سورة الفرقان

Imam Askari (peace be upon him) said regarding the interpretation of al-Rahman: al-Rahman is derived from rahim (womb/kinship). And Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) say: Allah has said: I am al-Rahman, and it is al-rahim. I have derived a name for it from My own name. Whoever joins it, I join him, and whoever severs it, I sever him ... Ali (peace be upon him) said: The kinship which Allah has separated by His saying "I am al-Rahman" is the kinship of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and the honouring of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the honouring of Allah, and the honouring of the kinship of the Prophet is the honouring of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). And every believing man and woman among our Shia is of the kinship of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and honouring them is honouring the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). So woe to the one who belittles the sanctity of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and blessed is the one who magnifies it, honours his kinship and joins them.

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): O son of Mas'ud! Have tranquillity of heart and dignity; be easy-going, gentle, chaste, pious, righteous, truthful, sincere, sound, wise, patient, thankful, believing, virtuous, worshipful, ascetic, compassionate, learned and understanding, for Allah says: "Indeed Ibrahim was forbearing, given to supplication, oft-returning [to Allah]." (Hud/75) وَ عِبادُ الرَّحْمنِ الَّذِینَ یَمْشُونَ عَلَی الْأَرْضِ هَوْناً وَ إِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الْجاهِلُونَ قالُوا سَلاماً وَ الَّذِینَ یَبِیتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّداً وَ قِیاماً [And the servants of the Beneficent are those who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them they say: Peace; and those who spend the night before their Lord, prostrating and standing]. And the verse: "They shall not speak to people except with kindness." (Baqarah/83) The believers, when they pass by vain and futile matters, pass them by with disregard; and those who say: "Our Lord, grant us, from our spouses and offspring, [those who are] the coolness of our eyes, and make us leaders of the pious" — these are the ones who will be given the lofty chambers of Paradise as a reward for their patience and endurance, and they will be met with greetings and peace, and they will abide forever in Paradise, which is an excellent and beautiful abode. (Furqan/72-76)

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O Kumayl! Charity increases in the sight of Allah. O Kumayl! The good character of the believer is from humility, his beauty is chastity, his honour is compassion, and his dignity is abandoning idle talk. O Kumayl, avoid disputation, for you attach the foolish to yourself and ruin brotherhood. O Kumayl! Whenever you debate about Allah, do not address anyone except the wise, and this is a necessary word. O Kumayl, these people are foolish, as Allah the Exalted has said: "Shall we believe as the fools have believed? Know that they are indeed the fools, but they do not know." (Baqarah/13) O Kumayl, in every category there is a group loftier than another group; avoid debate with the lowly among them, and whatever they say, endure it, and be among those whom Allah the Exalted has described with His saying: وَ إِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الْجاهِلُونَ قالُوا سَلاماً [And when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace]!

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah: After the end of the Battle of the Camel, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) came to Basra. Ahnaf ibn Qays arranged a banquet in honour of him and his companions. The Imam went to his house and said: "O Ahnaf! Call my companions to come." At this point a group entered the gathering who were in the utmost state of humility and brokenness, like worn-out waterskins. Ahnaf asked: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)! What ails these people? Have they become so weak from not eating, or from the terror and dread of war?" The Imam said: "No, O Ahnaf! Allah the Glorified has accepted groups who have undertaken austerity in this world for His sake, for they consider themselves close to the Day of Resurrection; before they see that Day, they have driven themselves into hardship and austerity. They are such that whenever they recall the morning of Resurrection and the moment they will be presented before Allah, they remember the necks [of fire] that will emerge from Hellfire, and they recall that people will be gathered before their Lord, while an open scroll of which all become aware has recorded their evil deeds and sins. From the intensity of their dread, their souls are about to melt away, or their hearts are about to fly off all at once on the wings of fear and part from the intellect — when the resolve toward Allah the Glorified brings them to boiling and surging. They moan like lovers moaning with longing in the darkness of nights; they are continually seized with panic from the fear of the deeds of which they themselves are aware. They pass through the world with withered, dried-out bodies, grief-stricken hearts, dark and lustreless faces, wilted lips, empty bellies clinging to their backs. You see them in their state of hunger like people faint and like night-watchers speaking through the wilderness of night, and in the utmost humility and brokenness they are like worn-out waterskins. In secret and openly they work only for Allah, and out of dread of Him their hearts are not at ease for a moment (they are always awake and alert), as though they are guards over storehouses of provisions. O Ahnaf! If you were to see them at night — when eyes are asleep, sounds are still, movements are quiet, and the birds are in their nests — they, from the fear and dread of the Day of Resurrection, have no rest; the warnings of punishment have kept them from repose. As Allah has said: أَ فَأَمِنَ أَهْلُ الْقُری أَنْ یَأْتِیَهُمْ بَأْسُنا بَیاتاً وَ هُمْ نائِمُونَ [Do the people of the towns then feel secure from Our punishment coming to them by night while they sleep?] (al-A'raf/97). From the terror of Allah's punishment, they start up from sleep in dread and fear, and with moans and sighs they stand for prayer; sometimes they weep and sometimes they glorify Allah, they shed tears in the prayer-niche of worship, the sound of their moaning resounds, and in the dark black night they stand in rows and weep. O Ahnaf! If in the night you were to look upon that people, you would see people standing on their feet, their backs bent; they are in prayer and reciting the Qur'an; their moaning and crying and burning and yearning are intense. They weep so that you would imagine the fire of Hell has that instant seized them by the throat, and when they moan you would suppose that chains of fire are torturing their necks. And if you were to see them by day, you would see that they walk on the earth with humility and calm, and speak kindly with people; وَ إِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الْجاهِلُونَ قالُوا سَلاماً [and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace] — whenever ignorant people address them, they reply with peace of soul [and a good tongue]. And whenever they pass by vain talk, they pass by nobly (al-Furqan/72). They have bound their feet from places of accusation, they have silenced their tongues from speaking about people, they have stopped their ears so that the speech of idle talkers does not enter, they have applied kohl to their eyes by lowering their gaze from sins, and their reliance and confidence is on the Abode of Peace — such that whoever enters it is safe from every anxiety and sorrow."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The believers are those who know what lies before them. Their lips are dry, their eyes are cast down, and their colours have changed, so that the marks of humility can be seen on their faces. They are the servants of Allah who walk upon the earth calmly and with tranquillity. They have taken the earth as a spread-out carpet and its dust as a soft bed. They have abandoned the world and turned toward the hereafter. And upon the way of Isa the Messiah (peace be upon him), if they are present they are not recognised, and if they are absent they are not missed. If they fall ill, no one visits them. In intense heat they fast, and in dark nights they keep vigil. In their presence every discord vanishes and every doubt and error is dispelled. They are my companions! Seek them in the wide expanse of the world. If you meet one of them, ask him to seek forgiveness for you.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): This verse was revealed concerning us.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): From the verse وَ عِبادُ الرَّحْمنِ [And the servants of the Beneficent] up to [the verse] حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَ مُقاماً [Goodly the abode and the resting-place] pertains exclusively to the awsiya (successors) (peace be upon them).

