سورة البقرة

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): I am "Abdullah," and my name is "Ahmad," and I am also "Abdullah," and my name [like the Prophet Ya'qub (peace be upon him)] is "Israel." Whatever Allah commanded him (the Prophet Ya'qub, peace be upon him), He commanded me as well, and whatever task (prophethood and guiding the nation) He occupied him with, He occupied me with it as well.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Harun ibn Muhammad al-Halabi said, I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the expression یَا بَنِی إِسْرَائِیلَ [O children of Israel]; he said, "[What is meant by it] is only us."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): I asked the Imam (peace be upon him) about Allah the Exalted's words: یَا بَنِی إِسْرَائِیلَ [O children of Israel]; he answered, "It is specific to the household of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): [O Jews, remember] that We sent Musa and Harun (peace be upon them) to your forefathers with prophethood; then We guided you to the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), the successorship of Ali (peace be upon him), and the Imamate of his pure progeny, and in this regard We took from you covenants and pledges, which, if you fulfill them, you would be rulers in the highest paradise, deserving of Allah's honors and good pleasure.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): The meaning of أَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ [that I made you excel the nations] here is: I favored your forefathers both in religion and in this world. As for their favor in religion, it was because they accepted the wilayah (guardianship) of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali (peace be upon him) and their pure household (peace be upon them); and their favor in this world [was through special bounties and miracles, such as] My making the cloud their shade; sending down for them roasted birds and manna from the sky; giving them sweet water to drink from a rock; splitting the sea for them and saving them, and drowning their enemies Pharaoh and his people, and by this favoring them over the people of their time, those who opposed their way and belief and had deviated. Then Allah said to them, "Since I did this for your forefathers in that time because they accepted the wilayah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), it is fitting that, if you remain faithful to the covenant and pledge taken from you, I grant you even greater favor and excellence in this time."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was asked about the "specific" and the "general" in the Book of Allah. The Imam (peace be upon him) said, "Some verses of Allah have specific wording, and others have general wording; but sometimes there are verses whose wording is specific but whose meaning is general, and sometimes the wording is general but the meaning is specific. As an example of a verse whose wording and outward form is general but whose meaning is specific, there is Allah's saying: يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ [O children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed on you, and that I made you excel the nations]. This wording, though it encompasses generality, its meaning is specific, for Allah favored them only over the people of their own time, with things He set aside specially for them, such as roasted birds, manna, springs that flowed from a rock, and things similar to these."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): In the verse يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ [O children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed on you, and that I made you excel the nations], the word عَالَمِينَ [nations/worlds] is general, but its meaning is specific; so [in this way] Allah the Exalted favored the children of Israel over the people of their own time, with things that were specific to them, such as manna, roasted birds, and the rock from which twelve springs gushed forth.