Surat Al-'Aĥzāb (The Combined Forces)
- flag
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَاظِرِينَ إِنَاهُ وَلَٰكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُوا فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانتَشِرُوا وَلَا مُسْتَأْنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ فَيَسْتَحْيِي مِنكُمْ ۖ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ ۚ وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَن تَنكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمًا
- subtitles
Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoola tadkhuloo buyoota annabiyyi illa an yu/thanalakum ila taAAamin ghayra nathireenainahu walakin itha duAAeetum fadkhuloofa-itha taAAimtum fantashiroo walamusta/niseena lihadeethin inna thalikum kanayu/thee annabiyya fayastahyee minkum wallahula yastahyee mina alhaqqi wa-ithasaaltumoohunna mataAAan fas-aloohunna min wara-ihijabin thalikum atharu liquloobikumwaquloobihinna wama kana lakum an tu/thoorasoola Allahi wala an tankihoo azwajahumin baAAdihi abadan inna thalikum kana AAinda AllahiAAatheema
-
O you who have believed, do not enter the houses of the Prophet except when you are permitted for a meal, without awaiting its readiness. But when you are invited, then enter; and when you have eaten, disperse without seeking to remain for conversation. Indeed, that [behavior] was troubling the Prophet, and he is shy of [dismissing] you. But Allah is not shy of the truth. And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And it is not [conceivable or lawful] for you to harm the Messenger of Allah or to marry his wives after him, ever. Indeed, that would be in the sight of Allah an enormity.
-
-
-
This is an introduction to the general Command that was given in Surah An-Nur: 27 about a year later. In the ancient times the Arabs would enter one another's house unceremoniously. If a person had to see another person he did not drink it was necessary to call at the door or take permission for entry, but would enter the house and ask the womenfolk and children whether the master was at home or not, This custom of ignorance was the cause of many evils and would often give rise to some serious evils. Therefore, in the beginning a rule was made in respect of the houses of the Holy Prophet that no person, whether a close friend or a distant relative, could enter them without permission. Then in Surah An-Nur a general command was given to enforce this rule for the houses of all the Muslims.
This is the second command in this connection. An uncivilized practice prevalent among the Arabs was that the visitors would call on a friend or acquaintance right at the time of the meals, or would come and prolong their stay till the meals time approached. This would often cause the master of the house great embarrassment. He could neither be so discourteous as to tell the visitors to leave because it was his meals time, nor could feed so many unexpected guests together. For it is not always possible for a person to arrange meals immediately for as many visitors as happened to call on him at a time. Allah disapproved of this practice and commanded that the visitors should go for meals to a house only when invited. This Command did not in particular apply to the Holy Prophet's house only but the rules were in the beginning enforced in that model household so that they become general rules of etiquette in the houses of the other Muslims as well.
This was to reform yet another foolish practice. The guests at a feast, after they had finished eating, would sit down to endless gossip and discussions much to the inconvenience of the people of the house. They would often embarrass the Holy Prophet also by this practice, but he would forbear and forget. At last on the day of the marriage feast of Hadrat Zainab the embarrassment thus caused crossed all limits. According to the Holy Prophet's special attendant, Hadrat Anas bin Malik, the feast was held at night. Most of the people left after taking food but a couple or two of them got engaged jn gossip. Disconcerted the Holy Prophet rose and went round to his wives. When he returned he found the gentlemen still sitting. He turned back and sat in Hadrat 'A'ishah's apartment. When a good deal of the night had passed he came to know that the gentlemen had left. Then he returned and went to the apartment of Hadrat Zainab. After this it became inevitable that Allah Himself should warn. the people of these evil practices. According to Hadrat Anas these verses were sent down on this occasion. (Muslim, Nasa'i Ibn Jarir).
This is the verse which is called "the verse of the veil". Bukhari has related on the authority of Hadrat Anas that before the coming down of this verse, Hadrat 'Umar had made a suggestion several times to the Holy Prophet to the effect: "O Messenger of Allah, all sorts of the people, good and bad, come to visit you. Would that you commanded your wives to observe hijab. According to another tradition, once Hadrat 'Umar said to the holy wives, "If what I say concerning you is accepted, my eyes should never see you. " But since the Holy Prophet was not independent in making law, he awaited Divine Revelation. At last, this Command came down that except for the mahram males (as being stated in v. SS below) no other man should enter the Holy Prophet's houses, and whoever had to ask some thing from the ladies, should ask for it from behind a curtain. After this Command curtains were hung at the doors of the apartments of the wives, and since the Holy Prophet's house was a model for the Muslims to follow, they too hung curtains at their doors. The last sentence of the verse itself points out that whoever desire that the hearts of the men and women should remain pure, should adopt this way.
