وَإِذ أَسَرَّ النَّبِيُّ إِلىٰ بَعضِ أَزواجِهِ حَديثًا فَلَمّا نَبَّأَت بِهِ وَأَظهَرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيهِ عَرَّفَ بَعضَهُ وَأَعرَضَ عَن بَعضٍ ۖ فَلَمّا نَبَّأَها بِهِ قالَت مَن أَنبَأَكَ هٰذا ۖ قالَ نَبَّأَنِيَ العَليمُ الخَبيرُ

When the Prophet confided to one of his wives a matter, but when she divulged it, and Allah apprised him about it, he announced [to her] part of it and disregarded part of it. So when he told her about it, she said: ‘Who informed you about it?’ He said: ‘The All-knowing and the All-aware informed me.’

EXEGESIS

In this verse, the focus shifts away from addressing the Prophet’s behaviour to the actions of his wives. Linguistically, the verb changes from a second person address to a third person narrative.

This shift suggests that unlike what many exegetes have argued, this verse is not a chronological continuation of what came before, but rather is describing events that preceded the swearing of the oath referred to in verses 1 and 2. One might ask why the first verses would begin with addressing the Prophet and not with a chronological narrative of events. The answer would be that it is only natural that God would begin with addressing His beloved Messenger first, and only after pointing out the best course of action to him would He turn to narrating the events that led to the argument that caused him to swear such an oath.

Asarra (confided) means to convey some information to an addressee with the intention that it should be hidden from others.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 10/46.} Even if not explicitly mentioned, it is implicitly understood that when one confides a secret, the other person should not relay what was told in confidence to them.

Nabbaʾa and anbaʾa (translated in the verse as divulged but can also mean told and informed) both come from the root of nabaʿ, which means information that is of great import and which imparts knowledge. Of the two forms utilised here, nabbaʾa is the more emphatic form. Therefore, when the wife asked the Prophet who informed you (anbaʾaka) about it?^{‎[2]The verb informed (anbaʾaka) is in the masculine, and some, such as Ibn Wahab, have suggested that this means Ḥafṣah did not suspect ʿĀʾishah to be the one to have betrayed her and told the Prophet, but suspected someone else (see Tabari, 28/103-104).} he replied God informed me (nabbaʾanī), using the more emphatic form to stress that he came about this information through the most reliable of all means, God Himself.^{‎[3]Raghib, pp. 788-789.}

It could also be noted that the word nabī (prophet), comes from the same root as nabbaʾa and anbaʾa – instead of, for example, akhbara (to inform) – and is probably purposefully chosen for literary effect. The choice of the attribute al-khabīr (the All-aware) also ties in closely to the meaning of nabaʾ, as the one who is aware is the one who informs others.

The expression part of it should here be referring to that which Allah apprised His Prophet about; the Prophet announced a part of what God revealed to him to his wife, yet he knew more than he was letting on. God had informed him exactly of what his wife had done, yet he did not let her know that he knew all that she had done.

This secret was relayed by the Prophet to one of his wives, and in narrations she is identified as Ḥafṣah.^{‎[4]Tabari, 28/103.} The one to whom Ḥafṣah is said to have told the secret is generally identified as ʿĀʾishah.^{‎[5]Tabari, 28/103.}

The attribute ʿalīm means one who has knowledge, whereas khabīr means one who has information. Although they essentially refer to the same concept, khabīr is a more emphatic version.^{‎[6]Razi, 30/570.}

EXPOSITION

This verse seems to tell us the reason the Prophet became disappointed in his wives and the argument that ensued in his household. The verse tells us that the Prophet confided a secret to one of his wives, and she broke his trust and told that information to another one of the Prophet’s wives. Apparently, they then together somehow used that information to plot against the Prophet. God then revealed to the Prophet what she had done. The Prophet informed her that he knew what she had done, although he kept some of that information to himself, not letting her know he knew everything she had done; in effect, this allowed her to think there were some things he still did not know.^{‎[7]Tabrisi, 10/474; Baydawi, 5/224.} Perhaps this was to test her to see if she would admit everything and disclose the rest of her indiscretions, or perhaps not wishing to make her feel too ashamed.^{‎[8]The latter is the opinion attributed to Ibn Zayd (see Tabari, 28/103). The statement he announced (to her) part of it and disregarded part of it could also be referring to the secret (this is the opinion of Mizan, 19/330). In other words, the Prophet had only related a part of the secret to his wife, although the opinion we mentioned before seems more appropriate.} However, she did not do that (at least not immediately), rather her response was to ask in astonishment, Who informed you about it? To this the Prophet replied that God had informed him.

