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Ayah
Word by Word
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا
O you who believe
ٱلَّذِينَ
O you who believe
ءَامَنُوٓاْ
O you who believe
إِذَا
When
قِيلَ
it is said
لَكُمۡ
to you
تَفَسَّحُواْ
Make room
فِي
in
ٱلۡمَجَٰلِسِ
the assemblies
فَٱفۡسَحُواْ
then make room
يَفۡسَحِ
Allah will make room
ٱللَّهُ
Allah will make room
لَكُمۡۖ
for you
وَإِذَا
And when
قِيلَ
it is said
ٱنشُزُواْ
Rise up
فَٱنشُزُواْ
then rise up
يَرۡفَعِ
Allah will raise
ٱللَّهُ
Allah will raise
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
ءَامَنُواْ
believe
مِنكُمۡ
among you
وَٱلَّذِينَ
and those who
أُوتُواْ
were given
ٱلۡعِلۡمَ
the knowledge
دَرَجَٰتٖۚ
(in) degrees
وَٱللَّهُ
And Allah
بِمَا
of what
تَعۡمَلُونَ
you do
خَبِيرٞ
(is) All-Aware
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا
O you who believe
ٱلَّذِينَ
O you who believe
ءَامَنُوٓاْ
O you who believe
إِذَا
When
قِيلَ
it is said
لَكُمۡ
to you
تَفَسَّحُواْ
Make room
فِي
in
ٱلۡمَجَٰلِسِ
the assemblies
فَٱفۡسَحُواْ
then make room
يَفۡسَحِ
Allah will make room
ٱللَّهُ
Allah will make room
لَكُمۡۖ
for you
وَإِذَا
And when
قِيلَ
it is said
ٱنشُزُواْ
Rise up
فَٱنشُزُواْ
then rise up
يَرۡفَعِ
Allah will raise
ٱللَّهُ
Allah will raise
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
ءَامَنُواْ
believe
مِنكُمۡ
among you
وَٱلَّذِينَ
and those who
أُوتُواْ
were given
ٱلۡعِلۡمَ
the knowledge
دَرَجَٰتٖۚ
(in) degrees
وَٱللَّهُ
And Allah
بِمَا
of what
تَعۡمَلُونَ
you do
خَبِيرٞ
(is) All-Aware
Translation
O you who have believed, when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allāh will make space for you.1 And when you are told, "Arise,"2 then arise; Allāh will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allāh is Aware of what you do.
Footnotes
1 In His mercy, in Paradise, or in everything good.
2 To prayer, to battle, or to good deeds.
Tafsir
O you who believe, when it is said to you, 'Make room' during the assembly, during the assembly [convened] with the Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him or for remembrance, so that those arriving to [join] you may [find room to] sit (al-majlis, 'assembly', may also be read [in the plural] al-majaalis) then make room; God will make room for you, in the Paradise. And when it is said, 'Rise up', stand up for prayer or for other good deeds, do rise up (a variant reading [for unshuzoo fa'nshuzoo] has anshizoo in both instances [sc. anshizoo fa'nshizoo]); God will raise those of you who have faith, [thereby] obeying this [command], and, He will raise, those who have been given knowledge by degrees, in the Paradise. And God is Aware of what you do.
Manners for Assemblies
Allah teaches His servants good manners and orders them to be kind to each other when they are sitting together,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا فِي الْمَجَالِسِ
O you who believe!
When you are told to make room in the assemblies,
فَافْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
make room. Allah will give you room.
Indeed, the reward or recompense depends on the type of action.
In a Hadith, the Prophet said,
مَنْ بَنَىىِللهِ مَسْجِدًا بَنَى اللهُ لَهُ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّة
Whoever builds a Masjid for Allah, Allah builds for him a house in Paradise.
In another Hadith, the Prophet said,
وَمَنْ يَسَّرَ عَلى مُعْسِرٍ يَسَّرَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالاْخِرَةِ وَاللهُ فِي عَوْنِ الْعَبْدِ مَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ فِي عَوْنِ أَخِيه
He who relieves a difficulty for a person living in straitened circumstances, then Allah will relieve the difficulties of this life and the Hereafter for him. Surely, Allah helps the servant as long as the servant helps his brother.
There are many similar Hadiths.
This is why Allah the Exalted said,
فَافْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
(make room. Allah will give you room).
Qatadah said,
This Ayah was revealed about gatherings in places where Allah is being remembered. When someone would come to join in assemblies with the Messenger, they would hesitate to offer them space so that they would not loose their places. Allah the Exalted commanded them to spread out and make room for each other.
Imam Ahmad and Imam Ash-Shafi`i recorded that Abdullah bin Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said,
لَاا يُقِمِ الرَّجُلُ الرَّجُلَ مِنْ مَجْلِسِهِ فَيَجْلِسَ فِيهِ وَلَكِنْ تَفَسَّحُوا وَتَوَسَّعُوا
One of you should not remove someone from his place and sit in it, but instead, spread out and make room.
This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,
لَاا يُقِمِ الرَّجُلُ الرَّجُلَ مِنْ مَجْلِسِهِ ثُمَّ يَجْلِسُ فِيهِ وَلَكِنِ افْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللهُ لَكُم
A man should not remove another man from his place and then sit in it. Rather spread out and make room and Allah will make room for you.
