سورة النحل

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِیمَ کَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِلّهِ حَنِیفًا [Indeed Ibrahim was an exemplar, obedient to Allah, upright] — it is a virtue that Allah bestowed only upon Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and by which He gave him superiority over others.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): He used to teach the people matters of good.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِیمَ کَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا [Surely Ibrahim was an exemplar, obedient] — meaning he was, by himself alone, an entire ummah (community).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was asked about the categories of ummah in the Book of Allah. The Imam said: "Sometimes a single believer is presented in the Quran as an ummah, as in this word of Allah where He said: إِنَّ إِبْراهِیمَ کانَ أُمَّةً [Surely Ibrahim was an ummah]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ibrahim (peace be upon him) held a religion and belief which no one apart from him held, and therefore he alone constituted an entire ummah (community).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that regarding the verse إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِیمَ کاَنَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِلهِ حَنِیفًا [Surely Ibrahim was an exemplar, obedient to Allah, upright] he said: "Allah has named Ibrahim an ummah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about enjoining the good and forbidding the evil: "Is it obligatory upon this entire ummah or not?" He said: "No." He was asked: "Why?" He said: "It is obligatory only upon those who are strong and whom people obey and who are learned in distinguishing the good from the evil, not upon the weak who do not know the way — which way to speak of and from which way — so they end up speaking from truth toward falsehood. The proof of this is the word of Allah, who says: 'And let there be from among you a group who invite to good and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong' (Al-i Imran/104). [The ruling of] this verse is specific, not general, just as Allah the Exalted says: 'And of the people of Musa there is a group who guide people by the truth and act with justice by it' (Al-A'raf/159), and He did not say: 'upon the ummah of Musa (peace be upon him),' nor 'upon his entire people,' whereas at that time they were various groups, and an ummah is from one person upward, just as Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: إِنَّ إِبْراهِیمَ کانَ أُمَّةً قانِتاً لِلهِ [Indeed Ibrahim was an ummah, obedient to Allah]; He says: he was obedient to Allah." (The small number of believers

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Sama'ah ibn Mihran said: Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said to me: "O Sama'ah! They are safe in their beds and they have frightened me [because of disclosing the secrets of the Imam (peace be upon him) and not observing taqiyyah]. By Allah! In the whole world and all that is in it, only one person used to worship Allah, and if there had been anyone else besides him, Allah would certainly have mentioned his name alongside Ibrahim (peace be upon him), where He says: إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِیمَ کَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِلّهِ حَنِیفًا وَلَمْ یَکُ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِینَ [Surely Ibrahim was an exemplar, obedient to Allah, upright, and he was not of the polytheists]. And he endured this for as long as Allah willed, until Allah joined Isma'il and Ishaq (peace be upon him) with him and made them his companions, and they became three. By Allah! The believers are very few and the people of disbelief and the disbelievers are very many. Do you know why?" I said: "May I be your ransom! I do not know." He said: "They became companions of the believers, and the believers would relate to them what was in their hearts of the secrets of their Imams, and in this way they would find rest and tranquility [and would be safe from being killed, and through this very disclosure of the secrets of the Imams they went outside the circle of the believers]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A person asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "...O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), tell me who is the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)? Is only the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) meant?" He said: "Yes." He said: "That is, all Muslims and all those who believed in him and affirmed him are not meant?" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic said in another place [of the Quran]: 'You are the best ummah brought forth for mankind' (Al-i Imran/110). And if Allah meant all Muslims, that they are the best ummah whom Allah has appointed for the guidance of people, then who are the 'people' (nas) to whom all Muslims have been sent? Never — Allah did not intend that the meaning of 'nas' be the low and base people; rather what Allah meant by 'ummah' is the group amongst whom Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was raised." The questioner asked: "But no one was with him except Ali (peace be upon him)?" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Along with Ali (peace be upon him), Fatimah (peace be upon her), Hasan (peace be upon him) and Husayn (peace be upon him) are also included in this verse, and they are the ones from whom Allah has removed impurity and purified them thoroughly; and they are the very Ashab al-Kisa (People of the Cloak) to whose purity the Quran bears witness. Moreover, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) himself was a single ummah, because Allah said: إِنَّ إِبْراهِیمَ کانَ أُمَّةً قانِتاً لِلَّهِ حَنِیفاً [Surely Ibrahim was an ummah, obedient to Allah, upright]. With these attributes, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) alone was an ummah, until in the time of his old age Ismail and Ishaq (peace be upon them) were granted to him, and in this manner He placed prophethood in the heavenly Book among the descendants of those two. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) too was at first [a single, unified ummah alone], until Ali (peace be upon him) and Fatimah (peace be upon her) were granted to him, and with Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) He multiplied them, just as He multiplied Ibrahim (peace be upon him) with Ishaq and Ismail (peace be upon them)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): قانتاً in this verse means being obedient.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّ إِبْراهیمَ کانَ أُمَّةً قانِتاً لِلهِ حَنیفا [Surely Ibrahim was an ummah, obedient to Allah, upright] means with purity.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): hanif means Muslim, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was not of the polytheists.