سورة الفرقان

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud that he asked the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): "Which sin is the greatest of all sins?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Setting up a partner for the Allah who created you." Then he asked another question: "After shirk, which sin is greater?" His Eminence said: "Killing your child out of fear of not having sustenance for him." Then I said: "After this sin, which sin is greater?" He said: "Committing fornication with the wife of your neighbour."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Regarding the description of the believers who follow the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), it has come that Allah said: الَّذِینَ لا یَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللهِ إِلهاً آخَرَ [Those who do not call upon another god along with Allah].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sulayman ibn Khalid said: I was inside a howdah reciting the Quran when Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) called me: "O Sulayman! Recite!" At that moment I was reciting the verse وَ الَّذِینَ لَا یَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ وَ لَا یَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِی حَرَّمَ اللهُ إِلَّا بِالحَقِّ وَ لَا یَزْنُونَ وَ مَن یَفْعَلْ ذَلِکَ یَلْقَ أَثَامًا [And those who do not call upon another god along with Allah, and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except by right, and do not commit fornication — and whoever does that will meet a penalty]. Then the Imam said: "This verse was revealed concerning us. By Allah! Allah has admonished us, and He knows that we do not commit fornication."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Wahshi [the killer of Hamza, the Master of Martyrs (peace be upon him)] sent representatives, and a group of people came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "What prevents us from accepting your religion is this verse of the Quran which says: وَ الَّذینَ لا یَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللهِ إِلهاً آخَرَ وَ لا یَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتی حَرَّمَ اللهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ وَ لا یَزْنُونَ وَ مَنْ یَفْعَلْ ذلِکَ یَلْقَ أَثاماً [And those who do not call upon another god along with Allah, and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except by right, and do not commit fornication — and whoever does that will meet a penalty], because in the past we committed such deeds." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Whoever repents and performs righteous deeds, his past is overlooked." They said: "We fear that we will not be able to perform righteous deeds." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Indeed Allah does not forgive the sin of those who associate partners with Him, but forgives other sins for whomever He wills (Nisa/48)." Wahshi's representatives said: "We fear that we may not fall under Allah's will." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah says: My servants who have squandered against their own souls, say: never despair of Allah's mercy; surely Allah will forgive all your sins (Zumar/53)." Then they all came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to Wahshi: "Do not appear in my sight, because seeing the killer of Hamza (peace be upon him) is hard on me," and Wahshi emigrated to Syria.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amr ibn Ubayd came into the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). When he greeted the Imam and sat down, he said: "I would like to know the great sins from the book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic." The Imam said: "Yes; and Allah the Exalted has promised punishment to fornicators, as He says: and whoever does that will meet a penalty! His punishment will be multiplied on the Day of Resurrection, and he will remain in it in humiliation forever! (Furqan/68-69)."

Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him): Yahya ibn Aktham asked Musa ibn Muhammad about matters, one of which was: "Inform us about this verse: or [if He wills] He combines them, males and females (Shura/50). Does Allah marry men to one another, when He has punished a people because of that?" Musa asked his brother Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him), and among the Imam's (peace be upon him) answers was: "Allah the Exalted marries the obedient men to women from the houris, and the obedient women to the obedient men. Allah forbid that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, meant what you have deceived yourself with, seeking a licence to commit sins; مَنْ یَفْعَلْ ذلِکَ یَلْقَ أَثاماً، یُضاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذابُ یَوْمَ الْقِیامَةِ وَ یَخْلُدْ فِیهِ مُهاناً [Whoever does that will meet a penalty; his punishment will be multiplied on the Day of Resurrection, and he will remain in it in humiliation], if he does not repent."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ مَنْ یَفْعَلْ ذلِکَ یَلْقَ أَثاماً [And whoever does that shall meet with Atham]; Atham is a valley among the valleys of Hell that is full of molten substances, so that anyone who sets foot in it burns. The one who sets foot in it is he who has worshipped other than Allah and committed the killing of a soul and fornication.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): أَثاماً [Atham] is said to refer to a valley full of molten substances that comes out from the mouth of a volcano and is hotter than fire.