مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّ‌سُولُ اللَّـهِ (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah...48:29). The general style of the Qur'an is that, instead of referring to the Holy Prophet ﷺ by his name, he is normally called by one or another of his characteristic or attributive names especially in vocative cases, as for example, ya ayyuhan-nabiyyu, ya ayyuhar-rasulu, ya ayyuhal-muzzammilu and so on, unlike other prophets who are addressed by their personal names, as for instance, ya ibrahimu, ya musa, ya ` isa. The Holy Prophet ﷺ is addressed four times only in the entire Qur'an by his personal name Muhammad. This is done only where there is a special reason for it. Here the reason is that when at Hudaibiyah, the Peace Treaty was being written, the unbelievers had objected to the use of the characteristic or attributive name [ rasulul-lah ] with the personal name of the Messenger of Allah. The pagan Quraish wiped off Muhammad rasul-ul-lah, and insisted that it be replaced with Muhammad Ibn ` Abdullah. By the command of Allah, the Messenger accepted it. However, Allah on this occasion, in the Qur'an, especially attached the characteristic phrase rasulul-lah [ Messenger of Allah ] to his personal name [ Muhammad ] and thus entrenched it permanently in His Last Book, the Holy Qur'an, so that it will be written and recited like that until the Judgment Day.

وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ‌ رُ‌حَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ تَرَ‌اهُمْ رُ‌كَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّـهِ وَرِ‌ضْوَانًا those who are with him are hard against the disbelievers, compassionate among themselves; you will see them bowing down in ruku', prostrating in sajdah, seeking bounty from Allah and (His) good pleasure;.... 48:29). From this point onwards the merits of the noble Companions ؓ of the Holy Prophet ﷺ are described. Although the immediate addressees of the verse are the noble participants of Hudaibiyah and bai` at-ur-Ridwan. But on account of the generality of words, all blessed Companions ؓ are included in the description, because a sahabi or Companion is one who embraced Islam, saw the Holy Prophet ﷺ and accompanied him, even for a short time.

The Qualities, Merits and Special Marks of the Noble Companions ؓ

Allah Ta` ala, on this occasion, describes the messenger-ship of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and makes a prophecy to the effect that not only would Islam prevail in Arabia, but would also eventually triumph over all other religions. In addition, He has described the qualities, the merits and the special marks of the noble Companions ؓ . The severe test which they had to undergo at the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah has also been described. The passage describes that they never wavered from the path of rectitude despite the fact that the Treaty was against their firm belief and heart-felt emotions, and despite the fact that they could not enter the sacred Mosque, and had to return without performing ` Umrah. In these unfavourable circumstances, they displayed an unusual obedience of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and their strength of faith. The blessed Companions ؓ have been described here fully, because the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the Final Messenger and there shall be no prophet or messenger after him. He left behind him the Book of Allah and the paradigm of noble Companions ؓ to follow. Specific injunctions have been laid down to emulate their pattern of life. Therefore, the Qur'an too describes the merits of the blessed Companions ؓ ، and encourages and emphasizes to follow their model of life.

The first quality of the Companions ؓ mentioned here is that they are hard against the unbelievers, and merciful to one another. It was proven time and again that they were harsh against the unbelievers. They sacrificed all their ethnic and tribal relations for the sake of Islam. This was especially demonstrated on the occasion of Hudaibiyah. The tenderness of the blessed Companions was especially demonstrated when Islamic brotherhood [ mu` akhat ] was created between muhajirs [ emigrants from Makkah ] and ansar [ helpers from Madinah ]. Ansar invited the muhajirin to share with them in their holdings. The Qur'an describes this quality of the blessed Companions ؓ first, because nothing they practiced - whether friendship or enmity, love or hatred - was for any selfish reasons. Everything was for the sake of Allah and His Messenger - and this is the highest degree of perfect faith. In a Hadith recorded by Bukhari, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said,

مَن آحبّ اللہ و ابغض للہ فقد استکمل ایمانہ

"He who loves for the sake of Allah and hates for the sake of Allah has attained the highest degree of faith."

