In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate, Salaam and welcome to our weekly program "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Quran. We start from where we left you last Friday and here are ayahs 53 and 54 of Surah Ahzab:

“O you who have faith! Do not enter the Prophet’s houses unless permission is granted you for a meal, without waiting for it to be readied. But enter when you are invited, and disperse when you have taken your meal, without settling down to chat. Indeed such conduct annoys the Prophet, and he is ashamed of [asking] you [to leave]; but Allah is not ashamed of [expressing] the truth. And when you ask anything of [his] womenfolk, ask it from them from behind a curtain. That is more chaste for your hearts and their hearts. You may not annoy the Messenger of Allah, nor may you ever marry his wives after him. Indeed that would be a grave [matter] with Allah.”

“Whether you disclose anything or hide it, Allah indeed knows all things.”

This ayah explicitly tells the companions of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), not to enter his house without permission, and even if invited for meals, not to linger any longer after meals for unnecessary chat since the Prophet is not pleased with such behaviour, although out of courtesy he doesn’t say so.

The next important red line that the companions of the Prophet should not cross is to have direct face-to-face talks with the wives of the Prophet, and any work they have with his wives, they should speak to them from behind a curtain, in order to maintain the decorum of social respect, chastity and purity of hearts for both sides. The 3^rd important red line for the Prophet’s companions is that after the passing away of the Prophet they are barred from marrying any of his widows.

This last divine ordinance was because of the sadness felt by the Prophet when one of his companions named Talha bin Obaidollah told his bosom friend Zubayr ibn Awam who was married to Asma the daughter of Abu Bakr that if the Prophet passes away, Asma’s sister Ayesha will become a widow, and he would gladly marry her in order to become brother-in-law with his friend Zubayr.

In other words, to fulfill the suppressed desire in his heart, Talha longed for the Prophet’s death, and as the next ayah means to say, whether we disclose or not through our tongues, God the Almighty Creator is fully aware of all our affairs and intentions, including feelings of the heart and thoughts that flash across mind.

These ayahs also lay down social norms for Muslims and the important rules of association with each other on the basis of etiquette and proper manners without causing inconvenience to a person or his family. In other words, never must we enter the house of anyone without permission, and even if invited, should not linger longer, since overstay might cause inconvenience to the host, who out of courtesy might not say anything directly. At the same time, it is not advisable to indulge in free talk or vain conversation with the womenfolk of others, since this might lead result in provocations and cause deviations in hearts for both sides.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Do not enter any one’s house without permission.
2. If invited to someone’s house, we ought to be punctual and should maintain discipline by leaving on time without causing inconvenience to the host.
3. If it is necessary to ask the womenfolk of other people, such talk should be from behind a curtain in order to preserve the privacy and piety of the ladies concerned, as well as one’s own chastity and purity of heart.
4. The philosophy behind Hijab and apparent social restrictions between the opposite genders is to ensure the freedom of women and respect for their dignity.
5. We ought to be aware that our whole existence is under the microscopic surveillance of the Almighty Creator

Here is ayah 55 of Surah Ahzab:

“There is no sin on them [in socializing freely] with their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or the sons of their sisters, or their own womenfolk, or what their right hands own. Be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is witness to all things.”

This ayah says that there is no sin for womenfolk to freely associate with the immediate family members like father, brothers, sons, nephews. The Muslim woman, besides covering herself decently in front of non-mahram men should have an appropriate dressing when meeting with non-Muslim women, who do not observe Hijab, and might describe the beauty of Muslim women to their husband and male relatives, thereby giving rise to unnecessary and unwarranted feelings. All these injunctions are aimed at preserving the freedom and dignity of women, so as to keep the society pure from social contamination and sins.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Islamic injunctions are for the welfare and freedom of society, and are not hindrances, as viewed by retarded minds.
2. Preserving Hijab is actually a safeguard from giving rise to unnecessary and unwarranted feelings in the hearts of unrelated persons.
3. Family and social relations whether with mahram or non-mahram persons should be based on piety and chastity.

Now we listen to ayah 56 of Surah Ahzab:

“Indeed Allah and His angels bless the Prophet; O you who have faith! Invoke blessings on him and invoke Peace upon him in a worthy manner.”

This ayah emphasizes the lofty position of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). God has created him in such as exalted manner that divine blessings are always reserved for him. In fact, God and the angels constantly send salawaat on the Prophet, and therefore it is incumbent upon believers to always salute the Prophet in a worthy manner. As is confirmed by several hadith the proper manner of sending salawaat or blessings on the Prophet is to recite, “Allahomma salle ala Mohammad wa Aal-e Mohammad”. This means: O Allah bless Mohammad and the progeny of Mohammad. It is also recommended to recite: O God send blessing on Mohammad and his progeny, as You sent on Abraham and his progeny, You are Praiseworthy and Exalted. The important point to note is that salawaat or blessings on the Prophet is incomplete if his progeny is not mentioned. This is indicative of the God-given status of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt after him, that is, his only daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra, her husband, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb, and her two sons, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them), as well as the nine other Infallible Imams of the offspring of Imam Husain (AS).

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) is the best of God’s creation, and he spared no efforts for spreading the message of Islam.
2. God Almighty constantly sends blessings upon the Prophet of Islam, and so do the angels.
3. Muslims are commanded to send blessings upon the Prophet and his progeny in the proper manner.
4. Salawaat or blessings upon the Prophet are incomplete, if the progeny of the Prophet is not mentioned.

AS/MG