Surah At-Tahrim, Ayah 2

Which was revealed in Al-Madinah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Allah censures His Prophet for Prohibiting Himself from what He has allowed for Him In the Book

Al-Bukhari recorded that `Ubayd bin `Umayr said that he heard `A'ishah claiming that Allah's Messenger ﷺ used to stay for a period in the house of Zaynab bint Jahsh and drink honey in her house. (She said) "Hafsah and I decided that when the Prophet entered upon either of us, we would say, `I smell Maghafir on you. Have you eaten Maghafir' When he entered upon one of us, she said that to him. He replied (to her),

«لَا، بَلْ شَرِبْتُ عَسَلًا عِنْدَ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ جَحْشٍ وَلَنْ أَعُودَ لَه»

(No, but I drank honey in the house of Zaynab bint Jahsh, and I will never drink it again.)" Then the following was revealed;

قَدْ فَرَ‌ضَ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ تَحِلَّةَ أَيْمَانِكُمْ (Allah has prescribed [ the way on absolution from your oaths....66:2). This verse reminds that where it is necessary or better to break the oath, Allah has prescribed a way to absolve oneself from the liability of the oath by expiation, the details of which are given in other verses.

Due to some domestic problems created by his wives, the Prophet vowed that he would not take honey. But, a prophet’s actions become examples for his followers. Therefore, God commanded the Prophet to pay expiation, the penalty prescribed by the Islamic law, and free himself from the his vow not to take honey, so that in future, his followers should not take it as a symbol of piety and stop taking honey.