This means that anyone who has subjugated his friendship, love, hatred and enmity under the Will of Allah has perfected his faith. This clarifies another point: The Companions' being hard against the unbelievers does not imply that they were never tender towards any non-believer. In fact it means that where Allah and His Messenger enjoins them to be hard against the non-believers, they would simply comply without taking into account the relations of kinship or friendship. As far as kind and equitable dealing with them is concerned, the Qur'an itself promulgates:

لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِ‌جُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِ‌كُمْ

"Allah does not forbid you from those who did not fight you on account of faith, and did not expel you from your homes, that you do good to them, and deal justly with them." (60:8).

There is a large number of incidents where Allah's Messenger ﷺ and the blessed Companions ؓ displayed their kindness and compassion to the helpless and needy unbelievers. Treating them with justice and equity is the general injunction of Islam. No activity flouting justice and equity is permissible even in the field of pitched battle.

The second quality of the blessed Companions ؓ is that they are generally preoccupied with bowing and prostrating. The first quality is the mark of their perfection in faith and the second quality is the mark of their perfection in deeds, because salah is the most meritorious of all the good deeds.

سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنْ أَثَرِ‌ السُّجُودِ (their distinguishing feature is on their faces from the effect of sajdah (prostration)....48:29). That is to say, salah has become such a permanent routine of their life that the special effects of salah and sajdah are evident on their faces. These distinguishing features do not necessarily refer to any physical sign on the forehead on account of constant prostration. This in fact refers to the light and brightness that is reflected naturally on the faces of the devout as a result of humility, meekness and gentleness of disposition. Particularly this is one of the effects that follow from offering tahajjud salah regularly. It is recorded in Ibn Majah on the authority of Syyidna Jabir ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said,

من کثر صلوٰتہ بالّیل حسن وجھہ بالنّھار

"He who offers his salah abundantly at night, his face looks good during the day."

Hadrat Hasan Basri (رح) has said that the "features" in the verse refer to the light that the faces of those who pray will emit on the Day of Judgement.

ذَٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَ‌اةِ ۚ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنجِيلِ كَزَرْ‌عٍ أَخْرَ‌جَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَ‌هُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّ‌اعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ‌ ۗ وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَ‌ةً وَأَجْرً‌ا عَظِيمًا

(This is their description in the Torah; and their description in the Injil is: like a sown crop that brings forth its shoot, then makes it strong, then it grows thick and stands straight on its stem, looking good to the farmers, so that He may enrage the disbelievers through them. Allah has promised forgiveness and a huge reward to those of them who believe and do good deeds.... 48:29)

This part of the verse states the description of the noble Companions ؓ given above about the light of their prostration and prayers on their forehead is the same description as was given in the Torah for the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ،. And another parable of them is put in the Gospel [ injil ]: When a farmer sows a seed in his field, it grows over a period of time - especially so that it changes from its original form into a form which is at first weak like a thin needle, then it develops into branches getting stronger, larger and more complicated. Eventually when it is fully grown, it is the strongest of shrubs and becomes a tree. Likewise the Companions ؓ of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the beginning were very few. At one time, besides the Holy Prophet ﷺ there were only three Muslims: Among men, Sayyidna Abu Bakr As-Siddiq ؓ ; among women, Sayyidah Khadijah ؓ ; and among children, Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ . Gradually, but progressively, the strength of the Muslims continued to grow, so much so that the number of the noble Companions who performed the farewell pilgrimage with the Holy Prophet ﷺ is said to be about One hundred and fifty thousand (150, 000).

There are three possibilities in this verse: First, the grammatical pause be observed at فِي التَّوْرَ‌اةِ fit-tawrah in which case it will mean that the previous likeness, that is, the light of the faces is described in the Torah. In this case, a grammatical pause would not be observed at fil-injil, but one should proceed without stopping, and it will mean that the parable of the noble Companions in the Gospel is like a field or tree which at the beginning is very weak but gradually it grows strong.

The second possibility is that the pause be observed at فِي الْإِنجِيلِ fil-injil rather than at فِی التَّورَاتِہ fit-tawrah, in which case the meaning would be that the description of the light of their faces is found both in Torah and the Gospel, as here in the Qur'an. Then كَزَرْ‌عٍ ka-zar-'in "like a sown crop" may be treated as a separate parable.

