Verse. 5115

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (o ye who believe! when it is said) when the prophet (pbuh) says: (make room in assemblies, then make room; allah will make way for you (hereafter)) in the hereafter. this was revealed about thabit ibn qays ibn shammas whose story is mentioned in the surah of the private apartments. it is also said it was revealed about a group of people from badr, among whom were thabit ibn qays ibn shammas. these people went to the prophet (pbuh) on a friday when he was staying in the apartment of his wife safiyyah. when they could not find a place where to sit, they stood at the beginning of the assembly. so the prophet (pbuh) addressed some people who were not among those who participated in the battle of badr: so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so let those who took part in the battle of badr sit in your places. this is because the prophet (pbuh) used to honour all those who fought at the battle of badr. but when he did that, he noticed that those who were made to give up their seats resented it, and so allah revealed about them this verse. (and when it is said, come up higher!) in prayer, jihad or remembrance (go up higher; allah will exalt those who believe) in secret and openly (among you) in ranks, (and those who have knowledge) along with faith, (to high ranks) merits in paradise, more than the merits given to those who have faith but have no knowledge. this is because a believer who is knowledgeable is better than a believer who is not. (allah is informed of what ye do) of good or evil.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : o you who believe, when it is said to you, ‘make room’ during the assembly, during the assembly [convened] with the prophet (s) or for remembrance, so that those arriving to [join] you may [find room to] sit (al-majlis, ‘assembly’, may also be read [in the plural] al-majālis) then make room; god will make room for you, in paradise. and when it is said, ‘rise up’, stand up for prayer or for other good deeds, do rise up (a variant reading [for unshuzū fa’nshuzū] has anshizū in both instances [sc. anshizū fa’nshizū]); god will raise those of you who have faith, [thereby] obeying this [command], and, he will raise, those who have been given knowledge by degrees, in paradise. and god is aware of what you do.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (o ye who believe! when it is said unto you, make room! in assemblies, then make room; allah will make way for you (hereafter)…) [58:11]. said muqatil: “the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace, was at al-suffah. the place was not spacious and it was a friday. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, had the habit of honouring those who had taken part in the battle of badr from among the emigrants and the helpers. some of those who had participated in badr came to the gathering and found that people were already there before them. they stood, therefore, facing toward the prophet, allah bless him and give him peace, waiting for people to make room for them. but no one made room for them. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, was pained to see this and so he said to those around him who did not take part in badr: ‘so-and-so get up, and you get up’, and he moved as many people as the number of those who were standing among the companions who participated in the battle of badr. those who were asked to vacate their seats were not pleased and the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, saw their displeasure on their faces. then, the hypocrites said to the muslims: ‘did you not claim that your man deals fairly with people? by allah, he has not been fair with these people. he removed people who wanted to be close to their prophet from places in which they were already sitting and seated in their stead people who came late!’ allah, exalted is he, therefore revealed this verse”.