سورة الحجرات

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said on the day of the conquest of Makkah: O people, Allah has removed the arrogance and pride of the Jahiliyyah and its baseless boasting about forefathers, and has drawn a line of nullification across them. Arabness is not a paternal status or a position of worth; it is only a spoken tongue — whoever speaks it is an Arab, whoever he may be. Know that all of you are from Adam (peace be upon him), and Adam (peace be upon him) is from dust; إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [Indeed the most honourable of you before Allah is the most Allah-fearing of you].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) entered the House in the year of the conquest of Makkah, and with him were al-Fadl ibn Abbas and Usama ibn Zayd. Then he came out of the House of Allah and took hold of the ring of the door and said: "Praise be to Allah, who made His promise come true, fulfilled His pledge, and alone defeated the confederates. Allah has removed the arrogance of the Arabs and taken from them their self-importance and their boasting about their forefathers. All of you are from Adam (peace be upon him), and Adam (peace be upon him) is from dust; the most honourable of you before Allah is the most Allah-fearing of you."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): You have all come into being from one man (Adam (peace be upon him)) and one woman (Hawwa), equal like the level top of a full measure, and no one has any superiority over another except by Allah-fearingness.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): What is meant by shu'ub is the non-Arabs, and what is meant by qaba'il is the Arabs.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): What Allah means by shu'ub (peoples) is the mawali (non-Arabs), and by qaba'il (tribes) is the Arabs.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Salman al-Farisi (may Allah have mercy on him) who said: During the illness in which the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) passed away, I went to visit him and sat before him and asked about his condition. When I stood up to leave, he said to me: "Sit down, O Salman! So that you may be a witness to a matter which is among the best of matters." I sat down. I saw that a number of his household and a number of his companions entered, and Lady Fatima (peace be upon her) was among them. When Fatima (peace be upon her) saw the Prophet's weakness, the lump of weeping caught in her throat and her tears flowed down her blessed cheek. When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) saw her, he said: ... "Allah the Exalted created the creation and divided them into two parts, and He placed me and Ali (peace be upon him) in the better of the two parts. As Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: أَصْحابُ الْیَمِینِ ما أَصْحابُ الْیَمِینِ [And the companions of the right hand — what are the companions of the right hand!] (Al-Waqi'ah/27). Then He divided those two parts into tribes, and He placed me and Ali (peace be upon him) in the best of the tribes, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: وَ جَعَلْناکُمْ شُعُوباً وَ قَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [And We have made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another; indeed the most honorable of you with Allah is the most righteous of you]."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) — Hannan said: I heard my father narrate from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: "Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) was sitting with a group from Quraysh in the mosque. They were speaking about their lineage and ancestry and boasting to one another, until they came to Salman (may Allah have mercy on him)." Umar ibn al-Khattab asked him: "Tell me: who are you, who is your father, and what is your origin and lineage?" Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) replied: "I am Salman ibn Abdillah (may Allah have mercy on him). I was formerly astray, and Allah guided me through Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). I had a family and dependents (I was burdened with expenses), and Allah made me self-sufficient through His Prophet. I was a slave, and Allah freed me through His Prophet. This is my origin and lineage." While Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) was speaking to them, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) came towards them. Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) related the whole affair to him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Quraysh! A man's lineage is his religion, his chivalry is his character, and his origin and root is his intellect. The Lord has said in the Noble Quran: إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاکُم مِّن ذَکَرٍ وَأُنثَی وَجَعَلْنَاکُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِندَ اللهِ أَتْقَاکُمْ [Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes that you may know one another; indeed, the most honorable of you with Allah is the most pious of you]." Then he said: "O Salman (may Allah have mercy on him)! None of them has any superiority over you except by the measure of taqwa (piety) and Allah-consciousness. So long as taqwa is yours, you are superior to them all."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): We praise and thank Allah, who is our Lord and our Master (Wali) and the Bestower of blessings upon us. Allah whose blessings, outward and inward, have been granted to us; the favour is from Him, and there is no power or strength from us. [He has done this] so that He may test us — whether we are grateful or ungrateful. Whoever is grateful, He gives him more, and whoever is ungrateful, He punishes him. The most excellent of people before Allah in rank, and the closest of people to Allah in means, is the most obedient of them to Allah's command, the most active in obedience to Him, the most following of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the reviver of His Book. No one has any merit or distinction with us except through obedience to Allah and His Messenger. This Book of Allah is before us, and the covenant of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and his conduct are among us. None denies this except an ignorant enemy who rejects the truth. And Allah says: يا أَیُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْناکُمْ مِنْ ذَکَرٍ وَ أُنْثی وَ جَعَلْناکُمْ شُعُوباً وَ قَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty)]. Then he said in a loud voice: قُلْ أَطیعُوا اللهَ وَ الرَّسُولَ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللهَ لا یُحِبُّ الْکافِرین [Say: Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn away, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers].

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Razi said: I heard my father say: A man said to Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): "By Allah! There is no one on the face of the earth better than you in lineage." He said: "Taqwa (piety) and Allah-consciousness have raised them to this position, and obedience and servitude have brought them this rank." Another man said: "By Allah, you are the best of all people." He said: "Do not swear this oath. Better than me is the one who is more pious than me and more obedient to Allah. By Allah, this verse has not been abrogated: وَ جَعَلْناکُمْ شُعُوباً وَ قَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty)]."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O people! Indeed your Lord is one and your father is one. An Arab has no merit over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab, nor a red-skinned over a black-skinned, nor a black-skinned over a red-skinned, except by taqwa (piety) and Allah-consciousness, as Allah the Exalted said: إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty)].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): يا أَیُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْناکُمْ مِنْ ذَکَرٍ وَ أُنْثی وَ جَعَلْناکُمْ شُعُوباً وَ قَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا [O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other]; he said: "al-Shu'ub (peoples) are the non-Arabs and al-Qaba'il (tribes) are the Arabs. إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty)]; indeed the most honourable of you before Allah is the most pious of you. This verse condemns those who take pride in their race and ethnicity and consider greatness and honour to lie in lineage and ancestry."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Allah the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection, will address the people and say: "I gave you commands and instructions, and you made covenants to fulfil them, but you disregarded that covenant and boasted of your lineage and ethnicity. So today I raise the ranks of those who are attributed and connected to Me and elevate their station, and I regard your worthless lineages as low and insignificant. Where are the people of taqwa? Let them come forward. إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty)]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Bakr al-Hadrami narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) married Dubaʿah, daughter of Zubayr ibn Abd al-Muttalib, to Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, so that the standing of marriages would be lowered, and the Muslims would follow the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and would know that the most honorable of people before Allah are the most Allah-fearing of them.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The one most beloved to Allah is the one whose deeds are the best among you, and the one whose deeds are the greatest is the one whose desire for the reward of Allah is the greatest, and the one who is most easily saved from the punishment of Allah is the one who fears Allah the most, the closest of you to Allah is the one of you with the best character, the most pleasing of you before Allah is the one who is most generous to his family, إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [indeed, the most honorable of you before Allah is the most Allah-fearing of you].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The most deserving of people to practise wara' (scrupulous piety) are the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and their Shia, so that people may follow their example, for they are the model for whoever seeks a model. So fear Allah and obey Him, for no one attains what is with Allah except through taqwa (piety), wara' and striving. For Allah says: إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [Indeed the most honourable of you with Allah is the most pious of you]. Know that, by Allah, you are upon the religion of Allah and the religion of His angels, so help us in that through wara', avoidance of sin, striving in good deeds, and abundant worship.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that one day he said to one of his students: "What have you learnt from me?" He replied: "Master, I have learnt eight matters from you." The Imam said: "State them so that I may know them." He said: "First, I saw that every beloved parts from his beloved at the moment of death, so I directed my aspiration towards choosing a friend who would never part from me but would be my companion and comforter in my solitude, and that friend is good deeds, which never part from their doer." The Imam said: "Well done, by Allah!" Second, he said: "I saw people who take pride in their lineage and ancestry, and a group who take pride in their wealth and children, but I saw that there is no true pride in these; the great pride I found in the words of Allah the Exalted, who says: إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [Indeed the most honourable of you with Allah is the most pious of you]. So I strove to be honoured in the presence of Allah." The Imam said: "Well done, by Allah!"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Uqba ibn Bashir al-Asadi said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "I am Uqba al-Asadi, and I hold a distinguished position of honour and greatness among my people." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Are you placing your lineage as a favour upon us? Allah the Exalted has, through faith, elevated a group who used to be called low-ranking by the people, and He has, through disbelief, lowered a group who — while remaining in their disbelief — considered themselves noble, and He called them base. Superiority and merit are attained only through taqwa (piety)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Jamil ibn Darraj said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "What is nobility?" The Imam said: "Piety."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever loves to be the most honourable of people, let him observe taqwa (piety) of Allah; and whoever loves to be the most pious of people, let him place his trust in Allah the Exalted.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The most Allah-fearing of people is the one who speaks the truth, whether it be in his favour or to his detriment.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [Indeed, the most honourable of you with Allah is the most Allah-fearing of you] means the one among you who most practises taqiyya (pious dissimulation).

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): إِنَّ أَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقاکُمْ [Indeed, the most honourable of you with Allah is the most Allah-fearing of you] means the one who is most steadfast in taqiyya (pious dissimulation).