Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology,

Haripur, Pakistan

forth lecture:
STUDY OF SELECTED TEXT OF HOLLY QURAN
about Adab Al-Nabi (Verse No-1-18)
Teacher: Syed Afzaal Hussain Shah

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Haripur, Pakistan

‫میحرلا نمحرلا ہللا مسب‬

َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ ِا ذن‬ٙ‫اّلل‬
‫اّلل َ َِس ْی ٌع ػَ ِو ْ ٌی‬ ِ ّ ۤ ِ‫ۤا َٰیُّیه َا ذ ِاَّل ْی َن ۤا َمنُ ْوا ََل ثُلَ ِّد ُم ْوا ب َ ْ َْی یَدَی‬
َ ّ ۤ ‫اّلل َو َر ُس ْو ِ ِٖل َو اث ذ ُلوا‬
O those who believe, do not proceed ahead of Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah.
Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Background of Revelation According to Qurtubi, there are six narratives cited as the
background of revelation of these verses. Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn ` Arabi confirms that all the
narratives are correct, because they all are included in the general meaning of the
verses. One of the narratives, reported by Bukhari, is that once some people from the
tribe of Tamim came to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. During their stay, one of the issues under
discussion was to appoint someone as a ruler of this tribe. Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ
suggested the name of Qa` qa' Ibn Ma'bad, while Sayyidna ` Umarؓ proposed the name
of Aqra' Ibn Habis. Both of them discussed the issue for a while during which the voices
of both became loud. These verses were revealed in this background. ‫ََل تُقَ ِدّ ُموا َبٌْنَ ٌَدَي ِ اللَّـ ِه‬
‫سو ِل ِه‬
ُ ‫( َو َر‬...do not proceed ahead of Allah and His Messenger - 49:1) The phrase ‫َبٌنَ ال ٌَدٌَن‬
literally, means "between the two hands", but in Arabic usage it means 'in front of or
'ahead of. It means: do not go ahead of or in front of Allah's Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬. The Qur'an
does not say in what matter they are prohibited from preceding him. It would appear
that the general prohibition includes preceding by word or deed. Wait for the
Messenger's ‫ ﷺ‬reply unless he himself appoints someone to reply. Likewise if he is
walking, no one should overtake him. If they are sitting in a dining session, no one
should start eating before him. If there is a clear indication or strong evidence that he
himself wants to send someone forward, this would be possible, for example some
people used to be asked to go on a journey or war ahead of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬.
Respect for Islamic Scholars and Religious Leaders Some of the scholars have ruled that
Muslims should observe the same rule in respect of Islamic scholars and spiritual
masters as enjoined by the Qur'an, because they are the heirs of the Holy Prophet's ‫ﷺ‬

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.One day the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬saw Sayyidna Abud-Darda'ؓ walking in front of Sayyidna
Abu Bakr he reprimanded him saying: "you are walking in front of a person who is
better than you in this world and in the hereafter". Then he added: "The Sun did not rise
or set on any man better than Abu Bakrؓ in the world besides the Prophets (‫ )علٌہم السالم‬.
(Ruh-u1-Bayan on the authority of Kashf-ul-Asrar). Therefore, scholars have ruled that
teachers and spiritual guides should be treated with similar respect.

‫ۤا َٰیُّیه َا ذ ِاَّل ْی َن ۤا َمنُ ْوا ََل حَ ْرفَ ُؼ اْوا َا ْص َواحَ ُ ُْك فَ ْو َق َص ْو ِت امنذ ِ ِ ّب َو ََل َ َْتي َُر ْوا َ ِٗل ِِبمْلَ ْولِ َن َجيْ ِر ب َ ْؼ ِض ُ ُْك ِم َب ْؼ ٍض َا ْن َ َْت َبطَ َا ْ َْعامُ ُ ُْك َو‬
‫َاه ُ ُْْت ََل ج َ ْش ُؼ ُر ْو َن‬
0 those who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and be
not loud when speaking to him, as you are loud when speaking to one another, lest
your good deeds become void while you are not aware.
‫ي‬ ِّ ِ‫ت ال َّنب‬
ِ ‫ص ْو‬ ْ ‫ اَل ت ْارفاعُوا أ ا‬do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet . ‫ﷺ‬
‫ص اوات ا ُك ْم فا ْوقا ا‬
2:94 -) This is another etiquette to be observed while in the presence of the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. This verse teaches the believers that they should not raise their voices
above the voice of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬nor speak aloud to him as one speaks aloud to
another in general discussions. The verse warns that neglecting this etiquette may entail
nullification of one's virtuous deeds, because this is a kind of disrespect to the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. Thus when this verse was revealed, the blessed Companionsؓ became very
apprehensive and very cautious. Sayyidna Abu Bakrؓ said: "By God! 0 Messenger of
Allah, from now till my last breath, I shall speak to you as if someone is whispering." (Ad-
Durr-ul Manthur on the authority of Baihaqi) When this verse was revealed, Sayyidna `
Umar'sؓ voice became so low that the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had to ask him to repeat what
he said, so that he could understand what he was saying to him (Sihah). Thabit Ibn
Qaysؓ had a naturally loud voice. When he heard this verse, he feared that his good
deeds would be rendered void, he wept and lowered his voice (Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur on
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the authority of Baihaqi). It is Prohibited to Greet and Speak Aloud in front of the Holy
Prophet’ s ‫ ﷺ‬Mausoleum Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn ` Arabi says that respect for the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬after his demise is just as compulsory as it was during his life-time. Therefore,
some of the scholars have expressed the view that it is disrespectful to say salam or
speak very loudly in front of the Holy Prophet's mausoleum. Likewise it is discourteous
to make noise where Prophetic traditions are recited, because when the blessed words
of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬are being recited, it is compulsory to listen to them silently. In the
same manner, it is an unmannerly behaviour to raise voices after his demise when his
noble words are repeated. Ruling As the Qur'anic injunction "do not proceed ahead of
Allah and His Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬applies to ` Ulama' as the heirs of the Holy Prophet ، ‫ﷺ‬
likewise the injunction "do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet ‫ " ﷺ‬is
applicable to the great scholars of Islam also. When sitting in their assembly, it is
‫أان تاحْ اب ا‬
impolite to raise voices so loudly that their voices are suppressed (Qurtubi). ‫ط‬
‫( أ ا ْع امالُ ُك ْم اوأانت ُ ْم اَل ت ا ْشعُ ُرونا‬lest your good deeds become void while you are not aware - 49:2.)
This clause is indicating the reason why the Muslims are directed not to raise their
voices above the voice of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. They are warned that non-compliance of
the rule may nullify their virtuous deeds. According to the axioms of Shari` ah and
universally established principles, a few perturbing questions arise here. First of all,
according to the unanimous view of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, the only thing that can
destroy righteous deeds is kufr or disbelief. No sin can destroy good deeds. Here the
Qur’ an addresses the noble Companionsؓ and the believers. It addresses them by
calling them "0 believers" which goes to show that they are "believers" and not
"disbelievers" - so how can their righteous works be rendered void? The second point is
that "faith" is an act of free will. A person cannot be a believer unless he embraces faith
with his own free will. Likewise "disbelief' [ kufr ] is an act of free will. A person does not
become kafir [ unbeliever ] unless he adopts disbelief with his own free will. The

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concluding phrase "while you are not aware" seems to be against this principle: Failure
of good deeds is the punishment of disbelief which ought to be a result of one's own
free will and the phrase shows that the punishment lacks "free will". So how can the
good deeds go to waste? My master, the honorable sage of the Ummah has in his
Bayan-ul-Qur'an explicated the passage in such a manner that all these perturbations
are resolved. He says the meaning of the verse is thus: 0 Muslims, avoid raising your
voices above the voice of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬or speaking loudly to him, because in so
doing there is the fear that your deeds should be thwarted. The danger in raising your
voices above that of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬lies in the fact that it is tantamount to
discourtesy to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬which is the same as vexing him. It is unthinkable that
the noble Companions would intentionally attempt to hurt him. However, it is possible
that certain deeds and actions, such as "advancing forward" and "raising voices",
without the intention of hurting could upset or offend him. Therefore, all such conducts
have been absolutely prohibited, forbidden and regarded as sin. The essential
characteristics of some of the sins are such that the people who commit them lose the
Divine aid of repentance and the ability or capacity to perform righteous works. As a
result, he gets so engrossed in sins that they lead him to "disbelief' and thus the
righteous deeds fail. Likewise hurting one's religious leader, teacher or spiritual guide is
a sin that runs the risk of losing the Divine aid. Thus conducts such as "advancing before
the Holy Prophet ‫" ﷺ‬or" raising voices" are such sinful conducts that can cause the
Divine help to be taken away. This situation eventually leads one to "disbelief' which
destroys one's good works. Because the believer may not have intentionally performed
the act of hurting, thus he would not even perceive how he got involved in the process
of "disbelief', and "thwarting of good deeds". Some of the scholars have expressed the
view that if someone has taken a righteous, holy person as his spiritual guide, then he
shows disrespect 'to him, then such a person may suffer the same consequences: that is,

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sometimes it becomes the cause of Divine aid being removed and of incurring His wrath
which eventually destroys the treasure of "faith". We seek refuge with Allah from it!

ُ ّ ۤ ‫اّلل ُاو ۤمٓئِ َم ذ ِاَّل ْی َن ا ْمذَ َح َن‬

‫ؕ مَيُ ْم ذم ْغ ِف َرةٌ ذو َا ْج ٌر َغ ِظ ْ ٌی‬ٙ‫اّلل كُوُ ْوَبَ ُ ْم ِنوخذ ْل ۤوى‬ ِ ّ ۤ ِ‫ِا ذن ذ ِاَّل ْی َن یَغُضه ْو َن َا ْص َواَتَ ُ ْم ِغ ْندَ َر ُس ْول‬
Surely, those who lower their voices before Allah's Messenger are the ones whose
hearts Allah has tested for piety; for them there is forgiveness, and a great reward.

