وَلَا تَنكِحُوا۟ مَا نَكَحَ ءَابَآؤُكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فَـٰحِشَةً وَمَقْتًا وَسَآءَ سَبِيلًا 22
Translations
And do not marry those [women] whom your fathers married, except what has already occurred. Indeed, it was an immorality and hateful [to Allāh] and was evil as a way.
Transliteration
Wa la tankihoo ma nakaha aabaaokum minan nisaa illa ma qad salaf. Innahu kana fahisatan wa maqtan wa saa sabila.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah prohibits marrying women who were previously married to one's fathers, declaring such marriages to be a grave sin and morally repugnant. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this prohibition targets the pre-Islamic Arabian custom of inheriting widows of one's father, and the exception 'illa ma qad salaf' (except what has already occurred) refers to contracts made before this revelation, which were nullified upon Islam's establishment. The triple condemnation—fahisha (grave sin), maqt (abomination), and saa sabila (evil way)—emphasizes the severity of this prohibition and its violation of natural human decency and family honor.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in Medina as part of Surah An-Nisa's comprehensive legislation on marriage and kinship relations. It addresses a pre-Islamic Arabian practice where men would inherit or marry the wives of their deceased fathers as property, treating women as possessions. The revelation came to establish the Islamic legal framework for marriage, protecting women's dignity and clarifying forbidden marriages within family relationships.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari records that 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said: 'The most disliked of lawful things to Allah is divorce.' While not directly about this ayah, it relates to the protection of marital bonds. Additionally, the practice mentioned in this verse is condemned in various hadith collections discussing the pre-Islamic customs (jahiliyyah) that Islam abolished.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Islamic law prioritizes human dignity, particularly for women, and firmly rejects exploitative social customs regardless of their prevalence. For modern readers, it underscores Islam's revolutionary stance on women's rights and reminds us that adherence to Islamic principles must supersede cultural traditions that contradict divine wisdom.
Related Ayahs
وَيَسْتَفْتُونَكَ فِى ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۖ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِيهِنَّ وَمَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ فِى يَتَـٰمَى ٱلنِّسَآءِ ٱلَّـٰتِى لَا تُؤْتُونَهُنَّ مَا كُتِبَ لَهُنَّ وَتَرْغَبُونَ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ وَٱلْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ ٱلْوِلْدَٰنِ وَأَن تَقُومُوا۟ لِلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۚ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِهِۦ عَلِيمًا
And they request from you, [O Muḥammad], a [legal] ruling concerning women. Say, "Allāh gives you a ruling about them and [about] what has been recited to you in the Book concerning the orphan girls to whom you do not give what is decreed for them - and [yet] you desire to marry them - and concerning the oppressed among children and that you maintain for orphans [their rights] in justice." And whatever you do of good - indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing of it.
وَٱسْتَغْفِرِ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
And seek forgiveness of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is ever Forgiving and Merciful.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلًۢا بَعِيدًا
Indeed, Allāh does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allāh has certainly gone far astray.
وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَهُۥ يُدْخِلْهُ نَارًا خَـٰلِدًا فِيهَا وَلَهُۥ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
And whoever disobeys Allāh and His Messenger and transgresses His limits - He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.