سورة يونس

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted grants the prophets and Imams success and bestows upon them from the treasury of His knowledge and wisdom such things as He bestows upon no one else, and consequently their knowledge is above the knowledge of the people of their time. This meaning has come in this verse: أَفَمَن یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَن یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی فَمَا لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): A group came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) for judgment. The Prophet ordered one of his companions to judge between them, and he judged, but they were not pleased [with his ruling]. Then [the Prophet] ordered Ali (peace be upon him) to judge between them, and he judged, and they were pleased. One of the hypocrites said to them: "So-and-so judged over you and you were not pleased, but Ali (peace be upon him) judged and you were pleased. What a bad people you are!" So Allah revealed this verse concerning Ali (peace be upon him): أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی فَمَا لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]. And that is because Ali (peace be upon him), without being taught, was granted success in the reality of judgment [and would judge based on truth].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Narrated from Amr ibn al-Qasim: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) mentioning the name [and story] of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Then he recited this verse: أَفَمَن یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَن یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی فَمَا لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]. We said: "May Allah grant you goodness and blessing, who is the person intended by the verse?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "It has reached us that the one meant is Ali (peace be upon him)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): May Allah guide you! Listen to my words, and when I command you, obey my command. For by Allah! If you obey my command, you will not go astray, and if you disobey and oppose me, you will not attain salvation. Allah the Exalted has said: "أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الْحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُون [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]".

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): [One day during the caliphate of Uthman, there was a discussion among the Muslims in the mosque of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), in which Talha ibn Abdullah addressed Ali (peace be upon him) and said: What do you say in response to Abu Bakr, who narrated a hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) stating that Allah did not combine prophethood and caliphate in the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and did not give both of them together to them?] Ali (peace be upon him) in reply to this question said: "My proof is this saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) who said: Your position with me is like the position of Harun (peace be upon him) with Musa (peace be upon him), except in prophethood. And had there been any exception other than prophethood, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) would have stated it. And also this saying: I leave among you two things as a trust — the Book of Allah and my progeny, who are my Ahl al-Bayt; so if you hold fast to them, you will not fall into misguidance and error. Do not put anyone ahead of them, do not lag behind them, and do not try to teach them anything, for they are more knowledgeable than you. Is it not fitting that the caliph of the ummah should be the most knowledgeable of them concerning the Quran and the Sunnah, as Allah has said: أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُون [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]. [Given these qualities, can a hadith which says that caliphate and prophethood do not gather in one household be correct]?!"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Salman al-Farsi (may Allah have mercy on him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: "[Obedience to] me, like hajj, zakat, fasting and prayer, is an obligation from Allah the Mighty and Majestic and His Messenger. Are these divine obligations established except through the guidance of a guiding scholar towards the truth who is worthy of being followed?! Allah the Glorious has said: قُلْ هَلْ مِنْ شُرَکائِکُمْ مَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ قُلِ اللهُ یَهْدِی لِلْحَقِّ أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Say: Is there any of your associates who guides to the truth? Say: Allah guides to the truth. Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]. May Allah have mercy on you! I (obedience to me) am an obligation from Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) upon you. Rather, I am the most excellent and the highest of obligations, the most comprehensive of them with respect to the truth, and the strongest of obligations for [preserving] the pillars of faith and the laws of Islam, and preserving all that people need for their welfare, their corruption, and the affairs of their worldly life and their hereafter."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): After the passing of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the caliphate reaching Abu Bakr, a man was brought who had drunk wine. Abu Bakr said to him: "Have you drunk wine?" The man said: "Yes!" Abu Bakr asked: "You know that drinking wine is forbidden; so why did you drink it?!" The man said: "I became a Muslim while my house was beside the houses of a people who drank wine and considered it lawful, and if I had known that drinking it was forbidden, I would certainly have avoided it." Abu Bakr turned to Umar and said: "O Abu Hafs! What ruling do you give regarding this man?" Umar said: "It is a complicated matter, but Abu al-Hasan, Ali (peace be upon him), can handle it." Abu Bakr called someone and said: "O boy! Go and invite Ali (peace be upon him) here." Umar said: "No. To hear judgment, one must go to the door of the judge's house." So they brought the wine-drinking man, with Salman al-Farsi (may Allah have mercy on him) accompanying them, to the house of Ali (peace be upon him), and they related the man's story to him, and the man himself also recounted his affair to Ali (peace be upon him). Ali (peace be upon him) said to Abu Bakr: "Send him with someone to the gathering places and assemblies of the Muhajirin and Ansar. If anyone has recited the verse of prohibition to him, let him come and testify against this man. But if the verse of prohibition has not been recited to him, then he has no sin." Abu Bakr carried out exactly what Ali (peace be upon him) requested and said, and no one testified against the man. So Abu Bakr released him. Then Salman al-Farsi (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Ali (peace be upon him): "You guided them." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "I only wanted to renew the emphasis of this verse concerning myself and them: أَفَمَن یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَن یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی فَمَا لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): One day Umar said: "I do not know what to do with the Magians (fire-worshippers)?! Where is Abdullah ibn Abbas?" [In reply] they said: "He is right here." Umar said to him: "Have you heard anything from Ali (peace be upon him) regarding the Magians? If you have not heard, ask him about this matter." Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) went to Ali (peace be upon him) and asked him about the Magians. His Eminence said: "أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]" Then he expressed his opinion to him.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah said concerning those who, after the passing of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), wrongfully seized his inheritance: أَفَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]. If it were permissible for the Islamic ummah to follow one who does not know or one who is ignorant, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would not have said to his father (his uncle): "Why do you worship that which neither hears, nor sees, nor solves any problem for you?" (Maryam/42).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): أَفَمَن یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَن یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی فَمَا لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?] The referent of مَن یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ [the one who guides to the truth] is Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and after him, the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). But [what is meant by] مَنْ لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی [he who does not go aright unless he is guided] is the opponents of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), whether from Quraysh or others.

Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): [In al-Adad al-Qawiyya] Hasan al-Basri wrote a letter to Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) with this content: "You are the household of prophethood and the mine of wisdom. Allah has made you the moving ship in the deep seas, so that whoever seeks refuge takes refuge in you, and the wicked and the extremist grasps the rope of your salvation. Whoever follows you is guided, and whoever turns away perishes and goes astray. I have written this letter to you at a time when the ummah is bewildered and confused regarding the matter of qada and qadar (divine decree and destiny). For this reason, I request from you to open up for us from the knowledge that Allah has bestowed upon you, so that it may be a guide for our belief." Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) wrote in reply: "As you have mentioned, we, the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), are recipients of the favour of Allah and His awliya (friends); but if we were, in the eyes of you and your companions, as you have written, you would not have placed yourselves above us, and you would not have permitted someone else in our place [in the seat of wilayah]. Allah has struck a parable of you in the Quran and says: 'Do you choose the inferior food in place of the better one?' (al-Baqarah/61) — the referent of which is your friends in the matter they asked about, and it is also you who substituted someone else in our place. If I did not wish to conduct this argument and reasoning with you and your companions, I would never have answered this question of yours. When you receive my letter, the proof will be completed against you and your companions, for Allah says in this verse: أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]. So follow what I write to you concerning qadar."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A person came to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and asked him some questions. [Among his questions was this]: "What proof is there that the Imam (peace be upon him) must have knowledge of all that you have mentioned?" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Its proof is this statement of Allah... أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]; these verses are proof that the Imams are scholars whom all people are in need of, and they (the Imams) are not in need of others in anything, whether halal or haram."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Abd al-Rahman ibn Maslama al-Jariri: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "People rebuke and reproach us [because] we say that those two cries will be raised. (A reference to the two cries that will be raised before the appearance of Hazrat Hujjat (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance), one of which is true and calls the supporters). They say: 'If these two cries are raised, how can the true one be distinguished from the false?'" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "What do you reply to them?" I said: "We do not give them any reply." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Tell them: Whoever believes in its occurrence before the cry is raised will recognise the truth. Allah the Exalted also says: أَفَمَن یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَن یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّن لاَّ یَهِدِّیَ إِلاَّ أَن یُهْدَی فَمَا لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُونَ [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Maymun al-Ban that the Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Our matter (the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance) and the people's recognition of him) has become as manifest and clear as this sun. [At that time] a caller will call out from the sky: 'Only so-and-so, son of so-and-so, is the Imam,' and he will name him; and Satan — may Allah curse him — will call out from the earth [to mislead the people, saying that someone else is the Imam]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zurara narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "Regarding this matter that [at the time of the reappearance] a caller will loudly proclaim the name of al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance)." I said: "Are the elite addressed, or everyone?" He said: "It is a general call which every nation hears in its own tongue." I said: "If his name is explicitly pronounced, then how is it that people oppose al-Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance)?" He said: "Satan will not let them be; he too will cry out and cast people into doubt and uncertainty."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [Describing events on the eve of the reappearance]: The voice of Jibra'il will come from the sky and the voice of Satan from the earth, but you follow the first voice.

Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her): Abdullah ibn Hasan narrates from his mother Fatima bint al-Husayn (peace be upon her): When the illness of Hazrat Zahra (peace be upon her) grew severe and overcame her, the women of the Muhajirun and the Ansar gathered around her and said to her: "O daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! How did you pass the night in your illness (how are you)?" She said: "If you wonder at anything, then wonder at their words (the opponents of Ali (peace be upon him))! Would that I knew on what document they relied! On what support did they depend! To what handhold did they cling! By Allah! They have abandoned the head and clung to the tail! They have left the firm pillar between the two shoulders and taken hold of what is weak. May the noses be rubbed in the dust of a people whose striving in the life of this world has gone to waste, and they suppose that they are doing good work. (Kahf/104) Beware! Indeed, they are the ones who cause corruption, but they do not perceive it. (Baqara/12) أَ فَمَنْ یَهْدِی إِلَی الحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ یُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا یَهِدِّی إِلَّا أَنْ یُهْدی فَما لَکُمْ کَیْفَ تَحْکُمُون [Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided? What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?]."