Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Footnotes

1. A light year is equal to 5,880,000 million miles. With tremendous advance in astronomy, it is now more usual to reckon distances in the parsec, which is equal to 3.258 light years, or 19,150,000 million miles. (tr.)

2. Seeal-Mizan ( Eng. transl.), vol.1, pp.261-2. (tr.):

It there may be defference this reference and out edited book, so concentrate on the subject for reffering. [Editor of: www.alhassanain.org/english]

Suratul Baqarah: Verses 168 - 171

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٦٨﴾

إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُ‌كُم بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاءِ وَأَن تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٦٩﴾

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّـهُ قَالُوا بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ ﴿١٧٠﴾

وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي يَنْعِقُ بِمَا لَا يَسْمَعُ إِلَّا دُعَاءً وَنِدَاءً صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿١٧١﴾

O men! eat the lawful (and) good things out of what is in the earth, and do not follow the footsteps of the Satan, surely he is your open enemy (168).

He only enjoins you evil and indecency, and that you may speak against Allah what you do not know (169).

And when it is said to them: “Follow what Allah has revealed,” they say: “Nay! we fol­low what we found our fathers upon.” What! and though their fathers had no sense at all, nor did they follow the right way (170).

And the parable of those who disbelieve is as the parable of one who calls out to that which hears no more than a call and cry; deaf, dumb (and) blind, so they do not understand (171).

Commentary

Qur’an:O men! eat the lawful (and) good things out of what is in the earth... what you do not know: al-Halal اَلحَلاَل ُ ) = lawful) is opposite ofal-haram اَلحَرَام ُ ) =,forbidden);al-hill (اَلحِلُّ) is used as opposite ofal-hurmah اَلحُرْمَة ُ ) = prohibition),al-haram اَلحَرَم ُ ) = sanctuary); whileal-hall اَلحَلُّ  ) = to untie) is opposite of al-'aqd العَقْدُ ) = to tie).

All these usages of al-hill allude to freedom of a thing in its action and effect.at-Tayyib الطـَّيِّبُ ) = good) is oppo­site ofal-khabith الخَبيْثُ ) = bad, evil), and basically means “agreeable”; a good speech is that which is agreeable to the hearing; a good perfume is agreeable to the sense of smelling; a good place or house is agreeable to the people residing therein.

al-Khutuwat ( الخُطـُوَاتُ ) is plural ofal-khutwah الخُطْوَةُ ) = step, pace, stride). Some reciters have read it asal-khatawat ( الخَطـَوَاتُ ) which is plural ofal-khatwah (الخَطْوَةُ ُ = one step).

The phrase, “the footsteps of the Satan” refers to things leading to the Satanic aim, as footsteps lead to the walker's aim and destination. The Satan's aim is to mislead with polytheism; therefore, his footsteps are the things which lead to polytheism, and take the walker away from Allah.

al-Amr اَلأمْرُ ) = to enjoin); the enjoiner imposes his own will on the enjoined, so that the latter does what the former wants. The Satan enjoins and orders by devilish insinuations and temp­tations encouraging man to do what the Satan wants.as-Su' اَلسُّوءُ ) = evil) refers to the thing or action which is repugnant and repulsive to society.

When it exceeds that limit, it becomesal-fahsha' الفـَحْشَآءُ ) = indecency); it is a masdar likeas-sarra' السَّرَّآءُ ) = prosperity; happiness) andad-Darra' الضَّرَّآءُ ) = adversity; distress).

Allah has addressed these verses to all the men in general, because the order promulgated therein concerns all. As for the polytheists, they followed some self-imposed taboo, and falsely ascribed its promulgation to Allah.

It is reported, for example, that the tribes of Thaqif, Khuza'ah, Banu 'Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah and Banu Madlaj had forbidden themselves certain things of tilth and cattle, as well as some categories of camels, forging a lie against Allah. Similar baseless taboos are found in other countries and societies too.

Coming to the believers, there was a possibility that even after accepting Islam, some myths and superstitions might con­tinue in their society, because of hereditary influence and national tradition. As a matter of fact, every new spiritual or temporal system concentrates in the beginning on eradicating and destroy­ing the roots of the old system.

After it is done, and if by that time it is left with some vitality and vigour - by good training and learning - then it starts mopping up operation by obliterating and erasing the remnants of that old system. Otherwise, the resi­due of that system is mixed with the new one, and the resulting mixture becomes a hybrid - neither this nor that.

Allah ordered the people to eat from what is in the earth. To eat is to swallow after chewing. Sometimes the word “eating” is allegorically used for general usufruct of a property, for un­restricted right of its disposal, because eating is the basic activity of man, the main pillar of his life. For example, Allah says:

... do not swallow up your property among yourselves by wrong­ful means, except that it be trading by your mutual consent... (4:29).

The verse under discussion may easily be interpreted in this wider sense, because it is general, not restricted. It would therefore mean:

Eat, make use of, and enjoy the usufruct of the bounties of Allah that are in the earth, and which the earth has prepared and kept in store for you by permission of Allah; and it should be in a lawful and proper way. But you should see that there is no snag or hindrance in eating or using it, either from your own nature or from the nature of the earth.

For example, there are some things which by their nature cannot be eaten; there are others which man by his nature does not want to eat; and lastly there are things which are eatable and useable, but your own nature rejects them and does not want to touch them at all, for example, a food that was obtained by unlawful means.

Thus, the words of Allah, “eat the lawful (and) good things out of what is in the earth”, promulgate general permission of eating all the lawful and good things of the earth, without any condition, without any restriction.

But the next sentence, “and do not follow the footsteps of the Satan”, shows that there are some things (related to this lawful and good eating) which are called “the footsteps of the Satan”.

They are of two categories: either refraining from some food as a result of following the Satan, or eating it for the same reason. Thereafter, Allah mentions a general principle applicable to all that is done for following the Satan, that it is evil and indecency, as well as speaking against Allah what one does not know.

Desisting from a food is not allowed except when Allah is pleased with such abstaining; like-wise one should not audaciously use any thing without the per-mission of Allah. Eating out of what is in the earth is not lawful and good unless Allah permits and allows it.

And He has allowed it in this and similar verses. Also, one should ascertain that a par­ticular thing is not forbidden or prohibited by Allah, as He says after a few verses:

He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine... (2:173).

The meaning of the verse then would be as follows, and Allah knows better: Eat out of what is in the earth, from the bounties of Allah which He has created for you, as He has made them lawful and good for you; and do not leave some of them abstaining from them, because that would be evil and indecency, and you would be guilty of speaking against Allah what you do not know; it would be tantamount to making your own law against the law of Allah; and you would thus be following the footsteps of the Satan.

The verse thus shows that:

First: Man has been given a general permission for unre­stricted use of all that is in the earth - except the things excluded from this general rule by other proofs. Allah may forbid a thing as easily as He permits it.

Second: One who abstains, without any reasonable proof, from that which Allah has made lawful, in fact promulgates his own law - which he is forbidden to do.

Third: Following the footsteps of the Satan means wor­shipping Allah in a way Allah has not allowed, by a method He has not approved. Allah has not forbidden any walking except that in which man puts his foot in the footsteps of the Satan, making his walk conform with that of the Satan; thus he would be following the Satan's footsteps.

It may be inferred from above that, although the reason given of this prohibition (He only enjoins you evil and indecency... ) demands that man should neither proceed to do any thing without knowledge, nor refrain from any thing without knowledge; but this is not what this verse is meant for; because it is not following the footsteps of the Satan, though it is following the Satan.

Qur’an:He only enjoins you evil and indecency, and that you may speak against Allah what you do not know: Evil and inde­cency are attributes of action, vis-à-vis, speech. It shows that what the Satan enjoins is confined to the action that is evil and indecency, and the word that is spoken without knowledge.

Qur’an:And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has revealed,” they say: “Nay! we follow what we found our fathers upon”: al-Ilfa' اَلإلـْفـَآء ُ ) = to find). The verse supports what we have inferred from the preceding verse, regarding the footsteps of the Satan.