‫ِا ذن ذ ِاَّل ْی َن یُنَاد ُْوه ََم ِم ْن ذو َرا ٓ ِء امْ ُح ُج ۤر ِت اَ ْن َ َُث ُ ُْه ََل ی َ ْؼ ِلوُ ْو َن‬
As for those who call you from behind the apartments, most of them lack
understanding.
ِ ‫اء ْال ُح ُج َرا‬
َ‫ت أ َ ْكث َ ُر ُه ْم ََل ٌَ ْع ِقلُون‬ ِ ‫( الَّذٌِنَ ٌُنَادُونَكَ ِمن َو َر‬As for those who call you from behind the
apartments, most of them lack understanding. - 2:92) In this verse, Allah Ta’ ala has
mentioned a third etiquette about dealing with the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. It is directed that
when he is at home, one should not call him from outside. Particularly calling him by his
name is an unmannered attitude. Reasonable persons would not do it. The term hujurat
(translated above as 'apartments' ) is the plural of hujrah. Lexically, it refers to a four-
walled apartment or dwelling, comprising a courtyard and a roofed building. In
Madinah, the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had nine wives. Each one of them had a separate
apartment, where on different days, he used to stay in succession. The Apartments of
the Mothers of the Faithful Ibn Sa'd on the authority of ` Ata' Al-Khurasani gives a
description of these dwellings. He writes that these apartments were built of palm
branches and their doors were covered with thick black woolen curtains. Imam
Bukhariؓ in Al-'Adab-ul- Mufrad and Baihaqi in his collection record that Dawud Ibn
Qais reports that he had visited these "apartments" and estimated that from the door of
the "apartment" to the roofed part of the building, it must be about seven cubits, the
room about ten cubits and the height of the roof about eight cubits1. These apartments
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of the Mothers of the faithful were included in the Holy Prophet’ s ‫ ﷺ‬mosque during the
reign of Walid Ibn ` Abd-ul-Malik at his own command. On that day in Madinah, people
were lamenting and bewailing. (1) One Cubit= about 18 inches Occasion of Revelation
Imam Baghawi, on the authority of Qatadah (‫ )رح‬reports that the delegation of Banu
Tamim arrived in Madinah in the afternoon and came up to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬when he
was resting in one of his apartments. These bedouins were not acquainted with the
social manners and etiquette of a civil society. They stood outside the apartment and
called out: 0 Muhammad, come out to us! On this occasion, verse [ 4] was revealed
(Musnad of Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and others record similar reports in differential wordings
as quoted by Mazhari). Additional Notes The noble Companions ؓ and their followers
showed the same respect and courtesy to their scholars and spiritual masters as
enjoined by the Qur'an for the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. It is recorded in Bukhari and other
collections that when Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ wanted to inquire about any Prophetic
Tradition from any knowledgeable Companion, he would go to his house and sit at the
threshold without calling him or knocking at the door. He would wait there until the
Companion himself comes out. When he came out on his own, he would ask him about
the Tradition. However, the scholar himself would say to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas: "0 cousin
of Allah's Messenger, why did you not knock at the door and inform me about your
arrival?" Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbasؓ would reply: "A scholar in his community is like a
prophet, and Allah has directed us that we should wait until he comes out on his own.
Sayyidna Abu ` Ubaidah says, "I never knock on the door of any scholar at any time, but I
wait until he himself has emerged and then meet him (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani). Ruling In the
clause of verse ‫" َحت َّ ٰى ت َْخ ُر َج ِإ َل ٌْ ِه ْم‬...until you come out to them...49:5", the prepositional
phrase ilaihim "to them" is a restrictive phrase, and it implies that people must wait
until the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬emerges to talk to them, but if he has emerged for some other
reason or purpose, even in this case it is not appropriate to talk to him. The speakers

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should wait until a suitable situation or occasion arises for them to speak: that is, they
should speak about their particular issue when the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬turns his attention to
them for that purpose.

ُ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو‬ٙ‫َو م َ ْو َاَّنذ ُ ْم َص َ ُب ْوا َت ۤ ّٰ َ ْْخ ُر َ ِاه َِهْ ِ ْم مَ َنا َن ی ًَْرا مذيُ ْم‬
‫اّلل غَ ُف ْو ٌر ذر ِت ْ ٌی‬
Had they remained patient until you come out to them, it would have been much
better for them. And Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.

‫ۤا َٰیُّیه َا ذ ِاَّلیْ َن ۤا َمنُ اْوا ِا ْن َجا ٓ َء ُ ُْك فَ ِاس ٌۢق ِبنَبَ ٍا فَذَ َبیذنُ اْوا َا ْن ث ُِص ْی ُب ْوا كَ ْو ًۢما ِ َِبي َ ٍَاَل فَ ُذ ْص ِب ُح ْوا ػَ ٰۤل َما فَ َؼوْ ُ ُْت هۤ ِد ِم ْ َْی‬
O those who believe, if a sinful person brings you a report, verify its correctness, lest
you harm a people out of ignorance then become remorseful on what you did.
Background of Revelation According to Ibn Kathir, it is reported in Musnad of Ahmad
that Harith Ibn Dirar Ibn Abi Dirar, the leader of the tribe of Banul-Mustaliq, whose
daughter Sayyidah Juwairiyahؓ was one of the blessed wives of the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
came up to the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬and he called him towards Islam and asked him to pay
his Zakah. He says, "I embraced Islam and pledged to pay Zakah, and said to the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that I would go to my people, call them towards Islam and ask them to pay
Zakah. Those who would accept my invitation and pay the compulsory alms, I would
collect their alms. I requested that on a designated date of a designated month, a
collector be sent to me, so that the alms might be handed over to him." Accordingly,
when Harith had collected the alms of the believers and the alms collector did not arrive
on the designated date or even long after that, he feared that may be the Holy Prophet
‫ ﷺ‬is displeased with them for some reason or the other. Otherwise it was unlikely for
the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬not to keep his promise. Harithؓ expressed his apprehension to the
leaders of the new Muslims, and wanted them to go to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. On the
other hand, the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬had sent Walid Ibn 'Uqbah to collect the Zakah from
them. However, on his way he thought that the members of that tribe are his old
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enemies and feared that they might kill him. With this fear he returned to Madinah, and
said to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that they refused to pay Zakah, and wanted to kill him. On
hearing this, the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬became very angry, and under the command of Khalid
Ibn Walid he dispatched a force of fighters in the way of Allah. On the one hand, this
contingent was dispatched, and on the other hand Harith Ibn Dirar with his people was
on his way to meet the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. The two groups met near Madinah. Harith
inquired: "To whom have you been sent?" They replied: "We are sent to you". Harith
inquired: "for what purpose?" They narrated the mission of Walid Ibn 'Uqbah who
reported to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that the tribe of Banul-Mustaliq refused to pay Zakah
and planned to kill him. Harith said on oath, "I swear by Allah who sent Muhammad as
His true Messenger, Walid did not arrive in the location, nor did I see him. Since no
envoy had come to us at the appointed location, I apprehended that you are annoyed
with me due to some shortcoming on my part. Therefore, I have come here. Harith says
that the present verse of Surah Al-Hujurat was revealed on this occasion (Ibn Kathir).
Other versions have it that Walid Ibn 'Uqbah did go to the tribe of Banul-Mustaliq. As
the tribe was expecting the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬envoy to arrive on a designated date, they
came out of their settlement as a mark of respect to welcome him. Walid Ibn 'Uqbahؓ
suspected that they might have come out to kill him on account of their old hostility.
Therefore he returned instantly from there, and went up to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and
reported to him, according to his suspicion, that they were not willing to pay the alms
and wanted to kill him. On hearing this report, the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬dispatched Sayyidna
Khalid Ibn Walidؓ to make a thorough investigation, so that appropriate measures
could be taken. Sayyidna Khalid Ibn Walidؓ arrived near the settlement at night and
encamped there. He selected a few of his men and sent them furtively as spies into the
location to investigate. They returned and reported that the members of the tribe were
Muslims and believers; they were regular with their prayers and in paying their alms;

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and they did not find the tribe doing anything contrary to Islam. Sayyidna Khalid Ibn
Walidؓ came back, and reported the whole story to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. This verse was
revealed on that occasion (Ibn-Kathir - summary of several reports). Ruling On the basis
of this verse, it may be ruled that if a mischief-monger, sinner, wicked or corrupt person
complains about any person or nation, or accuses them of any wrong-doing, it is not
lawful to act upon the sole information or evidence of such a person without making a
thorough investigation. Injunctions and Rulings Related to Verse [ 6] Imam Jassas (‫ )رح‬in
Ahkam-ul-Qur'an says that this verse indicates that it is not lawful to accept any
information conveyed by a sinful person and act upon it unless it is investigated by other
sources and confirmed. This verse contains the injunction fatabayyanu (verify its
correctness). In another reading the word 'tathabbatu' conveys the same meaning. The
sense is: "Do not rush into taking actions or measures; be stable, and stand firmly in
your place; and do not be easily moved or shaken. Wait until the news or information is
confirmed by other independent sources. Since it is not lawful to accept the information
or report of an ungodly sinful person, then the testimony of such a person would not be
acceptable with greater force, because every testimony is a statement which is
confirmed by a kind of oath. Therefore, according to majority of scholars a statement or
evidence of an ungodly person, in terms of Shari'ah, is not acceptable. However, all
scholars agree that as far as the common worldly affairs are concerned, it is not
necessary to ascertain the accuracy or truth of every news and the reliability of every
informer. The jurists are clear that this rule of law does not apply in the case of ordinary
matters, because the rule is governed by an effective cause which is laid down in the
ِ ُ ‫( أَن ت‬lest you harm a people out of ignorance -
explicit text of this verse: ‫صٌبُوا قَ ْو ًما بِ َج َها َل ٍة‬
49:6). Thus matters which are not governed by the effective cause will be an exception
to, and excluded from, the rule of this verse. For instance, if a wicked person, or for that
matter even an unbeliever, delivers a gift to someone, stating that this gift has been

