سورة يونس

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Dawud al-Riqqi: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the interpretation of this verse: وَ مَا تُغْنِی الآیَاتُ وَ النُّذُرُ عَن قَوْمٍ لاَّ یُؤْمِنُونَ [And signs and warners do not avail a people who would not believe]." The Imam said: "Al-Ayat (the signs) are the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and al-Nudhur (the warners) are the prophets."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Yahya al-Kahili: "I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse وَ مَا تُغْنِی الآیَاتُ وَ النُّذُرُ عَن قَوْمٍ لاَّ یُؤْمِنُونَ [And signs and warners do not avail a people who would not believe]." He said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was taken on the Mi'raj (ascension), Jibra'il brought the Buraq, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) mounted it and went to Bayt al-Maqdis, and there he met some of his brothers [in faith], namely the prophets. When he returned from the Mi'raj, he said to his companions: "This very night I went to Bayt al-Maqdis and returned. Jibra'il brought me the Buraq and I mounted it. The sign of my Mi'raj is that I passed by the caravan of Abu Sufyan, which had stopped beside the spring of Banu so-and-so. They had lost a red camel and all the people were searching for that camel." They said to one another: "He has gone to Sham and come back, and he must have travelled with great speed. You have seen Sham and know it. Ask Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) about its markets, its gates and the merchants of Sham." So they said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! How was Sham? How were its markets?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was such that if he was asked about something and did not know its answer, it weighed heavily upon him, and this heaviness could be seen in his face. While the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was in this state, suddenly Jibra'il descended and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! This is Sham, placed before you." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) looked and saw Sham with its gates, markets and merchants placed before his eyes. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Where is the one who asked me about Sham?" They said to him: "So-and-so and so-and-so." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) answered all the questions of those two. But among them only a few believed in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and this verse is the explanation of that: وَ مَا تُغْنِی الآیَاتُ وَ النُّذُرُ عَن قَوْمٍ لاَّ یُؤْمِنُونَ [And signs and warners do not avail a people who would not believe]. Then Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "We seek refuge with Allah from not believing in Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family). We have believed in Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family)."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) began to relate the story of the Mi'raj (ascension) to the Quraysh. It was said to him (peace be upon him and his family): "Describe Bayt al-Maqdis for us." At that moment, Jibra'il placed the image of Bayt al-Maqdis before the face of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and he answered whatever the Quraysh asked. [It reached the point that] they said: "Where in Bayt al-Maqdis is the house of so-and-so, and such-and-such a place?" And whatever they asked about Bayt al-Maqdis, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) answered. But [even so], only a few of them believed. This is the saying of Allah, who says: ما تُغْنِی الْآیاتُ وَ النُّذُرُ عَنْ قَوْمٍ لا یُؤْمِنُونَ [signs and warners do not avail a people who would not believe].