Qur’an:What! and though their fathers had no sense at all, nor did they follow the right way: It is rebuttal of their saying; it shows that they speak without knowledge and without as­certaining the truth; and it is a thing which reason rejects.

They say, “We follow what we found our fathers upon.” It is an un­conditional declaration - they intend to follow their fathers in all conditions, without looking at their qualifications and credentials.

They are determined to follow their fathers even if they had no sense, even if they had gone astray. They claimed that whatever their fathers did was correct. But such claim, such declaration, is just a talk without knowing; it leads one to say what no sensible person would ever say - if his attention was drawn to its absurd­ity.

There would be no blame on them if they followed their fathers only in those things which they (the fathers) had knowledge of, and concerning which they followed the right way; if they followed them in such things knowing well that their fathers had their knowledge and had been on right way, it would not be counted as following without knowledge.

It shows that the phrase, “What! and though their fathers had no sense at all, nor did they follow the right way,” is not intended as an exaggeration, although one may think that negation of all sense and knowledge from their fathers - who certainly knew many things concerning their life and livelihood - was intended as an exaggeration.

But it is not so. Actually, the verse exposes the absurdity of their unconditional declaration by point­ing out a situation in which no one would allow the following.

Qur’an: And the parable of those who disbelieve is as the parable of one who calls out to that which hears no more than a call and cry:al-Mathal اَلمَثـَلُ ) = proverb; parable, adage); also it is used for attribute and comparison, as Allah says:

See how they coin comparisons for thee. So they have gone astray, therefore they shall not be able to find a way (25:9).

an-Na'iq اَلنـَّعِيقُ ) = ad­monishing cry of a shepherd to his sheep);an-nida' اَلنـِّدَآءُ ) = to call ) is masdar of nada, yunadi, munadatan نـَادی ، يُنَادِي، مُنَادَاةً = he called, he calls, to call); it is more particular thanad-du'a' الدُّعآءُ ) = to call), because an-nida' is reserved for calling in a loud voice, while ad-du'a' is general.

The meaning of the verse is as follows, and Allah knows better: And O Prophet! your parable, when you call the unbelievers to the truth, is like a man who calls out to the animals while the animals do not understand what he says, except that they hear a call and cry, and stop in their tracks as soon as they hear it without understanding any thing spoken.

The unbelievers are, therefore, deaf, they do not hear any talk which would benefit them; dumb, not speaking any sensible word; blind, not seeing any worthwhile thing. Thus they do not understand any thing, because their windows of understanding are closed shut.

It appears that there is a sort of reversal in this parable. Although it begins as a parable of those who disbelieve, it changes to describe the shepherd, the caller to guidance; it is in fact the likeness of the Prophet not of those who were being called by him to the right path.

But as the three adjectives deducted from it (deaf, dumb [and] blind, so they do not understand, ) were attri­butes of the disbelievers - not of him who was calling them to the truth - it was highly appropriate to ascribe the parable to the disbelievers, and not to the Messenger of Allah (S). Thus, there appears to be a reversal in the parable.

Traditions

'Abdu 'r-Rahman says: “I asked Abu 'Abdillah about a man who vowed to slaughter his child. He said: 'That is from the footsteps of the Satan.' ” (at-Tahdhib )

Mansur ibn Hazim said: “Abu Abdillah (a.s.) said to me: 'Have not you heard about Tariq? Verily, Tariq was a cattle-dealer in Medina. He came to Abu Ja'far and said: “O Abu Ja'far! I have taken an oath by divorce (of my wives), emancipation (of my slaves) and vow.” Thereupon, (Abu Ja'far, a.s.) said to Him: “O Tariq! verily this is from the footsteps of the Satan.” ' ”

Abu Ja'far (a.s.) said: “Every oath taken in the name of other than Allah, is from the footsteps of the Satan.” (al-'Ayyashi )

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “When a man takes oath for not doing a thing - while what he has sworn against, its doing is better than its leaving - then he should do that which is better; and there is no penalty on him; surely it (i.e., such oath) is only from the footsteps of the Satan.” (al-Kafi )

The author says: The traditions, as you see, interpret the footsteps of the Satan as the deeds supposed to bring one nearer to Allah, while in fact they are not so, because the shari'ah does not recognize them - as we have explained above.

Of course, as for the divorce, etc. (mentioned in the second tradition), there is an additional reason for the invalidity of such oaths; and that is making it conditional on some contingency in future; and it is against the principle of immediate and unconditional effecting of such transactions.

(It is a topic of jurisprudence.) Oath in the name of other than Allah refers to an oath which has no validity in the shari'ah, and to swearing by what Allah has not sworn by and to which He has given no excellence.

al-Baqir (a.s.) said about the words of Allah,And the parable of those who disbelieve is as the parable of one who calls out...: “That is, their likeness when you call them to the faith is like the caller who calls out to the cattle which understands nothing other than hearing a voice.”

A Moral and Sociological Discourse on Blind Imitation

Opinions and beliefs are of two kinds, which we shall call theoretical and practical knowledges. The theoretical knowledge is the one not directly related to action, for example, theorems of geometry, propositions of physics and issues of metaphysics.

Practical knowledge, on the other hand, is directly related to action, for example, the moral teachings concerned with what to do and what not to do.

The only way to acquire the theoretical knowledge is through rational proofs or the senses. The only way to get the practical knowledge is to follow that which leads to man's felicity, and to refrain from that which leads to infelicity or hinders the felicity.

Apart from that, it is merely a superstition to believe in what is not known to be the truth and fact (in theoretical knowledge) and what is not known to be good or evil (in practical knowledge).

Man, when left to his pristine nature, does not accept super­stitious ideas based on blindness and ignorance. His opinions are based on the demands of nature which wants him to find out the causes of the things, and exhorts him to strive for real perfection.

But sometimes his sentiments and feelings aroused by imagination - and especially the fear and the hope - make him to believe in myths and superstitions. What happens is this: Imagination creates some images in his mind which produce fear or hope.

That feeling of fear or hope then preserves that image and does not let the psyche forget it. Let us say, a man finds himself in a valley; he is alone and the moonless night is pitch-dark; he cannot see his own hands.

He has no light to illuminate his surroundings, no companion to share his thoughts with. Then his imagination takes hold of him. Every formless figure appears to him as a fearful ugly ghost intent on putting him to death.

Then he sees the ghouls moving, coming and going ascending to the skies and descending to the earth. The imagination keeps producing these figures and he remains awake, frightened out of his wits.

Later on, he describes that horrifying experience to someone, graphically describing the devilish antics of those ghosts and ghouls, and the hearer stands aghast, his eye askance. In this way the 'belief' in these things spreads - while in fact it is just an imaginary “thing” having no reality at all.

Sometimes this superstition reawakens the instinct of self-defence in man, and he devises some rites to ward off the harmful effects of this imaginary ”being”; and exhorts others to do like-wise, so that they too would be safe. Thus, a superstitious rite takes root in the society and grows.

Man, from the earliest days of his existence, has remained in the tight grip of myths and superstitions; and the situation is not different even today. And it is not confined to the eastern nations - as many people think. It is prevalent among westerners in equal, if not greater, degree.

The elite group, that is, the scholars, have been trying, since time immemorial, to eradicate the rites and ceremonials arising from deep-rooted superstitions which have kept the common people enthralled. They try to awaken the public to the reality - but to no avail.

It is because man has never been able to free himself from following the others in theoretical views and real knowledge on one side, and sentiments and feelings on the other. We can see that the treatment has not been successful, and the situation goes from bad to worse.

The most astonishing is the myth prevalent today among the scientists and sociologists. They say that the foundation of modern science is laid on the senses and experiment; it rejects every thing that is not perceivable through the senses and which cannot be experimented upon.

Also, according to them, the civilization is based on the urge of perfection; it seeks perfection in every possible direction, as much as it can.

But strangely enough, this view itself is a myth which they are following. The natural sciences look only at the factors and fac­ulties of the nature. In other words, these material sciences search only for the hitherto unknown peculiarities of the matter.

