(Madiini)

49:1. O you who believe, do not decide any matter [of a religious or communal nature] before Allah and His Messenger have decided concerning it; and fear Allah, for verily Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

49:2. O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak loudly to him as you speak loudly to one another, lest your deeds come to nothing without your realising it.

49:3. Verily those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah’s Messenger are those whose hearts Allah has tested [and purified] for piety; for them is forgiveness and an immense reward.

This refers to the proper etiquette to be observed with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and with the Messenger of Allah and the proper veneration, respect and honour to be shown to him.

Allah instructs His believing slaves to do what is required of them as believers in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), which is to obey the commands of Allah and heed His prohibitions, and to comply with the commands of Allah and follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in all their affairs, and not to decide any matter before Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have decided concerning it, and not to speak before the Prophet (ﷺ) speaks or to issue any instructions before he does so.

This is the real etiquette that is required with Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and it is a sign of a person being blessed and successful. By missing out on this, he will miss out on eternal bliss and everlasting joy.

This is an emphatic prohibition on giving precedence to any view over that of the Messenger (ﷺ), for once the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is clear, it becomes obligatory to follow it and give precedence to it over everything else, no matter what it is.

Then Allah enjoins us to fear him and be pious in general terms, which means, as Jalq ibn Habeeb said, to do acts of obedience to Allah in the light of clear guidance from Allah, hoping for the reward of Allah, and to refrain from disobeying Allah in the light of clear guidance from Allah, fearing the punishment of Allah.

﴾for verily Allah is All-Hearing﴿ that is, He hears all voices at all times, even in hidden places and locations.i﴾All-Knowing﴿ that is, He knows what is visible and what is hidden, what comes first and what comes later, what is inevitable, what is impossible and what is possible.

By mentioning these two divine names - after forbidding the believers to decide any matter before Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have decided concerning it and commanding them to fear Him - Allah is urging them to comply with those good commands and observe that etiquette, and warning against not complying.

Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak loudly to him﴿. This is the etiquette to be observed when addressing the Messenger of Allah the one who is addressing him should not raise his voice above his or speak loudly to him; rather he should lower his voice and address him politely and gently, with all veneration and respect.

The Messenger (ﷺ) is not like one of them, so they should address him in a different manner when they speak to him, for he is different to others with regard to his due rights over the Ummah, and the obligation to believe in him and love him, without which faith cannot be complete. By failing to comply with these instructions, a person may be committing a sin and there is the fear that his good deeds could be nullified without him realising. By the same token, observing proper etiquette with him is one of the means of attaining reward and of having one’s good deeds accepted.

Then Allah praises those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), for Allah has tested their hearts and purified them for piety; in other words He has tried and tested them, and the outcome of that is that their hearts became fit for piety.

Then Allah promises them forgiveness for their sins, which implies that they will be protected from evil and harm and will attain the great reward, the description of which no one knows except Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). The great reward includes attaining all that is good. This indicates that Allah tests people’s hearts with commands, prohibitions and trials.

Whoever adheres to the command of Allah and seeks His pleasure, hastening to do so and giving it precedence over his whims and desires, will be purified and be fit to have piety in his heart, and his heart will be fit to accommodate piety. Whoever is not like that, it is known that he is not fit for piety.

49:4. As for those who called out to you [0 Muhammad] from outside the apartments, most of them lack understanding.

49:5. If they had been patient until you came out to them, that would have been better for them. But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

These verses were revealed concerning some Bedouin whom Allah described as rough, for they were more likely to be unaware of the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ) (9: 97). They came in a delegation to the Messenger of Allah and they found him in his house and the apartments of his wives, but they were impatient and did not have the manners to wait until he came out. Rather they called out to him: O Muhammad, O Muhammad! (That is, come out to us).

Allah criticised them for their lack of reason, because they did not understand His command to observe etiquette with His Messenger (ﷺ) and show him respect, for it is a sign of reason to be polite and observe etiquette.

A person’s manners are a sign of reason, and indicate that Allah intends good for him. Hence Allah says: ﴾If they had been patient until you came out to them, that would have been better for them.But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, He is forgiving of what His slaves have committed of sins and lapses of etiquette; and He is most merciful towards them, as He does not hasten to punish them for their sins.

