سورة البقرة

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): What is meant by "wasatan" in the verse: وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً [And thus We have made you a medium nation] is just.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The meaning is being an intermediary between the Messenger and the people.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I heard Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) say: "We are the namat of Hijaz (the group of the people of Hijaz)." I said: "What is the namat of Hijaz (the group of the people of Hijaz)?" He said: "The most moderate group, of which Allah says in this verse: وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً [And thus We have made you a medium nation]. The one who has gone too high [and passed beyond the truth] must return towards us [who are in the middle], and the one who has fallen behind must catch up to us."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding the meaning of أَوْسَطُهُمْ [the most moderate of them] in this divine speech, which says: "Did I not say to you, why do you not glorify Allah?!" ... (Qalam/28): A man said to Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): "Does it mean the one who was of middle age among them?" Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "No! In terms of age, he was the youngest of all the people, but in terms of intellect he was the greatest of them all. The middle and most moderate of a people is the one who is the best of them all, and the proof of this is a verse in the Quran which means to say: O ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), you are the smallest of peoples [in number and age] and the best of nations, and Allah said: کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً [Thus We have made you a medium nation]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The witnesses over the people are none but the Imams and the Prophets; and it is not correct or permissible for Allah to take individuals of the ummah as witnesses over the people, because among them are those whose testimony is not accepted even regarding a bundle of vegetables.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said regarding the interpretation of the verse: وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ [And thus We have made you a medium nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people]: "It refers to the Imams (peace be upon them)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [O household of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)!] O you whose ties of kinship and relation with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) they severed, whose right they wasted, who showed disrespect to the Book of Allah, and who imposed the rule of others upon you — Allah has made the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) a witness [over the injustice done to you and a witness] for you.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Amr al-Zubayri narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "Do you suppose that the ones addressed by Allah in this verse are all Muslims and monotheists?! [No! It is not so; some of these Muslims are corrupt and of no credibility.] Do you suppose that these Muslims, whose testimony Allah does not accept in this world concerning even a mann of dates, will have their testimony heard on the Day of Resurrection and accepted in the presence of all previous nations [on the plain of gathering]?! Never! Allah never intends such a thing, and He has not addressed such people from this ummah (the ummah of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family) with this speech of His — rather the ummah concerning whom the request of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) has been fulfilled, of whom He said: 'You were the best ummah brought forth for mankind.' (Al-Imran/110) The ummah of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is the medium ummah and the best ummah among the people."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was asked about those concerning whom Allah said: لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ [that you may be bearers of witness to the people]. He said: "They are thirteen persons in particular: I, my brother Ali (peace be upon him), and eleven from his descendants."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The ones Allah intended in this verse لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ [that you may be bearers of witness to the people] are us; the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is the witness over us, and we are the witnesses over the people and Allah's proof on His earth; we are the ones concerning whom Allah has said: جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً [We have made you a medium nation].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah is a witness over us, the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and we are the witnesses of Allah over His creation and His proofs on His earth. We are the ones whom Allah intended by His words: وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ [And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people] ... In every age, there is an Imam from us who is a witness over the people of his time.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah has made us pure, infallible, witnesses over creation, and proofs on the earth. [Allah] has placed us with the Quran and the Quran with us, [such that] neither do we part from it nor does it part from us.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): We are the very ones about whom Allah said: "they are witnesses over the people".

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): We are the medium nation, and we are the witnesses of Allah the Blessed and Exalted over His creation and His proofs on His earth.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We are the witnesses over the people concerning what they have of the lawful and the unlawful, and what they have lost of it.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Maymun al-Ban that Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) said regarding the interpretation of the verse وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ وَ یَکُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَیْکُمْ شَهِیداً [And thus We have made you a medium nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you]: Each one of us is a witness over his own time; Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) in his time, Hasan ibn Ali (peace be upon him) in his time, and Husayn (peace be upon him) too in his own time was a witness. Each one of us has the mission of calling towards Allah.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said regarding the statement of Allah the Exalted: وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ [And thus We have made you a medium nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people]: "The meaning of 'wasat' is justice ... the meaning of the continuation of the verse is 'so that the Imams (peace be upon them) may be witnesses over the people' (that is, the meaning of 'witnesses over the people' is the Imams (peace be upon them)). And the Messenger is a witness over the Imams."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [A person asked the Imam (peace be upon him) whether the ones intended by the verse "You are the best nation raised up for the benefit of mankind" (Al Imran/110) are anyone other than Ali (peace be upon him). The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: Along with Ali (peace be upon him), other people too are included in this verse.] Along with Ali (peace be upon him) are Fatimah (peace be upon her) and Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them), and they are the ones from whom Allah has removed every impurity and purified them thoroughly, and the Companions of the Cloak are they whose purity the Quran has testified to, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was by himself a whole nation.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The meaning of "sayyi'ah" (evil deed) in this verse: "And those who do evil deeds shall be thrown down on their faces into the Fire" (Naml/90) is the denial of the Imam (peace be upon him); the Imam who has been chosen by Allah, and about whom the Lord has said: وَ کَذلِکَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطاً [And thus We have made you a medium nation].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah's command has gone forth that there be no disagreement among the believers, and for this reason He made them witnesses over the people; in this way, that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is a witness over us, we are witnesses over our Shia, and our Shia are witnesses over the people.

