Surah Al-Hujurat, Ayah 5

Admonishing Those Who call the Prophet from behind Dwellings

Allah the Exalted and Most Blessed admonished those, such as the uncivilized bedouins, who used to call to the Prophet from behind the dwellings which belong to his wives,

أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ

(most of them have no sense.) Allah the Exalted and Most Honored then ordains the better behavior in this regard,

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ صَبَرُواْ حَتَّى تَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ لَكَانَ خَيْراً لَّهُمْ

(And if they had patience till you could come out to them, it would have been better for them.) it would have earned them the better benefit of this life and the Hereafter. Allah, Worthy of all praise, then encourages them to turn to Him in repentance.

الَّذِينَ يُنَادُونَكَ مِن وَرَ‌اءِ الْحُجُرَ‌اتِ أَكْثَرُ‌هُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ (As for those who call you from behind the apartments, most of them lack understanding. - 49:4) In this verse, Allah Ta’ ala has mentioned a third etiquette about dealing with the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It is directed that when he is at home, one should not call him from outside. Particularly calling him by his name is an unmannered attitude. Reasonable persons would not do it. The term hujurat (translated above as 'apartments' ) is the plural of hujrah. Lexically, it refers to a four-walled apartment or dwelling, comprising a courtyard and a roofed building. In Madinah, the Holy Prophet ﷺ had nine wives. Each one of them had a separate apartment, where on different days, he used to stay in succession.

The Bedouin tribes from the areas surrounding Madinah were not mature in understanding. When they used to come to the meetings of the Prophet Muhammad, they did not address him as ‘O Prophet of God’, but rather as ‘O Muhammad.’ Their manner of speech was not modest or humble, but overbearing. Such behaviour was prohibited. A Prophet is God’s representative in this world. Rudeness to him of this nature amounts to rude behaviour towards God, which renders a man absolutely worthless. After the demise of the Prophet Muhammad, the guidance brought by him stands in his place. Now this divine guidance necessitates obedience just as obedience to the Prophet personally was required during his lifetime. Fear of God makes a man serious. If fear of God really enters a man’s heart, he will come to know automatically, as a matter of instinct, all those realities of which others remain unaware in spite of being informed of them.