Surah Al-Mu'minun — Verse 67

Key Words and Phrases:

• Mustakbireen bihi (مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِ): Being arrogant and haughty *because of it* — referring to the Sacred House (the Ka'bah) or the Sacred Sanctuary (Al-Haram). The pronoun "bihi" points to the House of Allah, which was their source of false pride.
• Samiran (سَامِرًا): A group of people who gather at night for conversation — specifically, night-time gatherings around the Sacred House.
• Tahjurun (تَهْجُرُونَ): From *hajr* (هُجْر), meaning foul, obscene, or abusive speech. It means you utter vile and wicked words — in this context, mocking the Qur'an and speaking falsehood.

The Tafsir (Explanation):

The verse continues to describe the attitude of the disbelievers of Quraysh toward the Qur'an and the Sacred House. Allah tells us that they did not merely reject the truth out of ignorance — rather, they did so with deliberate arrogance and pride, looking down upon others without any right to do so.

Their arrogance was *because of the Sacred House* (the Ka'bah). They would say, with swollen pride: *"We are the people of this House — we are its guardians, its caretakers, its neighbours. No one can overcome us, and no one has more right to it than we do."* They used their connection to the Ka'bah as a badge of superiority over all other people, believing that this privilege made them immune to Allah's punishment and above the call of truth.

Yet, as the scholars have clarified, they were not the true people of the House. The real people of the Sacred House are not those who merely live beside it or guard its walls — rather, they are the pious and God-fearing (the *muttaqun*). A person's proximity to the Ka'bah in distance means nothing if their heart is far from Allah in obedience.

And what did they do around this blessed House? Instead of venerating it, glorifying Allah, and reflecting on His signs, they would gather at night around it — in circles of idle chatter and mockery — speaking foul words, ridiculing the Qur'an, and uttering obscene speech (*hujr*). They turned the most sacred place on earth into a venue for their vain amusement and their attacks on divine revelation.

A Call to Reflection and Action:

Dear reader, pause and reflect on this profound lesson. These people had the greatest honour — they lived beside the House of Allah, the qiblah to which all Muslims turn. Yet they lost everything because of arrogance and mockery of the truth. Their pride in their status blinded them, and their idle talk around the Sacred House became a proof against them, not a favour for them.

How often do we, too, take pride in things that should humble us? We may live near a mosque, carry an Islamic name, or come from a Muslim family — yet if our hearts are filled with arrogance and our tongues with foul speech, what good is that proximity?

The Qur'an was sent as a mercy and a guide. The Sacred House was built as a place of worship and unity. Let us not repeat the error of those who turned blessings into burdens. Let us approach the Qur'an with humility and reverence, and let us honour the symbols of Allah with our actions — not with empty claims of privilege.

The key to true honour is not in *where* you stand, but in *how* you submit. As the Prophet ﷺ said: *"There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for a white person over a black person, nor for a black person over a white person — except through piety."* (Ahmad)

So let your pride be in your obedience, and let your speech be pure — for the most beloved of speech to Allah is that which is truthful and good.