills to be, is executed and brought into being inevitably. This is an example of what He willed to be, from the marriage of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to Zaynab, to the removal of restriction from the believers in treating the wives of adopted sons the same as the wives of biological sons regarding their prohibition after the ties of marriage between them have been severed. It is also possible that "the command of Allah" refers to the "Created One" (al-mukawwan), because it is brought into being by "Be" (kun), which is the command of Allah.