Imam Ahmad also recorded this Hadith with the wording:
لَاا يَقُومُ الرَّجُلُ لِلرَّجُلِ مِنْ مَجْلِسِهِ وَلَكِنِ افْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللهُ لَكُم
A man should not leave his place for another man, but rather spread out and make room, and Allah will make room for you.
It has been reported that Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and others said that:
إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا فِي الْمَجَالِسِ
فَافْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ
When you are told to make room in the assemblies, make room. Allah will give you room.
means to war assemblies,
and that,
وَإِذَا قِيلَ انشُزُوا فَانشُزُوا
And when you are told to rise up, then rise up.
means, Get up to fight.
Qatadah said
وَإِذَا قِيلَ انشُزُوا فَانشُزُوا
(And when you are told to rise up, then rise up). means,
When you are called to any type of good, then respond.
The Virtues of Knowledge and People of Knowledge
Allah's statement,
يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ امَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
Allah will exalt in degrees those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do.
means, do not think that if one of you makes room for his brother, or rises up when he is commanded to do so, that this will diminish his right or honor. Rather, this will increase his virtue and status with Allah, and Allah the Exalted will never make his good deed be lost. To the contrary, He will reward him for it in this life and the Hereafter. Surely, he who humbles himself by and before the command of his Lord, then Allah will elevate his status and make him known by his good behavior. the statement of Allah the Exalted,
يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ امَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is Well--Acquainted with what you do.
meaning, surely, Allah is Aware of those who deserve this reward and those who are not worthy of it.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu At-Tufayl `Amir bin Wathilah said,
Nafi` bin Abdul--Harith met Umar bin Al-Khattab in the area of Usfan. Umar appointed Abu At-Tufayl to be the governor of Makkah. Umar asked him,
Whom did you appoint as your deputy for the valley people (that is, Makkah).
Amir said, I appointed Ibn Abza, one of our freed slaves, as my deputy.
Umar said, You made a freed slave their governor in your absence
He said, O Leader of the faithful! He has memorized Allah's Book and has knowledge of regulations of inheritance, along with being a proficient judge.
Umar said, Surely, your Prophet has said,
إِنَّ اللهَ يَرْفَعُ بِهذَا الْكِتَابِ قَوْمًا وَيَضَعُ بِهِ اخَرِين
Verily, Allah elevates some people and degrades others, on account of this Book.
Muslim collected this Hadith.
The Order to give Charity before One speaks to the Prophet in private
Allah commanded His believing servants,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُوا إِذَا نَاجَيْتُمُ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَةً
O you who believe!
When you (want to) consult the Messenger in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation.
Allah commanded His believing servants, when any of them wanted to speak with Allah's Messenger in secret, to give away charity beforehand so that his charity cleanses and purifies him and makes him worthy of having a private counsel with the Prophet. This is why Allah the Exalted said,
ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ
That will be better and purer for you.
then He said,
فَإِن لَّمْ تَجِدُوا
But if you find not.
meaning, if he is unable to do so due to poverty,
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
He only commanded those who are financially able to give this type of charity.
Allah the Exalted said
أَأَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَاتٍ
Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultation?
meaning, are you afraid that the order to give charity before speaking privately to the Prophet remains in effect forever.
فَإِذْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَتَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَإةَ وَاتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَاللَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
If then you do it not, and Allah has forgiven you, then perform Salah and give Zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
Therefore, Allah abrogated the obligation of giving this charity.
It was said that none has implemented this command before except its abrogation, Ali bin Abi Talib.
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Abbas:
فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَةً
(spend something in charity before your private consultation).
The Muslims kept asking Allah's Messenger questions until it became difficult on him. Allah wanted to lighten the burden from His Prophet, upon him be peace. So when He said this, many Muslims were afraid to pay this charity and stopped asking. Afterwards, Allah sent down this Ayah,
أَأَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَاتٍ فَإِذْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَتَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَأةَ وَاتُوا الزَّكَاة
Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultation If then you do it not, and Allah has forgiven you, then perform Salah and give Zakah,
Thus Allah made things easy and lenient for them.
Ikrimah and Al-Hasan Al-Basri commented on Allah's statement:
فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَةً
(spend something in charity before your private consultation).
This was abrogated by the next Ayah:
أَأَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَاتٍ
Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultation....
Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah reported from Qatadah and Muqatil bin Hayyan,
People kept questioning Allah's Messenger until they made things difficult for him. Allah provided a way to stop their behavior by this Ayah. One of them would need to speak to Allah's Prophet about a real matter, but could not do so until he gave in charity. This became hard on people and Allah sent down relief from this requirement afterwards,
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
But if you find not, then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful).
Ma`mar reported from Qatadah that the Ayah,
إِذَا نَاجَيْتُمُ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيْ نَجْوَاكُمْ صَدَقَةً
(When you (want to) consult the Messenger in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation). was abrogated after being in effect for only one hour of a day.
Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Mujahid said that Ali said, No one except me implemented this Ayah, until it was abrogated, and he was reported to have said that it remained in effect for merely an hour.
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