سورة النحل

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amr ibn Uthman said: Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) went out to his companions and found them discussing muruwwah (chivalry). He asked: "What do you say about the Book of Allah on this matter?" They asked: "Where in the Quran has it come?" He said: "The verse: إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ [Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness]. Justice means fairness, and kindness means bestowing and doing good."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The declaration of the whole reality of taqwa (piety) is in this saying of Allah, who has said: إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ الْإِحْسان [Indeed Allah enjoins justice and kindness].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Justice means the testimony to the oneness of Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Messenger of Allah; and kindness means accepting the wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and obedience to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali (peace be upon him); and إِیتاءِ ذِی الْقُرْبی [giving to the near of kin] means Hasan (peace be upon him) and Husayn (peace be upon him) and the Imams from his progeny. وَ یَنْهَی عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنکَرِ وَالْبَغْیِ [and He forbids indecency, evil and rebellion] means anyone who wrongs them, kills them, and usurps their rights.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Justice is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), goodness is Amir al-Mu'minin, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), and إِیتاءِ ذِی الْقُرْبی [giving to the kindred] is Fatimah (peace be upon her).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sa'd said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: O Sa'd! إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ [Indeed Allah enjoins justice] — and what is meant by it is Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) — وَ الْإِحْسَانِ [and goodness] — what is meant by it is Ali (peace be upon him) — and ایتاء ذی‌القُربَی [giving to the kindred] [means] our kinship relation [with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)]. Allah has commanded the servants to love us and to give to us, and He has forbidden them from indecency and evil (fahsha and munkar); for indecency and evil are those who wronged the Ahl al-Bayt and called people to follow others besides them.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sakuni said: I was in the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) when a man came and said: 'O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Does Allah say: إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِیتَاء ذِی الْقُرْبَی وَیَنْهَی عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنکَرِ وَالْبَغْیِ یَعِظُکُمْ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَذَکَّرُونَ [Indeed Allah enjoins justice and goodness and giving to the kindred, and forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful], while He [also] says: He has commanded that you worship none but Him (Yusuf/40)?' The Imam (peace be upon him) said: 'Yes! Allah's only command to His servants is the enacting of justice and goodness. The invitation from Allah is general, but Allah's guidance is particular to certain servants, as in this saying of Allah: Allah guides whomever He wills to a straight path (Baqarah/142). And He did not say: He guides all whom He has invited to a straight path.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The most excellent part of religion is knowing the Prophets (and the messengers of Allah) and [accepting] their right of wilayah (guardianship) and authority. And I inform you that Allah has made the lawful, lawful, and the unlawful, unlawful, until the Day of Resurrection. Knowing the messengers and accepting their authority and obeying them is the lawful; and what is made lawful is what they have made lawful, and what is made unlawful is what they have deemed unlawful. And they are the root of every lawful thing, and the branches of the lawful will spring from them. And this is their mission. And among the branches that spring from them is their command to their followers and friends to perform the lawful acts: such as establishing prayer, giving zakat, and… and all good deeds. And Allah has mentioned these matters in His Book and said: إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ الْإِحْسانِ وَ إِیتاءِ ذِی الْقُرْبی، وَ یَنْهی عَنِ الْفَحْشاءِ وَ الْمُنْکَرِ وَ الْبَغْیِ، یَعِظُکُمْ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَذَکَّرُونَ [Indeed Allah commands justice and good conduct and giving to relatives, and forbids indecency, evil, and oppression; He admonishes you that you may be mindful]. As for the enemies of the Prophets (and their friends who continually follow them), they are the unlawful, and following them is unlawful, and they are the indecencies and abominations, apparent and hidden, and the wine and gambling and fornication and usury and blood and carrion and the flesh of swine. And they are the unlawful and the root of every unlawful thing, and the evil and the root of every evil, and all the branches of evil come from them. And unlawful acts and the deeming of them lawful originate from them; among these are: denying the Prophets, rejecting the wilayah of the Awsiya (successors), and committing indecent acts: fornication, theft, drinking wine, consuming the property of the orphan, taking usury, deceit, treachery, committing all kinds of unlawful things, and indulging in sins. Allah commands justice and good conduct and giving wealth to the kindred, meaning loving them (the Household of the Prophet) and following them, and He forbids indecency and evil and oppression. And they [the enemies] are the enemies of the Prophets (and the Awsiya of the Prophets). And it is they whose love and obedience have been forbidden; Allah admonishes you with all this, that you may be mindful.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sayyid ibn Tawus in the book Sa'd al-Su'ud says: I saw in a tafsir attributed to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that under this verse — إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ الْإِحْسَانِ وَ إِیتَاءِ ذِی الْقُرْبَی وَ یَنْهَی عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَ الْمُنْکَرِ وَ الْبَغْیِ یَعِظُکُمْ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَذَکَّرُونَ [Surely Allah enjoins justice and doing good and giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful] — the following was written: It has reached us that Uthman ibn Maz'un said: When this verse was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), I was with him. I passed by him while he was sitting by the door, and I sat down beside him. While he was speaking with me, suddenly I saw that his gaze became fixed on the sky, and it remained so until he lifted his eyelids from the sky, and then I saw something in the sky. I saw that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) brought it down until he placed it on his right side, and turned me toward his knees, and began to move his head, as though something were being said to him. Then I saw that once again he raised his eyelids toward the sky, and this time brought it down on his left side. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) turned to me while my face had turned red [from astonishment and fear] and sweat was dripping from my face. I said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! What was it that I saw you doing today? What was that state you were in?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said, "Did you see him?" I said, "Yes!" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said, "That was Jibra'il (peace be upon him), and what I was doing was with him." Then he recited those two verses to him. I rose from the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) with great amazement at what I had seen, and I went to Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) and recited those two verses to him. Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) was also amazed and said, "O family of Ghalib! Follow the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) so that you may be guided and prosper. By Allah! He calls to nothing other than noble character. Whether he is a liar or truthful, he calls to nothing other than good."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O son of Mas'ud! Hold fast to truthfulness, and let no lie ever come out of your mouth. Deal justly with people from your own side, and do good, and call people to doing good. Strengthen the ties of kinship, and do not deceive people, and fulfill the covenant you have promised to people. Allah the Exalted says: إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ الْإِحْسانِ وَ إِیتاءِ ذِی الْقُرْبی وَ یَنْهی عَنِ الْفَحْشاءِ وَ الْمُنْکَرِ وَ الْبَغْیِ یَعِظُکُمْ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَذَکَّرُونَ [Surely Allah enjoins justice and doing good and giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful]. The admonition is complete, and success [in acting upon it] is with Allah.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A man asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) about the meaning of muruwwah (chivalry and manliness). He said, "Feeding food, checking on one's brothers, and refraining from harming neighbours." Then he recited this verse: إِنَّ اللهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ الْإِحْسانِ [Surely Allah enjoins justice and doing good].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever likens Allah to His creation has not known Allah, and whoever attributes the sins of His servants to Him has not regarded Him as just.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We are the signs and the clear proofs, and our enemies in the Quran are indecency, evil, wine, gambling, betting, idols, Satan, taghut (false deities), carrion, blood, and the flesh of swine.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Abu Malik said: I said to Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), "Tell me all the laws of the religion." He said, "Speaking the truth, judging with justice, and fulfilling covenants. This is all the laws of the religion."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): There are three traits whose possessor never dies until he sees their evil consequences: oppression, severing ties of kinship, and false oaths, which are combat against Allah.