سورة البقرة

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): The believers are those who believe in Allah and in what belief in is obligatory, such as the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his pure household (peace be upon them).

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا [Surely those who believe] was revealed concerning Ali (peace be upon him), for he was the first person to affirm the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): الَّذِينَ هَادُوا [those who are Jews] means the Jews.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): A Jew is one who has adopted the religion of Judaism.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): What is meant by "Christians" (Nasara) are those who suppose they help the religion of Allah.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): [It was said to the Imam (peace be upon him):] Why were the Nasara (Christians) named Nasara? He (peace be upon him) said, "Because the Nasara were from a village in the lands of Syria called Nazareth, where Maryam (peace be upon her) and Isa (peace be upon him) settled after they returned from the city."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): What is meant by the Sabians are those who suppose they have accepted the religion of Allah, while they are lying.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The Sabians are a people who are neither Magians, nor Jews, nor Christians, nor Muslims; rather, they worship the planets and stars.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): What is meant are disbelievers who have abandoned their disbelief and, for the remainder of their lives, become believers and practice sincerity, and remain faithful to the covenant and pledge they made with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), Ali (peace be upon him), and their pure household.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): [The reward] is for these believers.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): "Reward" (ajr) is the same as recompense and requital.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): There, at the time when the wicked (fasiqun) are afraid, they (the believers) do not become fearful; and at the time when the wicked grieve, they do not become sorrowful, because they (the wicked) did not fear Allah in this world nor were grieved by it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): "I am that straight path (sirat al-mustaqim) which [Allah] has commanded you to follow; after me, Ali (peace be upon him), then my children from his loins are the straight path; they are the leaders who guide people to the path of truth, and by it they establish justice." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) recited the blessed verses of Surah al-Hamd to the end, and said, "These noble verses were revealed concerning me and concerning them; these verses apply to all of them, and are specific to them alone, and do not include anyone else. They are the friends of Allah, of whom [it is said]: لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve]."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Ali (peace be upon him) looked at a man on whose face signs of fear could be seen, and asked, "Why are you like this?" He said, "I fear Allah." [The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)] said, "O servant of Allah, fear your sins, and fear that Allah, in His justice, will take back the rights of His servants from you. Obey Him in what He has obligated you to do, and do not disobey Him in matters where He has restrained you for your own good; [having done this] do not fear Allah beyond that, for He wrongs no one and never punishes anyone beyond what they deserve, unless you fear a bad ending, that a change or alteration might occur in it. If you want Allah to protect you from a bad ending, know that whatever good you do is by Allah's grace and enabling, and whatever evil you commit, in that case Allah has given you respite and time, and pardons you with His forbearance and forgiveness."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): [Those] who look at the inward reality of this world when people look only at its outward appearance; they concern themselves with what is to come, when people concern themselves only with what is immediate. They put to death within themselves whatever they fear would bring about their own [spiritual] death, and they abandon whatever they know will abandon them, before it can abandon them. Nothing of this world presents itself to them without their casting it aside; no deceptive glitter of it can seduce them without their setting it down. This world was created before them, yet they do not renew it; it fell to ruin among them, yet they do not rebuild it; it has died in their hearts, so they do not love it - rather they tear it down and build their Hereafter with it, and they sell it to buy with it what will remain for them. They look upon its people fallen down, struck by calamities, and see no safety but in what they hope for, and no fear but in what they are wary of.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): I said, "How does the outcome stand for one [a believer] who meets Allah having committed grave sins?" He said, "That rests with Allah's will; if He punishes him it is for his sin, and if He overlooks it, it is out of His mercy." I said, "Will he then be made to enter the Fire while he is a believer?" He said, "Yes, for his sin, because he is not among those believers meant by [the verse] لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve], that Allah is their guardian."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is as though I can see Ali (peace be upon him) and his followers on the Day of Resurrection, riding upon she-camels from the gardens of Paradise. They appear as beautiful youths, crowned and wearing kohl, untouched by any fear or grief, hastening forward: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Our Shia will come out of their graves on the Day of Resurrection with radiant colours and faces, having been granted safety. No fear or terror will be upon them: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Glad tidings to the Shia of our Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance), who await his reappearance during his occultation and who obey him upon his reappearance. They are the friends of Allah, those who have no fear over anything and are not sorrowful: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Our Shia are those who help one another for the sake of our wilayah, love one another for the sake of our affection, and cooperate with one another in our cause; who, if angered, do not act unjustly, and if pleased, are not excessive; a blessing to their neighbours and a source of well-being for their companions. They are weak, thin travellers [in this world], whose lips are dry, whose bellies are thin [and hungry], and whose colour has changed. Their faces are pale; they weep much and their tears flow; while people are joyful, they grieve, and while people sleep, they keep vigil at night. When present, they are not recognised, and when absent, no one notices their absence; if they seek a young woman's hand in marriage, no one gives her to them. Their hearts are sorrowful, yet others are safe from their harm; their souls are chaste and their needs are light. Their lips are dry from thirst, their bellies empty from hunger, and their eyes weakened from staying awake at night [in tears and sighs]. Withdrawal from the world is plain upon them, and fear [of Allah] is their constant companion. Whenever one of them passes away, another like him takes his place. They are the ones whose faces, on the Day of Resurrection, shine like the full moon, envied by the first and the last generations. No fear is upon them, nor do they grieve: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): O Lord! Send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them), the seal of the prophets, and upon Ali (peace be upon him), the master of the successors, and upon his pure household (peace be upon them), and make us, through holding fast to them and their wilayah, among the successful and the secure - those who have no fear or grief: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): My community in this world is of three classes. The first class do not love the gathering and hoarding of wealth, and do not strive to acquire and hoard it; they are content with this world only to the extent that it wards off hunger and covers the body; whatever [of worldly wealth] brings them to the Hereafter is enough for them. So they are secure [in the Hereafter], those upon whom there is no fear or grief: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): That is the result of their good deeds ... They live eternally in Paradise without growing old or weak, never moved from it and never leaving it; in Paradise they are not troubled or grieved, but rather live there content, joyful, secure and reassured, without any fear or grief: لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve].