Al-Mujaadila (The Pleading Woman)

11. O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, make room. Allah will give you room. And when you are told to rise up, rise up. Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.

Regarding the Occasion of Revelation of the blessed Verse, some Qur’an exegetes, e.g. Tabarsi in Majma‘ alBayan and Àlusi in Ruh al-Ma‘ani, maintain that the Noble Prophet (S) sat on a huge ledge (suffa) beside the Noble Prophet's (S) mosque on a Friday when he was encircled by people and there was enough room for others.

It was the Noble Prophet's (S) habit to revere Badr warrior irrespective of being from immigrants (muhajirun) or helpers (ansar). Then, a group of Badr warriors entered and paid homage to the Noble Prophet (S). The Noble Prophet (S) returned their greetings. They exchanged greetings with those present there. They were still standing awaiting people to make room for them, but none of them moved.

Annoyed by such conduct, the Noble Prophet (S) turned to some of the people encircling him asking them to move such that the newcomers may sit. Thus, he gave them a lesson to revere the veterans of jihad and faith. Those who had moved to make room for newcomers were annoyed such that their faces reflected such annoyance.

Taking advantage of the opportunity as usual, hypocrites said that the Noble Prophet (S) had failed to administer justice as he had made those lovingly encircling him move to make room for newcomers. Thus, the blessed Verse was revealed indicating the manners required for attending meetings.¹

The preceding Verses treated of abstention from holding secret counsels at meetings and restricting the same to few specific instances and the blessed Verse reflects another instance of etiquette to be observed at meetings, saying:

“O you who believe! When you are told to make room in the assemblies, make room. Allah will give you room. And when you are told to rise up, rise up. Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.”

The blessed Verse is saying that if believers act upon the same, God Almighty will grant you spacious abodes in Paradise and better provisions, sustenance and a nobler heart in this world.

The verbal form tafassahu deriving from f-s-h denotes give room as a precept of etiquette according to which when a newcomer arrives at a meeting, those already present are supposed to make room for him lest he may be perplexed, weary, or ashamed. Such manners strengthen the ties of friendship. Au contraire, holding secret counsels at meetings, as reflected in the preceding blessed Verses, lead to hatred, suspicion, and animosity.

It is worthy of note that many a delicacy of moral questions and social life of Muslims are treated in the Holy Qur’an which is the constitutional law of Muslims where such delicate points are also mentioned amongst fundamental injunctions such that Muslims bear in mind that following general rules is sufficient for them. Those who act upon such precepts will be rewarded by God Almighty in this world.

It is to be noted that the blessed Verse in unconditional and its contextual meaning reflects Divine Generosity in this world, paradise, soul, thought, life, and sustenance. It is not a source of wonder that God Almighty, out of His Graciousness and Generosity bestow such great reward against such seemingly insignificant act as Divine Reward is bestowed upon people out of His Generosity rather than the significance of our deeds.

At times, meetings are so crowded that those already present must rise up to make room for newcomers lest there will be no suitable room for them to be seated. The blessed Verse proceeds to say that when people are told to rise, they are supposed to rise without procrastination or annoyance, since newcomers may be weary, weak owing to their advanced age, or highly respected as a consequence of which others must make a sacrifice and observe such Islamic precept of etiquette.

It was in the same vein that as mentioned above, the Noble Prophet (S) ordered some people to rise up and give their place to some newcomers who were amongst the warrior fighting in the battle of Badr and were superior to others in terms of knowledge and virtue.

Some Qur’an exegetes maintain that rising is herein employed in a broader sense such that it reflects rising at the meeting as well as rising for jihad, establishing prayers, and doing other righteous good deeds. The blessed Verse proceeds to treat of the rewards of such Divine Injunction saying that if you do so, God Almighty will grant elevated ranks to those who believe and possess knowledge.

“Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do”

reflects that obeying such Injunctions indicate faith, knowledge, and awareness. It may also reflect that if the Noble Prophet (S) ordered some people to rise and make room for newcomers since he aimed at a sacred and Divine goal which is revering forerunners in faith and knowledge.

The Arabic plural noun darajat connotes the exalted ranks bestowed by God Almighty upon those who possess both faith and knowledge. In fact, those who make room for newcomers beside them enjoy such rank and those who possess knowledge and faith and make room for newcomers, will be granted even more elevated ranks.

The blessed Verse closes with:

“Allah is All-Aware of what you do”

saying that God Almighty is fully Aware of those who are satisfied to do so and they are sincere in their acts and also those who are dissatisfied and annoyed or they act upon hypocrisy and dissimulation.