سورة البقرة

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed about Hamza, Ali (peace be upon him) and Ubayda.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): This verse was revealed about Ali (peace be upon him), Hamza, Ja'far and Ubayda ibn al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): There is no verse in the Quran phrased الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ [Those who believe and do righteous deeds] except that Ali (peace be upon him) is its commander and its most noble [of those addressed]. And there is none among the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) but that Allah has rebuked and reproached him, while Allah has mentioned Ali (peace be upon him) with nothing but good.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him), explaining the verse وَ بَشِّرِ الَّذینَ آمَنُوا [And give glad tidings to those who believe], says: "Give glad tidings to those who have believed in the tawhid (oneness) and uniqueness of Allah and have confirmed you, O Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), in your prophethood, taken you as their leader, believed all your words and considered your deeds good and correct, and have known your brother Ali (peace be upon him) after you as the leader and successor approved by you, and submitted to his commands, and moved wherever [Ali (peace be upon him)] directed them. These believers hold for him (Ali (peace be upon him)) every station they hold for you, except prophethood which is exclusive to you. In their view, Paradise is not attained except through his friendship and the friendship of his descendants whom he identifies by name, and likewise the friendship of his other lovers, and enmity toward his opponents and enemies. And they also know that Hellfire will not release them and they will not be saved from its punishment except by avoiding friendship with the opponents of Ali (peace be upon him) and his descendants and his lovers, and not cooperating with those who speak ill of them and think ill of them."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Those who believe and do good deeds means Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), the Imams (peace be upon them) after him, and their Shia.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Aban narrated from Sulaym that he said to Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "... The one who meets Allah and knows his Imam and has faith in him and is obedient to him, is he among the people of Paradise?" He said: "Yes! If he meets Allah while being a believer. (If he dies with faith, he is among the people of Paradise.) Allah has said: الَّذینَ آمَنُوا وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحات [Those who believe and do righteous deeds], الَّذینَ آمَنُوا وَ کانُوا یَتَّقُون [Those who believe and are mindful (of Allah)] (Yunus/63), الَّذینَ آمَنُوا وَ لَمْ یَلْبِسُوا إیمانَهُمْ بِظُلْمٍ [Those who believe and do not mix their faith with injustice] (An'am/82)." I said: "If one of the believers meets Allah while he has committed major sins, what will his state be?" He said: "It depends on Allah's will; if He punishes him, it is because of his sins, and if He forgives him, it is because of His mercy." I said: "That is, is it possible that despite his being a believer, He would put him in the Fire?" He said: "Yes, because of his sins; for he is not among the believers whose Guardian Allah is and upon whom there is no fear nor grief. Those are the believers who are mindful of Allah and perform righteous deeds and do not stain their faith with injustice."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): 'They did righteous deeds' means they persisted in performing their obligatory duties and kept away from the forbidden, and [O Muhammad!] their conduct was not like that of the deniers [of your prophethood].

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): They fulfil all the obligatory duties after believing in the oneness of Allah, prophethood and Imamate. The greatest of these obligations consists of two duties: one is fulfilling the rights of one's brothers in faith, and the other is practising taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation) against the enemies of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), in reply to why Paradise was named "Jannah," said: "Because Paradise is concealed, covered, good and pure, and the mention of Paradise is pleasing in the sight of Allah."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): جَنّاتٍ [gardens] means orchards and gardens.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): [It flows] beneath their trees and dwellings.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Euphrates, the Nile, the Sayhun and the Jayhun are four rivers of paradise.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was asked about the width of each of the rivers of Paradise. He said: "Crossing the width of each of the rivers takes five thousand years. These rivers flow beneath the palaces and pavilions. Its waves, just as people in this world engage in joy and delight, sing songs."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The greatest of the rivers of paradise is al-Kawthar, from which very young houris of the same age emerge.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): [They are provided] from that paradise.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): [They are provided] from its fruits.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The food that is brought to them [in paradise].

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): [When the believers encounter the blessings of paradise, they say:] 'These are the very things we were provided with in this world, and their names are the same names they had in this world -- like apple, quince, pomegranate, and so on -- even though the blessings here differ from what was in this world.' Their difference is that here (in paradise) they are utterly delightful, and unlike the fruits of this world, [after being eaten and digested] they do not turn into filth and other repugnant things like bile, discharge and blood; rather, once eaten, they only produce a sweat on the believers' bodies, more fragrant than the scent of musk.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): In paradise, blessings from the fruits of those gardens are brought to them, all alike, choice and flawless, of every kind, in the utmost delight and pleasantness. These fruits are not like the fruits of this world, some of which are unripe and others past ripeness, turning to rot, sourness, bitterness and other unpleasant qualities. These fruits are alike in colour and juice, but varied in taste.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The people of paradise are given from a single fruit, in similar colours.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Several interpretations have been given for this verse. One of them is that these fruits are similar in colour and different in taste.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The people of Paradise, in the gardens of Paradise, have pure spouses who are cleansed of every kind of impurity, unpleasantness, and the blood of menstruation and postpartum bleeding; they have no need to be provided with sustenance and they are not people of deceit and trickery. These spouses are not husband-hating, loud-voiced, foul-tongued or vile-speaking, and they are far from every defect and unpleasant trait.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Those spouses are pure, in that they do not menstruate and no impurity comes from them.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): They are in the gardens and orchards of paradise.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): They have settled there forever.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The people of paradise are eternal in paradise because their intention was that, had they remained in this world, they would have obeyed Allah continuously.