The third possibility is that the statement does not end at fit-tawrah nor at fil injil. In this case dhalika, the demonstrative pronoun, would point to the next parable, and it would mean that the description of the Companions ؓ is given in both the Torah and the Gospel "like a sown crop". If the Torah and the Gospel had been intact in their original form, we could have compared the parables as given in those books with those given here in the Qur'an and determined its exact meaning. However, the present-day Torah and the Gospel have been subjected to many alterations and distortions. Therefore, its true import cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. Nevertheless, most -commentators prefer the first possibility according to which the first description is found in the Torah and the second parable is found in the Gospel. Imam Baghawi says that this description of the noble Companions ؓ is found in the Gospel in the following way: At the beginning they will be few in number, then the number will grow and become strong. Qatadah quotes from the Injil as follows: "Such a people will emerge who will grow like a crop; they will enjoin good works and forbid evil works" (Mazhari). Despite changes in the present-day Torah and Gospel, the following prophecy is found:

"He said: The Lord came from Mount Sinai; and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words." [ Deut. 33:2]

As pointed out earlier, at the time of the conquest of Makkah there were 10, 000 Companions ؓ who entered the City of Khalil Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) (Makkah) with the embodiment of light [ Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ] whose advent was from the mount Paran (in which the Cave of Hira' is situated). The expression "in his hand will be a fiery sacrosanct law [ Shari` ah ] " probably refers to أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ‌ "hard against the unbelievers". The expression "he will love his people" is understood to refer رُ‌حَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ "compassionate to one another". The details are set out together with other references in a work Izhar-ul-liaq, Vol. 3/chap.6: p.256. This book was written by Maulana Rahmatullah Kairanwi against the Priest Fonder. In this book, the parable of Injil is qouted as follows:

Another parable put forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. [ Matthew 13:31-32]

The following passage is quoted from Mark 4:26 in Izhar-ul-haq, Vol 3/chap 6:p. 310:

And he said, so is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. (Mark 4: 27-29) ()

(). These quotations are taken from King James Version of the Bible.

The expression "kingdom of heaven" on various occasions in the Gospel seems to refer to the Final Messenger. Allah knows best!

لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ‌ (...so that He may enrage the disbelievers through them...48:29). That is, Allah has characterized the blessed Companions ؓ by some noble qualities. He made them strong after being weak and multiplied them into large numbers after being small in numbers. Seeing the growth and expansion of Islam and Muslims, the unbelievers became furious and any towards them, and envious of them, burning in the fire of jealousy. Abu ` Urwah Zubairi says he was sitting in one of the sessions of Imam Malik when a person uttered a belittling statement against the blessed Companions ؓ . The Imam recited this entire verse. When he came to the clause "so that He may enrage the disbelievers through them. [ 29] ", he said this warning will apply to anyone who belittles the blessed Companions (Qurtubi). The Imam did not say that such a person would become kafir, however he said that the warning applies to such a person. It means that the conduct of such a person will be like that of unbelievers.

وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَ‌ةً وَأَجْرً‌ا عَظِيمًا (Allah has promised forgiveness and a huge reward to those of them who believe and do good deeds...48:29). The preposition min in the prepositional phrase min-hum is by consensus of Qur'anic scholarly opinion an explicative or min lil-bayan or tabyin. Therefore, it means that it is Allah's promise to those Muslims who are selfless in faith and strong in character that He will forgive them and give them a great reward. The preposition min serves to make clear and explains that all the blessed Companions ؓ without any exception - believe and do deeds of righteousness. The second point this verse clarifies is that Allah has promised them all without any exception forgiveness and a mighty reward. Min lil-bayan or tabyin is frequently used in the Qur'an. For example, the command in [ 22:30] فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّ‌جْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ‌ "So, refrain from the filth of the idols and refrain from a word of falsehood" (22:30). In this clause, the preposition min explicates the obscure noun رِّ‌جْسَ rijs as referring to the "idols". Likewise the prepositional phrase min-hum here is explicative of "those who believe". Rawafid, however, treat the preposition min as partitive denoting a part as distinct from the whole - meaning the promise of forgiveness and mighty reward applies only to a part of those who believed and worked deeds of righteousness. This is completely incompatible with the context and in conflict with the above verses. This verse undoubtedly comprehends all the blessed Companions ؓ . However, the immediate application of this verse is to the participants of Hudaibiyah and the Pledge of Ridwan. In the preceding verses Allah has announced that they have incurred His pleasure:

لَّقَدْ رَ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَ‌ةِ

Allah was pleased with the believers when they were pledging allegiance with you by placing their hands in your hands under the tree,... " (18)

This verse is a guarantee that they wi11 all be firmly established in their faith and righteousness, because Allah is All-knowing and Well-Aware of what is going to happen. If Allah knows that anyone at anytime will turn away from the faith, He will never announce about His pleasure. Ibn ` Abdul Barr, quoting this verse in the introduction to his book isti'ab, writes:

و من ؓ لم یسخط علیہ ابداً

"He with whom Allah is pleased, He will never be displeased with him.".

