Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Hujurat Verse 14

Mufti Taqi Usmani

The Bedouins say, “We have come to believe.” Say, “You have not come to believe; instead, you (should) say, ‘We have surrendered’ and the belief has not entered your hearts so far. If you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not curtail (the reward of) any of your deeds in the least. Surely Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

˹Some of˺ the nomadic Arabs say, “We believe.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “You have not believed. But say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts.[[ The verse makes a distinction between Islam (the declaration of accepting the faith, then performing Islamic duties such as prayers and fasting) and Îmân (a higher state of Islam, which means to embrace the faith wholeheartedly). This distinction is very clear in a famous narration from the Prophet (ﷺ), commonly known as the Ḥadîth of Gabriel. ]] But if you obey Allah and His Messenger ˹wholeheartedly˺, He will not discount anything from ˹the reward of˺ your deeds. Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

The Bedouins say, “We have believed.” Say, “You have not believed, but say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not detract anything from the reward of your deeds. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

A. J. Arberry

The Bedouins say, 'We believe.' Say: 'You do not believe; rather say, "We surrender"; for belief has not yet entered your hearts. If you obey God and His Messenger, He will not diminish you anything of your works. God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.'

Abdul Haleem

The desert Arabs say, ‘We have faith.’ [Prophet], tell them, ‘You do not have faith. What you should say instead is, “We have submitted,” for faith has not yet entered your hearts.’ If you obey God and His Messenger, He will not diminish any of your deeds: He is most forgiving and most merciful.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

The desert Arabs say: we have believed. Say thou: believe not, but rather say: We have submitted; and belief hath not yet entered into your hearts. And if ye obey Allah and His apostle, He shall not diminish from you aught Of you, wOrks verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Abul Ala Maududi

The Bedouins say: “We believe.” (O Prophet), say to them: “You do not believe; you should rather say: 'We have submitted'”; for belief has not yet entered your hearts. If you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not diminish anything from the reward of any of your deeds. Surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate.

Ahmed Ali

The Arabs of the desert say: "We believe." Tell them: "You do not believe. Better say: 'We submit'; for belief has not yet penetrated your hearts." If you begin to obey God and His Apostle, He will not withhold the least (of the recompense) of your labour. Verily God is forgiving and kind."

Ahmed Raza Khan

The ignorant said, “We have accepted faith”; say, (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), “You have surely not accepted faith, but you should say ‘We have submitted’, for faith has not yet entered your hearts; and if you obey* Allah and His Noble Messenger, He will not reduce the reward of any of your deeds; indeed Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (* By accepting faith and then obeying the commands).

Ali Quli Qarai

The Bedouins say, ‘We have faith.’ Say, ‘You do not have faith yet; rather, say, ‘‘We have embraced Islam,’’ for faith has not yet entered into your hearts. Yet if you obey Allah and His Apostle, He will not stint anything of [the reward of] your works. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.’

Ali Ünal

(Some of) the dwellers of the desert say: "We believe." Say (to them): "You have not believed. Rather, (you should) say, ‘We have submitted (to the rule of Islam),’ for faith has not yet entered into your hearts." But, if you obey God and His Messenger, He will not hold back anything of the reward of your (good) deeds. Surely God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.

Amatul Rahman Omar

The Arabs of the desert say, `We believe.´ Say, `You have not yet truly believed, (you should) rather say, "We obey and have submitted," for true faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allâh and His Messenger He will not diminish aught of your deeds.´ Surely, Allâh is Great Protector, Ever Merciful.

English Literal

The Arabs (often mistranslated as nomads or Bedouins, refer to 48:16) said: "We believed." Say: "You did not believe, and but say: `We submitted/became Moslem ` and the faith/belief did not (E) enter in your hearts/minds . And if you obey God and His messenger He does not reduce/diminish you a thing from your deeds , that truly God (is) forgiving, merciful."

Faridul Haque

The ignorant said, “We have accepted faith”; say, (O dear Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him), “You have surely not accepted faith, but you should say ‘We have submitted’, for faith has not yet entered your hearts; and if you obey * Allah and His Noble Messenger, He will not reduce the reward of any of your deeds; indeed Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (* By accepting faith and then obeying the commands).

Hamid S. Aziz

The dwellers of the desert (or desert Arabs) say, "We believe". Say, "You believe not, but rather say, ´We submit´; for faith has not yet entered into your heart; and if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not diminish aught of your deeds; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."

