سورة الكهف

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Maymun said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "A servant has a period of forty days in which he may make his oath conditional upon the will of Allah [that is, to say: if Allah wills it]. For a group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and asked him about various matters. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to them: 'Come tomorrow morning so that I may answer you.' And he did not say In sha Allah, and this became the reason that for forty days no revelation descended upon that Excellency. Jibra'il did not come, and then he came and brought this verse: وَ لا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَیْءٍ إِنِّی فاعِلٌ ذلِکَ غَداً* إِلَّا أَنْ یَشاءَ اللهُ وَ اذْکُرْ رَبَّکَ إِذا نَسِیتَ [And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow, except that Allah wills, and remember your Lord when you forget]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ali (peace be upon him) said: "When someone swears an oath by Allah, he has up to forty days in which he may say In sha Allah. In this matter, a group of Jews put a question to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to them: 'Come tomorrow morning so that I may answer you.' And he did not say In sha Allah. And Jibra'il did not descend upon him for forty days. Then he came to him and said: وَ لا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَیْءٍ إِنِّی فاعِلٌ ذلِکَ غَداً* إِلَّا أَنْ یَشاءَ اللهُ وَ اذْکُرْ رَبَّکَ إِذا نَسِیتَ [And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow, except that Allah wills, and remember your Lord when you forget]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When Allah settled Adam (peace be upon him) in Paradise, He said to him: "O Adam! Do not go near this tree." He said: "O my Lord! I will not go near it." And he did not say In sha Allah. And Allah said to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): And never say of anything: "I will do it tomorrow," except that Allah wills! And whenever you forget, remember your Lord — even if it be after a year.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ لا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَیْءٍ إِنِّی فاعِلٌ ذلِکَ غَداً* إِلَّا أَنْ یَشاءَ اللهُ [And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow, except that Allah wills]; Allah cut off revelation from His Prophet for forty days, because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had promised the Quraysh that "tomorrow I will tell you," but he had not uttered the word In sha Allah on his tongue, and therefore Allah said: "Whenever you wish to say something about the future, do not forget In sha Allah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: وَ لَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَیْءٍ فَاعِلٌ إِنِّی ذَلِکَ غَدًا* إِلَّا أَن یَشَاء اللهُ [And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow, unless Allah pleases]. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "If someone swears an oath about something and forgets to say 'insha'Allah' and says in his oath, 'Tomorrow or the day after I will certainly do such and such,' then whenever he remembers, he must mention the will of Allah — and this is the meaning of the verse: وَ اذْکُر رَّبَّکَ إِذَا نَسِیتَ [And remember your Lord when you forget]."