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sent by a certain person, it would be lawful to accept the gift and the statement. Details
may be found in books of Fiqh, such as in mu` in-ul-hukkam and others. I have given the
details in part six of Ahkam-ul-Qur'an [ Arabic version ]. Learned scholars may peruse
them there. An Important Question and Answer Regarding the Truthfulness of the
Companions Authentic Ahaadith verify that this verse was revealed in connection with
Walid Ibn 'Uqbah, and in the verse he is referred to as fasiq (sinner). Apparently, it goes
to show that a sahabi (Companion) can be a fasiq. This is in conflict with the universally
established maxim ‫صحابۃ کلّ ُهم عدول‬
ّ ‫( ال‬the Companions are all truthful and reliable). None
of their statements, reports or testimony can be doubted. ` Allamah ` Alusi in Ruh-ul-
Ma` ani says that the truth of the matter is according to the majority of the scholars, the
blessed Companionsؓ are not infallible; it is possible for them to commit sins - major
sins which is fisq; at the time of committing the sin they will be dealt with in the
appropriate manner in terms of the punishment prescribed for that act; and if any of
them is found guilty of lying, his news, information, report or testimony will be rejected.
However, on the basis of the express texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah, Ahl-us-suunah
wal-Jama'ah believe that Companion can, though, commit sins, they do not persist in it.
There is no companion of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬who has not repented and purified
himself after committing a sin. The Qur’ an, referring to the general class of the
Companions, announces in general terms ُ‫ضوا َع ْنه‬ َّ ً
ُ ‫اللـهُ َع ْن ُه ْم َو َر‬ َ ‫ض‬
ِ ‫( َّر‬...Allah is well-pleased
with them and they are well-pleased with Him - 98:8). The pleasure of Allah is not
possible without forgiveness of sins. Qadi Abu Ya'la says that Allah's pleasure is one of
His eternal attributes. He expresses His pleasure only for those about whom He knows
they will die whilst seeking His pleasure (Ibn-Taimiyyah in As-scrim-ul-Maslul). In sum:
From amongst the magnificent group of the noble Companions, it is possible for a
handful of them to commit a sin sometime or the other, but Divine aid comes to their
rescue and they immediately repent. Through the blessing of the Holy Prophet’ s ‫ﷺ‬

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company, Allah had made Shari` ah their nature. As result, it was very rare for them to
do anything contrary to Shari’ ah and very unlikely to commit sins. It was natural for
them to dedicate themselves to performing righteous deeds in conformity with the Holy
Prophet’ s ‫ ﷺ‬paradigm and the principles established by Islam. They exerted such efforts
in obeying Allah and His Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in all matters of life, the example of which is
never found in any of the previous religious communities. In comparison to the
uncountable good works, merits and excellence to their credit, even if they commit a sin
once in a life-time, it would be quashed or would be counted as non-existent.
Furthermore, hadith collections record a number of incidents where the noble
Companionsؓ expressed their supreme love and devotion for Allah and His Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. They expressed their highest degree of fear for Allah at the time of
committing the most minor sins and repented forthwith. We have on record that some
of the Companions presented themselves for punishment when they did something
wrong and others tied themselves up to the column of the mosque; and so on. A hadith
informs us that "He who repents on a sin is like him who has not committed any sin".
ِ ‫ت ٌُ ْذ ِهبْنَ ال َّس ٌِّئ َا‬
The Qur'an says: ‫ت‬ َ ‫ ِإ َّن ْال َح‬Surely, good deeds erase bad deeds. [ Surah Hud:
ِ ‫سنَا‬
114] This rule applies to them with greater force, since their good deeds are not like the
good deeds of the general class of people. In fact, the status of their good deeds has
been described in the collections of Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi on the authority of Said

ّ ‫"وہللا لمشهد رجل منهم مع ال ّنب‬By

Ibn Zaid: ‫ی ﷺ ٌغبّر فٌہ وجهہ خٌر من عمل احدکم ولو عمر عمر نوح‬
Allah, anyone of them who participated in a jihad with the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and his face
got covered with dust is better than your life-long obedience and worship, even if you
attained the age of Nuh (‫ )علٌہ السالم‬." Therefore, they will receive the same punishment
that is prescribed for a sin or crime which they might have committed. However, despite
this it is not lawful for any of us to regard any of them as fasiq. Consequently, if any
Companion during the time of the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬committed a sin or crime which could

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be the cause of producing in him the effect of fisq, as a result of which he might have
been referred to as a fasiq on that account, it does not become possible for that fisq to
be regarded as his permanent characteristic to call him, God forbid!, as a fasiq for all
times to Come (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani). Nevertheless, it is not at all necessary that in the
current verse, Walid Ibn 'Uqbahؓ is categorically referred to as fasiq. Despite the fact
that the verse is supposed to have been revealed in his incident, it does not mean that
the word 'fasiq' is used for him, because before this incident, Walid Ibn 'Uqbah had not
done any such thing on account of which he could be referred to as fasiq. An analysis of
the incident of Banul-Mustaliq indicates that he conveyed an incorrect information
about that tribe which, acting in good faith, he thought was true whereas in reality it
was not. Therefore, the plain import of the current verse would be that it simply
establishes the general rule that the news conveyed by a fasiq would be unacceptable.
However, it may be emphasized that Walid Ibn 'Uqbah was not a fasiq, but his
information, because of strong external context, did not seem acceptable. As a result,
the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬refrained from taking any measures merely on his information, and
sent Khalid Ibn Walid for proper investigation. If this is the case of the news conveyed by
a bona fide reliable and righteous person, then with the stronger reason a fasiq's news
should be rejected and should not be acted upon. The truthfulness of the Companions ؓ
is discussed fully by this author in his book "The Status of the Companions" which is
already published in Urdu. It will partly be discussed under forthcoming verses 9-10.

َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ مَ ْو ی ُ ِع ْی ُؼ ُ ُْك ِ ِْف َن ِث ْ ًٍر ِّم َن ْاَلَ ْم ِر مَ َؼنُِته ْ َو ۤم ِك ذن‬ٙ‫اّلل‬

‫اّلل َتبذ َب ِام َ ْی ُ ُُك ْ ِاَلیْ َم َان َو َزیذنَ ٗو ِ ِْف كُوُ ْو ِب ُ ُْك‬ ِ ّ ۤ ‫َو اػْوَ ُم اْوا َا ذن ِف ْی ُ ُْك َر ُس ْو َل‬
‫ؕ ُاومۤٓئِ َم ُ ُُه ۤ ّامر ِشدُ ْو َن‬ٙ‫َو نَ ذر َه ِامَ ْی ُ ُُك ْام ُك ْف َر َو امْ ُف ُس ْو َق َو امْ ِؼ ْص َی َان‬
And know that among you there is the Messenger of Allah. If he obeys you in many a
matter, you will certainly fall into hardship. But Allah has endeared to you the Faith,

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and caused it to look beautiful to your hearts, and made detestable to you the
disbelief and sins and disobedience. Such people are rightly guided,
The Holy Prophet's ‫ ﷺ‬Decision is Better According to the previous verse, Walid Ibn
'Uqbahؓ reported that Banul-Mustaliq had turned apostate and refused to pay Zakah.
At this, the blessed Companions were disturbed and infuriated. They expressed the view
that jihad should be declared on them immediately, but the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬rejected his
report on the basis of strong circumstantial evidence to the contrary. He sent Khalid Ibn
Walid for investigation. In the foregoing verse, the Qur’ an enjoined that if there are
strong reasons to doubt the report conveyed by any person, it is not lawful to act upon
it before investigation. In this verse the noble Companions ؓ are given one more
guideline: 'Although when you heard the news about Banul-Mustaliq's apostasy, you
reacted the way you reacted, and that was on account of your religious zeal and
enthusiasm, yet your view was not right and proper. The decision taken by the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬proved to be better (Mazhari). Thus in matters requiring consultation it is
proper to express a view but it is not proper for you to exert efforts to get the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to act upon your opinion. Although there is a rare possibility that an opinion
expressed by the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in some worldly matters comes to be against worldly
expedience, and this is not contrary to the station of his prophethood, yet Allah has
gifted him with such insight, perspicacity and discernment which you do not have.
Therefore, if the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬were to follow your opinion, in many matters, you will
suffer loss and fall into difficulties. If rarely ever your opinion is right or proper, it is still
better to abandon your opinion and obey the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. By doing so it is possible
that you may suffer some worldly loss, but it would not be as harmful as his following
your opinion. In this case, even if you suffer any worldly loss, the reward of obedience to
the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬is a better compensation. Lexically, the word is derived from and it

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connotes "to commit a sin or crime" and it also means "to suffer from hardship". In this
context, both connotations appropriately fit (Qurtubi).

‫اّلل ػَ ِو ْ ٌی َت ِك ْ ٌی‬ ِ ّ ۤ ‫فَضْ ًل ِّم َن‬

ُ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو‬ٙ‫اّلل َو ِه ْؼ َمة‬
as a grace from Allah, and as a blessing. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

‫ؕ فَ ِا ْن بَغ َْت ِا ْح ۤد ُهى َما ػَ َٰل ْ ُاَلخ ْۤرى فَلَا ِثوُوا ام ذ ِ ْٰ ثَ ْب ِغ ْی َت ۤ ّٰ ثَ ِف ْ ٓی َء ِا ۤاٰل‬١‫َو ِا ْن َظآئِفَ ۤ ِٰت ِم َن امْ ُم ْؤ ِم ِن ْ َْی ا ْكذَ َخوُ ْوا فَ َا ْص ِو ُح ْوا بَیَْنَ ُ َما‬
‫اّلل ُ ُِی هب امْ ُم ْل ِس ِع ْ َْی‬
َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ ِا ذن‬ٙ‫ؕ فَ ِا ْن فَا ٓ َء ْت فَ َا ْص ِو ُح ْوا بَیَْنَ ُ َما ِِبمْ َؼدْ لِ َو َا ْك ِس ُع ْوا‬١‫اّلل‬
ِ ّ ۤ ‫َا ْم ِر‬
And if two groups of the believers fight each other, seek reconciliation between them.
And if one of them commits aggression against the other, fight the one that commits
aggression until it comes back to Allah's command. So if it comes back, seek
reconciliation between them with fairness, and maintain justice. Surely Allah loves
those who maintain justice.
Linkage In the foregoing verses the rights of the Prophet were set out. They also laid
down the mannerism in which he should be treated. The verses prohibited any act that
would annoy or hurt him. Now this set of verses [ 9-10] establishes the manners, mores,
injunctions, and mutual rights and obligations to be observed in individual and social
life. The common value of all these rules is to avoid causing any inconvenience to the
members of the society. Occasion of Revelation The commentators have narrated
several incidents as a background of the revelation of these verses. Among them is the
clash that took place between two Muslim groups. It is not inconceivable that the
totality of these incidents might have been the occasion of revelation. It is also possible
that one of these incidents has been the cause of revelation and the other incidents,
being similar, were also termed as the occasion of revelation. Although the immediate
addressees of this verse are rulers and those in authority who have the means to fight

