سورة مريم

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza al-Thumali narrates: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), regarding the verse: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدًّا [Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love], said: "Believe in Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and, after recognition, do good deeds."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Inform me about the saying of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمانُ وُدّاً [The Beneficent will bring about love for them]." He said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Love is with Allah, the angels, and in the hearts of the believers. O Ali (peace be upon him)! Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, granted the believers three things: affection, love and awe in the breasts of the believers."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمنُ وُدًّا [Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love] — love in the hearts of the believers is the same as purity and infallibility.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدًّا [Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love] — what does it mean? He said: "The wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) is the very love (wudd) that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has mentioned." I said: "What is the meaning of the phrase: فَإِنَّمَا یَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِکَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ الْمُتَّقِینَ وَتُنذِرَ بِهِ قَوْمًا لُّدًّا [So We have only made it easy on your tongue that you may give good news thereby to those who guard (against evil) and warn thereby a vehemently contentious people]?" He said: "Indeed, Allah made the wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) easy upon the tongue of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and that was when He raised him up as a banner, and through him gave good news to the believers and warned the disbelievers; and they (the disbelievers) are those whom Allah in His Book has mentioned as staunch enemies (ludd), that is, the disbelievers."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrates from his fathers that the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). He said: 'O Ali (peace be upon him)! By Allah, I have become pleased with you this morning, and by Allah, your Lord has become pleased with you this morning, and every believing man and woman has become pleased with you, until the Hour is established.' He said: I said: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! You have informed me of your death; I wish that my soul would be taken before yours.' He said: 'Allah, in His knowledge, refuses anything other than what He Himself wills.' I said: 'Then supplicate to Allah for me with prayers that will protect me after your passing.' He said: 'O Ali (peace be upon him)! Pray for yourself with whatever you love and are pleased with, so that I may say Amin; for my Amin for you is not rejected.' The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) supplicated: 'O Allah! Establish love for me in the hearts of believing men and women until the Day of Resurrection.' Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said Amin, and said: 'O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)! Supplicate.' So he prayed for the establishment of his love in the hearts of believing men and women until the Day of Resurrection, until he had prayed three times; each time he made the supplication the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said Amin. Then Jibra'il descended and said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمانُ وُدّاً [Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them love]. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'The pious ones are Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his Shia.'

It is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), came while Quraysh were engaged in conversation. When they saw him, they fell silent; and that [act of Quraysh] weighed heavily upon him. He came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! In your presence I have beheaded seventy men from among those whom you ordered me to kill, and I have killed eighty men in the field of battle; so there is no one from Quraysh or from the notables of the Arabs but that hatred of me has entered into [their hearts]; so call upon Allah to place love for me in the hearts of the believers.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) remained silent until this verse was revealed: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمانُ وُدّاً [Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them love]. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'O Ali (peace be upon him)! Allah has revealed concerning you a verse from His Book, and has placed love for you in the heart of every believer.'

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): Abu al-Jariya and Asbagh ibn Nubata al-Hanzali said: Marwan ibn al-Hakam gave a sermon in Madinah al-Tayyibah and reviled Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). When Marwan came down from the pulpit, Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) entered the mosque. They said to him: "Marwan reviled Amir al-Mu'minin..." He said: "O son of the blue-eyed woman! O son of the woman who ate lice! Have you sunk so low as to revile Amir al-Mu'minin!?" Marwan answered him: "You are a child, you have no sense!" Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) replied to him: "Shall I inform you of the faults which you and your companions have, and of the rank and station which Amir al-Mu'minin and his Shia have? Ali (peace be upon him) is that very personality about whom Allah says: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمنُ وُدًّا [Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them love]. This verse was revealed concerning Ali (peace be upon him) and his Shia. Also concerning him [in that same surah] He says: فَإِنَّما یَسَّرْناهُ بِلِسانِکَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ الْمُتَّقِینَ [We have only made it easy on your tongue that you may give glad tidings by it to the Allah-fearing] — We made this glad tiding flow easily on your tongue so that you may give this good news to the people of taqwa! Then the Arabian Messenger conveyed this glad tiding to Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)!"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant in the verse إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدًّا [Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them love] is Ali (peace be upon him), and likewise what is meant by the phrase إِنَّمَا یَسَّرْنَاهُ بِلِسَانِکَ لِتُبَشِّرَ بِهِ المُتَّقِینَ [We have only made it easy on your tongue that you may give glad tidings by it to the Allah-fearing] is Ali (peace be upon him). And what is meant by وَ تُنذِرَ بِهِ قَوْمًا لُّدًّا [and that you may warn by it a contentious people] is Banu Umayyah, that oppressive people.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Ammar ibn Suwayd narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) at the end of his prayer raised his hands and, in a manner that the people could hear, supplicated for Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): "O Allah, place the love of Ali in the hearts of the believers, and place his awe and grandeur in the hearts of the hypocrites!" Then the verse إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدًّا [Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them love] was revealed. The wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) is the very wudd (love) which Allah has spoken of, and what is meant by وَ تُنْذِرَ بِهِ قَوْماً لُدّاً [and that you may warn by it a contentious people] is Banu Umayyah. Then Rumaʿ said: "By Allah! A sa' of dates in a worn-out old basket is more beloved to me than what Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) asked of his Lord. Why did he not ask Allah to send him an angel to aid him so that he might become strong through him, or grant him a treasure so that he might overcome this poverty and want of his?" So Allah the Exalted revealed concerning him ten verses of Surah Hud, beginning with the verse: "Perhaps you may [be inclined to] leave [conveying] part of what is revealed to you [because of their non-acceptance] [and to delay it]" (Hud/12).

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The occasion of the revelation of this verse is that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was seated before the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to him: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Say: 'O Allah, place love of me in the hearts of the believers'!" So Allah revealed this verse: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدًّا [Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — the Most Merciful will appoint for them love].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): This verse — إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمنُ وُدًّا [Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love] — was revealed concerning Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), and what is meant by "wudd" is love for him, firmly rooted in the hearts of the believers.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): You will not find any believer in whose heart there is not love for Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Say: 'O Allah, place love for me in the hearts of the believers.'" Then Allah revealed this verse: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَیَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدًّا [Surely (as for) those who believe and do good deeds for them will Allah bring about love]. You will not find any believer in whose heart there is not love for Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).