سورة الحج

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Durays narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): the Imam said concerning the verse وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلی حَرْفٍ [And among people is one who worships Allah on the verge]: "This verse was revealed concerning those who doubted the wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), and it also applies to their followers." I said: "Is everyone who accepts the imamate and wilayah of someone other than you also among those who يَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلی حَرْف [worships Allah on the verge]?" The Imam said: "Yes! And sometimes it may [also] be [an instance of] pure polytheism."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): These were people who worshipped Allah and gave up worshipping other than Allah, yet they doubted about Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the religion he had brought; they uttered Islam with their tongues and bore witness to the oneness of Allah and to the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and they acknowledged the Qur'an, yet at the same time they doubted about Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the religion he had brought, although they had no doubt about Allah. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلَی حَرْفٍ, meaning [some people worship Allah with their tongues] while they have doubt about Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the religion he has brought; فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَیْرٌ, meaning [if] some good [reaches him] regarding himself, his wealth and his children, he becomes reassured and pleased with it; وَ إِنْ أَصابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ, meaning [if] some affliction befalls his body or wealth, he takes it as a bad omen and dislikes remaining firm upon the acknowledgement of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), so he returns to his former hesitation and doubt, and rises up in enmity against Allah and His Messenger and in denial of the Prophet and his religion.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurara said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [who said]: وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلَی حَرْفٍ [And among men is he who serves Allah on the verge]. He said: 'These were a people who had acknowledged the oneness of Allah and had abandoned the worship of anything besides Allah, and as a result had come out of shirk (polytheism). Yet, along with this, they did not recognise that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Messenger of Allah. So, while still having doubt regarding Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the religion he brought, they worshipped Allah. They came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "We will observe — if [after believing in the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] our wealth increases and good reaches ourselves and our children, we will know that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is truthful and is the Messenger of Allah; but if it turns out otherwise, we will reconsider the matter." Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَیْرٌ [So that if good befalls him], meaning if good reaches [him] in the world [he becomes content with it]; وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ [and if a trial afflicts him], meaning [if] an affliction befalls him in his person and his wealth; انْقَلَبَ عَلَی وَجْهِهِ [he turns back headlong], meaning, on account of his doubt and hesitation, he returns to shirk; [and thus] خَسِرَ الدُّنْیَا وَالآخِرَةَ ذَلِکَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِینُ [he loses this world as well as the hereafter; that is a manifest loss].'

The Imams (peace be upon them): The meaning of وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلی حَرْفٍ [And among men is he who serves Allah on the verge] is Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and Amr ibn al-'As.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلَی حَرْفٍ [And among men is he who serves Allah on the verge] — meaning [some people worship] Allah with doubt and hesitation.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): ... Allah the Exalted has, in numerous places [of the Qur'an], described the characteristics of the hypocrites, [among them] He has said: وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلی حَرْفٍ فَإِنْ أَصابَهُ خَیْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ بِهِ وَ إِنْ أَصابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ انْقَلَبَ عَلی وَجْهِهِ خَسِرَ الدُّنْیا وَ الْآخِرَةَ ذلِکَ هُوَ الْخُسْرانُ الْمُبِینُ [And among men is he who serves Allah on the verge, so that if good befalls him he is satisfied therewith, but if a trial afflicts him he turns back headlong; he loses this world as well as the hereafter; that is a manifest loss].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): There was a group who, when their bodies were healthy, their mare gave birth, their wife bore a son, and their livestock increased, would be pleased with Islam; but if pain or hardship befell them, they would say: "From this religion, nothing has reached us except evil!" Then this verse was revealed: وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَعْبُدُ اللهَ عَلی حَرْفٍ [And among men is he who serves Allah on the verge].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) (in the tafsir [attributed to] Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him), under the verse "They are those who have bought misguidance in exchange for guidance, so their trade has not brought them any profit, nor are they guided." (al-Baqarah/16)): Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) said: أُولئِکَ الَّذِینَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلالَةَ بِالْهُدی [Those are they who have bought misguidance in exchange for guidance] [meaning] they sold the religion of Allah and in exchange took disbelief in Allah; فَما رَبِحَتْ تِجارَتُهُمْ [so their trade brought them no profit] meaning they gained no profit from this trade in the hereafter, because in place of the paradise that had been prepared for them had they believed, they purchased the Fire and its various punishments; وَ ما کانُوا مُهْتَدِینَ [nor were they guided] [meaning] toward the truth and the straight path [they were not guided]. When Allah the Mighty and Majestic sent down this verse, a group came to the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Glorified is Allah, the Provider of sustenance!... Did you not see so-and-so, whose condition was good and whose wealth was abundant?! The means of his life were well-equipped, his benefactions were plentiful, and his affairs were in order?! He sought only vast wealth and huge profits, until greed drove him to be reckless and, in stormy weather, board an unreliable ship with unskilled sailors and set out on a sea voyage. When the ship reached the middle of the sea, a fierce gale struck it, so the gale drove the ship adrift to the shore and, on a dark night, dashed it to pieces; his wealth was lost and he himself barely escaped with his life, and now he has become destitute and in debt, and he looks upon the world with an eye of regret!" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Shall I not inform you... of one whose condition is even worse than his?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" His holiness said: "...one who has given his pledge of allegiance to the brother of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) (that is, Imam Ali (peace be upon him)) and has made manifest his agreement with him, his love for those who love him, and his enmity toward his enemies, but after a while breaks his pledge and opposes [him] and prefers the guardianship of Ali's (peace be upon him) enemies over [the guardianship of] him; such a person, on account of his evil deeds, will meet an evil end, and [on the Day of Resurrection] will be afflicted with a punishment that will not perish and will not come to an end; such a person خَسِرَ الدُّنْیا وَ الْآخِرَةَ ذلِکَ هُوَ الْخُسْرانُ الْمُبِینُ [has lost this world and the hereafter; that is the manifest loss]."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Among people there are some who lose both this world and the hereafter; they abandon this world for the sake of this world, and they consider the pleasure of unlawful leadership to be superior to the pleasure of permissible and lawful wealth and blessings; for this reason they abandon all lawful blessings in order to attain unlawful leadership.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O people, fear Allah! How many are those who hope for what they do not attain, those who build what they do not dwell in, and those who amass wealth which they will soon leave behind — wealth which perhaps they gathered from what is unlawful and which they built up from a right which they withheld; they obtained it through [the path of] the unlawful and on account of it they took on the burden of sins; they depart under the weight of the burden of sin and go to their Lord in regret and anguish; such a person has lost both this world and the hereafter, and that is the manifest loss.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Look at this world as those who have no desire for it look at it, for indeed this world will soon remove those who dwell in it and strike the heedless pleasure-seekers with calamity and misfortune. Let not the abundance of what pleases you deceive you, for what will remain with you of this world is little. May Allah's mercy be upon one who reflects and takes a lesson, and pays attention to the passing away of the world and the presence of events. What has existed of this world, after a little time passes over it, is as though it never existed; and what will come into being of the hereafter is as though it will be eternal and everlasting; and whatever is to come is near. How many are those who have unattainable hopes; how many are those who gather what they themselves will not consume; and how many are those who withhold from something from which they have no escape. Perhaps [a person] has wealth that he has gathered from what is unlawful and has amassed from a right he has withheld; he has obtained it through the [path of] the unlawful, or has inherited it unjustly. Because of it he has borne the burden of sins, and he passes on with the heavy load of sin, and goes to Allah in regret and sorrow. Such a person has lost both this world and the hereafter, and that is the manifest loss.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Know — may Allah have mercy on you — that the earth belongs to Allah; He bestows it upon whomever He wills among His servants, and the (good) end is for the Allah-fearing (al-A'raf/128). And I narrate from Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) that he said: ... for it has been narrated that khums is due on the tailor from his needle and on the craftsman from his craft. Therefore, upon everyone who acquires wealth through these means, khums is obligatory. So if he pays it, he has discharged the right of Allah that was obligatory upon him, and he becomes exposed to an increase in wealth, and the rest of his wealth becomes lawful and pure for him. And Allah is Powerful and Able over what He has promised His servants regarding the increase of wealth and the purification from miserliness — in such a manner that He makes him independent of the unlawful wealth in his possession, in which he has been miserly. [So the one who does not pay] خَسِرَ الدُّنْیا وَ الْآخِرَةَ ذلِکَ هُوَ الْخُسْرانُ الْمُبِین [he has lost this world and the hereafter; that is the manifest loss]. So fear Allah and pay Allah's right from what is in your possession, so that Allah may place blessing in the rest of your wealth and purify it.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Suhan asked, "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)! ... Which of the people will have the greatest regret and remorse?" He (peace be upon him) said: "The one who is deprived of both this world and the hereafter — ذلِکَ هُوَ الْخُسْرانُ الْمُبِینُ [that is the manifest loss]."