Al-Mujadila · Madani · ayah 11 of 22

Al-Mujadila 58:11

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا۟ فِى ٱلْمَجَـٰلِسِ فَٱفْسَحُوا۟ يَفْسَحِ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۖ وَإِذَا قِيلَ ٱنشُزُوا۟ فَٱنشُزُوا۟ يَرْفَعِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ دَرَجَـٰتٍ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ

“O you who have believed, when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allāh will make space for you.[1645] And when you are told, "Arise,"[1646] then arise; Allāh will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allāh is Aware of what you do.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Making room for someone and being willing to give up your own seat are, it turns out, close to what real knowledge is for.

A reflection

The jostling this ayah was actually correcting

A hadith preserves the specific habit this ayah answers: people competing for the seats nearest the Prophet ﷺ, crowding so tightly that latecomers were left standing, until some of those already seated were asked to get up so others, thought more deserving of proximity, could take their place. Another hadith makes the underlying principle explicit: let no one make another stand up from his seat in order to sit in it himself; instead, make room and spread out.

Notice what the correction is not. It is not a ban on wanting to sit close to someone you respect, which is a natural and understandable wish. It is a refusal of the specific method some were using to get there: displacing someone already settled, rather than simply widening the space enough for everyone who wanted to be near.

This distinction travels well beyond seating arrangements. Status sought by displacing someone already there, a promotion secured by undermining a colleague, a closer friendship built by quietly edging out an older one, follows the same forbidden shape this hadith names directly. Status gained by making more room, bringing others in rather than pushing anyone out, follows the shape this ayah commends instead.

The method matters as much as the goal. Wanting to be near something good is not the problem this ayah addresses. Getting there by moving someone else out of their place is.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.