يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌۭ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَآءٌۭ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهُنَّ ۖ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا۟ بِٱلْأَلْقَٰبِ ۖ بِئْسَ ٱلِٱسْمُ ٱلْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ ٱلْإِيمَٰنِ ۚ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ
O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.
Introduction
This is āyah 11 of Sūrat Al-Hujuraat (The Rooms), the 106th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 26. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 106 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Hujuraat (49)
(O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are)�) [49:11]. This was revealed about Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shimas. The latter was hard of hearing and when he came to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, the Companions made room for him in order for him to sit next to the Prophet so that he could hear him. He came one day when people were already seated and started stepping over people, saying: �Make room! Make room!� One man said to him: �You have found a place, so sit down!� Thabit sat down but he was angry. He tried to tease the man. He said: �Who are you?� The man said: �So-and-so�. Thabit exclaimed: �What, the son of so-and-so�, and he mentioned his mother about whom they used to taunt him in the pre-Islamic period. The man lowered his head out of embarrassment. Then, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. (� not let women (deride) women who may be better than they are) [49:11]. This was revealed about two of the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, who derided Umm Salamah. What happened is that the latter tied her loins with a white dress and spread its extremity behind her such that she dragged it behind her. �A�ishah said to Hafsah: �Look at what she is dragging behind her! It looks like a dog�s tongue�. This was their derision of her. Anas said: �This was revealed about the wives of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, who made fun of Umm Salamah because she was short. �Ikrimah reported that Ibn �Abbas said: �Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: �O Messenger of Allah, women revile me, saying: O Jewess, daughter of Jewish parents!� The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to her: �Could you not have said to them in reply: my father is Aaron, my uncle is Moses and my husband is Muhammad�. Then, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. (�nor insult one another by nicknames�) [49:11]. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Mihrajani informed us> Abu �Abd Allah ibn Battah> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn �Abd al-�Aziz> Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Marwazi> Hafs ibn Ghiyath> Dawud ibn Abi Hind> al-Sha�bi> Abu Jubayrah ibn al-Dahhak> his father and uncles who said: �The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, came to us and, when some men used nicknames to call others, it was said: �O Messenger of Allah, those who are called by these nicknames do not like it�. This verse was then revealed (�nor insult one another by nicknames�)�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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