So far as the things beyond matter are concerned, these material sciences have no way to reject or refute them - as they are beyond their scope, outside their jurisdiction. As such it is a clear superstition and myth to reject metaphysical and immaterial things - just because the material sciences (which admittedly cannot see beyond matter) have not been able to see those things which are admittedly beyond the reach of matter.

Likewise, it is another myth to base the civilization on the above-mentioned urge of perfection of the society. This perfec­tion of society, this felicity of civilization, often demands sacri­fices from its members.

It becomes necessary for some people to offer their individual happiness on the altar of the society; they lose their all, including the lives, in defence of their country or their cause; an individual is thus deprived of his happiness and his life in order that the society may be saved.

Obviously, no man will voluntarily accept these personal privations unless he believes in this pursuit of society's perfection, and unless he looks at that sacrifice itself as a personal perfection. But that sacrifice is not a perfection for himself - it is a nullity, a deprivation.

Of course, it may be a perfection - if we accept it as such - for the society, per se, not for himself. But man had invented society as an in­strument for his own benefit; he had not bargained that the role would be reversed and he would be used as a tool for the society's benefit.

It is to overcome this basic difficulty that the societies have invented some myths. They say to their members that man by sacrificing himself in the way of the society earns eternity because his good name is always remembered with reverence and affection - and man should strive for that eternal life. But evi­dently it is nothing but a story, a myth.

Where is this supposed life once the man is dead? There is nothing for him except death and oblivion. But the society says, it is life - merely a name without any substance!

Also, they say: It is necessary for man to obey the laws even if they are tough and irksome to him. He should patiently bear the loss of some of his happiness, some of the things he earnestly desires, in order that the society may prosper, the civilization may attain its perfection.

In this way, that partial deprivation will lead to his own perfection - through the perfection of the society. He is thus made to believe that the perfection of the society is his own perfection. But it is merely a myth.

The perfection of the society may be the man's perfection, when both perfections go hand in hand, when both are one and the same. Otherwise, not.

Why should a man look at society's perfection as his own perfection, and to good remembrance as his lasting glory; and especially so if he can easily attain to his aims and goals - even if through injustice and oppression - and when his strength and power surpasses that of his competitors?

The same question may be asked in respect of a powerful nation, vis-à-vis, the others. And it is not just a theoretical question. We see every day how the powerful nations go on exploiting the weaker ones.

These super powers tread on the prone bodies of the weaker peoples, crush their dignity and self-respect, expro­priate their natural resources, and put the whole populace under their yoke. (Once it was called imperialism and colonialism, now it is neo-colonialism.

Result in both cases is the same:) weaker people are subjugated and enslaved. (They say they are there to help these people in their difficulties - and in this process they rob them of their freedom and dignity.) They cure a disease by putting the patient to death.

What is the guidance given by the Qur'an in this respect? In theoretical field, it tells man to follow the commandments of Allah and not to speak without knowledge. In practical affairs, it directs him to seek only what is pleasing to Allah: if it tallies with his own desires, then he shall get happiness of both worlds; if it does not agree with it, if he has to sacrifice his own wish for the pleasure of Allah, then he shall get great reward from Allah; and what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

Also, the materialist say: Belief in religion is a blind fol­lowing which the science does not allow. Such belief is a remnant of the superstitions of the second of the four periods through which mankind has passed.

There was first the period of mythol­ogy, followed by that of religion. Then came the era of philosophy which was replaced by that of science. Presently, we are living in this era, and it follows the knowledge and rejects myths and superstitions.

Comment: This in itself is a myth. These people talk without knowledge.

They have said: “Belief in religion is a blind following.” The fact is otherwise. Religion is a composite entity; it consists of the gnosis of the beginning and final destination of man, the laws regulating the rites of worship and social dealings (which are based on revelations brought by the prophets whose truth was definitely proved by rational proofs), and some information given by the same truthful prophets.

Evidently, when one follows the religion he follows the knowledge, because the truth of the prophet concerned was fully established by proofs.

We have written something on the topic of “following”, under the verse:

Surely Allah commands you that you should sacrifice a cow (2:67).

There is another amusing aspect of this objection. This dis­paraging condemnation comes from those who have got nothing in their hands except blind imitation and who uncritically follow their desire, without ascertaining its value.

This aping encompasses their whole being, right from their principles of life to the social customs - be it food or drink, dress or residence, marriage or other social relations. Of course, they have given a new name to this imitation: They say, they have adopted the ways of the developed nations.

Thus the blind following remains firmly-rooted in society, but the name is discarded; the bottle is the same, the label has been changed. The result: “Do as the Romans do” becomes a scientific adage, a sign of social advancement; and:

do not follow desire, lest it should lead you astray... (38:26)

is treated as a blind religious following, a superstitious view!!

They have divided the progress of human species into four stages. But what we definitely know concerning the history of philosophy and religions refutes this division. It is wrong to say that philosophy came after religion. Ibrahim (a.s.) brought his religion long after the rise of philosophy in India, Egypt and Chaldea; and the religion of 'Isa (a.s.) came after the Greek phil­osophy.

Likewise, the religion of Muhammad (S), that is, Islam, was promulgated after the philosophy of Greece and Alexandria. In short, philosophy reached its zenith long before the rise of religion. We have also mentioned earlier that the relig­ion of monotheism was the first and earliest of all religions and systems.

The Qur'an divides the path of human progress in a different way. There were two periods only: First, the period of simplicity when all were of one nation, and then the period when materialism and revolt took its hold. We shall describe it in detail under the verse:

Mankind was but one nation; so Allah sent the prophets... (2:213).

Suratul Baqarah: Verses 172 – 176

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَ‌زَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُ‌وا لِلَّـهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿١٧٢﴾

إِنَّمَا حَرَّ‌مَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ‌ وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ‌ اللَّـهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ‌ غَيْرَ‌ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ غَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ ﴿١٧٣﴾

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّـهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَشْتَرُ‌ونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُولَـٰئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ‌ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّـهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴿١٧٤﴾

أُولَـٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَ‌وُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَالْعَذَابَ بِالْمَغْفِرَ‌ةِ فَمَا أَصْبَرَ‌هُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ‌ ﴿١٧٥﴾

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّـهَ نَزَّلَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِي الْكِتَابِ لَفِي شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ ﴿١٧٦﴾

O you who believe! eat of the good things that We have provided you with, and give thanks to Allah if Him it is that you worship (172).

He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and that over which any other (name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked; but whoever is forced (to it), not revolting, nor exceeding the limit, no sin shall be upon him; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful (173).

Surely those who cancel what Allah has revealed of the Book and take for it a small price, they eat nothing but fire into their bellies, and Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement (174).

These are they who have bought error for the guidance, and chastisement for forgiveness; Oh! how (bold) they are to endure fire (175).

This is because Allah has revealed the Book with the truth; and surely those who differ in (matter of) the Book are in a great opposition (176).

Commentary

Qur’an:O you who believe! eat of the good things that We have provided you with: The preceding verses were addressed to the “men” in general; now a selected group among them (i.e., the believers) is especially spoken to.

Thus, this talk issues forth from the preceding one. It seems as though Allah is turning away from an intractable and self-opinioned group that was impervious to reason, and looks towards those who would listen to, and accept the call of, the Speaker, because they believe in Him.

The differ­ence in the two speeches springs from the change of the audience. The believers were expected to accept what was said to them. Therefore, they were told to “eat from the good things that We have provided you with”. The expression is more loving than the previous impersonal phrase addressed to the general public: “eat the lawful (and) good things out of what is in the earth”.

The loving expression of the verse under discussion paves the way for the direction that they should be thankful to Allah alone, because they are monotheists, they do not worship anyone other than Allah. It was for this very reason that Allah said, “that We have provided you with”, and did not say, 'what you have been provided with', or “what is in the earth”.

The Qur'anic expression (in active voice) shows that Allah is known to them and near them, is affectionate and compassionate to them.

