At-Tahrim (Arabic: التحريم, "Banning, Prohibition") is the 66th chapter (sura) of the Qur'an and contains 12 verses (ayah). This is a Surah which deals with questions regarding Muhammad's (PBUH) wives.
Name of the Surah:
The Surah derived its name from the words lima tuharrimu of the very first verse. This too is not a title of its subject matter, but the name implies that it is the Surah in which the incident of tahrim (prohibition, forbiddance) has been mentioned.
Theme & Subject Matter:
A Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar, Islamic modernist, exegete and educationist Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (born 1951) summarize the theme of the surah as follows:
The theme of Surah At-Tahrim is to inform Muslims how, at times of showing love and affection, they should try to keep themselves and their families within the limits prescribed by God. Moreover, it is emphasized that each person should remain aware that the only thing that will be of avail to him before God is his deeds. In their absence, association with the greatest of personalities will not be of any benefit.
Hadith / Hadees:
The first and foremost exegesis / tafsir of the Mushaf is found in hadith of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W). Although scholars including ibn Taymiyyah claim that Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) has commented on the whole of the Qur'an, others including Ghazali cite the limited amount of narratives, thus indicating that he has commented only on a portion of the Qur'an. Hadis (حديث) is literally "speech" or "report", that is a recorded saying or tradition of Muhammad validated by isnad; with Sirah Rasul Allah these comprise the sunnah and reveal shariah. According to Hazrat Aishah (R.A), the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was practical implementation of Qur'an. Therefore, mention in hadith elevates the importance of the pertinent surah from a certain perspective. Ibn Abbas is known for his knowledge of traditions as well as his critical interpretation of the Qur'an. From early on, he gathered information from other companions of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) and gave classes and wrote commentaries.
Sa'id ibn Jubayr narrated that Ibn 'Abbas said: "A man came to him and said: 'I have made my wife forbidden to myself.' He said: 'You are lying, she is not forbidden to you.' Then he recited this Verse: 'O Prophet! Why do you forbid (for yourself) that which Allah has allowed to you.'(At-Tahrim) (And he said): 'You have to offer the severest form of expiation: Freeing a slave.'"
Placement & Coherence with other surahs
This surah is the last surah of 6th group of surahs which starts from surah Qaf (50) and runs till At-Tahrim(66) and the recurring theme of this section of Quran is Arguments on afterlife and the requirements of faith in it. With regards to the subject-matter, this surah forms a pair with the previous one (At-Talaq). Tadabbur-i-Quran is a tafsir (exegeses) of the Qur'an by Amin Ahsan Islahi based on the concept of thematic and structural coherence, which was originally inspired by Allama Hamiduddin Farahi. The tafsir is extended over nine volumes of six thousand pages. It describes At-Tahrim as a supplement to the previous surah with respect to the central theme. According to Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Surah al-Talaq and Surah al-Tahrim both these surahs form a pair with regard to their subject-matter. In the first surah, the limits which should be observed by a believer while parting from wives are explained while in the second surah, the limits he should observe at instances of expressing love to them are described. Both surahs are addressed to the Muslims, and it is evident from their subject-matter that they were revealed in Madinah in the tazkiyah wa tathir phase of the Prophet Muhammad’s (sws) preaching mission.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) said: Whoever recites Surah Tahrim, Allah would provide him promptitude for sincere repentance.
