سورة الحج

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It has been narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) concerning the verse: وَهُدُوا إِلَی الطَّیِّبِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوا إِلَی صِرَاطِ الْحَمِیدِ [And they are guided to goodly words and they are guided into the path of the Praised One], he said: "The verse refers to Hamza (may Allah have mercy on him), Ja'far (may Allah have mercy on him), Ubayda, Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), Abu Dharr (may Allah have mercy on him), Miqdad ibn al-Aswad (may Allah have mercy on him) and Ammar (may Allah have mercy on him), who were guided to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Durays al-Kunasi said: "I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this word of Allah [in which He has said:] وَهُدُوا إِلَی الطَّیِّبِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوا إِلَی صِرَاطِ الْحَمِیدِ [And they are guided to goodly words and they are guided into the path of the Praised One]." The Imam said: "By Allah! What is meant is this very matter of wilayah which you (the Shia) believe in."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَهُدُوا إِلَی الطَّیِّبِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ [And they are guided to goodly words] — that is, [they are guided to] tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and ikhlas (sincerity); وَهُدُوا إِلَی صِرَاطِ الْحَمِیدِ [and they are guided to the path of the Praised One] — that is, [they are guided] to wilayah (guardianship).

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِلَی صِرَاطِ الْعَزِیزِ الْحَمِیدِ [to the path of the Mighty, the Praised One] (Ibrahim/1) — that you may guide [them] to the path of the Mighty and Praised Allah. What is meant by sirat (path) is the clear road and the leadership of the Imams (peace be upon them).

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Sa'sa'a ibn Suhan said: "One day, after a heavy rain in Madinah and the weather having cleared, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) went out of the city together with Abu Bakr. As they left the city, they saw Ali (peace be upon him) coming toward them. When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) saw Ali (peace be upon him), he said: 'Welcome to my close beloved!' Then he recited the verse: وَهُدُوا إِلَی صِرَاطِ الْحَمِیدِ [and they are guided into the path of the Praised One], and said: 'O Ali (peace be upon him)! You are one of them.'"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The path of the Praised One is the path of Islam and the path of [reaching] Paradise.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَهُدُوا إِلَی الطَّیِّبِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ [And they are guided to goodly words] means that the believers are guided to bearing witness that there is no god but the One Allah, and that praise belongs to Allah alone.