Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Ahzab Verse 50

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O prophet, We have made lawful for you all your wives whom you have given their dowers, and those (bondwomen) whom you own, out of the captives Allah has given to you as spoils of war, and daughters of your paternal uncle, and daughters of your paternal aunts, and daughters of your maternal uncle, and daughters of your maternal aunts, who have migrated with you, and a believing woman who offers herself for (marrying) the prophet without dower, if the prophet wishes to bring her into his marriage, these rules being exclusive for you, and not for the (rest of the) believers,- We know what We have prescribed for them in respect of their wives and the slave-girls they own - so that there should be no difficulty for you. Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

O Prophet! We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have paid their ˹full˺ dowries as well as those ˹bondwomen˺ in your possession, whom Allah has granted you.[[ See footnote for {4:3}.]] And ˹you are allowed to marry˺ the daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and aunts, who have emigrated like you. Also ˹allowed for marriage is˺ a believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet ˹without dowry˺ if he is interested in marrying her—˹this is˺ exclusively for you, not for the rest of the believers.[[ This ruling was exclusively for the Prophet (which he never took advantage of), but Muslims have to pay a dowry to their wives. Some women did offer themselves to the Prophet (ﷺ) in marriage, but he declined. ]] We know well what ˹rulings˺ We have ordained for the believers in relation to their wives and those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession. As such, there would be no blame on you. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O Prophet, We have made lawful for you your wives whose dowries you have paid; any bondwomen you may own from the prisoners of war whom Allah has bestowed upon you; daughters of your paternal uncle, daughters of your paternal aunts, daughters of your maternal uncle, daughters of your maternal aunts who have migrated with you; and a believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet [without dowry] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] exclusively for you, not for the rest of the believers. We know well what We have ordained for them concerning their marriages and the bondwomen they may own, so that there would be no discomfort for you. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

A. J. Arberry

O Prophet, We have made lawful for thee thy wives whom thou hast given their wages and what thy right hand owns, spoils of war that God has given thee, and the daughters of thy uncles paternal and aunts paternal, thy uncles maternal and aunts maternal, who have emigrated with thee, and any woman believer, if she give herself to the Prophet and if the Prophet desire to take her in marriage, for thee exclusively, apart from the believers -- We know what We have imposed upon them touching their wives and what their right hands own -- that there may be no fault in thee; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.

Abdul Haleem

Prophet, We have made lawful for you the wives whose bride gift you have paid, and any slaves God has assigned to you through war, and the daughters of your uncles and aunts on your father’s and mother’s sides, who migrated with you. Also any believing woman who has offered herself to the Prophet and whom the Prophet wishes to wed- this is only for you [Prophet] and not the rest of the believers: We know exactly what We have made obligatory for them concerning their wives and slave-girls- so you should not be blamed: God is most forgiving, most merciful.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

O Prophet! verily We have allowed unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast given their hires, and also those whomsoever thy right hand ownEth of those whomsoever Allah hath given thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thy paternal uncle, and the daughters of thy paternal aunts, and the daughters of thy maternal uncle, and the daughters of thy maternal aunts, who migrated with thee, and any believing woman, when she offereth herself unto the Prophet if the Prophet desire to wed her --purely for thee, above the rest of the believers. Surely We know that which We have ordained unto them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands won: in order that there may be no blame upon thee: And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makka) with thee; and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); We know what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their right hands possess;- in order that there should be no difficulty for thee. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Abul Ala Maududi

O Prophet, We have made lawful for you your wives whose bridal dues you have paid, and the slave-girls you possess from among the prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and maternal aunts who have migrated with you, and a believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet and whom he wants to take in marriage. (O Prophet), this privilege is yours alone to the exclusion of other believers. We know well what restrictions We have imposed upon them as regards their wives and those whom their right hands possess, (and have exempted you from those restrictions) that there may be no constraint upon you. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Ahmed Ali

We have made lawful for you, O Prophet, wives to whom you have given their dower, and God-given maids and captives you have married, and the daughters of your father's brothers and daughters of your father's sisters, and daughters of your mother's brothers and sisters, who migrated with you; and a believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet if the Prophet desires to marry her. This is a privilege only for you and not the other believers. We know what We have ordained for them about their wives and maids they possess, so that you may be free of blame, for God is forgiving and kind.

