Guardian
إِنْ تَتُوبَا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَغَتْ قُلُوبُكُمَا ۖ وَإِنْ تَظَاهَرَا عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلَاهُ وَجِبْرِيلُ وَصَالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۖ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ {4}
If you both repent to Allah, then He has Inclined both your hearts, and if you back each other against him, then surely Allah, He is ‘مَوْلَاهُ’ his Guardian, and (so are) Jibraeel and the corrector of the Momineen; and the Angels furthermore are (his) backers [66:4]
ثم قال علي بن إبراهيم: كان سبب نزولها أن رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله) كان في بعض بيوت نسائه، و كانت مارية القبطية معه تخدمه، و كان ذات يوم في بيت حفصة، فذهبت حفصة في حاجة لها، فتناول رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله) مارية، فعلمت حفصة بذلك، فغضبت و أقبلت على رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله)، و قالت: يا رسول الله، هذا [في] يومي، و في داري، و على فراشي
Then Ali Bin Ibrahim (Tafseer Qummi) said,
‘The reason for its Revelation was that Rasool-Allah-saww was in one of the chambers of his-saww wives, and Mariah Al-Qibtiah (Coptic) was serving him-saww, and it was a day to be in the chamber of Hafsa, and Hafsa had gone for (one of) her needs. Rasool-Allah-saww reached out for Mariah, and Hafsa came to know about that, so she got angry and faced against Rasool-Allah-saww and said, ‘O Rasool-Allah-saww! This is my day, and (you-saww should be) in my chamber, and upon my bed!’
فاستحيا رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله) منها، فقال: «كفي فقد حرمت مارية على نفسي، و لا أطأها بعد هذا أبدا، و أنا أفضي إليك سرا، فإن أنت أخبرت به فعليك لعنة الله و الملائكة و الناس أجمعين». فقالت: نعم، ما هو؟
‘So Rasool-Allah-saww felt embarrassed from it, and he-saww said: ‘Restrain, for I-saww have denied Mariah upon myself, and will not tread towards her, after this, ever, and I-saww shall divulge a secret to you. But, if you were to inform (anyone) with it, then upon you would be the Curse of Allah-azwj, and the Angels, and the people altogether. So, she said, ‘Yes, what is it?’
فقال: «إن أبا بكر يلي الخلافة من بعدي، ثم من بعده عمر أبوك». فقالت: من أخبرك بهذا؟ قال: «الله أخبرني
‘Abu Bakr will be ruling the Caliphate after me-saww, then after him would be your father, Umar’. She said, ‘Who has informed you-saww of this?’ He-saww said: ‘Allah-azwj Informed me aww’.
فأخبرت حفصة عائشة من يومها بذلك، و أخبرت عائشة أبا بكر، فجاء أبو بكر إلى عمر، فقال له: إن عائشة اخبرتني عن حفصة كذا، و لا أثق بقولها، فسل أنت حفصة
Hafsa informed Ayesha about that, and Ayesha informed Abu Bakr. So, Abu Bakr went to Umar and said to him, ‘Ayesha has informed me of such and such from Hafsa, and I do not place reliance upon her words, so you ask Hafsa’.
فجاء عمر إلى حفصة، فقال لها: ما هذا الذي أخبرت عنك عائشة؟ فأنكرت ذلك، و قالت: ما قلت لها من ذلك شيئا. فقال لها عمر: إن كان هذا حقا فأخبرينا حتى نتقدم فيه؟ فقالت: نعم، قد قال ذلك رسول الله.
Umar went to Hafsa and said to her, ‘What is this which you have informed Ayesha from yourself?’ She denied that and said, ‘I have not said anything from that’. So Umar said to her, ‘If this was true, then tell us (or you want to wait) until we get old regarding this?’ She said, ‘Yes, Rasool-Allah-saww did say that’.
فاجتمع أربعة على أن يسموا رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله)، فنزل جبرئيل (عليه السلام) على رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله) بهذه السورة: يا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ ما أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ تَبْتَغِي مَرْضاتَ أَزْواجِكَ وَ اللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ قَدْ فَرَضَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ تَحِلَّةَ أَيْمانِكُمْ يعني قد أباح الله لك أن تكفر عن يمينك وَ اللَّهُ مَوْلاكُمْ وَ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ وَ إِذْ أَسَرَّ النَّبِيُّ إِلى بَعْضِ أَزْواجِهِ حَدِيثاً فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَتْ بِهِ [أي أخبرت به] بِهِ وَ أَظْهَرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ يعني أظهر الله نبيه على ما أخبرت به و ما هموا به من قتله عَرَّفَ بَعْضَهُ أي أخبرها و قال: «لم أخبرت بما أخبرتك به؟
Then the four of them assembled (agreed upon) that they will poison Rasool-Allah-saww. So Jibraeel-as descended upon Rasool-Allah-saww with this Chapter: And when the Prophet confided a Hadeeth to one of his wives, and when she informed with it (to another wife) and Allah Manifested it to him [66:3] – Meaning, Allah-azwj Made it clear to His-azwj Prophet-saww of what she had informed about it, and what they were thinking of, of murdering him-saww, he informed part of it -i.e., informed her and said: ‘Why did you inform of what I-saww had informed you with?’
قوله تعالى: وَ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ بَعْضٍ قال: لم يخبرهم بما علم مما هموا به من قتله، قالَتْ: مَنْ أَنْبَأَكَ هذا؟ قالَ: نَبَّأَنِيَ الْعَلِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ إِنْ تَتُوبا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَقَدْ صَغَتْ قُلُوبُكُما وَ إِنْ تَظاهَرا عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلاهُ وَ جِبْرِيلُ وَ صالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يعني أمير المؤمنين (عليه السلام) وَ الْمَلائِكَةُ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ ظَهِيرٌ يعني لأمير المؤمنين (عليه السلام)
The Words of the Exalted: and avoided from a part [66:3], he said, ‘He-saww did not inform them with what he-saww knew from what they had plotted with of murdering him-saww. she said, ‘Who informed you this?’ He said: ‘The Knowing, the Aware, informed me’. [66:3] If you both repent to Allah, then He has Inclined both your hearts, and if you back each other against him, then surely Allah, He is his Guardian, and (so is) Jibraeel and the corrector of the Momineen; and the Angels after that are backers [66:4] – meaning Amir Al-Momineen-asws’.
ثم خاطبها، فقال: عَسى رَبُّهُ إِنْ طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْواجاً خَيْراً مِنْكُنَّ مُسْلِماتٍ مُؤْمِناتٍ قانِتاتٍ تائِباتٍ عابِداتٍ سائِحاتٍ ثَيِّباتٍ وَ أَبْكاراً
Then He-azwj Addressed her, so He-azwj Said: Perhaps, if he divorces you, his Lord would Give him wives better than you – submissive, faithful, obedient, penitent, worshippers, Fasting ones, widows and virgins [66:5]’.[1]
[1] (تفسير القمّي 2: 376)