49- Surat Alhujuraat

49- Surat Alhujuraat

18 Verses  Maddani (revealed in Medina)

A'auzu Bellahi mena alshytani alrajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Alrhmani Alrahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Ya-ayyuha allazina amanuo la tuqaddemuo baiyna yadayi ellahi wa rasulehi wa-ttaquo Allaha inna Allaha samee-on aleem (1).

O you who believe! Do not put precede before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah, indeed, Allah is All-hearing, All-Knower.

Ya-ayyuha allazina amanuo la tarfa'uo aswataqum fawqa sawti alnabeyyi wa la tajharuo lahuo bel-qawli ka-jahri ba'dekum le-ba'din an tahbata a'amalukum wa antum la tash-uruon (2).

O you who believe! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor address him in loud tones, like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless, while you do not perceive.

Inna allazina yaghudduna aswatahum enda rasuli ellahi aulaeka allazina emtahana Allahu qulubahum lel-taqwa lahum maghferatun wa ajrun azeem (3).

Indeed, those who lower their voices before the Messenger of Allah, they are those whose hearts Allah has tested for piety, for them is forgiveness, and a great reward.

Inna allazina younadunaka men wara-ee alhjurati aktharuhum la ya'qeluon (4).

Indeed, those who call You from behind the rooms, most of them do not give reason.

Wa laww annahum sabaruo hatta takhruja elaiyhim la-kana khaiyran lahum wa Allah Ghafurun Raheem (5).

And if they had been patient until You come out to them, it would be better for them, and Allah is All-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Ya-ayyuha allazina amanuo, in ja'akum fasekun benaba-in fa-tabayyanuo an tuosebuo qawman be-jahalatin fa-tesbehuo ala ma fa'altum nademeen (6).

O you who believe! If an immoral comes to you with news, investigate it lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become over what you have done, remorseful.

Wa'lamuo anna fekum rasula Allahi laww youte-ukum fee katherin mena alamri la'nettum wa lakenna Allaha habbaba elaiykumuo alimana wa zayyanahuo fee qulubekum wa karraha elaiykumuo alkufra wal-fusuqa wal-esyana aulaeka humuo alrasheduon (7).

And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah, if He obeys you in much of the matter, surely you would be in trouble, but Allah has endeared to you the faith, and has adorned it in your hearts, and has made hateful to you disbelief and immorality and disobedience, those are the guided ones.

Fadlan mena Allahi wa ne'matan wa Allahu aleemun hakeem (8).

A bounty from Allah and favor, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.

Wa in ta-efatani mena almu'meneena eqtataluo fa-aslehuo baiynahuma fa-in baghat ehdahuma ala alaukhra fa-qateluo allati tabghi hatta tafee'a ela amri ellahi fa-in fa'at fa-aslehuo baiynahuma bel-adli wa-aqsetuo inna Allah youhebbuo almuqseteen (9).

And if two groups among the believers should fight, then make peace between both of them, but if one of them oppresses the other, then fight the one which oppresses until it returns to Allah's command, then if it returns then make peace between both of them with justice and act justly, indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.

Innama almu'menuona ekhwatun fa-aslehuo baiyna akhawaiykum wa-ttaquo Allaha la'allakum tuorhamuon (10).

The believers are but brothers, so make peace between your brothers, and fear Allah so that you may receive mercy.

Ya-ayyuha allazina amanuo la yaskhar qawmun men qawmin asa an yakunuo khaiyran menhum wa la nesa-on men nesa-in asa an yakunna khaiyran menhunna wa la talmezuo anfusakum wa la tanabazuo bel-alqabi be'sa alismuo alfusuquo ba'da alimani wa man lam yatub fa-aulaeka humuo alzalemuon (11).

O you who believe! Let no people mock at another people, perhaps that they may be better than them, nor women from another women, perhaps that they are better than them, and do not make slander of yourselves, and do not call each other by nicknames, wretched is the immoral name after faith, and whoever does not repent, then those are the wrongdoers.

Ya-ayyuha allazina amanuo ejtanebuo katheran mana alzanni inna ba'da alzanni ethmun wa la tajassasuo wa la yaghtab ba'dukum ba'dan a-yuohebbuo ahadukum an ya'kula lahma akhehi maiytan fa-karehtumuhuo wa-ttaquo Allaha inna Allaha Tawwabun Raheem (12).

O you who believe! Avoid much of the conjecture, indeed, some conjecture is a sin, and do not spy, and do not backbite some of you the others, would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother, you would hate it, and fear Allah, indeed, Allah is Ever accepting of repentance, Most Merciful.

Ya-ayyuha alnasuo inna khalaqnakum men zakarin wa auntha wa ja'alnakum shu-uban wa qaba-ela leta'arafuo inna akramakum enda Allahi atqakum, inna Allaha aleemun khabeer (13).

O mankind! Indeed, We have created you from a male and a female, and We have made you nations, and tribes, so that you may know one another, indeed, the most generous of you with Allah is the Most pious of you, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware.

Qalati ala'arabuo amanna qul lam tu'menuo wa laken quluo aslamna wa lamma yadkhuli elemanuo fee qulubequm wa in tute-uo Allaha wa rasulahuo la yaletkum men a'amalekum shay-an inna Allaha ghafurun raheem (14).

The Bedouins say, we have believed, say you do not believe, but say we have submitted, and the faith has not yet entered your hearts, and if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from anything of your deeds, indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most merciful.

Innama almu'menuona allazina amanuo bellahi wa rasulehi thumma lam yartabuo wa jahaduo be-amwalehim wa anfusehim fee sabeli ellahi aulaeka humuo alsadequon (15).

The believers are only those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and then they did not doubt and strive with their properties and themselves in the way of Allah, those are the truthful.

Qul atu'llemuona Allaha be-denekum wa Allahuo ya'lamuo ma fee alsamawati wa ma fee alardi wa Allahuo be-kulli shay-in aleem (16).

Say, will you acquaint Allah with your religion, while Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, And Allah is All-Knower of everything.

Yamunnuna alaiyka an aslamuo qul la tamunnuo alaiyya islamakum bali ellahuo yamunnuo alaiykum an hadakum lel-emani in kuntum sadekeen (17).

They consider a favor upon You that they have accepted Islam, say, do not consider your Islam as a favor upon Me, but Allah has bestowed a favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you are truthful.

Inna Allaha ya'lamuo ghaiyba alsamawati wa alardi wa Allahuo baseerun bema ta'maluon (18).

Indeed, Allah knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.

Simplified interpretation:

 Surat Ahujuraat contains many manners that Allah Almighty teaches the believers in how they deal with His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) from the necessity of respecting and revering Him, as well as how they deal with each other such as investigating the news transmitted to them so that they do not harm others, reconciliation between the two warring groups, prohibition of making fun and slander of others, prohibition of calling one another by nicknames that one grieves to hear, prohibition of much conjecture, and prohibition of backbiting. Then Allah assures that the believer has a higher degree than the Muslim, and that nothing on the earth or in the sky is hidden from Him for He is All-Knower of everything.

 Allah says in the first three verses "O you who believe! Do not put precede before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah, indeed, Allah is All-hearing, All-Knower, O you who believe! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor address him in loud tones, like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless, while you do not perceive, indeed, those who lower their voices before the Messenger of Allah, they are those whose hearts Allah has tested for piety, for them is forgiveness, and a great reward", that is, Allah has instituted some manners for the believers in the way they deal with His Messenger (PBUH) from respect and reverence, where in the presence of the Prophet, the opinion of the believer does not precede the opinion of the Prophet, nor raise his voice above the voice of the Prophet, and nor speak to Him in a loud voice. As narrated by Abdullah Bin Alzubair "A group of Bani Tamim came to the Prophet and requested Him to appoint a governor for them, Abu Bakr said appoint Alqa'qa' Bin ma'bad, Umar said appoint Alaqra' Bin Habes, on that Abu Bakr said to Umar "You did not want but to oppose Me'', Umar replied "I did not intend to oppose You", so both of them argued till their voices grew loud, so these verses were revealed.

