سورة الفرقان

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Allah accepts a person's deeds only through the wilayah (guardianship) of us Ahl al-Bayt, and whoever does not hold the wilayah of us Ahl al-Bayt will fall under this verse: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلى ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sulayman ibn Khalid said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: وَ قَدِمْنَا إِلَی مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust]. He said: "By Allah, their deeds were whiter (purer) than Coptic cloths. But whenever something forbidden was presented to them, they would not leave it."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): On the Day of Judgement, Allah will present the deeds of a group like white [Coptic] cloth, and they will be addressed to go toward their deeds and gather them. But when they draw near to their deeds, by Allah's command those deeds turn into scattered particles of dust, and this is the meaning of: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلى ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust]. By Allah! They were people of prayer and fasting, but when confronted with the forbidden they did not restrain themselves and had no fear of committing it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Hudhayfah in a marfu' hadith narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) that he said: "On the Day of Judgement a group will come who have good deeds as great as mountains, and Allah will make them like scattered dust [in the air]. Then the order will be issued to cast them into the Fire." Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Describe these people to us." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Be aware that these people used to fast and pray in this world, and would take provision from the night [for worship], but if something forbidden came before them, they would leap toward it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Even if their deeds were whiter than Coptic cloths, Allah the Mighty and Majestic says to those deeds: Become like dust. And that is because whenever a forbidden transaction becomes customary and widespread, they turn toward it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sulayman ibn Khalid said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: "The deeds of the servants are presented every Thursday to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), but on the day when the reality of the deeds becomes clear, the Lord Himself judges. This is the meaning of: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلی ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust]." I said: "May my soul be your ransom, O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Whose deeds meet such a fate?" He said: "The deeds of our enemies and the enemies of our Shia."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Ishaq al-Laythi said: I came into the blessed presence of Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Among your enemies and opponents I find people who perform much prayer and fasting and give zakat, and continually perform Hajj and Umrah, and have zeal for jihad, and are eager for good deeds and praiseworthy acts, and maintain ties of kinship, and fulfil the rights of their brothers, and share their wealth with others in equal treatment, and avoid drinking wine, and do not commit adultery or sodomy or the other indecencies — for what reason and on what account is this?" He said: "O Ibrahim! Tell me, how did you find the [religious] beliefs of those two groups?" ... I said: "I found the Nasibi to be as you described their deeds: if all that lies between the east and the west were filled with gold and silver and given to one of them so that he might turn away from love of the taghuts and their walaya to your walaya and love, he would not do it and would not turn away; and if their noses were struck with swords in [defence of] them, or if they were killed for them, they would not desist and would not return. And when one of them hears a virtue or an excellence of yours, he becomes distressed by it and is repulsed by it, his colour changes, and the marks of aversion are seen on his face — out of hatred for you and love for them." Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) smiled and said: "O Ibrahim! It is here that the striving, toiling one perishes — تَصْلی ناراً حامِیَةً تُسْقی مِنْ عَیْنٍ آنِیَةٍ [They will enter a blazing Fire, and be given to drink from a boiling spring] (al-Ghashiya/54). And it is for this reason that Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلی ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Ishaq al-Laythi said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Tell me about the believing Shia of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him): when he has matured and become complete in gnosis, does he commit fornication?" He said, "No." I said, "Does he commit sodomy?" He said, "No." I said, "Does he steal?" He said, "No." I said, "Does he drink wine?" He said, "No." I said, "Does any sin issue from him?" He said, "No." I was bewildered at those answers and greatly astonished. I said, "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), I know among the Shia of the Commander of the Faithful and among your friends one who drinks wine, consumes usury, commits fornication and sodomy, and is lax in the matter of prayer, zakat, fasting, hajj, jihad and every path of good — to the extent that his believing brother comes to him with a small need and he does not fulfil it for him. How is such a thing possible, and what is the reason for this matter?" The Imam smiled and said, "O Abu Ishaq! Have you anything else to say besides what you have said?" I said, "Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! I can point out to you a Nasibi in whose disbelief I have no doubt, yet who abstains from all of these things; he does not deem wine lawful, nor a single dirham of a Muslim's property, and he is not lax in prayer, zakat, fasting, hajj, jihad, or in seeing to the needs of the Muslims, and he stands up for Allah. How is such a thing possible? And why?" ... He said, "O Ibrahim! Take the answer to your question: there is an inner knowledge, a treasure from the knowledge of Allah the Exalted, which Allah — great is His majesty — has bestowed upon His Messenger, and His Messenger bestowed upon his successor, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)." Then he recited this verse: عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ مِنْ رَسُولٍ [He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone except a messenger whom He has chosen] (Jinn/26). "Woe to