Al-Udhun Verse
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Ear Verse, The Verse of Believing |
| Sura | al-Tawba |
| Verse | 61 |
| Juz' | 10 |
| Content Information | |
| Cause of Revelation | Abusing the Prophet (s) by hypocrites |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Ethical |
| About | Characteristic of the leader of the community |
| Others | Reliability of al-Khabar al-Wahid in principles of jurisprudence |
The Verse of Udhun or al-Udhun Verse (Arabic: آیة الأُذُن, literally, the Verse of Ear) is in the Qur'an 9:61, also known as al-Taṣdīq Verse (Arabic: آیَة التَصْدیق, literally, the Verse of Believing). The verse was revealed about a number of hypocrites who abused the Prophet (s) with their words, saying that he was an "ear", that is, credulous. The verse responds by saying that the Prophet's (s) being a good listener was a good characteristic of him as the leader of the community, since in this way people will be respected and their reputation will be protected.
The verse has been appealed to for the reliability of al-Khabar al-Wahid.
Text and Translation
| “ | وَمِنْهُمُ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ النَّبِيَّ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ أُذُنٌ ۚ قُلْ أُذُنُ خَيْرٍ لَّكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّـهِ وَيُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّـهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
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” |
| “ | Among them are those who torment the Prophet, and say, ‘He is an ear.’ Say, ‘An ear that is good for you. He has faith in Allah and trusts the faithful, and is a mercy for those of you who have faith.’ As for those who torment the Apostle of Allah, there is a painful punishment for them.
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” |
| — Quran 9:61 | ||
Occasion of Revelation
Al-Udhun Verse was revealed about a group of hypocrites who abused the Prophet (s) with their words. When some of them prohibited the others from doing so since the Prophet (s) could know about it and punish them, a person called "Jullas b. Suwayd", or on other accounts, "Nabtal b. Harth", said, "We say whatever we wish about Muhammad (s) and then we go to him and swear that we did not say these things. He will believe us, since he as an ear, that is credulous."[1] It was then that the verse was revealed. There are other accounts of this verse's occasion of the revelation as well.[2]
Content
The Qur'an 9:61 is known as "al-Udhun Verse" (the Ear Verse) or "al-Tasdiq Verse" (the Verse of Believing).[3] The word, "udhun", in this verse means ear, which is metaphorical language for a person who accepts or believes whatever he hears.[4] According to this verse, hypocrites referred to the Prophet (s) as an "ear", meaning to say that he was credulous, believing whatever he heard.[5]
In this verse God addresses the hypocrites by saying that he is "An ear that is good for you", where "good ear" implies that the Prophet (s) was a great listener, which is a good characteristic of the leader of a community in two respects. On the one hand, he hears God's revelations and advice by Muslims, which is good for the society, and on the other hand, he listens to irrelevant remarks by hypocrites out of respect and in order to protect the utterer's reputation.[6]
According to Tafsir-i Nimuna, a good characteristic of leaders, including the Prophet (s), is to be a good listener, which is a grace for the society. This way, people's secrets will be kept and their reputations and the unity of the society will be protected, although hypocrites considered this great characteristic of the Prophet (s) as a weakness.[7]
At the end of the verse, it is pointed out that although hypocrites have abused the Prophet (s) with their words and he refused to decry them, it does not mean that they will not be punished for what they did. Indeed, they will face a humiliating punishment on the Day of Resurrection.[8]
Appealing to the Verse in Principles of Jurisprudence
In principles of jurisprudence, al-Udhun Verse was appealed to by some scholars in order to establish the reliability of al-Khabar al-Wahid.[9] Here is how the reasoning proceeds, "According to this verse, the Prophet (s) "has faith in Allah and trusts the faithful, thus trusting the believers is praised and is deemed equivalent to believing in God by the Prophet (s). Now trusting a believer implies the reliability of his reports. Therefore, if a righteous person reports about something, he should be trusted. The argument has been subject to many objections. Thus, the majority of scholars maintain that the verse does not imply the reliability of al-khabar al-wahid.[10]
Notes
- ↑ Wāḥidī, Asbāb al-nuzūl al-Qurʾān, vol. 254; Ḥuwayzī, Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn, vol. 2, p. 236.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 300; Fakhr al-Rāzī, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 16, p. 89-90.
- ↑ Ākhund Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, p. 301.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 15; Shāh Abdul al-ʿAẓīmī, Tafsīr ithnā asharī, vol. 5, p. 130.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 314.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 314.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 15-16.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 17.
- ↑ Ākhund Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, p. 301.
- ↑ Ākhund Khurāsānī, Kifāyat al-uṣūl, p. 301; Anṣārī, Farāʾid al-uṣūl, vol. 1, p. 291-292.
References
- Anṣārī, Murtaḍā. Farāʾid al-uṣūl. Qom: Majmaʿ al-Fikr al-Islāmī, 1419 AH.
- Ākhund Khurāsānī, Muḥammad Kāẓim. Kifāyat al-uṣūl. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1409 AH.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. al-ʿUmar al-. Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Ḥuwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī b. al-Jumʿa al-. Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn. Edited by Ḥāshim Rasūlī. Qom: ʿIsmā'ilīyān, 1415 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnah. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1371 Sh.
- Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-. Tafsīr al-Qummī. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1363 Sh.
- Shāh Abdul al-ʿAẓīmī, Ḥusayn. Tafsīr ithnā asharī. Tehran: Mīqāt, 1363 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1417 AH.
- Wāḥidī, Alī b. Aḥmad. Asbāb al-nuzūl al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmīyya, 1411 AH.