سورة البقرة

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): I am the one concerning whom Allah said: هَلْ یَنْظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ یَأْتِیَهُمُ اللهُ فی ظُلَلٍ مِنَ الْغَمامِ وَ الْمَلائِکَةُ وَ قُضِیَ الْأَمْرُ وَ إِلَی اللهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ [Do they wait for aught but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds, along with the angels, and the matter is decided; and to Allah all matters are returned].

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) prevailed over the disbelievers and polytheists with the divine verses and signs, and refuted their excuses and pretexts with his miracles, some of them refused to believe and put forward false demands, which this verse [refers to] when it says: And they said: "We will never believe in you until you cause a gushing spring to burst forth for us from this [dry and burning] land; or you have a garden of date-palms and grapes and cause rivers to flow abundantly within it; or you cause pieces [of stones] of the sky to fall upon our heads as you claim, or bring Allah and the angels before us." (Isra/90-93) — and the rest of the things mentioned in the verse. Allah says: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Do these liars expect, after all these proofs which We brought and their excuses which We removed with miracles, that Allah should come [down] with a group of angels in the shadows of the clouds?! As they were asking you that Allah and the angels appear openly to them in this world, which is an impossible request and there is no permission for such a thing in this world; and they were saying that the angels must come to them, whereas the angels will not come either — except at the time when [the time of] worship is no more and the oppressors are destroyed on account of their oppression (that is, when the world has come to an end)."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): These disbelievers demanded signs and clear proofs, and were not satisfied with the sufficient and eloquent signs which [Allah] gave them, until it was said to them: هَلْ یَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ یَأْتِیَهُمُ اللهُ [Do they wait for anything except that Allah should come to them] — that is, now that you are not satisfied despite these clear and decisive proofs, are you waiting for Allah Himself to come to you?! Whereas that is impossible, because it is not permissible to attribute coming and going to Allah. And the opponents of wilayah likewise, concerning the imamate of Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him), put forward proposals to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and [raised such objections] that it led to putting forward impossible proposals.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Its meaning is: Do they wait for Allah to bring the angels under a canopy of clouds?!

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): When Allah willed to gather His servants for that which had to be announced and made manifest, He commanded the caller. The caller called out, and mankind and jinn were gathered swiftly, in the blink of an eye. Then [Allah] gave permission to the sky of this world and it descended, and He gave permission to the second heaven and it too descended, while this heaven was twice [the size of] the previous one. When the inhabitants of the sky of this world saw it, they said: "Our Lord has come!" But it was said: "No, and He will come only after all the heavens have descended." And each one was positioned behind the other, with twice the expanse of the heaven before it. Then Allah, together with the angels, descended وَ الْمَلائِکَةُ وَ قُضِیَ الْأَمْرُ وَ إِلَی اللهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ [along with the angels, and the matter has been decided, and (all) matters are returned to Allah] amid shadowing clouds, and the matter was concluded, and all affairs return to Allah. Then Allah commanded the caller to call out: يا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَ الْإِنْسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَنْفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطارِ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضِ فَانْفُذُوا لا تَنْفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطانٍ [O company of jinn and mankind! If you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass beyond, but you will not pass beyond except with an (extraordinary) authority] (al-Rahman/33).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Day of the Appointed Time (yawm al-waqt al-ma'lum) arrives, Iblis will appear together with all those who were with him ... [Near Kufa, a battle begins between Satan and his army and the army of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) who have returned (in the raj'a). The Imam (peace be upon him) added:] It is as though I see the companions of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) [before me], having drawn back a hundred paces. And it is as though I see them [before me], some of whose feet have fallen into the Euphrates. At that moment, Allah the Almighty descends upon the earth in shadows of clouds together with the angels, and the matter is concluded. And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) appears before Him, holding in his hand a spearhead of light. When the gaze of Iblis falls upon them, he withdraws and turns back. His companions say to him: "You have been victorious; so where are you going?" Satan answers them: "I see things that you are not [able] to see. Indeed, I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds." [At this moment] the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) pursues Iblis and inflicts a wound between his two shoulders, and by this means he and all his companions are destroyed. [After that] all the people turn to the worship of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and no one ascribes any partner to Him.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him), in his debate with a heretic who claimed that there were contradictions in the Quran, said: ... As for the word of Allah: وَ جاءَ رَبُّکَ وَ الْمَلَکُ صَفًّا صَفًّا [And your Lord comes and the angels, rank upon rank], and His word: وَ لَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونا فُرادی کَما خَلَقْناکُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ [And certainly you have come to Us alone as We created you at first], and His word: هَلْ یَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ یَأْتِیَهُمُ اللهُ فِی ظُلَلٍ مِنَ الْغَمامِ وَ الْمَلائِکَةُ [Do they wait for anything but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds along with the angels], and His word: هَلْ یَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَأْتِیَهُمُ الْمَلائِکَةُ أَوْ یَأْتِیَ رَبُّکَ أَوْ یَأْتِیَ بَعْضُ آیاتِ رَبِّکَ [Do they wait for anything but that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come]; this matter is true, just as Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said. Of course, Allah's coming is not like the coming of created beings, and I tell you that there may well be verses in the Book of Allah whose interpretation (ta'wil) is other than their literal revelation (tanzil), and which bear no resemblance to human speech. I shall explain some of those verses to you, and by the will of Allah it will be sufficient for you. For example, the word of Ibrahim (peace be upon him): إِنِّی ذاهِبٌ إِلی رَبِّی سَیَهْدِینِ [Indeed I am going to my Lord; He will guide me]. So his going to his Lord is his turning toward his Lord through worship, striving and seeking nearness to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. So you see that its interpretation is other than its literal revelation.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The Lord comes to them with His promise and His warning [what is meant by Allah's coming is His promises and warnings], and Allah the Exalted reveals to them what was hidden from them, though Allah exists in every time. [In the Hereafter, Allah lifts the veil from realities and] they see the terrifying clouds and other things, including the angels.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): At present is the time of religious duty and worship, not the time when the angels come to destroy. [They] make this request out of ignorance: وَ قُضِیَ الْأَمْرُ [And the matter has been decided] — they are waiting for the coming of the angels [whereas] when the angels do come, at that moment they are condemned to annihilation and destruction.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): The return is to Allah. He will decree punishment and torment upon the wrongdoers, and a noble station for the Allah-fearing and pious people.