سورة النور

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Doubt has four branches: admiration of adornment, the whisperings of the soul, crooked interpretation, and mixing truth with falsehood. That is because adornment turns one away from clear proof, the whisperings of the soul plunge one into desire, crookedness inclines with great deviation, and mixing is darkness layer upon layer. That is disbelief, and its pillars and its branches.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hakim ibn Humran said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this verse: أَوْ کَظُلُماتٍ فِی بَحْرٍ لُجِّیٍّ یَغْشاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ [Or like utter darkness in the deep sea: there covers it a wave above which is another wave]. He said: "They are the people of the battles of Jamal, Siffin and Nahrawan; مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحابٌ ظُلُماتٌ بَعْضُها فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ [above which is a cloud, layers of darkness one above another]; this refers to the Banu Umayyah. إِذا أَخْرَجَ یَدَهُ [when he holds out his hand]; that is, when Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) stretched out his hand. لَمْ یَکَدْ یَراها [he is almost unable to see it]; the meaning is that when he spoke with wisdom, none accepted it from him except those who acknowledged his wilayah and imamah. وَ مَنْ لَمْ یَجْعَلِ اللهُ لَهُ نُوراً فَما لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ [and to whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light]; that is, whoever Allah has not appointed an Imam for in this world will have no light in the hereafter, meaning he will not have an Imam who guides him to Paradise and whom he follows to Paradise."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Hanifa was eating a meal with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). When the Imam withdrew his hand from the food, he said: الحَمْدُ لِلهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِینَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّ هَذَا مِنْکَ وَ مِنْ رَسُولِک [Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. O Allah, indeed this is from You and from Your Messenger]; meaning this blessing is from Allah and from Your Prophet. Abu Hanifa said: "O Aba Abdillah! You have set up a partner with Allah?" He said: "Woe to you! Allah says in the Quran: They resented only that Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His bounty! (Tawbah/74). And in another verse He says: [Whereas] if they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them, and had said, 'Allah is sufficient for us! Allah and His Messenger will soon give us of His bounty.' (Tawbah/59)." Abu Hanifa said: "By Allah, it is as though I had never read these two verses in the Quran, nor had I heard them until this moment." Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Yes, you have read them and heard them, but Allah has revealed this verse about you and those like you: Or are there locks upon their hearts?! (Muhammad/24). And He said: Nay, but that which they used to earn has become as rust upon their hearts! (Mutaffifin/14)."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Hurayra narrates: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "[One day] Jibril (peace be upon him) came to me and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Shall I give you glad tidings of what you will cross the Sirat bridge by [on the Day of Resurrection]?' I said: 'Yes!' He said: 'You will cross by the light of Allah, and Ali (peace be upon him) will cross by your light, and your light is taken from the light of Allah; and your ummah will cross by the light of Ali (peace be upon him), and the light of Ali (peace be upon him) is taken from your light; وَ مَنْ لَمْ یَجْعَلِ اللهُ لَهُ نُوراً فَما لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ [and to whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light].'"

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Muhammad ibn Thabit said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Ali (peace be upon him): "Indeed Allah the Exalted created me and you from His greatest light, then He sprinkled from our light upon all the lights after He had created them. So whoever was struck by that light was guided to us, and whoever was deprived of that light strayed from us." Then he recited this verse: وَ مَنْ لَمْ یَجْعَلِ اللهُ لَهُ نُوراً فَما لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ [And to whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light] to be guided to our light."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ مَنْ لَمْ یَجْعَلِ اللهُ لَهُ نُوراً فَما لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ [And to whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light]; that is, whoever Allah has not appointed an Imam for in this world, has no light in the hereafter, meaning he does not have an Imam to guide him and lead him to Paradise.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Whoever has something [such as a slave] flee from him, let him recite this verse: أَوْ کَظُلُماتٍ فِی بَحْرٍ لُجِّیٍّ یَغْشاهُ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ مَوْجٌ مِنْ فَوْقِهِ سَحابٌ ظُلُماتٌ بَعْضُها فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ إِذا أَخْرَجَ یَدَهُ لَمْ یَکَدْ یَراها وَ مَنْ لَمْ یَجْعَلِ اللهُ لَهُ نُوراً فَما لَهُ مِنْ نُورٍ [Or like utter darkness in the deep sea: there covers it a wave above which is another wave, above which is a cloud, layers of utter darkness one above another; when he holds out his hand, he is almost unable to see it; and to whomsoever Allah does not give light, he has no light].