Verses 20–51
These verses highlight a number of God’s signs that demonstrate that He alone has lordship (rubūbiyyah) over creation, and the governance of the heavens and the earth, mankind and their sustenance ultimately return to Him. The logical consequence of this is that He not only can send down His religion through messengers but He must. Another consequence of this is that people must believe in the content of the preaching of these messengers, especially their promises of a resurrection and recompense, for what they promise is true and the Recompense will surely come to pass. And we have already mentioned in the previous section the particular approach this sūrah adopts in its argumentation.
Commentary
وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ ٢٠
(51:20) In the earth are signs for those who have conviction
The conclusion that will be drawn from these verses is So flee toward God… Do not set up another god besides God… (). This demonstrates that the arguments in these verses should be read as arguments for God alone having lordship, not arguments for His existence or the fact that all creation will return to Him, etc.
This verse alludes to the astounding signs the earth contains that indicate that it follows a single order and therefore has a single organiser. This is the case whether we look to the land, sea, mountains, hills, springs, rivers, and minerals, and their benefits, all of which are in harmony with one another and from which benefits everything that dwells within them, whether animal or vegetable. All of this is within a single system whose continued existence is neither the result of chance or accident. On the contrary, it points to it being the product of power, knowledge and wisdom and that therefore it is the product of a wise, knowing and powerful creator and governor.
So wherever you look, whichever way you turn, whatever angle you adopt, the universal order that permeates this existence is a clear sign and obvious proof for the oneness of its Lord, who is without partner. This the plain truth for the people of certainty; therefore, it contains signs for those have conviction.
وَفِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ ٢١
(51:21) And in your selves. Will you not then perceive?
And in your selves is connected with the previous verse in the earth…. In other words: And in your souls are manifest signs as well for those who perceive them and examine them deeply. Will you not then perceive?
The signs contained in the people’s own selves include the composition of their bodies and limbs; their cells and the miraculous functions they perform; the fact that their bodies are united in action even though they are made up of so many parts, showing that this is all governed by a single entity; as well as the different stages of life these bodies go through—as a foetus, a child, a teenager, a youth and an adult.
Another sign is the way in which souls or spirits become attached to the body, like senses become attached to sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, which are the primary ways in which a person’s soul becomes aware of the outside world and thereby able to distinguish good from bad and beneficial from harmful. In this way, the soul can pursue that which contains its entelechy and flee from that which does not accord with its nature. Each of these senses are governed by a system separate from that of all other senses; sight does not know what sound knows or what is going on in it, and so on. But despite this separation between the senses, all of the information they yield is gathered together and placed at the disposal of a single agent—the soul who controls the body. And God encompasses all of them.
The same applies to all of the faculties found in the human being, whether his anger or desire and everything that results from these. Each one of these faculties is different, with its own functions and system, yet they all fall under the governance of a single agent, which yokes them together and places them at its own disposal.
The system that organizes all of these phenomena came into existence at the same time as them; it had no choice or hand in their creation, so the system that organizes these phenomena, like the phenomena themselves, is the product of a Maker.
Included also are spiritual signs that dwell in the realm of souls which are visible to those who look for them; God has placed signs therein which are beyond our ability to describe, but which open the door of certainty for the one who comes upon them and admit him to the circle of those with conviction, for such a person has seen the dominions of the heavens and the earth, as God says: Thus did We show Abraham the dominions of the heavens and the earth, that he might be of those who possess certitude ().
وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ ٢٢
(51:22) And in the heavens is your provision and what you are promised.
It is said that heavens (samāʾ) means the sky—as samāʾ literally means whatever is above someone—and provision refers to the rain which God sends down upon the earth and causes all manner of plants used for food, clothing and other benefits to appear. God says: and what God sends down from the heavens of provision with which He revives the earth after its death (). The rain is called provision as it is the cause of their provision.
It is also said that this refers to the causes of their provision in the heavens: the Sun, Moon and planets, their shifting points of rising and setting which mark the seasons, and the succession of night and day, all of which are causes for mankind’s provision. In other words God means “the means for your provision.” It could be argued as well that the existence of these causes suffices for the existence of their effects.
Others have said that their provision being in the heavens means that it has been decreed in the heavens as each and every being’s provision is recorded upon the Guarded Tablet.
