سورة طه

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلَاةِ [And enjoin prayer on your followers]; what is meant by it is the ummah. وَ اصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْهَا [and steadily adhere to it] — and have patience and forbearance.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Aqil al-Khuza'i narrates: whenever war was imminent, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) would counsel the Muslims and say: "Renew your covenant with prayer, safeguard it, establish prayer abundantly, and draw near to it through it... After the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was given the glad tidings of Paradise from his Lord, he would put himself to hardship. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلاةِ وَ اصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْها [And enjoin prayer on your followers, and steadily adhere to it]... So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would command his family to pray and would compel himself to be patient in this task."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْهَا [And enjoin prayer on your followers, and steadily adhere to it]; indeed Allah, Blessed and Exalted, commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to make it particular to the people of his own household to the exclusion of other people, so that people would know that the household of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) hold a special station with Allah which other people do not share. For Allah first addressed them together with the rest of the people generally, and then commanded them specifically.

Ali ibn Ibrahim: وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَ اصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْهَا [And enjoin prayer on your family, and steadily adhere to it]; indeed Allah the Blessed and Exalted commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to single out his Ahl al-Bayt with this, apart from the rest of the people, so that the people would know that the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) hold with Allah a special station that the rest of the people do not share. For Allah first addressed them together with the rest of the people, and then commanded them privately. When this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would come every day at the time of the dawn prayer to the door of Ali (peace be upon him) and Fatima (peace be upon her) and would say: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then Ali and Fatima and Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) would say: "And upon you be peace, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." Then he would take hold of the two sides of the doorframe and say: "Prayer! Prayer! May Allah have mercy on you. إِنَّما یُرِیدُ اللهُ لِیُذْهِبَ عَنْکُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَیْتِ وَ یُطَهِّرَکُمْ تَطْهِیراً [Allah only wishes to remove all impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and to purify you thoroughly]" (al-Ahzab/33). From the day he entered Medina until the day he departed the world, he continued to do this. Abu al-Hamra, the servant of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), said: "I bear witness that he used to do this."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yunus ibn Yaqub said: Isa ibn Abdullah al-Qummi came to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). When he took his leave and went, the Imam (peace be upon him) said to his servant: "Go and bring him back." Isa returned, and the Imam gave him some instructions. Then he said: "O Isa! Allah says in the Quran: وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلاةِ [And enjoin prayer on your family]. You are of us, the Ahl al-Bayt. When the sun reaches such-and-such point in the afternoon, pray six rak'ahs." Then he bade him farewell and kissed Isa's forehead, and he left.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A man came to my father, Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), and said: "May Allah have mercy on you and send blessings upon you; I narrate hadith to my family — how is this act of mine?" My father said: "Yes, it is a good act, for Allah says: 'O you who believe, guard yourselves and your families against a fire whose fuel is people and stones' (al-Tahrim/6). And He has said: وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلاةِ وَ اصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْها [And enjoin prayer on your family, and steadily adhere to it] — that is, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), command and instruct your family and relatives to pray, and be patient and steadfast (firm and constant) upon it."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Rayyan ibn Salt narrates: Imam Rida (peace be upon him) attended al-Ma'mun's gathering in Marw, and a group of the scholars of Iraq and Khurasan were present in that gathering... The scholars present said: "Now tell us: has Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, explained the matter of 'istifa' (chosen selection) in the Quran?" He (peace be upon him) said: "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has explained this matter in the outward of the Quran, apart from the inward, in twelve places," and he began to mention those twelve places until he reached the twelfth. And he said: "As for the twelfth instance, it is the verse: وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَ اصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْهَا [And enjoin prayer on your followers, and steadily adhere to it], and Allah has singled us out with this distinction. For He commanded us, along with the ummah, to establish prayer, and then in addition He specifically obligated us to perform it. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), for nine months after the revelation of this verse, would come to the door of the house of Ali and Fatima (peace be upon them) after every prayer time and would say: 'It is the time of prayer, may Allah have mercy on you.' Allah has not favored the offspring of any prophet with such an honor as He has granted us and singled us out with." Then al-Ma'mun and the other scholars said: "May Allah reward you, the Ahl al-Bayt of your Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), with good on behalf of this ummah."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Yusuf ibn Abd Allah ibn Sallam narrates that whenever hardship or a calamity befell the family of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), he would command them to perform prayer, and he would recite this verse: وَ أْمُرْ أَهْلَکَ بِالصَّلاةِ وَ اصْطَبِرْ عَلَیْها [And enjoin prayer on your followers, and steadily adhere to it].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O Musa (peace be upon him)! Preserve my counsel to you regarding four things. First: as long as you do not see that your sins are being forgiven, do not busy yourself with the faults of others. And second: as long as you do not see that My treasures have been exhausted and destroyed, do not grieve over your provision.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلتَّقْوَی [and the (good) end is for guarding (against evil)] means for the pious (muttaqin), and the verbal noun has been placed in the position of the object.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Abu Hurayra: the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: And most of those who enter Paradise are the pious, the good-natured, and those of good character.