Surah Al-Hujurat: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

O you who believe! Do not try to put your own wishes before what Allah and His Messenger propose to you. Act with greater responsibility and awareness toward Allah. Never let it slip from your minds that Allah hears what you say and sees what you do.

O you who believe! When you speak, too, do not raise your voices so as to drown the Prophet’s voice, and do not speak to the Prophet rudely and shouting, as you speak loudly to one another. Otherwise the reward of what you do in the name of goodness and beauty will vanish without your realizing it.

Allah has tested by this conduct the hearts of those who speak with respect and restraint to His Messenger, and strengthened their faith. For them there is forgiveness and a great reward.

O Prophet! As for those who call out to you, shouting from outside your house to summon you to them, most of them are thoughtless and rude people. Yet had they called more respectfully and courteously and waited until you came out to them, it would have been more right, and better for them too.

Allah is most merciful and forgiving toward those who mend their ways.

O you who believe! If someone who has not yet believed wholeheartedly, whose understanding and ability to interpret are weak, and who is inclined to defiant disobedience brings you news he claims is important, investigate the truth of that news thoroughly; otherwise you may harm some people without knowing the facts, and then come to regret it.

While Allah’s messenger is among you, had he listened to you and followed what you conveyed without regard to who brought the news and without investigating whether it was true, your affairs would have gone badly wrong and you would have suffered hardship. Because you believe wholeheartedly in Allah and the Prophet, Allah protected you from falling into error, beautified your hearts with faith, and made shirk, disbelief, and defiant disobedience hateful to you.

These are the ones Allah has deemed worthy of living on the right path.

Allah is All-Knowing; He knows best who thinks and does what, and who deserves His grace and bounty and who His punishment, and He is the Possessor of judgment and wisdom.

If two groups among the believers clash and fight one another, make peace between them and set things right. But if one of them will not listen, acts unjustly, and attacks, then you too fight the aggressors until the aggressor side gives up its aggression. If they submit to Allah’s command and give up fighting, establish justice between the two sides and make peace prevail. Do not shrink from the sacrifice that falls to you in this matter. Allah loves those who vie in doing good.

The believers are brothers to one another; set right the problems between brothers and make peace. Be mindful and responsible toward this command of Allah, so that you may attain His compassion, mercy, and pardon.

O you who believe! Let not men among you mock other men and belittle one another; perhaps those mocked are more virtuous and better than those who mock. Likewise, let not women mock other women and belittle one another, for those mocked may be more virtuous and better than those who mock.

Do not slander and demean one another; do not give one another ugly nicknames. Turning to such defiant disobedience after having believed is very ugly. Those who, after committing these wrongs, do not repent and turn to the virtuous, excellent conduct Allah proposes are the very sinful wrongdoers.

O you who believe! Avoid suspecting one another and reaching judgments based on guesswork; some suspicion is a sin. Do not pry into one another’s private affairs either, and do not backbite or gossip about one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? See how you loathe it! So equip yourselves with the morality of Islam, and be mindful and responsible regarding Allah’s commands and prohibitions.

Allah is most compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward the believers who fulfill their responsibilities toward Him.

O people! We created you male and female and divided you into tribes and peoples so that you might come to know one another. Know well that the most excellent and valued of you in Allah’s sight is the one of you most mindful and careful of His commands and prohibitions and who bears a sense of responsibility.

Allah knows everything and is aware of everything.

O Prophet! Some of the Bedouin came to you and said, “We have believed.” Say to them: “You have not yet truly believed; at least say, ‘We have submitted to Islam, our order, and become Muslims,’ for faith has not yet fully settled in your hearts. If you obey Allah and His Messenger wholeheartedly and follow what submission requires, Allah will not leave your deeds unrewarded, for Allah is most just, merciful, and forgiving.”

The true believers are those who never fall into any doubt about their faith and strive (jihad) in Allah’s way with their wealth and their lives.

Say to those Bedouin: “Will you, by saying that you have believed, teach Allah religion, when it is Allah who knows best the truths concerning faith? Allah knows what happens in the heavens and on the earth, and what is in hearts.”

Say to the Bedouin who, as though they had done you a favor by entering Islam and becoming Muslims, throw it in your face and try to put you under obligation: “It is rather Allah who has done you a favor by showing you the way to faith. For this reason you ought to feel endless gratitude to Allah and give thanks.”

The truth is that Allah sees and knows the unseen and unknown inner reality of the heavens and the earth. Allah is aware of all that you do.