49:6. O you who believe, if a wrongdoer comes to you with any news, investigate [and verify the facts], lest you harm people out of ignorance, then come to regret your actions.^{1The Prophet had sent al-Waleed ibn ‘Uqbah (4^) to collect zakah from Banu al-Mu?taliq, with whom al-Waleed had some ill feeling stemming from events that had occurred before Islam. When they rode out to welcome him, he thought that they were going to attack him, so he returned to Madinah and told the Prophet (j||) that they had apostatised. The Prophet (^) sent Khalid ibn al-Waleed (4^) to them, and instructed him to verify the facts and not hasten to attack them. He found that they were indeed still Muslims. (al-Qurtubi)}

This also comes under the heading of the etiquette that people of understanding should follow. If an evildoer tells them some news, they should verify it and not accept it before that, because that involves a grave risk and falling into sin. If his report is given the same status as one who is truthful and of good character, you may take action or pass judgement on that basis, which may then result in the killing of people or destruction of property without justification, because of that news, and that would become a cause for regret. Rather what must be done in the event of news from a wrongdoer is to check and verify it.

If other indicators and circumstantial evidence point to it being true, then it may be believed and acted upon but if they indicate that it is false, then it is to be rejected and not acted upon. This indicates that news brought by one who is truthful may be accepted, whereas news brought by a liar is to be rejected. With regard to news brought by a wrongdoer, it depends, as we have mentioned above. Hence the early generations would accept the reports of many of the Kharijites, who were known to be honest, even if they were wrongdoers.

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49:7. Know that the Messenger of Allah is among you; if he were to listen to you in many cases, you would surely suffer for it. But Allah has made faith dear to you and has made it beautiful in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you disbelief, wickedness and sin. Such are the rightly guided,

49:8. by the grace and favour of Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.

That is, let it be known to you all that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is among you, and he is the wise, kind and generous Messenger who wants what is good for you and is sincere towards you, but you want for yourselves evil and harm to which the Messenger (ﷺ) would not agree. If he were to listen to you in many cases, that would put you through hardship and difficulty, but the Messenger guides you to that which is best for you.

Allah endears faith to you and makes it fair-seeming to you, by means of what He has instilled in your hearts of loving the truth and preferring it; and by means of what he sets out for the truth of proof and evidence to testify to its soundness and make it appealing to people’s hearts and minds; and by means of what he does of enabling you to turn to Him.

And He makes hateful to you disbelief and evildoing, namely major sins and lesser sins, by means of what He has instilled in your hearts of hatred for evil and a lack of desire to do it; and by means of what He has set out of proof and evidence to testify to its corrupt nature, and the fact that people of sound nature have no inclination towards it; and by means of what Allah has instilled in people’s hearts of hatred towards it.

﴾Such﴿ that is, those to whom Allah makes faith fair-seeming and endears it to them, and He makes disbelief, evildoing and sin hateful to them,

﴾are the rightly guided﴿ that is, they are the ones who have sound knowledge, do righteous deeds and adhere to the true religion and straight path.

Their opposites are the misguided to whom disbelief, evildoing and sin are endeared, and faith is made hateful to them. It is their fault, because when they did evil, Allah put a seal on their hearts, and when they:

﴾f...chose to deviate [from the truth], Allah caused their hearts to deviate [from right guidance]...(as-Saff 61. 5)

- because they did not believe in the truth when it came to them the first time, so Allah turned their hearts away.

﴾by the grace and favour of Allah﴿ that is, this good that they have attained is by the grace and kindness of Allah towards them, not by their own power and strength.﴾And Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise﴿ that is. He knows who will be grateful for the blessing and He guides him to attain it, and He knows who will not be grateful for it and for whom it is not appropriate, therefore He bestows His grace according to His wisdom.

49:9. If two groups among the believers fight one another, then make peace between them. If one of them transgresses against the other [and rejects all efforts to make peace], then fight [all of you] against the one that transgresses, until it complies with the command of Allah. Then if it complies, make peace between them on the basis of equity and be just, for verily Allah loves those who are just.

49:10. The believers are but brothers, so make peace between your [contending] brothers. And fear Allah, so that you may be shown mercy.

This is an implicit prohibition on the believers transgressing against one another and fighting one another. If two groups of believers fight, then other believers are obliged to try to contain this great evil by making peace between them and intervening in the best manner whereby they may achieve peace, and they should take all measures that may lead to achieving that. If they make peace, all well and good, but if ﴾one of them transgresses against the other [and rejects all efforts to make peace], then fight [all of you] against the onethat transgresses, until it complies with the command of Allah﴿ that is, until it comes back to what Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have prescribed of doing good and refraining from evil, one of the gravest kinds of which is fighting.