On the basis of this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that no one from among the participants of the Pledge of Ridwan will ever enter the Fire. It is absolutely invalid to exclude some of those who were originally promised forgiveness and a mighty reward. Hence there is unanimity among ummah on the point that all the noble Companions are impartial, unbiased and worthy of confidence.

All Companions ؓ Are Inmates of Paradise: Their Sins Are Forgiven and to Belittle them is a Major Sin

Many verses of the Qur'an bear testimony to this fact. Some of the verses are part of this Surah. For instance,

لَّقَدْ رَ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

"Allah was pleased with the believers...48:29"

and

أَلْزَمَهُمْ كَلِمَةَ التَّقْوَىٰ وَكَانُوا أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَأَهْلَهَا

"...and made them stick to the word of piety, and they were very much entitled to it, and competent for it.". (48:26)

Besides, in several verses scattered in various other Surahs the same position has been affirmed for all the Companions:

يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّـهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ

"on the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him." [ 66:8]

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِ‌ينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ‌ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّ‌ضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَ‌ضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِ‌ي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ‌ "As for the first and foremost of the Emigrants and the Supporters, and those who followed them in goodness, Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with him; and He prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow... "[ 9:100]

And in Surah Al-Hadid, Allah has promised the Companions ؓ as follows:

وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الْحُسْنَىٰ

"...Allah has promised Husna (the good) for each." (57:10)

And about Husna it is said in Surah Anbiya':

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُم مِّنَّا الْحُسْنَىٰ أُولَـٰئِكَ عَنْهَا مُبْعَدُونَ

Surely, those for whom the good (news) from Us has come earlier shall be kept far away from it (the Hell) [ 21: 101]

The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said:

خیر القرون قرنی ثمّ الّذین یلونھم ثمّ الذین یلونھم

"The best of generations is my generation, then that which follows it immediately and then that which follows it immediately (Bukhari)."

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "Do not revile my Companions, for if one of you contributed as much gold as the mount 'Uhud, it would not amount to as much as the mudd of one of them, or half of it (Bukhari). A mudd in Arabia was a measure which, according to the Hanafi school of Fiqh, is equal to 1.032 litre or 815.39 grams and, according to the other three major schools, it is equal to O. 687 litre or 543 grams. Bazzar records with a sound chain of transmitters that Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "Of all the people in the entire world Allah has chosen my Companions, and of all the Companions He has particularly chosen four for me - Abu Bakr, ` Umar, ` Uthman and ` Ali. (See Jam`-ul-Fawa'd)

There is a Hadith recorded in Tirmidhi on the authority of ` Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal. In it the Holy Prophet ﷺ said:

اللہ اللہ فی اصحابی لا تتّخذوھم غرضا من بعدی فمن احبّھم فبحبّی احبّھم و من ابغضھم فببغضی ابغضھم و من اٰذاھم فقد اذانی فقد اذی اللہ و من اذی اللہ فیوشک ان یأخذہ (رواہ الترمذی عن عبداللہ بن المغفل از جمع الفوایٔد)

"Fear Allah, fear Allah regarding my Companions! Do not make them a target of your criticism after me. He who loves them does so on account of my love; he who hates them does so on account of hating me; and he who injures them has injured me, and he who injures me has injured Allah. He who intends to injure Allah will soon be punished by Him."

I have written a book entitled maqam-e-sahabah in which I have collected relevant Qur'anic verses and Prophetic Traditions pertaining to the status of the Companions. This book has already been published in Urdu. The 'Ummah is unanimous on the point that all the blessed Companions ؓ are righteous and worthy of confidence. The book deals elaborately with their disagreements and the civil wars that took place among them. It also explains how a Muslim critic should deal with the differences of the sahabah and whether it should be made a subject of debate and investigation or one should avoid commenting on them. Some of these issues to the degree necessary have been included in the commentary of Surah Muhammad. Please refer to the relevant section there. Allah's help is sought and on Him is our reliance!