 When these verses were revealed, there was he who thought that he will be one of the companions of Hellfire because he did that, and Allah threatened that this might frustrate his deeds while he is not aware, where as narrated by Anas Bin Malik: "The Prophet (PBUH) missed Thabit Bin Qais for a period, so He inquired about him, A man said I will bring You his news, so He went to Thabit and found him sitting in his house and bowing his head, the man said to Thabit "What is the matter with you?", Thabit replied that it was an evil affair, for he used to raise his voice above the voice of the Prophet, and so all his good deeds had been annulled, and he considered himself as one of the people of the Hellfire, then the man returned to the Prophet and told Him that Thabit has said So-and-So, Musa Bin Anas said that the man returned to Thabit with a glad tidings, the Prophet said to the man "Go back to him and say to him "You are not from the people of the Hellfire, but from the people of Paradise".

 Allah has urged the believers to lower their voices when speaking to His Messenger, and those who do so, are those whom Allah removed desires from their hearts, and replaced it by piety and fear of Him, so that Allah has promised them forgiveness of their sins, and a great reward which is Paradise, and Ibn Abi Mulaika said that Alzubair said "Since the revelation of this verse, Umar used to speak in such a low tone that the Prophet had to ask him to repeat his statement. Although our Prophet does not live among us, but we must not judge any of our affairs except after the judgement of Allah and His Messenger in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, and not to raise our voice when visiting the grave of Allah's Messenger.

 Allah continues to teach the believers the manner of dealing with His Prophet in the next two verses (4,5) "Indeed, those who call You from behind the rooms, most of them do not give reason, and if they had been patient until You come out to them, it would be better for them, and Allah is All-forgiving, Most Merciful", that is, Allah has censured those who call His Prophet from behind His rooms, because it is a bad manner in dealing with the Prophet where they were in a hurry to get Him out of the house, and Allah has described most of them who do so as being unreasonable and ignorant, because if they had been patient until the Prophet come out to them, it would be better for them in the worldly life and in the Hereafter, but Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful, where He forgives those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds.

 Then Allah says in the next three verses (6-8) "O you who believe! If an immoral comes to you with news, investigate it lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become over what you have done, remorseful, and know that among you is the Messenger of Allah, if He obeys you in much of the matter, surely you would be in trouble, but Allah has endeared to you the faith, and has adorned it in your hearts, and has made hateful to you disbelief and immorality and disobedience, those are the guided ones, a bounty from Allah and favor, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise", that is, Allah commands the believers to verify the correctness of the news brought by the immoral person, so that they do not judge others unjustly, and do not harm the convicted person by ignorance, haste, and lack of patient, as a result, they become remorseful for what they have done. Then Allah addresses the believers and informs them that His Messenger is still alive among them, so they must fear Allah, do not say falsehood, and do not fabricate lies for Allah informs Him of their news, and He directs Him to the right path of their affairs, and if He obeyed them in all of what they say and choose, that would lead them to hardship and embarrassment, and Abu sa'eed Alkhudari said about this verse as narrated by Abu Nadrah: "This is your Prophet to whom the revelation came and best of your leaders, if He had obeyed them in many of their matters, then He would have been in trouble, so how about you today". But Allah saved them from what they will fall into if they do not follow His Messenger, and if He obeyed them in much of the matter, that is because Allah endeared faith in their souls and made it good in their hearts, and He has made hateful to them disbelief, major sins, and all sins that Allah has forbidden. Those whom Allah has granted this guidance are the guided one, and this is a bounty and a blessing from Allah, and Allah is All-Knower of everything as nothing is hidden from Him in the heavens or on the earth, All-Wise who manages His creation with wisdom in His laws and destiny, so He knows best who deserves guidance and who deserves misguidance and temptation. 

