Verse. 4614

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (o ye who believe!) this was revealed about thabit ibn qays ibn shammas who raised his voice in the presence of the messenger of allah (pbuh) upon the visit of the delegation of banu tamim. and so allah forbade him from doing so. allah said: o you who believe in muhammad (pbuh) and the qur'an; in reference to thabit, (lift not up your voices above the voice of the prophet) allah bless him and give him peace, nor insist in talking when the prophet (pbuh) is talking, (nor shout when speaking to him) nor call him by his first name (as ye shout one to another) as you would do with one another; rather you should reverence and honour him and address him by: “o prophet of allah” or “o messenger of allah” or “o abu'l-qasim”, (lest your works be rendered vain while ye perceive not) lest your good works be nullified for failing to observe propriety and reverence towards the prophet (pbuh) while not knowing that your works are nullified.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : the following was revealed regarding those who raised their voices in the presence of the prophet (s): o you who believe, do not raise your voices — when you [want to] speak — above the voice of the prophet, when he is speaking, and do not shout words at him, when you [wish to] confide in him, as you shout to one another, but [speak] lower than that, out of reverence for him, lest your works should be invalidated without your being aware, that is to say, for fear of this [happening] as a result of the raising of voices and the shouting mentioned.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (o ye who believe! lift not up your voices above the voice of the prophet…) [49:2]. this verse was revealed about thabit ibn qays ibn shimas who was hard of hearing and loud. when he spoke with a person he always raised his voice. he might have annoyed the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, with his loud voice when he spoke to him. and so allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse. ahmad ibn ibrahim al-muzakki informed us> ‘ubayd allah ibn muhammad al-zahid> abu’l-qasim al-baghawi> qatan ibn nusayr> ja‘far ibn sulayman al-dab‘i> thabit> anas who said: “when this verse (o ye who believe! lift not up your voices above the voice of the prophet) was revealed, thabit ibn qays said: ‘i am the one who used to raise his voice above the voice of the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace; i am therefore of the inhabitants of hellfire’. this was mentioned to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and he said: ‘he is rather of the people of the garden’ ”. this was narrated by muslim from qatan ibn nusayr. ibn abi mulaykah said: “the best ones, abu bakr and ‘umar, did almost perish. they raised their voices in the presence of the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace, when some horsemen from the banu tamim came to see him. one of them suggested al-aqra‘ ibn habis [for the leadership of banu tamim] while the other suggested another man. abu bakr said to ‘umar: ‘you only wanted to oppose me!’ ‘umar responded: ‘i did not want to oppose you’, and they raised their voices while arguing with each other. allah, exalted is he, revealed about this (o ye who believe! lift not up your voices above the voice of the prophet…)”. ibn al-zubayr said: “after this verse was revealed, the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, could hardly hear what ‘umar ibn al-khattab said to him; he had to ask again about what he said”.

Sahl al-Tustari

تفسير : …and do not raise your voices above the voice of the prophet…that is, ‘do not address him except when seeking to understand [from him].’ then he explains the honour of the one who reveres him, and says: