Al-Hujurat 49:13–18

All of Mankind are the Children of 'Adam and Hawwa' (علیہما السلام)

In the preceding verses, six social evils in connection with human and Islamic rights were prohibited, and principles of good manners were laid down to be observed in social life. The current verse proceeds to set down the basis of an all-comprehensive and all-pervading principle of human equality. It has firmly laid the axe at the false and foolish notions of superiority, born of racial arrogance or national conceit. All men have been created from a single male ['Adam (علیہ السلام) ] and a single female [ Hawwa' (علیہا السلام) ] as human beings. Therefore, all people are the descendants of 'Adam and Hawwa' (علیہما السلام) and have been declared equal in the sight of Allah. No one is allowed to take pride nor to degrade others on the basis of pigment of his skin, the amount of wealth he possesses or by his rank or by his social status, descent or pedigree, but by his moral uprightness and the way he discharges his obligations to Allah and man. The entire human race is but one family. Division into nations, tribes and sub-tribes of all sizes, and races is meant only to give a better identification of one another.

Circumstances of Revelation

This verse was revealed on the occasion of the conquest of Makkah. When it was time for prayer, the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked Sayyidna Bilal ؓ to call the adhan. One of the pagan Quraish cynically remarked:

Thank God that my father died before this happened, and he did not have to see this bad day. Harith Ibn Hisham remarked: Could Muhammad not find anyone better than this black crow to sound the adhan in the Sacred Mosque! Abu Sufyan said: I do not wish to utter anything for fear that the master of the heavens will inform him. Thus Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) came down and informed the Holy Prophet ﷺ about this conversation. The Holy Prophet ﷺ called them and asked them about it. They admitted. At this, the current verse was revealed.

Taqwa of Allah is the basis of Honour

This verse made it plain that human beings can earn honour on account of their faith and righteousness. The immediate application of the verse was to Sayyidna Bilal ؓ ، and therefore the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to those people: You are empty (i.e. you have no moral leg to stand on.) Sayyidna Bilal ؓ ، on the other hand, is equipped (with high moral qualities); and he is better and more honourable than any of you." [ Baghawi, as cited in Mazhari ]. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ reports that on the day when Makkah was conquered, the Holy Prophet ﷺ performed tawaf (circumambulation of Ka'bah) in the state of riding on his she-camel, [ so that all the people could see him ]. Then having completed his tawaf, he delivered a sermon in which he said:

الحمد للہ اذھب عنکم عبّیۃ الجاھلیۃ تکتبّرھا۔ الناس رجلان برّ تقّی کریم علی اللہ وفاجر شقی ھین علی اللہ ثمّ تلا : یٰٓایُّھَا النَّاس اِنّا خلَقنٰکُم (ترمذی و بغوی)

"0 people! Allah has removed from you the pride of Jahiliyyah and its arrogance. People are of two types: a man who is righteous, fearful of Allah and he is honourable to Allah; or a man who is sinful, wretched, and he is disgraced and little to Allah [ Tirmidhi and Baghawi ]."

Then he recited the current verse.

Sayyidna Ibn-` Abbas ؓ says: For people "honour" lies in wealth, whilst in the sight of Allah it lies in righteousness.

Analysis of Important Words in the Verse

The word Shu` ub is the plural of Sha'b which refers to a large group of persons of the same origin, (like a nation). Then it consists of clans and tribes. The largest group in this arrangement is called sa'b, and the smallest is called ` ashirah. Abu Ruwaq says that the words Shu` ub and Sha'b refer to non-Arab nations whose lineage is not preserved, whilst qabail refers to Arabs whose lineage is well-preserved. The word asbat is used to refer to the children of Israel.

Lineal, National and Linguistic Division of Mankind:

The Underlying Divine Wisdom is identification

The Qur'an in this verse has made it clear that Allah has created all mankind from a single mother and a single father, and made them into a single brotherhood. But he has divided them into different tribes, nations, races, lineage and language-speakers/linguistic groups. The underlying Divine wisdom in such a division is mutual identification. For example, if there are two persons bearing the same name, they could be differentiated by family name. It can also show the near and remote relations. Their Shari rights can be fulfilled on the basis of near and distant lineage. It is incumbent to determine the near and remote agnate heirs when applying the law of succession or dividing the estate of a deceased. In short, reference to one's lineage for the purpose of identification is not deemed to be pride and conceit.

