Al-Ahzab: 51

Ayah

Word by Word

تُرۡجِي

You may defer

مَن

whom

تَشَآءُ

you will

مِنۡهُنَّ

of them

وَتُـٔۡوِيٓ

or you may take

إِلَيۡكَ

to yourself

مَن

whom

تَشَآءُۖ

you will

وَمَنِ

And whoever

ٱبۡتَغَيۡتَ

you desire

مِمَّنۡ

of those whom

عَزَلۡتَ

you (had) set aside

فَلَا

then (there is) no

جُنَاحَ

blame

عَلَيۡكَۚ

upon you

ذَٰلِكَ

That

أَدۡنَىٰٓ

(is) more suitable

أَن

that

تَقَرَّ

may be cooled

أَعۡيُنُهُنَّ

their eyes

وَلَا

and not

يَحۡزَنَّ

they grieve

وَيَرۡضَيۡنَ

and they may be pleased

بِمَآ

with what

ءَاتَيۡتَهُنَّ

you have given them

كُلُّهُنَّۚ

all of them

وَٱللَّهُ

And Allah

يَعۡلَمُ

knows

مَا

what

فِي

(is) in

قُلُوبِكُمۡۚ

your hearts

وَكَانَ

And Allah is

ٱللَّهُ

And Allah is

عَلِيمًا

All-Knower

حَلِيمٗا

Most Forbearing

Translation

Thou mayest defer (the turn of) any of them that thou pleasest, and thou mayest receive any thou pleasest: and there is no blame on thee if thou invite one whose (turn) thou hadst set aside. This were nigher to the cooling of their eyes, the prevention of their grief, and their satisfaction - that of all of them - with that which thou hast to give them: and Allah knows (all) that is in your hearts: and Allah is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing.

Tafsir

The Attributes of the Messenger of Allah

Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرۡسَلۡنَاكَ

O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you,

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ata' bin Yasar said that he met Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As, may Allah be pleased with him, and said to him:

Tell me about the description of the Messenger of Allah in the Tawrah.

He said, Yes, by Allah, he was described in the Tawrah with some of the qualities with which he was described in the Qur'an:

`O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, a saviour to the illiterate. You are My servant and My Messenger and I have called you Al-Mutawakkil (reliant). You are not harsh or severe, or noisy in the marketplaces. You do not repay evil with evil, but you overlook and forgive. Allah will not take your soul until you make straight those who have deviated and they say La ilaha illallah, words with which blind eyes, deaf ears and sealed hearts will be opened'.

It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Books of Business and At-Tafsir.

Wahb bin Munabbih said:

Allah revealed to one of the Prophets of the Children of Israel whose name was Sha`ya' (Isaiah); `Stand up among your people the Children of Israel and I shall cause your tongue to utter (words of) revelation.

I shall send an unlettered (Prophet) from among the illiterate (people).

- He will not be harsh or severe, or noisy in the marketplaces.

- If he were to pass by a lamp, it would not be extinguished, because of his tranquility.

- If he were to walk on reeds no sound would be heard from under his feet.

- I will send him as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner, who will never utter immoral speech.

- Through him I will open blind eyes, deaf ears and sealed hearts.

- I will guide him to do every good deed and I will bestow upon him every noble characteristic.

- I will make tranquility his garment, righteousness his banner, piety his conscience, wisdom his speech, truthfulness and loyalty his nature, tolerance and goodness his character, truth his way, justice his conduct, guidance his leader, Islam his nation.

- Ahmad is his name and through him I will guide people after they have gone astray, teach them after they have been ignorant, raise their status after they were nothing, make them known after they were unknown, increase the number (of followers of the truth) after they have been few, make them rich after they have been poor, and bring them together after they have been divided.

- Through him I will bring together different nations and hearts, and reconcile opposing desires.

- Through him I will save great numbers of people from their doom.

- I will make his Ummah the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; they will enjoin good and forbid evil, sincerely believing in Me Alone and accepting as truth all that My Messengers have brought.

- I shall inspire them to glorify, praise and magnify Me Alone in their places of worship and in their gatherings, when they lie down and when they return home. They will pray to Me standing and sitting.

- They will fight for the sake of Allah in ranks and armies.

