سورة الإسراء

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The darkest of misguidances is misguidance after guidance, and the worst of blindnesses is the blindness of the heart.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The worst blindness is blindness to our merit, and taking up enmity against us without any prior wrong that has come to him from us — except that we call him to the truth, while others call him to sedition and the world; so he accepts their words and comes upon us by the path of enmity and disavowal.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever recites the Quran and does not act upon it, Allah the Mighty and Majestic will raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection, and he will say: "My Lord! Why have You raised me blind, when I used to see?" He will say: "Just as Our signs came to you and you forgot them, so today you are forgotten" (Ta Ha/125-126), and he will be commanded to the Fire.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever prefers this world over the Hereafter, Allah will raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Whoever is not guided [in this abode] by the creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, the revolution of the celestial sphere with the sun and the moon, and the wondrous signs — whose surroundings are greater than that [and which he sees with his eye] — to [the fact] that beyond this there is a matter greater than it, such a person is more misguided in the Hereafter. And he said: "Such a person is blinder and more astray from what he has not seen with his eye."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Beware of the words of the ignorant, the blind-hearted, and the misguided! [Those same] people who suppose that Allah exists in the hereafter for reckoning, reward, recompense and punishment, but does not exist in this world for obedience and hope. If there were any deficiency or shortcoming in the existence of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, He would never exist in the hereafter either. Rather, this group have gone astray, and are blind and deaf to hearing and seeing the truth, and do not understand. This is the word of Allah, who says: وَ مَن کَانَ فِی هَذِهِ أَعْمَی فَهُوَ فِی الآخِرَةِ أَعْمَی وَ أَضَلُّ سَبِیلًا [And whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter; and more erring from the way]; that is, they are blind to seeing the existing realities. Indeed, the wise know that the proofs of Allah's existence in the hereafter are the very same proofs of Allah's existence in this world. Whoever interprets this matter by his own opinion and wishes to prove or understand Allah's existence using proofs other than these has only moved further away from the truth; for Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has placed knowledge of these matters exclusively in the hands of the wise, the practising, and the thinkers.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): He wrote a letter to Ishaq ibn Isma'il: ... O Ishaq! Know with certainty that whoever leaves this world with blind eyes will also be blind and astray in the hereafter. Know that what is meant is not blindness of the eye, but blindness of the heart, and the word of Allah in His firm Book concerning the wrongdoer alludes to this very matter: "My Lord! Why have You raised me blind, when I used to see?!" (Ta Ha/125)

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Sulayman, in a marfu' hadith, narrates from Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "The Murji'a will be resurrected blind, and their leader will be more blind than they are. A group of non-Muslims, on the Day of Resurrection, when they see them, will say: 'The ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) are blind.' I will say to them: 'These are not the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), for they made changes in the religion, and therefore their faces have been changed.'"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): When Imam Ali (peace be upon him) returned to Kufa, on the outskirts of Kufa before entering the city, he spoke these words to the Kharijites, and after praising and glorifying Allah and sending blessings upon Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), His noble Prophet, he said: "O Allah! This is a station in which whoever attains success and salvation, is more deserving of salvation on the Day of Resurrection; and whoever is defiled with filth or commits sin in it, will be more blind and more misguided in the hereafter."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ مَن کَانَ فِی هَذِهِ أَعْمَی فَهُوَ فِی الآخِرَةِ أَعْمَی وَ أَضَلُّ سَبِیلًا [And whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter; and more erring from the way]; he said: "It is about the raj'ah (return)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: وَ مَن کَانَ فِی هَذِهِ أَعْمَی فَهُوَ فِی الآخِرَةِ أَعْمَی وَ أَضَلُّ سَبِیلًا [And whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter; and more erring from the way]. He said: "The meaning is one who keeps postponing the Hajj from one day to the next until death overtakes him."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed concerning one who delays the obligatory Hajj even though he possesses the wealth and means to make the journey, and in his procrastination and delay he keeps saying: "This year I will perform Hajj. This year I will perform Hajj," and he continues this delay until he dies before performing the Hajj.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Kulayb said: Abu Basir asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), while I was listening, about a man who had a hundred thousand [in wealth] but kept delaying Hajj until death overtook him and he did not perform the obligatory Hajj. The Imam (peace be upon him) answered: "O Abu Basir! Have you not heard the word of Allah the Exalted, who says: وَ مَنْ کانَ فِی هذِهِ أَعْمی فَهُوَ فِی الْآخِرَةِ أَعْمی وَ أَضَلُّ سَبِیلًا [And whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter; and more erring from the way]; that is, he was blind to seeing one of the obligations and duties of Allah."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Abu al-Tufayl said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: A man came to my father Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) and said to him: "Ibn Abbas claims that he knows every verse of the Quran, on what day it was revealed and concerning whom it was revealed." My father said to him: "Ask him concerning whom each of these verses was revealed: وَ مَن کَانَ فِی هَذِهِ أَعْمَی فَهُوَ فِی الآخِرَةِ أَعْمَی وَ أَضَلُّ سَبِیلًا [And whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter; and more erring from the way], and ...?" That man went to Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) and asked him. Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I would have liked the one who told you this to have put these questions to me face to face; so go to him and ask him about the Throne — from what did Allah create it, when did He create it, and what are its quantity and quality?" [That man] returned to my father. My father asked: "Did he answer your questions about the verses?" He said: "No!" My father said: "But I will answer you with a light and knowledge that is neither a mere claim nor stolen; the verse: وَ مَن کَانَ فِی هَذِهِ أَعْمَی فَهُوَ فِی الآخِرَةِ أَعْمَی وَ أَضَلُّ سَبِیلًا [And whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter; and more erring from the way], was revealed concerning him and his father."