The Way of the Faithful

The Way of the Faithful

1991 10 October 9 The Way of the Faithful (357) Of the many traditions of the Quran recorded in the Kitab-al-Tafsir of Sahih at Bukhari, the following concerns an incident recounted in explanation of the surah A-Hijrah.

According to Ibn Abi Mulayka, two of the Prophet’s companions, Abu Bakr and Umar, raised their voices in the presence of the Prophet and, as a result, came close to disaster. It happened that when a delegation of the Banu Tamim had come to Medinah Abu Bakr said that Alq’aq’a should be made their leader, whereas Umar was of the view that Alaq’ra bin Habis was a better choice. Abu Bakr then accused Umar of having said this just to oppose his proposal. But Umar said, “It is not my intention to oppose.” Whereupon they began to argue and, in the process, raised their voices. In consequence, a verse of the Quran was revealed:

“O believers, do not transgress Allah and His messenger. And fear Allah. Verily he is listening and all knowing. O believers, raise not your voices above that of the Prophet ... Lest your deeds go waste, and you may not even come to know.” (49: 1-27)

Ibn Al-Zubair says that after this, Umar changed too much that he always used to speak in a low voice in the Prophet’s presence, so much so that he could hardly be heard, and the Prophet would often have to ask him to repeat what he had said.

This is the way of the faithful. A believer may unknowingly raise his voice above that of God and His messenger, but as soon as he is made aware of it, he immediately lowers it.

This is applicable not only to the period of the Prophet but also to the present day, when it is still required of the faithful that they should not raise their voice. The only difference is that in the time of the Prophet people received such instructions directly from him, whereas nowadays people must instruct themselves by making reference to the Quran and the Hadith, Even today, when listening to the commands of God and His messenger, one must lower one’s voice like the early Islamic believers.