The context of the Ayat is that before the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam the Arabs were suffering in many false rites. One of the rites was that an adopted child was considered to be a real son in each and every matter. He was called son and in matters of inheritance and marriage, he was taken as a real son. As in case of death of real son or if the son divorces his wife, the son’s wife is unlawful for the father. He cannot marry her afterwards. In the same manner the Arabs used to take the ex-wife of the adopted son unlawful for the father of the adopted son.
khatam e nabuwat ayat in quran
This custom consisted of many evil things, for example, the mixing of lineage, to make an unlawful person the lawful heir, to declare a lawful thing unlawful for one self, etc.
Islam’s basic purpose is to make the world free from illogical rites and customs. So Islam naturally tried to root out such an evil. It adopted two ways to get the aim saying and action. On the one hand it was said:
“neither has He made your adopted sons your son infact. That is your own saying, the words of your mouths; but God speaks the truth, and guides on the way”(Sura Ehzab: 4,5)
The purpose was that an adopted son should not be a part of lineage and should not be considered eligible for inheritance. Moreover, in matters of lawfulness and unlawfulness they should not be treated like real sons. To declare such custom unlawful it was ordered that the custom of adopting children be abandoned. So, it was said in the Ayah that while calling the adopted child, the name of the father should be attached with his name. Before revelation of the Holy Quran Hazrat Zaid Bin Harithah was Hazrat Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam slave after setting him free Hazrat Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam adopted him. So, all the people, including the Sahaba (Razi Allah-o-Anhum Wa Razu An) began to call him “Zaid bin Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam”, according to the tradition of the Arabians. Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (Razi Allah-o-Anho) says that after the revelation of this Ayah, they started calling him ‘Zaid bin Haritha’ instead of ‘Zaid bin Muhammad’. The companions of the Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam abandoned the custom after the revelation of this Ayah. But because it is not easy to root an evil custom out easily, so God made the Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam root this custom out practically with his own hands. So, when Hazrat Zaid (Razi Allah-o-Anho) divorced his wife, Bibi Zaneb Razi Allah-o-Anha, due to family dispute, God made the Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam marry her, so that the evil practice is abolished forever. It was said:
“So when Zaid had accomplished what he would of her, then we gave her in marriage to thee (Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam, so that there should not be any fault in the believers, touching the wives of their adopted sons,
(Sura Ehzab: 37)
As soon as the Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam married Hazrat Zaineb (Razi Allah-o-Anho), there was much uproar in Arabia that the Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam married the wife of his son. In response to the objections and taunts of people, the concerned Ayah was revealed, i.e.:
“Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam is not the father of anyone of your men, but the messenger of Allah, and the Seal of Prophets; God has knowledge of everything”.
It has been told in this Ayah that Hazrat Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam is not the father of any man, so he is not father of Hazrat Zaid (Razi Allah-o-Anho). In this way Holy Prophet’s SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam marriage with Hazrat Zaid’s (Razi Allah-o-Anho) ex-wife is lawful and commendable. So, to taunt Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam in this connection is foolishness. To negate their claim it was sufficient to say that Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam is not father of Hazrat Zaid (Razi Allah-o-Anho), but to negate it on the ground of exaggeration it was said that ‘Muhammad SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam is not the father of any of your men’. So, to accuse such a personality of marrying the wife of his son is crookedness and malignancy. All of His SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam sons died in their childhood. They could not be called ‘men’. That is why it is said in the Ayah that ‘not father of any of your men’. The purpose of the revelation of this Ayah is to reply the objections of the infidels and the hypocrites and to show the acquittal and greatness of the Holy Prophet SallAllah-o-Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam. Then it is said in the Ayah”
