Verses 1–10
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
This sūrah details the aspects of Islam’s teachings (sharāʾiʿ al-dīn) that are essential for providing a happy life for the individual and supporting a good and virtuous social order. These teachings include the proper etiquette for a servant to observe with God and with His Messenger, which we find in the five opening verses of the sūrah; then there are those which relate to how the human being interacts with others of his kind in the context of communal life; and those which relate to the superiority of individuals within that community, which is one of the most important aspects of how civil society is organized. All of these teachings are intended to guide the human being to live a happy, pleasant and wholesome life, and this is one of the ways in which the Religion of Truth is distinguished from all other social and legal systems. The sūrah concludes by alluding to the essence of faith and submission (islām), and God extols the blessing of faith, which is a light that emanates from Him.
Sūrah al-Ḥujarāt was revealed in Medina, as is attested to by the content of its verses. An exception to this is said to be the verse O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female... (), which we will discuss later.
Commentary
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ١
(49:1) O you who have faith! Do not venture ahead of God and His Messenger, and be wary of God. Indeed God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
Ahead of (bayna yaday) means “in front of” and this is a common figure of speech or turn of phrase. That it is added to God and His Messenger together and not the Messenger alone shows that this is something that both God and His Messenger share, namely the station of governance (ḥukm). This station is reserved for God and (by His permission) the Messenger, as God says elsewhere: Sovereignty belongs only to God (), and God says: We did not send any Messenger but to be obeyed by God’s leave ().
This is further attested to by introducing the prohibition with the phrase O you who have faith! and following it with …and be wary of God. Indeed God is all-hearing, all-knowing. Hence it is apparent that by ahead of God and His Messenger this means the station that connects those who are Godwary and faithful with God and His Messenger, namely the station of governance from which they take their rules of doctrine and practice.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that when God says Do not venture ahead… it means do not place any rule ahead of the rule of God and His Messenger, whether by rushing to give one’s own opinion on a matter before referring to what God and His Messenger have said about it, or taking an action before receiving a command to do so from God and His Messenger. However, following this prohibition with the phrase indeed God is all-hearing, all-knowing correlates with it relating to opinions rather than actions, and rather than actions and opinions together. Otherwise, it would have been said, “indeed God is all-hearing, all-seeing” juxtaposing “all-hearing” (samīʿ) with speech and “all-seeing” (baṣīr) with actions, just as we often find God say regarding people’s behavior: and God sees best what you do ().
In short, this verse means: Do not pronounce judgement on a matter in which God and His Messenger have a say until God and His Messenger have issued their verdict. In other words, do not rule except by the rule of God and His Messenger, and distinguish yourselves with obedience and devotion to what they have said.
Consider also that the human being’s each and every action or inaction (fiʿl wa tark) is not without a rule governing it (even if that rule is mere permissibility). Consider also that even the will or resolve to act or not to act is itself a kind of action, and as such as a rule that pertains to it. The prohibition against going ahead of God and His Messenger forbids anyone from hastening to give an opinion which they had not heard from God and His Messenger, or to undertake a course of action, or even to resolve upon undertaking one without receiving a rule from God and His Messenger. This means this verse approximates the meaning of God’s description of the angels: Rather they are [His] honoured servants. They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command ().
This kind of obedience encouraged by the present verse, Do not venture ahead of God and His Messenger, means to enter God’s guardianship (wilāyah), stand in the position of servitude and follow its course. The servant does this by bringing his will into accordance with God’s will at the level of legislation (tashrīʿ) just as it accords with His at the level of creation (takwīn). God says: But you do not wish unless it is wished by God (), and God is the guardian of the faithful (); indeed the wrongdoers are allies of one another, but God is the guardian of the Godwary ().
Some scholars have offered alternative interpretations of Do not venture ahead of God and His Messenger.
For example: They say venture ahead (taqdīm) means to go ahead themselves (taqaddum) rather than putting something else before them. This renders the meaning of Do not venture ahead of God and His Messenger as follows: Do not hasten to give commands or prohibitions without God and His Messenger and do not be certain of commands or prohibitions with God and His Messenger. Perhaps it could be said that venture ahead is used in its conventional sense here, but without specifying its objects—as when God says: He gives life and brings death () without specifying what He gives life and death to—in which case the present verse merely means anything going ahead of another, in which case its meaning becomes the same as taqaddum.
They say that the utterance is categorical (muṭlaq), encompassing “venturing ahead” whether in words or deeds, even venturing ahead of the Prophet in walking or sitting; performing time-dependent obligations ahead of their time; and other such things.
Another interpretation is that this verse prohibits speaking before the Messenger of God. For example, if you were seated in a gathering and he was asked a question, do not give an answer before he has answered first.
Still another interpretation is that it prohibits hastening to speech or action without him commanding you to do so.
Yet another is that you should not put your speech or actions in front of the speech and actions of the Prophet, so none should walk in front of him.
However, it is clear that we can only explain the phrase do not venture ahead of God and His Messenger according to one of the latter three interpretations—which restrict it to venturing ahead of God’s Messenger alone—if we say that God is only mentioned in this verse to honour the Prophet, as when you might say: “Zayd and his generosity impressed me” (aʿjabanī zayd wa karamuhu). This means God is mentioned to show that venturing ahead of the Prophet in any way, shape or form is tantamount to venturing ahead of God Himself.
Hopefully, however, by pondering on what we have already mentioned above will prevent you from inclining to any of these erroneous interpretations.
…and be wary of God. Indeed God is all-hearing, all-knowing: This phrase bids the faithful to Godwariness in the position of obedience and servanthood. There is no grace for the human being save that of servanthood, which is why God uses the term “wariness” (taqwā).
When He says Indeed God is all-hearing, all-knowing, this explains the rationale behind the prohibition and being wary of it. In other words: “Be wary by observing this prohibition, so do not venture ahead with an opinion on your tongues or in your hearts, because God is all-hearing—He hears your words—and all-knowing—He knows your outward and inward aspects, what you announce and what you keep secret.”
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَنْ تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ ٢
(49:2) O you who have faith! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak aloud to him as you shout to one another, lest your works should fail without your being aware.
This is because when they would speak to him and address him, their voices would be raised louder above his, and this shows—as has been said—one of two things: Either they held him in some sort of disdain—which is disbelief (kufr)—or they displayed poor manners towards him considering his position—and this goes against the proper respect and reverence they have been commanded to display to him.
God says …and do not speak aloud to him as you shout to one another because one way in which you show reverence to a person whom you are addressing is by lowering your voice so that it is softer than that of theirs. In other words, raising your voice when addressing someone means you are not showing reverence, hence speaking loudly to people worthy of respect in the same manner as you would speak to anyone else represents poor manners and insolence.
…that your works should fail without your being aware means “lest your works should fail.” This is connected to both of the above prohibitions, namely do not raise your voice above his and do not speak loudly to him as you shout to one another or else your works will fail as a result and without you realizing. So both of these actions contain a failure of works (ḥabṭ)—a concept which we discussed in the second volume of this work.
Some have suggested that the clause that your works should fail explains the rationale for that which is prohibited, namely raising one’s voice and shouting. In other words: “That action is forbidden because your works will fail.” The difference between reading this as a rationale for the prohibition (taʿlīl li al-nahī) and a rationale for the prohibited act (taʿlīl li al-munhī ʿanhu) is that the prohibited act is explained by the rationale in the first instance, while it is the outcome that is actually being prohibited in the second. However, this a rather tortuous interpretation.
The apparent meaning of the verse is that raising one’s voice above that of the Prophet and speaking loudly to him are both sins which will lead to one’s good works failing, so they are sins rather than an act of disbelief (kufr) that would cause one’s works to fail.
This verse could be read in such a way that “failing” (ḥabṭ) means that the act itself is deprived of reward (thawāb) rather than it depriving other actions of their reward, as is the case with disbelief. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, we read:
Our associates say that the verse that your works should fail means lest the reward for that action fails, because had they spoken to the Prophet in a way that showed him respect and reverence, they would have been worthy of reward. However, because they did not, not only has the reward escaped them but they deserve punishment as well. So their works have failed. This verse has nothing to do with the people of the threat (ahl al-waʿīd) because, in this verse, God has connected failure to the act itself, while [the masses] interpret it as referring to the one who is worthy of reward for his actions. However, the latter goes against the apparent meaning of the text.