Ahmed Raza Khan

O Herald of the Hidden! We have indeed made lawful for you the wives to whom you have paid their bridal money, and the bondwomen you possess whom Allah gave you as war booty, and the daughters of your paternal uncles, and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles, and the daughters of your maternal aunts, those who migrated with you; and the believing woman if she gifts her life to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to take her in marriage; this is exclusively for you, not for your followers; We indeed know what We have enjoined upon the Muslims concerning their wives and the bondwomen they possess – this exclusivity for you is so that you may not have constraints; and Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Ali Quli Qarai

O Prophet! Indeed We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand owns, of those whom Allah gave you as spoils of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncle, and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncle, and the daughters of your maternal aunts who migrated with you, and a faithful woman if she offers herself to the Prophet and the Prophet desires to take her in marriage (a privilege exclusively for you, not for [the rest of] the faithful; We know what We have made lawful for them with respect to their wives and those whom their right hands own, so that there may be no blame on you ), and Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

Ali Ünal

O (most illustrious) Prophet! We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have already paid their bridal-due, as well as those whom your right hands possess from among the captives of war that God has granted you, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and maternal aunts, who have emigrated (to Madinah) for God’s cause as you did; and any believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet (freely, without demanding any bridal-due) if the Prophet wants to marry her – a rule (of privilege) for you exclusively, not for the believers (in general) – We have (already decreed and) made known what We have enjoined on them with regard to their wives and those whom their right hands possess. (This exceptional privilege is) in order that there may not be any hindrance to you (in fulfilling your mission because of marriage relationships). God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Prophet! We have made lawful to you, your wives whom you have paid their dowers and (similarly) those (wives) whom your right hand owns (after granting them freedom in lieu of their dower in marriage) from among those whom Allâh has given you as gains of war. (And also lawful for the marriage were) the daughters of your paternal uncles and of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and of your maternal aunts as have emigrated with you. And (also has been made lawful to the Prophet) any other believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet (for marriage without claiming dower), provided the Prophet (too) desires to wed her. (This is a special permission of marrying more than four wives at a time) only for you to the exclusion of (other) believers in order that there may be no difficulty for you (in explaining the law to the believers). We know what We have enjoined on them (in the Qur´ân) regarding their wives (from among the free women) and also about (their marrying of) those whom their right hands own, in order that there may be no difficulty for you (in explaining the law to them). And Allâh is Great Protector, Ever Merciful.

English Literal

You, you the prophet, that We, We permitted/allowed for you your wives/spouses those who you gave their rewards (dowries), and what your right (hand) owned/possessed from what God bestowed upon you, and your paternal uncles` daughters, and your paternal aunts` daughters, and your maternal uncles` daughters, and your maternal aunts` daughters, who (F) emigrated with you, and a believing woman if she presented herself to the prophet, if the prophet wanted that He marries her, clearly/purely for you from other than the believers, We had known what We had commanded/imposed/stipulated on them in their wives and what their right (hands) owned/possessed, so that strain/blame/sin not be on you, and God was/is forgiving, merciful.

Faridul Haque

O Herald of the Hidden! We have indeed made lawful for you the wives to whom you have paid their bridal money, and the bondwomen you possess whom Allah gave you as war booty, and the daughters of your paternal uncles, and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles, and the daughters of your maternal aunts, those who migrated with you; and the believing woman if she gifts her life to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to take her in marriage; this is exclusively for you, not for your followers; We indeed know what We have enjoined upon the Muslims concerning their wives and the bondwomen they possess – this exclusivity for you is so that you may not have constraints; and Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Hamid S. Aziz

O you who believe! When you marry the believing women, and then divorce them before you touch them, then you have in their case no term (of waiting) to reckon; so make some provision for them and send them forth in a goodly manner.

Hilali & Khan

O Prophet (Muhammad SAW)! Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), and those (captives or slaves) whom your right hand possesses - whom Allah has given to you, and the daughters of your 'Amm (paternal uncles) and the daughters of your 'Ammah (paternal aunts) and the daughters of your Khal (maternal uncles) and the daughters of your Khalah (maternal aunts) who migrated (from Makkah) with you, and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her; a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers. Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (captives or slaves) whom their right hands possess, - in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allah is Ever OftForgiving, Most Merciful.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O you who believe, when you marry believing women, then divorce them before you touch them, you have in their case no term which you should reckon. But make provision for them and set them free in a goodly manner.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her-- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thine uncle on the father's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the father's side, and the daughters of thine uncle on the mother's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the mother's side who emigrated with thee, and a believing woman if she give herself unto the Prophet and the Prophet desire to ask her in marriage - a privilege for thee only, not for the (rest of) believers - We are Aware of that which We enjoined upon them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess - that thou mayst be free from blame, for Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

Muhammad Sarwar

Prophet, We have made lawful for you your wives whom you have given their dowry, slave girls whom God has given to you as gifts, the daughters of your uncles and aunts, both paternal and maternal, who have migrated with you. The believing woman, who has offered herself to the Prophet and whom the Prophet may want to marry, will be specially for him, not for other believers. We knew what to make obligatory for them concerning their wives and slave girls so that you would face no hardship (because we have given distinction to you over the believers). God is All-forgiving and All-merciful.