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): One of the Jewish scholars of Sham came to us and said: "O nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! There is no rank belonging to the prophets and no virtue belonging to the messengers which you have not also claimed for your Prophet. So if I question you, are you able to answer?" Then Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "Ask, O brother of the Jews...!" The Jew said: "By what has Allah given his nation superiority over the other nations?" He said: "Allah has given his nation superiority over the other nations through many things, of which I will recount a few for you out of many... Then Allah, whose praise is mighty, asks the messengers — while He Himself knows the answer best: 'Who are your witnesses today?' They say: 'Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his nation.' Then the nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) also bears witness that they (the prophets) delivered their message truly and correctly, and they attest to their testimony and to the testimony of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and at that point they believe. And that is the word of Allah: لِتَکُونُوا شُهَداءَ عَلَی النَّاسِ وَ یَکُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَیْکُمْ شَهِیداً [that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you]. The meaning is that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) bears witness for you (your prophets) that you delivered your message [well]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The sons of Abd al-Ashhal came upon them (the Prophet and his companions) while they were performing the prayer. They had prayed two rak'ats toward Bayt al-Maqdis. Then it was said to them: 'Your Prophet has been turned toward Mecca.' So the women exchanged their prayer place with the men, and the men exchanged theirs with the women, and they performed the remaining two rak'ats toward the Ka'bah. In this way they prayed one prayer toward two qiblahs, and therefore their mosque became known as the mosque of "Qiblatayn" (the two qiblahs).

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him): Some people said: O son of the Messenger of Allah! Why did Allah command [the Muslims] to face the first qiblah (Bayt al-Maqdis)? The Imam (peace be upon him) said: Because of this word of Allah, who says: وَ ما جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِی کُنْتَ عَلَیْها [And We did not make the qiblah which you were upon] — that is, Bayt al-Maqdis — we appointed it [as the first qiblah] only so that it would become clear, from among those who turn back to their past, who follows the Messenger, and this was so that We might see actually occurring what We already knew would occur. The point is that the attachment of the people of Mecca was to the Ka'bah; so Allah willed that the followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) should be distinguished from his opponents by their following a qiblah that they themselves did not like but which Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) commanded — and after the people of Medina became attached to Bayt al-Maqdis, He commanded them to turn away from it and face Mecca, so that it would be made clear who agreed with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) in the things he did not himself like, and thus confirmed and endorsed him.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): وَ إِنْ کانَتْ لَکَبِیرَةً إِلَّا عَلَی الَّذِینَ هَدَی اللهُ [And it was indeed a hard thing except for those whom Allah has guided] — turning toward Bayt al-Muqaddas at that time was hard except for those whom Allah guides; so it is clear that Allah commands a person to an act which [sometimes] is contrary to his own view, in order to test his obedience in opposing his own desire.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Prayer" in the Quran has been called "faith"; because when Allah the Mighty and Majestic turned the face of His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) [in that prayer] away from Bayt al-Muqaddas and commanded him to pray toward Mecca, the Muslims said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): 'What is the state of us and the state of this prayer of ours which we performed facing Bayt al-Muqaddas? What of us and the state of these earlier prayers of ours (were they valid)?' So Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed in this matter the verse وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُضِیعَ [And Allah was not going to let (your faith) be lost]…, so [here] He called prayer "faith".

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah the Glorified here calls "prayer" "faith" itself, and this is clear proof that the speech of Allah the Exalted does not resemble the speech of people, just as His acts do not resemble their acts. For this reason and reasons like it, no one reaches the depth of the true meaning of the exegesis and inner interpretation of the Book of Allah except the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and his successors.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Muslims said: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Will our prayers which we offered toward Bayt al-Muqaddas be lost?' So Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed this verse: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُضِیعَ إِیمانَکُمْ [And Allah was not going to let your faith be lost] — meaning: Allah will never let your faith be lost, meaning the prayers which you offered facing Bayt al-Muqaddas.