However, the kind of failing (ḥabṭ) connected with disbelief, whose connection with the reward of other deeds is not in doubt, is also connected with the deeds themselves in God’s speech, as we see in this verse. Therefore, the two must be read in the same way. Moreover, such a reading does not go against the apparent meaning of the text because the invalidity (buṭlān) of an action [entails] the invalidity of its resultant effects (atharahu al-mutarattib ʿalayh).
The verse could also be read on the basis that the failing of deeds applies only within the context of faithlessness (kufr). This is by saying that raising one’s voice over that of the Prophet and speaking to him loudly do not cause deeds to fail in of themselves, but insofar as these behaviors sometimes vex the Prophet, and vexing the Prophet is a form of faithlessness, and faithlessness causes one’s good works to fail.
Some interpreters have argued:
The verse intends to categorically prohibit raising one’s voice, while it is known that the operative criterion is forbidding people from actions that can be expected to grieve the Prophet which, it is unanimously agreed, is a kind of faithlessness and causes works to fail. Hence the prohibition is issued against anything that could even be suspected of causing the Prophet grief—whether or not it ultimately does—to decisively put a stop to the matter.
Then, the object of this prohibition is split into two categories: that which reaches the level of faithlessness (kufr), which is anything that actually causes him grief, and that which does not. And because there is no means to distinguish between these two categories (and if we posited the existence of one then it would have frequently been ignored), this means that the moral agent (mukallaf) must avoid anything of this kind to make sure he does not fall into that which will cause his works to fail, which means anything that reaches the level of giving grief (adhā).
It is to this indistinguishability that the Qur’an alludes when it says: that your works should fail without your being aware. After all, if raising one’s voice and speaking loudly to the Prophet were categorically prohibited, whether it vexed him or not, there would be no need for God to say without your being aware. This is because a categorical prohibition would mean that if you raised your voice and grieved him, then this is faithlessness and will definitely cause your works to fail. Even if you did not grieve him, it would still be a sin, and it would also definitely cause your works to fail. So in either case, your works would fail, in which case God could not support his words by saying without your being aware, as you would be indisputably aware of this fact by virtue of the knowledge imparted by the prohibition. This is a summary of what they have said.
However, the apparent meaning of the words—do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak aloud to him as you shout to one another—clearly indicates that the real target of the prohibition is the preventing the act itself, making this a prohibition-for-itself (nahī nafsi), rather than prohibiting the act in order to prevent its potential consequence—causing grief to the Prophet—which would make it a preliminary prohibition (nahī muqaddamī) based on precaution (iḥtiyāṭ). However, both of the acts described in the verse are rationally known to be wrong prior to any religious prohibition being promulgated, just like lying and slander. Moreover, those who behaved in this manner were people of faith, as indicated by the introductory clause O you who have faith! These persons, even if they could overlook some misdeeds that they considered trivial, would have not been pleased if they knew they were completely invalidating their faith and good works.
This is why God admonishes them by saying that your works should fail without your being aware, in other words: “While you do not know the grave and terrible consequences your actions will have, which is none other than the failure of your works. So do not even approach these acts lest your deeds should fail while you are unaware.”
So the phrase without your being aware is directed to their condition before the divine prohibition, in that they felt that although this was a bad deed, they did not know how bad it was. However, after the prohibition was revealed, they would have certainly been aware of its terrible effects. In one way, this makes the verse similar to the verse of slander (ayat al-ifk): you thought it a light matter, while it was grave with God (), or when God says in verses about the Day of Resurrection: and there will appear to them from God what they had never reckoned ().
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَغُضُّونَ أَصْوَاتَهُمْ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ امْتَحَنَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ ۚ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ ٣
(49:3) Indeed those who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of God—they are the ones whose hearts God has tried for Godwariness. For them will be forgiveness and a great reward.
“To lower one’s voice” (ghaḍḍ al-ṣawt) is the opposite of raising it; “to try” (imtiḥān) means to put to the test, and it is only used to ascertain the status of a thing previously unknown. However, because this is impossible for God, it means—according to some—to train the heart or subject it to difficulties so that it becomes accustomed to Godwariness.
The context of this verse is the promise of a beautiful reward for those who lower their voices in the presence of God’s Messenger having described them as those whose hearts have been tried for Godwariness. And this serves to reaffirm the meaning of the previous verse and encourage people to observe the prohibition it contains.