Al-hamdulillah

The Commentary on Surah Al-Fath ends here.

لَا تَرْ‌فَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet ﷺ . - 49:2) This is another etiquette to be observed while in the presence of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This verse teaches the believers that they should not raise their voices above the voice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ nor speak aloud to him as one speaks aloud to another in general discussions. The verse warns that neglecting this etiquette may entail nullification of one's virtuous deeds, because this is a kind of disrespect to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Thus when this verse was revealed, the blessed Companions ؓ became very apprehensive and very cautious. Sayyidna Abu Bakr ؓ said: "By God! 0 Messenger of Allah, from now till my last breath, I shall speak to you as if someone is whispering." (Ad-Durr-ul Manthur on the authority of Baihaqi) When this verse was revealed, Sayyidna ` Umar's ؓ voice became so low that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had to ask him to repeat what he said, so that he could understand what he was saying to him (Sihah). Thabit Ibn Qays ؓ had a naturally loud voice. When he heard this verse, he feared that his good deeds would be rendered void, he wept and lowered his voice (Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur on the authority of Baihaqi).

It is Prohibited to Greet and Speak Aloud in front of the Holy Prophet’ s ﷺ Mausoleum

Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn ` Arabi says that respect for the Holy Prophet ﷺ after his demise is just as compulsory as it was during his life-time. Therefore, some of the scholars have expressed the view that it is disrespectful to say salam or speak very loudly in front of the Holy Prophet's mausoleum. Likewise it is discourteous to make noise where Prophetic traditions are recited, because when the blessed words of the Holy Prophet ﷺ are being recited, it is compulsory to listen to them silently. In the same manner, it is an unmannerly behaviour to raise voices after his demise when his noble words are repeated.

Ruling

As the Qur'anic injunction "do not proceed ahead of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ applies to ` Ulama' as the heirs of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، likewise the injunction "do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet ﷺ " is applicable to the great scholars of Islam also. When sitting in their assembly, it is impolite to raise voices so loudly that their voices are suppressed (Qurtubi).

أَن تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُ‌ونَ (lest your good deeds become void while you are not aware - 49:2.) This clause is indicating the reason why the Muslims are directed not to raise their voices above the voice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . They are warned that non-compliance of the rule may nullify their virtuous deeds. According to the axioms of Shari` ah and universally established principles, a few perturbing questions arise here. First of all, according to the unanimous view of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, the only thing that can destroy righteous deeds is kufr or disbelief. No sin can destroy good deeds. Here the Qur’ an addresses the noble Companions ؓ and the believers. It addresses them by calling them "0 believers" which goes to show that they are "believers" and not "disbelievers" - so how can their righteous works be rendered void? The second point is that "faith" is an act of free will. A person cannot be a believer unless he embraces faith with his own free will. Likewise "disbelief' [ kufr ] is an act of free will. A person does not become kafir [ unbeliever ] unless he adopts disbelief with his own free will. The concluding phrase "while you are not aware" seems to be against this principle: Failure of good deeds is the punishment of disbelief which ought to be a result of one's own free will and the phrase shows that the punishment lacks "free will". So how can the good deeds go to waste?

My master, the honorable sage of the Ummah has in his Bayan-ul-Qur'an explicated the passage in such a manner that all these perturbations are resolved. He says the meaning of the verse is thus: 0 Muslims, avoid raising your voices above the voice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ or speaking loudly to him, because in so doing there is the fear that your deeds should be thwarted. The danger in raising your voices above that of the Holy Prophet ﷺ lies in the fact that it is tantamount to discourtesy to the Holy Prophet ﷺ which is the same as vexing him. It is unthinkable that the noble Companions would intentionally attempt to hurt him. However, it is possible that certain deeds and actions, such as "advancing forward" and "raising voices", without the intention of hurting could upset or offend him. Therefore, all such conducts have been absolutely prohibited, forbidden and regarded as sin. The essential characteristics of some of the sins are such that the people who commit them lose the Divine aid of repentance and the ability or capacity to perform righteous works. As a result, he gets so engrossed in sins that they lead him to "disbelief' and thus the righteous deeds fail. Likewise hurting one's religious leader, teacher or spiritual guide is a sin that runs the risk of losing the Divine aid. Thus conducts such as "advancing before the Holy Prophet ﷺ "or" raising voices" are such sinful conducts that can cause the Divine help to be taken away. This situation eventually leads one to "disbelief' which destroys one's good works. Because the believer may not have intentionally performed the act of hurting, thus he would not even perceive how he got involved in the process of "disbelief', and "thwarting of good deeds". Some of the scholars have expressed the view that if someone has taken a righteous, holy person as his spiritual guide, then he shows disrespect 'to him, then such a person may suffer the same consequences: that is, sometimes it becomes the cause of Divine aid being removed and of incurring His wrath which eventually destroys the treasure of "faith". We seek refuge with Allah from it!

الَّذِينَ يُنَادُونَكَ مِن وَرَ‌اءِ الْحُجُرَ‌اتِ أَكْثَرُ‌هُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ (As for those who call you from behind the apartments, most of them lack understanding. - 49:4) In this verse, Allah Ta’ ala has mentioned a third etiquette about dealing with the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It is directed that when he is at home, one should not call him from outside. Particularly calling him by his name is an unmannered attitude. Reasonable persons would not do it. The term hujurat (translated above as 'apartments' ) is the plural of hujrah. Lexically, it refers to a four-walled apartment or dwelling, comprising a courtyard and a roofed building. In Madinah, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had nine wives. Each one of them had a separate apartment, where on different days, he used to stay in succession.

The Apartments of the Mothers of the Faithful

Ibn Sa'd on the authority of ` Ata' Al-Khurasani gives a description of these dwellings. He writes that these apartments were built of palm branches and their doors were covered with thick black woolen curtains. Imam Bukhari ؓ in Al-'Adab-ul- Mufrad and Baihaqi in his collection record that Dawud Ibn Qais reports that he had visited these "apartments" and estimated that from the door of the "apartment" to the roofed part of the building, it must be about seven cubits, the room about ten cubits and the height of the roof about eight cubits1. These apartments of the Mothers of the faithful were included in the Holy Prophet’ s ﷺ mosque during the reign of Walid Ibn ` Abd-ul-Malik at his own command. On that day in Madinah, people were lamenting and bewailing.

(1) One Cubit= about 18 inches

Occasion of Revelation

Imam Baghawi, on the authority of Qatadah (رح) reports that the delegation of Banu Tamim arrived in Madinah in the afternoon and came up to the Holy Prophet ﷺ when he was resting in one of his apartments. These bedouins were not acquainted with the social manners and etiquette of a civil society. They stood outside the apartment and called out: 0 Muhammad, come out to us! On this occasion, verse [ 4] was revealed (Musnad of Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and others record similar reports in differential wordings as quoted by Mazhari).

Additional Notes

The noble Companions ؓ and their followers showed the same respect and courtesy to their scholars and spiritual masters as enjoined by the Qur'an for the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It is recorded in Bukhari and other collections that when Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ wanted to inquire about any Prophetic Tradition from any knowledgeable Companion, he would go to his house and sit at the threshold without calling him or knocking at the door. He would wait there until the Companion himself comes out. When he came out on his own, he would ask him about the Tradition. However, the scholar himself would say to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas: "0 cousin of Allah's Messenger, why did you not knock at the door and inform me about your arrival?" Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ would reply: "A scholar in his community is like a prophet, and Allah has directed us that we should wait until he comes out on his own. Sayyidna Abu ` Ubaidah says, "I never knock on the door of any scholar at any time, but I wait until he himself has emerged and then meet him (Ruh-ul-Ma’ ani).

Ruling

In the clause of verse حَتَّىٰ تَخْرُ‌جَ إِلَيْهِمْ "...until you come out to them...49:5", the prepositional phrase ilaihim "to them" is a restrictive phrase, and it implies that people must wait until the Holy Prophet ﷺ emerges to talk to them, but if he has emerged for some other reason or purpose, even in this case it is not appropriate to talk to him. The speakers should wait until a suitable situation or occasion arises for them to speak: that is, they should speak about their particular issue when the Holy Prophet ﷺ turns his attention to them for that purpose.