The Private Quarters

This surah teaches Muslims to show respect to the Prophet is by not arguing or raising their voices in front of him. They should listen to what he has to say first before making a decision.

This also applies to us today. We should not prefer our personal opinions over the rulings of Allah and His Prophet (S.A.W).

If we have taqwa of Allah (by keeping Him in mind, this will help us do what is right and avoid what is wrong.

We should not be quick to judge people's intentions.

When we hear some news, we have to make sure that this news is correct before we share it with others or take any action.

We have to respect people's privacy.

We are not allowed to offend, backbite, bully, or hurt anyone.

We should be gentle, even when we correct someone.

We should try to make peace between our brothers and sisters in Islam.

All humans are created equal. The best person is the one who keeps Allah in mind and has the best manners.

Some people may talk about how strong their faith is, but only their actions will prove whether they are faithful or not.

One companion by the name of Thabit ibn Qais i had a hearing problem. He couldn't hear himself well, so he had to raise his voice when he spoke to people, including the Prophet S.A.W When the following verse was revealed, he was afraid that it was about him. He came to the Prophet # and said he would try to keep his voice down in the future. The Prophets told him that he was a good man and gave him the good news of Jannah. {Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari}

A group from the tribe of Bani Tamim came to see the Prophet i while he was taking a nap in the afternoon. They stood outside his house and started yelling for him to come out and meet with them. According to the following passage, they shouldn't have disturbed the Prophet. Instead, they should have waited in the masjid until he is woke up on his own and came out to see them. {Recorded by Imam At-Tabarani)

The Prophet S.A.W sent a man by the name of Al-Walid ibn 'Uqbah to collect zakah from the tribe of Bani Al-Mustaliq. This man had problems with the tribe in the past. So when they came out to welcome him in big numbers, he assumed that they were planning to kill him. He ran back to the Prophet &, and told him that they wanted to kill him, therefore they should be punished. Shortly after, a group from the tribe came to the Prophet i to explain what happened. {Recorded by Imam Ahmad}

There was a hypocrite in Madinah named Ibn Saloul, who was very mad at the Muslims because he had almost become the king of the city, but everything changed when the Prophet moved there. So the Prophet was asked to visit Ibn Saloul to comfort him. The Prophet rode his donkey, and some of his companions followed him. When that hypocrite saw them coming, he yelled, 'Go away! The stinky smell of your donkey is killing me.' One of the Muslims replied to this insult by saying, 'By Allah, the donkey of the Prophet smells better than you!' One thing led to another, and they started fighting. The Prophet broke up the fight and made peace between them. Then the following passage was revealed. {Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim}

Thabit ibn Qais (who had a hearing problem) usually sat next to the Prophet so he could hear him well. One day he came a bit late and walked all the way to the front, but his spot was already taken. Thabit asked the man who took his spot to move, but the man told him to sit somewhere else. Thabit got very angry because he had to sit in the second row behind that man. He asked who that man was. When he was told his name, Thabit said something bad about the man's mother, and the man was very embarrassed. The Prophet was not happy with what Thabit said. Soon, verse 11 of this surah was revealed. {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}

Prophet 'Isa S.A.W taught his companions to be positive and never say negative things about others. One day, he & was walking with them when they passed by a dead dog with a terrible smell. Some of them said, "What a nasty dog!" 'Isa * responded, "No! Look at his beautiful teeth." {Recorded by Imam As-Suyuti}

The Prophet i said, "O humanity! Your Lord is One and you came from the same father and mother. No Arab is better than a non-Arab. No non-Arab is better than any Arab. No white is better than any black. And no black is better than any white. What matters is who has the best manners." {Recorded by Imam Ahmad}

It is a blessing that we look different, speak different languages, and have different cultures. Imagine if we all looked the same, spoke the same language, and ate the same food every day. This world would have been such a boring place.

Although we have differences, we were created equal. Whites are not better than blacks, and blacks are not better than whites. Men are not better than women, and women are not better than men. Racism is not acceptable in Islam. Satan was the first racist. He thought he was better than Adam A simply because of how he was created.

The Quran talks about 3 types of brotherhood and sisterhood in Islam:

Our brothers and sisters in humanity-because we all came from the same father and mother (Adam s and Eve (Hawwa) &). This covers all of humanity (billions of people).

Our biological brothers and sisters, who came from the same father and mother. This includes our siblings, who carry the same last name.

Our brothers and sisters in Islam. This covers all Muslims of the world (1.8 billion people).

In Islam, everyone is equal before Allah and the law (16:97 and 33:35), including men and women. If a man or a woman gives sadagah (charity), they get the exact same reward-de-pending on how sincere each of them is. Allah created them equal to play unique roles in life—to complete each other, not to compete against one another. Some sisters ask, "How come I need to wear hijab but my brother doesn't have to?" Some brothers ask, "How come my sister gets to wear gold and silk but I am not allowed to?" Men are not the standard for women, and women are not the standard for men. If most of the people in the military or in prison are men, it doesn't mean that women have to be there to achieve equality. If most of the nurses and students of art are women, it doesn't mean that men have to do the same thing to achieve suc-cess. Not all men are interested in the military, and not all women are interested in art. Everyone is unique in their own way, and everyone has the potential to be successful at what they themselves like to do. At the end of the day, every person will get their reward based on their obedience to Allah and how they treat others.

Islam has honoured women by giving them the right to inherit from their relatives, get an ed-ucation, own property, and have a say in marriage. The high status of women in Islam explains why 75% of all new Muslims are female.

Abuses against some Muslim women (such as being forced to marry someone they don't like, not getting an education, or being denied their share in inheritance) are cultural practices in some Muslim countries that go against Islamic teachings.

Name some female presidents or prime ministers that your country has had.

Someone may ask, "If men and women are equal, how come there are no female prophets in Islam?" To answer this question, we need to understand the meaning of wahi, which includes:

Inspiration-according to the Quran, Allah inspired many people to act a certain way, including the mother of Musa & (28:7). Also, Jibreel & and other angels spoke directly to Maryam E, the mother of 'Isa % (19:16-21 and 3:42-45).

Revelation - this is a direct command from Allah to His prophets and messengers, who were all men (21:7). Although men and women are equally capable of achieving great things, we have to keep in mind the challenges that female prophets would have faced thousands of years ago. According to the Quran, many prophets were abused, mocked, or even killed. Some had to travel long distances to deliver their message, or fight wars to defend their commu-nity. Historically, most women cared for their children and families. Making them responsible for delivering the message and dealing with their enemies would have added more hardship to their life. This is why Allah protected them from abuse and extra burdens. It is true that all prophets were men, but women were their mothers, sisters, and best helpers.

There was a tribe called Bani Asad that lived in the Arabian desert. They used to travel from one place to another in search of water and food for their animals. A group of them accepted Islam only because they wanted to get some donations from the Prophet. They used to brag about their faith, so the Prophet told them that they might have accepted Islam with their tongues, but not with their hearts. {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}