Jan
Surah Al-Hujurat is a Madani Surah (it was revealed in Medina). The scholars of Islam had made it known to us that most Madani revelations are to strengthen the believers and to remind them of Allah’s Commandments and expectations from Muslims. This surah is indeed to strengthen and straighten Muslims. It is intended to perfect our characters and relating with others as well as what every society needs. In the first verse, Allah refers to proper etiquette that Muslims need to observe with Him, The Exalted and with His messenger, our beloved Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him and his house. As the verse states;
“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Salaam), and fear Allah. Verily! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”
(Q49:1)
Here, we can see that Allah is instructing every sincere slave of His to do what is required if they truly believe in Him and His Messenger; that is to OBEY the commands of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala and heed His prohibitions, to comply with all commandments and follow the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah in all affairs, and not decide any matter before considering what Allah and His Messenger decided concerning such matters, and this is the real etiquette that is required with Allah and His Messenger and it is a sign of a person being blessed and successful as explained in Tafsir As-Sa’di.
There is emphasis on the prohibition on giving precedence to any view over the Messenger of Allah and indeed his Sunnah is clear for those who will adhere by it for their own good. He was wise, kind and generous and all that he wanted for his ummah is good.
Prophet Muhammad guides us to that which is best for us; Noncompliance with this is missing out on eternal bliss and everlasting joy, who would want to miss out on such?
One may begin to wonder; but we are not living in the Prophet’s era, is it possible to adhere to all his old statements and thinking? How can one survive in this global world? And the list goes on. How about we look into the gems from this Surah together to guide us;
- We should not be quick to judge people’s intentions.
- We should be careful and thoughtful with the fear of Allah when we hear some news, we have to make sure that this news is correct before we share it with others or even take action. How amazing this is. You will agree with me that in this era of ours, fake news travels far, they do not only cause enmity between people but they are also dangerous and detrimental to peoples’ well-being.
- We must respect people’s privacy; most of us must be hearing about boundaries and all the noise about it from the West but imagine how amazing our Lord had revealed what is best for us all and has given us the best teacher to guide us on how best to practice it without violating Allah’s Commandments.
- We should not backbite, bully, or hurt anyone.
- We should be gentle, in every of our dealing, even when we need to correct others.
- We should strive to make peace between people. Muslims are brothers and sisters, and they should try to create a healthy relationship within themselves. In this surah our Lord reminds us of the essence of this beautiful virtue, unfortunately most of us have forgotten about the beautiful rewards that peace brings and how it makes community stronger and thriving.
- We are reminded of how humans are created equally and the dislike of treating others badly because of their ethnicity or color. Anyone who keeps this in mind keeps Allah in mind and has the best manner.
- We should not call others bad names or label them.
- We are reminded that our actions should have strong connections to our faith. It should speak for us of how much we fear Allah and act in accordance with his rulings.
“O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one’s brother after having Faith [i.e. to call your Muslim brother (a faithful believer) as: “O sinner”, or “O wicked”, etc.]. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).”
[Q49: 11]
The manners that we can derive from this surah are:
Manners with The Sunnah of The Prophet
1. How we talk and act
2. How we abide by his teachings
3. How we consider his opinions over our views
4. How we love and respect his Sunnah
Social Manners
1. Be intentional with information and how we circulate them
2. Being family with other Muslims
3. Being respectful to all
4. Acting in equality
5. Be truthful in our actions and words.
Be truthful in our actions and words.
With the social injustice and inequality, Muslims are supposed to be pacesetters and always keep the hadith of the Prophet in mind which said.
“O humanity! You Lord is One and you came from the same father and mother. No Arab is better than a non-Arab. No non-Arab is better than any Arab. No white is better than any black. And no black is better than any white. What matters is who has the best manners.”
{Recorded by Imam Ahmad}
Understanding this, one will agree that it is a blessing that we look different, speak differently, and have different cultures, as this is the beauty of life. Though we may have differences, we were created equally. Racism is not acceptable in Islam, as doing such is like imitating shaytan, may Allah protect us from such.
“And if two parties or groups among the believers fall to fighting, then make peace between them both, but if one of them rebels against the other, then fight you (all) against the one that which rebels till it complies with the Command of Allah; then if it complies, then make reconciliation between them justly, and be equitable. Verily! Allah loves those who are equitable. The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion). So make reconciliation between your brothers and fear Allah that you may receive mercy.
[Q49:9 -10]
Everyone is equal before Allah even men and women, but they are created by Allah to have unique roles in life; every human is unique in their own way and has the potential to be successful at what they themselves like, provided they don’t transgress on Allah’s prohibitions. This Surah also reminded us of this, so that we may abide by it, and hope that we attain success on The day of Accountability.
“(This is) a Grace from Allah and His Favour. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
[Q49:8]
Allah also reminds us that our being Muslims is a Favor, “…Do not consider your Islam a favor to me. Rather, Allah has conferred favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you should be truthful.
[Q49:17]
Hence we should strive to hold unto it for our own good, “The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then doubt not but strive with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is those who are the truthful.”[Q49 :15] May Allah count you and I among those whom He is Pleased with. Verily, all praise is due to Allah, all the favors are from Him, and from Him comes the success and protection from error. As salam alaykum warahmatulLahi wabarakhatuhu.