سورة مريم

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Whoever has three traits in him is counted among the hypocrites, even if he prays and fasts and supposes himself to be a Muslim: one who lies, and whenever he makes a promise breaks it, and betrays trusts. Allah the Exalted has said in the Glorious Quran: إِنَّ اللهَ لا یُحِبُّ الْخائِنِینَ [Indeed Allah does not love the treacherous] (al-Anfal/58). And in another place He said: أَنَّ لَعْنَتَ اللهِ عَلَیْهِ إِنْ کانَ مِنَ الْکاذِبِینَ [that the curse of Allah be upon him if he is of the liars] (al-Nur/7). And in another place He said: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعِیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَ کانَ رَسُولًا نَبِیًّا [And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in (his) promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): That Ismail about whom Allah the Glorified said: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَ کانَ رَسُولاً نَبِیًّا [And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in his promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet], this Ismail was not Ismail ibn Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Rather, he was one of the prophets whom Allah sent to his people. That people seized him and flayed the skin of his head and face! Then an angel came to that noble one and said: 'Give me whatever order you have, so that we may take revenge on them.' He said: 'I too follow the example of the oppression of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him).'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Burayd ibn Muawiya al-Ijli said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): 'O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Inform me about the Ismail whom Allah has mentioned in His Quran, where He says: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَ کانَ رَسُولاً نَبِیًّا [And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in his promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet]. Was he Ismail ibn Ibrahim (peace be upon him), for people suppose so?' He (peace be upon him) said: 'Ismail (peace be upon him) died before Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) himself was the proof of Allah and the possessor of a divine law. So then, to whom would Ismail (peace be upon him) have been sent?' Then I said: 'May I be your ransom, then who was that person?' He (peace be upon him) said: 'He was Ismail ibn Hizqil, a prophet whom Allah sent to his people. They denied him, tortured him, and flayed the skin of his face. Then Allah became angry with them and sent to him Satata'il, the angel of chastisement, who said to him: O Ismail! I am Satata'il, the angel of chastisement. The Almighty Lord has sent me to you so that, if you wish, I may punish your people with chastisement.' Ismail (peace be upon him) said to him: 'O Satata'il! I have no need of that.' Then Allah revealed to him: 'What is your wish, O Ismail?' Ismail (peace be upon him) said: 'O my Lord! You took a covenant for Yourself of Lordship, and for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) of prophethood, and for his successor of wilayah. You promised Husayn (peace be upon him) that You would return him to the world so that he himself may take revenge on those who did that to him. Now, O my Lord, my request from You is that You return me too to the world, like Husayn (peace be upon him), so that I may take revenge on those who did to me what they did.' And Allah gave Ismail ibn Hizqil (peace be upon him) this promise, and he will return to the world along with Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him).'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sama'ah ibn Mihran narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "Indeed, the one about whom Allah says in the Quran: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعِیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَ کانَ رَسُولًا نَبِیًّا [And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in (his) promise, and he was an apostle, a prophet] was one whose people overpowered him and peeled off the skin of his face and head. Allah sent an angel to him, and the angel said: 'The Lord of the worlds sends salutations to you and says: I have seen what your people have done to you. Now ask for whatever you wish.' He said: 'O Lord of the worlds! I wish to have a model [to follow] like Husayn (peace be upon him).'" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "That person was not Ismail ibn Ibrahim (peace be upon him)."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعِیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ [And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in (his) promise]; he made a promise and waited for his companion for one year, and he is Ismail ibn Hizqil (peace be upon him).

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Sulayman al-Ja'fari said: Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said to me: "Do you know why Ismail was called صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ [truthful in promise]?" I said: "I do not know." He said: "He had a promise with a man and sat waiting for him for a year [for him to come]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): A promise is a debt [and an obligation], and Allah the Glorified praised Ismail (peace be upon him) and said: إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ [Surely he was truthful in (his) promise].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever wishes to perceive the truthfulness of Ismail — and [the one] meant by that is Ismail ibn Hizqil (peace be upon him), about whom Allah says in the Quran: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعِیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَ کانَ رَسُولًا نَبِیًّا [And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in (his) promise, and he was an apostle, a prophet] — let him look at Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): There was a devout man among the Children of Israel who was more devoted and ascetic than all of them. One day he went to the king to attend to people's needs. On the way he met Ismail ibn Hizqil and said to him: 'Stay right here until I return to you.' But when he went to the king, he was detained there. Ismail waited there for a year, and Allah caused a plant to grow for him from which he ate, and a spring gushed forth beneath his feet from which he drank, and Allah made a cloud shade him. After a year the devout man went out with the king for a stroll and outing and saw Ismail standing in that same place. He said: 'O Ismail! Why are you standing here?' Ismail said: 'You told me to stay right here, so I have stood waiting for you.' From then on they named him Sadiq al-Wa'd (the Truthful in Promise). At that very moment there was a tyrant with the king who, to exalt himself and to disgrace Ismail, lied and said: 'He is lying; I passed by this place before and did not see him.' Ismail said to him: 'If I am lying, may Allah take back from you the sound teeth He has granted you.' At that very instant the tyrant's teeth fell out, and he pleaded, saying: 'I lied against this servant of Allah. So, O Ismail, I ask you to pray that Allah restore my teeth.' Ismail accepted, but he delayed the supplication until the time of sahar (the pre-dawn hour), and at the time of sahar he prayed for him and the man's teeth became sound. The best time for supplication is the time of sahar, just as Allah the Exalted said: وَ بِالْأَسْحارِ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [And in the pre-dawn hours they sought forgiveness]. (Dhariyat/18).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ismail, the prophet of Allah, made an appointment with a man at the edge of the desert and waited there for a year. The people of Makkah were searching for him and did not know where he was, until a man came upon him and said: 'O prophet of Allah! We became weak and were destroyed after you.' He said: 'So-and-so, who was of known character, promised me that I would sit here, and I will not move until he comes.' The people went to that person and said to him: 'O enemy of Allah! You promised the prophet and broke your promise?' And the man came and said to Ismail (peace be upon him): 'O prophet of Allah! I did not remember and I forgot.' He said: 'By Allah, if you had not come, it would have gone on until the Day of Gathering.' And Allah revealed: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ [And mention in the Book Ismail; surely he was truthful in his promise].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Abdullah ibn Abi al-Hamsa said: Before the mission (of prophethood), there was a transaction between me and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). I became a creditor for a certain amount. I said to him: 'Stay right here and I will return.' That day and the next day I forgot to return. So on the third day I came to him and saw that he was in the same place waiting for me. I told him what had happened [that I had forgotten]. He said: 'I have been here for three days waiting for you, like his grandfather Ismail (peace be upon him), who, when he made a promise to a man in a certain place, waited there for a year. Allah the Exalted, on account of this act, shows appreciation for him and says: وَ اذْکُرْ فِی الْکِتابِ إِسْماعیلَ إِنَّهُ کانَ صادِقَ الْوَعْدِ [And mention in the Book Ismail; surely he was truthful in his promise].'