Page 34 - Commonly Disregarded Qur'anic Rulings

32 COMMONLY DISREGARDED QURANIC RULINGS

You who believe! People should not ridicule others
who may be better than themselves; nor should any
women ridicule other women who may be better
than themselves. And do not find fault with one
another or insult each other with derogatory nick-
names. How evil it is to have a name for evil conduct
after coming to faith! Those people who do not turn
from it are wrongdoers. (Surat al-Hujurat; 11)

In compliance with this command, believers respect one
another as persons endowed with the teachings of Allah.
Allah reflects many of His sublime attributes in a sincere
believer, and he is someone whom Allah praises in the Qur’an
and to whom He grants blessings in the Hereafter. Believers
should be aware of the attributes Allah mentions in the
Qur’an, and thus treat one another properly.
Allah disparages name-calling, saying, “How evil it is to
have a name for evil conduct after coming to faith”!
(Surat al-Hujurat: 11) Unless one repents of this sin and cor-
rects his behavior, he remains a wrongdoer. Ridicule may
consist of insulting someone with humiliating names or mim-
icking him through body language. The fearsome end awaiting
those who scorn and mock others makes clear that it should
be avoided by everyone:

The evil actions they did assailed them. They were
engulfed by what they mocked. (Surat an-Nahl; 34)
This verse goes on to say that the end of such a person
shows more clearly that derision is something that believers
should avoid by all means: