سورة الفرقان

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ الَّذِینَ لا یَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly] — it is us.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The meaning of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَالَّذِینَ لَا یَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ [And they who do not bear witness to what is false] is ghina (singing).

Ali ibn Ibrahim: وَالَّذِینَ لَا یَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ [And they who do not bear witness to what is false] [means] they do not participate in gatherings of falsehood and vanity.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah has made it obligatory upon the ear that it remain pure from listening to what is forbidden, and that it turn away from whatever is not lawful and has been deemed haram and provokes His wrath. And thus He said in His Book: وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly], meaning that the sign of faith is not listening to what is not lawful, which Allah has made obligatory upon the ears.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah made faith obligatory upon the limbs of the human being and distributed it among them; consequently there is no limb to which faith has been assigned more than another. Among them are the human being's ears, with which he hears sounds. He made it obligatory upon the ear that it stay away from lending itself to what Allah has forbidden, and that it guard itself from what provokes Allah's wrath. He said: وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly]. This is what Allah has made obligatory upon the ear as part of faith, namely that they do not listen to what is not lawful. Acting upon this is the sign of faith.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said in his testament to his son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah: "Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic assigned to each of your limbs a specific obligation and stated it explicitly. Thus He made it obligatory upon the ear that it not lend itself to sins, and He said: وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly], and Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: 'And those who, when they hear vain talk, turn away from it' (al-Qasas/55). So this is what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has made obligatory upon the ear, and it is the ear's action."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about وَ الَّذِینَ لا یَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly]. He said: "That is, they do not take part in gatherings of music and chess."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amr ibn Ubayd said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "I would like to know the major sins from the Quran..." He said: "...and false testimony and the concealment of testimony, for Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: وَ الَّذِینَ لا یَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ [And they who do not bear witness to what is false]."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): [Ibn Mas'ud] said: I went with five of the companions to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)... We said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Who are the patient ones?" He said: Those who are patient in obeying the Truth and abstain from disobeying Him... O son of Mas'ud! These are the ones who, when they are afflicted, endure patiently; when they are given something, they give thanks; when they judge, they judge justly; when they speak, they speak truthfully; when they make a covenant, they fulfill it; when they do wrong [and commit an ugly act], they seek forgiveness from Allah; and when they do good, they rejoice. وَ إِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الْجاهِلُونَ قالُوا سَلاماً وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً وَ الَّذِینَ یَبِیتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّداً وَ قِیاماً وَ یَقُولُونَ لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنا [And when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace; and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly; and those who spend the night before their Lord prostrate and standing; and they speak kindly to people].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Regarding the verse: وَ إِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِرَامًا [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly], it is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "They are those who, when they want to speak about the private parts, refer to them by allusion."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It reached Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that a group had entered the city of Kufa and had taken as their lodging a house that was a venue for music. The Imam (peace be upon him) said to them: "Why did you do this?" They said: "We could not find a house, and we did not know; when we entered, we realized." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "When you came to know, it was incumbent upon you to pass by it nobly, for Allah says thus: وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly]."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Abbad said: I asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him) about music that reaches a person's ears. The Imam said: "The people of Hijaz have an opinion on this matter, but their opinion is not correct, for Allah says: وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Ayyub al-Khazzaz said: "When we entered the city of Medina, we came to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). The Imam (peace be upon him) asked us about our lodging." We said: "We are staying in the house of so-and-so, who has singing women." The master said: "Be noble." Abu Ayyub said: "We did not understand what the Imam (peace be upon him) meant, and we took it that the Imam (peace be upon him) was saying, 'Be generous to him.'" We returned and said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Master, we did not grasp your words when you said, "Be noble." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Have you not heard that Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said in the Quran: وَ إِذا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا کِراماً [And when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly]."