Now whosoever has been blessed with understanding by Allah can himself see that the Book which forbids the men and women to talk to each other face to face and commands them to speak from behind a curtain because `this is a better way for the purity of your as well as their hearts," could not possibly permit that the men and women should freely meet in mixed gatherings, educational and democratic institutions and offices, because it did not affect the purity of the hearts in any way. For him who does not want to follow the Qur'an, the best way would be that he should disregard its Commands and should frankly say that he has no desire to follow it. But this would be the height of meanness that he should violate the clear Commandments of the Qur'an and then stubbornly say that he is following the ¦spirit" of Islam which he has extracted. After all, what is that spirit of Islam which these people extract from sources outside the Qur'an and the sunnah?
The allusion is to the false allegations that were being made in those days against the Holy Prophet, and some weak-minded Muslims also were joining the disbelievers and the hypocrites in doing this.
- personNote: Please note that, we have used PDF OCR technology to scan and convert text from scanned docuement. Expect few broken words in this section. We are trying our level best to fix these errors Insha Allah. If you want to volunteer in this task, please contact us at engage @ kdakw.com.
Observing Good MannersThe sūrah moves on to delineate the position of Muslims vis-à-vis the Prophet’s homes and his wives, both during his lifetime and after his death. It addresses the fact that some hypocrites and others with hearts full of sickness used to affront the Prophet by directing their annoying behaviour at his homes and wives. It issues a very strong warning to them, describing the enormity of their action in God’s sight and reminding them that God is fully aware of their wickedness:Believers! Do not enter the Prophet’s homes, unless you are given leave, for a meal without waiting for its proper time. But when you are invited, enter; and when you have eaten, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk. Such behaviour might give offence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel too shy to bid you go. God does not shy of stating what is right. When you ask the Prophet’s wives for something, do so from behind a screen: this makes for greater purity for your hearts and theirs. Moreover, it does not behove you to give offence to God’s Messenger, just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away. That is certainly an enormity in God’s sight. Whether you do anything openly or in secret, [remember that] God has full knowledge of everything. (Verses 53-54)Al-Bukhārī relates on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik: “When the Prophet espoused Zaynab bint Jaĥsh, he served a meal of meat and bread. I was sent to invite people to come over, and they came in groups. They would eat and leave, then another group came in, ate, and left. I invited everyone until I could find none o invite. I said this to the Prophet, and he said to his family: ‘Remove your food.’ Three people remained in his home chatting. The Prophet went out to `A’ishah’s room and said: ‘Peace be o you, members of this household, together with God’s mercy and blessings.’ She replied to his greeting in the same way and asked him: ‘How have you found your wife, Messenger of God? May God bless you ,and yours.’ He then went to the rooms of every one of his wives, and each one of them said to him the same as `A’ishah. Then he went back, and found the three people still there chatting. The Prophet was very shy. He went out again, heading towards `A’ishah’s room. I am not sure whether it was she or someone else who told him that those people had left. He came back, and when he had one foot inside and one out, the door was closed. Then the Qur’ānic verse mentioning the screen was revealed.”The verse outlines certain manners with regard to entering people’s homes that were unknown in pre-Islamic Arabia. People just came into a home without asking permission, as we explained in commenting on the relevant verses in Sūrah 24, The Light.7 Perhaps this was more visible in the case of the Prophet’s homes which were the source of knowledge and wisdom. Some people might come in, and if they saw food being prepared, they would wait to have a meal, without being invited. Some might stay on to chat after the meal was over, even though they had not been invited in the first place. They were totally oblivious to the inconvenience their behaviour caused the Prophet and his family. One report suggests that when those three people stayed on to chat on the night of the Prophet’s wedding to Zaynab, she sat with her face to the wall. The Prophet was too shy to draw their attention to the inconvenience they caused. He could not say to his visitors something that might make them ashamed of themselves. Therefore, God stated this on his behalf, because: “God does not shy of stating what is right.” (Verse 53)
7 Volume 12, pp. 234-238.
It is also reported that `Umar, who was endowed with refined sensitivity, suggested to the Prophet that he should put up a screen so that people would not enter his wives’ rooms without leave. He hoped that God would order this and subsequently this verse was revealed endorsing his suggestion. Al-Bukhārī relates on Anas’s authority: “`Umar said: ‘Messenger of God! All sorts of people come into your home. You may wish to instruct the mothers of the believers to put up a screen.’ God then revealed the verse requiring a screen to be put up.”This verse taught people that they must not enter the Prophet’s homes without first seeking permission. Should they be invited to have a meal, they may go in. If they were not invited, they must not enter awaiting the food to be cooked. Then, when they had finished eating, they should leave. They should not stay on to chat. Muslims today badly need to stick to this standard of manners, which has been ignored by many. Guests often stay long after a meal, and in many cases they stay long at the table after they have finished eating. Their conversation may drag on, while the hosts, who hold on to some aspects of Islamic manners, find this terribly inconvenient. Islamic manners address all situations most appropriately. We would do well to revive these manners in our social dealings.The verse then orders that the Prophet’s wives be screened from men: “When you ask the Prophet’s wives fir something, do so from behind a screen.” In emphasizing that this is better for all, the sūrah states further: “This makes for greater purity for your hearts and theirs.” (Verse 53) It is not for anyone to say what is contrary to what God says. No one should say that easy mixing and chatting between the two sexes is more conducive to purity of hearts, and relief of suppressed instincts, giving both men and women a better approach to feelings and behaviour. We hear much talk in this vein, by unenlightened people. No one can say anything of this sort when God says: “When you ask the Prophet’s wives for something, do so from behind a screen: this makes for greater purity for your hearts and theirs.” (Verse 53) We should remember that He says this while referring o the Prophet’s wives, the mothers of the believers, who were all pure women, and to the Prophet’s Companions who were exemplary in their morality. When God says something and some people say something different, it is God’s statement that is right. Whatever is contrary to God’s statements is wrong and can only be stated by one who dares to say that human beings have greater knowledge of man’s psychology than his Creator.The facts of life confirm the truth of what God says and the falsehood of what others say to the contrary. People’s experience everywhere in the world confirms this. Countries where mixing has reached extreme limits give ample evidence in support of this.The Qur’ānic verse has already mentioned that peoples’ entry awaiting a meal o be cooked, without being invited, and their staying on for a chat, gave offence to the Prophet, but that he was too shy to hint that they should leave. Now the verse makes it clear that it does not behove any Muslim o give offence to the Prophet; nor does it behove them to marry his wives when he dies, considering that his wives are like mothers to them. Their special position in relation to the Prophet makes their marriage to anyone other than him prohibited. This gave the Prophet’s home its special sanctity and unique position. “It does not behove you to give offence to God’s Messenger, just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away.” (Verse 53)Some reports mention that one of the hypocrites said that he was waiting to marry `A’ishah! “That is certainly an enormity in God’s sight.” (Verse 53) Terrible indeed is that which God describes as an enormity.The sūrah does not, however, stop at this warning but goes on instead to deliver an even sterner one: “Whether you do anything openly or in secret, [remember that] God has full knowledge of everything.” (Verse 53) - filter_vintageThe Etiquette of entering the Houses of the Prophet and the Command of HijabThis is the Ayah of Hijab, which includes several legislative rulings and points of etiquette. This is one of the cases where the revelation confirmed the opinion of `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, as it was reported in the Two Sahihs that he said: "My view coincided with that of my Lord in three things. I said, `O Messenger of Allah, why do you not take Maqam Ibrahim as a place of prayer' Then Allah revealed:﴿وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى﴾(And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim as a place of prayer) (2:125) And I said, `O Messenger of Allah, both righteous and immoral people enter upon your wives, so why do you not screen them' Then Allah revealed the Ayah of Hijab. And I said to the wives of the Prophet when they conspired against him out of jealousy,﴿عَسَى رَبُّهُ إِن طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَن يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَجاً خَيْراً مِّنكُنَّ﴾(It may be if he divorced you (all) that his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you) (66:5), and this is what Allah revealed.'' In a report recorded by Muslim, the prisoners of Badr are mentioned, and this is a fourth matter (in which the view of `Umar coincided with that of his Lord). Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas bin Malik said: "`Umar bin Al-Khattab said: `O Messenger of Allah, both righteous and immoral people enter upon you, so why not instruct the Mothers of the believers to observe Hijab' Then Allah revealed the Ayah of Hijab.'' Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When the Messenger of Allah married Zaynab bint Jahsh, he invited the people to eat, then they sat talking. When he wanted to get up, they did not get up. When he saw that, he got up anyway, and some of them got up, but three people remained sitting. The Prophet wanted to go in, but these people were sitting, then they got up and went away. I came and told the Prophet that they had left, then he came and entered. I wanted to follow him, but he put the screen between me and him. Then Allah revealed,﴿يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَدْخُلُواْ بُيُوتَ النَّبِىِّ إِلاَّ أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَى طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَـظِرِينَ إِنَـهُ وَلَـكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُواْ فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانْتَشِرُواْ﴾(O you who believe! Enter not the Prophet's houses, unless permission is given to you for a meal, (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation. But when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken your meal, disperse...)'' Al-Bukhari also recorded this elsewhere. It was also recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i. Then Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas bin Malik said: "The Prophet married Zaynab bint Jahsh with (a wedding feast of) meat and bread. I sent someone to invite people to the feast, and some people came and ate, then left. Then another group came and ate, and left. I invited people until there was no one left to invite. I said, `O Messenger of Allah, I cannot find anyone else to invite.' He said,«ارْفَعُوا طَعَامَكُم»(Take away the food.) There were three people left who were talking in the house. The Prophet went out until he came to the apartment of `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and he said,«السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُه»(May peace be upon you, members of the household, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.) She said, `And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. How did you find your (new) wife, O Messenger of Allah May Allah bless you.' He went round to the apartments of all his wives, and spoke with them as he had spoken with `A'ishah, and they spoke as `A'ishah had spoken. Then the Prophet came back, and those three people were still talking in the house. The Prophet was extremely shy, so he went out and headed towards `A'ishah's apartment. I do not know whether I told him or someone else told him when the people had left, so he came back, and when he was standing with one foot over the threshold and the other foot outside, he placed the curtain between me and him, and the Ayah of Hijab was revealed.'' This was recorded only by Al-Bukhari among the authors of the Six Books, apart from An-Nasa'i, in Al-Yaum wal-Laylah.﴿لاَ تَدْخُلُواْ بُيُوتَ النَّبِىِّ﴾(Enter not the Prophet's houses,) the believers were prohibited from entering the houses of the Messenger of Allah without permission, as they used to do during the Jahiliyyah and at the beginning of Islam, until Allah showed His jealousy over this Ummah and commanded them to seek permission. This is a sign of His honoring this Ummah. Hence the Messenger of Allah said:«إِيَّاكُمْ وَالدُّخُولَ عَلَى النِّسَاء»(Beware of entering upon women...) Then Allah makes an exception, when He says:﴿إِلاَّ أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَى طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَـظِرِينَ إِنَـهُ﴾(unless permission is given to you for a meal, (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation.) Mujahid, Qatadah and others said: "This means, without waiting for the food to be prepared.'' In other words, do not watch the food as it is being cooked to see if it is nearly ready, then come and enter the house, because this is one of the things that Allah dislikes and condemns. This indicates that it is forbidden to watch out for food being prepared, which is what the Arabs called Tatfil (being an uninvited guest). Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi wrote a book condemning those who watch out for food being prepared, and mentioned more things about this topic than we can quote here. Then Allah says:﴿وَلَـكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُواْ فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانْتَشِرُواْ﴾(But when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken your meal, disperse) In Sahih Muslim it is recorded that Ibn `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah said:«إِذَا دَعَا أَحَدُكُمْ أَخَاهُ فَلْيُجِبْ عُرْسًا كَانَ أَوْ غَيْرَه»(When anyone of you invites his bother, let him respond, whether it is for a wedding or for any other reason.)'' Allah says:﴿وَلاَ مُسْتَأْنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ﴾(without sitting for a talk.) meaning, as those three people did who stayed behind and chatted, and forgot themselves to such an extent that this caused inconvenience for the Messenger of Allah as Allah says:﴿إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِى النَّبِىِّ فَيَسْتَحْيِى مِنكُمْ﴾(Verily, such (behavior) annoys the Prophet, and he is shy of (asking) you (to go);) It was said that what was meant was, your entering his houses without permission causes him inconvenience and annoyance, but he did not like to forbid them to do so because he felt too shy,' until Allah revealed that this was forbidden. Allah says:﴿وَاللَّهُ لاَ يَسْتَحْىِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ﴾(but Allah is not shy of (telling you) the truth.) meaning, `this is why He is forbidding and prohibiting you from doing that.' Then Allah says:﴿وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَـعاً فَاسْـَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَآءِ حِجَابٍ﴾(And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen,) meaning, `just as it is forbidden for you to enter upon them, it is forbidden for you to look at them at all. If anyone of you has any need to take anything from them, he should not look at them, but he should ask for whatever he needs from behind a screen.'Prohibition of annoying the Messenger and the Statement that His Wives are Unlawful for the Muslims﴿وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تؤْذُواْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلاَ أَن تَنكِحُواْ أَزْوَاجَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ أَبَداً إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيماً﴾(And it is not (right) for you that you should annoy Allah's Messenger, nor that you should ever marry his wives after him (his death). Verily, with Allah that shall be an enormity.) Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said concerning the Ayah;﴿وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تؤْذُواْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ﴾(And it is not (right) for you that you should annoy Allah's Messenger,) "This was revealed concerning a man who wanted to marry one of the wives of the Prophet after he died. A man said to Sufyan, `Was it `A'ishah' He said, `That is what they said.''' This was also stated by Muqatil bin Hayyan and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. He also reported with his chain of narration from As-Suddi that the one who wanted to do this was Talhah bin `Ubaydullah, may Allah be pleased with him, until this Ayah was revealed forbidding that. Hence the scholars were unanimous in stating that it was forbidden for anyone to marry any of the women who were married to the Messenger of Allah at the time when he died, because they are his wives in this world and in the Hereafter, and they are the Mothers of the believers, as stated previously. Allah regarded that as a very serious matter, and issued the sternest of warnings against it, as He said:﴿إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيماً﴾(Verily, with Allah that shall be an enormity.)