Prohibition (Al-Tahreem)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ O Prophet, why forbiddest thou what God has made lawful to thee, seeking the good pleasure of thy wives? And God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. 1 Surely God has sanctioned the dissolution of your vows. God is your Lord: He is all-knowing, and all-wise. 2 And lo! [It so happened that] the Prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives; and when she thereupon divulged it, and God made this known to him, he acquainted [others] with some of it and passed over some of it. And as soon as he let her know it, she asked, "Who has told thee this?" - [to which] he replied, "The All-Knowing, the All-Aware has told me." 3 [Say, O Prophet:] "Would that you two turn unto God in repentance, for the hearts of both of you have swerved [from what is right]! And if you uphold each other against him [who is God's message-bearer, know that] God Himself is his Protector, and [that,] therefore, Gabriel, and all the righteous among the believers and all the [other] angels will come to his aid." 4 If he divorces you, perhaps his Lord will replace you with better wives, either widows or virgins who will be Muslims: believers, faithful, obedient, repentant, and devout in prayer and fasting. 5 O YOU who have attained to faith! Ward off from yourselves and those who are close to you that fire [of the hereafter] whose fuel is human beings and stones: [lording] over it are angelic powers awesome [and] severe, who do not disobey God in whatever He has commanded them, but [always] do what they are bidden to do. 6 (It will be said in the Hereafter) O you who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism)! Make no excuses this Day! You are being requited only for what you used to do. 7