MUSLIM VILLA - QURAN ONLY

 

BismEm


As-salaam Alaikum, my dear folks.   I am a bit confused with Verse 24:29 because the translation of Pickthall seems to convey a different meaning compared to those of Yusuf Ali and Maududi.

The immediate preceding verses of this Surah mention about good manners like announcing your presence from outside when visiting someone, always greeting them with 'salaam alaikum,' if they say they don't want to meet you then you must go away.  Then Verse 24:29 says the following according to the different translations.  Pickthall mentions "uninhabited houses" while the other 2 translators write "houses not used for living" and "houses which are not dwelling places" referring to hotels, inns etc. in their tafsir.   So, which one is correct?  "uninhabited houses" and "houses not used for living" can convey different meanings.  Also, if the reference is hotels, motels or inns, even then the term "uninhabited" or "not used for living or dwelling" is not suitable because though hotels and inns aren't houses, they are used for living purposes.   Please comment and clarify, if you can. 
Many thanks!


"(It is) no sin for you to enter uninhabited houses wherein is comfort for you. Allah knoweth what ye proclaim and what ye hide."  24:29  Pickthall translation

"It is no fault on your part to enter houses not used for living in, which serve some (other) use for you: And Allah has knowledge of what ye reveal and what ye conceal."  24:29  Yusuf Ali translation

"There is, however, no harm if you enter houses which are not dwelling places, but contain something useful for you ; Allah knows what you disclose and what you conceal."  24:29  Maududi's translation

Wa salaam sister Rose.  Pickthall's translation is the correct one.  I'll show it to you through the word-by-word Grammar of the Quran as given in the Corpus Quran.  The following is the original Arabic of Verse 24:29.

(2لَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ مَسْكُونَةٍ فِيهَا مَتَاعٌ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا تَكْتُمُونَ ﴿4:29

The following is its word-by-word explanation from Arabic to English.

لَيْسَ   =   transliteration "laysa" meaning "not"

عَلَيْكُمْ   =  "alaykum" meaning "upon you"

جُنَاحٌ    =  "junahun" meaning "(is) any blame"

أَنْ      =    "an"  meaning "that"

تَدْخُلُوا   =  "tadkhulū"  meaning "you enter"

بُيُوتًا     =  "buyūtan"  meaning "houses"

غَيْرَ     =   "ghayra"  meaning  "not"

مَسْكُونَةٍ  =  "maskūnatin"  meaning  "inhabited"

فِيهَا     =   "fiha"  meaning  "in it"

مَتَاعٌ    =   "matāʿun"  meaning  "(is) a provision"

لَكُمْ     =  "lakum"  meaning  "for you"

وَاللَّهُ   =   "wal-lahu"  meaning "And Allah"

يَعْلَمُ    =  "yaʿlamu"  meaning  "knows"

مَا      =  "mā"  meaning  "what"

تُبْدُونَ    =   "tub'dūna"  meaning "you reveal"

وَمَا      =  "wamā"  meaning  "and what"

تَكْتُمُونَ   =  "taktumūna"  meaning "you conceal"


Now, if we join all the English meanings together, it will tally with Picthall's work.

"Not upon you (is) any blame that you enter houses not inhabited, in it (is) a provision for you.  And Allah knows what you reveal and what you conceal."

The expression "not inhabited" or "uninhabited" most likely means boarding places hotels or inns.  The reference would be that such places are 'not meant for dometic living' or 'uninhabited for domestic living' because these are public places.  For that reason it's okay to walk into such places without announcing your presence outside at the door.    




No problem sis, I'll take care of it.

Subhan'Allah, well put. 

 


BismEm

"And if you find no-one therein, still enter not until permission has been given.  And if it be said unto you: Go away again, then go away, for it is purer for you.  Allah knows what you do."  (24:28). 

Salams and hiyo dear folks!  :)   Just want your opinion.  This time I'm quoting V.24:28 Surah An-Nur.   

Sometimes neighbors and friends, though maybe well meaning, make bit of a nuisance of themselves with their unannounced visits.  I mean, this is an era of home phones, cell phones, text messaging and emails.   How much time would it take to make a single  call and say "I'm free, would like to drop by for a chat, are you free too?"   Yet many don't do that.   They take their free time for granted, presuming it's everyone's free time.  This sister neighbor who resides a few floors above ours has this irritating habit of popping in at all odd hours whenever she's finished her chores, but never bothers to think for a moment that others might be busy at that time and hour.   For some unknown reason she just doesn't want to call prior to popping in.  Needless to say, if it's an emergency, unannounced visits are absolutely fine any time.  In fact we encourage that.  But her visits are just to chat, often gossip .... sometimes dropping in twice or thrice a day causing immense inconvenience to all of us particularly considering that she's not a very informal friend either.   The other day she did that again. We were in the middle of preparing an early dinner and then get on with some Quranic discussion with the family.  Suddenly a few loud knocks on the door.  My husband answered the door, apologized and told her I was too busy in the kitchen and that I would call her the next morning InshAllah.  She said 'ok' and left but really took offense.  When I called her next day around noon, she acted smug and brash.  So I kept the conversation short;  didn't call her after that and neither did she .. which I don't regret .... good riddance kinda feeling in my family and me  ;D    I remembered Verse 24:28.   This was precisely the case with us.  An unannounced guest drops by at the wrong time for a chit-chat, we said 'sorry too busy, will talk later InshAllah.'   And she ends up swollen-headed.   Any comments?    I mean, we're keeping Verse 24:28 as our Benchmark.  Do you think we overlooked anything?

 :D


There are lots a people of our community who do that even after residing in the West for years.   

Verse 24:28 plainly rejects such selfish moves.   You and your husband absolutely didn't overlook anything as hosts.  It was she who over stepped her rights as a guest.   If she was a regular reader of the Noble Quran who understands what she reads, she would have known it.  But that's the big problem with many of our folks.   Most of them have no idea of Quranic instructions.

LOL.   I've also faced this scenario of selfish hosts a few times.  No, you and your husband didn't overlook any aspect, sister.    Verse 24:28 is right there to tell us what to do.  Unconditional hospitality to guests is not obligatory for Muslims.   Whenever a visit is planned, it must be a convenient time for both the guests and the hosts.  Allah Almighty made this very clear even at a time when there were no phones etc.   Presently with so many ways of  informing before visiting, there's no excuse for unannounced chit-chat visits.      To avoid such inconvenient visits, one simply needs to be candid and tell them to call before coming.  If they're civilized folks, they should never take offense.  If they do, so be it. 

You're right, emergency visits are a different story.  That can happen any time and one has every entitlement to drop by (unannounced or announced) and seek help, regardless of the hour.   And neither do emergencies happen every day.

Big thanks brother and sister.   

Right step taken under the circumstances, sister Ruhi.  Many of our unexpected guests take it as an infradig if the host in unable to entertain them at that moment.  Allah makes it clear that it's nothing to feel insulted or vexed about.  The Quranic term "Go back" carries a literal meaning.  Excluding emergencies of course, a host is not obligated to cater to an inconsiderate guest who only thinks of their own convenience.  I know how irritating that can be particularly if it happens every now and again.