﴾Then if it complies, make peace between them on the basis of equity and be just﴿ - this is a command to reconcile and be just in bringing about reconciliation, because reconciliation may take place, but it may not be just; rather it may be unjust and unfair to one of the two disputing parties. This is not the kind of reconciliation that is enjoined. There should be no bias towards one of the two groups because of kinship, a common homeland, or any other reason that may cause people to drift away from justice.

﴾for verily Allah loves those who are just﴿ that is, those who are fair when judging between people and in all that they do, to the extent that this includes a man being fair towards his wife and children, by fulfilling their rights.

In the saheeh hadith it says:

«Those who are fair and just will be with Allah on thrones of light, those who are just in their judgement, and towards their families, and in whatever they have authority over.» (Muslim)

﴾The believers are but brothers﴿ this is a bond that Allah has established between the believers. If anyone in the furthest east or west is found to believe in Allah, His angels. His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day, then he is a brother to the believers, with a bond of brotherhood that dictates that the believers should love for him what they love for themselves, and hate for him what they hate for themselves. Hence the Prophet (ﷺ) said, enjoining the fulfilment of the rights of brothers in faith:

«Do not envy one another, do not artificially inflate prices, do not hate one another, do not undersell one another, and be - O slaves of Allah - brothers. The believer is the brother of his fellow believer; he does not wrong him, let him down or despise him.» (Bukhari and Muslim)

And he said:

«The believers are like a structure, parts of which support other parts.» (Bukhari)

And he interlaced his fingers.

Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have enjoined the believers to fulfil one another’s rights, and to do that which will lead to harmony, love and understanding among them. All of that confirms the rights that they have over one another. Therefore, if fighting occurs among them that would lead to division, hatred and shunning of one another, let the believers bring about reconciliation between their brothers and strive to do that which will remove grudges and ill feeling.

Then Allah commands them to fear Him in general terms, and makes fulfilling the rights of fellow believers and fearing Allah conditions of His mercy, as He says: ﴾so that you may be shown mercy﴿. If mercy is attained, then all that is good in this world and the hereafter is also attained. This indicates that not fulfilling the rights of fellow believers is one of the greatest barriers to divine mercy.

In addition to the above, we also learn that fighting among the believers is contrary to the brotherhood of faith; hence it is one of the worst of major sins. Faith and the brotherhood that is based on it are not diminished when there is fighting, as is the case with other major sins that are less than the ascription of partners to Allah. This is the view of ahl as-Sunnah wal-jama‘ah.

We also learn that it is obligatory to reconcile between the believers on the basis of justice, and to fight the transgressors until they come back to compliance with the command of Allah, and that their wealth is protected, because Allah has specifically made it permissible to fight them if they persist in their misguidance, but He has not made it permissible to seize their wealth.

49:11. 0 you who believe, let not some men ridicule others, for it may be that they are better than them; and let not some women ridicule others, for it may be that they are better than them. Do not speak ill of one another, and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. What a bad thing it is to be called an evildoer after having believed. And whoever does not repent, it is they who are the wrongdoers.

This is another of the rights that the believers have over one another, that some should not ﴾ridicule others﴿ in words or deeds that are indicative of looking down on one’s Muslim brother, because that is prohibited and is not permitted, as it is indicative of self-admiration on the part of the one who is mocking the other.

It may be that the one who is ridiculed is better than the one who is ridiculing him, as is usually the case, because mockery is only a reflection of a bad attitude and bad manners, and all bad characteristics. Hence the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

«It is sufficient evil for a man to look down on his Muslim brothers (Muslim)

Then Allah says: ﴾Do not speak ill of one another﴿ that is, do not criticise one another. That criticism may be verbal or by means of gestures; both are prohibited and carry a warning of hell, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

Woe to every backbiter, fault-finder.﴿ (al-Humazah 104: I)

The literal meaning of this verse is “Do not speak ill of yourselves”, because the believers should be like one body, and because if you criticise someone else, he will inevitably criticise you, and thus you will have brought it upon yourself.

tfand do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames﴿ that is, no one of you should embarrass his brother by giving him an insulting nickname that he would not like to be called by. As for nicknames that are not offensive, they are not included in this.

﴾What a bad thing it is to be called an evildoer after having believed﴿ that is, what a bad thing it is to change after having believed and carried out the duties of faith, by turning away from the commands and prohibitions of faith and becoming rebellious evildoers, calling people by offensive nicknames.

