Surah al-Hujarat The Foundation of Good Character

How'd you like my dad?

Last week we spoke about the importance of a HELOC of developing an Islamic character and developing Islamic manners. And he said that this is a lifelong struggle that every Muslim should be focusing all the time on how can I improve my character and my manners and become a better person? One of the sutras in the Quran that focuses on this topic is Surah Al hoogenraad. And what I want to do today is just to go through some of the verses of the surah. So we can get some idea of the type of character that ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala expects of us. So Surah Al hoogenraad, is the 14th ninth chapter in the Quran. And it is a Medina and Surah. And it's very clear from the reasons for

revelation. And it gets its name from the word hoogenraad, which translates as rooms or homes. And this is referring to the home of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he did not have a big house like how we have today. Rather, for each of his wives, he had individual rooms attached to the masjid. So these we call the puja rot, the homes of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, or the rooms of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Now, the context behind the revelation of the surah is that a lot of Bedouin Arabs had converted to Islam. And the Bedouins in general were not refined in their character and manners, they tend to be a bit

more rough, a bit more vulgar, but more harsh, didn't have the refined character that you'd expect from the city people. So what happened was a lot of these Bedouins converted to Islam, and they began to interact with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salam in ways that were not befitting of the believer. So Allah subhanho wa taala, revealed the surah in which he lays out the character and manners that is expected from the believer.

And it and it relates to one specific incident where when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam would be in his house, or in any of his, his rooms with his wives, and one of the bedrooms would want to speak to him, they would scream outside, they would stand outside and obviously they would know in which house is in. So they would stand outside his hoogenraad his homes, and they will scream, yar Mohammed ja Muhammad. So this was something that irritated the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam, and was considered disrespectful, even in the sight of Allah subhanho wa Taala that an entire student was revealed, in which Allah subhanaw taala says, Yeah, you Khaled Xena, Manu Latifah

was water control costs. So didn't there be Oh, you who believe Do not raise your voice above the voice of the Prophet, Do not raise your voice above the voice of the Prophet. There are many lessons we can take from this. Number one is that obviously for the Sahaba it meant in front of the prophets like some wild alive, they had to speak to him in a moderate way in a very polite way. Right. And for us, it means that we should have the same respect for the legacy of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, which is the Hadith and the Sierra and the Sunnah. And it also means that this is how we should interact with the people have knowledge. And then a wasp a handler says, well let hula hula

be the goalie. gudja Honey Bunny combinado don't speak to him harshly, like how you speak to each other. Don't speak to him harshly, like how you speak to each other. You know, men in general, we've got this bad habit that is not really a bad habit, it's more of a thing where when with our friends, we tend to be a bit more rougher, a bit more blunt, a bit more harsh, you know, we tend to have a way of talking. That's very,

very blunt. And Allah is saying it's fine to talk to each other like that. But when you were the Prophet sallallahu wasallam, you need to be a bit more refined in how you speak. You need to be a bit more composed and respectful of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam minister is especially important for the Bedouins because, you know, the average man has a very blunt and roughly speaking, the way of the Bedouins was much, much more rougher and harsher. So again, Allah subhanaw taala says about the Bedouins themselves who were screaming, she didn't he turns it around, right? So first Allah is giving the Bedouin Arabs the expectations from them. But then he addresses the Prophet

salAllahu alayhi wasallam and he says something very important, he says, in the Ladino EULA, do not call me Whoa, whoa, Joe jurati accelero Hula you afternoon. This is where the word which word comes from. He tells the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, those who are screaming for you, those who are shouting for you from outside your homes, they don't understand. They don't understand meaning. Have good thoughts about your Muslim brother. Right? So it's a two way thing that the average Muslim needs to have that respect for the Allama and for the Prophet salallahu Salam and for the elders

