1 Preface يا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ ما أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ ۖ تَبتَغي مَرضاتَ أَزواجِكَ ۚ وَاللَّهُ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌYusuf AliO Prophet! Why holdest thou to be forbidden that which God has{{1 made lawful to thee? Thou seekest to please2 thy consorts. But God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.The Prophet’s household was not like other households. The Consorts of Purity were expected to hold a higher standard in behaviour and reticence than ordinary women, as they had higher work to perform. See n. 3706 to 33:28. But they were human beings after all, and were subject to the weaknesses of their sex, and they sometimes failed. The imprudence of Ḥadhrat ʿĀisha (see n. 2962 24:11) once caused serious difficulties: the holy Prophet’s mind was sore distressed, and he renounced the society of his wives for some time. This renunciation seems to be referred to here. The situation was none the less difficult for him because she was a daughter of Ḥadhrat Abū Bakr, one of the truest and most intimate of his Companions and lieutenants. Ḥadhrat Umar’s daughter Hafsa was also sometimes apt to presume on her position, and when the two combined in secret counsel, and discussed matters and disclosed secrets to each other, they caused much sorrow to the holy Prophet, whose heart was tender and who treated all his family with exemplary patience and affection.The tender words of admonition addressed to the Consorts in 33:28-34 explain the situation far better than any comments can express. If the holy Prophet had been a mere husband in the ordinary sense of the term, he could not have held the balance even between his private feelings and his public duties. But he was not an ordinary husband, and he abandoned his renunciation on his realisation of the higher duties with which he was charged, and which required conciliation with firmness.