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and wage war, [ as stated by Abu Hayyan in Al-Bahr and preferred by ` Alusi in Ruh-ul-
Ma` ani ] all Muslims are addressed in this verse indirectly to assist those in authority in
this matter. Where there is no leader, 'amir, king or president, the rule is that the two
warring parties should be advised, as far as possible, to cease war. If this is not possible,
common people are ordered to stay away from both warring groups: they should
neither oppose nor aid any one of them. ] Bayan-ul-Qur’ an +. 'Related Issues and
Injunctions There are several forms of mutual fighting between two Muslim parties: [ 1]
both parties are subjects of a Muslim government; [ 2] neither of the parties is the
subject of a Muslim government; [ 3] one of the parties his the subject of a Muslim
government, but not the other. In the first case, it is compulsory for common Muslims
to bring about an understanding between them and try to stop the mutual fighting. If
they do not cease fighting by negotiations, then it is imperative for the Muslim ruler to
take measures against them. If both parties cease fighting by the intervention of the
Islamic government, then the laws of retaliation, retribution and blood-wit will apply. If
they do not cease, then both parties will be treated like rebels. If one of the parties
withdrew and the other persisted in oppression and transgression, then the persistent
group will be treated like a rebel group. The obedient group will be designated as 'Adil"
(just). The detailed laws pertaining to rebels may be perused in books of Islamic law.
Briefly, the law comprehends the following: Before fighting, their weapons must be
seized and confiscated. Then they must be arrested and kept in prison until they repent.
Neither in the course of fighting nor after fighting should their children be enslaved.
Their wealth should not be treated like the spoils of war. In fact, their wealth will be
held in trust until they repent. After repentance their belongings will be returned to
them. In the above verses, we come across the following directive: ‫ص ِل ُحوا بَ ٌْنَ ُه َما‬ ْ َ ‫ت َفأ‬
ْ ‫َفإِن َفا َء‬
ُ ‫'بِ ْال َع ْد ِل َوأ َ ْق ِس‬...So if it comes back, seek reconciliation between them with fairness, and
‫طوا‬
maintain justice.' [ 49:9] It means that if the belligerent party ceases fighting, then do

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not only stop fighting but also think about eliminating the cause of war and mutual
dissatisfaction, so that the heart-burnings may come to an end. All enmity and hostilities
will thus cease and an atmosphere of brotherhood may prevail for all times to come.
Since these people have fought against the Muslim ruler, it was possible that they would
not be treated by him equitably. Therefore, the Qur'an lays stress on setting things right
between them equitably and justly, so that the rights of no one are violated [ Adapted
from Bayan-ul-Qur’ an with reference to Hidayah ]. Ruling If a very powerful group of
Muslims revolts against the Muslim ruler, then it is necessary for the ruler to first hear
out their complaint or cause of their dissatisfaction. If a doubt or a misunderstanding
has arisen in their mind about some matter, it should be removed. If they show such
cause on the basis of which it is permissible in Shari’ ah to oppose a Muslim leader or
ruler, like unjust behavior on the part of the government, it is essential for the general
body of Muslims to assist the group, so that the leader or ruler may refrain from his
tyranny, provided that his tyranny is proved beyond any shadow of doubt (Ibn-ul-
Humam; Mazhari). If they cannot show any clearly legitimate reason for their
dissatisfaction, revolt, disobedience, and waging war against the Muslim ruler, it is
permitted for Muslims to wage war against the rebels. Imam Shafi` i (‫ )رح‬held that the
Muslims should not initiate fight against the rebels unless they first start the fight [
Mazhari ]. This law applies when it is positively and unquestionably clear that the group
is rebellious. However, if it is difficult to determine which group is rebellious and which
is just, because each party has a valid Shari argument to justify its course of action, then
the pros and cons of both parties may be weighed to determine the party that is "just"
on the principle of probability. If the juristic argument of one party seems to someone
more convincing, it is permitted for him to assist such a group. If someone cannot prefer
the standpoint of any one of them, he should remain neutral, as it happened in the civil
wars of the Battle of Camel and the Battle of Siffin when many noble Companions ؓ

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remained aloof. Conflicts of the Noble Companions ؓ Imam Abu Bakr Ibn-ul-` Arabi says
that this verse of battle between Muslims covers all cases. It includes the case where
both parties prepare for war on grounds of a principle of Shari’ ah. Civil wars of the
noble Companionsؓ were of this nature. Qurtubi, quoting this view of Ibn-ul-` Arabi,
explains the actual situation of the Battle of Camel and the Battle of Siffin and gives
guidelines for later generations of Muslims to follow in the light of the battles of the
blessed Companionsؓ . This author has dealt with this subject in "Ahkam-ul-Qur'an" in
Arabic and his Urdu book "Maqame-Sahabah".The summary of the discussion given in
that book with reference to Qurtubi (V.16, P.322) is as follows: It is not permitted to
attribute categorically, and with certainty, to any of the Companions that he was
absolutely wrong in his action, because each of them acted according to his own Ijtihad.
Their objective was to seek the pleasure of Allah. The Companions ؓ are all our leaders,
and it is enjoined upon us that we should hold back our tongue from talking about their
mutual differences, and always speak the best things about them. Prophet's
companionship is a highly honourable position which should not be violated. The Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬has prohibited to revile them or talk bad about them, and informed us that
they have been forgiven and that Allah is pleased with them. Besides, there is the
Hadith regarding Sayyidna Talhahؓ reaching us through several transmitting authorities
ّ
that: ‫"ان طلحہ شهٌد ٌمشی علی وجہ اَلرض‬Talhah is a martyr walking on the face of the
earth." If Sayyidna Talhahؓ was committing a clear sin by going out to wage war against
Sayyidna ` Ali,ؓ he could not attain the high status of a martyr. In the same way, if his
act might be regarded as a failure to perform his duty on the basis of a clearly wrong
interpretation, he would still not attain the status of martyrdom. Martyrdom is attained
only when a person is killed in obedience of Allah. Therefore, it is necessary to construe
the matter of the Companionsؓ in terms of the principle mentioned above. Another
proof of this is available in authentic and well-established Ahaadith which are reported

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by Sayyidna ` Aliؓ himself where the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: "The killer of Zubair is in
Hell." Furthermore, Sayyidna ` Aliؓ reports that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: "Give news to the
killer of Sayyidah Safiyyah's‫ عنہا‬son that he will be in Hell." In the light of this we need
to believe that Sayyidna Zubair and Sayyidna Talhah ؓ were not sinners or disobedient
to Allah in the position taken by them in the battle. Otherwise the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
would not have referred to Sayyidna Talhahؓ as a martyr, nor would he predict about
the killer of Zubairؓ that he would be in Hell. Also, he is counted among the ten who
were given the glad tidings of attaining Paradise. Traditions relating to this subject have
almost reached the grade of continuity [ tawatur ] and the Traditions are referred to as
ahadith mutawatir. Likewise the noble Companions who did not participate in the
battles on either side, cannot be regarded as defaulters because their behaviour,
conduct and attitude in this matter was also based on their ijtihad, and Allah maintained
them thus. Therefore, it is not proper in any sense of the word to curse them, to taunt
them, to hold them as sinners, and to neglect their virtues, their struggles and their
great religious stations. Some of the scholars were posed the question: what is your
view regarding the blood that was shed in the battles that took place among the blessed
Companionsؓ ? They simply recited the following verse of the Qur'an: ‫ت ۖ لَ َها‬ ْ ‫ِت ْلكَ أ ُ َّمةٌ َق ْد َخ َل‬
﴾432﴿ َ‫س ْبت ُ ْم ۖ َو ََل تُسْأَلُونَ َع َّما كَانُوا ٌَ ْع َملُون‬
َ ‫ت َولَ ُكم َّما َك‬
ْ ‫س َب‬
َ ‫' َما َك‬Those are a people who have passed
away. For them what they earned, and for you what you earned. And you shall not be
questioned as to what they have been doing. [ 2:134] ' The same question was posed to
another scholar. He replied: "Allah saved my hands from being soiled with that blood.
Now I will not soil my tongue with it." He meant that he does not wish to make the
mistake of categorically adjudging any one of the groups as the defaulter. ` Allamah Ibn-
Fuwarrak (‫ )رح‬says: "Some of our colleagues feel that the example of the conflicts that
took place between the noble Companionsؓ is like that of the episodes of conflict that
occurred between Sayyidna Yusuf (‫ )علٌہ السالم‬and his brothers. They, despite their

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mutual differences, did not lose their status of wilayah and nubuwwah. The same
principle applies to the matter of conflicts that occurred between the Companions."
Sayyidna Muhasibi (‫ )رح‬says: "As far as this bloodshed is concerned, it is difficult for us
to say anything because there was a difference of opinion in this regard among the
noble Companionsؓ themselves." When Hasan Al-Basri (‫ )رح‬was asked the question
concerning the wars between the noble Companions he replied: "Those were fights in
which the Companions were present and we were not. They knew all the circumstances
and we do not know them. The matter in which the Companions are unanimous, we
follow; and the matter in which there is difference of opinion, we observe silence."
Sayyidna Muhasibi (‫ )رح‬says: "We concur with Hasan Al-Basri (‫ )رح‬. We know that when
the noble Companions meddled in any matter, they knew fully well why they were
doing it. Our task is merely to follow them where they are unanimous, and where they
differ we observe silence. We should not on our own introduce new ideas. We are
assured that they must have exercised ijtihad and sought the pleasure of Allah.
Therefore, in matters of religion they are all beyond doubt."

