سورة النحل

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Before you, Allah had extended His blessings upon a people. They transgressed in the face of all those blessings and said to one another: "If we were to clean and purify ourselves with bread dough, it would be soft and better than stone." When they did this, Allah set upon their land creatures smaller than locusts. These creatures ate every tree, plant and growing thing they found there and left nothing for them, and the inhabitants of that land were seized with such hunger and hardship that they turned to the very foodstuff with which they had cleaned themselves and ate it. This is the town of which Allah has said: وَضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا قَرْیَةً کَانَتْ آمِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً یَأْتِیهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن کُلِّ مَکَانٍ فَکَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللهِ فَأَذَاقَهَا اللهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ بِمَا کَانُواْ یَصْنَعُونَ [And Allah sets forth a parable of a town that was safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every quarter, but it was ungrateful for Allah's favours, so Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear because of what they used to do].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Whenever my father saw leftover food that had been thrown away in his house, he would reduce their food ration by the same amount, and regarding the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic — وَ ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا قَرْیَةً کانَتْ آمِنَةً مُطْمَئِنَّةً یَأْتِیها رِزْقُها رَغَداً مِنْ کُلِّ مَکانٍ فَکَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللهِ فَأَذاقَهَا اللهُ لِباسَ الْجُوعِ وَ الْخَوْفِ بِما کانُوا یَصْنَعُونَ [And Allah sets forth a parable: a town safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every side, yet it was ungrateful for Allah's blessings, so Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear because of what they used to do] — he would say: They were the people of a village upon whom Allah had bestowed ample livelihoods, and they found cleansing themselves with stones rough, so they made pieces of bread like round stones and cleansed themselves with them. Then Allah sent upon them creatures smaller than locusts, and they ate everything Allah had created of tree and plant, and their destitution reached such a point that they turned back to the pieces of bread with which they had been cleansing themselves and ate them.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah granted a people from the Children of Israel so much bounty and food that they fashioned it into statues and figures of clay and placed them in their cities, and used them to clean themselves. Allah made things hard upon them until they were forced to eat those very images and figures. And this is the meaning of the word of Allah, who says: وَضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا قَرْیَةً کَانَتْ آمِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً یَأْتِیهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن کُلِّ مَکَانٍ فَکَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللهِ فَأَذَاقَهَا اللهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ بِمَا کَانُواْ یَصْنَعُونَ [And Allah sets forth a parable: a town safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every place, but it denied the favours of Allah, so Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear because of what they used to do].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): This verse was revealed concerning a people who had an abundant river called "al-Tharthar," and their land was very fertile, productive and full of blessings. They used to clean themselves after relieving themselves with dough of flour, and would say: "Dough is soft and comfortable." In this way they were ungrateful for the bounty of Allah and treated it as trifling and contemptible. Allah withheld the water of the Tharthar river from them and they were struck by famine and drought, until Allah made them so needy that they were reduced to the very dough with which they used to clean themselves, and they would quarrel over it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him and his family) was asked about the permissibility of praying upon a heap of wheat. The Imam (peace be upon him) forbade this. It was said: "When it is spread out like a carpet and forms a flat surface, what then?" He said: "Prayer should not be performed upon any foodstuff, for it is the provision and mercy of Allah for His creatures, and you must magnify it and not trample it underfoot, and not regard it as contemptible. There was a people before you upon whom Allah had widened their provision, but they made from bread small stones and cleaned their filth with them. So Allah the Mighty and Majestic afflicted them with a punishment such as famine and hunger, until they searched after the very things with which they had cleaned themselves, and ate them. And Allah revealed this verse concerning them: ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا قَرْیَةً کانَتْ آمِنَةً مُطْمَئِنَّةً یَأْتِیها رِزْقُها رَغَداً مِنْ کُلِّ مَکانٍ فَکَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللهِ فَأَذاقَهَا اللهُ لِباسَ الْجُوعِ وَ الْخَوْفِ بِما کانُوا یَصْنَعُونَ [Allah sets forth a parable: a town safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every place, but it denied the favours of Allah, so Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear because of what they used to do]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [In the supplication of Thursday it is stated: ...] O Allah, to You belongs all praise, there is no god but You. You said in Your Book: ضَرَبَ اللهُ مَثَلًا قَرْیَةً کانَتْ آمِنَةً مُطْمَئِنَّةً یَأْتِیها رِزْقُها رَغَداً مِنْ کُلِّ مَکانٍ فَکَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللهِ فَأَذاقَهَا اللهُ لِباسَ الْجُوعِ وَ الْخَوْفِ بِما کانُوا یَصْنَعُونَ [Allah sets forth a parable: a town safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every place, but it denied the favours of Allah, so Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear because of what they used to do]. So in You I have believed, and I have affirmed, so do not place me like them regarding Your bounty, O my Master! And do not make me deceived by tranquillity in the ease of life, feeling safe from Your plan.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Suwayd said: Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) wrote in reply to my letter: Hold fast to the handhold of the religion — that is, the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) — and to al-Urwat al-Wuthqa (the firmest handhold), that is, one successor after another, and [walking] the path of peace with them and being pleased with what they say. Do not seek the religion of those who do not share your belief, and do not tie your heart to their ways, for indeed they have betrayed Allah, the Prophet and their trusts. Do you know how they betrayed their trusts? The Book of Allah was placed with them as a trust; they betrayed it, they distorted it and altered it, and they worked in favour of their own rulers. Keep away from them! Allah, as a punishment for their deeds, afflicted them with hunger and terror.