Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

(Wed not idolatresses till they believe�) [2:221]. Abu 'Uthman ibn 'Amr al-Hafiz informed us> his grandfather> Abu 'Amr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Jurashi> Isma'il ibn Qutaybah> Abu Khalid> Bukayr ibn Ma'ruf> Muqatil ibn Hayyan who said: �This verse was revealed about Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi who sought the permission of the Prophet, Allah, bless him and give him peace, to marry 'Anaq, who was a poor, fairly beautiful woman from Quraysh. But this woman was an idolatress whereas Marthad was Muslim. Marthad said to the prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: 'O prophet of Allah! I like her!' Allah then revealed this verse (Wed not idolatresses till they believe�)�. Abu 'Uthman informed us> his grandfather> Abu 'Amr> Muhammad ibn Yahya> 'Amr ibn Hammad> Asbat> al-Suddi> Abu Malik> ibn 'Abbas who said regarding this verse: �This verse was revealed about 'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah who owned a black slave. It happened that 'Abd Allah punched this slave because he got angry with her. But then he became worried as a result of what he had done which made him rush to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to inform him of what had happened. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked him: 'And what is it that is really making you worried?' 'Abd Allah said: 'O Messenger of Allah! She fast and prays and performs the ritual ablution in the proper way and she bears witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are His Messenger'. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: 'O 'Abd Allah! She is a believer!' 'Abd Allah said: 'By Him who has sent you with the truth, I will set her free and marry her'. And he did. A group of Muslims reproached him for doing so, saying: 'He married a slave!' This is because Muslims were still looking forward to marry idolatresses and marry their own daughters to idolaters, out of desire for their noble lineages. Allah, exalted is He, therefore revealed about them (for lo! a believing bondwoman is better than an idolatress though she please you�)�. Ibn 'Abbas is reported to have said according to the narration of al-Kalbi from Abu Salih: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a man from Ghaniyy called Marthad ibn Abi Marthad, an ally of Banu Hashim, to Mecca to try to free some Muslims who were held prisoners there.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

(They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation�.) [2:222]. Abu 'Abd al-Rahman Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja'far informed us> Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Zakariyya> Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Daghuli> Muhammad ibn Mishkan> Hayyan> Hammad> Thabit> Anas who said: �The Jews used to banish women in their menstruation out of the house and refrain from eating, drinking and having sex with them. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was asked about this, and as a response Allah, exalted is He, revealed (They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness, so let women alone at such times and go not in unto them till they are cleansed�)�. This was narrated by Muslim from Zuhayr ibn Harb from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi from Hammad. Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Khashshab informed us> Abu 'Amr ibn Hamdan> Abu 'Imran Musa ibn al-'Abbas al-Juwayni> Muhammad ibn 'Ubayd Allah ibn Yazid al-Qarduwani al-Harrani> his father> Sabiq ibn 'Abd Allah al-Raqqi> Khusayf> Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir> Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah> the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, that he said regarding (They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation): �The Jews used to say: 'Whoever penetrates his wife from a back position, the child born to them as a result of this intercourse would be born cross-eyed'. Because of this, the women of the Helpers did not let their husbands penetrate them from a back position. A group of them went to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and asked him about having sex with their wives while in their period of menstruation and also about the claim of the Jews. Allah, glorious and exalted is He, revealed therefore (They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness, so let women alone at such times and go not in unto them till they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves�), i.e. by performing a major ritual ablution (And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allah hath enjoined upon you) i.e. from the front (Truly Allah loveth those who turn unto Him, and loveth those who have a care for cleanness. Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will�) because it is in the tilth that the child will grow and it is from there that it will come out�.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Your women are your tillage, so come to your tillage as you like. The servant has a soul and a heart. The soul is from the low world, and its root is water and dust. The heart is from the high world, that is, the lordly subtlety, and its foundation is pure light. The soul's station is absence, and the heart's station is witnessing. MuṣṬafā alluded to this with his words, “There is no heart that is not between two fingers of God.” God gave the soul, which stays absent, the same living quarters as its similars, and He made this a favor. He said, “Your women are your tillage, so come to your tillage as you like.” In another place He said, “Marry the women who seem goodly to you” [4:3]. In another place He said, “That you may rest in them, and He placed between you love and mercy” [30:21]. Finding one's own shares and inclining toward similars in this manner is the portion of the soul, which remains in the lowland of jealousy. As for the heart, it has the station of contemplation, so it is forbidden to incline toward any others or to come down to any creature. Until it cuts itself off from creation and makes its own secret core pure of other than the Real, it will not come under these words: “He loves those who make themselves pure” [2:222]. The Lord of the Worlds loves those who are pure in this manner. He calls them men when He says, “In it are men who love to make themselves pure, and God loves those who make themselves pure” [9:108]. Know also that in this house of the decree, vile things are of two sorts. One is vileness of entity, which can never become pure by washing. If you put a corpse into the ocean a thousand times, it will never become pure, for the impurity belongs to its own entity. The other is vileness of attribute. At root something is pure, but an impurity has reached it. If you wash it, it becomes pure. This impurity, however, is of two sorts. One is flimsy, so it becomes pure with a single water. The other is heavy, so it must be washed with water and dust to become pure.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

(And make not Allah, by your oaths, a hindrance to your being righteous�) [2:224]. Said al-Kalbi: �This was revealed about �Abd Allah ibn Rawahah to warn him against boycotting the husband of his sister, Bashir ibn al-Nu�man. �Abd Allah ibn Rawahah had sworn that he will never visit him, speak to him or reconcile between him and his sister. He said: �I swore by Allah that I will not do any of these and it is forbidden for me not to honour my oath�. Allah then revealed this verse�.