What is the meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted: “O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking the pleasure of your wives”?

The questioner : He asks about the statement of Allah the Exalted: What is the meaning of that?

The Shaykh : Yes. The meaning of this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade himself from eating honey and said: So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, clarified to him that he should not forbid what Allah has made lawful for him in order to seek the pleasure of his wives. However, He, Glorified and Exalted is He, clarified to him what removes this prohibition, saying: Based on this, we say: If a person forbids himself something from what Allah has made lawful for him, he is prohibited from doing so. But if he does it, there is a way out of this action, which is to expiate with the expiation of an oath, and then return to what he had forbidden himself. An example of this is if he says, “It is forbidden for me to enter so-and-so’s house,” and then he wants to enter it. We say: Enter the house and expiate with the expiation of an oath, because Allah said: Likewise, if he says, “It is forbidden for me to speak to so-and-so,” we say: Speak to him and expiate with the expiation of an oath. So anything that Allah has made lawful, if a person forbids it, it has the ruling of an oath; he expiates with the expiation of an oath and then does it. Yes.

The questioner : Also, in the second paragraph, the listener from Sudan says.