The Arabic phrase translated as “the good things that We have provided you with”, would be literally translated as 'the good things of what We have provided you with' - in genitive case. Apparently the adjective (the good things) is the first con­struct, related to the second construct (what We have provided you with); and means in effect, 'eat from Our sustenance that is all good'.

This meaning is appropriate in this context which is meant to show Allah's kindness and compassion for the believers. The phrase is not meant to restrict the second construct with the first one. In other words, it does not mean, 'eat from the good provisions, not from the bad ones': because such meaning would be quite irrelevant in this setting in which Allah wishes to remove prohibition, telling them not to abstain from any provision given by Allah - as, such behaviour would be a self-imposed unauth­orized legislation, would be a talk without knowledge.

Qur’an:and give thanks to Allah if Him it is that you worship: Apparently it should have been 'give thanks to Us', but the Qur'an says, “give thanks to Allah”. This expression is more appropriate for the theme of monotheism which the verse leads to.

And for the same reason the next phrase, “if Him it is that you worship”, was preferred to a shorter, 'if you worship Him'. The present expression restricts and confines the worship to Allah alone.

Qur’an: He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that over which any other (name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked: Invoking any name other than Allah's, means slaughtering for any thing other than Allah, for example, sacrificing for idols.

Qur’an:But whoever is forced (to it), not revolting, nor ex­ceeding the limit: That is, when he is not unjust, nor does he ex­ceed the limit; is driven to it because of emergency. The meaning is therefore as follows:

Whoever is forced to eat some of these forbidden things, because of some emergency, while he does not like at all to go against the law of Allah, nor does he exceed the limit, there shall be no blame on him.

But if he was trapped into that emergency because of his own revolting behaviour or because he had exceeded the limit and was then driven to that necessity, then he is not allowed to eat from these things.

The sen­tence, “surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful,” shows that the above permission is just a concession given by Allah to the believers; otherwise, the basis of prohibition is present even in this case.

Qur’an:Surely those who conceal what Allah has revealed of the Book: It is an allusion to the People of the Book. There were many good and lawful things - in the rites of worship and other matters - which their elders and leaders had arbitrarily forbidden them - while they had got the Book and that Book contained no sanction against those good things.

These people did not conceal what they did but only because they wanted to protect their high position and prestige in the community, and because they did not like to stem the flow of gifts, riches and properties which their power supposedly entitled them to.

This verse unambiguously proves that a man's deeds are embodied and assume the form of a body; and it is the deeds that finally emerge as their own results. In this verse, Allah first says that their action of taking a small price for the Divine Revel­ation is one and the same with their eating the fire into their bellies.

Then the description of their concealing and price taking is changed to that of buying error for the guidance; then this gives way to bartering chastisement for forgiveness. Then it ends on the words, “Oh! how (bold) they are to endure fire”. Thus, their misdeed itself is transformed into the fire, although what they had done was to conceal the revelation and to continue on that behaviour.

Traditions

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said about the words of Allah,but whoever is forced (to it), not revolting, nor exceeding the limit: 'al-Baghi اَلبَاغِيْ ) = revolting) is one who desires hunting1 , andal- 'adi (اَلعَادِيْ = exceeding the limit) is thief.

They are not allowed to eat dead (animal) even if they are faced with emergency. It is forbidden to them. This (concession) does not cover them as it does (other) Muslims. And they are not allowed to shorten the prayer (in such journeys).” (al-Kafi )

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “al-Baghi is unjust and al-'adi is usurp­er.” (al-'Ayyashi )

Hammad narrates from the same Imam that he said: “al-Baghi is one who revolts against the Imam, and al-'adi is thief.”

Abu Ja'far and Abu 'Abdillah (a.s.) have said: “Not revolting against the Imam of the Muslims, nor transgressing the path of the righteous ones with disobedience.” (Majma'ul-bayan )

The author says: All these are various applications of these words; and they support the meaning we have given earlier.

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said about the words of Allah,Oh! how (bold) they are to endure fire: ” (It means,) how bold they are to com­mit the deeds which, they know, will take them to the fire.” (al-Kafi )

'Ali ibn Ibrahim narrates from as-Sadiq (a.s.) about this sentence: “How daring they are to (risk) the fire.” (Majma'u1-bayan )

as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “How active they are in the deeds of the people of the fire.”

The author says: These traditions are in fact similar in their meanings: The first tradition explains boldness for fire with bold­ness in perpetrating the causes of the fire; the second one gives its meaning as daring to enter the fire; the third one interprets it as boldness to commit sins that would lead to the fire - and it is almost the same with the meaning of the first tradition.

Footnote

1. Another meaning of al-baghi is “desirous”; the explana-tion in the tradition is based on this meaning. (tr.)

Suratul Baqarah: Verse 124

وَإِذِ ابْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ رَ‌بُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّ‌يَّتِي قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِي الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿١٢٤﴾

And (remember) when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, then he fulfilled them: He said: “Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men.” (Ibrahim) said: “And of my offspring?” He said: ”My covenant will not include the unjust” (124).

Commentary

Beginning with this verse, the Qur'an throws light on some aspects of the life of Ibrahim (a.s.); these verses prepare the minds for the ones promulgating the change ofal-qiblah (اَلقِبْلـَة ُ = direction of prayer) as well as the rules of the hajj.

These stories also explain the reality of the pure Islamic religion - with its dif­ferent grades and levels - looking at its fundamental beliefs, moral teachings and some rules of the shari'ah; among other things they show how Allah bestowed on himal-Imamah (اَلإمـَامَة ُ = leadership) of the people, how he built the Ka'bah, and how he prayed to Allah to send an Apostle among them.

Qur’an:And (remember) when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, then he fulfilled them: It refers to the occasion when Ibrahim (a.s.) was given the Imamah. It had happened during the end period of his life; it was the time when he had become very old, after Isma'il and Ishaq both had been born, and he had brought Isma'il and his mother to reside in Mecca, as some other exegetes also have taken note of this fact.

This timing is clearly pointed at by his words, “And of my offspring? ”, when Allah told him: “I am going to make you an Imam for men.” Obviously he did not know, nor did he even expect, that he would get any offspring, until the angels brought to him the good tidings of Isma'il and Ishaq.

Even when the angels told him that he was to get children, he responded to those tidings in such words as could apparently be construed to have sprung from despair and pessimism. Allah says:

And inform them of the guests of Ibrahim: When they entered upon him, they said: “Peace” He said: “Surely we are afraid of you.”; They said: “Be not afraid, surely we give you the good news of a boy, possessing knowledge. “He said:” Do you give me good news (of a son) when old age has come upon me? - of what then do you give me good news!” They said: ”We give you good news with truth; therefore, be not of the despairing” (15:51-55).

The same was the reaction of his wife when she was given that good news, as Allah says:

And his wife was standing (by), so she laughed; then We gave her the good news of Ishaq, and after Ishaq, of (a son's son) Ya'qub. She said: “O woe to me! Shall I bear a son when I am an (extremely) old (woman) and this my husband an (extremely) old (man)? Most surely this is an amazing thing.” They said: ”Do you wonder at the decree of Allah? The mercy of Allah and His blessings be on you, O people of the house, surely He is Praised, Glorious” (11:71-73).

As you see, the talks of both Ibrahim and his wife show that by that time they had lost all hope of getting any child. That is why the angels replied to them in those words to give them hope and make them happy.

Clearly neither he nor his wife knew before that time that they would be given any off-spring. But on this occasion, we see that as soon as Allah told him, “I am going to make you an Imam for men”, he pleaded, ”And of my offspring?”

This prayer brings before our eyes the image of a man who is sure of having an offspring. How can a man, and particularly one like Ibrahim, the friend of Allah (who very well knew the nuances of the language), speak before his Lord about a thing he knew nothing about?

If he had uttered these words before getting any children, it would have been necessary for him to add some proviso, like “if Thou givest me any offspring”. This event, therefore, must have taken place in the end period of Ibrahim's life some time after he had been given the good news.

Moreover, the words, “And (remember) when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, then he fulfilled them. He said: 'Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men' ”, show that his Imamah was bestowed to him after Allah had tried him with certain trials.