Referring to the Prophet as the Messenger of God in this verse, having referred to him as the Prophet in the previous one, alludes to the criterion for this ruling (milāk al-ḥukm). In other words, God’s Messenger, insofar as he is a messenger (rasūl), has no say in the matter; whatever he has comes from the one who sent him (mursil). Therefore, respecting and revering a messenger means respecting and revering the one who sent him; so lowering one’s voice in the presence of God’s Messenger means to magnify and glorify God, and making this one’s continuous habit—as we understand from the use of the present-continuous verb lower (yaghuḍḍūn)—reveals that such a person has made Godwariness part of their character and that God has tested their hearts for Godwariness.
For them will be forgiveness and a great reward promises them this in return for the Godwariness that is in their hearts. And the outcome will be in favor of Godwariness.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُنَادُونَكَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ الْحُجُرَاتِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ ٤
(49:4) Indeed those who call you from behind the apartments, most of them do not apply reason.
The context of the verse indicates that this was an occasion on which some uncivilized persons called the Prophet from behind the rooms of his home without concern for proper manners or the duty of respecting him. Therefore God censures them by describing most of them as people who do not apply reason, like beasts.
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ صَبَرُوا حَتَّىٰ تَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ٥
(49:5) Had they been patient until you came out for them, it would have been better for them, and God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
In other words, had they restrained their calls and not shouted for you until you came to them, this would have been better because it would have displayed good manners and shown that they respect the position of the Prophet. This would have brought them closer to God’s forgiveness and mercy because He is all-forgiving and all-merciful.
And God is all-forgiving, all-merciful appears to be directed towards the mention of patience (ṣabr) in the same verse, but it could also be directed to the fact that most of them do not apply reason. This would render the meaning: “The ignorance and bad manners they displayed are forgiven because it was not done on the basis of reason and understanding, but rather owing to a lack thereof. And God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.”
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَنْ تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ ٦
(49:6) O you who have faith! If a profligate should bring you some news, verify! Lest you should visit [harm] on some people out of ignorance, and then become regretful for what you have done.
It is said that a profligate (fāsiq) is someone who has gone out from obedience to sinfulness; news (nabaʾ) is an important report; verify (tabayyan) means the same as to clarify or check—according to what has been said in the Ṣiḥāḥ—and this verb can either be transitive (mutaʿaddī) or intransitive (lāzim). If it is transitive and takes an object, it means to make clear or make plain, one would say: “I verified the matter, clarified it or checked it” meaning “I made it clear” or “I made it plain.” If it is intransitive and does not take an object, then it means to become clear or plain, as in: “The matter became plain” or “the matter became clear.”
With this in mind, the verse means: “O you who believe, when a sinner comes to you with an important report, verify his report by investigating it to determine the truth of the matter lest you harm a people out of ignorance and then become regretful as a result of what you did to them.”
In this verse, God approves of acting upon trustworthy reports (akhbār), a rational principle upon which rests the very basis of human social life; He commands His listeners to investigate the report of a sinner, which implicitly prohibits them from acting upon it, as it reveals that such a report lacks authoritativeness (ḥujjiyyah). At the same time, God also approves of the behavior of rational persons who do not take the word of someone they do not trust or act on the basis of what he tells them.
To explain further: Human life is essentially practical in nature, and the way we live is based on our perceptions of good, evil, benefit and harm, and the opinions we hold. But it is not easy to make judgements about these values except in those areas where we have direct experience. And yet, those things that are connected to our daily lives but are nevertheless hidden from us probably outnumber the former. It is for this reason that we are forced to complement our own experiences with the experiences of others, and there is no way to do this except by hearing their accounts. This is what we mean by a report (khabar). Relying on such a report, meaning to act on it and base our behavior on its contents, is something fundamental to our social lives and the practice of most rational persons (ʿuqalāʾ).
A report might be mutawātir, in which case it is attested to by multiple independent sources, or it might be accompanied by some definitive contextual indicators (qarāʾin) which lead us to be sure about its contents. In both of these situations, we would say this report is authoritative (ḥujjah muʿtabarah) without hesitation. But if such a report is neither multiply-attested nor accompanied by anything to give us certainty about its contents, then in technical parlance it is called a “solitary report” (khabar al-wāḥid). According to scholars of ḥadīth, such a report is only authoritative if it comes from a trustworthy source, even if we cannot establish that the content of this individual report is reliable. This because they only act upon what they consider to be real knowledge (that is, trusted knowledge), but probable knowledge that yields conviction (al-ẓann al-itmiʾnānī) is usually also considered a kind of knowledge.
With this in mind, when God explains the rationale behind this ordinance, saying: Lest you should visit [harm] on some people out of ignorance… this shows that the goal is to remove ignorance (jahālah) and attain knowledge through the content of a report that people want to act upon. Therefore, this verse is affirming the approach of rational persons in this regard, making it an endorsement of an existing approach (imḍāʾ) rather than a foundation of a new one (taʾsīs).
وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ۚ لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْإِيمَانَ وَزَيَّنَهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَالْفُسُوقَ وَالْعِصْيَانَ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الرَّاشِدُونَ ٧
(49:7) And know that the Messenger of God is among you. Should he obey you in many matters, you would surely suffer. But God has endeared faith to you and made it appealing in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you faithlessness, transgression and disobedience. It is such who are the right-minded.
“To suffer” (ʿinat) means sin and destruction, and “to obey” (ṭāʿah) means follow. According to what Rāghib has said, obedience usually refers to following someone in a position of authority. However, perhaps it can be reversed to signify the one being followed acting in the way that the follower desires. Should he obey you… here is an example of this, in that it calls the Prophet acting in accordance with the whims of the faithful “obedience.”
Based on the context, this verse is a continuation of what has been said in the previous one, generalizing its ruling and affirming the rationale given for it. In the previous verse, God instructed His listeners to verify the reports of a sinner, and the reason He gave for this was to avoid acting out of ignorance. Meanwhile, this verse reminds the faithful that God has led them to the path of right-guidance and, in doing so, endeared them to faith by making it seem beautiful to their hearts, while making faithlessness, sinfulness and disobedience detestable to them. Therefore, they should not forget that God’s Messenger is amongst them; he is supported by God and upon clear guidance; he only follows the path of right-guidance and never that of perversion. Therefore they should obey his commands, desire what he desires and choose what he chooses; they should not insist that he follow their opinions and whims, because if he obeyed them in many things, they would have become obstinate and perished!
Therefore, And know that amongst you is the Messenger of God… is joined to the command in the previous verse …Verify! The predicate amongst you is brought forward to signify exclusivity and point to the logical consequences of that. In other words, the fact that the Messenger of God is only amongst them means that they should take hold of guidance, avoid going astray, refer all matters to him, obey him and follow in his footsteps. They should not cling to that which their desires lead them.
So the verse means: “Do not forget that God’s Messenger is amongst you!” And this is a subtle reminder that they must refer all matters to him and follow his instructions in whatever situation they find themselves in, rather than following their own desires.
When God says Should he obey you in many matters, you would surely suffer, this means “you would have toiled and perished.” Here, it is as though He is responding to an implicit question: “Why should we refer to him when he does not refer to us or compromise with us?” And He answers: Should he obey you in many matters, you would surely suffer.
But God has endeared faith to you and made it appealing in your hearts: This is an addendum to the implications of the previous sentence—Should he obey you in many matters, you would surely suffer—namely that they were about to be consigned to perversity and ruin, but God set matters right by blessing them with a love of faith and an aversion to faithlessness, transgression and disobedience.
When God says He endeared faith to them, He means He made it beloved to them. And to make it appealing in their hearts means to make it seem beautiful to them by drawing their hearts towards Him so that they become transfixed by Him and turn away from whatever would distract them from Him.
And He has made hateful to you faithlessness, transgression and disobedience is connected to endeared. Making faithlessness and so forth hateful to them means making them dislike it and feel an aversion to it in their psyches. The difference between “transgression” (fusūq) and disobedience (ʿiṣyān)—according to some—is that fusūq means to “go out” from obedience to disobedience, while ʿiṣyān is disobedience itself or all forms of sin. It is also said that the meaning of “transgression” in the context of the previous verse refers to deceit, while “disobedience” refers to all other kinds of sin.
It is such who are the right-minded shows that loving faith and being attracted to it and disliking faithlessness, transgression and disobedience are the basis of right-mindedness (rushd), which human beings naturally seek as a result of their innate nature (fiṭrah) in the same way as they are averse to its opposite, perversity (ghayy). Therefore, the faithful must always cling to faith and avoid faithlessness, transgression and disobedience in order to be right-minded and follow the Messenger rather than their own desires.
