2/25/2023

Islamic Studies and Ethics

Assignment No. 1
Submitted To: Sir Abdul Hamid
Submitted By: Muqadas Khalid
Roll No. 211441
 SURAH AL AHZAB
Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 6

Translation:
Surely the Prophet has a greater claim over the believers than they have over each other,12 and
his wives are their mothers.13 According to the Book of Allah, blood relatives have greater claim
over each other than the rest of the believers and the Emigrants (in the cause of Allah), except
that you may do some good to your allies (if you so wish).14 This is inscribed in the Book of
Allah.
Explanation:
The relationship of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with Muslims is more special than
any other relationship between people. No other relationship comes close to the love and care
that Muslims have for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His love and affection for
Muslims is much greater than the love and care that parents have for their children, even their
own selves. Parents can hurt their children, treat them badly, and mislead them, but the love and
care that Muslims have for Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) will always be good for
them. People can do things that lead to their own ruin and disaster, but the Prophet (peace be
upon him) will only wish for them the best for them. If this happens, the Prophet (peace be upon
him) has a right on the Muslims to be treated better than their own parents, children, and even
themselves. Muslims should love the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than anything and
anyone else, and they should prefer his judgment and opinion to their own. They should also
obey any commands he gives. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is special because
of the special relationship he has with God. This relationship means that his wives are forbidden
to the Muslims just like their own mothers, though their adoptive mothers are not their real
mothers. This is something that is only found with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
and no other man in the world.

Believers are under an obligation to show reverence and respect for the wives of the Prophet
Muhammad, but they are not like mothers in other ways. For example, apart from the relatives
who are real blood relatives, all other Muslims were considered to be non-mahram (unrelated) to
them, meaning they had to observe hijab (Islamic dress code for women that covers everything
except the face and hands) and their daughters were not considered to be sisters to the Muslims.
Brothers and sisters were also not considered to be maternal uncles and aunts. Finally, believers
could not inherit the wives of the Prophet Muhammad, even if they were a close relative.

Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 40

Translation:
Muhammad is not the father of any of your men,1 but is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of
the prophets. And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.
Explanation:
This one sentence was at the root of all those objections which the opponents were raising in
connection with this marriage of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Their first objection was that he had married his own daughter-in-law, whereas according to his
own law the son’s wife is forbidden for the father. This was answered by saying: “Muhammad is
not the father of any of your men.” That is, Zaid was not his real son, and so it was not unlawful
to marry his divorced wife.

Their second objection was that even if his adopted son was not his real son, it was not necessary
that he should have married his divorced wife. This was answered by saying: “But he is the
Messenger of Allah.” That is, it was his duty as the Messenger of Allah to put an end to all kinds
of prejudices about a lawful thing which custom and tradition had made unlawful without good
reason and declare it to be lawful once again.

The point was stressed by saying: “and (he is) the seal of the Prophets.” That is, not to speak of a
Messenger, no other Prophet would be raised after him, who could make up for a possible
deficiency in the enforcement of a reform in the law and society that might have been left un-
enforced in his time. Therefore, it had become even more necessary that he should himself root
out the custom of ignorance.

Again, to further emphasize this point, it was said: “Allah has knowledge of everything.” that is,
Allah knows best why it was imperative to get the custom of ignorance rooted out at that
juncture through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) rather than let it remain as it was.
He knows that no other prophet would be coming after him in the future; therefore, if He did not
abolish this custom through His last Prophet, no other person after him would be able to abolish
it for all the Muslims of the world for ever. Even if the later reformers would abolish it, no action
of any one of them will have the permanent and universal authority behind it so that the people
of every country and every age might start following it, and none of them would have a
personality endowed with that holiness and sanctity that an action’s being merely his way
(Sunnah) might root out every feeling of aversion and abhorrence from the mind of the people.

Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 56

Translation:

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet. O you who have believed, you also
should ask and send blessings and peace on him.

Explanation:

 Allah’s sending His blessings on His Prophet, means this: Allah is very kind to His Prophet
(peace be upon him): He praises him, blesses his work, exalts his name, and showers His mercy
on him. Blessings of the angels, means: They love the Prophet (peace be upon him) most dearly
and pray to Allah to bless him with the highest ranks, cause his religion and Shariah to flourish
and exalt him to the laudable position. One can clearly see from the context, why this thing has
been said here. This was the time when the enemies of Islam were making all sorts of false
allegations against the Prophet (peace be upon him) in order to satisfy their jealousy on the
success of faith. By sullying him, they thought they would destroy his moral influence through
which Islam and the Muslims were gaining more and more ground every day. Such were the
conditions when Allah sent down this verse, as if warn the people: “However hard the
disbelievers and the hypocrites and the polytheists might try to vilify and slander My Prophet
(peace be upon him) with a view to frustrating his mission, they are bound to suffer disgrace and
humiliation in the end, for I am kind to him, and the angels, who are administering the entire
universe, are his supporters and admirers. His enemies cannot gain anything by their
condemnation of him because I am exalting his name and My angels are adoring him constantly.
They cannot harm him by their mean machinations when My mercy and blessings are with him,
and My angels pray for him day and night to the effect: “O Lord of the worlds, raise Muhammad
(peace be upon him) to even higher ranks and make his religion flourish and prosper.”
Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 57

Translation:

Indeed, those who abuse Allah and his Messenger-Allah has cursed them in this world and the
hereafter and prepared for them a humiliating punishment.

Explanation:

To cause harm to Allah” implies two things: That Allah should be disobeyed, that an attitude of
disbelief and shirk and atheism be adopted with regard to Him, and that things made unlawful by
Him be made lawful; and that His Messenger be troubled, for just as obedience to the Messenger
is obedience to Allah, so is opposition and disobedience of the Messenger opposition and
disobedience of Allah.

Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 58

Translation:
And the ones who hurt male believers and female believers without that they have earned it then
they have readily burdened themselves calumny and evident vice.

Explanation:

This verse determines the definition of slander. It is to ascribe a fault to a person which he does
not have, or an error which he has not committed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also has
explained it. According to Abu Daud and Tirmidhi, when he was asked as to what is ghibat
(backbiting), he replied: “It is to make mention of your brother in a manner derogatory to him.”
The questioner said, “And if the fault is there in my brother?” The Prophet (peace be upon him)
replied: “If the fault that you mentioned is there in him, you backbite him; if it is not there, you
slandered him.” Such an act is not only a moral sin, which will entail punishment in the
Hereafter, but this verse also requires that also in the law of an Islamic State false allegation
should be held as a culpable offense.

SURAH AL-HUJURAT

Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 1

T
ranslation:

Believers do not advance before Allah and His Messenger,[1] and fear Allah. Verily Allah is All-
Hearing, All-Knowing

Explanation:
This is the foremost and basic demand of the faith. If the person who regards Allah as his Lord
and accepts Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as his guide and leader, is true in his belief,
he can never have the attitude that he should give his own opinion and view precedence over the
decision of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), or should adopt an independent
opinion in the matters, and pass his own judgments without caring to find out whether Allah and
His Messenger have given any guidance in those matters or not, and if they have given it, what it
is. That is why it has been said: O you who believe, do not put (yourselves) before Allah and His
Messenger (peace be upon him). That is, do not go ahead of them, but follow behind. Do not
precede them but be subordinate to them.

Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 2

Translation:

Believers do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet and when speaking to him do
not speak aloud as you speak aloud to one another,[3] lest all your deeds are reduced to nothing
without your even realizing it.

Explanation:

This is the etiquette that was taught to the people who sat among the audience of the Prophet
(peace be upon him) or came to visit him. Its intention was that the believers should treat the
Prophet (peace be upon him) with the highest respect and reverence when visiting him and
talking to him. Nobody should raise his voice louder than his. The people should not be
unmindful of the fact that they are addressing the Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah, and
not a common man, or a person of equal rank. Therefore, there should be a marked difference
between one’s tone of conversation with the common people and one’s tone of conversation with
the Prophet (peace be upon him), and no one should talk to him in a voice louder than his.

Although this etiquette was taught for sitting in the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) assembly and
its addressees were the people who were living in his time, the people of the later ages should
also observe the same respect and reverence on the occasion when the Prophet’s name is
mentioned, or a command of his is stated, or his sayings are explained. Besides, this verse also
points out what attitude the people should adopt when talking to persons of a higher rank and
status than themselves. A person’s talking before the men of a higher rank in a way as he talks
before his friends or the common men, is in fact a sign that he has no respect for them in his
heart, and he does not recognize any difference between them and the common people.

Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 3

Translation:
The ones who lower their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah are those whose
hearts Allah has tested for God-fearing.[5] Theirs shall be forgiveness and a great reward.
Explanation:

That is, only those people give due reverence to the Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah,
who have passed successfully through the tests and trials set by Allah and proved by their
steadfastness that their hearts indeed possess taqwa (piety). From this, it follows automatically
that the heart which is devoid of reverence for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is, in fact, devoid
of taqwa, and a person’s raising his voice louder than the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) is not
only an uncivilized act outwardly but also a sign of the absence of taqwa in his heart.
Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 4

Translation:

Surely most of those who call out to you, (O Prophet), from behind the apartments, are devoid of
understanding.

Explanation:

The ninth year of the Islamic calendar is called 'The year of delegations' because delegations
from all over Arabia arrived in Madinah to embrace Islam and pledge their loyalty to the
Prophet. The surah refers to an incident that took place that year when the delegation of Tamim
arrived. These were unrefined Bedouins. They shouted to the Prophet from outside his wives'
apartments that were situated next to the mosque: "Muhammad, come out and speak to us!" The
Prophet disliked their uncivilized manner. Thus does God describe most of them as being
without reason. He censures their calling out to the Prophet in a way that is contrary to the sort of
respect that should be shown to God's Messenger, the leader and educator of the community of
believers. He explains to them that it better behaved them to wait patiently until the Prophet
came out to them of his own accord. Furthermore, the surah highlights to them the value of
repentance, making it clear that they should seek God's forgiveness and pray to Him to bestow
His mercy on them.

Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 5

Translation:

If they were patient until you went out to them, that would have been better for them.  Allah is
[6]

Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Explanation:

The people who in the blessed time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) had received training in
Islamic etiquette and manners under the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself had a full regard
for his person. They fully realized how busy he remained in performing the mission entrusted to
him by Allah. They also understood well that during those tiresome activities he must necessarily
have some time for rest, time for his important occupations and time for attending to his
domestic affairs. Therefore, they would come to visit him only at the time when he was available
outside his house, and if ever they did not find him outside his living quarters among his
companions, they would sit and await his emergence and would avoid giving him the trouble of
coming out of his house unless there was a special need for it. But many a time it so happened
that the people from far flung areas, who had had no opportunity to receive training in good
manners, would come to visit the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the idea that the one who
invited others to Allah and was working for the reformation of the people had no right to have
rest at any time, and they had the right to visit and see him any time they pleased in the day or
night and it was his duty that whenever they happened to arrive, he should be ready to receive
them. Some of these people who came to see the Prophet (peace be upon him) from different
parts of Arabia were so uncouth and impolite that they would not take the trouble to inform him
of their arrival through some attendant but would start shouting from outside the apartments of
his wives to call him out. Several such incidents have been reported by the companions in the
Hadith. This sort of behavior troubled him much, but he was tolerant on account of his natural
clemency. At last, Allah had to intervene, who reproved the people for their uncivilized behavior
and gave this instruction: Whenever they came to see the Prophet (peace be upon him) and did
not find him, they should wait for him patiently until he came out to them himself, instead of
shouting to call him out, from the house.