Al-Hujurat

To hold one’s opinion superior to that of the Prophet is forbidden. During the life of the Prophet Muhammad, this attitude on the part of an addressee took the shape of indulgence in verbosity at his meetings, the object being to excel the Prophet’s discourse. Subsequently, this meant the forming of opinions in disregard of the guiding principles laid down by God and His Prophet. This sort of lapse occurs because man forgets that God is keeping a watch over him. If he came to know that his utterances reached God before they reached other human beings, he would prefer to remain silent rather than talk.

The Bedouin tribes from the areas surrounding Madinah were not mature in understanding. When they used to come to the meetings of the Prophet Muhammad, they did not address him as ‘O Prophet of God’, but rather as ‘O Muhammad.’ Their manner of speech was not modest or humble, but overbearing. Such behaviour was prohibited. A Prophet is God’s representative in this world. Rudeness to him of this nature amounts to rude behaviour towards God, which renders a man absolutely worthless. After the demise of the Prophet Muhammad, the guidance brought by him stands in his place. Now this divine guidance necessitates obedience just as obedience to the Prophet personally was required during his lifetime. Fear of God makes a man serious. If fear of God really enters a man’s heart, he will come to know automatically, as a matter of instinct, all those realities of which others remain unaware in spite of being informed of them.

If anyone provides information about another which takes the form of allegations against the latter, ready acceptance of this news on simply hearing it is absolutely against the precautions imposed by the Faith. It is essential on the part of the hearer of the news to make the necessary investigation about it, and whatever opinion he forms should be after impartial inquiry and not before. It frequently happens that when information of this kind is received, there are immediate suggestions of taking punitive action. This is a case of gross irresponsibility. Nobody should form any opinion about such news before investigation; nor should others suggest direct action without a thorough probe. Those who tread the path of righteousness and guidance develop an entirely different temperament from those who do not. They are averse to levelling allegations against others. They prefer to remain silent rather than talk about a supposed misdemeanour which is as yet uninvestigated. Being of such a nature is an indication of their having been blessed with a share in God’s Graces. The Faith that has really permeated their lives now is being acknowledged in verbal form.

How should Muslims live and behave with each other? The short answer to this question is that they should live with each other as brothers. A religious relationship is in no way less important than a blood relationship. If two Muslims quarrel with each other, other Muslims should never add fuel to the fire. On the contrary, under the influence of brotherly feelings, they should make every effort to bring about a compromise between the two. If two Muslims quarrel with each other, one alternative is for other Muslims to adopt a neutral posture. If they do intervene, or their family or group cause them to take the side of their ‘own’ people and fight against the other ‘alien’ people, either course is contrary to Islamic principles. The right Islamic way is to investigate the real issue, and the one who is right should be supported and the one in the wrong should be compelled to accept a just solution to the problem. One who fears God can never relish the sight of people fighting with each other. In fact, he will be extremely uneasy at such a sight, and his true nature will compel him to make efforts to improve relations between the two parties. These are the people whose faith in God causes the opening of the door to God’s graces.

From birth, there is hidden in every man an instinct to be ‘great’. That is why, if a man finds some weakness in another man, he makes a point of highlighting it, so that in this way he may prove himself to be great and the other small. He ridicules the other person, finds fault with him and calls him by insulting nicknames, in order to satisfy his instinct for self-aggrandisement. But the criterion of goodness or badness is not that which an individual himself decides upon. One is really good who is good in the eyes of God and one is bad if he is adjudged bad in the eyes of God. If a man really develops these feelings in himself, he will lose the desire to be known as ‘great’. Ridiculing others, finding fault with others, giving nicknames to others will all become meaningless to him, because he will come to know that a man’s true status and position are actually going to be determined by God. He will then ponder over the fact that if he considers anyone as small in this world and if later, in the real world of the Hereafter, he (the latter) is treated as worthy of respect, his way of thinking will prove to be absolutely meaningless.

If a man harbours suspicion against another, everything about the latter appears wrong to him, for his mind starts drifting in negative and wrong directions. He starts searching for his shortcomings rather than his good points. It becomes his favourite ploy to describe his weaknesses and then to denigrate him. The root of many social evils is unfounded suspicion. It is therefore necessary for man to be alert to this. He should not allow such suspicion to enter his mind. If you are suspicious of someone, you can always meet him and talk frankly to him. But, it would be highly unethical to speak ill of a person, if he was not there to defend himself. An individual may occasionally make such mistakes. But, if he is God-fearing, he will not persist in doing so. His fear of God will warn him about his mistake and consequently he will give up his wrong approach and seek God’s pardon.

Human beings differ from each other in many ways, notably in terms of race and place of origin—some are black, some are white, some are from the rain forests, some are from the tundra. But all these differences are for the purpose of identification—not for the making of distinctions. Indeed, many evils have stemmed from these differences being used to discriminate between one person and another, between one community and another, between one nation and another. Humanity has been eternally torn asunder by such prejudice. Human beings, in view of their origin, are all one. Among them, if at all there is any basis for distinction, it is as to who is fearful of God and who is not. Even this is known only to God and not to any human being.

There were many small tribes around the Madinah township. After the immigration of the Prophet to Madinah, these people embraced Islam. But their embracing of Islam was not the result of any deep mental revolution. In the eyes of God, the person who genuinely adopts the faith of Islam is one who discovers Islam as a reality and enshrines it in the depths of his heart. Those who accept the Faith of God in this manner acquire eternal conviction. Their steadfastness is such they are ready to make any sacrifice. One may perform some righteous deed then think it necessary to announce the fact, but such announcement actually has a nullifying effect. A truly righteous deed is one which is done purely for the sake of God. As God Himself knows everything, where is the necessity to advertise it?

If anyone embraces Islam or some Islamic task is accomplished through him, he should realize that this has come about with the help of God. Faith and good deeds all depend on God’s directive guidance. So, whenever somebody is in a position to do something good, he should thank God for it. If, instead of so doing, the individual attempts to make his co-religionists feel obliged to him for what he has done, this would amount to his having acted not out of concern for God, but in order to figure well in the eyes of his fellow-men. God is directly aware of everything. One who performs any task for the sake of God, should firmly believe that God sees his work, and that there is no need to show it to Him.