- They will go forth from their homes by the thousand, seeking My pleasure, washing their faces and limbs, girding their loins. Their sacrifice will be their blood and their holy Book will be in their hearts.

- They will be like monks by night and like lions by day.

- Among the members of his family and his offspring I will make those who are foremost (in faith) and believers in the truth and martyrs and righteous people.

- His Ummah after him will lead people with truth and establish justice therewith.

- I will give strength to those who support them and help those who pray for them, and I will inflict defeat upon those who oppose them or transgress against them or seek to take something from their hands.

- I will make them the heirs of their Prophet, calling people to their Lord, enjoining what is good, forbidding what is evil, establishing regular prayer, paying the Zakah and fulfilling their promises.

- Through them I will complete the goodness which I started with the first of them.

This is My bounty which I bestow upon whomsoever I will, and I am the Possessor of great bounty.'

شَاهِدًا

as witness,

means, a witness to Allah's Oneness, for there is no God except He, and a witness against mankind for their deeds on the Day of Resurrection.

وَجِيۡنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَـوُلاءِ شَهِيداً

and We bring you as a witness against these people. (4:41)

This is like the Ayah:

لِّتَكُونُواۡ شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدًا

that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger be a witness over you. (2:143)

وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner.

means, a bearer of glad tidings to the believers of a great reward, and a warner to the disbelievers of a great punishment

وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذۡنِهِ

And as one who invites to Allah by His leave,

means, `you call mankind to worship their Lord because He has commanded you to do so.'

وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا

and as a lamp spreading light.

means, `the Message that you bring is as clear as the sun shining brightly, and no one can deny it except those who are stubborn.'

وَبَشِّرِ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ فَضۡلً كَبِيرًا

And announce to the believers the glad tidings, that they will have from Allah a great bounty

وَلَا تُطِعِ الۡكَافِرِينَ وَالۡمُنَافِقِينَ وَدَعۡ أَذَاهُمۡ

And obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and harm them not.

means, `do not obey them and do not pay attention to what they say.'

وَدَعۡ أَذَاهُمۡ

(and harm them not),

means, `overlook and ignore them, for their matter rests entirely with Allah and He is sufficient for them (to deal with them).'

Allah says:

وَتَوَكَّلۡ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلً

And put your trust in Allah, and sufficient is Allah as a Trustee

A Gift and no (Iddah) for Women Who are divorced before Consummation of the Marriage

Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِذَا نَكَحۡتُمُ الۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقۡتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبۡلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ

O you who believe!

When you marry believing women, and then divorce them before you have sexual intercourse with them,

This Ayah contains many rulings, including the use of the word Nikah for the marriage contract alone. There is no other Ayah in the Qur'an that is clearer than this on this point. It also indicates that it is permissible to divorce a woman before consummating the marriage with her.

الۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ

(believing women),

this refers to what is usually the case, although there is no difference between a believing (Muslim) woman and a woman of the People of the Book in this regard, according to scholarly consensus.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ali bin Al-Hussein Zayn-ul-Abidin and a group of the Salaf took this Ayah as evidence that divorce cannot occur unless it has been preceded by marriage, because Allah says,

إِذَا نَكَحۡتُمُ الۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقۡتُمُوهُنَّ

(When you marry believing women, and then divorce them),

The marriage contract here is followed by divorce, which indicates that the divorce cannot be valid if it comes first.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

If someone were to say, `every woman I marry will ipso facto be divorced,' this does not mean anything, because Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِذَا نَكَحۡتُمُ الۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقۡتُمُوهُنَّ

(O you who believe! When you marry believing women, and then divorce them....).

It was also reported that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

Allah said,

إِذَا نَكَحۡتُمُ الۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقۡتُمُوهُنَّ

(When you marry believing women, and then divorce them), do you not see that divorce comes after marriage?

A Hadith to the same effect was recorded from `Amr bin Shu`ayb from his father from his grandfather, who said:

The Messenger of Allah said:

لَاا طَلَاقَ لاِابۡنِ ادَمَ فِيمَا لَاا يَمۡلِك

There is no divorce for the son of Adam with regard to that which he does not possess.

This was recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

At-Tirmidhi said, This is a Hasan Hadith, and it is the best thing that has been narrated on this matter.

It was also recorded by Ibn Majah from Ali and Al-Miswar bin Makhramah, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Messenger of Allah said:

لَاا طَلَاقَ قَبۡلَ نِكَاح

There is no divorce before marriage.

Then Allah says:

فَمَا لَكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِنَّ مِنۡ عِدَّةٍ تَعۡتَدُّونَهَا

no `Iddah have you to count in respect of them.

This is a command on which the scholars are agreed, that if a woman is divorced before the marriage is consummated, she does not have to observe the `Iddah (prescribed period for divorce) and she may go and get married immediately to whomever she wishes.

The only exception in this regard is a woman whose husband died, in which case she has to observe an `Iddah of four months and ten days even if the marriage was not consummated.

This is also according to the consensus of the scholars.

فَمَتِّعُوهُنَّ وَسَرِّحُوهُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلً

So, give them a present, and set them free in a handsome manner.

The present here refers to something more general than half of the named dowry or a special gift that has not been named.

Allah says:

وَإِن طَلَّقۡتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبۡلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ وَقَدۡ فَرَضۡتُمۡ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً فَنِصۡفُ مَا فَرَضۡتُمۡ

And if you divorce them before you have touched (had a sexual relation with) them, and you have fixed unto them their due (dowry) then pay half of that. (2:237)

And Allah says:

لااَّ جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِن طَلَّقۡتُمُ النِّسَأءَ مَا لَمۡ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ أَوۡ تَفۡرِضُواۡ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَمَتِّعُوهُنَّ عَلَى الۡمُوسِعِ قَدَرُهُ وَعَلَى الۡمُقۡتِرِ قَدۡرُهُ مَتَـعاً بِالۡمَعۡرُوفِ حَقًّا عَلَى الۡمُحۡسِنِينَ

There is no sin on you, if you divorce women while yet you have not touched them, nor fixed unto them their due (dowry). But bestow on them gift, the rich according to his means, and the poor according to his means, a gift of reasonable amount is a duty on the doers of good. (2:236)

In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it was recorded that Sahl bin Sa`d and Abu Usayd, may Allah be pleased with them both, said,

The Messenger of Allah married Umaymah bint Sharahil, and when she entered upon him he reached out his hand towards her, and it was as if she did not like that, so he told Abu Usayd to give her two garments.

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said

If the dowry had been named, she would not be entitled to more than half, but if the dowry is not been named, he should give her a gift according to his means, and this is the handsome manner.

The Women who are Lawful for the Prophet

Allah says,

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحۡلَلۡنَا لَكَ أَزۡوَاجَكَ اللَّتِي اتَيۡتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ

O Prophet!

Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their due (dowry),

Allah says, addressing His Prophet that He has made lawful for him of women his wives to whom he has given the dowry, which is what is meant by their due, which is used here, as was stated by Mujahid and others.

The dowry which he gave to his wives was twelve and half Uqiyah (measures of gold) so they all received five hundred Dirhams except for Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan, to whom An-Najashi, may Allah have mercy on him, gave four hundred Dinars (on behalf of the Prophet)

Safiyyah bint Huyay, whom he chose from among the prisoners of Khyber, then he set her free, making her release her dowry.

A similar case was that of Juwayriyah bint Al-Harith Al-Mustalaqiyyah -- he paid off the contract to buy her freedom from Thabit bin Qays bin Shammas and married her.

May Allah be pleased with them all.

وَمَا مَلَكَتۡ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاء اللَّهُ عَلَيۡكَ

those (slaves) whom your right hand possesses whom Allah has given to you,

means, `the slave-girls whom you took from the war booty are also permitted to you.'

He owned Safiyyah and Juwayriyah, then he manumitted them and married them, and he owned Rayhanah bint Sham`un An-Nadariyyah and Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah, the mother of his son Ibrahim, upon him be peace; they were both among the prisoners, may Allah be pleased with them.

وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالَاتِكَ

and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts,

This is justice which avoids going to either extreme, for the Christians do not marry a woman unless there are seven grandfathers between the man and the woman (i.e., they are very distantly related or not at all), and the Jews allow a man to marry his brother's daughter or his sister's daughter. So the pure and perfect Shariah came to cancel out the extremes of the Christians, and permitted marriage to the daughter of a paternal uncle or aunt, or the daughter of a maternal uncle or aunt, and forbade the excesses of the Jews who allowed marriage to the daughter of a brother or sister which is an abhorrent thing.

اللَّتِي هَاجَرۡنَ مَعَكَ

who migrated with you,

وَامۡرَأَةً مُّوۡمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتۡ نَفۡسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنۡ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسۡتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ

and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her -- a privilege for you only,

means, `also lawful for you, O Prophet, is a believing woman if she offers herself to you, to marry her without a dowry, if you wish to do so.'

This Ayah includes two conditions.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said,

O Messenger of Allah, verily, I offer myself to you (for marriage).

She stood there for a long time, then a man stood up and said, O Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you do not want to marry her.

The Messenger of Allah said:

هَلۡ عِنۡدَكَ مِنۡ شَيۡءٍ تُصۡدِقُهَا إِيَّاهُ

Do you have anything that you could give to her as a dowry?

He said, I have only this garment of mine.

The Messenger of Allah said:

إِنۡ أَعۡطَيۡتَهَا إِزَارَكَ جَلَسۡتَ لَا إِزَارَ لَكَ فَالۡتَمِسۡ شَيۡيًا

If you give her your garment, you will be left with no garment. Look for something.

He said, I do not have anything.

He said:

الۡتَمِسۡ وَلَوۡ خَاتَمًا مِنۡ حَدِيد

Look for something, even if it is only an iron ring.

So he looked, but he could not find anything.

Then the Messenger of Allah said to him:

هَلۡ مَعَكَ مِنَ الۡقُرۡانِ شَيۡءٌ

Do you have (know) anything of the Qur'an?

He said, Yes, Surah such and such and Surah and such,

he named the Surahs. So, the Messenger of Allah said:

زَوَّجۡتُكَهَا بِمَا مَعَكَ مِنَ الۡقُرۡان

I marry her to you with what you know of the Qur'an.

It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from the Hadith of Malik.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded a narration from his father that A'ishah said:

The woman who offered herself to the Prophet was Khawlah bint Hakim.

Al-Bukhari recorded that A'ishah said,

I used to feel jealous of those women who offered themselves to the Prophet and I said,

`Would a woman offer herself When Allah revealed the Ayah:

تُرۡجِي مَن تَشَاء مِنۡهُنَّ وَتُوۡوِي إِلَيۡكَ مَن تَشَاء وَمَنِ ابۡتَغَيۡتَ مِمَّنۡ عَزَلۡتَ فَلَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡكَ

(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you),

I said, `I see that your Lord hastens to confirm your desires.'

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn Abbas said:

The Messenger of Allah did not have any wife who offered herself to him.

This was recorded by Ibn Jarir. In other words, he did not accept any of those who offered themselves to him, even though they were lawful for him -- a ruling which applied to him alone.

The matter was left to his own choice, as Allah says:

إِنۡ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسۡتَنكِحَهَا

(and (if) the Prophet wishes to marry her),

meaning, if he chooses to do so.

خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ

a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers.

Ikrimah said:

This means, it is not permissible for anyone else to marry a woman who offers herself to him; if a woman offers herself to a man, it is not permissible for him (to marry her) unless he gives her something.

This was also the view of Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi and others.

In other words, if a woman offers herself to a man, when he consummates the marriage, he has to give her a dowry like that given to any other woman of her status, as the Messenger of Allah ruled in the case of Barwa` bint Washiq when she offered herself in marriage; the Messenger of Allah ruled that she should be given a dowry that was appropriate for a woman like her after her husband died.

Death and consummation are the same with regard to the confirmation of the dowry, and the giving of a dowry appropriate to the woman's status in the case of those who offer themselves to men other than the Prophet is an established ruling. With regard to the Prophet himself, he is not obliged to give a dowry to a woman who offers herself to him, even if he consummated the marriage, because he has the right to marry without a dowry, Wali (representative) or witnesses, as we have seen in the story of Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her.

Qatadah said, concerning the Ayah:

خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ

(a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers),

no woman has the right to offer herself to any man without a Wali or a dowry, except to the Prophet.

قَدۡ عَلِمۡنَا مَا فَرَضۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ فِي أَزۡوَاجِهِمۡ وَمَا مَلَكَتۡ أَيۡمَانُهُمۡ

Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (servants) whom their right hands possess,

Ubayy bin Ka`b, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ibn Jarir said, concerning the Ayah:

قَدۡ عَلِمۡنَا مَا فَرَضۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ فِي أَزۡوَاجِهِمۡ

(Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives),

means, `concerning the limiting of their number to four free women, and whatever they wish of slave-girls, and the conditions of a representative, dowry and witnesses to the marriage. This is with regard to the Ummah (the people), but We have granted an exemption in your case and have not imposed any of these obligations upon you.'

لِكَيۡلَ يَكُونَ عَلَيۡكَ حَرَجٌ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful

The Prophet has the Choice of either accepting or rejecting Women who offer Themselves to Him

Imam Ahmad recorded that A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to feel jealous of the women who offered themselves to the Prophet. She said,

Would a woman not feel shy to offer herself without any dowry!

Then Allah revealed the Ayah,

تُرۡجِي مَن تَشَاء مِنۡهُنَّ وَتُوۡوِي إِلَيۡكَ مَن تَشَاء

You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will.

She said, I think that your Lord is hastening to confirm your desire.

We have already stated that Al-Bukhari also recorded this.

This indicates that what is meant by the word:

تُرۡجِي

(postpone) is delay, and

مَن تَشَاء مِنۡهُنَّ

(whom you will of them) means,

`of those who offer themselves to you.'

وَتُوۡوِي إِلَيۡكَ مَن تَشَاء

(and you may receive whom you will),

means, `whoever you wish, you may accept, and whoever you wish, you may decline, but with regard to those whom you decline, you have the choice of going back to them later on and receiving them.'

Allah says:

وَمَنِ ابۡتَغَيۡتَ مِمَّنۡ عَزَلۡتَ فَلَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيۡكَ

And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you (to receive her again).

Others said that what is meant by:

تُرۡجِي مَن تَشَاء مِنۡهُنَّ

(You can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them),

means, `your wives:

there is no sin on you if you stop dividing your time equally between them, and delay the turn of one of them and bring forward the turn of another as you wish, and you have intercourse with one and not another as you wish.'

This was narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Abu Razin, Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others.

Nevertheless, the Prophet used to divide his time between them equally, hence a group of the scholars of Fiqh among the Shafi`is and others said that equal division of time was not obligatory for him and they used this Ayah as their evidence.

Al-Bukhari recorded that A'ishah said:

The Messenger of Allah used to ask permission of us (for changing days) after this Ayah was revealed:

(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you).

I (the narrator) said to her:What did you say!

She said, I said, `If it were up to me, I would not give preference to anyone with regard to you, O Messenger of Allah!'

This Hadith indicates that what is meant in this Hadith from A'ishah is that it was not obligatory on him to divide his time equally between his wives.

The first Hadith quoted from her implies that the Ayah was revealed concerning the women who offered themselves to him.

Ibn Jarir preferred the view that the Ayah was general and applies both to the women who offered themselves to him and to the wives that he already had, and that he was given the choice whether to divide him time among them or not.

This is a good opinion which reconciles between the Hadiths.

Allah says:

ذَلِكَ أَدۡنَى أَن تَقَرَّ أَعۡيُنُهُنَّ وَلَا يَحۡزَنَّ وَيَرۡضَيۡنَ بِمَا اتَيۡتَهُنَّ كُلُّهُنَّ

that is better that they may be comforted and not grieved, and may all be pleased with what you give them.

meaning, `if they know that Allah has stated that there is no sin on you with regard to dividing your time. If you wish, you may divide you time and if you do not wish, you need not divide your time, there is no sin on you no matter which you do. Therefore if you divide your time between them, this will be your choice, and not a duty that is enjoined upon you, so they will feel happy because of that and will recognize your favor towards them in sharing your time equally among them and being fair to all of them.'

وَاللَّهُ يَعۡلَمُ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمۡ

Allah knows what is in your hearts.

means, `He knows that you are more inclined towards some of them than others, which you cannot avoid.'

Imam Ahmad recorded that A'ishah said:

The Messenger of Allah used to divide his time between his wives fairly and treat them equally, then he said:

اللَّهُمَّ هَذَا فِعۡلِي فِيمَا أَمۡلِكُ فَلَ تَلُمۡنِي فِيمَا تَمۡلِكُ وَلَا أَمۡلِك

O Allah, I have done as much as I can with regard to what is under my control, so do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine.

It was also recorded by the four Sunan compilers.

After the words so do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine, Abu Dawud's report adds the phrase:

فَلَ تَلُمۡنِي فِيمَا تَمۡلِكُ وَلَا أَمۡلِك

So do not blame me for that which is under Your control and not mine.

meaning matters of the heart.

Its chain of narration is Sahih, and all the men in its chain are reliable.

Then this phrase is immediately followed by the words,

وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا

And Allah is Ever All-Knowing, i.e., of innermost secrets,

حَلِيمًا

Most Forbearing.

meaning, He overlooks and forgives

The Reward of His Wives for choosing to stay with the Messenger

Allah says:

لَاا يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَاء مِن بَعۡدُ وَلَاا أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنۡ أَزۡوَاجٍ وَلَوۡ أَعۡجَبَكَ حُسۡنُهُنَّ إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكَتۡ يَمِينُكَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ رَّقِيبًا

It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you, except those whom your right hand possesses. And Allah is Ever a Watcher over all things.

More than one of the scholars, such as Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd, Ibn Jarir and others stated that this Ayah was revealed as a reward to the wives of the Prophet expressing Allah's pleasure with them for their excellent decision in choosing Allah and His Messenger and the Home of the Hereafter, when the Messenger of Allah , gave them the choice, as we have stated above. When they chose the Messenger of Allah their reward was that Allah restricted him to these wives, and forbade him to marry anyone else or to change them for other wives, even if he was attracted by their beauty -- apart from slave-girls and prisoners of war, with regard to whom there was no sin on him.

Then Allah lifted the restriction stated in this Ayah and permitted him to marry more women, but he did not marry anyone else, so that the favor of the Messenger of Allah towards them would be clear.

Imam Ahmad recorded that A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:

The Messenger of Allah did not die until Allah permitted (marriage to other) women for him.

It was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i in their Sunans.

On the other hand, others said that what was meant by the Ayah,

لَاا يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَاء مِن بَعۡدُ

(It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this,

means, `after the description We have given of the women who are lawful for you, those to whom you have given their dowry, those whom your right hand possesses, and daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts, maternal uncles and aunts, and those who offer themselves to you in marriage -- other kinds of women are not lawful for you.'

This view was narrated from Ubayy bin Ka`b, from Mujahid in one report which was transmitted from him, and others.

At-Tirmidhi recorded that Ibn Abbas said:

The Messenger of Allah was forbidden to marry certain kinds of women apart from believing women who had migrated with him, in the Ayah,

لَاا يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَاء مِن بَعۡدُ وَلَاا أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنۡ أَزۡوَاجٍ وَلَوۡ أَعۡجَبَكَ حُسۡنُهُنَّ إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكَتۡ يَمِينُك

It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you, except those whom your right hand possesses.

Allah has made lawful believing women, and believing women who offered themselves to the Prophet for marriage, and He made unlawful every woman who followed a religion other than Islam, as Allah says:

وَمَن يَكۡفُرۡ بِالاِيمَـنِ فَقَدۡ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ

And whosoever disbelieves in faith, then fruitless is his work. (5:5)

Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that this Ayah is general in meaning and applies to all the kinds of women mentioned and the women to whom he was married, who were nine.

What he said is good, and may be what many of the Salaf meant, for many of them narrated both views from him, and there is no contradiction between the two. And Allah knows best.

وَلَا أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنۡ أَزۡوَاجٍ وَلَوۡ أَعۡجَبَكَ حُسۡنُهُنَّ

nor to change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you,

He was forbidden to marry more women, even if he were to divorce any of them and wanted replace her with another, except for those whom his right hand possessed (slave women).