Al-Hujuraat 49:11

"O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name [i.e., mention] of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers."

The Prohibition of mocking and ridiculing One Another

Allah the Exalted forbids scoffing at people, which implies humiliating and belittling them. In the Sahih, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْصُ النَّاس»

(Arrogance is refusing the truth and belittling people.) And in another Version

«غَمْطُ النَّاس»

(And despising people) It is forbidden to scoff at and belittle people, for the injured party could be more honored and dearer to Allah the Exalted than those who ridicule and belittle them. This is why Allah the Exalted said,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُونُواْ خَيْراً مِّنْهُمْ وَلاَ نِسَآءٌ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْراً مِّنْهُنَّ

(O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former.) thus, stating this prohibition for men and then women. The statement of Allah the Exalted,

وَلاَ تَلْمِزُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ

(Nor defame yourselves,) forbids defaming each other. He among men who is a slanderer, and a backbiter, is cursed and condemned as Allah states

وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُّمَزَةٍ

(Woe to every Humazah, Lumazah)(104:1) Hamz is defamation by action, while Lamz is by words. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّآءِ بِنَمِيمٍ

(Hammaz (defaming), going about with slander.) (68:11) meaning, he belittles and defames people, transgressing and spreading slander among them, which is the Lamz that uses words as its tool. Allah's statement here,

وَلاَ تَلْمِزُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ

(Nor defame yourselves,) just as He said in another Ayah,

وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ

(Nor kill yourselves) (4:29), meaning, nor kill one another. `Abdullah bin `Abbas, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah and Muqatil bin Hayyan said that the Ayah,

وَلاَ تَلْمِزُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ

(Nor defame yourselves,) means, none of you should defame each other,' while,

وَلاَ تَنَابَزُواْ بِالاٌّلْقَـبِ

(nor insult one another by nicknames.) means, `you should not address people by nick names that people dislike.' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Jabirah bin Ad-Dahhak said, "This Ayah was revealed about us, Banu Salamah;

وَلاَ تَنَابَزُواْ بِالاٌّلْقَـبِ

(nor insult one another by nicknames.) When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ migrated to Al-Madinah, every man among us had two or three nicknames. When the Prophet called a man by one of these nicknames, people would say, `O Allah's Messenger! He hates that nickname.' Then this Ayah,

وَلاَ تَنَابَزُواْ بِالاٌّلْقَـبِ

(nor insult one another by nicknames.) was revealed." Abu Dawud also collected this Hadith. The statement of Allah the Exalted and Most Honored,

بِئْسَ الاسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الايمَانِ

(Evil is the name of wickedness after faith), means, the names and descriptions of wickedness are evil; meaning, `to use the nicknames that were used by the people of Jahiliyyah, after you embraced Islam and understood it,'

وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ

(And whosoever does not repent,) means, from this sin,

فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ

(then such are indeed wrongdoers.)

Всевышний упомянул об очередной обязанности мусульман друг перед другом и запретил глумиться над мусульманами. Это относится ко всем обидным словам и язвительным поступкам, которыми один мусульманин может унизить другого. Это - большой грех, и ислам строго запрещает подобное обращение. Такое отношение к людям, как правило, вызвано высокомерием и самодовольством. А ведь тот, над кем насмехался самодовольный гордец, может быть лучше него. В действительности, чаще всего так и бывает, потому что глумиться над другими позволяют себе только люди, обладающие скверным нравом, сердца которых переполнены скверными качествами и лишены благородства и других достоинств. Пророк Мухаммад, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, сказал: «Мусульманин хватил достаточно зла, если он презирает своего брата». О верующие! Не порочьте друг друга ни словом, ни делом. Господь запретил вам и то, и другое, дабы предостеречь вас от Адского Пламени. Помните, что Он сказал: «Горе всякому хулителю и обидчику» (104:1). Слова Аллаха «Не обижайте самих себя» подчеркивают единство мусульман, которые подобны частям одного тела. Кроме того, нанося оскорбление другому, человек провоцирует его ответить ему тем же, и получается, что он оскорбляет себя самого. Не дразните своих братьев обидными прозвищами и не давайте им кличек. А что касается прозвищ, которые не унижают человеческое достоинство и против которых сам человек не возражает, то данный аят на них не распространяется и они не запрещены шариатом. Скверно, когда человек забывает о вере и праведности и нарушает приказы Аллаха, совершает грехи и распространяет нечестие, одним из проявлений которого является нарекание мусульман обидными прозвищами. Всякий, кто обидел своего брата по вере, обязан покаяться Аллаху, попросить прощения у того, кого он незаслуженно оскорбил, и впредь отзываться о нем только хорошо. А тот, кто откажется покаяться, является нечестивцем и беззаконником. Поэтому все люди делятся на две категории: либо они - нераскаявшиеся грешники, либо - покаявшиеся верующие. Третьего не дано.