﴾And whoever does not repent, it is they who are the wrongdoers﴿. This is what is required of the individual: to repent to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and try to settle matters with his Muslim brother by asking him to pardon and forgive him, and to praise him in order to make up for having criticised or insulted him.

﴾And whoever does not repent, it is they who are the wrongdoers﴿. Thus people are of two types: those who wrong themselves and do not repent, and those who repent and succeed. There is no third category.

49:12. O you who believe, avoid suspicion in most cases, because in some cases suspicion is a sin. Do not spy on one another, and do not backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat theflesh of his dead brother? You would surely abhor it. So fear Allah; verily Allah is Accepting of repentance, Most Merciful.

Allah forbids suspicion in most cases, and thinking ill of the believers, ﴾because in some cases suspicion is a sin﴿. Examples include suspicion that is not based on facts and evidence, and thinking ill of a person, which usually leads to saying and doing many things that are prohibited. That is because harbouring bad thoughts does not usually stop there; rather the bad thoughts persist until one says or does something that is not appropriate.

That also includes thinking ill of a Muslim, hating him and showing enmity towards him. What is enjoined is the opposite of that.

﴾Do not spy on one another﴿ that is, do not seek out the faults of the Muslims. Leave the Muslim alone and pay no attention to his private affairs which, if they were to be investigated, there would appear of them that which is not appropriate.

﴾and do not backbite one another﴿. Backbiting, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, means:

«...saying about your brother something that he dislikes, even if it is true.» (Muslim)

Then Allah gives an off-putting likeness of backbiting, as He says: ﴾Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would surely abhor itp. Backbiting him is likened to eating his flesh when he is dead, which is extremely abhorrent and repugnant. So just as you would hate to eat his flesh, especially when he is dead and lifeless, so too you should hate to backbite him and eat his flesh when he is alive.

﴾So fear Allah; verily Allah is Accepting of repentance. Most Merciful﴿. Accepting of repentance means that He guides and enables His slave to repent, then He accepts his repentance. He is Most Merciful to His slaves, as He calls them to that which will benefit them and accepts their repentance. This verse is indicative of the stemwarning against backbiting and highlights the fact that backbiting is a major sin, because Allah likens it to eating the flesh of a dead person, which is a major sin.

49:13. O humankind, verily We created you from one man and one woman, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may recognise one another.^{1The purpose behind making humankind into nations and tribes is so that they may know one another’s origins and lineage for the purpose of identification and for the fulfilment of rights and duties that are based on blood ties, but they should not boast about their lineage or use it as a means of claiming superiority over others.} Verily the noblest of you before Allah is the most righteous among you. Verily Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.

Here Allah Oic) tells us that He created the sons of Adam from a single origin and they are all of one race. They all come from one male and one female; they are all descended from Adam and Hawwa’, from whom Allah spread countless men and women far and wide (4: 1). He divided them and made them into nations and tribes, small and great, so that they may recognise one another. That is because, if each one of them was only known by himself (without his roots and origin), that recognising of one another - which leads to supporting one another, cooperating with one another, inheriting from one another and fulfilling the rights of relatives - would not take place. But Allah made them into nations and tribes so that these things and others, that are based on recognising one another and knowing people’s lineage,may be fulfilled. But nobility and dignity are connected to piety and righteousness. The noblest of them before Allah are those who are the most righteous, which means those who are the most obedient and who most keep away from sin, not those who have the most relatives or are the noblest in lineage.

But Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. He knows who truly fears Allah, both outwardly and inwardly, as opposed to those who do that outwardly only, and He will requite each as he deserves.

This verse indicates that knowing people’s lineage is something that is required according to Sharia, because Allah has made them nations and tribes for that purpose.

49:14. The Bedouin say: We believe. Say: You have not [yet] believed. Rather you should say: We have submitted [in Islam], for faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not detract from the reward of any of your deeds. Verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

49:15. The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then do not doubt, and strive and fight in the cause of Allah, offering their wealth and their lives. It is they whose faith is true.

49:16. Say: Will you inform Allah about your faith, when Allah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, for Allah has knowledge of all things?

49:17. They think that they have done you a favour by embracing Islam. Say: Do not regard your embracing Islam as a favour to me. Rather it is Allah Who has done you a favour by guiding you to faith, if you are telling the truth [in your claim to be believers].

49:18. Verily Allah knows all that is unseen in the heavens and on earth, and Allah sees well all that you do.

