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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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A Gentle Commentary

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on the Book *Identification Cards

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for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an*

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by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah al-Tahrim.

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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

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Peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,

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and upon all his family and Companions.

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We continue with our gentle commentary on the identification cards,

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and we have arrived at Surah al-Tahrim.

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I have three points of reflection concerning it.

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The first point relates to what was mentioned regarding the central theme of the surah:

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namely, that it sets forth the ideal model

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for the believing woman,

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who serves as a fundamental building block in constructing a faithful home.

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And what a magnificent building block she is!

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For if it is lost,

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or if what is required

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of its essential qualities

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becomes deficient,

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the entire household is weakened.

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Where do we find these qualities?

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We find them in several places within the surah,

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but I will focus on one passage in particular,

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which is the words of Allah, the Exalted:

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"Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you,

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will substitute for him wives better than you—

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submitting [to Allah], believing,

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devoutly obedient,

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repentant,

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worshipping,

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given to fasting [or migrating],

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both previously married and virgins."

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This last part represents a natural classification:

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a woman is either previously married or a virgin,

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and this does not affect

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the ideal spiritual depiction of a believing woman.

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Consider how Allah chooses for His Prophet,

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and how He addresses his wives:

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"Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you,

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will substitute for him wives better than you."

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So what are the qualities

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that Allah chooses for His Prophet?

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"Submitting [to Allah], believing,

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devoutly obedient,

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repentant,

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worshipping,

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given to fasting."

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These are the characteristics upon which

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believing women ought to be nurtured from an early age,

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and they should be integrated into educational curricula.

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The most important qualities of the woman—

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the Muslim,

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the believer—

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are precisely those mentioned here;

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they represent the foremost traits of the female believer.

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Although we cannot do without other verses

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found in other surahs,

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these are focused, explicit verses

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that every believing woman should heed,

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and which ought to be carefully considered by

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educational curriculum developers.

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In educating the Muslim woman,

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whom we want to emerge strong

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and firmly holding

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to her religion.

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The second point of reflection

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concerns what is mentioned in the second passage of the surah:

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the mention of sincere repentance (*al-tawbah al-nasuh*).

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Indeed, sincere repentance

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is not mentioned except in this surah.

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And topics that are mentioned only once

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are worthy of special attention.

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Some works have been written on this:

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Why was this surah specifically distinguished

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with the mention of sincere repentance,

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even though repentance is mentioned in many other surahs?

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And what is sincere repentance?

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I believe this requires careful study; I do not possess a definitive answer to this, but

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I wished to open the door to exploring sincere repentance in the light of Surah al-Tahrim, within its context,

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its subtle nuances, and its contents, which can portray the true essence of sincere repentance. It is true

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that the scholars explained sincere repentance, but interpreting it in light of

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the entire Surah al-Tahrim reveals many profound insights that were perhaps left unaddressed

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by the scholars who defined it. This broader understanding,

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attained through examining the context and the whole surah, increases our yearning for

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this repentance and deepens our prior knowledge of it. As for the third

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and final point of reflection, it concerns what is mentioned at the end of the surah regarding the parables drawn for

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good and evil through women of earlier times: the wife of Noah, the wife of Lot, and the wife of Pharaoh.

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This leads me to an issue that I frequently emphasize: that a surah

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is profoundly interconnected. A single surah constitutes a tightly knit unity. The parable

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at the end of the surah has an unmistakably clear connection to its beginning

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and to what occurred regarding the Mothers of the Believers at the start of the surah. Thus, the claim that the surah

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lacks internal coherence is thoroughly refuted by such clear examples. At times,

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the connection is subtle and requires further scholarly effort and reflection; however, in

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a surah such as this, the link between its ending and its beginning is self-evident.

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Here I stress that since the surah is interconnected and forms

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an integral whole, it deserves to be recited in a single rak'ah, as

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the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to do. His predominant practice in recitation was

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to complete the surah, though he might occasionally divide it. Yet this is a short surah of merely two pages.

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We find long recitations burdensome—and I marvel at myself and others when we feel burdened by

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a prayer that lasts for twenty minutes. In our standard practice,

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the obligatory prescribed prayer almost never lasts twenty-five

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minutes. Perhaps if one were to recite Surah al-Sajdah and Surah al-Insan

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deliberately and slowly, it might reach this duration. How much time do we spend on

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other matters? What harm would come to us if every prayer

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were performed in half an hour, so that we might recite what the Prophet used to recite?

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His recitation was lengthy compared to ours. I am not speaking

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of what the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade regarding driving people away by

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excessively prolonging the prayer to the point of undue hardship. No; I am speaking of a moderate recitation.

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When an imam recites Surah al-Tahrim in one rak'ah and Surah al-Talaq

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before it in the other, it is considered by the general public today

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an excessive prolongation, though it is not. If you were to calculate the duration of the prayer in which

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these two surahs are recited, for instance, you would find that ultimately

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it would not exceed fifteen minutes or something similar, which is not much.

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It is certainly not much when one recognizes that prayer is light, that it restrains

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from shameful and unjust deeds, that it is a means of drawing near to one's Lord, and that it holds

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whatever virtues you wish to enumerate regarding prayer. This may be

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a digression, but I emphasize that completing the entire surah

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in one rak'ah greatly aids in understanding it, and realizing that the end

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of this surah is intimately tied to its beginning reveals many profound meanings

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thereafter—a realization largely achieved only through reciting it as a whole.

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But if the imam begins his recitation after al-Fatihah with: "Allah presents

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an example of those who disbelieved: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot...",

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the question remains: why did Allah set forth this parable, and how is it connected

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to what came before it? Such insight is lost in this type of permissible recitation,

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which does not reflect the regular, consistent Sunnah transmitted

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from our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. I will content myself with this,

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and I invoke blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions.

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All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.