(). It means that calling others with bad nicknames is a sinful act, and the real bad name for a person after embracing Faith is that he is known among people for sinful acts. Therefore, if a Muslim commits the sin of calling others with bad nicknames, and it is known among people, then the real bad name is earned by himself, and not by the person whom he has abused with that nickname. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

Prohibition of Ridiculing One Another

The beginning part of this chapter laid down the Prophet's ﷺ rights and the etiquettes to be observed when dealing with him. Then the Holy Qur'an has started mentioning the mutual rights and good manners for the general body of Muslims to be observed among themselves. The injunctions laid down in the preceding two verses related to the collective reformation of the society. Now the current verse mentions the rights and etiquettes to be observed between individuals. Thus the verse prohibits three social evils: [ 1] ridiculing one another; [ 2] finding fault with one another; and [ 3] reviling one another with nicknames.

According to Qurtubi, mocking or scoffing does not only connote mocking with the tongue, but it also implies mimicking someone, making pointed references to him, laughing at his words, his works, his appearance, his dress or calling people's attention to some of his defects, so that they may laugh at him. Mocking includes all of this. By the clear text of the Qur'an, poking fun at someone or ridiculing him is absolutely forbidden.

Stylistically, the Qur'an has, on this occasion, addressed men and women separately. Men are referred to as qawm, a word that is specifically reserved for male members of the human society, though by extension the word most often includes the female members of the human society as well. The Qur'an, however, generally employs the word qawm for both men and women, but here it is specifically used for men in contradistinction to the word nisa' which specifically refers to women. Here both men and women are reminded that mocking one another is a disdainful and evil act. They must refrain from it, because it is very likely that the man who is mocked at may be better than the mocking person and the woman who is mocked at may be better than the mocker. Here the Qur'an prohibits men from mocking other men, and women from mocking other women. This, however, does not mean that it is permitted for men to mock at women or for women to mock at men. The actual reason for making separate mention of the two sexes is that Islam does not allow free intermingling of the two sexes. Ridiculing each other generally occurs where there is such an intermingling. Therefore, in a Muslim society it is inconceivable that men would mock a woman or women would mock a man in an intermingling situation.

In short: no one dare make mockery of a person whose body, face, shape and stature are defective, imperfect, impaired or deformed, because he does not know that the other person, in the sight of Allah, might be better than him on account of his sincerity and purity of heart. When the righteous predecessors heard this verse, they adopted a conducive attitude: For example, Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn Shurahbil ؓ said that he would not laugh at a person when he sees him drink milk direct from the udders of a goat, lest he should become one like him. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ said: "I would not like to scoff at a dog, lest I be Metamorphosed into a dog (Qurtubi)."

It is recorded in Sahib of Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna Abu 'Hurairah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah does not look at your Faces and your wealth; He looks at your hearts and your works." Qurtubi derives a legal maxim from this tradition of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that in any matter it is not proper to pass a categorical judgment on the basis of overt evidence or circumstances, because it is possible that a person's overt actions might seem to be good but in the sight of Allah, on account of the insincerity and impurity of his heart, they could be bad, as He is fully aware of the inner state of people's hearts. On the contrary, a person's overt actions might seem to us bad, but in the sight of Allah, on account of the sincerity and purity of his heart, they could serve as an expiation of the bad actions, as He is fully aware of the inner state of people's heart.

The next thing that is prohibited in the verse is lamz which connotes to find fault with someone or to upbraid him. The verse says, وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ literally it means, "Do not find fault with your selves." But the intention is: "Do not find fault with one another-" [ 49:11] as is seen in the translation above. This expression is similar to the expression وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ '...And do not kill yourselves - [ 4:29] '. Although the verse commands "do not kill yourselves", it purports to say "do not kill one another". This expression indicates that, from one point of view, killing another person amounts to killing oneself. Often it happens that if one person kills another person, the victim's supporters kill the murderer. Even if this does not happen, a Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. Killing one's brother is like killing oneself and rendering oneself crippled, helpless and powerless. Similarly, the expression لَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ 'and not find fault with yourselves' means when you find fault with others and upbraid them, others will find fault with you and upbraid you, because no man is normally free from any fault. Scholars have formulated the maxim: وفیک عیوب و للنّاس اعین "You have faults and people have eyes" with which they see them. Thus if someone seeks out the imperfections of some other person and broadcasts them, the latter will do the same in return. If, however, he exercises patience and evades retaliation to his verbal attacks, it comes down to the same thing: If one considers carefully, he will find that defaming and despising one's Muslim brother is actually casting aspersions on oneself.

Scholars have suggested that the satisfaction, well-being and happiness of man lies in examining his own faults and finding ways of mending them. This approach to life will give him no time to find fault with others and broadcast it. How well the last king of India Bahadur Shah Zafar has versified it!

نہ تھی حال کی جب ہمیں اپنی خبر رہے دیکھتے لوگوں کے عیب و ہنر

پڑی اپنی برایٌوں پر جو نظر تو جہان میں کویٔی بُرا نہ رہا

As long as we were unaware of our own faults, we looked into the faults and failings of others;

But when we looked at our own faults there remained no one faulty in the world.

The third thing that is prohibited in the verse is reviling one another with nicknames which are offensive to them, e.g. calling a person lame, hands cropped, blind or one-eyed; or referring to him by other offensive nicknames. Sayyidna Abu Jabirah Ansari ؓ says, "This verse was revealed in connection with us. When we migrated to Madinah, most of us had two or three names. Some of them were popularised in order to denigrate, defame or belittle the bearer of the name. The Holy Prophet ﷺ was not aware of this situation; as a result he sometimes called them by one of these offensive names unwittingly. The noble Companions ؓ informed the Prophet ﷺ that the name offends the bearer of that name. This verse was revealed on that occasion." Sayyidna Ibn-Abbas ؓ says that prohibition of tanabuz bil-alqab means that if a person committed a sin or performed an evil deed from which he repented and mended his ways, it is unlawful for anyone to call him by denigrating names, such as thief, an adulterer, a drunkard or any such name. The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "Anyone who denigrates a Muslim who has committed a sin of which he has repented, Allah takes it upon Himself that He will get the person to commit the very same sin and expose him to embarrassment and humiliation in this world and in the Hereafter [ Qurtubi ].

Exception to the Rule

There are some nicknames, which though apparently offensive, are not intended to defame or insult the bearer of that name, but they rather serve as a symbol of identification. That is why scholars have permitted to attach titles to the names of the traditionalists - like A'raj [ lame, cripple ] or ahdab [ humpbacked, hunchbacked ] provided they are not intended to insult or defame. The Holy Prophet ﷺ himself named a Companion dhul-yadain because his hands were relatively long. ` Abdullah Ibn Mubarak was posed the question: "In the asanid [ chains of authorities on which a tradition is based ] we come across names to which are attached titles like Hamid At-Tawil [ Hamid, the Tall ], Sulaiman al-A'mash [ Sulaiman the weak-eyed ] and Marwan al-Asfar [ Marwan, the Yellow ]: are these titles allowed?" He replied: “ If your intention is not to insult or defame, but rather to complete identification, it is permitted." [ Qurtubi ]

It is Sunnah to call people by Good Titles

The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said that it is the right of a believer to call his fellow-believers by good names and titles which they like the best. Therefore the use of kunniyyah [ agnomen/cognomen ] had become commonplace in Arabia. The Holy Prophet ﷺ also favoured this, and consequently he himself bestowed appropriate titles on some of the individual Companions, e.g. Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ received the title of ` Atiq [ the noble ], Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ ، the title of Faruq [ he who distinguishes truth from falsehood ], Sayyidna Hamzah ؓ the title of Asadullah [ the lion of Allah ] and Khalid Ibn Walid, the title of Saifullah [ the sword of Allah ].

Other English translations

Tafsīr · classical commentary

The Prohibition of mocking and ridiculing One Another