 Allah says in the next two verses (9,10) "And if two groups among the believers should fight, then make peace between both of them, but if one of them oppresses the other, then fight the one which oppresses until it returns to Allah's command, then if it returns then make peace between both of them with justice and act justly, indeed, Allah loves those who act justly, the believers are but brothers, so make peace between your brothers, and fear Allah so that you may receive mercy", that is, Allah has ordered reconciliation between the believers who oppress one another, and as narrated by Anas: ''It was said to the Prophet (PBUH) would that you see Abdullah Bin Ubai, so the prophet went to him, riding a donkey, and the Muslims accompanied him, walking on salty barren land, when the Prophet reached Abdullah Bin Ubai, Abdullah said ''Keep away from me, By Allah! the bad smell of your donkey has harmed me", on that an Ansari man said to Abdullah ''By Allah! the smell of the donkey of Allah's Messenger is better than your smell", on that a man from Abdullah tribe got angry for Abdullah sake, and the two men abused each other which caused the friends of the two groups started fighting with sticks, shoes, and hands", and We were informed that this verse was revealed in this concern".

 So Allah commanded the believers to reconcile between the two warring parties, but if they can not reconcile between them, they must fight the oppressive party until it returns to the command of Allah, and if it returned to the truth, they must reconcile between them with justice for Allah loves those who act justly, and as narrated by Sahl Bin Sa'd: "Once, the people of Quba' fought with each other till they threw stones on each other, when Allah's Messenger was informed about it, He said: "Let us go to bring about a reconciliation between them". Then Allah confirms that the believers are brother to each other in the faith, so He commanded them to reconcile between the two warring or quarreling groups, and to fear Him so that they may obtain His mercy. And Our Prophet (PBUH) confirms this meaning in narration of Salim from his father, where He said: "A Muslim is the brother of a fellow-Muslim, he should neither commit oppression upon him nor ruin him, and he who meets the need of a brother, Allah would meet big needs, and he who relieved a Muslim from hardship, Allah would relieve him from hardships to which he would be put on the day of resurrection, and he who did not expose the follies of a Muslim, Allah would conceal his follies on the day of resurrection", And He said in narration of Nu'man Bin Bashir: "The similitude of believers in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body, the whole body aches because of sleeplessness and fever".

 Allah continues to teach the believers the manners of dealing with one another, where He says in the next verse (11) "O you who believe! Let no people mock at another people, perhaps that they may be better than them, nor women from another women, perhaps that they are better than them, and do not make slander of yourselves, and do not call each other by nicknames, wretched is the immoral name after faith, and whoever does not repent, then those are the wrongdoers", that is, Allah forbids mockery, ridicule, and contempt of others for it may be that the one who is despised is greater in status with Allah and more beloved to Him than the one who despises, and this prohibition is for both men and women. Allah also forbids the slander from others by action e.g: making gestures with eyes, or head, or eyebrows, and Allah has threatens every scorner and slanderer by speech or actions with a severe punishment in the Hereafter as mentioned in the first verse of Surat Alhumazah. And Allah forbids calling one another by nicknames that one grieves to hear, where as narrated by Abu Jubairah Alddahhak: "A man among us would be known by two or three names, he would be called by one that perhaps he disliked, so this Aya was revealed. Allah has described the nicknames that they used to call one another with in the Pre-Islamic era as an immoral name and no longer valid after belief, and whoever does not repent from all these sins, those are the wrongdoers. 