It is also possible that this refers to the Unseen World in general. All things, including people’s provision, descend from God. About specific things, He has said: and He has sent down for you eight mates of the cattle (), and: We sent down iron, in which there is great might (); also in a general sense, He has said: There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure (). The meaning of “provision” (rizq) is anything that the human being sustains his existence with, whether food, drink, clothing or shelter; a spouse, a child, knowledge, strength, etc.
…and what you are promised is connected to provision which appears to refer to Paradise, as God says elsewhere: near which is the Garden of the Abode (). Some have said it means paradise and hell, or divine reward and punishment, but this does not accord with the verse: those who deny Our signs and are disdainful of them—the gates of the heaven will not be opened for them, nor shall they enter paradise until the camel passes through the needle’s eye (). However, the Qur’an does describe divine punishment as descending through the heavens, as when God says: So We sent down on those who were wrongdoers a plague from the sky () and in other verses.
Some have suggested that and what you are promised is actually the subject of a new sentence and its predicate is: By the Lord of the sky and the earth, it is indeed the truth (). However this yields a very convoluted meaning.
فَوَرَبِّ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ مِثْلَ مَا أَنَّكُمْ تَنْطِقُونَ ٢٣
(51:23) By the Lord of the heavens and the earth, it is indeed the truth, just as you speak.
It refers to the content of the verse immediately before—and in the heavens is your provision and what you are promised. It is indeed the truth means that it is immutably fixed in the Divine Decree, rather than a secondary or accidental issue.
In other words, this means: “I swear by the Lord of the heavens and the earth that what we have said about your provision and the Paradise you have been promised (which is also a kind of provision (rizq), as God has said repeatedly: For them shall be forgiveness and a noble provision ()) and other things being in the heavens is indeed fixed and decreed as surely as your speech, which is a fact no one doubts.
Some commentators entertain the possibility that it refers only to what you are promised or to provision but not both; or to God; to the Prophet; to the Qur’an; or to the Retribution mentioned in the verse: and indeed the retribution will surely come to pass (); or to the Day of Retribution as in the verse: When will be the Day of Retribution? (); or to everything that has been said from the beginning of the sūrah until now. However, I believe the most apposite reading is that it refers to the verse immediately above: and in the heavens is your provision and what you are promised.
Discourse
The discussion “A Discussion on the Relationship Between Provision and its Recipient” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.
Commentary continues:
هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ ٢٤
(51:24) Did you receive the story of Abraham’s honoured guests (ḍayfi ibrāhīm al-mukramīn)?
This refers to the story of the angels visiting Abraham and giving good news to him and his wife and then their destruction of Lot’s people, and this story contains a sign of God’s sole lordship, as we have mentioned above.
Did you receive the story…? magnifies the importance of the story; mukramīn (“honoured”—referring to the angels who visited) is an adjective for ḍayf. Ḍayf appears in the singular here because it is originally a verbal noun (maṣdar) which does not accept the dual or plural forms.
إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا ۖ قَالَ سَلَامٌ قَوْمٌ مُنْكَرُونَ ٢٥
(51:25) When they entered into his presence, they said, “Peace!” “Peace!” He answered, “An unfamiliar folk.”
When (idh) is adverbial and connected to story (ḥadīth) in the above verse. “Peace!” (salāman) is the utterance of the verb they said. It is accusative (manṣūb) because it is attached to an implicit verb as an absolute object: “We give you greetings of peace” (nusallim ʿalayk salāman).
“Peace!” He answered… is a subject of a new sentence whose predicate is implicit, meaning: “Peace be upon you!” (salāmun ʿalaykum). His response is actually superior to their greeting because when he says salāmun, this is a nominal sentence—as shown by its being in the nominative case (marfūʿ)—which signifies its content (namely, peace) has already been established in reality. Meanwhile, their greeting salāman is a verbal sentence—as shown by its being in the accusative case (manṣūb)—which signifies a continuous tense, meaning that its content (peace) has yet to be established.
An unfamiliar folk (qawmun munkarūn)—it appears from the story that these are the words of Abraham to himself, meaning that when he saw them he did not recognise them and said to himself that these are an unfamiliar people. This does not contradict the verse But when he saw their hands not reaching for it, he took them amiss () in that it also mentions him feeling unfamiliarity (“took them amiss”—nakirahum) after he offered them a roasted calf, as what is mentioned here is Abraham’s internal monologue while what is mentioned in is the visible appearance of this feeling upon his face. This is a more appropriate reading than that of a group of commentators who have said that this is something he said to them, namely: “You are an unfamiliar folk!”
فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ فَجَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ ٢٦
(51:26) Then he retired to his family and brought a fat calf
To retire (iḥtiyāl) means to go stealthily. According to al-Rāghib: “It means to go to something in secret.” And the first meaning devolves to the second.
A fat calf means a fat roasted calf, as indicated by the words and put it near them (fa qarrabahu ilayhim) (), or the fa could be meant to introduce a time lapse, meaning: “So he brought a fat calf, slaughtered it, roasted it and put it near them.”
فَقَرَّبَهُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ ٢٧
(51:27) and put it near them. He said, “Will you not eat?”—The angels do not eat the food, but Abraham thinks them human beings.
فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ ۖ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَامٍ عَلِيمٍ ٢٨
(51:28) Then he felt a fear of them (fa awjasa minhum khīfa). They said, “Do not be afraid!” and they gave him the good news of a wise son.
Then (fa) introduces a lapse, with the meaning: “They did not reach for the food, and when he saw that he took them amiss and felt a fear of them. Ījās means to feel something in one’s mind, and khīfah means a kind of fear, so the verse means that he felt a kind of fear from them.
They said, “Do not be afraid!” This sentence is introduced abruptly without using a conjunction (such as “and” or “so”) because it is the answer to an implied question from the audience; it is as if someone said: “So what happened after he felt this fear from them?” And the answer came: They said, “Do not be afraid!” and they gave him the good news of a wise son. And in doing so they turned his fear to relief and happiness. The meaning of a wise son is either Ishmael or Isaac, and we have already discussed the disagreement about this point.
فَأَقْبَلَتِ امْرَأَتُهُ فِي صَرَّةٍ فَصَكَّتْ وَجْهَهَا وَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ عَقِيمٌ ٢٩
(51:29) Then his wife came forward crying (fī ṣarratin). She beat her face (ṣakkat wajhahā), and said, “A barren old woman!”
According to Majmaʿ al-Bayān:
“The word ṣarrah means to shriek and it originally meant the creaking of a door (ṣarīr al-bāb). A group can also be called a ṣarrah. Meanwhile, ṣakkah means to beat severely with intent.”
This renders the meaning: “When Abraham’s wife heard the good news, she came forward shrieking, beat her face and said: ‘I am a barren old woman! How shall I bear a child?’” Or her words could mean: “Does a barren old woman give birth to a son?”
It is said that ṣarrah here means “group” (jamāʿah); namely, that she came to them in a group, struck her face and uttered these words. However, the first meaning is in greater accord with the context and tone of the verses.
قَالُوا كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ ٣٠
(51:30) They said, “So has your Lord said. Indeed He is the All-wise, the All-knowing.”
So (kadhālik) refers to the good news they brought to her and her husband while they were both advanced in years; she was old and barren and her husband elderly. However, their Lord is all-wise (ḥakīm) and only desires things according to His wisdom, and He is all-knowing (ʿalīm), to whom nothing about the affair is hidden.
قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ ٣١ قَالُوا إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍ مُجْرِمِينَ٣٢ لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِنْ طِينٍ ٣٣ مُسَوَّمَةً عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ ٣٤
(51:31–34) He said, “O messengers, what is now your errand?” They said, “We have been sent toward a guilty people, that We may rain upon them stones of clay, marked with your Lord for the profligate.”
An “errand” (khaṭb) is a matter of great importance; “stones of clay” (ḥijārah min al-ṭīn) is petrified clay; “to mark something” (taswīm) means that it has been given a sign.
This means: “Abraham said: ‘O messenger angels, what is the mission you have been given?’ The angels told Abraham: ‘We have been sent toward a guilty people…’—the people of Lot—‘that We may rain upon them stones of petrified clay, which God calls sijīl, marked by your Lord specifically to bring destruction upon the profligate.’” And it appears that the profligate (al-musrifīn) is mentioned with the definite article to show it is referring to a specific aforementioned group of them.
فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَنْ كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٣٥ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍمِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ٣٦ وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَا آيَةً لِلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ ٣٧
(51:35–37) So We picked out those who were in it of the faithful, but We did not find there other than one house of muslims, and We have left therein a sign for those who fear a painful punishment.
