Surah An-Nur 24:62-64 - Quran Translation Commentary

62. They only are the true believers who believe in Allah and His messenger,¹⁰⁶ and when they are with him for some common task, do not go away without asking for his leave.¹⁰⁷ Verily those who ask for your leave, they are the ones who believe in Allah and His messenger. So, if they ask your leave for some affairs of theirs, give to those of them leave whom you will, and ask for them forgiveness of Allah.¹⁰⁸ Verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

63. Do not make the call of the messenger among you as the call of one another.¹⁰⁹ Allah knows those of you who slip away stealthily.¹¹⁰ And let those who disobey his orders beware lest some mischief afflicts them or some painful punishment overtakes them .¹¹¹

64. Lo ! verily to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. He knows your condition, and the Day when they will be returned to Him; He will inform them what they did. Allah has knowledge of all things.

Commentary

106.Here belief means true belief or true faith, which should be held in full consciousness. It is not the faith of the hypocrites which they neither hold consciously nor is that sincere, but it is merely an expression of their cult.

107. Common task may also mean gatherings or meetings for consultation, or a meeting which might be called for giving directions for conducting jihad, etc. Such meetings in themselves are very important, and attending them is very important. But when such a meeting is being held in the presence of Allah’s messenger, then its importance increases manifold. And absence from such a meeting without a plausible excuse or to leave it without the permission of the messenger of Allah is a very serious matter.

108.The Prophet Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, has been given the authority to permit to leave his presence those persons whom he will. He has also been asked to pray for forgiveness from Allah for these people, if their excuse was not plausible and they had asked for his permission, then Allah may grant them forgiveness.

109. That is: When Allah’s messenger may call you for some work, then it becomes incumbent on you to leave all other work and respond to his call. You cannot treat his calling you on the same level on which you treat the calling of other persons among you. The messenger’s call, his invitation and his message has a distinct status, for the position enjoyed by the Prophet is not available to any other person among you.

It is therefore, clear that directions given in these two ayat are specific with the messenger of Allah, and it will be wrong to apply them to other chiefs and nobles of the country. The limits of obeying their directions are well defined, and the matter of obedience of the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and the relevant etiquette is quite a different thing.

110. Hints at the hypocrites who used to slip away concealing themselves behind others, because of their disinterest, so that their going away may not be noticed.

111. This is severe warning to those who instead of obeying the commands of the messenger try to avoid it. The consequence of their act will be very dangerous for them : either they may fall prey to some grievous mischief or some painful punishment may seize them.

Today Muslims are surrounded by various kinds of mischiefs and corrupt practices, and new mischiefs go on cropping up. Such a situation is the consequence of ignoring this very guidance that is avoiding to obey the directions of the Prophet and disobeying them. Would that they take a stock of their position in the light of these ayat!