Hilali & Khan

The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islam),' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger (SAW), He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O mankind, surely We have created you from a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the most dutiful of you. Surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

The dwellers of the desert say: We believe. Say: You do not believe but say, We submit; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts; and if you obey Allah and His Apostle, He will not diminish aught of your deeds; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

The wandering Arabs say: We believe. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Ye believe not, but rather say "We submit," for the faith hath not yet entered into your hearts. Yet, if ye obey Allah and His messenger, He will not withhold from you aught of (the reward of) your deeds. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Muhammad Sarwar

The bedouin Arabs have said, "We are believers." Tell them, "You are not believers, but you should say that you are Muslims. In fact, belief has not yet entered your hearts. If you obey God and His Messenger, nothing will be reduced from your deeds. God is All-forgiving and All-merciful.

Qaribullah & Darwish

The Arabs declare: 'We believe' Say: 'You do not', rather, say: 'we submit' because belief has not yet found its way into your hearts. If you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not reduce a thing from of your deeds. Allah is the Forgiving and the Most Merciful.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You do not believe. But say, `We have submitted,' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts. But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds. Verily, Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Wahiduddin Khan

The Arabs of the desert say, "We have believed." Say to them, "You have not believed yet; say rather, "We have submitted," for faith has not yet entered into your hearts. But if you will obey God and His Messenger, He will not detract anything from your good deeds. God is most forgiving and ever merciful."

Talal Itani

The Desert-Arabs say, “We have believed.” Say, “You have not believed; but say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered into your hearts. But if you obey God and His Messenger, He will not diminish any of your deeds. God is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Tafsir jalalayn

The Bedouins -- a group of men from among the Ban Asad -- say, `We believe', we affirm the truth in our hearts. Say, to them; `You do not believe; but rather say, "We have submitted", we are outwardly compliant; for faith has not yet entered into your hearts', hitherto; however, it is expected of you. Yet if you obey God and His Messenger, by [embracing] faith and in other ways, He will not diminish for you (read ya'litkum or yalitkum, by making the hamza an alif) anything of your deeds, that is, of the reward for them. God is indeed Forgiving, to believers, Merciful, to them.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

There is a Difference between a Believer and a Muslim

Allah chastises the Bedouins who, when they embraced Islam, claimed for themselves the grade of faithful believers. However, Faith had not yet firmly entered their hearts,

قَالَتِ الاْاَعْرَابُ امَنَّا

قُل لَّمْ تُوْمِنُوا وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الاِْيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ

The Bedouins say;"We believe."

Say;"You do not believe, but say, `We have submitted,' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts..."

This honorable Ayah provides proof that Faith is a higher grade than Islam, according to the scholars of the Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. This is also demonstrated in the Hadith of Jibril, peace be upon him, when he questioned the Prophet about Islam, then Iman then Ihsan. Thus moving the general matter to one more specific, then even more specific.

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Amir bin Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas said,

"The Messenger of Allah gave (something to) some men and did not give one of them. Sa`d said, `O Allah's Messenger, you gave to so-and-so and so-and-so. However, you gave nothing to so-and-so, even though he is a believer.'

The Prophet said,
أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ
(Or say, a Muslim),

Sa`d repeated his statement thrice each time the Prophet answered,
أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ
(Or say, a Muslim),

إِنِّي لَاُعْطِي رِجَالاً وَأَدَعُ مَنْ هُوَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنْهُمْ فَلَمْ أُعْطِهِ شَيْيًا مَخَافَةَ أَنْ يُكَبُّوا فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِم

I might give some men and give nothing to others, even though the latter are dearer to me than the former. I do not give them things for fear that they might be thrown on their faces in the Fire."

This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs.

Therefore, the Prophet made a distinction between the grade of believer and the grade of Muslim, indicating that Iman is a more exclusive grade than Islam.

I mentioned this subject in detail supported by evidence, in the beginning of the explanation of the chapter on Iman in Sahih Al-Bukhari, all praise is due to Allah and all the favors are from Him.

So this proves that the Bedouins whom the Ayah mentioned were not hypocrites, rather they were Muslims in whose hearts Faith was not yet firmly established. They claimed a higher grade for themselves than the grade that they earned, and they were taught a lesson as a consequence.

This meaning agrees with the meaning given by Ibn Abbas, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Qatadah and that preferred by Ibn Jarir. These Bedouins were taught a lesson,

لَّمْ تُوْمِنُوا وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الاِْيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ

Say;"You do not believe, but say `We are Muslims,' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts..."

meaning, `you have not yet achieved the reality of Faith.'

Allah the Exalted said,

وَإِن تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَاإ يَلِتْكُم مِّنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْيًا

But if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not decrease anything in reward for your deeds...

`He will not decrease any of your rewards,' as Allah said;

وَمَأ أَلَتْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ

We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything. (52;21)

Allah said;

إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ



Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

(for those who repent and return to Him).

Allah's statement