ۧ ‫اّلل م َ َؼو ذ ُ ُْك حُ ْر َ َُح ْو َن‬

َ ّ ۤ ‫ِاه ذ َما امْ ُم ْؤ ِمنُ ْو َن ِاخ َْوةٌ فَ َا ْص ِو ُح ْوا ب َ ْ َْی َاخ ََو ْی ُ ُْك َو اث ذ ُلوا‬
All believers are but brothers, therefore seek reconciliation between your two
brothers, and fear Allah, so that you may be blessed with mercy.

ؕ١‫ۤا َٰیُّیه َا ذ ِاَّل ْی َن ۤا َمنُ ْوا ََل ی َْسخ َْر كَ ْو ٌم ِّم ْن كَ ْو ٍم َغ ۤاٰس َا ْن ی ذ ُك ْوه ُْوا ی ًَْرا ِّمَنْ ُ ْم َو ََل ِو َسا ٓ ٌء ِّم ْن ِو ّ َسا ٓ ٍء َغ ۤاٰس َا ْن ی ذ ُك ذن ی ًَْرا ِّمَنْ ُ ذن‬
‫ؕ َو َم ْن م ذ ْم یَدُ ْب فَ ُاومۤ ٓ ِئ َم ُ ُُه ۤ ّامظ ِو ُم ْو َن‬١‫ْس امْ ُف ُس ْو ُق ب َ ْؼدَ ْ ِاَلیْ َم ِان‬
ُ ْ ‫ؕ ِبئْ َس ِاَل‬ٙ‫َو ََل ثَوْ ِم ُز اْوا َاهْ ُف َس ُ ُْك َو ََل ثَنَابَ ُز ْوا ِِب ْ ََلمْلَ ِاب‬
O those who believe, no men should ever mock at other men, since it is possible that
the latter are better than the former, nor (should) women (ever mock) at other
women, since it is possible that the latter women are better than the former ones.

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And do not find fault with one another, nor call one another with bad nicknames. Bad
is the name of sinfulness after embracing Faith. And whoever does not repent, such
people are the wrongdoers.
(). It means that calling others with bad nicknames is a sinful act, and the real bad name
for a person after embracing Faith is that he is known among people for sinful acts.
Therefore, if a Muslim commits the sin of calling others with bad nicknames, and it is
known among people, then the real bad name is earned by himself, and not by the
person whom he has abused with that nickname. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani) Prohibition
of Ridiculing One Another The beginning part of this chapter laid down the Prophet's ‫ﷺ‬
rights and the etiquettes to be observed when dealing with him. Then the Holy Qur'an
has started mentioning the mutual rights and good manners for the general body of
Muslims to be observed among themselves. The injunctions laid down in the preceding
two verses related to the collective reformation of the society. Now the current verse
mentions the rights and etiquettes to be observed between individuals. Thus the verse
prohibits three social evils: [ 1] ridiculing one another; [ 2] finding fault with one
another; and [ 3] reviling one another with nicknames. According to Qurtubi, mocking or
scoffing does not only connote mocking with the tongue, but it also implies mimicking
someone, making pointed references to him, laughing at his words, his works, his
appearance, his dress or calling people's attention to some of his defects, so that they
may laugh at him. Mocking includes all of this. By the clear text of the Qur'an, poking fun
at someone or ridiculing him is absolutely forbidden. Stylistically, the Qur'an has, on this
occasion, addressed men and women separately. Men are referred to as qawm, a word
that is specifically reserved for male members of the human society, though by
extension the word most often includes the female members of the human society as
well. The Qur'an, however, generally employs the word qawm for both men and
women, but here it is specifically used for men in contradistinction to the word nisa'

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which specifically refers to women. Here both men and women are reminded that
mocking one another is a disdainful and evil act. They must refrain from it, because it is
very likely that the man who is mocked at may be better than the mocking person and
the woman who is mocked at may be better than the mocker. Here the Qur'an prohibits
men from mocking other men, and women from mocking other women. This, however,
does not mean that it is permitted for men to mock at women or for women to mock at
men. The actual reason for making separate mention of the two sexes is that Islam does
not allow free intermingling of the two sexes. Ridiculing each other generally occurs
where there is such an intermingling. Therefore, in a Muslim society it is inconceivable
that men would mock a woman or women would mock a man in an intermingling
situation. In short: no one dare make mockery of a person whose body, face, shape and
stature are defective, imperfect, impaired or deformed, because he does not know that
the other person, in the sight of Allah, might be better than him on account of his
sincerity and purity of heart. When the righteous predecessors heard this verse, they
adopted a conducive attitude: For example, Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn Shurahbilؓ said that he
would not laugh at a person when he sees him drink milk direct from the udders of a
goat, lest he should become one like him. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ said: "I
would not like to scoff at a dog, lest I be Metamorphosed into a dog (Qurtubi)." It is
recorded in Sahib of Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna Abu 'Hurairah ؓ that the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: "Allah does not look at your Faces and your wealth; He looks at your
hearts and your works." Qurtubi derives a legal maxim from this tradition of the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that in any matter it is not proper to pass a categorical judgment on the basis
of overt evidence or circumstances, because it is possible that a person's overt actions
might seem to be good but in the sight of Allah, on account of the insincerity and
impurity of his heart, they could be bad, as He is fully aware of the inner state of
people's hearts. On the contrary, a person's overt actions might seem to us bad, but in

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the sight of Allah, on account of the sincerity and purity of his heart, they could serve as
an expiation of the bad actions, as He is fully aware of the inner state of people's heart.
The next thing that is prohibited in the verse is lamz which connotes to find fault with
َ ُ‫ َو ََل ت َْل ِم ُزوا أَنف‬literally it means, "Do not find
someone or to upbraid him. The verse says, ‫س ُك ْم‬
fault with your selves." But the intention is: "Do not find fault with one another-" [
49:11] as is seen in the translation above. This expression is similar to the expression ‫َو ََل‬
َ ُ‫' ت َ ْقتُلُوا أَنف‬...And do not kill yourselves - [ 4:29] '. Although the verse commands "do not
‫س ُك ْم‬
kill yourselves", it purports to say "do not kill one another". This expression indicates
that, from one point of view, killing another person amounts to killing oneself. Often it
happens that if one person kills another person, the victim's supporters kill the
murderer. Even if this does not happen, a Muslim is the brother of another Muslim.
Killing one's brother is like killing oneself and rendering oneself crippled, helpless and
َ ُ‫' ََل ت َْل ِم ُزوا أَنف‬and not find fault with yourselves'
powerless. Similarly, the expression ‫س ُك ْم‬
means when you find fault with others and upbraid them, others will find fault with you
and upbraid you, because no man is normally free from any fault. Scholars have
formulated the maxim: ‫" وفٌک عٌوب و للنّاس اعٌن‬You have faults and people have eyes"
with which they see them. Thus if someone seeks out the imperfections of some other
person and broadcasts them, the latter will do the same in return. If, however, he
exercises patience and evades retaliation to his verbal attacks, it comes down to the
same thing: If one considers carefully, he will find that defaming and despising one's
Muslim brother is actually casting aspersions on oneself. Scholars have suggested that
the satisfaction, well-being and happiness of man lies in examining his own faults and
finding ways of mending them. This approach to life will give him no time to find fault
with others and broadcast it. How well the last king of India Bahadur Shah Zafar has
versified it! ‫نہ تهی حال کی جب ہمٌں اپنی خبر رہے دٌکهتے لوگوں کے عٌب و ہنر پڑی اپنی براٌٌوں پر‬
‫جو نظر تو جہان مٌں کو ٌٔی بُرا نہ رہا‬As long as we were unaware of our own faults, we looked

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into the faults and failings of others; But when we looked at our own faults there
remained no one faulty in the world. The third thing that is prohibited in the verse is
reviling one another with nicknames which are offensive to them, e.g. calling a person
lame, hands cropped, blind or one-eyed; or referring to him by other offensive
nicknames. Sayyidna Abu Jabirah Ansariؓ says, "This verse was revealed in connection
with us. When we migrated to Madinah, most of us had two or three names. Some of
them were popularised in order to denigrate, defame or belittle the bearer of the name.
The Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was not aware of this situation; as a result he sometimes called
them by one of these offensive names unwittingly. The noble Companionsؓ informed
the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬that the name offends the bearer of that name. This verse was revealed
on that occasion." Sayyidna Ibn-Abbasؓ says that prohibition of tanabuz bil-alqab
means that if a person committed a sin or performed an evil deed from which he
repented and mended his ways, it is unlawful for anyone to call him by denigrating
names, such as thief, an adulterer, a drunkard or any such name. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬is
reported to have said: "Anyone who denigrates a Muslim who has committed a sin of
which he has repented, Allah takes it upon Himself that He will get the person to
commit the very same sin and expose him to embarrassment and humiliation in this
world and in the Hereafter [ Qurtubi ]. Exception to the Rule There are some nicknames,
which though apparently offensive, are not intended to defame or insult the bearer of
that name, but they rather serve as a symbol of identification. That is why scholars have
permitted to attach titles to the names of the traditionalists - like A'raj [ lame, cripple ]
or ahdab [ humpbacked, hunchbacked ] provided they are not intended to insult or
defame. The Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬himself named a Companion dhul-yadain because his
hands were relatively long. ` Abdullah Ibn Mubarak was posed the question: "In the
asanid [ chains of authorities on which a tradition is based ] we come across names to
which are attached titles like Hamid At-Tawil [ Hamid, the Tall ], Sulaiman al-A'mash [

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Sulaiman the weak-eyed ] and Marwan al-Asfar [ Marwan, the Yellow ]: are these titles
allowed?" He replied9 “ If your intention is not to insult or defame, but rather to
complete identification, it is permitted." [ Qurtubi ] It is Sunnah to call people by Good
Titles The Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬is reported to have said that it is the right of a believer to call
his fellow-believers by good names and titles which they like the best. Therefore the use
of kunniyyah [ agnomen/cognomen ] had become commonplace in Arabia. The Holy
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬also favoured this, and consequently he himself bestowed appropriate titles
on some of the individual Companions, e.g. Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ received the title of ` Atiq
[ the noble ], Sayyidna ` Umar the title of Faruq [ he who distinguishes truth from
falsehood ], Sayyidna Hamzahؓ the title of Asadullah [ the lion of Allah ] and Khalid Ibn
Walid, the title of Saifullah [ the sword of Allah ].