By the same time, you're going to encounter people who haven't been taught manners and character. So instead of being angry with them for being disrespectful, keep this verse in mind and tell yourself they don't understand. Maybe they never got me but maybe nobody taught him how to speak nicely. So both sides are being addressed, right that the Prophet sallallahu Alaihe Salam is being told that these people don't understand, so go easy on them. And these people are being told that's not how you talk to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam refine your speech. So the opening verses focus specifically on our character with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. But then he goes on to

other aspects of character related to the general OMA and the next verse, verse number six deals with a different incident. And this incident states that there was a Sahabi, who was sent out to collect Zakah from a nearby village. And he somehow came to a misunderstanding that the people of that village had a post stated and we're coming to find the Muslims. And so he went back to Medina, and he told the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam this and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gathered an army to go and find those people. But before he could find those people, Allah revealed this verse clarifying that this person was wrong. And in this verse, He revealed a very important

principle, a principle we must apply today. And this principle is you Halina Manu injure confronts a winnable infant W. O you who believe when someone brings you a rumor or a slander or a gossip about anybody else, whatever your new, verified information, if anyone brings you any kind of slander, or gossip, or information about somebody else, the way you're new verify the information. Why and receive a call mean be Jehovah din, what used to be for Illuminati mean, if you don't verify the information, you might have someone unknowingly and regret it tomorrow? How often do we fall into this? How often somebody would follow the message on WhatsApp or you know, somebody would share

something on social media and we all fall with it and we all believe it. And we all think the worst of someone and then later it comes to light that he was a fake message.

The easiest way to avoid all of this, follow the instructions of this verse for W verify information, someone sends you a message saying so and so, did this once you did that, this person believes this this person is like that, verify the information, do not spread gossip, if you spread gossip, you are guilty of the sin yourself. And Allah subhanaw taala wants to say if you spread gossip, even if later on you learn that you are wrong, that the damage is already done, the damage is already done to the other person's reputation. And I was it for to see who alarm of auto Nadi mean, you will regret it tomorrow you will regret having hurt somebody else. The topic then changes

in the Surah. To brotherhood. And this surah takes a very realistic approach to brotherhood, because Brotherhood or who are you know, many of us have this unrealistic idea that because Muslims are brothers, we are always going to be united. Right? But the Quran takes a realistic approach to brotherhood and says that you are all brothers, but sometimes brothers are going to fight. Sometimes brothers are going to have disputes. What do you do in the case when your brother's your Muslim brothers are fighting each other? So the next two verses lay out for us the character and manners of dealing of this with disputes between Muslims. And so Allah subhanaw taala tells us we're in for

Ivatan me Dr. Lu for us. Neihu Bina Houma. If two groups are Muslim, start fighting each other. What should you do for us legal baignoire make peace between them. You see two groups of Muslims getting into an argument starting to split up, whether it's within a family or within a community or between two countries. The job of those who have any influence is for Asli Hubei nakoma. Make peace between them, reconciled between them, try to get them to stop fighting each other. But what if someone persists? What if you try to make peace and someone is being genuinely oppressive and aggressive to the Muslim brother? What's up Hunter says we're in Belgrade ha ha Oakura recorded on the Wi Fi Are

you the umbrella if one of them oppresses the other, fight the oppressor until they come back to the straight part, fight the oppressor until they come back to the three part and then Allah subhanaw taala lays out for us the general principle of brotherhood. He says in Amman, we know that if one for Asli, who been awakened, all of the believers are brothers and sisters. So maintain peace and make peace and reconcile between the believers. So these verses lay out for us a very realistic way of dealing with each other. We are brothers, we are all one Oma. We must strive for peace. We must strive for unity. We must strive for loving each other, but sometimes there will be disputes.

Sometimes there will be arguments. Sometimes they will be hostility between Muslims. When that happens, you should try and mediate. You should

Try and make peace between both groups. And if you can't do that, then at least don't side with the oppressor, at least stand up against the oppressor. And these verses, we find that they were applied by the Sahaba in a variety of different ways during the civil wars. So, you know, this idea of brothers fighting brothers, it started even with the first generation, and they were civil wars took place in a time of the sahaba. And what you will find in the time of the Sahaba, when the civil wars took place, the approach of the middle part right of the Obama was to avoid picking sides. So Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Amara, Saudi bin Abi Waqqas, Saeed bin Zayed, Osama bin Zayed, all

of these big names Sahaba. Whenever they were civil wars between the Sahaba they went in their homes, they closed the door, they refused to get involved. If they got involved, you have to try and make peace between both sides. They did not getting involved in wisdom, citing Muslims, and they see this is the best way to deal when there is hostility between Muslims don't become part of the hostility, try to make peace or stay out of it.

So these are some of the characters and manners that Allah Subhana Allah has commanded for us in Surah Al gerat. This is a very important surah and I highly recommend that every Muslim family take time to study the sutra study the Arabic study the translation studies in the field, discuss it as a family and implemented in your home. The sutra teaches us to respect our our teachers and our elders, the surah teaches us to have refined manners. The Surah teaches us to verify information not to spend slander and gossip, the surah teaches us to be brotherly towards each other and to make peace when there is disputes between us. There are three more verses from the surah that I wish to

discuss. We will do so in Escobar to handle Robin Robin is at the mercy Boone was salam ala mousseline with hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alameen.

hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala manga and Abby about the AMA bad for inner circle Hadith Nikita Bula. Well, you heard you heard the Mohammed in Salah Allahu alayhi wa salam was shadow Morimoto as to how cool and what the certain beads were cool a bit of Cinderella or kulula Jinping. Now, the next three verses of Surah hoogenraad verses 1112 and 13 lay out for us the prohibitions in the field of o'clock. o'clock is not just about doing certain things. It's also about avoiding certain things. And this is the area where many of us fall short. We focus on what to do, we so often forget what to avoid. And so in these verses, Allah subhanho wa Taala lists out for us six things you must

stay away from if you want to have good o'clock. And so it begins with you. Hola, Xena. Amanu la Yes, Quan comin comin Assa Minho? Well, then he saw me in the sign as a Yagoona Hiram in Hoonah.

Allah is one that says no group of people should mock, or look down upon or ridicule another group of people, because they might be better than you. And no group of woman should mock or ridicule or look down upon another group of women, because they might be better than you. So this verse prohibits mocking and looking down upon people. Right? And someone may ask, why did it single out woman is singled out don't because of the context of the reason for revelation that this verse was revealed on an occasion where some of the woman in Medina were mocking another woman for being from a Jewish tribe. And you're walking another woman for being too short. So in the context of of that

going on in the community, Allah singled them out in the verse, and he said, Nobody should do this. Right. And then he mentioned woman specifically because in that time, at that place, it was a group of women who were doing that, right. But the the rule applies to everyone. You cannot pick on someone for the height, you cannot pick on someone for how they look, you cannot pick on someone for the family they came from, or the economic background, anything like that. mocking people in Islam is completely prohibited. This is something that is a very important part of our culture. We are not supposed to mock people. And in this DNA walking people has become normalized, especially on the

internet. With meme culture. We all would tick tick tock videos, people are mocking everyone else. They mock their own parents they mock, you know, public figures, they mock someone who who may have been caught on camera making a weird face and everyone's mocking that person. No one there was thinking about a person's feelings. Be careful, we don't fall into this trap. Part of the refined character of the believer we do not mock people. We do not pick pick on how people look or how their how tall or short they are, or anything like that. Link to not mocking people. The next part of the verse next prohibition, while at the NAB as we'll build our co op do not call each other by

offensive nicknames. Right Do not call each other by offensive nicknames. Now this verse, many people miss it.

The standard, many people think this verse means do not call people by any nicknames. Right now we're talking about offensive nicknames. Meaning, if you have a nickname for your friend, or your family member that they like, absolutely fine to call them, right? Nothing wrong whatsoever, right. But if you use a nickname for someone that they find hurtful, you know, when you have a friend, everyone calls him fatty. And he doesn't like being called fat, right, or everyone called him shorty. And they've been called short. This becomes a sin. It is sinful to use hurtful names for people, it is sinful to use names for people that they find hurtful. So be very careful. You know,

sometimes we, we don't think about this, that everyone gets used to quoting someone by a specific name, and we don't ever think like, Are they okay with it, but the Quran is calling on us to ask them. Are you okay with this, and then to refine our speech and not calling them by such names. The next verse highlights three prohibitions. And what's interesting about these three prohibitions is if you apply the first one, automatically apply the second and third one, because one of these sins leads to the next. So Allah subhanaw taala, rules out three prohibited he rules down three prohibitions here, all of which are sins that lead to other sins. And he tells us Yeah, you have a

Xena Amanu Oh, those who believe it's Danny McCarthy Ramadan in Ibadan, ism. Beware of suspicion, because very often your suspicion is a sin. Well, that just says you do not spy do not invade people's privacy while you're

there and do not backbite each other. Are you Hebrew?