Here Allah (tig) tells us of what was said by the Bedouin who entered Islam at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) without understanding properly and without doing what is dictated and required by faith, yet despite that they said ﴾We believe﴿, claiming to believe in a perfect sense, fulfilling all the requirements of faith, which is what is implied by their statement. Allah instructed His Messenger (ﷺ) to refute them, as He said: ﴾Say: You have not [yet] believed﴿ that is, do not claim to have attained perfect faith, both inwardly and outwardly.

﴾Rather you should say: We have submitted [in Islam]﴿ that is, we have entered Islam; and you should limit it to that.

The reason for that is that ﴾faith has not yet entered your hearts﴿; rather you have believed out of fear or hope (in worldly terms) and the like. This is the reason for your belief, and therefore you have not yet tasted the sweetness of faith in your hearts.

﴾for faith has not yet entered your hearts﴿ that is, at the time when you said those words. It is as if it were an indication of what wouldhappen to them later on, for Allah blessed many of them with real faith and jihad in His cause.

﴾But if you obey Allah and His Messenger)* by doing good or refraining from evil

﴾He will not detract from the reward of any of your deeds﴿ that is, He will not detract even an atom’s weight from it; rather He will reward you in full, in the most perfect manner, and you will not miss out on any part of it, small or great.

Verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, He is forgiving to the one who repents and turns to Him, and most merciful to him, as He accepts his repentance.

﴾The believers﴿ that is, the true believers ﴾are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then do not doubt, and strive and fight in the cause of Allah, offering their wealth and their lives﴿ that is, those who combine faith and jihad in His cause, because if a person strives against the disbelievers, that is indicative of complete faith in his heart, for whoever strives against others in support of Islam and striving to establish its laws, it is more likely that he will strive against himself to establish Islam and its laws in his own life, because if a person has no motivation for jihad, that is indicative of the weakness of his faith.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has stipulated that there should be no doubts in faith, because beneficial faith is certain and firm belief in that which Allah has enjoined us to believe in, and is not influenced by doubt in any way.

﴾It is they whose faith is true﴿ that is, it is they who confirm their faith with their good deeds. Claiming to be sincere in any matter is a very serious claim that requires one to produce proof and evidence, and the most serious matter is claiming to have faith, which is the basis of bliss and eternal triumph. Whoever claims to have faith and carry out the duties required thereby is the true believer; if a personis not like that, it will be known that he is not sincere in his claim, and he will never benefit from his claim.

Faith in the heart cannot be seen by anyone except Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), so confirming its existence or otherwise is akin to informing Allah of what is in the heart. This is poor etiquette and thinking ill of Him. Hence He says: ﴾Say: Will you inform Allah about your faith, when Allah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, for Allah has knowledge of all things?﴿ This encompasses all things, including what is in the heart of faith or disbelief, righteousness or wickedness. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows all of that, and will requite people accordingly; if it is good, then the outcome will be good, and if it is bad, then the outcome will be bad.

This is talking about those who claim to have faith when they do not. Either they are presuming to inform Allah, when it is known that He has knowledge of all things, or their aim in saying these words is to give a reminder of favours done to His Messenger (ﷺ), as if they had given him things that were not in their own interests; rather they served his worldly interests! This is a kind of pride and boasting about things that it is inappropriate for them to boast about to the Messenger (ﷺ), because it is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Who had bestowed those favours upon them.

Just as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) bestowed favours upon them in terms of creating them, granting them provision and bestowing blessings upon them both visible and hidden, the divine favour of guidance to Islam and the bestowal of faith are greater than everything else. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾They think that they have done you a favour by embracing Islam. Say: Do not regard your embracing Islam as a favour to me. Rather it is Allah Who has done you a favour by guiding you to faith, if you are telling the truth [in your claim to be believers]﴿.

﴾Verily Allah knows all that is unseen in the heavens and on earth﴿ that is. He knows the hidden matters in both realms that are concealed from people, such as what is in the depths of the sea or in the middleof the wilderness, and what is covered by the night or hidden by the day. He knows the drops of rain and the grains of sand, what is hidden in people’s hearts and all subtle issues.

﴾f...Not a leaf falls but He knows it; there is no grain in the darkest bowels of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry, but it is [inscribed] in a clear record.﴿ fal-An am 6: 59)

﴾and Allah sees well all that you do﴿; He is recording your deeds and will requite you for them in full, as dictated by His encompassing mercy and utmost wisdom.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-Hujurat.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.