Surah Al-Hujraat – Yousef Bin Noah Ahmad

Al-Hujraat (The Private Apartments) is the 49th surah of the Quran. It is a Medinan surah of 18 verses and the 106th in the traditional order of revelation, after Al-Mujadala. Named after the Prophet's private apartments mentioned in verse 4, it forms a short code of conduct for the Muslim community: towards God and His Messenger, towards news and rumours, and between believers.

Context and name

Verse 4 rebukes those who called out to the Prophet ﷺ from behind his apartments, which commentators link to the delegation of Banu Tamim in 9 AH. Al-Bukhari reports that the opening verses followed a moment when Abu Bakr and Umar raised their voices before the Prophet over who should lead that tribe. Thabit ibn Qays, naturally loud-voiced, then feared his deeds were lost, until the Prophet assured him he was among the people of Paradise (al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Themes

• Not to put oneself before God and His Messenger, nor raise one's voice above the Prophet's (49:1–3).
• To verify news brought by an unreliable person before acting on it (49:6).
• To reconcile two groups of believers who fight, for "the believers are but brothers" (49:9–10).
• The prohibition of mockery, insulting nicknames, suspicion, spying and backbiting, likened to eating the flesh of one's dead brother (49:11–12). In a hadith of Muslim, the Prophet defined backbiting as mentioning your brother in a way he dislikes.
• Humankind made into peoples and tribes to know one another, for "the noblest of you in God's sight is the most God-conscious" (49:13).
• Submission and faith: the Bedouins are told to say "we have submitted", for faith has not yet entered their hearts (49:14–15).

Related surahs

Some scholars place the start of the mufassal, the final part of the Quran made of shorter surahs, at Al-Hujraat; others at Qaf.