A Critical Review of the Interpretation of Verse Three of Surah Al-Tahrim with Emphasis on Quran Chronology

Verse three of Surah Al-Tahrim reveals the secret of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and its disclosure by some of his wives, with traditional accounts attributing the disclosure and the conspiracy to a matter of female jealousy. Understanding the nature of this secret and the associated conspiracy is of special importance, as it has been reduced to an issue of female jealousy on one hand, while on the other hand, both Sunni and Shia commentators have linked the revealed secret to the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Ali (AS), influenced by these narrations. In this article, narrations of the causes of revelation from Shia and Sunni sources, relating to female jealousy and the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Ali (AS), are categorized and evaluated. Then, using the method of Quran chronology and the descending sequence of Surah Al-Tahrim, along with its proximity to Surahs Al-Munafiqun, Al-Nur, Al-Ahzab, Al-Fath, and Al-Saff, it is argued that the truth behind the conspiracy and the disclosed secret in verse three relates to the Prophet’s (PBUH) certain victory over the polytheists in the near future. Therefore, beyond the new interpretation of the disclosed secret under verse three, the method of chronology plays a crucial role in verifying the authenticity of the narrations of the causes of revelation, as the chronology of the surah clearly shows that the narrations of the causes of revelation were mistakenly attributed to verse three of Surah Al-Tahrim and incorrectly applied to it.