Surah 24. An-Nur, Ayah 61
| لَيْسَ عَلَى الْأَعْمَىٰ حَرَجٌ وَلَا عَلَى الْأَعْرَجِ حَرَجٌ وَلَا عَلَى الْمَرِيضِ حَرَجٌ وَلَا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَنْ تَأْكُلُوا مِنْ بُيُوتِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ آبَائِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ إِخْوَانِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ أَخَوَاتِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ أَعْمَامِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ عَمَّاتِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ أَخْوَالِكُمْ أَوْ بُيُوتِ خَالَاتِكُمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكْتُمْ مَفَاتِحَهُ أَوْ صَدِيقِكُمْ ۚ لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَأْكُلُوا جَمِيعًا أَوْ أَشْتَاتًا ۚ فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُمْ بُيُوتًا فَسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ تَحِيَّةً مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُبَارَكَةً طَيِّبَةً ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | laysa calaa al- acmaa h.araj wa- laa calaa al- acraj h.araj wa- laa calaa al- mared. h.araj wa- laa calaa anfus -kum 'an ta'kulo min buyot -kum 'aw buyot 'aabaa' -kum 'aw buyot 'ummahaat -kum 'aw buyot 'ikhwaan -kum 'aw buyot 'akhawaat -kum 'aw buyot acmaam -kum 'aw buyot cammaat -kum 'aw buyot akhwaal -kum 'aw buyot khaalaat -kum 'aw maa malaktum mafaatih. -hu 'aw s.adeq -kum laysa calay -kum junaah. 'an ta'kulo jamec(an) 'aw ashtaat(an) fa- 'idhaa dakhaltum buyot(an) fa- sallimo calaa anfus -kum tah.eyah min cindi 'allaah mubaarakah t.ayyibah ka- dhaalika yubayyin 'allaah la- -kum al- 'aayaat lacalla -kum tacqilon |
| Pickthall | : | No blame is there upon the blind nor any blame upon the lame nor any blame upon the sick nor on yourselves if ye eat from your houses, or the houses of your fathers, or the houses of your mothers, or the houses of your brothers, or the houses of your sisters, or the houses of your fathers' brothers, or the houses of your fathers' sisters, or the houses of your mothers' brothers, or the houses of your mothers' sisters, or (from that) whereof ye hold the keys, or (from the house) of a friend. No sin shall it be for you whether ye eat together or apart. But when ye enter houses, salute one another with a greeting from Allah, blessed and sweet. Thus Allah maketh clear His revelations for you, that haply ye may understand. |
| Asad | : | [ALL OF YOU, O believers, are brethren:85 hence,] no blame attaches to the blind, nor does blame attach to the lame, nor does blame attach to the sick [for accepting charity from the hale], and neither to your-selves for eating [whatever is offered to you by others, whether it be food obtained] from your [chil-dren's] houses,86 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 [houses] the keys whereof are in your charge,87 or [the house] of any of your friends; nor will you incur any sin by eating in company or separately. But whenever you enter [any of these] houses, greet one another with a blessed, goodly greeting, as enjoined by God. In this way God makes clear unto you His messages, so that you might [learn to] use your reason. |
| Malik | : | There is no blame on the blind, nor there is blame on the lame, nor there is blame on the sick, to eat at your table. Nor shall it be an offence for you to eat in the houses of your own children, or your fathers, or your mothers, or your brothers, or your sisters, or your paternal uncles, or your paternal aunts, or your maternal uncles, or your maternal aunts, or your sincere friends, or in houses with the keys of which you are entrusted. There is no blame on you whether you eat together or apart; however, when you enter the houses, you should greet one another with the greeting of peace prescribed by Allah blessed and pure. Thus Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may grow in understanding. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | it is no fault in the blind nor in one born lame nor in one afflicted with illness nor in yourselves that ye should eat in your own houses or those of your fathers or your mothers or your brothers or your sisters or your father's brothers or your father's sisters or your mother's brothers or your mother's sisters or in houses of which the keys are in your possession or in the house of a sincere friend of yours: there is no blame on you whether ye eat in company or separately. But if ye enter houses salute each other a greeting or blessing and purity as from Allah. Thus does Allah make clear the Signs to you: that ye may understand. 3042 3043 3044 |
Note - 85The whole of verse {61} is construed in so highly
elliptic a form that disagreements as to its purport have
always been unavoidable. However, if all the explanations
offered by the early commentators are taken into
consideration, we find that their common denominator is
the view that the innermost purport of this passage is a
stress on the brotherhood of all believers, expressed in
a call to mutual charity, compassion and good-fellowship
and, hence, the avoidance of all unnecessary formalities
in their mutual relations.
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Note - 86In the consensus of all the authorities, the expression
"your houses" implies in this context also "your
children's houses", since all that belongs to a person
may be said to belong, morally, to his parents as well.
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Note - 87I.e., "for which you are responsible".
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Note - 3042There were various Arab superstitions and fancies which
are combated and rejected here. (1) The blind, or the
halt, or those afflicted with serious disease were
supposed to be objects of divine displeasure, and as such
not fit to be associated with us in meals in our houses:
we are not to entertain such a thought, as we are not
judges of the causes of people's misfortunes, which
deserve our sympathy and kindness. (2) It was considered
unbecoming to take meals in the houses of near relatives:
this taboo is not approved. (3) A similar superstition
about houses in our possession but not in our actual
occupation is disapproved. (4) If people think they
should not fall under obligation to casual friends, that
does not apply to a sincere friend, in whose company a
meal is not to be rejected, but welcomed. (5) If people
make a superstition either that they should always eat
separately, or that they must always eat in company, as
some people weary of their own company think, either of
them is wrong. Man is free and should regulate his life
according to needs and circumstances.
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Note - 3043The shades of meaning in Salam are explained in n. 2512
to xix. 62. Here, we were first told that we might accept
hospitality and good fellowship in each other's houses.
Now we are told what spirit should animate us in doing
so. It should not be a spirit only of self-satisfaction
in a worldly sense. It should rather be a spirit of
good-will in the highest spiritual sense of the
term-purity of motives and purity of life, as in the
sight of Allah.
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Note - 3044See notes 3039 and 3041 above. The refrain comes again,
in a different form, closing the argument from a
different point of view.
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The whole of verse {61} is construed in so highly elliptic a form that disagreements as to its purport have always been unavoidable. However, if all the explanations offered by the early commentators are taken into consideration, we find that their common denominator is the view that the innermost purport of this passage is a stress on the brotherhood of all believers, expressed in a call to mutual charity, compassion and good-fellowship and, hence, the avoidance of all unnecessary formalities in their mutual relations. |
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In the consensus of all the authorities, the expression "your houses" implies in this context also "your children's houses", since all that belongs to a person may be said to belong, morally, to his parents as well. |
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There were various Arab superstitions and fancies which are combated and rejected here. (1) The blind, or the halt, or those afflicted with serious disease were supposed to be objects of divine displeasure, and as such not fit to be associated with us in meals in our houses: we are not to entertain such a thought, as we are not judges of the causes of people's misfortunes, which deserve our sympathy and kindness. (2) It was considered unbecoming to take meals in the houses of near relatives: this taboo is not approved. (3) A similar superstition about houses in our possession but not in our actual occupation is disapproved. (4) If people think they should not fall under obligation to casual friends, that does not apply to a sincere friend, in whose company a meal is not to be rejected, but welcomed. (5) If people make a superstition either that they should always eat separately, or that they must always eat in company, as some people weary of their own company think, either of them is wrong. Man is free and should regulate his life according to needs and circumstances. |
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The shades of meaning in Salam are explained in n. 2512 to xix. 62. Here, we were first told that we might accept hospitality and good fellowship in each other's houses. Now we are told what spirit should animate us in doing so. It should not be a spirit only of self-satisfaction in a worldly sense. It should rather be a spirit of good-will in the highest spiritual sense of the term-purity of motives and purity of life, as in the sight of Allah. |
