Status and Exclusivity

Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6 and the last sentence of Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:53   (Muhammad’s wives are the Mothers of the Believers; Muslims may not marry them "after the Prophet")

According   to  Qur'anic  exegesis,  these  revelations   were  vouchsafed   at a later date  than   the  "verse  of choice"  of  Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:28-29  and  also  the  "peerlessness and restriction" verses of Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:30-34. Muslim Qur'an  interpretation  has recognized a connection between   the  honorific   title  of "Mothers   of the  Believers"  (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6) and the  injunction   against  marriage  with  the Prophet's   wives  (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:53)  because, according   to  Qur'an   Surah An-Nisa’, 4:23,  marriage  with  the  mother   is forbidden (haram). Even though Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6  and  Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:53   are not  consecutive   in the  established   Qur'anic text, they  are generally  considered to belong  together; by identifying  the same "occasion  for" revelation of both,  some  interpreters   even  place  them  into  the same  revelational   context.  Traditions   have  here  linked   the  Qur'anic  injunction against  marriage  with  the Prophet's   wives  "after  him" with  Muhammad's Companion   Talha  ibn Ubaydallah,  A'isha's  cousin, who  is said to have intended to marry  A'isha after  the Prophet's  death." Others place the verses in context with similar plans voiced by other   men, including   a boorish   Arabian tribal chief.  These  men's  designs  were  either  voiced  up  front  in the  Prophet's  and A'isha's  presence,  or they were  circulated  in the city by way of rumors.  Mernissi interprets   these  events  as additional   indication   of  how   badly  the  Prophet's prestige  had  been  damaged  in Medina  by the  danger  and  expenses  of the war of the siege.

Regarding Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6  and  Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:53,  Qur'anic   interpreters   point  out that the  injunction    against   marriage   with   the  Prophet's    wives   or  widows   was divinely  enjoined  in order  to glorify  the Prophet,   alive or dead;  the legislation was,  furthermore,   revealed  to bless  the  Prophet,   while  alive, with  "the serenity, joy,  and gratitude   which  a man feels when  he knows  that  his wife  cannot remarry  ...   as this is an issue that a man debates  with  himself and thinks  about constantly;   indeed,  some  men  are  so jealous  that  they  wish  for  her  death  so that  she  cannot   remarry ..." The  legislation,  however,  applied  only  to  the Prophet's  established  wives with whom  he had consummated   the marriage  and upon  whom  the  hijab and  "the choice"  had  been  imposed.