سورة طه

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Jahl ibn Hisham went with a group from Quraysh to Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) and said: "This nephew of yours harms us and harms our gods. Summon him and order him to leave our gods alone, and we will leave his god alone." So Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) sent someone to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and called him. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) entered the house and saw no one there but polytheists, he said: السَّلامُ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدی [Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance], and then sat down.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Then he called for the letter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) which he had sent with Dihya to the ruler of Busra, who had handed it over to Heraclius, and it was read. In it was written: "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim [In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate]. From Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), to Heraclius, the ruler of Rome. السَّلامُ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدی [Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sent Abd Allah ibn Hudhafa ibn Qays to Kisra ibn Hurmuz, the king of Persia, and wrote to him thus: "Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim [In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate]. From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to Kisra, the great one of Persia; سَلَامٌ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدی [Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sent Amr ibn Umayya al-Damri to the Najashi to negotiate with him regarding Jafar ibn Abi Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) and his companions, and he also wrote a letter about this matter to the king of Abyssinia. The text of that letter is as follows: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. This is a letter from Muhammad, the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) of the Lord, to the Najashi, king of Abyssinia. Peace be upon you. I now describe Allah to you: Allah, the Sovereign, the All-Powerful, who is pure and free of every fault and defect; the Lord who, through His grace, protects all from every harm, who is dominant over all creatures and ruler of all, and holds everything under His power. I bear witness that Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) is the Spirit of Allah and His Word, which He cast upon Maryam (peace be upon her) al-Batul, who is pure of every ugliness and impropriety and whose skirt is free of every defilement. Maryam (peace be upon her), by the will of the Lord, conceived Isa (peace be upon him), and Allah created him from a spirit which was the object of His grace, just as He created Adam (peace be upon him) and breathed of that spirit into him. Now I invite you to the One Allah, and I ask you to obey Allah, and likewise to follow me, who am His Messenger, and to affirm me and what is revealed to me. I am the Messenger of the Lord, and now I have sent my cousin Jafar to you, and a number of Muslims are with him. When they come to you, acknowledge my messengership and cast pride and grandeur away from yourself. I invite you and your armies toward Allah. I have now conveyed the message, and it is your duty to accept it from me. وَ السَّلامُ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الهُدی [And peace be upon whoever follows the guidance]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was sent [as a prophet], he ordered Ali (peace be upon him) to write a letter to the disbelievers, the Christians and the Jews. So he wrote a letter which Jibra'il dictated to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). He wrote: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to the Jews of Khaybar. To proceed: the earth belongs to Allah, and He gives it to whichever of His servants He wills, and the [good] end is for the pious (al-A'raf/128). وَ السَّلامُ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الهُدی. لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ الْعَلِیِّ الْعَظِیم [And peace be upon him who follows the guidance. There is no power and no strength except through Allah, the Most High, the Most Great]. Then he sealed the letter and sent it to the Jews of Khaybar. When the letter reached them, they came to their elder, Ibn Salam, and said: 'O son of Salam! This is the letter of Muhammad that he has written to you...'. He took them [the letters/them] and brought [it/them] to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), who was in his mosque, and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), peace be upon you and upon your companions.' They [the Muslims] said: 'وَ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الهُدی السَّلَامُ [And peace be upon him who follows the guidance], with the mercy of Allah and His blessings.'

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): Asbagh ibn Nubata said: Abdullah ibn al-Kawwa came into the presence of the Imam (peace be upon him) and said: 'Peace be upon you, O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).' The Imam replied: السَّلامُ عَلی مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الهُدی [Peace be upon him who follows the guidance], and peace be upon him who fears the outcomes of destruction.