﴿1-3﴾ “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. O you who believe, do not put yourselves forward before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak loudly to him as you speak loudly to one another, lest your deeds become void without your realizing it. Indeed, those who lower their voices in the presence of Allah’s Messenger are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for piety. For them are forgiveness and a tremendous reward.”
This passage sets forth the proper conduct toward Allah Most High and toward His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as well as the reverence, respect, and honor due to him. [Allah] commanded His believing servants to fulfill what faith in Allah and His Messenger requires: to obey Allah’s commands, avoid His prohibitions, follow His commands, and adhere to the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—in all their affairs. [They should] not put themselves forward before Allah and His Messenger, speak before he has spoken, or issue commands before he has commanded. This is the essence of the conduct required toward Allah and His Messenger, and it is the hallmark of a servant’s happiness and success. Without it, he forfeits everlasting happiness and perpetual bliss.
This also contains an [emphatic] prohibition against preferring anyone else’s words to those of the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whenever the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—becomes clear, it must be followed and given precedence over everything else, whatever it may be (1).
Allah then commanded that He be feared in all matters. This is as Talq ibn Habīb said: “It is to obey Allah upon light from Allah, hoping for Allah’s reward, and to refrain from disobeying Allah upon light from Allah, fearing Allah’s punishment.”
His words, “Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing,” mean that He hears every sound at every moment, even in the most concealed places and directions. “All-Knowing” means that He knows outward and inward matters, what precedes and what follows, and what is necessary, impossible, and possible (2).
The mention of these two noble names—after the prohibition against putting oneself forward before Allah and His Messenger and the command to fear Him—encourages compliance with these excellent commands and commendable standards of conduct, and warns against failing to comply (3).
Then the Most High said: “O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak loudly to him.” This concerns proper conduct when addressing the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Anyone speaking to him must not raise his voice above the Prophet’s voice or speak loudly to him. Rather, he must lower his voice and address him with courtesy and gentleness, reverence and honor, esteem and veneration. The Messenger must not be treated like any ordinary person. They must distinguish him in the manner in which they address him, just as he is distinguished from all others by the rights that the Muslim community is obligated to fulfill toward him, the obligation to believe in him, and the love without which faith cannot be complete. Failing to uphold this entails a grave danger: a servant’s deeds may become void without his realizing it. Conversely, proper conduct toward him is among the causes of [earning reward and] having one’s deeds accepted.
Allah then praised those who lowered their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—by stating that He had tested their hearts for piety. That is, He subjected their hearts to trial and examination, and the result became manifest: their hearts were fit for piety. He then promised them forgiveness for their sins, which entails the removal of evil and all that is undesirable, and a tremendous reward whose true nature is known only to Allah Most High. That tremendous reward entails the attainment of what is beloved (4).
This proves that Allah tests hearts through commands, prohibitions, and trials. Whoever holds fast to Allah’s command, pursues what pleases Him, hastens to do so, and gives it precedence over his own desires becomes wholly purified and refined for piety, and his heart becomes fit for it. Whoever is not like that is known to be unfit for piety.