We may note, when necessary God would inform His prophets about hidden matters, though not at all times. This was done either as a proof of prophethood, or for some other necessity or objective.

So what exactly was the argument that caused this verse to be revealed? Although the verses are scant in details, it should be related to the first two verses of the chapter. Apparently, the Prophet entrusted a secret to one of his wives and asked this not to be shared with others; Ḥafṣah then told ʿĀʾishah or perhaps vice versa, probably purposefully seeking to sow discord or to make some sort of plot.^{‎[9]See the commentary for verse 4.} This resulted in arguments amongst the Prophet’s wives. These arguments may have exacerbated the Prophet to the extent that he finally swore to avoid something that was lawful for him and then, upset with his wives, he – according to the narrations – withdrew from all of them to the house of Māriyah, perhaps announcing to all of them that he was doing so. It was at this point that even Ḥafṣah (or ʿĀʾishah) realised she had taken things too far. The sounds of argument might have been heard by the people who then speculated that the Prophet had divorced all of his wives. This twenty-nine day withdrawal,^{‎[10] See the commentary for verse 1.} combined with the stern reminder of the Quran, restored peace and order in his households, upon which he then returned to his wives.

The reason why God does not offer the details of the event is that even though much of the Prophet’s life was public, he still had a right to a private life. Because of his status as a Prophet and a public figure and source of emulation, sometimes these lines may have been blurred for many people. The verse then acts as a reminder and draws a red line, stressing that what the Prophet did in the privacy of his home was indeed something private, and his wives should respect that. Even more so when it was a secret that he entrusted to one of them.

Seeing as the matter was a secret, it would have been inappropriate to mention its details in the Quran.^{‎[11] Which is probably why in the narrations ʿUmar, Ḥafṣah’s father, also does not mention what the argument was exactly about.} However, the Prophet placed undue hardship on himself by swearing an oath and God wished to rectify that, and also give a stern warning to his wives not to annoy the Prophet or disturb his peace of mind at home, and certainly not to plot against him together.^{‎[12] A somewhat similar opinion to what we mentioned is that of Fadlallah, 22/312.}

For a more detailed discussion on the reported events that led to the revelation of this verse, see the commentary on the first verse of this chapter.

The moral lessons of the verse were already touched upon earlier. One should attempt to behave in a way as to not cause undue disagreement with one’s spouse. Sometimes this may mean not bringing up all their mistakes. Furthermore, the trust between husband and wife is of high importance, and they may tell each other things in confidence, whilst the other one has a duty not to betray that trust.

The verse also tells us – as does the surah in general – that even private matters of the life of the Prophet or the actions of those surrounding him could become matters of divine revelation. It shows us that the preconception that revelation only restricted itself to general, public matters is a wrong one. Revelation permeated itself in all aspects of the Prophet’s life, and his contact with the divine was far deeper and broader in scope than we may sometimes imagine. Perhaps this is something even some of his wives did not fully understand, and that is why she reacted with surprise, saying Who informed you about it?

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Many exegetes have mentioned in their commentaries on this verse the following narration attributed to Imam Ali (a): ‘The magnanimous never goes all the way, because God said he announced [to her] part of it and disregarded part of it.^{‎[13] Nemuneh, 24/276, which references Mizan, 19/338, which in turns says the narration is from Ibn Mardawayh (as does Alusi, 28/150). Ṭabrisī narrates the same saying, attributing it simply to al-Hasan (without the respectful ‘peace be upon him’ or using the title Imam, suggesting he probably means Hasan al-Baṣrī). The same narration is mentioned in Ibn Abi al-Hadid (20/264) in the section titled ‘Sayings attributed to the Commander of the Believers Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib’, suggesting it is a fabrication commonly attributed to the Imam. Kanz is the only hadith collection we came across that relates this tradition. It is included there without any chain and is simply credited to Ibn Mardawayh (Kanz, 2/539). Suyuti, 6/241 also mentions it, prefixing it with akhraja, suggesting Ibn Mardawayh should have had a chain when reporting it. Unfortunately, most of Ibn Mardawayh’s works are no longer extant.} The idea being that the Prophet (s) did not reveal all of what he knew of his wife’s mistake to her, out of sympathy for his wife.’