So (fa) signifies a time lapse, indicating that part of the angels’ story has been omitted; namely their going to Lot and visiting him in his house; Lot’s people demanding that the angels be sent out to them; and their saving Lot and his family from the town. However this story has been given in detail elsewhere in the Qur’an.
So we picked out… indicates that they destroyed the town, as their bring out Lot and his family was a prelude to this; …who were in it clearly means “in the town” based on the context of the verse; one house of muslims refers to the house of Lot. We have left therein a sign… again alludes to the destruction of the town and making the highest point of their land the lowest. By left (taraknā), the angels allude to the fact that they have made something lasting (ibqāʾ), and these particulars have been explained elsewhere in the Qur’an also.
In short, the meaning of this verse is: “When the angels went to Lot and events transpired as they did, God picked out the faithful of the town, but He did not find more than a single house of muslims, who were Lot and his family. By overturning the land completely and destroying its people, God has left a sign that demonstrates His Lordship and the falsehood of polytheism for those people who fear a painful punishment.”
وَفِي مُوسَىٰ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ بِسُلْطَانٍ مُبِينٍ ٣٨
(51:38) And in Moses when We sent him to Pharaoh with a manifest authority (ṣulṭān mubīn).
This is connected to We have left therein a sign, meaning that in Moses also is a sign; manifest authority (ṣulṭān mubīn) refers to the awe-inspiring proofs and miracles that Moses brought with him.
فَتَوَلَّىٰ بِرُكْنِهِ وَقَالَ سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ ٣٩
(51:39) But he turned away with his support (bi ruknihi), and said, “A magician or a madman!”
Support (rukn) means his armies, as suggested by the following verse. Assuming that bi signifies accompaniment (muṣāḥabah), this verse says: “But he turned away with his armies.” However, it has also been suggested that the bi is for transitivity (taʿdiyah), in which case the verse means: “But he turned his support away.”
…and said, “A magician or a madman!” In other words, sometimes he said that Moses was mad, as in the verse: Indeed your messenger, who has been sent to you, is surely crazy! () and at others he accused him of being a sorcerer, as in the verse: “This is indeed an expert magician” ().
فَأَخَذْنَاهُ وَجُنُودَهُ فَنَبَذْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ ٤٠
(51:40) So We seized him and his hosts, and cast them into the sea, while he was blameworthy (mulīm).
“To cast something” (nabdh) means to throw it away without importance. Mulīm means someone who does something worthy of blame; it is conjugated from the verb alāma which means to do something worthy of blame, in the same sense as the verb aghraba—which shares its pattern of conjugation—refers to one who does something strange.
The verse means: “So We seized him and his armies who were his support, and We cast them into the sea because he had demonstrated blameworthy disbelief, obstinacy and recalcitrance.” Pharaoh is singled out as “blameworthy” (mulīm) even though all of those with him share his fate because he is their leader who led them into perdition. God says: On the Day of Resurrection he will lead his people and conduct them into the Fire: an evil goal for the incoming! (). And this verse alludes to the awesome power and terrifying violence at God’s disposal, since the fate of Pharaoh and his host is well known!
وَفِي عَادٍ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّيحَ الْعَقِيمَ ٤١
(51:41) And in ʿĀd when We unleashed upon them a barren wind,
This is also connected to the above verse. In other words: “And in ʿĀd there is a sign when we unleashed upon them a barren wind….”
It has been suggested that a barren wind is a wind that does not bring any of the usual benefits associated with the winds, such as bringing forth clouds, pollinating trees, spreading foodstuffs, benefiting animals or cleansing the air. Its only effect is to bring destruction, as the verse below suggests.
مَا تَذَرُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا جَعَلَتْهُ كَالرَّمِيمِ ٤٢
(51:42) It left nothing that it came upon without making it like decayed bones.
The meaning of this verse is clear.
وَفِي ثَمُودَ إِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَمَتَّعُوا حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ ٤٣
(51:43) And in Thamūd, when they were told, “Enjoy for a while.”
This again is connected to “sign”, meaning: “And in Thamūd there is a sign when they were told: ‘Enjoy for a while.’” It is their prophet, Ṣāliḥ who tells them this, as we see in the verse: “Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days: that is a promise not to be belied!” () He told them this when they hamstrung the she-camel, whereupon he gave them three days to repent for their faithlessness and insolence towards God, but this did not benefit them in the least and the word of punishment became due against them.
فَعَتَوْا عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ ٤٤
(51:44) Then they defied the command of their Lord; so the thunderbolt seized them as they looked on.
According to Rāghib, to “defy” (ʿatw) means to shrink from obedience and therefore it carries a similar meaning to insolence. The defiance mentioned in this verse is when they defied God’s command and then refused to repent to Him during the three days they were given. Therefore one cannot object that their defiance of God’s command came before their “enjoyment”—as the full story says elsewhere—while this verse suggests the opposite.
So the thunderbolt seized them as they looked on: This does not contradict what we read elsewhere, where the word “cry” (ṣayḥah) is used in place of “thunderbolt” (ṣāʿiqah) as in the verse: The Cry seized those who were wrongdoers (). The reason for this is that it is possible for them to be punished by both a thunderbolt and a cry together!
فَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا مِنْ قِيَامٍ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنْتَصِرِينَ ٤٥
(51:45) So they were neither able to rise up, nor were they helped.
In other words they could not get up from where they were sitting to flee from God’s punishment, referring to the fact that they didn’t have enough warning to rise from sitting before the punishment overtook them.
Nor to come to one another’s aid is connected to able to. In other words: “And they could not be helped by anyone else to repel the punishment from themselves.” In short, the two sentences of this verse mean that they could not prevent the punishment from overtaking them whether by themselves or with the help of someone else.
وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ ٤٦
(51:46) And the people of Noah aforetime. Indeed they were a transgressing lot.
This is connected to the previous accounts. The people of Noah is accusative (manṣūb) in the Arabic because it is the object of an implicit verb with the meaning: “And we destroyed the people of Noah before ʿĀd and Thamūd. Indeed they were a lot who transgressed God’s commands.”
In other words, there are commands and prohibitions which God has enjoined on mankind, namely that He is their Lord and the Lord of everything, and He has called them to the true religion upon the tongues of his messengers. So what the Prophets brought was truly from God, and one of the things they brought was the promise of resurrection and recompense in the Hereafter.
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ ٤٧
(51:47) We have built the sky with might (ayd), and indeed it is We who are its expanders.
In this verse, we return to the previous discussion that began with the verse: In the earth are signs for those who have conviction… (). Ayd means power or blessing and both meanings are applicable to indeed it is We who are expanders.
If we take the first sense of ayd, this means: “We have built the sky with incalculable might and We abound in might—nothing can stop us.” If we take the second sense of ayd, this means: “We have built the sky for the sake of incalculable blessings and We abound in wealth and blessings; Our treasure houses are never depleted by our generosity in giving provisions. We send down provision from the heavens to whomsoever We please and We expand this provision howsoever we please.”
It is possible that expanders (mūsiʿūn) means someone who gives abundantly, in which case the meaning would be “We cause the heavens to expand”, as some modern calculations suggest is the case.
وَالْأَرْضَ فَرَشْنَاهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَاهِدُونَ ٤٨
(51:48) And the earth We have spread it out (farashnāhā), so how excellent spreaders (māhidūn) We have been!
Both farash and mahd mean to spread out (basaṭ). In other words, we have spread out and levelled the earth so that you may dwell and live upon it, so how excellent spreaders we have been. However, this idea of spreading out and levelling does not contradict the idea of the world being round.
وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ ٤٩
(51:49) In all things We have created pairs (zawjayn) so that you may take admonition.
This refers to complementary opposites, whereby one completes the other: active and passive, male and female.
It has been suggested that this refers to all complementary opposites: male and female, heavens and earth, day and night, land and sea, humans and jinn.
It has also been suggested that this refers only to male and female.
…so that you may take admonition means that you may take a lesson that the Creator of these pairs is above having a partner or an opposite; He is absolutely unitary.
فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ إِنِّي لَكُمْ مِنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ ٥٠ وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ ۖ إِنِّي لَكُمْ مِنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ ٥١
(51:50–51) So flee toward God. Indeed I am a manifest warner to you from Him. Do not set up another god besides God. Indeed I am a manifest warner to you from Him.
These two verses draw a conclusion from the above arguments for God’s sole lordship and divinity, which contained accounts of various past nations who disbelieved in God and His messengers and ultimately were completely destroyed as a result of this.
So the meaning of flee toward God means to seek refuge in him from disbelief (kufr) and the punishment that results from it by believing in Him alone and taking Him as one’s exclusive object of worship.
Do not set up another god besides God—this is like an explanation of So flee toward God. In other words: believing in Him means believing in Him alone without any partner in His divinity or worship.
And the words Indeed I am a manifest warner to you are repeated here to emphasize the warning, and these two verses both relate words uttered by the Prophet Himself.
Examining Narrations
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī about the verse: and in your selves. Will you not then perceive? (), he says:
He created you seeing and hearing, sometimes pleased and at others angry, sometimes sated and at others hungry; these are all God’s signs.
Author’s comments: In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, this is attributed to Imām al-Ṣādiq.
- In Tawḥīd, it is narrated from Hishām b. Sālim:
Someone asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq]: “How did you know your Lord?”
He said: “Through the undoing of decisions and thwarting of ambition. I decided something but my decision was undone; I aspired to something but my ambition was thwarted.”
Author’s comments: In Khiṣāl, this is narrated from him from his forefathers from the Commander of the Faithful.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, al-Kharāʾiṭī narrates in his Musāwī al-Akhlāq from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib regarding and in your selves. Will you not then perceive?:
He said: “The route of urine and faeces.”
Author’s comments: This narration, like the two before it, sets out to expound some instances of the different ways of knowing God through one’s self.
- And in the same source, Ibn al-Nuqūr and al-Daylamī narrate from ʿAlī from the Prophet about the verse: And in the heavens is your provision and what you are promised ():
Rain.
Author’s comments: A similar saying is narrated in Tafsīr al-Qummī with a discontinued (mursal) and implicit (muḍmar) chain.
- Mufīd narrates in his Irshād from ʿAlī:
Seek your provision, for it is guaranteed for its seeker!
- In Tawḥīd it is narrated from Abū al-Bakhtarī:
Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad [Imām al-Ṣādiq] narrated to me from his father, from his grandfather, from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, that the Prophet told him: “O ʿAlī! Certainty means that you please no one for God’s wrath, that you praise no one for what God has given you, that you do not blame anyone for what God has not given you—for indeed provision cannot be hastened by anyone’s greed or repelled by anyone’s dislike.”
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, we read:
Then his wife came forward fī ṣarratin () means “in a group.” This is narrated from al-Ṣādiq.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is narrated by Fāryābī and Ibn Mundhir from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib:
A barren wind means an ill-fated one.
- In Tawḥīd, it is narrated from Muḥammad b. Muslim:
I asked Abū Jaʿfar [Imām al-Bāqir] about the verse: “O Iblis! What keeps you from prostrating before that which I have created with My two hands (bi yadayya)?” ()
He replied: “In the speech of the Arabs, a ‘hand’ (yad) refers to power and blessings. God says: Remember Our servant, David, of strength (dhā al-ayd) (). In another verse, He says: We have built the sky with might (bi ayd) (), meaning with power. And in yet another: hearts and strengthened them (ayyadahum) with a spirit from Him (). And you can say to someone: ‘I have a white hand.’ This means you have a blessing.”
- In al-Tawḥīd, a lengthy sermon is narrated from Abū al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā, in which he says:
Through His endowment of the sense organs with sense, it is known that He has no sense organ; through His giving substance to substances, it is known that He has no substance; through His creating opposition between things, it is known that He has no opposite; through His likening of things to one another, it is known He has no likeness. He opposed light with darkness, dryness with moisture, roughness with softness, coolness with heat. He unites their opposites and splits apart their similarities, whose very splitting apart points to the One who splits them, and whose very union points to the One who unites them. That is His saying: In all things We have created pairs so that you may take admonition (). So he separated “before” and “after” that it might know there is nothing before or after Him. They bear witness by their natures that there is no nature for the One who endowed them with it. They inform us by their temporality that there is no time for the one who gave them it. They are veiled from one another that it might be known that there is no veil between Him and His creation.
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, about the verse So flee toward God: It is said, narrated from al-Ṣādiq:
This means to make the Ḥajj pilgrimage.
Author’s comments: It is also narrated in al-Kāfī and al-Maʿānī from Abū al-Jārūd from Abū Jaʿfar, and perhaps it is meant as an application of the verse to a particular situation (taṭbīq).