His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿O you who have believed, when you are told, "Make space in the assemblies," then make space; Allah will make space for you. And when you are told, "Rise up," then rise up; Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge by degrees. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.﴾

﴿O you who have believed, when you speak privately to the Messenger, present before your private conversation a charity. That is better for you and purer. But if you find not [the means], then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.﴾

(p-252) The majority of people read: "Make space," while Al-Hasan and Dawud ibn Abi Hind read: "Make space for one another." The majority of the reciters read: "in the assembly," while Aasim alone and Qatadah and Isa read: "in the assemblies."

People have differed regarding the reason for the verse and its intended meaning. Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, and Mujahid said: It was revealed concerning the seating during war and fighting. Zayd ibn Aslam and Qatadah said: It was revealed due to the crowding of people in the assembly of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. This was because they were competing for closeness to him, to hear his words, and to look at him. A man who had the right, age, and seniority in Islam would come and find no place. Thus, it was revealed because of that. Al-Muqatil said: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, established a place for the elders of the people of Badr and the like to sit, and the verse was revealed. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "No one should stand up from his place and then another man sits in it. Rather, make space, and Allah will make space for you." Some people said: The verse is specific to the assembly of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in all other assemblies. This is indicated by the reading of those who read: "in the assembly," and those who read: "in the assemblies" also intended this, because everyone has a place in the house of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and his location. Therefore, it was gathered for that. The majority of scholars said: The reason is the assembly of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the ruling applies generally to all assemblies that are for acts of obedience. This is supported by the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The most beloved of you to Allah are those who are the most gentle in their manners during prayer and in their assemblies." This is the saying of Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, who said: I do not see the ruling except that it applies to the assemblies of knowledge and similar ones throughout time. This saying is supported by the reading of those who read: "in the assemblies," and those who read: "in the assembly"—this, according to this interpretation, is a generic term. The recommended Sunnah is to make space, and standing up is prohibited. The hadith of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, where he said: "It is prohibited for a man to stand up and another to sit in his place," but standing up out of respect is permissible according to the hadith, as he said, blessings and peace be upon him, when Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, approached: "Stand up for your leader." It is obligatory for the majority not to love that and to take people to it, due to his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever loves to be stood for by men, let him prepare his seat in Hellfire." And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿Allah will make space for you﴾ means: in His mercy and His paradise.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And when it is said, 'Rise up,' then rise up," means: when it is said to you, 'Elevate yourselves and stand up,' then do that. Among it is the elevation of bones, meaning: their growth. And the elevation (nashaz) of the land is: the raised part. People have differed regarding this elevation that they were commanded to comply with; what is it? Al-Hasan, Al-Dahhak, and Qatadah said: Its meaning is: when they call to fight, or obedience, or prayer, and similar matters. Others said: when they call to stand up for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him; because he, blessings and peace be upon him, sometimes preferred to be alone in matters of Islam. Perhaps a group would sit, and each one wanted to be the last person to have contact with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Then the verse was revealed commanding them to stand up from him whenever they understood that by saying or action. Others said: Its meaning is: rise up in the gathering, meaning to make space; because the one who wants to make space elevates himself upwards in the air. When he does that collectively, the place becomes spacious. Thus, "rise up" comes in one purpose along with His saying, exalted is He: "Make space." Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, and Hafs from 'Asim read: "rise up" with the raising of the sheen, which is the reading of Abu Ja'far, Shaibah, and Al-A'raj. Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "make space" with the breaking of the seen in it, which is the reading of Al-Hasan, Al-A'mash, and Talhah. It is said: nashaza (to rise) as in hashar (to gather) and akhafa (to stay) and ya'kif (to remain). And His saying, exalted is He: "Allah will elevate" is the response to the command.

People have differed regarding the arrangement of His saying, exalted is He: "Those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge will have degrees." A group of the interpreters said: The meaning is: Allah will elevate the believing scholars among you in degrees. Therefore, He commanded to make space for them. On this basis, His saying, exalted is He: "And those who were given knowledge" comes in the position of your saying: 'The wise, the generous, and the brave came to me,' while you mean one man. Others said: The meaning is: Allah will elevate both the believers and the scholars, both categories together in degrees. However, we know their superiority in degrees from other places. Therefore, the command to make space came generally for the scholars and others. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said: The meaning is: "Allah will elevate those who have believed among you," and the saying was completed, then He began to specify the scholars with degrees, and their elevation was implied by the omission of the verb. The believers were elevated according to this interpretation, and for the scholars are degrees. On this interpretation, Al-Mutarrif ibn Abdullah ibn Al-Shakhir said: "The virtue of knowledge is more beloved to me than the virtue of worship, and the best of your religion is piety." Then Allah threatened and warned with His saying, exalted is He: "And Allah is All-Aware of what you do."

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿O you who have believed, when you private counsel the Messenger﴾, it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas and Qatadah regarding its reason that a group of young Muslims frequently engaged in private conversations with the Prophet ﷺ without any need except to show their status. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was generous and did not reject anyone, so this verse was revealed to emphasize the matter of private counsel for them. Muqatil said: It was revealed concerning the wealthy because they overwhelmed the poor in private conversations with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and in his gatherings. A group of narrators said: No one acted upon this verse; rather, it was abrogated before being acted upon. However, its ruling was established by the determination to follow it, similar to the matter of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, in the sacrifice of his son, peace be upon him. It is authentically reported from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: No one acted upon it except me, and I was the reason for the concession and alleviation for the Muslims. This is because I intended to privately counsel the Prophet ﷺ regarding a necessary matter, so I exchanged a dinar for ten dirhams, then I privately counseled him ten times, presenting a dirham each time. It was narrated from him that he donated a dinar each time. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ understood that this act of worship had become difficult for the people, so he said to me: O Ali, how much do you think the limit of this charity should be? Do you see it as a dinar? I said: No. He said: Then half a dinar? I said: No. He said: Then how much? I said: A grain of barley. He said: You are indeed a miser. So Allah, exalted is He, revealed the concession for those who are able. As for those who cannot find, the concession for them is established by His saying, glorified is He: ﴿But if you do not find, then indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful﴾.