Does any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? No, you dislike it. This is the metaphor for backbiting eating the flesh of your of your dead brother. Three prohibitions number one, do not have an unwarranted suspicion of people. Do not be the kind of person who whenever you meet someone, you assume the worst of them. Right? This verse is prohibiting Sudan and encouraging Hussein Assad. When you meet people do not assume the worst of them assume the best of them. You don't go around thinking I think this person has a secret. I think this person has the secrets. I think that person's gonna fake I think this person's a diva. I think that person's a coffee. Right? Don't go

around with these thoughts in your head. These thoughts will consume you these thoughts will break up the Muslim Brotherhood, these thoughts will cause problems in society problems in families. And what do these thoughts lead to if someone allows these thoughts to fester in their mind, they start looking for faults in the next person. And that's the next prohibition wallet that just says who do not spy into each other's private affairs. In Islam. Allah has given us the right of privacy that will ever a person does in private in between them and Allah, no one has the right to go to somebody else's internet history, or somebody else's emails or somebody else's phone or to peep into somebody

else's home. What is private is private. And to look for faults to other people in this way is a sin to look into somebody else's home or somebody else's phone or computer so you can find some sin or some fault or some hidden secret of this is a sin in of itself. This is the sin pray video Allah that just says you do not spy on each other mind your own business, mind your own business. Another Hadith the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that none of you truly believe until he gives up that which does not concern him. Stay away from things that are not your business. And then the final prohibition, once somebody is, you know, thinking bad about someone else, and then he spies on

that person and he finds a secret and you're always going to find a secret, right? Because everybody has secrets. No one is a perfect mushroom Angel. We all have secrets, should be spying on people, you're going to find these secrets. What do people do after they find the secrets? They start backbiting? Did you know this person does that? Do you know this person has this? Do you know this person has this secret? Do you know this happened in his past? So Allah prohibits that as well? Well, Allah Yahushua Dokkan Battle don't back by each other. Three prohibitions all linked to each other. Don't think bad about others without any just cause. Do not spy on others to not backbite

others. You know, if you just apply these three prohibitions, our lives will be so much easier. Our community will be so much more united. Our families will be so much more united by just applying this one verse. And then finally, the last prohibition, the most famous verse in the Surah verse number 13, the one you all know, yeah, Are you a nurse? inocula now coming dakara will answer what you're under control over Wakaba either legal or lawful. In the UK, Roma come in the lawyer to come in Hello Halima cobia. Own mankind, we created you from a male and a female and divided you into tribes and nations so that you can get to know each other. And the most honorable you in the sight

of God is the most pious and Allah is all knowing, all aware. This verse prohibits looking down on other people for things they have no control over. Whether it is race, whether it is tribe, whether it is gender, you don't have

have the right to judge somebody by something of this nature. Right? That is the only thing that makes a believer superior to another believer is their piety and piety is in the heart the only Allah knows who has real Taqwa. So we're not supposed to be judging people. So, just this culture that people have are making broad judgmental remarks about entire races or entire tribe or entire countries or entire agendas. This is something that is prohibited in our religion. The only criterion for success is your relationship with Allah subhanho wa taala. So each person should focus on their own relationship with Allah subhanho wa taala. And with that, we come to the conclusion of

our discussion for today. Take time, take time to study the Surah Surah Al hoogenraad. Many of the early scholars actually call it Surah Al o'clock, the Sunnah of good character, because in these 18 verses, ALLAH SubhanA wa Taala lays down for us his expectations of us when it comes to good character, study the sutra, teach it to your families practicing together in our homes, if we all do this and inshallah our homes will be places full of love and kindness and happiness as and so will our communities we ask Allah to make us from from the people of good character we ask Allah to make us from the people have good manners, we ask Allah to keep us united on the straight path and to

make us are righteous believers. So behind the robin Robin is that the AMA Yossi Poon, wa salam, O mousseline will Hamdu lillahi rabbil, Alameen, alchemists Allah