Sequence of Verses in the Surah

In the preceding verses of the Surah it was stated that the basis of honour in the sight of Allah is righteousness which is an inner quality, and Allah alone knows it. It is improper for any man to claim self-sanctification. In the current set of verses, it is stated, on account of a particular incident, that the real basis of faith is the inner acceptance of the heart. Mere lip-service to faith does not count the person as a faithful believer. In the entire Surah, first the rights of the Prophet were set out and then the rules of how to respect and honour him. Next the individual and collective rights and rules of mannerism were set down to be applied in social life. Now at the conclusion of the Surah it is reiterated that in the Hereafter good deeds will be accepted and rewarded on the basis of faith, sincere belief of the heart and obedience to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ .

Circumstances of Revelation

According to Imam Baghawi, this verse was revealed in connection with the tribe of Banu Asad. A few members of that tribe came up to the Holy Prophet ﷺ in Madinah during a severe drought. These people were not sincere believers. They had expressed their Islam merely to demand financial help from the Muslim Sadaqat funds. As they were not believers in the real sense of the word, they were unaware of Islamic injunctions and manners. They spread filth and excrement on the streets of Madinah. In the marketplaces they increased the prices of necessary items. First they made a false claim of faith in the presence of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، second they wanted to deceive him; and third they regarded their Islam as a favour to him. They said: "We embraced Islam without any conflict: we did not fight against you as did other tribes for a length of time and then they became Muslims; therefore you should value us." This was a sort of disrespect to the Messenger ﷺ ، because they considered their Islam as a favour to him. Their sole purpose was to derive financial aid from the Muslim Sadaqat funds, enrich themselves and eradicate their poverty. True and sincere faith is the most precious possession of a Muslim. By accepting Islam, he does no show a favour to anybody; on the contrary, it is a favour of Allah that he is guided to the Truth. On this occasion, the current set of verses was revealed in which their false claim is refuted and they have been taken to task for boasting of their so-called kindness and favour conferred upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

وَلَٰكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا ('...Say, 'We have surrendered'- 49:14). They had not achieved the reality of faith. Thus they were claiming falsely to be Muslims on the basis of their outward actions. The Qur'an first negates their false claim of faith: You cannot claim "amanna" ['We have come to believe']; the most you can say is "aslamna" ['We have surrendered'], because the literal meaning of Islam is to recite the kalimah of Islam, enter the fold of the religion and surrender. Obviously, being devoid of the true spirit, this kind of Islam is mere superficial, not real and total. As far as faith is concerned, it is related to the real belief by heart. Therefore, mere verbal claim or lip-profession is meaningless, if it is not supported by the heart.

Lexical and Technical Analysis of the Concepts "Islam" and "’ Iman"

The foregoing discussion clarifies that the term "Islam" in this verse bears the literal meaning of outward submission and not the technical sense. Therefore, the verse does not show the technical difference between the terms "Islam" and "’ Iman". The two terms, technically, connote different senses. "’ Iman", in the technical sense of Shari’ ah, refers to the belief by heart and thus connotes a firm and unshakable belief in the Oneness of Allah and in His ﷺ . "Islam", on the other hand, stands for complete surrender and obedience to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ . However, "Islam" and "Iman" of a person need to complement each other. In Shari’ ah, the belief of the heart must manifest itself by performing deeds outwardly, the least degree of which is to proclaim the kalimah of Islam verbally. But the outward performance of deeds is not recognised by Shari’ ah unless the faith goes deep down into his heart. Otherwise it would be hypocrisy. Thus in the original and final analysis "Islam" and "'Iman" are different concepts. "Iman" is the inner quality of the heart and manifests outwardly whilst "Islam" starts out in outward actions and culminates in the inner sincere affirmation of the heart. But in terms of their goal, they are mutually necessary and complementary in that "Iman" without "Islam" is not possible, nor is "Islam" possible without "man". Hence, it is not true to say that "Muslim" and "Mu'min" are antonyms and mutually contradictory concepts. In Shari` ah, it is not possible for a person to be a "Muslim" but not a "Mu'min" or be a "Mu'min" but not a "Muslim". However, this is possible only lexically, as is the case of all hypocrites who used to be treated like Muslims, because of their outward obedience of Islamic injunctions, but their hearts were devoid of sincere faith, belief and affirmation. They were not believers. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best.

Alhamdulillah

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Surah Al-Hujurat

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