‫ؕ َا ُ ُِی هب اَ َحدُ ُ ُْك‬ٙ‫امظ ِّن ِا ْ ٌْث ذو ََل َ ََت ذس ُس ْوا َو ََل ی َ ْغخَ ْب ب ذ ْؼضُ ُ ُْك ب َ ْؼضا‬ ‫ۤا َٰیُّیه َا ذ ِاَّل ْی َن ۤا َمنُوا ا ْجذَنِ ُب ْوا َن ِث ًْرا ِّم َن ذ‬
‫امظ ِّن٘ؕ ِا ذن ب َ ْؼ َض ذ‬
‫اب ذر ِت ْ ٌی‬ َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو اث ذ ُلوا‬ٙ‫ُك مَ ْح َم َا ِخ ْی ِو َم ْیخا فَكَ ِر ْى ُخ ُم ْو ُه‬
َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ ِا ذن‬ٙ‫اّلل‬
ٌ ‫اّلل ث ذَو‬ َ ُ ‫َا ْن ذ ْٰی‬
O those who believe, abstain from many of the suspicions. Some suspicions are sins.
And do not be curious (to find out faults of others), and do not backbite one another.
Does one of you like that he eats the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor it.
And fear Allah. Surely Allah is Most-Relenting, Very-Merciful.
Analysis of the Verse This verse too comprises injunctions relating to mutual rights and
manners to be observed in social life. It prohibits three things: [ 1] ‫ ظن‬zann [ unfounded
suspicion ], the details to follow: [ 2] ‫ ت َ َجسُّس‬tajassus [ spying, looking secretly into the
faults of others ]; and [ 3] ‫ ِغٌ َبہ‬ghibah [ backbiting, speaking in of a person behind his
back which if he heard would hurt or injure his feelings ]. [ 1] Prohibition of Unfounded
Suspicion Zann primarily denotes assumption on probable evidence. In the first
instance, the Qur'an sets down "Abstain from many of the suspicions.” and gives reason
for that: "some suspicion are sins". This shows that not all types of suspicion are a sin.
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Thus it is incumbent on the readers to investigate which type is a sin, so that they may
avoid it. If the uneasy feeling and the conviction that something is wrong, someone is
guilty, or some danger is afoot is based on partial evidence, and not confirmed by out-
and-out evidence, it is not permitted to act on it. Scholars and jurists have given a
detailed account of it. Qurtubi says that in this context Zann connotes "accusation", that
is, a charge of wrongdoing, as with guilt, crime, offense or blame without any strong
evidence. Imam Abu Bakr Jassas (‫ )رح‬in Ahkam-ul-Qur'an gives the following details.
Zann is divisible into four categories. [ 1] prohibited; [ 2] imperative; [ 3] recommended,
desirable; and [ 4] permissible. Distrust of Allah or suspecting His trust is prohibited. For
instance, it is not permitted to think ill of Allah in that He will punish him or keep him in
calamity all the time without forgiving him or showing mercy to him, thus despairing of
His grace. Sayyidna Jabirؓ reports that the Holy Prophet ‫ " ﷺ‬said: ‫ٌموتن احدکم ا ََِّل وهو‬
ّ ‫َل‬
ّ
‫الظن باہلل‬ ‫"ٌحسن‬None of you should die without having favourable thoughts about Allah."
ّ ‫"اَنَا عند‬I treat my servants the
According to another hadtth, Allah Ta` ala says: ‫ظن عبدی بی‬
way they think about me." This shows that holding favourable thoughts about Allah is
compulsory and thinking ill of Him is prohibited. Likewise it is prohibited to entertain
suspicion, without rational grounds, about Muslims whose outer conditions show that
they are good and noble. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ reports that the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said:
ّ ‫فان‬
‫الظ ّن الکذب الحدٌث‬ ّ ‫"اٌّاکم و‬Avoid suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false
ّ ‫الظ ّن‬
talks...". In this context, Zann by common consent of scholars stands for thinking ill of a
Muslim without any concrete proof. However, if there is a matter in which it is
necessary to take a decision in either way, and there is no absolute and clear-cut proof
based on the Qur'an and Sunnah for that particular situation, it is imperative to act on
the strength of the best possible assessment, termed in Islamic jurisprudence as ''A -
zann-ul-ghalib' This is the approved practice in cases that come to the law-courts for
settlement. In a court of law, a judge has to deliver his decision on the basis of the

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principle of "the best possible assessment" relying on the testimony of people worthy of
confidence, even though there is the possibility that one of the witnesses at that
particular moment might have lied. The testimony of the witness is based on "best
assessment" and not on "absolute certainty". The judge does not have direct knowledge
of the facts of the matter, nor is there a transparent text of the Qur'an and Sunnah. In
cases like these where one or the other decision has to be taken, and the absolute
knowledge of the reality cannot possibly be attained, there is no way out but to
formulate a judgment on the basis of best possible assessment.' Likewise when the
direction of qiblah is not known, nor is there a person that can show one the direction of
qiblah, it is compulsory for him to determine it on the basis of "best possible
assessment". If a person has destroyed a valuable thing of someone, and a
compensation has been imposed on him, he is liable to pay the value of it on the basis of
'best possible assessment'. The example of permissible Zann is like that of a person
performing prayers and in the course of it suspects whether he has performed three
rak'at or four, he is permitted to apply the 'best possible assessment' and complete the
prayers accordingly. If, however, he does not wish to apply this principle, but wishes to
act on the principle of 'certainty', thinking that he has certainly performed three rak'at,
and thus completes the fourth one, that too is possible. And desirable Zann refers to
having favourable thoughts about every Muslim. That is rewardable [ condensed from
Jassas +. Qurtubi quotes the Qur’ anic verse ‫ظ َّن ْال ُمؤْ ِمنُونَ َو ْال ُمؤْ ِمنَاتُ ِبأَنفُ ِس ِه ْم‬ َ ‫لَّ ْو ََل ِإ ْذ‬
َ ُ‫س ِم ْعت ُ ُموه‬
'...why, when you (0 believers,) heard of it, did the believing men and women not think
well on their own selves - [ 24:12] '. This verse emphasizes to have good thoughts about
ّ
the believers. The following aphorism apparently seems contrary to this rule: ‫ان من الحزم‬
ّ ‫"سوء‬It is prudence to have ill thoughts about every person." But this means to be as
‫الظ ّن‬
precautious when dealing with others as one would deal in suspicious cases: e.g. one
should not hand over one's thing to anyone without strong reliance. It does not mean

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that he should regard anyone as a thief or run him down. In brief, one should take
precautionary measures in the predicament one is placed in without labeling people as
thieves or perfidious. [ 2] Prohibition of Spying The second social evil that is prohibited
in the verse is tajassus, spying or prying secretly into the faults of others. An alternative
reading of ‫ ت َ َجسُّس‬tajassus [ with "J"] is tahassus [ with "H"]. In a hadith recorded in
Sahihain on the authority of Abu Hurairahؓ the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: ‫سوا‬
ُ ‫س‬ َ ‫سوا‬
َّ ‫وَل ت َ َح‬ ُ ‫َل ت َ َج َّس‬
"...do not spy on one another; do not look for other's faults...". The two words in Arabic
are near-synonyms. Akhfash draws attention to the nuances or subtle differences in
their meaning: tajassus connotes looking into the affairs of people which they have kept
hidden, whilst tahassus connotes searching in general as in the following verse of the
Holy Qur'an. ‫ف َوأ َ ِخٌ ِه‬
َ ‫س‬ ُ ‫'ت َ َح َّس‬...search for Yusuf and his brother' - [ 12:87] However,
ُ ‫سوا ِمن ٌُو‬
the term tahassus [ searching ], like tajassus [ spying ], could have an evil connotation in
which case the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬has prohibited it. The verse signifies that one may take
into account what is presented in evidence, but it is not permitted to search for faults
that are not overt. The Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬says: ‫َل تغتابوا المسلمٌن وَل تتّبعوا عوراتهم فان من اتبّع‬
‫" )عوراتهم ٌتبع ہللا عورتۃ و من ٌتّبع ہللا عورتۃ ٌفضحہ فی بٌتہ (قرطبی‬Do not speak ill of Muslims
behind their backs, and do not search out their faults, for he who searches out their
faults will have his faults searched out by Allah, and he whose faults are searched out by
Allah will be exposed by Him, even though he should be in the interior of his house" [
Qurtubi ]. Bayan-ul-Qur'an interprets that tajassus [ spying ] and tahassus [ searching ]
include the sense of listening to people without their permission when they are talking,
or eavesdropping at their doors. However, if there is an apprehension that some
member of the Muslim community may be harmed by some mischief-makers, it is
permitted for others to spy to protect the innocent and peaceful people, and search
furtively for the intentions and conspiracies of such people who are a danger to the
society. [ 3] Prohibition of Backbiting The third social evil this verse prohibits is ghibah [

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backbiting ]. This connotes speaking ill of a person behind his back which if he heard
would hurt or injure his feelings, even if what was said about him was the truth; if what
was said about him was untruth, it is slander or false accusation. The prohibition of
slander is prohibited elsewhere in the Qur'an. In the definition of backbiting the phrase
"behind his back / in his absence" appears. This does not mean that it is permissible to
say hurtful things in the presence of somebody. This may not be backbiting, but it
certainly falls under lamz which is prohibited in the preceding verse. ‫أٌَ ُِحبُّ أَ َحدُ ُك ْم أَن ٌَأ ْ ُك َل لَحْ َم‬
‫(أ َ ِخٌ ِه َم ٌْتًا‬Does one of you like that he eats the flesh of his dead brother? - 49:12) This
verse sternly warns against disgracing a Muslim and compares it to eating the flesh of a
human being. If the victim of disgrace is present before the offender, it is like eating the
flesh of a living person, and the Holy Qur'an has termed it as 'lamz' which is prohibited
in verse 11, as well as in another Surah by saying, ٍ‫'و ٌْ ٌل ِلّ ُك ِّل ُه َمزَ ةٍ لُّ َمزَ ة‬Woe
َ to every
backbiter, derider [ 104:1] ' And if the victim is not present, and someone speaks ill of
him in a way that he is insulted, then it is like eating the flesh of a dead human being.
Just as it does not cause any physical torture to a dead body, backbiting does not hurt
the victim when he is not aware of it, but just as eating the flesh of a dead body is an
extremely inhuman act, so is the backbiting. Both are prohibited. Otherwise also,
speaking ill of someone in his absence is an unkind, mean and malicious act; it is not an
act of valour and bravery. This verse prohibits three social evils: unfounded suspicion,
unjustifiable search for faults and backbiting. However, backbiting is most severely and
harshly condemned. It is compared to eating the flesh of a dead Muslim, thus bringing
out the gravity of its prohibition, unkindness and meanness. The wisdom of it lies in the
fact that saying hurtful things to the face of someone is prohibited, but the man, being
present, will be able to defend himself. Further, for fear of defense not everybody will
have the courage to utter hurtful things to the face of someone, and usually it does not
last long. It is unlike backbiting where there is no one to defend it, and thus the most

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mean person would pluck the courage to backbite the greatest of men. Because it is not
defended, generally the ball keeps rolling, and more and more people get involved.
Therefore, backbiting is prohibited most severely and harshly. It is necessary for the
general body of Muslims to defend their brother, if possible, when people speak ill of
him in his absence. If that is not possible, they should at least abstain from listening to
it, because listening to it willfully and intentionally is like backbiting itself. Some Issues
Related to Backbiting Sayyidna Maimun ؓ says that once he saw in a dream that there is
a dead body of a Negro. A caller addressed him and said: "Eat this." Sayyidna Maimun ؓ
says: "I said: '0 servant of God! Why should I eat this?" The caller replied: "Because you
have been backbiting a certain person's Negro slave." Sayyidna Maimun ؓ said: "By God,
I did not do that." The caller replied: "Yes, you did: you listened to people backbiting him
and remained silent as if you were in agreement with them." After this dream, Sayyidna
Maimunؓ composed himself and he himself stopped backbiting and he did not allow
anyone else in his presence to backbite. In a narration of Sayyidna Anas Ibn Malik ؓ
relating to Holy Prophet’ s ‫ ﷺ‬experience of Mi` raj, the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:
"When I was taken up to the heaven, I passed by people who had fingernails of copper
and were scratching their faces and breasts violently. I asked Jibra'il: 'Who are these
people?' He replied: 'They are those people who were given to backbiting their brothers
and who aspersed their honour.' [ transmitted by al-Baghawi as cited in Mazhari ].
Sayyidna Abu Said and Jabirؓ report that the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬has said: "Backbiting is
worse than adultery. The noble Companionsؓ inquired: 'How so, Messenger of Allah?'
He replied: 'A person may commit fornication, repent of it and his sin is forgiven. But the
sin of backbiting is not forgiven unless the injured party forgives." [ Transmitted by
Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud, as cited in Mazhari ]. This hadith indicates that backbiting is
not only a violation of the Divine right, but also a violation of human right. Therefore, it
is necessary to seek the forgiveness of the injured party. Some of the scholars express

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the view that backbiting does not become a human right unless the injured party comes
to know about it. Therefore, seeking his pardon is not necessary [ Quoted in Ruh-ul-Ma’
ani from Hasan, Al-Khayyati, Ibn-us-sabbagh, An-Nawawi, Ibn-us-Salah, Az-Zarakshi, Ibn `
Abd-ul-Barr from Ibn-ul-Mubarak ]. This is quoted in Bayan-ul-Qur'an and explained as
follows: If the victim of backbiting is not aware that someone has spoken ill of him, it
might not be necessary for the backbiter to beg pardon of the victim, but it is necessary
that he falsifies himself before the person whom he addressed when backbiting, or at
least confesses his guilt before him. If the victim is dead or has disappeared, the
atonement is recorded in a narration of Sayyidna Anas ؓ where the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬has
said: ‫"ان من کفَّارة الغٌبۃ ان ٌستغفر لمن اغتابہ تقول اللَّه ّم اغفرلنا ولہ‬The atonement of backbiting is
to invoke forgiveness of Allah for the victim in the following words: 0 Allah, forgive our
sins and his sins". [ Transmitted by Baihaqi and cited in Mazhari ]. Ruling [ 1] It is
prohibited to backbite children, insane and non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic state,
because hurting them is prohibited. Hurting harbi infidels who are the inhabitants of
Dar-ul-Harb [ hostile country ] is not prohibited. However, backbiting them, on account
of wastage of time, is makruh, and reprehensible. Ruling [ 2] Backbiting does not only
connote speaking ill of a person behind his back, but it also connotes an action or
pointed reference to him, as for instance if someone imitates the limp or uneven
walking of a lame person to make fun of him, it is not permitted. Ruling [ 3] Some
narrations show that the general prohibition of backbiting in the verse is subject to
exceptions in special cases and specific circumstances. It is permitted if the need for
backbiting is real and genuine from the Shari` ah point of view. Examples are as follows:
[ a ] Complaining against a tyrant before a person who can relieve him from the tyranny
and injustice. [ b ] Complaining about the wife and children to the father and husband
who can put them right. [ c ] Giving a full account of the case in order to obtain a fatwa
(ruling of Shari’ ah) * d + Warning the Muslims of the mischief of a mischief-monger so

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that they may ward off the evil. [ e ] When someone consults another person in any
matter, it is obligatory for him to apprise him of all aspects, including weaknesses, so
that he is not deceived because of ignorance. [ f ] If a person commits sins openly and
publishes his ungodly behaviour himself, it is not prohibited to make mention of his bad
deeds. However, it is abominable and reprehensible to indulge in it on account of
wastage of time [ Bayan-ul-Qur'an with reference to Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani +. But the necessary
condition for invoking these exceptions is that speaking ill of someone is not with the
intention of insulting or disgracing him, but only to fulfill a genuine need.

َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ ِا ذن‬ٙ‫ىُك‬
‫اّلل ػَ ِو ْ ٌی‬ ِ ّ ۤ َ‫ؕ ِا ذن اَ ْن َر َم ُ ُْك ِغ ْند‬ٙ‫ۤا َٰیُّیه َا امنذ ُاس ِاَّنذ َیوَ ْل ۤن ُ ُْك ِّم ْن َذنَ ٍر ذو ُاه ْٰۤث َو َج َؼوْ ۤن ُ ُْك ُش ُؼ ْوِب ذو كَبَآئِ َل ِم َخ َؼ َارفُ ْوا‬
ْ ُ ‫اّلل َاثْ ۤل‬

ٌ‫َخب ًِْر‬
O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female and made you into races
and tribes, so that you may identify each other. Surely the noblest of you, in Allah's
sight, is the one who is most pious of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.
All of Mankind are the Children of 'Adam and Hawwa' (‫ )علٌہما السالم‬In the preceding
verses, six social evils in connection with human and Islamic rights were prohibited, and
principles of good manners were laid down to be observed in social life. The current
verse proceeds to set down the basis of an all-comprehensive and all-pervading
principle of human equality. It has firmly laid the axe at the false and foolish notions of
superiority, born of racial arrogance or national conceit. All men have been created
from a single male ['Adam (‫ ] )علٌہ السالم‬and a single female [ Hawwa' (‫ ] )علٌہا السالم‬as
human beings. Therefore, all people are the descendants of 'Adam and Hawwa' ( ‫علٌہما‬
‫ )السالم‬and have been declared equal in the sight of Allah. No one is allowed to take pride
nor to degrade others on the basis of pigment of his skin, the amount of wealth he
possesses or by his rank or by his social status, descent or pedigree, but by his moral

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uprightness and the way he discharges his obligations to Allah and man. The entire
human race is but one family. Division into nations, tribes and sub-tribes of all sizes, and
races is meant only to give a better identification of one another. Circumstances of
Revelation This verse was revealed on the occasion of the conquest of Makkah. When it
was time for prayer, the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬asked Sayyidna Bilalؓ to call the adhan. One of
the pagan Quraish cynically remarked: Thank God that my father died before this
happened, and he did not have to see this bad day. Harith Ibn Hisham remarked: Could
Muhammad not find anyone better than this black crow to sound the adhan in the
Sacred Mosque! Abu Sufyan said: I do not wish to utter anything for fear that the master
of the heavens will inform him. Thus Jibra'il (‫ )علٌہ السالم‬came down and informed the
Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬about this conversation. The Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬called them and asked
them about it. They admitted. At this, the current verse was revealed. Taqwa of Allah is
the basis of Honour This verse made it plain that human beings can earn honour on
account of their faith and righteousness. The immediate application of the verse was to
Sayyidna Bilal and therefore the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said to those people: You are empty
(i.e. you have no moral leg to stand on.) Sayyidna Bilal on the other hand, is equipped
(with high moral qualities); and he is better and more honourable than any of you." [
Baghawi, as cited in Mazhari ]. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ reports that on the day
when Makkah was conquered, the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬performed tawaf (circumambulation
of Ka'bah) in the state of riding on his she-camel, [ so that all the people could see him ].
Then having completed his tawaf, he delivered a sermon in which he said: ‫الحمد ہلل اذهب‬
‫ ٌٰٰٓاٌُّ َها النَّاس اِنّا‬: ‫بر تقّی کرٌم علی ہللا وفاجر شقی هٌن علی ہللا ث ّم تال‬
ّ ‫عنکم عبٌّۃ الجاهلٌۃ تکتبّرها۔ الناس رجالن‬
‫" )خلَ ٰقن ُکم (ترمذی و بغوی‬0 people! Allah has removed from you the pride of Jahiliyyah and
its arrogance. People are of two types: a man who is righteous, fearful of Allah and he is
honourable to Allah; or a man who is sinful, wretched, and he is disgraced and little to
Allah [ Tirmidhi and Baghawi ]." Then he recited the current verse. Sayyidna Ibn-`
Abbasؓ says: For people "honour" lies in wealth, whilst in the sight of Allah it lies in
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righteousness. Analysis of Important Words in the Verse The word Shu` ub is the plural
of Sha'b which refers to a large group of persons of the same origin, (like a nation). Then
it consists of clans and tribes. The largest group in this arrangement is called sa'b, and
the smallest is called ` ashirah. Abu Ruwaq says that the words Shu` ub and Sha'b refer
to non-Arab nations whose lineage is not preserved, whilst qabail refers to Arabs whose
lineage is well-preserved. The word asbat is used to refer to the children of Israel. Lineal,
National and Linguistic Division of Mankind: The Underlying Divine Wisdom is
identification The Qur'an in this verse has made it clear that Allah has created all
mankind from a single mother and a single father, and made them into a single
brotherhood. But he has divided them into different tribes, nations, races, lineage and
language-speakers/linguistic groups. The underlying Divine wisdom in such a division is
mutual identification. For example, if there are two persons bearing the same name,
they could be differentiated by family name. It can also show the near and remote
relations. Their Shari rights can be fulfilled on the basis of near and distant lineage. It is
incumbent to determine the near and remote agnate heirs when applying the law of
succession or dividing the estate of a deceased. In short, reference to one's lineage for
the purpose of identification is not deemed to be pride and conceit.

َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو ِا ْن ث ُِع ْی ُؼوا‬ٙ‫ؕ كُ ْل م ذ ْم ث ُْؤ ِمنُ ْوا َو ۤم ِك ْن كُ ْومُ اْوا َا ْسوَ ْمنَا َو م َ ذما یَدْ ی ُِل ْ ِاَلیْ َم ُان ِ ِْف كُوُ ْو ِب ُ ُْك‬ٙ‫كَام َ ِت ْ َاَلغ َْر ُاب ۤا َمنذا‬
‫اّلل َو َر ُس ْو َ ِٗل‬
َ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ ِا ذن‬ٙ‫ََل ی َ ِو ْخ ُ ُْك ِّم ْن َا ْ َْعا ِم ُ ُْك َشیْئا‬
‫اّلل غَ ُف ْو ٌر ذر ِت ْ ٌی‬
The Bedouins say, "We have come to believe." Say, "You have not come to believe;
instead you (should) say, 'We have surrendered' and the belief has not entered your
hearts so far. And if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not curtail (the reward
of) any of your deeds in the least. Surely Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.
Sequence of Verses in the Surah In the preceding verses of the Surah it was stated that
the basis of honour in the sight of Allah is righteousness which is an inner quality, and
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Allah alone knows it. It is improper for any man to claim self-sanctification. In the
current set of verses, it is stated, on account of a particular incident, that the real basis
of faith is the inner acceptance of the heart. Mere lip-service to faith does not count the
person as a faithful believer. In the entire Surah, first the rights of the Prophet were set
out and then the rules of how to respect and honour him. Next the individual and
collective rights and rules of mannerism were set down to be applied in social life. Now
at the conclusion of the Surah it is reiterated that in the Hereafter good deeds will be
accepted and rewarded on the basis of faith, sincere belief of the heart and obedience
to Allah and His Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬. Circumstances of Revelation According to Imam
Baghawi, this verse was revealed in connection with the tribe of Banu Asad. A few
members of that tribe came up to the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in Madinah during a severe
drought. These people were not sincere believers. They had expressed their Islam
merely to demand financial help from the Muslim Sadaqat funds. As they were not
believers in the real sense of the word, they were unaware of Islamic injunctions and
manners. They spread filth and excrement on the streets of Madinah. In the
marketplaces they increased the prices of necessary items. First they made a false claim
of faith in the presence of the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬second they wanted to deceive him; and
third they regarded their Islam as a favour to him. They said: "We embraced Islam
without any conflict: we did not fight against you as did other tribes for a length of time
and then they became Muslims; therefore you should value us." This was a sort of
disrespect to the Messenger ‫ﷺ‬because they considered their Islam as a favour to him.
Their sole purpose was to derive financial aid from the Muslim Sadaqat funds, enrich
themselves and eradicate their poverty. True and sincere faith is the most precious
possession of a Muslim. By accepting Islam, he does no show a favour to anybody; on
the contrary, it is a favour of Allah that he is guided to the Truth. On this occasion, the
current set of verses was revealed in which their false claim is refuted and they have

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been taken to task for boasting of their so-called kindness and favour conferred upon
the Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬. ‫'( َو َل ٰـ ِكن قُولُوا أ َ ْسلَ ْمنَا‬...Say, 'We have surrendered'- 49:14). They had not
achieved the reality of faith. Thus they were claiming falsely to be Muslims on the basis
of their outward actions. The Qur'an first negates their false claim of faith: You cannot
claim "amanna" ['We have come to believe']; the most you can say is "aslamna" ['We
have surrendered'], because the literal meaning of Islam is to recite the kalimah of
Islam, enter the fold of the religion and surrender. Obviously, being devoid of the true
spirit, this kind of Islam is mere superficial, not real and total. As far as faith is
concerned, it is related to the real belief by heart. Therefore, mere verbal claim or lip-
profession is meaningless, if it is not supported by the heart. Lexical and Technical
Analysis of the Concepts "Islam" and "’ Iman" The foregoing discussion clarifies that the
term "Islam" in this verse bears the literal meaning of outward submission and not the
technical sense. Therefore, the verse does not show the technical difference between
the terms "Islam" and "’ Iman". The two terms, technically, connote different senses. "’
Iman", in the technical sense of Shari’ ah, refers to the belief by heart and thus connotes
a firm and unshakable belief in the Oneness of Allah and in His ‫ ﷺ‬. "Islam", on the other
hand, stands for complete surrender and obedience to Allah and His Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬.
However, "Islam" and "Iman" of a person need to complement each other. In Shari’ ah,
the belief of the heart must manifest itself by performing deeds outwardly, the least
degree of which is to proclaim the kalimah of Islam verbally. But the outward
performance of deeds is not recognised by Shari’ ah unless the faith goes deep down
into his heart. Otherwise it would be hypocrisy. Thus in the original and final analysis
"Islam" and "'Iman" are different concepts. "Iman" is the inner quality of the heart and
manifests outwardly whilst "Islam" starts out in outward actions and culminates in the
inner sincere affirmation of the heart. But in terms of their goal, they are mutually
necessary and complementary in that "Iman" without "Islam" is not possible, nor is

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"Islam" possible without "man". Hence, it is not true to say that "Muslim" and "Mu'min"
are antonyms and mutually contradictory concepts. In Shari` ah, it is not possible for a
person to be a "Muslim" but not a "Mu'min" or be a "Mu'min" but not a "Muslim".
However, this is possible only lexically, as is the case of all hypocrites who used to be
treated like Muslims, because of their outward obedience of Islamic injunctions, but
their hearts were devoid of sincere faith, belief and affirmation. They were not
believers. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best. Alhamdulillah The Commentary on
Surah Al-Hujurat Ends here

‫ؕ ُاومۤٓئِ َم ُ ُُه‬ٙ‫اّلل‬
ِ ّ ۤ ‫ِاه ذ َما امْ ُم ْؤ ِمنُ ْو َن ذ ِاَّل ْی َن ۤا َمنُ ْوا ِِب ۤ ّ ِّلل َو َر ُس ْو ِ ِٖل ُ ذْث م َ ْم یَ ْرَتَ ب ُ ْوا َو ٰۤجَدُ ْوا ِ َِب ْم َوا ِميِ ْم َو َاهْ ُف ِسيِ ْم ِ ِْف َس ِب ْی ِل‬
‫امص ِدكُ ْو َن‬
ّۤ
Believers, in fact, are those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then have no
doubt, and struggle, with their riches and their lives, in the way of Allah. Those are the
truthful.
‫َش ٍء ػَ ِو ْ ٌی‬ ُ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو‬ٙ‫امس ۤم ۤو ِت َو َما ِِف ْ َاَل ْر ِض‬
ِّ ُ ‫اّلل ِب‬
َْ ‫ك‬ ‫اّلل ی َ ْؼ َ َُل َما ِِف ذ‬
ُ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو‬ٙ‫اّلل ِب ِدیْنِ ُ ُْك‬
َ ّ ۤ ‫كُ ْل َاثُ َؼ ِوّ ُم ْو َن‬
Say, "Would you apprise Allah of your religion, while Allah knows all that is in the
heavens and all that is in the earth, and Allah is All-Knowing about everything?"

‫ىُك ِم ْ ًِلیْ َم ِان ِا ْن ُن ْن ُ ُْت ۤص ِد ِك ْ َْی‬ ُ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ ب َ ِل‬١‫ؕ كُ ْل ذَل ثَ ُمنه ْوا ػَ َ ذٰل ِا ْس ًَل َم ُ ُْك‬ٙ‫ی َ ُمنه ْو َن ػَوَ ْی َم َا ْن َا ْسوَ ُم ْوا‬
ْ ُ ‫اّلل ی َ ُم هن ػَوَ ْی ُ ُْك َا ْن ى َۤد‬
They oblige you that they have accepted Islam, (as if it was a favour shown to you).
Say, "Do not oblige me for your accepting Islam. Rather, Allah makes you obliged for
His having guided you to the Faith, if you are truthful.

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ُ ّ ۤ ‫ؕ َو‬ٙ‫امس ۤم ۤو ِت َو ْ َاَل ْر ِض‬

ۧ ‫اّلل ب َ ِص ْ ًٌۢر ِب َما ثَ ْؼ َموُ ْو َن‬ ‫اّلل ی َ ْؼ َ َُل غَ ْی َب ذ‬
َ ّ ۤ ‫ِا ذن‬
Surely Allah knows the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, and Allah keeps in sight
whatever you do.

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