Qaribullah & Darwish

O Prophet, We have made lawful to you the wives to whom you have given dowries and those whom your right hand possesses, of whatever spoils of war that Allah has given you; and the daughters of your paternal uncles and paternal aunts, and of your paternal and maternal aunts who migrated with you; and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet wishes to take her in marriage. This is only for you and not any other believer. We know the duties We have imposed on them concerning their wives and those whom their right hand possesses, so that there should be no fault in you. Allah is the Forgiving and Merciful.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

O Prophet! Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their due (dowery), and those (slaves) whom your right hand possesses -- whom Allah has given to you, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who migrated with you, and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her -- a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers. Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (slaves) whom their right hands possess, in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Wahiduddin Khan

Prophet, We have made lawful for you the wives to whom you have given their dowers, as well as those whom your right hand possesses from among the captives of war whom God has bestowed upon you. and [We have made lawful to you] the daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and aunts, who have migrated with you; and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet, provided the Prophet wants to marry her. This applies only to you and not to the rest of the believers. We know what We have prescribed for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands may possess, in order that there may be no blame on you. God is most forgiving, most merciful.

Talal Itani

O Prophet! We have permitted to you your wives to whom you have given their dowries, and those you already have, as granted to you by God, and the daughters of your paternal uncle, and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncle, and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you, and a believing woman who has offered herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to marry her, exclusively for you, and not for the believers. We know what We have ordained for them regarding their wives and those their right-hands possess. This is to spare you any difficulty. God is Forgiving and Merciful.

Tafsir jalalayn

O Prophet! Indeed We have made lawful for you your wives whom you have given their dowries and what your right hand owns, of those whom God has given you as spoils of war, from the disbelievers, [whom you have] taken captive, such as Safiyya and Juwayriyya, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you, as opposed to those who did not emigrate, and any believing woman if she gift herself [in marriage] to the Prophet and if the Prophet desire to take her in marriage, and ask for her hand in marriage without paying [her] a dowry -- a privilege for you exclusively, not for the [rest of the] believers (nikh, `marriage', when expressed by the term hiba, `gift', denotes [marriage] without dowry). Indeed We know what We have imposed upon them, namely, the believers, with respect to their wives, in the way of rulings, to the effect that they should not take more than four wives and should only marry with [the consent of] a legal guardian, [the presence of] witnesses and [the payment of] a dowry, and, with respect to, what their right hands own, of slavegirls, in the way of purchase or otherwise, so that the handmaiden be one lawful for her master, such as a slavegirl belonging to the People of the Scripture (kitbiyya), and not a Magian or an idolater, and that she should be ascertained [as not carrying child] with the necessary waiting period (istibr') before copulation; so that (li-kayl is semantically connected to what came before [this last statement]) there may be no [unnecessary] restriction for you, [no] constraint in marriage [for you]. And God is Forgiving, of what is difficult to guard against, Merciful, in giving dispensations [allowing for latitude] in this respect.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Women who are Lawful for the Prophet

Allah says,

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللَّتِي اتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ

O Prophet!

Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their due (dowry),

Allah says, addressing His Prophet that He has made lawful for him of women his wives to whom he has given the dowry, which is what is meant by "their due", which is used here, as was stated by Mujahid and others.

The dowry which he gave to his wives was twelve and half Uqiyah (measures of gold) so they all received five hundred Dirhams except for Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan, to whom An-Najashi, may Allah have mercy on him, gave four hundred Dinars (on behalf of the Prophet)

Safiyyah bint Huyay, whom he chose from among the prisoners of Khyber, then he set her free, making her release her dowry.

A similar case was that of Juwayriyah bint Al-Harith Al-Mustalaqiyyah -- he paid off the contract to buy her freedom from Thabit bin Qays bin Shammas and married her.

May Allah be pleased with them all.

وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاء اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ

those (slaves) whom your right hand possesses whom Allah has given to you,

means, `the slave-girls whom you took from the war booty are also permitted to you.'

He owned Safiyyah and Juwayriyah, then he manumitted them and married them, and he owned Rayhanah bint Sham`un An-Nadariyyah and Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah, the mother of his son Ibrahim, upon him be peace; they were both among the prisoners, may Allah be pleased with them.

وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالَاتِكَ

and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts,

This is justice which avoids going to either extreme, for the Christians do not marry a woman unless there are seven grandfathers between the man and the woman (i.e., they are very distantly related or not at all), and the Jews allow a man to marry his brother's daughter or his sister's daughter. So the pure and perfect Shariah came to cancel out the extremes of the Christians, and permitted marriage to the daughter of a paternal uncle or aunt, or the daughter of a maternal uncle or aunt, and forbade the excesses of the Jews who allowed marriage to the daughter of a brother or sister which is an abhorrent thing.

اللَّتِي هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ

who migrated with you,

وَامْرَأَةً مُّوْمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا خَالِصَةً لَّكَ

and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her -- a privilege for you only,

means, `also lawful for you, O Prophet, is a believing woman if she offers herself to you, to marry her without a dowry, if you wish to do so.'

This Ayah includes two conditions.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said,

"O Messenger of Allah, verily, I offer myself to you (for marriage)."

She stood there for a long time, then a man stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, marry her to me if you do not want to marry her."

The Messenger of Allah said;

هَلْ عِنْدَكَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ تُصْدِقُهَا إِيَّاهُ




Do you have anything that you could give to her as a dowry?

He said, "I have only this garment of mine."

The Messenger of Allah said;

إِنْ أَعْطَيْتَهَا إِزَارَكَ جَلَسْتَ لَا إِزَارَ لَكَ فَالْتَمِسْ شَيْيًا

If you give her your garment, you will be left with no garment. Look for something.

He said, "I do not have anything."

He said;

الْتَمِسْ وَلَوْ خَاتَمًا مِنْ حَدِيد

Look for something, even if it is only an iron ring.

So he looked, but he could not find anything.

Then the Messenger of Allah said to him;

هَلْ مَعَكَ مِنَ الْقُرْانِ شَيْءٌ




Do you have (know) anything of the Qur'an?

He said, "Yes, Surah such and such and Surah and such,"

he named the Surahs. So, the Messenger of Allah said;

زَوَّجْتُكَهَا بِمَا مَعَكَ مِنَ الْقُرْان

I marry her to you with what you know of the Qur'an.

It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from the Hadith of Malik.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded a narration from his father that A'ishah said;

"The woman who offered herself to the Prophet was Khawlah bint Hakim."

Al-Bukhari recorded that A'ishah said,

"I used to feel jealous of those women who offered themselves to the Prophet and I said,

`Would a woman offer herself When Allah revealed the Ayah;

تُرْجِي مَن تَشَاء مِنْهُنَّ وَتُوْوِي إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَمَنِ ابْتَغَيْتَ مِمَّنْ عَزَلْتَ فَلَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكَ


(You can postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside, it is no sin on you),

I said, `I see that your Lord hastens to confirm your desires."'

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn Abbas said;

"The Messenger of Allah did not have any wife who offered herself to him."

This was recorded by Ibn Jarir. In other words, he did not accept any of those who offered themselves to him, even though they were lawful for him -- a ruling which applied to him alone.

The matter was left to his own choice, as Allah says;
إِنْ أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَسْتَنكِحَهَا
(and (if) the Prophet wishes to marry her),

meaning, if he chooses to do so.

خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُوْمِنِينَ

a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers.

Ikrimah said;

"This means, it is not permissible for anyone else to marry a woman who offers herself to him; if a woman offers herself to a man, it is not permissible for him (to marry her) unless he gives her something."

This was also the view of Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi and others.

In other words, if a woman offers herself to a man, when he consummates the marriage, he has to give her a dowry like that given to any other woman of her status, as the Messenger of Allah ruled in the case of Barwa` bint Washiq when she offered herself in marriage; the Messenger of Allah ruled that she should be given a dowry that was appropriate for a woman like her after her husband died.

Death and consummation are the same with regard to the confirmation of the dowry, and the giving of a dowry appropriate to the woman's status in the case of those who offer themselves to men other than the Prophet is an established ruling. With regard to the Prophet himself, he is not obliged to give a dowry to a woman who offers herself to him, even if he consummated the marriage, because he has the right to marry without a dowry, Wali (representative) or witnesses, as we have seen in the story of Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her.

Qatadah said, concerning the Ayah;
خَالِصَةً لَّكَ مِن دُونِ الْمُوْمِنِينَ
(a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers),

no woman has the right to offer herself to any man without a Wali or a dowry, except to the Prophet.

قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ

Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (servants) whom their right hands possess,

Ubayy bin Ka`b, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ibn Jarir said, concerning the Ayah;
قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا فَرَضْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي أَزْوَاجِهِمْ
(Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives),

means, `concerning the limiting of their number to four free women, and whatever they wish of slave-girls, and the conditions of a representative, dowry and witnesses to the marriage. This is with regard to the Ummah (the people), but We have granted an exemption in your case and have not imposed any of these obligations upon you.'

لِكَيْلَ يَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ حَرَجٌ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا



in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful