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187. " it is made lawful for you to go in unto your wives on the
night of the fasts; they are a garment for you and you are a garment
for them. allah knew that you used to act unfaithfully among yourselves,
so he has turned to you (mercifully) and pardoned you.
so now you may associate with them and seek what allah prescribed for
you. eat and drink until the white thread (of dawn)
becomes manifest unto you from the black thread (of night) at the
dawn-break, then complete the fast till nightfall and do not approach them
(your wives) while you are at your devotion in the mosques.
these are limits (set by) allah, therefore do not approach (violate) them.
thus allah makes clear his signs for mankind,
so that they may guard themselves (against evil)."
occasion of revelation:
it is so understood from the islamic literature that at the advent
of the revelation of the command of fasting, muslims were allowed to
eat a meal before sleeping at night. so, if anyone occasionally fell asleep
at night and then awoke, eating and drinking was unlawful (hara
m) for
the one.
once, one of the companions of the prophet (p.b.u.h.) by the
name of mat`am-ibn jubayr, who was a weak man, fasted in that
situation. in the evening, he entered home for breaking the fast. when
his wife went to prepare food for him, he fell asleep because of fatigue
and weariness. after some while he woke up and, then, he said he was
not allowed to eat and he could not break the fast, and, therefore, with
the same state of hunger, he slept. next morning, in the state of fasting,
he attended a place around medina to dig ditches in order to prepare
themselves for the battle of ahzab. while he was in the effort and
struggle of digging, he fainted as a result of hunger and weakness. then,
when the prophet (p.b.u.h.) came to him he was touched upon seeing
his situation.
also, a group of young muslims, who could not control
themselves, associated with their wives during the nights of ramadan.
it was in that circumstance that the revelation was sent down and
let muslims eat and drink during the length of night and associate
(sexual intercourse) with their own wives as well.
commentary:
as it was mentioned in the occasion of revelation, at the advent of
islam, association with wives was forbidden during night and day in
ramadan. eating and drinking after sleeping was also not permissible.
that was, perhaps, a trial as well as a preparation for muslims so that
they would accept the ordinances of fasting.
the verse under discussion, which consists of four islamic
ordinances about fasting and the act of devotion in the mosques,
initiates the matter thus:
" it is made lawful for you to go in unto your wives on
the night of the fast;..."
then, it pays to the philosophy of this subject and says:
"...they are a garment for you and you are a garment for them. ..."
the primary thought or the meaning accommodated in the
description of clothing used here relating to the mutual relation of
husband and wife and the mutual comfort and protection they afford to
each other, is superb and unique in its expression. there cannot be a
better description of the position of a man and wife and their relation to
each other, which is unsurpassed in beauty.
clothing, on one hand, protects man against heat and cold, and
also against the danger of foreign bodies scraping or penetrating the
skin. on the other hand, clothing not only covers the disgraces of the
body, but also is an ornament for a person. the metaphor mentioned in
this verse is a hint to all of these meanings.
two spouses protect each other from deviations. they hide the
faults and blemishes of each other. they provide the means of rest and
tranquillity for each other. each of them is counted as the ornament of
the other.
this meaning makes the utmost spiritual connection and
coherence of man and woman clear as well as their nearness to each
other. it also points to the equality of man and woman in this respect,
since whatever thing is said about men equally, and with no change, is
mentioned about women.
then, the qur'an refers to the reason of the change of this divine
law and says:
"allah knew that you used to act unfaithfully among yourselves, so he has
turned to you (mercifully) and pardoned you. ..."
yes, in order that you commit no more sin, allah mercifully
made that duty easy for you and decreased the length of its restriction.
