Surah 17

Surah 17:53

"Say to My servants (that) they should say that which is best. Surely Satan provokes discord among them. Surely Satan is a clear enemy to humankind."
People should speak Good Words with Politeness Verses 17:53
Show Full Scripture Context (17:53) — 1 Verse
Verse 53

وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُواْ ٱلَّتِي هِيَ أَحۡسَنُۚ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنَ يَنزَغُ بَيۡنَهُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنَ كَانَ لِلۡإِنسَٰنِ عَدُوّٗا مُّبِينٗا

Say to My servants (that) they should say that which is best. Surely Satan provokes discord among them. Surely Satan is a clear enemy to humankind.

53. And say to My servants that they should say those words that are best. (Because) Shaytan verily, sows a state of conflict and disagreement among them. Surely, Shaytan is to man a plain enemy.

People should speak Good Words with Politeness

Allah commands His servant Muhammad to tell the believing servants of Allah that they should address one another in their conversations and discussions with the best and politest of words, for if they do not do that, Shaytan will sow discord among them, and words will lead to actions, so that evil and conflicts and fights will arise among them. For Shaytan is the enemy of Adam and his descendants, and has been since he refused to prostrate to Adam. His enmity is obvious and manifest. For this reason it is forbidden for a man to point at his Muslim brother with an iron instrument, for Shaytan may cause him to strike him with it.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said: "The Messenger of Allah said:

'No one of you should point at his brother with a weapon, for he does not know whether Shaytan will cause him to strike him with it and thus be thrown into a pit of Fire.'

Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded this Hadith with the chain of narration from 'Abdur-Razzaq.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 6, Page 33)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.