As the previous verse explicitly states, this love and attraction to faith and dislike of faithlessness were qualities that only belonged to some of those around the Messenger, rather than all of them. Here, God describes them all in this fashion to maintain their unity and motivate those who have not yet attained these qualities to do so. This, in addition to the tone of the verse and God transitioning from addressing them to address the Prophet by saying: It is such who are the right-minded—speaking about those who love faith and find faithlessness, transgression and disobedience hateful serves to praise those who have these qualities and encourage those who do not to try and attain them.
And know that when God says And know that amongst you is the Messenger of God. Should he obey you in many matters, you would surely suffer, He is intimating that a group of the faithful insisted on relying on the word of the “profligate” (fāsiq) mentioned in the previous verse. This person was al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah, whom the Prophet had sent to the Banū Muṣṭalaq to collect their alms (zakāt). However, when he approached them, he became afraid and returned to Medina and told the Prophet that they had apostatized. Upon hearing this, the Prophet made preparations to confront them, but the above verse was revealed and so he withdrew, although some of his people thought they should have attacked. The full account will be discussed in our study of the traditions below, God-willing.
فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَنِعْمَةً ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ٨
(49:8) A grace and blessing from God, and God is all-knowing, all-wise.
This explains why God endeared faith to the faithful, made it appealing to their hearts and made faithlessness, transgression and disobedience hateful to them. In other words, this is purely a gift and a blessing from Him. He did not do it in return for anything that the faithful might do for him. However, this does not mean that this is a random act, because God is all-wise with regards to where He bestows His gifts and blessings and does not do anything without a purpose, as He has said before: and made them abide by the word of Godwariness, for they were the worthiest of it and deserved it, and God has knowledge of all things ().
وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَىٰ فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّىٰ تَفِيءَ إِلَىٰ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ ٩
(49:9) If two groups of the faithful fight one another, make peace between them. But if one party of them aggresses against the other, fight the one which aggresses until it returns to God’s ordinance. Then, if it returns, make peace between them fairly, and do justice. Indeed God loves the just.
Iqtitāl and taqātul both mean “to fight one another” in the same way as istibāq and tasābuq mean “to vie with one another.” And the [masculine plural] pronoun of the verb iqtatalū (“[they] fight one another”) refers to “the two groups” in the sense of their meaning, as each of these two groups is a multitude of persons in its own right. So when you put the two together, you also have a multitude. [Hence the Qur’an uses the masculine plural for all the members of the “two groups” (ṭāʾifatān) rather than the dual for the two groups themselves.] On the other hand, the pronoun in make peace between them is dual; again consider the referent [that is to say the two groups, not their members].
It has been related from some commentators about the reason for the discrepancy between these two pronouns [namely why the first one is plural and the second is dual]: “When they are fighting, they are mixed together in one mass, which is why the plural pronoun is used, while when peace is made between them, they are two distinct groups, which is why the dual is employed.”
But if one party of them aggresses against the other, fight the one which aggresses until it returns to God’s ordinance: “To aggress” (baghī) means to show unjustified hostility or to do wrong to another, the word fayʾ signifies “to return”, while “God’s ordinance” (amr allāh) means that which God has commanded. The phrase means: “If one of the two groups attacks the other unjustly, then fight the aggressing party until it comes back to what God has commanded and obeys His rule.”
Then, if it returns, make peace between them fairly… meaning if the aggressing party comes back to God’s command, then make peace between the two groups. However, this does not mean to make peace merely in the sense laying down arms and ceasing hostilities; rather it means peace garbed in justice. In other words, a peace based on implementing God’s laws to deal with the violence wrought by the aggressor in blood, honour, property or any other right that has been infringed upon.
…and do justice. Indeed God loves the just: To do justice (iqsāṭ) means to give each person the share to which they are entitled and to act fairly. The phrase …and do justice is connected to make peace between them fairly… and this links an absolute statement (muṭlaq) to a qualified one (muqayyad), which signifies emphasis in this case. Indeed God loves the just explains the rationale for this, which is emphasis upon emphasis. So it could be read as: “Make peace between them justly and always do justice in everything because God loves those who are just because of their justice.”
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ١٠
(49:10) The faithful are indeed brothers. Therefore make peace between your brothers and be wary of God, so that you may receive mercy.
