سورة الكهف

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) — Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) and Khabbab said: This verse was revealed concerning us. Aqra ibn Habis al-Tamimi, Uyaynah ibn Hisn al-Fazari and their notables, from those whose hearts are being won over, came and saw the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) sitting with Bilal, Suhayb, Ammar and Khabbab among the weak believers. They belittled that group and said, "O Messenger of Allah! If you would pay no attention to them, we would sit alone with you and join you. The delegations of the Arabs come to you, and we are ashamed that they should see us with these slaves. If you wish, we will withdraw, then invite them back to your gatherings." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) answered them. Ibn Habis and Ibn Hisn said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), "Write this down for us." They prepared the document, and they summoned Ali (peace be upon him) to write a letter on the matter. This group said: We were sitting when suddenly Jibra'il came down with this verse: "And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening seeking His pleasure... Is not Allah best aware of those who are grateful?" (al-An'am/52). So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) refrained from the letter and came to us, and we drew close to him, while he was saying: "Your Lord has prescribed mercy upon Himself" (al-An'am/54). And after that we would sit in his company. When he wished to rise, we would rise and he would leave us. Allah revealed this verse: وَ اصْبِرْ نَفْسَکَ مَعَ الَّذِینَ یَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَداةِ وَ الْعَشِیِّ یُریدُونَ وَجْهَهُ وَ لا تَعْدُ عَیْناکَ عَنْهُمْ تُریدُ زینَةَ الْحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا وَ لا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِکْرِنا وَ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ وَ کانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطا [And withhold yourself with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them, desiring the beauties of this world's life; and do not follow him whose heart We have made unmindful to Our remembrance, and he follows his low desires and his case is one in which due bounds are exceeded]. They said: "After the revelation of this verse, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would sit beside us and draw so close to us that our knees almost touched his knee. We would not rise before him, and whenever the moment of his rising came, we too would rise, and after us he would rise, and he would say to us: 'Praise be to Allah who did not cause me to die until He commanded me to make my soul patient for the sake of some of the people of my ummah. With you I live and with you I shall die.'"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The words of Allah: وَ اصْبِرْ نَفْسَکَ مَعَ الَّذِینَ یَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَداةِ وَ الْعَشِیِّ یُریدُونَ وَجْهَهُ وَ لا تَعْدُ عَیْناکَ عَنْهُمْ تُریدُ زینَةَ الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا [And withhold yourself with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them, desiring the beauties of this world's life] were revealed concerning Salman al-Farisi (may Allah have mercy on him), while he had a woollen cloak on his shoulder in which his food was kept — the same cloak that served him as both his outer garment and his covering. Then Uyayna ibn Hisn came in upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) while Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) was in the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Uyayna was offended by the smell of Salman's (may Allah have mercy on him) cloak, because the weather was extremely hot and Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) had perspired. So he said: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! When we come in to you, put this one (Salman (may Allah have mercy on him)) and his group out from your presence, and when we leave, admit whomever you wish.' Then Allah the Exalted revealed the verse: وَ لَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِکْرِنَا [And do not follow him whose heart We have made unmindful to Our remembrance], and the one meant is Uyayna ibn Hisn ibn Hudhayfa ibn Badr al-Fazari.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Zurara and Humran narrate from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): concerning the verse: وَ اصْبِرْ نَفْسَکَ مَعَ الَّذِینَ یَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَ الْعَشِیِّ [And withhold yourself with those who call on their Lord morning and evening], he said: 'Indeed what Allah meant by the calling here is the prayer itself.'

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O son of Mas'ud! Associate with those who continually remember Allah, glorify Him, declare His oneness (tahlil) and praise Him, act according to His command, and call upon Him morning and evening; for Allah says: 'And withhold yourself with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them' (al-Kahf/28). 'Nothing of their account is upon you, and nothing of your account is upon them, so that you should drive them away and thus be of the unjust!' (al-An'am/52).

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) said: The intellect is the guide to good, and the passions and desires of the self are the mount of sins. Understanding is the vessel of action, and the world is the marketplace of the Hereafter. The self is the merchant of this marketplace, and the night and day are the capital. The profit of this trade is Paradise, and its loss is the Fire. By Allah, this is the trade that will never perish, and the merchandise and goods in whose dealing there is no loss. A statement similar to this has come from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and it is mentioned in it that: The world is the marketplace of the successful ones among the Shia, who are followers of their Imams. Indeed, the comprehensive summary of all these statements is this noble verse: "یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا لا تُلْهِکُمْ أَمْوالُکُمْ وَ لا أَوْلادُکُمْ عَنْ ذِکْرِ اللهِ وَ مَنْ یَفْعَلْ ذلِکَ فَأُولئِکَ هُمُ الْخاسِرُونَ [O you who have believed! Let not your wealth and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah! And those who do that are the losers!]" (al-Munafiqun/9). And Allah the Glorious also said: "رِجالٌ لا تُلْهِیهِمْ تِجارَةٌ وَ لا بَیْعٌ عَنْ ذِکْرِ اللهِ [Men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah]" (al-Nur/37). And He also said: "فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ مَنْ تَوَلَّی عَنْ ذِکْرِنا وَ لَمْ یُرِدْ إِلَّا الْحَیاةَ الدُّنْیا ذلِکَ مَبْلَغُهُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ [Since this is the case, turn away from him who turns away from Our remembrance and desires nothing but the material life of the world. This is the utmost limit of their knowledge]" (al-Najm/29-30). And He said: "وَ لا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِکْرِنا وَ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ وَ کانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطاً [And do not follow him whose heart We have made unmindful to Our remembrance, and he follows his low desires and his case is one in which due bounds are exceeded]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O Ibn Abbas! In your secret and open dealings, examine yourself in your transaction with Allah so that you may be among the successful ones, and leave those who follow their low desires and whose case is one in which due bounds are exceeded. As for Muawiya, what he has done up to now and what he will do is enough for him, and let Ibn al-As help him in his misguidance, for it is as though his lifespan has come to an end and his scheme has come to nothing, and the disbeliever will soon know for whom is the ultimate abode.