"...so now you may associate with them and seek what allah prescribed
for you. ..."
this matter is certainly not in the sense of obligation but it is a
permission after that state of prohibition. so, the idea can be taken as
an evidence of permissibility.
the phrase: "...and seek what allah prescribed for you ..." points to
this fact that utilizing this permission and reduction, which is on the
path of the laws of creation and preservation of the regularity of ` seed
permanence ', is no problem at all.
then, it refers to the second ordinance and says:
"...eat and drink until the white thread (of dawn) becomes manifest unto
you from the black thread (of night) at the dawn-break, ..."
therefore, muslims could eat and drink all the night long until the
dawn when they would stop.
then the statement is upon the third ordinance, thus:
"...then complete the fast till nightfall..."
this statement is another emphasis on the prohibition of eating
and drinking and sexual intercourse during the day time for those who
observe the fast. it is an indicative point to the beginning and the end
of a fast which begins from the dawn and ends at night.
finally, it points to the fourth ordinance when it says:
"...and do not approach them (your wives) while you are at your devotion in
the mosques. ..."
the statement of this ordinance is like an exception for the
former ordinance, because in this situation, the length of which is at
least three days, they fast but during this limited time they can have
sexual intercourse neither in days nor at nights.
at the end of the verse, alluding to all the foregoing ordinances, it
says:
"these are limits (set by) allah, therefore do not
approach (violate) them. ..."
approaching the bounds is sometimes tempting and causes that
man violates them and commits sins. yes,
"...thus allah makes clear his signs for mankind, so that they may guard
themselves (against evil)."
explanation:
allah's limits
as is was mentioned in the commentary of the above verses, the
holy qur'an, after stating some ordinances about fasting and being at
devotion, renders these ordinances, as the `limits set by allah': the
bounds between lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram) matters, and the
limits between prohibited and permissible things. it is noteworthy that
the qur'an does not say `do not pass the limits', but it says: " do not
approach them", because approaching the limits is tempting and
sometimes, under the influence of lusts or because of being involved in
mistakes, a person may violate them.
it is for this very reason that some islamic laws forbid man from
stepping into the situations that may cause him to slip and commit sins,
such as taking part in a society of sinners, even though he himself does
not share in it; or being with a non-relative, of the opposite sex in a
lonely private place wherein no one can enter.
the term originally means ` to seclude oneself in a place, or to
remain a long time beside something'. in religion it means keeping to
the mosques for the purpose of worship. the duration of this retreat is
three days during which the person fasts and abandons some pleasures.
this worship has a profound effect in purification of the soul and
attending to the providence. the manner and conditions of this worship
are mentioned in the books of islamic jurisprudence. this worship, of
course, is essentially counted among the recommended deeds, but in
some particular circumstances, exceptionally, it becomes obligatory. at
any rate, the verse under discussion refers to only one of its conditions
because of its connection to the proposition of fasting, i.e. the lack of
association with wives whether at night or in the daytime.
the dawn
the term /fajr/ basically means `break open', hence the light of the
dawn, which breaks the gloom of night with its bright advent, in the
qur'anic term is called /fajr/.
in the verse under discussion, in addition to the above term, the
dawn has been rendered thus:
"...until the white thread (of dawn) becomes manifest unto you from
the black thread (of night)..."
it is interesting that a tradition says that `udayy-ibn-hatam, one
of the believers, once came to the prophet (p.b.u.h.) and said that he
had put two white and black threads in front of him watching them, but
it (the dawn) did not become manifest for him. then, the prophet
(p.b.u.h.) laughed so that his holy teeth appeared. then, he (p.b.u.h.)
said: " o' son of hatam! verily, it is the whiteness of day (dawn) and the
darkness of night. then, begin from this time." 1
at the end of the night, at first a very weak white colour rises in
the sky without extending laterally and appears to be black, presenting
itself like an obstacle on the horizon, and is compared to the tail of a fox
whose narrow end is onto the horizon and its conical shaped end is in
the mid-sky. this is the `false dawn'. but after a while a clear white
light appears, rising, filling the horizon with its whiteness, like a white
thread stretched beside a black thread, and, thereafter, spreads
throughout the sky with a special brightness by which the night ends and
the day begins. this is the ` true dawn ' when the morning prayer can,
then, be performed.
piety, the beginning and the end
it is interesting that in the first verse concerning the ordinance of
fasting it was stated that the ultimate aim of it is piety. this very
meaning is also exactly repeated at the end of the last verse of this
group of verses saying: " so that they may guard themselves (against evil)."
this shows that all of these rites are a means of training the spirit of
piety and self-restraint in man in order to produce a faculty of guarding
against evil and to feel responsibility before the duties of mankind.
1 majma`-ul-bayan, vol. 2, p. 281
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