This is a new statement that affirms what has been said above about making peace between the two warring groups of the faithful. Limiting the relationship between the faithful to that of brotherhood is a preliminary to the injunction: Therefore make peace between your brothers…. In other words, the two sides must make peace with each other because of the relationship of brotherhood that exists between them, and those who make peace between them do so because they are brothers of both sides. Therefore it is their duty to strive for peace.
God did not say: “Therefore make peace between the brothers” but instead said your brothers because this is a more succinct and profound expression, as it not only suggests that two groups must make peace because they are brothers, but also that the rest of the faithful are their brothers and must work to make peace between them also.
…and be wary of God, so that you may receive mercy is an admonition to both the warring groups and the peacemakers.
Discourse
The discussion “A Discussion on the Meaning of “Brothers”” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.
Examining Narrations
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, about the phrase O you who have faith! (), it is narrated from Zurārah from Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir]:
No swords were drawn, nor lines arraigned for prayer or war, nor adhān pronounced aloud, nor were the words O you who have faith! (yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū) sent down by God before the sons of the Aws and the Khazraj submitted to Islam.
Author’s comments: It is also narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās: “O you who have faith! was only revealed in Medina, and O mankind! was only revealed in Mecca.” Some scholars have hesitated about its latter half. The reader should be aware that there are narrations in al-Durr al-Manthūr and Tafsīr al-Qummī about the occasion of revelation for the verse Do not venture ahead of God and His Messenger… that do not appear fully appropriate to the verse. We have omitted these, but interested readers can refer to the sources for them.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Aḥmad, Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Yaʿlā, Baghawī in Muʿjam al-Ṣaḥābah, Ibn Mundhir, Ṭabrānī, Ibn Mardawayh and Bayhaqī in al-Dalāʾil narrate from Anas:
When the verse came down: O you who have faith! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet… without your being aware (), Thābit ibn Qays b. Shimās had a very loud voice. He said: “I am the one who used to raise my voice above God’s Messenger. My works failed, and I am amongst the people of the hellfire.” Then he sat in his house, distressed.
God’s Messenger noticed his absence, so some people went to him and said: “God’s Messenger has been asking about you, what is the matter?”
He said: “I am the one who raises his voice above the voice of the Prophet and speaks loudly to him. My works have failed, and I am going to hell!”
They went back to the Prophet and informed him of this, to which he replied: “No, rather he is a person of Paradise!” And he was slain at the Battle of Yamāmah.
Author’s comments: By “And he was slain at the Battle of Yamāmah,” the narrator means that he was martyred there and intends to confirm the prediction of the Prophet. And this narration is transmitted by various routes with minor differences in wording.
- In the same source, Bukhārī in Adab, Ibn Abī Dunyā, and Bayhaqī narrate from Dāwud ibn Qays:
I saw the apartments (ḥujurāt) were made from palm branches—covered from the outside with cloths of hair. I think the width of their doors, from the door of the apartment to the door of the house, was about six or seven cubits. The courtyard of the inner house was ten cubits, and I think its roof was between seven and eight.
Author’s comments: A similar account is given by Ibn Saʿd from ʿAtāʾ al-Khurasānī, who said: “I saw the apartments of the wives of God’s Messenger were made from palm branches with cloths of black hair upon their doors….”
- In the same source, Aḥmad, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ṭabrānī and Ibn Mardawayh narrate with a good chain from al-Ḥārith ibn Ḍarār al-Khuzāʿī:
I went to God’s Messenger and he invited me to Islam, so I entered Islam and affirmed it. He invited me to pay the alms (zakāt), so I affirmed it. I said: “O Messenger of God! I will return to my people and invite them to embrace Islam and pay the alms—then whoever responds to me, I will collect his alms—and you can send me a messenger at such-and-such time to bring you the alms I have collected.”
So when Ḥārith collected the alms tax from those who responded to him and the time came for God’s Messenger to send someone to him, the messenger was detained and did not come. Ḥārith feared that he had done something to incur God and His Messenger’s displeasure, so he called the chiefs of his people and told them: “God’s Messenger had set a time to send a messenger to me to collect whatever alms I had gathered, and God’s Messenger does not break his word. I do not think he would delay his messenger unless he was upset, so let us go to God’s Messenger.”
God’s Messenger had sent Walīd ibn ʿUqbah to Ḥārith to collect the alms he had assembled, but when Walīd had travelled for a while, he became afraid and returned to God’s Messenger saying: “Ḥārith refused to give me the alms and wanted to kill me!” So God’s Messenger assembled a delegation to send to Ḥārith.
Ḥārith and his companions set forth until the delegation approached, having set off from Medina. When they saw Ḥārith they said: “This is Ḥārith.”
He approached them and asked: “To whom have you been dispatched?”
They said: “To you.”
“Why?”
“God’s Messenger sent Walīd ibn ʿUqbah to you. He claims you refused to give him the alms you had collected and tried to kill him.”
“No! By He who sent Muḥammad with Truth! I neither saw him nor did he come to me!”
When Ḥārith entered in the presence of God’s Messenger, the latter asked: “Did you refuse to give my messenger the alms you had collected and threaten to kill him?”
“No! By He who sent you with Truth! I neither saw him nor did he see me. I only came because I thought that God’s Messenger had held back from me. I was afraid that God and His Messenger were displeased with me!”
Then the verse came down: O you who have faith! If a profligate should bring you some news, verify! Lest you should visit [harm] on some people out of ignorance, and then become regretful for what you have done ().
Author’s comments: There are many accounts from both Sunni and Shi‘i sources that this verse was revealed about Walīd ibn ʿUqbah. Ibn ʿAbd al-Birr says in al-Istīʿāb: “There is no disagreement amongst the people of knowledge about the interpretation of the Qur’an on this matter, namely that God said If a profligate should bring you some news… about Walīd ibn ʿUqbah.”
- In Maḥāsin, it is narrated from Ziyād al-Ḥadhdhāʾ that Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] told him:
O Ziyād! Woe to you, is the religion anything but love? Do you not see that God says: Say, “If you love God, then follow me; God will love you and forgive you your sins, and God is all-forgiving, all-merciful” ()? Do you not regard that God told Muḥammad: But God has endeared faith to you and made it appealing in your hearts ()? And that He says: …who love those who migrate toward them ()? Love is the religion, and the religion is love.
Author’s comments: It is narrated in al-Kāfī from Fuḍayl ibn Yasār that Imām al-Ṣādiq said something similar: “Is faith anything other than love and hate?” Then he recited the verse But God has endeared faith to you… ().
- In Majmaʿ, it is said:
Transgression (fusūq—in ) means lying—from Ibn ʿAbbās, and Ibn Zayd from Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir].
Author’s comments: Some other narrations say the same.
- In al-Kāfī, it is narrated from ʿAlī ibn ʿUqbah that Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq] said:
The believer is the brother of the believer, his eye and his guide. He does not betray him, wrong him, defraud him nor promise something to him only to break it.
Author’s comments: Other narrations have been transmitted with this meaning. In some, he is narrated to say:
The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim; he neither wrongs him, forsakes him, nor backbites about him.
- In Maḥāsin, it is narrated from Abū Ḥamzah al-Thumālī that Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] said:
The believer is the brother of the believer because of his father and his mother—and that is because God created the believer from the clay of the gardens of the heavens (janān al-samāwāt), and cast into them the wind of His spirit (rūḥ). That is how he is his brother because of his father and his mother.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Aḥmad, Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mundhir, Ibn Mardawayh and Bayhaqī in his Sunan relate from Anas:
It was said to the Prophet, “Would that you see ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubay.”
So the Prophet went to him, riding a donkey, and the Muslims accompanied him, walking on salty barren land. When the Prophet reached ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubay, the latter said, “Keep away from me! By God, the bad smell of your donkey has harmed me.”
On that, a man from the Helpers said: “By God! The smell of the donkey of God’s Messenger is better than your smell.”
Upon that, a man from ʿAbd Allāh’s tribe got angry for Abd Allāh’s sake, and the two men abused each other, which caused the friends of the two men to get angry, and the two groups started fighting with sticks, shoes and hands. We were informed that the following Divine Verse was revealed in this regard: And if two groups of the faithful fight each other, make peace between them ().
Author’s comments: In some narrations, as we see in Majmaʿ al-Bayān, the one who said this to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy was ʿAbd Allāh b. Rawāḥah and it was his group from the Aws and Ibn Ubay’s group from the Khazraj who came to blows. However, it is not entirely clear how the contents of the verse and its ruling apply to these accounts.