سورة مريم

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ وَهَبْنَا لَهُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِنَا [And We granted to them of Our mercy] — the intended ones are Ibrahim, Ishaq and Yaqoub (peace be upon them). And what is meant by مِّن رَّحْمَتِنَا [of Our mercy] is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). وَ جَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِیًّا [And We left a truthful mention of eminence for them] — the intended one is Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِنَا وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِیًّا [And We granted to them of Our mercy, and We left a truthful mention of eminence for them] — what is meant by عَلِیًّا is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): فَلَمَّا اعْتَزَلَهُمْ [So when he withdrew from them] — meaning Ibrahim [withdrew] from them. وَ مَا یَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللهِ وَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَ یَعْقُوبَ وَکُلًّا جَعَلْنَا نَبِیًّا * وَ وَهَبْنَا لَهُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِنَا [And what they worshipped besides Allah, We granted him Ishaq and Yaqub, and each of them We made a prophet. And We granted them of Our mercy] — meaning Ibrahim, Ishaq and Yaqub. And what is meant by مِّن رَّحْمَتِنَا [of Our mercy] is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). وَ جَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِیًّا [And We made for them a lofty tongue of truthfulness] — meaning Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Yunus ibn Abd al-Rahman said: I said to Imam Rida (peace be upon him): 'A group of people have asked me to show them the name of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in the Qur'an; so I told them: The name of that noble one appears in the verse وَ جَعَلْنَا لَهُم لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِیًّا [And We made for them a lofty tongue of truthfulness].' He said: 'You have spoken the truth; it is so.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ اجْعَلْ لِی لِسانَ صِدْقٍ فِی الْآخِرِینَ [And grant me a tongue of truthfulness among the later generations] — what is meant by this verse is Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), because when Allah presented His wilayah to Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him), Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said: 'O my Lord! Place this station in my progeny.' Allah answered his supplication and granted this station and rank to Ali (peace be upon him).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: On the night I was taken up on the Mi'raj, Jibra'il carried me on his right wing. I was asked: 'Whom have you appointed as your successor over the people of the earth?' I said: 'I appointed the best of its people for it: Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), my brother, my beloved, my son-in-law and my cousin.' It was said to me: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), do you love him?' I said: 'Yes, O Lord of the Worlds!' It was said to me: 'Love him and command your ummah to love him. Indeed I am al-Aliyy al-A'la (the Most High), and I derived his name from My own names and named him Ali (peace be upon him).' Then Jibra'il descended and said: 'Allah sends you His greeting and says to you: Recite.' I said: 'What shall I recite?' He said: 'وَ وَهَبْنا لَهُمْ مِنْ رَحْمَتِنا وَ جَعَلْنا لَهُمْ لِسانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِیًّا [And We granted them of Our mercy, and We made for them a lofty tongue of truthfulness].'

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The good name that Allah establishes for a person among the people is better than the wealth he consumes and leaves behind as inheritance.