you, O Ibrahim! You asked me about the believing Shia of our master the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), and you asked about the ascetics of the Nasibis and their devotees. Allah has said: وَ قَدِمْنَا إِلَىٰ مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا [And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make them scattered floating dust]. And it is from here that the one who has striven and toiled is destroyed. And they are continually tormented in the blazing fire of hell and are given to drink from the boiling springs of hell (Ghashiya/5). Thus has the Nasibi resolved. وَ قَدِمْنَا إِلَىٰ مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا. And He has said: يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا [They think they are doing good work] (Kahf/104). And He has said: 'Just as [today] they remember you and suppose they can accomplish something — know that they are the liars!' (Mujadala/18). And He has said: الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا [Those who disbelieve — their deeds are like a mirage in a desert, which the thirsty person supposes to be water from afar, but when he comes to it he finds nothing] (Nur/39)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza al-Thumali narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will raise up a group before whom there is a light like the shimmer of Coptic cloth, then it will be said to that light: become هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [scattered dust]. By Allah, O Abu Hamza! They used to fast and pray, but whenever some forbidden thing became possible for them, they would do it, and whenever anything of the virtues of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was mentioned to them, they would deny it." And he said: "هَباءً مَنْثُوراً, or scattered dust, is that same dust which you see entering the house along with the ray of the sun through an opening in the roof."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A man asked Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)! Explain to me what Allah has said concerning the state of the Day of Resurrection: هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [as scattered dust] — what is it?" Ali (peace be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, [the deeds of the criminals] will appear as dusts and specks which, when animals move, are scattered very faintly into the air from beneath their hooves." That same man asked Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "How is هَباءً مُنْبَثًّا [as dust dispersed]?" His eminence, again in explanation of this verse [which concerns the deeds of the criminals on the Day of Resurrection], said: "Their deeds will be like the faint light of the sun which shines through the window into the room, and it is very worthless and of little benefit."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ammar al-Sabati said: I was sitting with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) when a man entered. The Imam (peace be upon him) glanced at him and said: "How ugly it is for one whom a man deems trustworthy to then betray him." When that man left, the Imam said to Ammar al-Sabati: "Did you recognise this man?" I said: "No, by Allah! But on one of the nights when I had stopped at a caravanserai, I saw this man standing in prayer, and he prayed in such a way as I have not seen anyone else pray, and he recited supplications such as I had never heard before." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "He is Zurara ibn A'yan, who is among those included in this verse: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلى ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): One of the companions of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Some of the Shia who have deviated from the religion say: the essence of religion is ma'rifah (recognition and knowledge), and once recognition is attained, a person is free to do whatever he wishes." Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) recited the verse of istirja: "We belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return" (Baqarah/156). [And he said:] "These disbelievers interpret what they do not know, whereas the truth of the matter is recognition and acting in the path of obedience to Allah — for it is then that a deed is accepted, since Allah does not accept any deed without recognition." The Imam (peace be upon him) continued: "If a person performs all righteous deeds, fasts throughout his days, spends his nights in worship, spends his wealth in the way of Allah, and devotes his whole life to the obedience of Allah, but does not recognise the Prophet who brought these obligations and does not obey the Imam of his time, he will gain no benefit from his deeds. Concerning such people this verse was revealed: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلی ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust]."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Shaykh Ahmad ibn Fahd in the book "Uddat al-Da'i" said: Shaykh Abu Muhammad Ja'far ibn Ali ibn Ahmad al-Qummi, a resident of Rayy, in the book "al-Munbi 'an Zuhd al-Nabi," narrates from Abd al-Rahman, from a person who narrated the hadith to him, that he said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal: "Relate to me a hadith which you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and which you memorized on account of the precision and subtlety of his speech." He said: "Very well." Then Mu'adh began to weep and said: "By my father and my mother, I swear that while I was travelling a road with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and I was seated behind him, and he was speaking with me, he suddenly raised his gaze to the sky," and he said: "Praise be to Allah, who carries out among His servants whatever He wills." Then he said: "O Mu'adh!" I said: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and master of the believers!" Again he said: "O Mu'adh!" I said: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), O imam of good and prophet of mercy!" He said: "I shall tell you words that no prophet has told his community, and if you memorize them they will benefit your life, and if you hear them and do not memorize them, you will have no argument or excuse before Allah, and the proof will be established against you." Then he said: "Indeed Allah, before He created the heavens, created seven angels, and in every heaven He placed an angel whom He had adorned with His majesty, and at every door of the heavens He appointed an angel as a gatekeeper. These angels record the deeds of a person from morning until evening, then they carry them up while they possess a light like the light of the sun, until they reach the lowest heaven and they purify the deeds and increase them. Then the angel says: 'Halt! Strike the face of the owner of this deed with it. I am the angel of backbiting (ghibah), and whoever backbites, I do not let his deed pass me on to the next angel, for so has my Lord commanded me.