 And Allah says in the next verse (12) "O you who believe! Avoid much of the conjecture, indeed, some conjecture is a sin, and do not spy, and do not backbite some of you the others, would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother, you would hate it, and fear Allah, indeed, Allah is Ever accepting of repentance, Most Merciful", that is, Allah forbids the believers from much conjecture, which is accusation and betrayal of others with evil in a misplaced manner, because some of that conjecture is a pure sin. And Allah commanded the believer not to spy upon one another, and Our Prophet said about these two bad manners in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Avoid conjecture, for conjecture is the gravest lie in talk, and do not be inquisitive about one another, and do not spy upon one another, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not feel envy with the other, and do not bear aversion against one another, and do not bear enmity against one another, and be fellow-brothers and servants of Allah". Allah also forbade backbiting, and likened the one who backbites his brother to eating the flesh of His brother while he was dead, and since we hate that, we must stop backbiting, and when Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was asked about backbiting in narration of Abu Hurayrah, He said that it is ''Mentioning about your brother in a manner that he dislike, and he was asked: "what if my brother was as I mentioned?, He answered: "if he was as you mentioned, you will have committed backbiting, But if he was not as you say about him, you will have falsely accused him". Then Allah commanded the believers to fear Him, and confirmed that He is Ever accepting of repentance, Most Merciful for those who repent and give up these sins.

 Then Allah says in the next verse (13) "O mankind! Indeed, We have created you from a male and a female, and We have made you nations, and tribes, so that you may know one another, indeed, the most generous of you with Allah is the Most pious of you, indeed, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware", that is, Allah confirms that He has created all people from a male and a female, who are Adam and Eve, and He has made them nations and tribes, so that they may know one another in the degree of kinship, and not to make some of them above others, and not to be proud of their origin and their lineage, where they are equal in humanity, and the most generous of them with Allah is the Most pious of them, and our Prophet had confirmed this meaning in narration of Abu Hurayrah, where He said "Indeed, Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth, but He looks to your hearts and to your deeds". 

 Allah says in the next two verses (14,15) "The Bedouins say, we have believed, say you do not believe, but say we have submitted, and the faith has not yet entered your hearts, and if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you from anything of  your deeds, indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most merciful, the believers are only those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and then they did not doubt and strive with their properties and themselves in the way of Allah, those are the truthful", that is, Allah responds to some of the Bedouins (the Arabs of the desert), not all of them, who claimed the faith for themselves as soon as they submitted and entered Islam, so Allah commanded them to say "We have submitted" for faith was not yet in their hearts, because it is proven that the faith is of the highest degree, where the believer is a higher degree than the Muslim, so every believer is a Muslim, and not every Muslim is a believer as evidenced by the narration of S'ad Bin Abi Waqqas when He said: "The Prophet gave some people and did not give anything to a man of them, S'ad said: Messenger of Allah! You gave so and so, so and so, but did not give anything to so and so, while he is a believer, the Prophet said: Or he is a Muslim, Sa'd repeated it thrice, and the Prophet then said: I give some people and leave him who is dearer to Me than them, I do not give him anything fearing lest he should fall into Hell on his face".

 Thereupon, Allah said to them that He will not deprive them from the reward of their deeds if they obeyed Him and His Messenger, and He assures that faith is an attribute of those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, who do not doubt the oneness of Allah and the truthfulness of His Messenger, and who strive with their properties and themselves in the way of Allah, and those who fulfill these conditions are the truthful ones, and they deserve to be described as believers.

 Then Allah says in the last three verses (16-18) "Say, will you acquaint Allah with your religion, while Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, And Allah is All-Knower of everything, they consider a favor upon You that they have accepted Islam, say, do not consider your Islam as a favor upon Me, but Allah has bestowed a favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you are truthful, indeed, Allah knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is All-Seeing of what you do", that is, Allah denounces the Bedouins' claim of faith where they will not acquaint Him with their religion, but He knows best their religion and what they declare and what they conceal, and He knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and nothing on the earth or in the heavens is hidden from Him. Then Allah addressed His Messenger and said "They consider a favor upon You that they have accepted Islam", so He commanded Him to say to them "Do not consider your Islam as a favor upon Me, but Allah has bestowed a favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith". If they were truthful in their claim of faith, they would have acknowledged the grace of Allah upon them, where the guidance is from Allah as mentioned in Surat Alnoor Aya (46) "And Allah guides whom He wills to a straight Path", and then Allah assures them again that nothing on the earth or in the sky is hidden from Him where He knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and He is All-seeing of what they do, whether they act openly or secretly, and whether obedience they do or disobedience. 

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah