Surah 49. Al-Hujurat, Ayah 13
| يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ |
| Transliteration | : | yaa 'ayyuhaa an- naas 'in(na) -naa khalaqnaa -kum min dhakar wa- 'unthaa wa- jacalnaa -kum shucob(an) wa- qabaa'il li- tacaarafo 'inna akram -kum cinda 'allaah atqaa -kum 'inna 'allaah calem khaber |
| Pickthall | : | O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware. |
| Asad | : | O men! Behold, We have created you all out of a male and a female,15 and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.16 Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware. |
| Malik | : | O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might get to know one another. Surely the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous. Allah is All-Knowledgeable, All-Aware. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). 4933 |
Note - 15I.e., "We have created every one of you out of a father
and a mother" (Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi) - implying
that this equality of biological origin is reflected in
the equality of the human dignity common to all.
|
Note - 16I.e., know that all belong to one human family, without
any inherent s uperiority of one over another
(Zamakhshari). This connects with the exhortation, in the
preceding two verses, to respect and safeguard each
other's dignity. In other words, men's evolution into
"nations and tribes" is meant to foster rather than to
diminish their mutual desire to understand and appreciate
the essential human oneness underlying their outward
differentiations; and, correspondingly, all racial,
national or tribal prejudice ('asabiyyah) is condemned -
implicitly in the Qur'an, and most explicitly by the
Prophet (see second half of note [15] on 28:15). In
addition, speaking of people's boasting of their national
or tribal past, the Prophet said: "Behold, God has
removed from you the arrogance of pagan ignorance
(jahiliyyah) with its boast of ancestral glories. Man is
but a God-conscious believer or an unfortunate sinner.
All people are children of Adam, and Adam was created out
of dust." (Fragment of a hadith quoted by Tirmidhi and
Abu Da'ud, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.)
|
Note - 4933This is addressed to all mankind and not only to the
Muslim brotherhood, though it is understood that in a
perfected world the two would be synonymous. As it is,
mankind is descended from one pair of parents. Their
tribes, races, and nations are convenient labels by which
we may know certain differing characteristics. Before
Allah they are all one, and he gets most honour who is
most righteous.
|
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I.e., "We have created every one of you out of a father and a mother" (Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi) - implying that this equality of biological origin is reflected in the equality of the human dignity common to all. |
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I.e., know that all belong to one human family, without any inherent s uperiority of one over another (Zamakhshari). This connects with the exhortation, in the preceding two verses, to respect and safeguard each other's dignity. In other words, men's evolution into "nations and tribes" is meant to foster rather than to diminish their mutual desire to understand and appreciate the essential human oneness underlying their outward differentiations; and, correspondingly, all racial, national or tribal prejudice ('asabiyyah) is condemned - implicitly in the Qur'an, and most explicitly by the Prophet (see second half of note [15] on 28:15). In addition, speaking of people's boasting of their national or tribal past, the Prophet said: "Behold, God has removed from you the arrogance of pagan ignorance (jahiliyyah) with its boast of ancestral glories. Man is but a God-conscious believer or an unfortunate sinner. All people are children of Adam, and Adam was created out of dust." (Fragment of a hadith quoted by Tirmidhi and Abu Da'ud, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.) |
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This is addressed to all mankind and not only to the Muslim brotherhood, though it is understood that in a perfected world the two would be synonymous. As it is, mankind is descended from one pair of parents. Their tribes, races, and nations are convenient labels by which we may know certain differing characteristics. Before Allah they are all one, and he gets most honour who is most righteous. |
