The sixty-seventh clip titled "Let's make our Thursdays Quranic" was released

https://www.facebook.com/iranianconsulateabuja/videos/971015207495019

واذْکرْن ما یتْلى فی بیوتکنّ منْ آیات اللّه والْحکْمة إنّ اللّه کان لطیفًا خبیرًا

 “And remember what is recited in your homes of the signs of Allah and wisdom. Indeed Allah is All-Attentive, All-Aware.”

As we said in our earlier episodes, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), following the death of his loyal wife of 25 long years, the Mother of all True Believers, Omm al-Momineen, Hazrat Khadija (peace upon her), had married several women in the last ten years of his life in order to break social taboos of the days of ignorance and to provide support to certain destitute aged widows. Of course, not all of these wives were firm in faith, and were prone to err regarding the laws of God and obedience to their flawless husband. Moreover, being born outside the pale of Islam, before becoming Muslim, they were not Infallible and Sinless like the Prophet’s immediate blood-family the Ahl al-Bayt, that is, his daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra, her husband the Prophet’s dearest cousin, Imam Ali, and the couple’s two sons, Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (peace upon them). Thus, God Almighty revealed several ayahs for the guidance of these wives so that they guard themselves from deviation, since being the spouses of the Prophet, they were not like ordinary women, and had to have an upright behaviour. At the same time, God warned them of punishment in case of erring, and two-fold reward in case of upright behaviour.

Here in the ayah that we recited to you, the Almighty means to say: O’ wives of the Prophet! You should remember, and do not forget that the Divine revelation is sent down in your house, and it is indeed among the signs of Allah, Who is All-Aware and All-Attentive, even of things and thoughts that human beings think can be hidden. In other words, you ought to learn, and instead of a worthless culture, you must follow the Divine culture. You are in the abode of revelation and under the light of the Qur’an; even when you are at home, you can abundantly enjoy the lessons of Islam and the words of the Prophet expressed through his holy tongue, because his every breath is a lesson and his every word is a programme. This fact mentioned in this ayahs has been stated as the last duty of the wives of the Prophet, and it is a warning unto all of them that they may utilize the best opportunity which has been given to them; that is, being informed of the facts of Islam, and that they might improve themselves under its light.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Those in close company with the Prophet should be avail of the wisdom that he convey through divine revelation.
2. The spouses and household of religious leaders should try to be models of upright behaviour.

Now listen to and read ayah 35 of the same Surah:

إنّ الْمسْلمین والْمسْلمات والْمؤْمنین والْمؤْمنات والْقانتین والْقانتات والصّادقین والصّادقات والصّابرین والصّابرات والْخاشعین والْخاشعات والْمتصدّقین والْمتصدّقات والصّائمین والصّائمات والْحافظین فروجهمْ والْحافظات والذّاکرین اللّه کثیرًا والذّاکرات أعدّ اللّه لهم مّغْفرةً وأجْرًا عظیمًا

“Indeed the Muslim men and the Muslim women, the faithful men and the faithful women, the obedient men and the obedient women, the truthful men and the truthful women, the patient men and the patient women, the humble1 men and the humble women, the charitable men and the charitable women, the men who fast and the women who fast, the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, the men who remember Allah greatly and the women who remember [Allah greatly] —Allah holds in store for them forgiveness and a great reward.”

This ayah expresses the characteristics of true believers, both men and women, in various spheres of life. According to exegetes, when Asma bint Omays, the wife of the Prophet’s cousin, Ja’far ibn Abi Taleb, who had accompanied her husband in his migration to Abyssinia, that is, present day Ethiopia in order to be safe from the persecution of the pagan Arabs, returned to Arabia, and asked the Prophet’s wives, whether there was anything of the ayahs of the holy Qur’an revealed about virtuous women, they responded in a negative manner, obviously because they had not much information of all that was revealed by God to the Prophet. She then came to the Prophet and posed the same question, and it was then that God revealed this ayah to the Prophet about the excellence of women, and the fact that there is no difference between genders in Islam, whether male or female. In other words, men and women are equal in the sight of Allah from the point of nearness and rank. The important thing is that they should have the conditions of excellence from the view of belief, action, and Islamic morals. This ayah enumerates ten virtues for the general men and women in the subjects of belief, ethics, and practice. If we study the differences that Arabs and non-Arabs used to consider between men and women and we search the heart-rending history of woman, the value of this verse will be made clear. Next to the discussions about the duties of the Prophet’s wives mentioned in the previous ayahs, now, in this verse, there are some comprehensive and expressive statements stated about the whole men and women as well as their outstanding qualities. After mentioning ten specialties from among their ideological, ethical, and practical qualities, their great reward has been pointed out at the end of the ayah. A part of these ten specialties is about the stages of belief, that is, confession by the tongue, attesting by the heart, and practicing by the limbs. Another part speaks about controlling the tongue, the stomach, and lust, which are three important factors in the life and morals of human beings. Another part of the discussion is about the subject of supporting the deprived, standing against hard and heavy events with patience, which is the root of faith, and finally, it is about the main element of the continuation of these qualities, i.e., remembering Allah. Unlike what some people think, faith in God is not limited solely to prayer and fasting. For this reason, in addition to performance of religious obligations, the ayah has referred to patience, honesty and humbleness which express the ethical and practical characteristics of a Muslim. So if these characteristics are weak in someone it means that his faith in God is weak.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. The difference between men and women is limited to their physical appearance and their duties as per their creation, but in faith, belief, and the rewards they entail, Islam says both men and women are equal.
2. Man and woman are equal in attaining spiritual perfection and availing of divine forgiveness and reward. The difference between them in certain affairs, such as inheritance and blood money, are related to their role and status in the family, and not their position in the sight of God the Almighty Creator.

Now we listen to and read ayah 36 of Surah Ahzab:

وما کان لمؤْمنٍ ولا مؤْمنةٍ إذا قضى اللّه ورسوله أمْرًا أن یکون لهم الْخیرة منْ أمْرهمْ ومن یعْص اللّه ورسوله فقدْ ضلّ ضلالا مّبینًا

“A faithful man or woman may not, when Allah and His Prophet have decided on a matter, have any option in their matter, and whoever disobeys Allah and His Prophet has certainly strayed into manifest error.”

In continuation of the previous ayah which referred to obedience to God as one of characteristics of a true believer, this ayah emphasizes that the instructions of the Prophet are incumbent to be fulfilled, similar to the commandments of God. In the system of religious government, obedience of Allah is superior to the people’s rules, because those people’s views are valuable which are not opposite to the ordinance of Allah. However, we know well that the essence of Islam is ‘submission’, the submission that has no condition before the commandment of Allah. In other words, if a person, instead of following the tenets of Islam, choses to do whatever he/she likes, and refrains from carrying out whatever he/she deems is not right, is actually following whims and fantasies, rather than the divine commandments.  

From this ayah we learn that:

1. Obedience to God and His Prophet and following tenets of faith are the signs of a true believer.
2. The freedom which is within the framework of divine laws is rational and not unbridled.
3. Human laws which are against the laws of God, lead persons and societies towards deviation and manifest error.