Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Halaqah #12 - 3/7/07

Verse 4:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُنَادُونَكَ مِن وَرَاء الْحُجُرَاتِ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ

Surely, those who shout out to thee from without the inner apartments - most of them lack understanding.


Surely, verily

إِنَّ

those who

الَّذِينَ

call you

يُنَادُونَكَ

from

مِن

behind, beyond

وَرَاء

the dwellings/rooms

الْحُجُرَاتِ

most of them

أَكْثَرُهُمْ

do not have sense

لَا يَعْقِلُونَ


The name of the surah is mentioned in this verse = الْحُجُرَاتِ

يُنَادُونَكَ = call, calls; you (this ‘you’ refers to Prophet Muhammad (sallahu aliahyi wa salaam))

الْحُجُرَاتِ = reference to the blessed rooms of Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam)

Al-Aqra' ibn Haabis reported that once he and a group of Bedouins had gone behind the Prophet's house and began shouting his name. They didn’t know which of the nine one-room apartments the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) was staying in so they went out behind the house and began calling out to the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam). Although the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) didn’t approve of their manners, he stayed quiet. Then they shouted out, “O Muhammad, verily, my praise is sweet and my curse is bitter.” (Meaning for anyone to deserve our praise, it is good for him. And when we discredit someone, we ruin them). The Prophet then replied, “Only Allah is like that.” It is only when Allah praises someone, does that honor become worthy of praise. These Bedouins behavior was not intended to purposely disrespect the Prophet (sallahu alaihyi wa salaam) but was merely a part of their harsh manners which had evolved from their harsh desert life. Thereafter, this verse was revealed to reprimand them and to teach the Muslims how to deal with their leaders.


Shouting out to a Muslim leader from outside his residence shows disrespect for his person, his time, and his engagements. Yes, Muslim leaders should be readily accessible, BUT they should be approached respectfully and their right to privacy should be respected. This also applies for all Muslims when dealing with each other. If we want to visit or contact another Muslim, we should knock or ring the bell up to three times and if no reply after the third knock/ring, we should just leave.


In a statement of the Prophet (sallahu alaiyhi wa salaam) reported by the Sahaabee, Abu Sa’eed al-khudree, “If any of you seeks permission (to enter a house) and no permission is given, he should return (home).”

When Allah condemns an act, He always guides to the correct action thereafter. In this verse (verse four), Allah condemned the Bedouins who called out to the Prophet in such a manner. Following it, in verse five, Allah explained how to improve upon this characteristic by describing the appropriate behavior to have with the Prophet.