A Review of the Circumstances of the Revelation of the Initial Verses of Surah al-Tahrim Focusing on Historical Contexts and Evidences

Some of the circumstances of revelation mentioned about Surah al-Tahrim have documentation problems, and some others, which are documentationally acceptable, cannot elucidate the main purport of the surah and the meaning of the secret that the Messenger of God (p.b.u.h.) shared with his wife. In this article, first, the circumstances of the revelation of the verses have been examined, and their weakness and unreliability have been proved. A comparison of the context of Surah al-Tahrim and that of the verses of Surah al-Ahzab about the Battle of the Trench and the wives of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) indicates they have similar contexts. It is likely that the revelation of Surah al-Tahrim has followed that of Surah al-Ahzab, and they have single circumstances of revelation. According to the context of Surah al-Tahrim, it is required that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) first share that secret with his family, but the jealousy of some of his wives was aroused, which then affected the entire Islamic community. A historical study of the year of the revelation of Surah al-Ahzab suggests that the marriage of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to Zaynab bint Jahsh took place under these conditions. This incident is completely compatible with the context of Surah al-Tahrim, the rational criteria and the definite date.