Good Manners With the Prophet, Sayyid Qutb

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No blame attaches to the blind, nor does blame attach to the lame, nor does blame attach to the sick; and neither to yourselves for eating from your houses, or your fathers’ houses, or your mothers’ houses, or your brothers’ houses, or your sisters’ houses, or your paternal uncles’ houses, or your paternal aunts’ houses, or your maternal uncles’ houses, or your maternal aunts’ houses, or in houses of which the keys are in your possession, or in the houses of your friends. You will incur no sin by eating in company or separately. But when you enter houses, greet one another with a blessed, goodly greeting, as enjoined by God. Thus does God make His revelations clear to you, so that you may use your reason.

They only are true believers who believe in God and His Messenger, and who, whenever they are with him upon a matter requiring collective action, do not depart unless they have obtained his leave. Those who ask leave of you are indeed the ones who believe in God and His Messenger. Hence, when they ask your leave to attend to some business of theirs, grant you this leave to whomever of them you choose, and pray to God to forgive them. God is indeed much-forgiving, merciful. (Light, Al-Noor: 24: 61-62)

We discussed last week the main instructions given in the first of these two verses. These outline appropriate manners with regard to eating at close relatives’ houses, even without prior permission, provided that the house owner is known not to object. The verse adds an instruction on manners to be observed when entering such houses where people are allowed to eat: “When you enter houses, greet one another with a blessed, goodly greeting, as enjoined by God.” The phraseology of this instruction in the Arabic original has a fine touch as it say, ‘greet yourselves’ to express the meaning given in translation as ‘greet one another.’ This is an indication of the strength of the relationship between those mentioned in this verse. A person who greets his relative or friend is actually greeting himself, and the greeting offered is enjoined by God, as though coming from Him. It is thus blessed, full of goodness. As such it establishes between them a bond that is never severed.

These instructions emphasize that the believers feel their bond with God in all matters and appreciate the wisdom behind divine legislation: “Thus does God make His revelations clear to you, so that you may use your reason.”

The surah then moves to organizing relations within the larger family of the Muslim community and its leader, the Prophet (peace be upon him), and how Muslims should behave in his presence: “They only are true believers who believe in God and His Messenger, and who, whenever they are with him upon a matter requiring collective action, do not depart unless they have obtained his leave. Those who ask leave of you are indeed the ones who believe in God and His Messenger. Hence, when they ask your leave to attend to some business of theirs, grant you this leave to whomever of them you choose, and pray to God to forgive them. God is indeed much-forgiving, merciful. Do not address God’s Messenger in the manner you address one another. God certainly knows those of you who would slip away surreptitiously. So, let those who would go against His bidding beware, lest some affliction or grievous suffering befall them.”

Ibn Ishaq mentions the occasion when these verses were revealed. He says that when the Quraysh and the confederate tribes marched toward Madinah, pledging to annihilate the Muslims, he ordered the digging of a moat around the entrance to Madinah. The Prophet himself took part in the digging work to encourage the Muslims who were also taking part. All of them were working hard, except for a number of people who were hypocrites. They tried to cover up their lack of commitment by putting up little work before sneaking away, without the Prophet’s knowledge or permission. On the other hand, true Muslims continued to work hard. If any of them needed to leave for some important business, he would mention this to the Prophet, requesting permission before leaving. The Prophet would certainly give him permission, and he would return as soon as he had attended to the business in hand. They felt that taking part in this work would earn them reward from God. God described those true believers in the verse: “They only are true believers who believe in God and His Messenger, and who, whenever they are with him upon a matter requiring collective action, do not depart unless they have obtained his leave. Those who ask leave of you are indeed the ones who believe in God and His Messenger. Hence, when they ask your leave to attend to some business of theirs, grant you this leave to whomever of them you choose, and pray to God to forgive them. God is indeed much-forgiving, merciful.” In reference to the hypocrites who sneaked away without permission, God says: “Do not address God’s Messenger in the manner you address one another. God certainly knows those of you who would slip away surreptitiously. So, let those who would go against His bidding beware, lest some affliction or grievous suffering befall them.”

Whatever was the background for revealing these verses, they include important rules for the Muslim community that should be observed between the leader and the members of the community. These rules should be so ingrained as to become part of the interacting traditions, feelings and regulations within the community. Otherwise, the community would be in total chaos. Thus, “They only are true believers who believe in God and His Messenger,” not merely the ones who verbally declare themselves believers but show no practical evidence of their belief demonstrating their obedience. “And who, whenever they are with him upon a matter requiring collective action, do not depart unless they have obtained his leave.” This applies to serious matters that require collective action, such as a decision on going to war, or a matter that concerns the whole community. When such a grave matter is being considered or acted upon, believers do not absent themselves without first taking their leader’s permission. Thus, no room is left for disorder.

People with faith do not seek permission to leave unless they are in real need to do so. Their faith and discipline ensure that they would not be away when a serious collective matter is at hand. The Qur’an, however, gives the Prophet (peace be upon him), who is the leader of the Muslim community, the right to grant or withhold such permission: “When they ask your leave to attend to some business of theirs, grant you this leave to whomever of them you choose.” This means that there is no harm in withholding permission, should the situation require that. The leader of the Muslim community thus exercises his authority in determining whether or not to allow an individual to leave, depending on how he sees the interests of the community would be best served.