Tafsir of At-Tahreem 66:5

"It may be that his Lord, if he divorces you, will replace you with wives better than you..."

It is recited: (yubdilahu), with both the light (takhfīf) and heavy (tashdīd) forms, the latter indicating frequency.

{Muslimāt, mu’mināt} Submissive, believing.

{Qānitāt} Obedient.

{Tā’ibāt} Repentant.

{‘Ābidāt} Worshippers.

{Sā’iḥāt} Fasting. It is also recited: (sīḥāt), which is more emphatic. It is said that the faster is called a sā’iḥ (traveler) because the traveler carries no provisions and remains abstinent until he finds food; thus, the faster is likened to him in his abstinence until the time of his breaking fast arrives. It is also said that sā’iḥāt means those who migrate (muhājirāt). Zayd ibn Aslam stated: "There was no siyāḥah (traveling/asceticism) in this nation except for migration."

If you ask: How could the replacements be better than them, when there were no women on the face of the earth better than the Mothers of the Believers?

I say: If the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) were to divorce them due to their disobedience and for causing him harm, they would no longer retain that status. Others who possess these qualities, combined with obedience to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and submission to his desires and pleasure, would be better than them. This is alluded to in His saying: {Qānitāt}, for qunūt is the performance of obedience to Allah, and obedience to Allah lies in obedience to His Messenger.

If you ask: Why were all the attributes devoid of conjunctions (‘āṭif), yet one was placed between the previously married (thayyibāt) and the virgins (abkār)?

I say: Because they are two mutually exclusive attributes that cannot be combined in the same person as the other attributes can, so the wāw (conjunction) was not needed for them.

{O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.}

{O you who have disbelieved, make no excuses today. You are only being recompensed for what you used to do.}