سورة الحج

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sallam ibn Mustanir said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), regarding this word of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: الَّذینَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِیارِهِمْ بِغَیْرِ حَقٍّ إِلاَّ أَنْ یَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللهُ [Those who have been expelled from their homes without just cause, except that they say: Our Lord is Allah], said: "This verse was revealed concerning the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), Imam Ali (peace be upon him), Hamza (may Allah have mercy on him) and Ja'far (may Allah have mercy on him), and it also flowed regarding Imam Husayn (peace be upon him); peace be upon them all."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed concerning Imam Ali (peace be upon him), Ja'far (may Allah have mercy on him) and Hamza (may Allah have mercy on him), and it also flowed regarding Imam Husayn (peace be upon him); peace and blessings be upon them.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The intended meaning of the verse الَّذِینَ أُخْرِجُوا... [Those who have been expelled...] is Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), at the time when Yazid sent for the Imam (peace be upon him) to force him to go to Sham [in order to give allegiance], and the Imam went to Kufa and was martyred at Karbala.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The verse الَّذِینَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِیارِهِمْ بِغَیْرِ حَقٍّ [Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause] was revealed concerning us [the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Regarding this saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [where He says:] الَّذِینَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِیارِهِمْ بِغَیْرِ حَقٍّ [Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause], Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "This verse was revealed exclusively concerning us — that is, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and his descendants (peace be upon them) — and concerning the crimes that were committed against Lady Fatima (peace be upon her)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed concerning the Muhajirin and [also] came to apply to the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) — those same ones who were driven out of their homes [and city] without any right, and [whose enemies] cast fear and terror into their hearts.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The verse أُذِنَ لِلَّذِینَ یُقاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا [Permission is given to those who fight because they have been wronged] was revealed concerning the Muhajirin, whom the people of Mecca drove out of their city and away from their properties; and because of the injustice the people of Mecca were inflicting upon them, waging jihad against them was made lawful for the Muhajirin and they were granted permission to fight.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): what is meant by "صلوات" is the places of worship of the Jews, which [in the Hebrew language] are called "صَلُوتا", and in the Arabic language it has taken the form "صلوات".

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Kazim (peace be upon him), regarding this statement of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [where He says:] وَ لَوْ لا دَفْعُ اللهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَهُدِّمَتْ صَوامِعُ وَ بِیَعٌ وَ صَلَواتٌ وَ مَساجِدُ یُذْکَرُ فیهَا اسْمُ اللهِ کَثیراً [And were it not for Allah's repelling some people by means of others, cloisters, churches, synagogues and mosques in which Allah's name is much remembered would have been demolished], narrated from his noble father Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "What the verse means is the Imams (peace be upon them), who are the leaders of the ummah; and had it not been for their patience [in the way of Allah] and their waiting for relief from Allah, [each one of them would have risen against the oppressors and] would have been killed along with a large number of people [and this would have caused the closure of mosques and places of worship...]. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: وَ لَیَنْصُرَنَّ اللهُ مَنْ یَنْصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللهَ لَقَوِیٌّ عَزیزٌ [And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause; indeed Allah is Strong, Mighty]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah has made obligatory upon you the fight against the oppressors and aggressors of your ummah on account of their oppression, and has made obligatory the helping of the callers to the truth who invite to Allah and to the Quran. In the Quran He says: وَ لَیَنْصُرَنَّ اللهُ مَنْ یَنْصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللهَ لَقَوِیٌّ عَزِیزٌ [And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause; indeed Allah is Strong, Mighty].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Humran said: "I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this statement of Allah the Mighty and Majestic [where He said:] وَ لَوْ لا دَفْعُ اللهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ ... [And were it not for Allah's repelling some people by means of others...]." The Imam said: "There were righteous people who, for fear that evildoers might corrupt [the religion of] them, kept themselves apart from that group, and Allah, by means of that very evil people, defended the righteous [against the disbelievers], without those evildoers having any reward for this deed of theirs; and the same situation exists among us as well" (meaning: Allah continually defends the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) against the disbelievers by means of the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt such as the Banu Umayya and the Banu Abbas).

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The Quraysh gathered before Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) ... Mut'im ibn Adi said: "O Abu Talib! By Allah, your people and tribe have dealt with you with fairness and justice [by presenting this proposal that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) desist from his call and they in turn desist from opposing him], and they have striven to be relieved of what you dislike; but I see that you do not wish to accept any proposal from them!" Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "By Allah, they have not dealt with me with fairness and justice; rather, your aim [in stating these words] is to place me in helplessness and to mobilise the people against me. Do whatever you wish." After this incident, every tribe attacked the Muslims within it, tormenting and harassing them and trying to turn them from their religion, and they mocked the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Allah protected His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) from [their harm] through his uncle Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him). When Abu Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) observed the harassment of the Quraysh, he stood up among the Banu Hashim and called all of them, except Abu Lahab, to do as he was doing in protecting the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and standing with him; as Allah has said: وَ لَیَنْصُرَنَّ اللهُ مَنْ یَنْصُرُهُ [And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause]. And a group of Quraysh came from the land of Ta'if and opposed this action, and a sedition broke out [in Makkah], and finally the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) commanded the Muslims to go to the land of Abyssinia.