Note: Even though the content of the tradition is unproblematic, its attribution to Imam Ali (a) is not established.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Different opinions have been mentioned as to what could have been the secret that the Prophet divulged to his wives. Some say it was that he had forbidden Māriyah to himself, others that he had forbidden the honey to himself, others yet that he informed about Abū Bakr and ʿUmar succeeding him, and others still that he confided that he was going to appoint Imam Ali (a) as his successor.^{‎[14] Tibyan, 10/46.} We discussed the problem with all of these opinions in the commentary of the first verse of this surah.

Some have argued that all the narrations regarding the reason for revelation of this verse are flawed, and that in fact the verse was revealed about the hypocrites of Medina who had managed to gain close proximity to Ḥafṣah and ʿĀʾishah. These hypocrites had then used that position to get the two to divulge sensitive information to the enemies of the Prophet, which they then used to attack his character.^{‎[15] Muḥammad Khāmegar, and Jawād Salmānzādeh, ‘Naqd wa Arzyābī-e Revāyāt-e Shaʾn-e Nuzūl-e Sūre-ye Taḥrīm’, in Pazhuheshhā-ye Qurʾānī, (Spring 1392 AHS) no. 1, issue 73, 97-120.} There is however, no real evidence for this claim and it is highly speculative. Simultaneously, the authors still accept the narration about Māriyah to be true with regards to the first verse, which still leaves us to deal with the problematic nature of that narration.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another: lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.^{‎[16] Proverbs 25:9-10.}
2. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.^{‎[17] Ecclesiastes 12:14.}
3. Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.^{‎[18] Amos 3:7.}
4. A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.^{‎[19] Proverbs 16:28.}

[1] Tibyan, 10/46.
[2] The verb informed (anbaʾaka) is in the masculine, and some, such as Ibn Wahab, have suggested that this means Ḥafṣah did not suspect ʿĀʾishah to be the one to have betrayed her and told the Prophet, but suspected someone else (see Tabari, 28/103-104).
[3] Raghib, pp. 788-789.
[4] Tabari, 28/103.
[5] Tabari, 28/103.
[6] Razi, 30/570.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/474; Baydawi, 5/224.
[8] The latter is the opinion attributed to Ibn Zayd (see Tabari, 28/103). The statement he announced [to her] part of it and disregarded part of it could also be referring to the secret (this is the opinion of Mizan, 19/330). In other words, the Prophet had only related a part of the secret to his wife, although the opinion we mentioned before seems more appropriate.
[9] See the commentary for verse 4.
[10] See the commentary for verse 1.
[11] Which is probably why in the narrations ʿUmar, Ḥafṣah’s father, also does not mention what the argument was exactly about.
[12] A somewhat similar opinion to what we mentioned is that of Fadlallah, 22/312.
[13] Nemuneh, 24/276, which references Mizan, 19/338, which in turns says the narration is from Ibn Mardawayh (as does Alusi, 28/150). Ṭabrisī narrates the same saying, attributing it simply to al-Hasan (without the respectful ‘peace be upon him’ or using the title Imam, suggesting he probably means Hasan al-Baṣrī). The same narration is mentioned in Ibn Abi al-Hadid (20/264) in the section titled ‘Sayings attributed to the Commander of the Believers Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib’, suggesting it is a fabrication commonly attributed to the Imam. Kanz is the only hadith collection we came across that relates this tradition. It is included there without any chain and is simply credited to Ibn Mardawayh (Kanz, 2/539). Suyuti, 6/241 also mentions it, prefixing it with akhraja, suggesting Ibn Mardawayh should have had a chain when reporting it. Unfortunately, most of Ibn Mardawayh’s works are no longer extant.
[14] Tibyan, 10/46.
[15] Muḥammad Khāmegar, and Jawād Salmānzādeh, ‘Naqd wa Arzyābī-e Revāyāt-e Shaʾn-e Nuzūl-e Sūre-ye Taḥrīm’, in Pazhuheshhā-ye Qurʾānī, (Spring 1392 AHS) no. 1, issue 73, 97-120.
[16] Proverbs 25:9-10.
[17] Ecclesiastes 12:14.
[18] Amos 3:7.
[19] Proverbs 16:28.