These consisted of various sufferings and tests which Ibrahim (a.s.) underwent in his life. And according to the Qur'an, the clearest and hardest of all was the trial of the sacrifice of Isma'il. Allah says:

And when he reached (the age of) working with him, he said: “O my son! surely I am seeing in dream that I am sacrificing you; consider then what you see.” He said: “O my father! do what you are commanded; if Allah please, you will surely find me of the patient ones.” So when they both submitted and he threw him down upon his forehead, and We called out to him (saying): “O Ibrahim! You have indeed proved the vision true; surely thus We reward the doers of good. Most surely this is a manifest trial” (37:102-106).

This manifest trial had taken place in the extreme old age of Ibrahim, because even the birth of Isma'il had taken place when Ibrahim had become very old, as Allah quotes him as saying:

“Praise be to Allah, Who gave me in old age Isma'il and Ishaq; most surely my Lord is the Hearer of prayer” (14:39).

And the imamah was given to him after these trials.

Now we come back to the verse under discussion:

“And (remember) when his Lord tried Ibrahim”: “al-Ibtila' ” ( اَلإبْتـِلآء ُ ) and “al-bala' ” ( البَلآءُ ) both have the same meaning: to try, to put to test. You give someone an order, or put him in a difficult situation, in order to find out his inner strength, his spiritual sublimity; thus you bring out his hidden qualities like obedience, bravery, generosity, chastity, knowledge, faithfulness (or their opposite traits); it is only then that you may say, “I have tested him”, “I have put him to trial”.

One cannot be tested except through action; it is the action which brings out the hidden qualities of a man, and not the word; words may lie but not the actions. Allah says:

Surely We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden... (68:17);

... Surely Allah will try you with a stream... (2:249).

Now Allah says that He tried Ibrahim with certain words. This sentence looks at the “words” inasmuch as they are re­lated to actions - they are the vehicles to carry the commands of the speaker to the listerner. For example, Allah says:

... and speak to men good (words)... (2:83),

that is, behave with them properly.

“With certain words, then he fulfilled them”: “al-Kalimat ” (اَلكـَلِماتُُ) is plural ofal-kalimah اَلكـَلِمَةُ) = word). Of course, the word, “word”, has sometimes been used in the Qur'an for a substance, a corporeal being (instead of a talk or speech) as Allah says:

... a Word from Him whose name is the Messiah, 'Isa son of Maryam... (3:45).

But this usage is based on the fact that 'Isa, like Adam, was created by a word from Allah as the Qur'an says:

Surely the likeness of 'Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”, and he was (3:59).

Otherwise, whenever the Qur'an attributes the “word” to Allah, it means speech and saying. For example:

and there is none to change the words of Allah (6:34).

there is no changing the words of Allah (10:64).

and Allah desired to manifest the truth of what was true by His words (8:7).

Surely those against whom the word of your Lord has proved true will not believe (10:96).

But the word of punishment proved true against the un­believers (39:71).

And thus did the word of your Lord prove true against those who disbelieved that they are the inmates of the Fire (40:6).

and had not a word gone forth from your Lord till an ap­pointed time, certainly affair would have been decided between them (42:14).

and the word of Allah, that is the highest (9:41).

He said: “The truth then (it) is and the truth do I speak” (38:84).

Our word for a thing when We intend it, is only that We say to it: “Be”, and it is (16:40).

These and similar verses use “word” in the meaning of “talk” because the talk conveys to the hearer the proposition which the speaker intends to communicate, or the command which he wants him to obey. It is for this reason that sometimes the Qur'an describes the “word” as being complete! It is as though a “word” emanating from the speaker remains incomplete until it is implemented, and then it becomes complete, is proved true. Allah says:

And the word of your Lord has been accom­plished (completed) truly and justly; there is none to change His words (6:115); and the good word of your Lord was fulfilled (completed) in the Children of Israel (7:137).

The above explanation does not go against the fact that Allah's word is Allah's action. His word and His action are not two different things, they are one and the same. Realities and facts have their own rules, and literary demands and semantic values are governed by other rules.

Whatever realities Allah wishes to disclose to one of His prophets or other servants, and whatever command He wants to impose on someone, it is His talk and speech, inasmuch as it fulfils the same purpose which a talk or speech does - it conveys information, and proposition as well as His order and prohibition.

Not frequently, the word, “word”, is used for ideas, intentions and actions if they have the same import as “word” has. We say: “I will surely do this because I have already said so, and have given my word.”

In fact, you have never before uttered a single word about it; all that your “given word” actually means is that you do have a firm intention to do it, without any wavering will, without listening to any intercessor.

The Arab poet, 'Antarah, said: “And (it was) my word (to my soul) whenever it was in turmoil or excitement: Be at ease; you will either earn the accol­ade or will go to (final) rest.” Obviously, he had not talked with his soul or spirit; what he means by “word” is that he had made up his mind to fight bravely, and to face the enemy without retreating from his stand; because if he was victorious, his people would sing his praise, and if he was killed, he would get the rest and tranquility.

In this light it is easy to see that the phrase, “when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words”, refers to the difficult situations he had to face, and the Divine covenants he had entered into, for example, his conflict with his people regarding the stars and the idols, his test by fire and emigration, his supreme trial of sacrificing his son, and other such things.

Allah has not specified which tests those “certain words” refer to, because this information had no-thing to do with the theme of the verse. But one thing is certain: As it was only after the fulfillment of those words that Allah said to him, “Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men”, the words must have been such as to prove his capability for the status of the Imamah.

This much about the “words”. Now comes the next phrase: “then he fulfilled them”. If the pronoun “he” refers to Ibrahim (a.s.), then it would mean that he fulfilled the task which was expected of him, he obediently did what he was told to do.

If on the other hand the pronoun refers to the Lord (as it obviously does) then it would mean that his Lord helped him to do what was expected of him.

Somebody has said that the phrase, “certain words”, refers to the Divine Speech, “Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men... My covenant will not include the unjust.” But it is an explanation which does not carry any weight, because nowhere in the Qur'an the word “words” has been used for “sentences”.

Qur’an: “Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men ”: That is, I am going to make you a leader for men; they will adhere to you and follow in your footsteps, in words and deeds.al-Imam اَلإمـَام ُ ) = leader) is the one whom the people follow.

That is why many exegetes have said thatal-Imamah اَلإمـَامَة ُ ) = leadership) in this verse means prophethood, because a prophet is followed and obeyed by his ummah in their religion; Allah has said:

And We did not send any apostle but that he should be obeyed by Allah's permission (4:64).

But this interpretation has no leg to stand upon. Because:‑

First: The wordImaman (اِمـَامـاً = Imam, leader) is the second accusative of the causativeja'iluka (جَاعِلـُكَ = literally, maker of you; translated here as “going to make you”), which is a nomen agentis; and a nomen agentis is never used in place of a past tense; if used in place of a verb it always gives the mean­ing of present or future tense.

When Allah used these words in His talk with Ibrahim (a.s.), He in effect gave him a promise to make him an Imam in future - in other words, to give him a status which he did not have at that time. And Ibrahim (a.s.) was already a prophet: Remember that this talk itself was a revelation sent to him in his capacity as a prophet.

He was a prophet long before he was given the status of the Imamah. There-fore, the Imamah in this verse cannot mean prophethood. (This reply is given by another exegete.)

Second: We have described earlier that Ibrahim (a.s.) was given the Imamah in his later days after setting the good news that he would be given offspring, Ishaq and Isma'il; and the angels had given him that news while they were on their way to destroy the ummah of Lilt; and Ibrahim at that time was a prophet and an apostle. He was a prophet and apostle before he got the Imamah; therefore, his Imamah was different from his prophethood and apostleship.

Why are such interpretations offered by exegetes from time to time? The reason lies in the banality - because of repeated use during all these centuries - which has degraded the sublime meanings of the Qur'anic words in people's minds.

The word, Imamah, has been debased in similar way. Some people say that it means prophethood, precedence, being in authority; others interpret it asal-khilafah ( اَلخِلافَة = successorship),al-wisayah (اَلوصَايَة = regency) or headship in spiritual and temporal affairs.

But all this is wrong. “Prophethood” means receiving news from Allah; “messengership” means conveying that message to people; “authority” implies that others have to follow one's example and obey one's orders.

Now this authority is a concomitant of prophethood and messengership; khilafah and wisayah both mean successorship to a prophet; likewise, headship in spiritual and temporal affairs is a sort of the above-mentioned authority; and all of it is different from the correct meaning of the Imamah.

The imamah implies that a man has an intrinsic quality because of which people should follow him faithfully, making their words and deeds to conform with his words and deeds; but none of the above-mentioned interpretations brings out this meaning.

Ibrahim (a.s.) was already a prophet whose obedience was obligatory for all men. What would be the sense in telling him that Allah was going to make him a prophet for men?

Or, to make his obedience compulsory in all that he said and did? Or, a head of his ummah to order or forbid in matters of religion? Or, a successor? Or, a khalifah in the earth to decide between the people by the order of Allah?

The difference between the Imamah and all the above-mentioned words is not only verbal; it is the realities behind those words that differ from one another. When a man is given prophethood, it becomes obligatory for the people to obey him.

Therefore, it would be wrong to say to that prophet, “I am going to make your obedience compulsory for men although I have already made it compulsory”. Nor will it be correct to convey the same idea in other words, because the same problem will arise again.

When Allah gives someone some status, he does not get merely a new title or name; bounties of Allah are not empty words; there are real things behind those words. Therefore, the imamah has its own reality, different from other words' realities.

We find in the Qur'an that whenever it mentions Imamah it puts guidance side by side - it looks as though Allah was using the latter to explain the former. Allah says in the story of Ibrahim:

And We gave him Ishaq and Ya'qub as a further gift; and We made (them) all righteous ones; and We made them Imams, to guide (people) by Our command... (21:72 - 73);

and He says in another place:

And We made of them Imams to guide by Our com­mand as they were patient, and they were certain of Our signs (32:24).

Here the imamah is explained, or rather defined, in terms of guidance, and then further qualified with the proviso, “by Our command”. Clearly, the Imamah does not mean any type of guidance; it is a guidance which emanates from the command of Allah.

And the reality of that command is described in these words:

His command, when He intends anything, is only that He says to it: “Be”, and it is. Therefore glory be to Him in Whose hand is the kingdom of every thing... (36:82-83);

And Our command is but one, as the twinkling of an eye (54:50).

We shall explain, when writing about these verses, that the Divine Command (which the former verse also calls “the Kingdom”) is the sublime side of the creation, with which they face towards Allah; it is pure, free from fetters of time and space, and un­touched by change and variation. It is also the real meaning of the word “Be”, because the Divine Command “Be”, is nothing other than the actual existence of the thing concerned.

This “command” is in contrast toal-khalq اَلخَلـْق ُ ) = creation) which is the other side of the things - it is subject to changes and vari­ations; it grows by and by and deteriorates in the same way; it works within the framework of time and space. (We shall fully explain this theme in its proper place, Allah willing.)

To sum it up, Imam is a leader who guides by a Divine Command which is closely associated with him. The Imamah, in its esoteric sense, isal-wilayah = اَلوِلايَـة ُ ) guardianship, auth-ority) over the people in their actions and activities; and its guid­ance entails conveying them to the final destination by the com­mand of Allah.

It is different from that guidance which only shows the way - and which is usually done by the prophets and messen­gers of Allah as well as by other believers who guide the people towards Allah with sincere exhortation and good advice. This second type of guidance is mentioned in the following verses:

And We did not send any apostle but with the language of his people, so that he might explain to them clearly; then Allah makes whom He pleases err and He guides whom He pleases... (14:4).

And he who believed (i.e., the believer from the family of Pharaoh) said: “O my people! follow me, I will guide you to the right course” (40:38).

Why should not then a company from every party from among them go forth that they may acquire (proper) understanding in religion, and that they may warn their people when they come back to them, so that they may be cautious? (9:122)

(We shall further explain it later on.)

Then Allah describes the reason why He gave them the Imamah, in these words,as they were patient, and they were certain of Our signs. (See 32:24, quoted above.) The criteria, therefore, are patience and absolute certainty. They were steadfast and patient in the cause of Allah. Patience, in this verse, is uncondi­tional; therefore it means remaining patient and steadfast in all matters and all conditions with which Allah may choose to test the submission and servitude of a servant.

And they possessed highest degree of certainty. Going through the stories of Ibrahim (a.s.), we find the following words of Allah in the Qur'an:

And thus did We show Ibrahim the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and so that he might be of those who are sure (6:75).

The verse clearly indicates that showing of the kingdom to Ibrahim was the prelude to the bestowal of absolute certainty on him. It proves that certainty is an inseparable concomitant of looking at the kingdom. This is also the theme of the following verses:

Nay! if you had known with a knowledge of certainty, you should most certainly have seen the hell (102:5 - 6).

Nay! rather, what they used to do has become (like) rust upon their hearts. Nay! most surely they shall on that day be shut out away from their Lord.... Nay! most surely the record of the righteous shall be in the 'Illiyyin. And what will make you know what 'illiyyin is? It is a written book; see it those who are near (to Allah) (83:14 - 15; 18-21).

These verses prove that the “near ones” are those who are not shut out away from their Lord; on their hearts there are no rust or coverings of sin, ignorance and doubt; they are the ones who have absolute certainty about Allah, and they see the 'illiyyin as they see the hell.

In short, it is essential for an Imam to be a man of absolute certainty, who sees the world of the “kingdom” of Allah which is based on the “words” of Allah. And we have explained earlier that the kingdom is the command of Allah, which, in its turn, is the esoteric side of the universe.

Now let us have a fresh look at the verse 21:73 (and 32:24) quoted earlier. “And We made them Imams, to guide (people) by Our command:” it very clearly proves that whatever is the subject of guidance (i.e., the hearts and the deeds), the Imam has its inner reality; he is constantly in touch with its another side - the side of the command, which is never hidden from him.

It is known that the hearts and the deeds, like any other thing, have two sides, one of the “command” and the other of the “creation”; therefore, the reality of the deeds of the men - both good and bad - is always within the vision of the Imam, always under his observation; and he has authority over both ways - the one of happiness and bliss and the other of unhappiness and distress. Also, Allah has said:

(Remember) the day when We will call every people with their Imam (17:71).

(We shall explain when writing about this verse that the “Imam” here means the true leader, and not the scroll of deeds, as some people think.) There-fore, the Imam is the one who shall lead the people to Allah on the day when hidden things shall be tried, as he leads them to Him in the manifest and esoteric lives of this world.

The last quoted verse also shows that there cannot be a single period, a single moment, without an Imam, because Allah says, “every people”. (The detailed proof of this statement will be given under that verse.)

The Imamah is such an exalted and sublime position that it cannot be given except to one who is extremely virtuous by his own self. If someone's soul is polluted, even in a minute degree, by any injustice or sin, then he needs someone else to guide him back to the right way. And Allah has said:

Is he then who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go right unless he is guided? (10:35).

Here Allah puts two groups opposite to each other: one is that which guides to the truth; and the other, that which does not go right unless guided by someone else, in other words, the one which needs a helping hand to be guided aright. This contrast means that the one who guides to the truth, is rightly guided by himself; conversely, the one rightly guided by another person cannot guide to the truth.

It follows from the above discourse that:‑

First: The Imam must beal-ma'sum اَلمَعْصُوْم ) = sinless; protected from error and sin). Otherwise, he would not be rightly guided by himself, as explained above. Also, the following verse

proves theiral-'ismah اَلعِصْمَة ) = sinlessness):

And We made them Imams to guide (people) by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of good (deeds) and the establishing of prayer and the giving of zakat, and Us (alone) did they worship (21:73).

According to this verse, all the deeds of the Imam are good, he is guided to them, not by any other person, but on his own by Divine help. The phrase translated above as “the doing of good (deeds)” isfi'la 'l-khayrat فِعْلَ الخَيْراتِ ) = to do good deeds); itis al-masdar اَلمَصْدَر ) = roughly translated as infinitive verb), used as the first construct of a genitive construction; and such a masdar proves that the action has surely taken place. Let us explain it in another way:

If Allah would have said, 'We revealed to them: Do good deeds', it would not have shown that they actually obeyed the command and did good; but when He says, We revealed to them the doing of good, it means that whatever they did was good and it was by Divine inspiration and heavenly help.

Second: Conversely, whoever is not ma'sum, can never be an Imam, a guide to the truth.

Now, it is clear that the adjective, “the unjust”, (in the Divine declaration, “My covenant will not include the unjust”) covers everyone who might have done any injustice, for example, polytheism, idol-worship or any other sin, in any period of his life, even if he may have repented and been good afterwards.

One of our teachers (may Allah have mercy on him!) was asked as to how this verse could prove that the Imam must be ma'sum. He replied:

Logically, we may divide mankind into four groups: (1) One who remains unjust throughout his life; (2) One who was never unjust in any period of his life; (3) One who was unjust

in the beginning, but became just later on; and (4) One who was just in the beginning, but became unjust afterwards, Ibrahim was too sublime in position to ask for the Imamah for the first or the fourth group.

This leaves two groups (the second and the third) which could be included in his prayer. And Allah rejected one of them - the one who was unjust in the beginning but became just later on. Now, there remains only one group who could be given the Imamah - the one who was never unjust in any period of his life; that is, who was ma'sum.1

To sum it up, the verse shows that:

First: Imamah is a Divinely-made status.

Second: The Imam must be ma'sum, by Divine 'ismah; in other words, he must be protected by Allah from sins and errors.

Third: The earth cannot remain without a rightful Imam, as long as there is a man on it.

Fourth: It is essential for an Imam to be supported by the Divine help.

Fifth: The deeds of the people are not hidden from the Imam.

Sixth: The Imam must have knowledge of all that is needed by the people for their good in this world and the next.

Seventh: It is impossible for any other person to surpass the Imam in any virtue.

These seven are among the basic factors of the Imamah, and this verse, read with other relevant verses, leads us to them, and Allah is our Guide.

Objection: As the Imamah means to guide by the command of Allah, and as that guiding to the truth is concomitant with the Imam's being rightly guided by Allah (as has been inferred from the verse: Is he then who guides to truth more worthy to be followed...), then all the prophets should certainly be called Imams.

Obviously, prophethood of a prophet comes into being only when he is rightly guided by Allah through revelation; a prophet is not guided by any other person through teaching or advice etc.

Therefore, bestowal of prophethood would be synony­mous with that of the Imamah. And the objection you had put against the interpretation of the Imamah with prophethood would be turned in toto against your explanation.

Reply: What we have inferred from the foregoing description is that if one guides to Allah by His command, he must be guided aright not by any other person but by Allah Himself. But the Qur'anic verses have not shown that its contrary proposition is also true, that is, it has not been proved that whoever is rightly guided by Allah should also be a guide to Allah. Therefore, it is not necessary that every prophet should be called an Imam. In one place, Allah declares about various prophets that they were rightly guided by Him, and yet does not join it with the statement that they guided their people to the truth.

He says:

And We gave to him (i.e., Ibrahim) Ishaq and Ya'qub; each did We guide, and Nuh did We guide before, and of his descendants, Dawud and Sulayman and Ayyub and Yusuf and Harun; and thus do We reward those who do good; and Zakariyya and Yahya and 'Isa and Ryas; every one was of the righteous (ones) and Isma'il and Ilyasa ' and Yunus and Lut; and every one We did exalt over the worlds; and from among their fathers and their descendants and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them to the straight path. This is Allah's guidance, He guides thereby whom He pleases of His servants; and if they had set up others (with Him), certainly what they did would have become ineffectual for them. These are they to whom We gave the book and the wisdom and the prophethood; therefore if these disbelieve in it, We have (already) entrusted with it a people who are not disbelievers in it. These are they whom Allah guided, therefore follow their guidance. Say: “I do not ask you for any reward for it; it is but a reminder to the worlds” (6:86 -90). 2

The context of the above verses shows that this Divine Guidance is an unalterable firm decree; it will continue in this ummah even after the Messenger of Allah (S), and will remain confined within the progeny of Ibrahim (a.s.), as the verses 43:26 - 28 prove:

And when Ibrahim said to his father and his people: “Surely, I am clear of what you worship; (I wor­ship) but (only) Him Who created me, for surely He will guide me.” And He made it a word to continue in his posterity, so that they may return (to God).

When Ibrahim (a.s.) declared to his people that he was clear of what they worshipped and that he worshipped only Him Who had created him, he had already achieved that guidance which contemplation and logical reasoning can produce.

Then he told them of his expectation that Allah would surely guide him. This subsequent guidance was obviously different from the earlier one; it was a guidance by the command of Allah.

Thereafter, Allah says that He made this Divine Guidance ”a word to continue” in Ibrahim's posterity. This is one of those verses in which “word” has been used not for speech but for a substance - it refers to the guidance as “a word”. The same is the interpretation of “word of piety” in the verse:

and made them keep the word of piety, and well were they entitled to it and worthy of it (48:26).

The above explanation makes it clear that the Imamah after Ibrahim (a.s.), is confined to his descendants. The sentences, ”(Ibrahim) said: 'And of my offspring?' He said: 'My covenant will not include unjust'”, point to this fact.

Obviously, Ibrahim (a.s.) had asked for the imamah not for all but only for some of his descendants, and he was told that it would not be given to the unjust of his descendants. Needless to say that not all of his de­scendants were unjust; therefore, this reply disqualifies only one group and not all. In other words, it grants the request for a se­lected group of his offspring and further sanctifies it as a covenant, and on that basis it says that the covenant of Allah will not in­clude the unjust ones.

Qur’an:“My covenant will not include the unjust”: This ex­pression shows how far removed are the unjust from the circle of the Divine Covenant3 ; therefore, it is an example of isti'arah bi 'l-kinayah.

Traditions

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “Verily Allah (to Whom belong Might and Majesty) accepted Ibrahim as a servant before making him a prophet; and verily Allah made him a prophet before appointing him as a messenger; and verily Allah appointed him as a messenger before taking him as a friend; and verily Allah took him as a friend before making him an Imam.

When He combined for him all (the above-mentioned) things,He said, 'Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men.'” The Imam further said: “It was because of the greatness of it (i.e., Imamah) in the eyes of Ibrahim (a.s.) that he said:'And of my offspring?' He said: 'My covenant will not include the unjust. '” The Imam explained: “A fool will not be Imam of a pious.” (al-Kafi )

The author says: The same meaning has been narrated from the same Imam through another chain of narrators, and from al-Baqir (a.s.) through yet other chain; and al-Mufid has narrated it from as- Sadiq (a.s.).

The Imam has said that Allah accepted Ibrahim as a servant before making him a prophet. This theme is inferred from the Qur'anic verse:

And certainly We gave to Ibrahim his rectitude before, and We knew him fully well. When he said to his father and his people: “What are these images to which you (as devotees) cleave?” They said: “We found our fathers worshipping them.” He said: “Certainly you have been (both) you and your fathers, in manifest error.” They said: “Have you brought to us the truth, or are you one of the triflers?” He said: “Nay! your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who brought them into exist­ence, and I am of those who bear witness to this” (21:51 - 56).

This story shows how Allah took Ibrahim (a.s.) as a servant in the beginning of his spiritual journey.

It is one thing that someone is a slave or servant of Allah, and a quite different thing that he is taken or accepted by Allah as His slave. Being a slave of Allah is a concomitant of existence and creation; anyone who is created and has perceiving faculties is inescapably a slave of Allah; this servitude does not depend on Divine acceptance.

Man, for example, owes his existence to his Lord, is created and made by Him; he may behave in his personal life according to this servitude's dictates by surrendering himself to his Lord the Almighty, or he may act rebelliously, but his submission or rebellion does not alter the fact that he is a born slave of Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an:

There is no one in the heavens and the earth but will come to the Beneficent Allah as a servant (19:93).

But if he does not act as a slave should do, if he behaves in the earth with arrogance and rebellion, then he does not deserve to be called a slave or servant of Allah, because he does not fulfill the conditions of servitude.

A servant surrenders himself to his Lord, and leaves all his affairs in his Master's hands. Therefore, only he deserves to be called a servant of Allah who is His slave in his person as well as in his action - only such a man can truly be called a slave of Allah.

Allah says: And the servants of the Beneficent God are they who walk on the earth in humbleness... (25:63).

Accordingly, when Allah accepts a.man as His servant, He takes masterly interest in that servant's affairs; in other words, Allah becomes his waliyy and guardian, and takes all his affairs in His Own hands. Such a servitude is the key toal-wilayah اَلوِلايَـةُ ) = guardianship).

The verse 7:196 points to this reality:

“Surely my guardian is Allah, Who revealed the Book, and He takes in hand (the affairs of) the good.”

The adjective “good”, refers to those who are worthy of Divine guardianship and friendship. Allah has referred to the Prophet in several places in the Qur'an as His servant, for example,

... Who revealed the Book to His servant... (18:1);

... Who sends down clear signs upon His servant... (57: 9);

... when the servant of Allah stood up calling upon Him... (72:19).

In short, to say that Allah accepted someone as His servant, is another way of saying that Allah took him under His wilayah and guardianship.

The Imam said: ”... and verily Allah made him a prophet before appointing him as a messenger”. The difference between a prophet and a messenger, as shown by the traditions narrated from the Imams of the Ahlu 'l-bayt, is as follows:

A prophet sees in his dream what Allah intends to reveal to him; and a messenger sees the angel and talks to him.

The same gradual progress is seen in the history of Ibrahim (a.s.). Allah says:

And mention Ibrahim in the Book; surely he was a truthful (man), a prophet, when he said to his father: “O my father! why do you worship what neither hears nor sees, nor does it avail you in the least” (19:41 - 42).

The verse shows that he was a prophet when he said this to his father. It was a confirmation of what he had told his people as soon as he arrived among them:

“Surely I am clear of what you worship; (I wor­ship) but (only) Him Who created me, for surely He will guide me” (43:26 - 27).

Then we read the verse 11:69 which says:

And certainly Our messengers (i.e., angels) came to Ibrahim with good news. They said: “Peace.” “Peace,” said he.

This event, in which Ibrahim saw the angels and talked to them, had taken place in his old age long after he had left his father and his nation.

The Imam said: “And verily Allah appointed him as a mess­enger before taking him as a friend.” It is inferred from the words of Allah:

And who is better in religion than he who... follows the faith of Ibrahim, the upright one? And Allah took Ibrahimas a friend (4:125).

Apparently it shows that Allah took him as a friend because of the same upright faith and religion which he had promulgated by the command of his Lord; the theme of this verse is to describe the distinction and excellence of that upright religion which so much raised the status of Ibrahim that he was taken as a friend of Allah.

al-Khalil ( اَلخَليْلُ ) is more exclusive thanas-Sadiq ( اَلصَّديْقُ ), although both are generally translated as “friend”. When a friend is sincere and truthful (as-Sadiq) in his dealings with the other friend, he is called as-Sadiq; thereafter, if he turns away from all else, confining his needs and requirements to that friend only, he is called al-khalil, becauseal-khullah ( اَلخُلـَّةُ ) means need and requirement.

The meaning of the Imam's sentence, “and verily Allah took him as a friend before making him an Imam,” may be understood from the foregoing commentary. The words of the Imam: “A fool will not be Imam of a pious,” point to the verse 2:130 - 131:

And who forsakes the religion of Ibrahim but he who makes himself a fool, and most certainly We chose him in this world, and in the hereafter he is most surely among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, Submit (yourself), he said: “I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds.”

In this verse Allah says that whoever turns away from the religion of Ibrahim - in other words, whoever is unjust - is a fool; then he contrasts this foolishness with Divine selection - a selection which has been explained in the next sentences as “Islam” or submission to God. (Ponder on the clause,When his Lord said to him, Submit yourself ).

Then we see thatal-Islam ( اَلإسْلامُ ) = submission) andat-taqwa ( اَلتَّقْوی) = piety, fear of Allah) have been made one, or applicable to one meaning, in the verse:

O you who believe! fear Allah as is due to Him, and do not die but as Muslims (3:102).

(Think deeply on it.)

al-Mufid has narrated from Durust and Hisham from the Imams (of the Ahlu 'l-bayt): “Ibrahim was a prophet, and he was not an Imam until Allah, Blessed and High is He, said (to him): “Surely I am going to make you an Imam for men.” (Ibrahim) said:“And of my offspirng?” Then Allah, Blessed and High is He, said:“My covenant will not include the unjust.” Whoever had (ever) worshipped an idol or a sculpture or an image, cannot be an Imam.”

The author says: Its meaning is clear from the above explanations.

It is narrated in al-Amali of at-Tusi (with complete chain of narrators) and in al-Manaqib of Ibn al-Maghazili (as a marfu' tradition) from Ibn Mas'ud from the Prophet that he said (ex­plaining the words of Allah to Ibrahim in this verse):

“Whoever prostrated before an idol, leaving me, I will not make him an Imam.” Then the Prophet said: “And that prayer was fulfilled in me and my brother Ali; neither of us ever prostrated before any idol.”

Waki' and Ibn Marduwayh have narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) that the Prophet said (in explanation of the words of Allah,My covenant will not include the unjust ): “There is no obedience except in good.” (ad-Durru 'l-manthur )

'Abd ibn Hamid narrated from 'Imran ibn Husayn that he said: “I heard the Prophet saying: 'There is no obedience of a creature in disobedience of Allah (i.e., a man should not be obeyed if he tells you to disobey Allah).'” (ibid.)

The author says: The meanings of those traditions are easily understood from the earlier explanations. al-'Ayyashi has narrated in his Tafsir, through several chains, from Safwan the camel-driver, that he said:

“We were at Mecca; and the talk gradually reached the words of Allah,And (remem­ber) when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, then he fulfilled them.” (The Imam) said: “That is, he completed them with Muhammad and 'Ali and the Imams from the descendants of 'Ali, as Allah says:Offspring, one from the other” (3:34).

The authour says: This tradition takes the “word” in the meaning of the Imamah; a similar explanation is given to “word” in the verses:...for surely He will guide me. And He made it a word to continue in his posterity... (43: 27 - 28).

According to this tradition, the verse would mean as follows: And remember when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, that is, his own imamah, and that of Ishaq and his progeny; then He completed it with the imamah of Muhammad and of the Imams from his family members, who were from the progeny of Isma'il; then Allah made it known to Ibrahim telling him:

“Surely lam going to make you an Imam for men.” Ibrahim said: “And of my offspirng?” Allah said:“My covenant will not include the unjust.”

Footnotes

1. It is a simplified version of the argument given by al-Qadi Nurullah Tustari (ash-Shahid ath-Thalith) in his Ihgaqu 'l-haqq. (Vide the new ed. with footnotes by Ayatullah Sayyid Shahabuddin Mar'ashi Najafi, Mat­ba'ah Islamiyyah, Tehran, vol. II, pp. 367 - 369.) (tr.)

2. This reply does not seem to meet the objection. The verse clearly says that these prophets were guided by Allah. Also, it is accepted that all the prophets, including those mentioned in this verse, guided their people aright, and that they did so by the command of Allah. Thus, all the characteristics of the Imamah were found in every prophet who called his people to the right path. (tr.)

3. Its literal translation: My covenant will not reach the unjust. Note that Allah did not say: The unjust will not reach My covenant, because it would have implied that it was within the power of man - albeit a just one - to reach the status of the Imamah.

The present sentences does not leave room for any such misunderstanding; it clearly shows that getting the imamah is not within human jurisdiction, it is exclusively in the hand of Allah and He gives to whom He pleases. (tr.)