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) continued: "Then the next morning the angels appointed over deeds come toward the heaven, and with them is a righteous deed which they carry, and they adorn it and increase it, until they bring it to the second heaven. Suddenly the angel of the second heaven says: 'Halt! Strike the face of the owner of this deed with it, for by these acts he desired the goods of this world, and I am the master of this world, and I do not let his deed pass me on to the next angel.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) continued and said: "Then the angels appointed over the preservation of deeds gladly carry up the servant's deed of charity and prayer to the heaven, while they are astonished at that deed, and they bring it up to the [next] heaven. The angel says: 'Halt! Strike the face and the back of the owner of this deed with it. I am the angel of the arrogant.' And he says: 'He performed this act, but in his gatherings he showed arrogance toward the people, and my Lord commanded me not to let his deed reach the next angel.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Then the angels appointed over deeds carry the servant's deed up while it shines like a brilliant star in the sky, and from his deeds resounds the reverberation of tasbih and fasting and hajj, and they bring it to the fourth heaven. There the angel says to them: 'Halt! Strike the face and the belly of the owner of this deed with it. I am the angel of self-admiration (ujb); indeed he was self-admiring of himself. He performed these deeds but allowed conceit into himself. My Lord has commanded me not to let his deeds reach another.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) continued: "The angels appointed over deeds continue carrying the servant's deed up like a bride being led to her husband's house, up to the angel of the fifth heaven, and they carry his jihad and prayers and the prayers between the obligatory prayers, while it has a sound like the sound of a camel and a light like the light of the sun." The angel says: "Halt! I am the angel of envy. Strike the face of the owner of this deed with it and hang it upon his shoulder. He used to envy people who learned knowledge or obeyed Allah, and whenever he saw in someone an excellence in deed or worship, he envied him and disparaged him. So it comes about that this person carries his own deed on his shoulder while the deed curses him." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) continued: "The angels appointed over deeds carry up the servant's prayer, zakat, hajj and umrah, and bring them to the sixth heaven. Suddenly the angel of that heaven says: 'Halt! I am the angel of mercy. Strike the face of the owner of this deed with it and blind his eyes, for the owner of this deed had no mercy on anything. Whenever a servant of Allah's servants committed a sin concerning his hereafter or suffered harm in this world, he would rebuke him, and my Lord has commanded me not to let his deed pass me.'" Then His Excellency said: "The angels appointed over deeds carry up the servant's deed with his jurisprudence and diligence and piety, while it has a sound like thunder and a light like the light of the sun, and with him are three thousand angels, and they bring it to the seventh heaven. Suddenly the angel says: 'Halt! Strike the face of the owner of this deed with it. I am the angel of the veil, and I veil every deed that is not for Allah. This person sought greatness in the eyes of the people and wished to gain fame in gatherings and cities, and my Lord has commanded me not to let his deed pass me so long as it is not purely for Allah.'" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) continued: "The angels who preserve the deeds carry up the servant's deed — which is prayer, zakat, fasting, hajj, umrah, good character, silence and abundant remembrance, and with which the servant is well pleased — while the angels of the heavens and the seven angels accompany it, and they push aside all the veils until they stand before Allah the Glorified, and they bear witness for the person that his deed is righteous and they pray for him. Then Allah says: 'You are the preservers of my servant's deeds, and I am the watcher over what has passed within him. He did not seek Me by this deed. My curse be upon him.' The angels also say: 'Your curse and our curse be upon him.'" Then Mu'adh wept and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), what shall I do, and how shall I have sincerity (ikhlas) in my deed?" His Excellency said: "O Mu'adh! In the matter of certainty, follow the example of your Prophet." I said: "You are the Messenger of Allah, and I am Mu'adh!" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Mu'adh! If there be shortcoming in your deed, hold your tongue back from your brothers and from the bearers of the Qur'an! Your sin must be upon yourself; do not attribute it to your brothers, do not exonerate your ego by denouncing your brothers, do not raise yourself by belittling your brothers, do not show off (riya) in your deeds, do not bring anything of evil deeds into the hereafter, do not speak foully in your gatherings with others lest others avoid keeping company with you because of your bad character, and when you are with someone, do not whisper with another, and do not be arrogant toward people, so that you are not deprived of the good things of this world, and beware of tearing people apart, lest the dogs particular to the people of Hell tear you apart. Allah the Blessed and Exalted has said: وَ النَّاشِطاتِ نَشْطاً [And by those who draw out (the souls of the believers) gently — Naziat/2]. Do you know what al-nashitat is? They are the dogs of the people of Hell that pull out flesh and bone." I said: "Who has the endurance for these traits?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Mu'adh! Know that these traits are easy for the one for whom Allah wills them to be easy." I did not see Mu'adh reciting the Qur'an as often as he repeated this hadith.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): In Tafsir Imam Askari (peace be upon him) it is recorded: The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Whoever pays zakat to its rightful recipient, and offers the prayer at its appointed times and within its prescribed limits, and does not commit any of the destructive sins that would nullify these two acts, will come on the Day of Resurrection in such a state that everyone present in the plain of the Resurrection will envy him, until the breeze of Paradise carries him up to the highest chambers of Paradise, into the presence of those he loves — namely Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his pure family (peace be upon them). And whoever is stingy in paying his zakat but performs his prayer, his prayer is held back a little below the sky until news of his zakat arrives. If he has paid it, [the zakat] takes the form of one of the finest mounts to carry his prayer upward, and it carries it up to before the Throne. Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: 'Go towards the gardens of Paradise and keep galloping in them until the Day of Resurrection, and wherever your galloping ends, all of it belongs to the one who sent you.' From that day until the Day of Resurrection he begins to gallop, and with every gallop, in the space of the blink of an eye, he covers the distance of a year's journey, until that mount brings the prayer to wherever Allah wills. All that expanse belongs to him, and the same amount to his right, to his left, in front of him, behind him, above him and below him belongs to him. But if he has been stingy about paying his zakat and has not paid it, the prayer is commanded to return to its owner, and it is folded up like an old worn-out garment, and then it is struck against his face, and he is told: 'O servant of Allah! What did you want to do with prayer without zakat?' Imam Askari (peace be upon him) continued: "The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'What can be worse than this state?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Shall I first inform you about someone whose state is worse than this?' They said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah!' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'A man who was present in jihad in the way of Allah, and while facing the enemy — not fleeing — was killed, and the houris of Paradise were awaiting him and the keepers of the gardens of Paradise were waiting for the arrival of his soul before them, and the angels of the heavens and the earth were waiting for the descent of the houris upon him — yet the keeper-angels of Paradise did not come to him, and the earthly angels around that martyr said: "What has happened that the houris are not descending upon him and what has happened that the keeper-angels of Paradise are not coming to him?" Then a call comes to them from above the seventh heaven: "O angels! Look at the horizons of the sky and a little below it." They look, and they see that his tawhid and his faith in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and his prayer and zakat and charity and his righteous deeds are all held back below the sky, and all the horizons of the sky are packed like a great caravan, filling the space between the furthest east and west and the places where the north and south winds blow. The angels in charge of those deeds, who carry them and bring them into the heavens, say: "What has happened that the gates of the sky are not opened for us, that we might bring in the deeds of this martyr?" Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, orders that the gates of the sky be opened, and they are opened. Then Allah addresses those angels: "Enter the sky if you are able." But their wings have no strength to carry them, and they cannot raise those deeds upward, and for this reason they say: "Our Lord! We have no power to raise these deeds." Then the herald of our Lord calls out: "O angels! You have no power to carry and raise these burdens. Indeed, those who carry them and raise them are its mounts, which bring it below the Throne and place it in the ranks of Paradise." The angels say: "Our Lord! What are its mounts?" Then Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: "What have you brought from him?" They say: "His tawhid to You and his faith in Your Messenger." Then Allah says: "The mounts to carry these deeds are the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him), the brother of My Messenger, and the wilayah of the pure Imams (peace be upon them). If the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him) is with him, it carries it and raises it up and places it in Paradise." Then they look and observe that this man has none of these; he has no share of the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his pure family, and no enmity toward their enemies. After this, Allah says to the angels who were the carriers of those deeds: "Move away from it and return to your stations in My kingdom, so that the one who is worthy of carrying it may come and place it where it deserves." So the angels return to their appointed stations. Then the herald of our Lord calls out: "O keepers of the Fire! Come and take these deeds and cast them into the depths of Hell, for the owner of these deeds has not provided for himself any mount from the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his pure family." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Then Allah calls those angels, and when the mount which is of the substance of the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him) is separated from those deeds and the angels announce his opposition to Ali (peace be upon him) and his friendship with the enemies of Ali (peace be upon him), Allah turns those deeds into a burden of sins and calamities upon the one who sent them, and sets the keepers of the Fire — who are in the form of lions — upon those deeds, which are in the form of crows and gnats. From the mouths of the lions a fire comes out that burns the deeds and destroys them all, and his friendship with the enemies of Ali (peace be upon him) and his denial of his wilayah remain. Then it places him in the depths of Hell, and it comes to pass that in an instant his deeds are gone and his sins and the burden of his evil deeds are increased. Thus the state of this person is worse than the state of the one who does not pay zakat but is steadfast in his prayer."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): "What is the matter with these people that whenever the family of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is mentioned they rejoice and their faces light up, but if the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is mentioned they find it distasteful in their hearts?" By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), if a servant were to bring on the Day of Resurrection deeds equal to the deeds of seventy prophets, Allah would not accept them from him until He sees him as an adherent of my wilayah and the wilayah of my family.