سورة العصر

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn Kathir narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding the words of Allah the Exalted: إِلَّا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience], that he said: Allah the Glorified excepted His chosen ones from among His creation, where He said: all mankind is in loss... except those who have believed in the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (peace be upon him). وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ [and did righteous deeds], meaning they performed the obligatory acts. وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ [and enjoined on each other the truth], meaning wilayah. وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoined on each other patience], meaning they enjoined upon their children and those they left behind after them the wilayah and patience upon this path.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): تَواصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [enjoin on each other patience] is Ali (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِلَّا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [Except those who believe]; that is, those who believe in Our signs. وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ [and do righteous deeds]; meaning equity with the brethren. وَ تَواصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ [and enjoin on each other truth]; they enjoin upon each other the Imamah. وَ تَواصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoin on each other patience]; they enjoin patience during the fatrah (interval between Imams).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): إِلَّا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [Except those who believe]; that is, they believed in their (the Imams') wilayah. وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ [and do good]; that is, through sympathy and mutual support (muwasat) with their brothers. وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoin on each other patience]; that is, during the period of the occultation of their absent Imam they enjoined patience on one another.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِلَّا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [Except those who believe]; man is in loss except those who have believed in the wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him). وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ [and enjoin on each other truth]; they enjoin their children and the other believers concerning the wilayah. وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoin on each other patience]; they enjoin it upon one another and are patient over it.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoin on each other patience]; the reference is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Hurayra said: the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: إِلَّا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience]; they are Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and his Shia.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah gathered all these traits in Ali (peace be upon him). إِلَّا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا [Except those who believe]; by Allah, he was the first of the believers. وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ [and do good]; he was the first of the people of the earth to pray with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ [and enjoin on each other truth]; that is, he used to enjoin the Qur'an — he learned the Qur'an from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) while he was twenty-seven years old. وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoin on each other patience]; that is, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) enjoined Ali (peace be upon him) to abstain from the world, and enjoined him to look after Fatima (peace be upon her), and to collect the Qur'an after the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and to pay off the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) debt, and to give him ghusl after his death, and to build a wall around his grave so that women would not disturb him by sitting on his grave, and he enjoined him to look after Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them). This is the meaning of the word of Allah وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ [and enjoin on each other patience].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِلاَّ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ [Except those who believe and do good]; and they enjoin one another to taqwa (Allah-consciousness) and enjoin one another to patience.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Zayd ibn Arqam said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he came and alighted at Ghadir Khumm, which lies at Juhfa between Mecca and Medina ... The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحیمِ [In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful]. By the age, indeed all humans are in loss... except Ali (peace be upon him), who believed and was content with truth and patience.