Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you”
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Question:
Shaykh, in the words of the brother, when he read the verse and the hadith, there is no doubt that we have understood what you said, may Allah guide us and guide you. But we remember another verse where Allah the Exalted says:[Al-Hujurat 49:13]
Answer:
This verse, on its apparent meaning, is about mutual recognition, not about boasting to distinguish between people. It did not make them tribes and clans so that they would boast, boycott one another, or be arrogant over one another. No, this is an Utaybi, this is a Mutayri, this is a Qurashi, they recognize each other; this one is from Buraydah, this one is from Ha’il, this one is from Riyadh, this one is from Makkah[Al-Hujurat 49:13] But they are not of the same rank. The people of knowledge should give due consideration to their best ones, their scholars, their worshippers, and their righteous ones, and not treat them like the foolish or the open sinners. Each has his own rank. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the other hadith, the reason is that Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 355 and Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 2:122 his right. People must cooperate, with the narrators and their strengths being evaluated, some evaluating others. So the elder is not like the younger; the elder is to be respected.
Shaykh, in the words of the brother, when he read the verse and the hadith, there is no doubt that we have understood what you said, may Allah guide us and guide you. But we remember another verse where Allah the Exalted says:
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْAnswer:
This verse, on its apparent meaning, is about mutual recognition, not about boasting to distinguish between people. It did not make them tribes and clans so that they would boast, boycott one another, or be arrogant over one another. No, this is an Utaybi, this is a Mutayri, this is a Qurashi, they recognize each other; this one is from Buraydah, this one is from Ha’il, this one is from Riyadh, this one is from Makkah
that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you
لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْThe one who leads the people in prayer is the one who is most proficient in reciting the Book of Allah. If they are equal in that, then the one who knows the Sunnah best.
يؤم القوم أقرؤهم من كتاب الله فإن كانوا في قلبه فاعلمهم بالسنة،The same from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb.
من لم يعرف حق كبيرناwhoever does not respect our elder, show mercy to our young one, and recognize the right of our scholar
من لم يوقر كبيرنا ويرحم صغيرنا ويعرف لعالمنا
Source
التعليق على رياض الصالحين، باب توقير العلماء والكبار وأهل الفضل : الأحاديث : [ 349 - 351 ] — islamhouse.com (9:00)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.