Ali ibn Ibrahim: They are the Imams (peace be upon them).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): From the verses الَّذِینَ یَمْشُونَ عَلَی الْأَرْضِ هَوْناً [Those who walk on the earth in humbleness] up to [the verse] حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَ مُقاماً [Goodly the abode and the resting-place], which is about thirteen verses, was revealed concerning the divine awsiya (successors), who walk upon the earth with calmness and without arrogance. When the Proof of the Truth (i.e. al-Qa'im) (peace be upon him) rises, every spiteful enemy (nasib) will be presented to him: if he acknowledges Islam — which is the acceptance of wilayah — he is set free; and if he refuses to accept wilayah, his neck is struck, unless he accepts to pay the jizyah as the People of the Book (ahl al-dhimmah) pay it.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِینَ یَمْشُونَ عَلَی الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا [And the servants of the Beneficent are those who walk on the earth in humbleness] — indeed, the awsiya (successors) are the ones who walk gently out of fear of their enemy.

Ali ibn Ibrahim: They are the Imams (peace be upon them), who are wary in their walking upon the earth.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): This is a man who walks according to the nature upon which he was created — he does not affect any pretence and does not step with arrogance.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The root of humility is [awe] before the Majesty, Awe and Greatness of Allah, and there is no act of worship for Allah the Mighty and Majestic except that it arises from humility. What lies in the true meaning of humility is not understood by anyone except the near-drawn ones who are devoted to the One Allah; and Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: وَ عِبادُ الرَّحْمنِ الَّذِینَ یَمْشُونَ عَلَی الْأَرْضِ هَوْناً وَ إِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الْجاهِلُونَ قالُوا سَلاما [And the servants of the Beneficent are those who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: I asked, "O Messenger of Allah, who are the patient ones?" He said: "Those who are patient in obedience to the Truth and abstain from His disobedience; those who earn lawful wealth and spend with moderation and give in charity what is beyond their expenses, and so they prosper and become righteous. Son of Mas'ud! Upon them is reverence, dignity, tranquility, reflection, gentleness, justice, taking of lessons, planning, taqwa (Allah-consciousness), doing good, love and enmity for the sake of Allah, discharging trusts, justice in judgement, upholding testimony, aiding the people of truth, and pardoning those who wrong them. Son of Mas'ud! When afflicted they are patient, when given they are grateful, when they judge they follow the path of justice, they are truthful in speech and faithful to their promises, if any wrong or slip occurs from them they seek forgiveness, and if they do a good deed they rejoice, وَ إِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الْجاهِلُونَ قالُوا سَلاماً وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً. وَ الَّذِینَ یَبِیتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّداً وَ قِیاماً [and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace; and when they pass by vain talk, they pass by nobly; and those who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing]. And the verse: Speak good to the people (Baqarah/83). And when they face the harsh words of the ignorant, they respond instead with peace, and when they pass by vain and futile matters, they pass by with disregard and nobility, and at night they stand in prayer before their Creator and fall into prostration. By the One who sent me in truth as a prophet, indeed they are the successful ones."