Tafsir of Al-Mujadilah 58:10

"Private conversation is only..."

"Private conversation" refers to the specific, customary kind—that is, conspiring in sin, aggression, and disobedience—"is only from Satan," and from no other, in consideration of the fact that he is the one who embellishes it and induces it.

His saying, the Exalted, "[it is] that he may grieve those who have believed," is another predicate, meaning: it is only for the purpose of grieving the believers by making them imagine, in their trepidation, that it is a calamity that has befallen them. It has been recited as li-yahzana (with the ya and za vocalized with fatha), in which case "those who have believed" is the subject [the doer of the grief].

"But he will not harm them"—meaning Satan or the private conversation will not harm the believers—"at all," meaning not in any way, nor with any degree of harm, "except by permission of Allah," meaning by His will and His decree, Almighty and Majestic is He. This occurs when He, Glorified is He, ordains death or defeat upon their kin.

"And upon Allah let the believers rely" and not pay heed to their private conversations. The essence of this is that what the hypocrites conspire about, which grieves the believers, only occurs—if it does occur—by the will and decree of Allah Almighty; they [the hypocrites] have no agency in it. Therefore, the believers should not concern themselves with their conspiring, but should rely upon Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, and not be grieved by it. This statement is for the removal of their grief.

From this, the weakness of what Al-Zamakhshari alluded to regarding the permissibility of the pronoun in "it will not harm them" referring back to "the grief" becomes evident. It has been answered that the intended goal is also achieved through that interpretation; for if it is said: "This grief does not harm them except by the will of Allah Almighty," their grief is dispelled.

Among the strange interpretations is the claim that the verse was revealed concerning dreams that a believer sees in his sleep, which displease him and cause him grief, as if such dreams were a private conversation being whispered to him. This, notwithstanding its inherent issues, does not fit the preceding or subsequent context, as is not hidden.

Furthermore, private conversation between believers themselves may be forbidden. Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi, and Abu Dawud reported from Ibn Mas'ud that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "If you are three, let not two hold a private conversation excluding the third, until you mingle with [other] people, because that would grieve him." Similar to this private conversation is for two people to speak in the presence of a third in a language the third does not understand, if that would grieve him.

Since private conversation and whispering were forbidden, the rules of sitting in gatherings were then established. Thus, the Almighty, the Glorified, mentioned the etiquettes of such gatherings thereafter by His saying, Mighty and Majestic is He: