Verse 14
The Rooms • madinah
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يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَٰكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
Important Words:
شعوباً (tribes) is the plural of شعب (sha‘bun) which is inf. noun from شعب (sha‘ba) which means, he collected, brought together or united; or he separated, put asunder; divided or separated. شعب means, a great tribe; the parent of the tribes called قبائل, to which they refer their origin and which comprises them; a nation; a people; a cleft or crack (Lane & Aqrab).
قبائل (subtribes) is the plural of قبیلة which is derived from قبل which means, he accepted; he took or received willingly. قبیلةmeans, a tribe; a subtribe; a family; a body of men from one father or mother (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
From the subject of Islamic brotherhood to which reference has been made in the preceding two verses, the Surahproceeds to lay down, in the verse under comment, the basis of an all-comprehensive, all-pervading brotherhood of man. The verse, in fact, constitutes the Magna Carta of human fraternity and equality. It has firmly laid the axe at the false and foolish notions of superiority, born of racial arrogance or national conceit. All men having been "created from a male and a female" as human beings have been declared equal in the sight of God. The worth of a man is not to be judged by the pigment of his skin, the amount of wealth he possesses or by his rank or social status, descent or pedigree, but by his moral greatness and the way in which he discharges his obligations to God and man. The whole human race is but one family. Division into tribes, nations, and races is meant to give them a better knowledge of one another, in order that they might benefit from one another’s national characteristics and good qualities. This, according to Islam, is the criterion of a person’s greatness and this is the only true and real criterion. The Holy Prophet explained the beautiful idea of the
brotherhood of man inculcated in this verse in his own inimitable way on the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage at Mecca, a short time before his death. Addressing a vast concourse of Muslims the Prophet said, "O ye men! Your God is One and your ancestor is one. An Arab possesses no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab over an Arab. A white is in no way superior to a red, nor, for that matter, a red to a white, but only to the extent to which he discharges his duty to God and man. The most honoured among you in the sight of God is the one who is most righteous" (Baihaqi). These noble words spoken by the Prophet during his Farewell Pilgrimage which have resounded through the centuries epitomize one of Islam’s loftiest ideals and strongest principles. It goes to the credit of the Holy Prophet that in a society riven with class distinction, he preached a message intensely democratic.
Shu‘ub is the plural of Sha‘b which means, a great tribe; the parent of the tribes called Qabilah to which they refer their origin and which comprise them; a nation (Lane).
After having dealt with the subject of Islamic brotherhood in the preceding two verses, the present verse lays down the basis of an all- comprehensive, all-pervading brotherhood of man. The verse, in fact, constitutes the Magna Carta of human fraternity and equality. It lays the axe at the false and foolish notions of superiority, born of racial arrogance or national conceit. All men having been "created from a male and a female" as human beings all men have been declared equal in the sight of God. The worth of a man is not to be judged by the pigment of his skin, the amount of wealth he possesses, or by his rank or social status, descent or pedigree, but by his moral greatness and by the way in which he discharges his obligations to God and man. The whole human race is but one family. Division into tribes, nations, and races is meant to give them better knowledge of one another, in order that they might benefit from one another’s national characteristics and good qualities. On the occasion of the Last P