سورة القصص

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hafs ibn Ghiyath said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: O Hafs! I have treated the world as a corpse [just as if a person is dying of hunger and has no food except a corpse, he is permitted to eat from that corpse to the extent of relieving his necessity] — I too used the world only to the extent of my necessity. O Hafs! Allah the Exalted knew what the servants would do and toward what destiny they were moving, but at the time of their committing improper deeds He showed forbearance towards them, because He knew about them beforehand. So do not be deceived by the good life of one who has no fear of death. Then he recited the verse: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذینَ لا یُریدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقینَ [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard (against evil)], and while weeping he said: "By Allah! With this verse, all hopes are shattered."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): I enjoin upon you the fear of Allah, and Allah has enjoined you [saying] that I am a clear warner for you! And do not exalt yourselves over Allah in the matter of Allah's servants and Allah's lands, for Allah the Exalted has said to me and to you: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِینَ [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard (against evil)].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Zadhan said: He used to walk alone in the marketplace, and he was one who would guide the lost, help the weak, and pass by the sellers and grocers, opening the Quran for them and reciting: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذینَ لا یُریدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقینَ [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard (against evil)].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him), after hearing this message (the protest letter of Talha and Zubayr) through Muhammad ibn Talha, said: "Go to those two and say: what will satisfy you?" He went and returned and said: "They say: appoint one of us as governor of Basra and the other as governor of Kufa." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "By Allah! I do not feel safe from those two while they are with me in Medina — how then shall I appoint them as governors of Basra and Kufa and feel safe? Go to them and say: fear Allah and His Prophet for the sake of his ummah, and do not rebel by creating a calamity for the Muslims. Have you not heard this word of Allah: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِینَ [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard (against evil)]?"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I spoke of the caliphate [and its events] before Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him); the Imam (peace be upon him) said: ... [After their death] the people, like the packed mane of a hyena, crowded together to pledge allegiance to me and compelled me to accept the caliphate. The crowd was so dense that the two lights of my eyes, Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them), were nearly trampled underfoot; the people gathered around me like sheep whose flock has been attacked by a wolf and who huddle around the shepherd. But when [I accepted and] rose up [and took the reins of the caliphate], a group broke their pledge, another group rebelled, and yet another group left the religion [and thus the three groups of the Nakithin, the Mariqin, and the Qasitin came into being]; as if they had never heard this word of Allah, who said: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِینَ [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard (against evil)]. But by Allah, they had heard these verses and had them well preserved in their memory; yet the adornments of the world had taken hold in their eyes, and the [alluring] jewels of the world had deceived them.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sa'd ibn Tarif said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Whoever says takbir before the Imam and says: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِیکَ لَهُ [There is no god but Allah, He is One, He has no partner], Allah records for him His greatest pleasure (ridwan al-akbar), and whoever is included in Allah's greatest pleasure will, on the Day of Resurrection, be in the presence of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the prophets in Dar al-Jalal (the Abode of Majesty). I said: "What is Dar al-Jalal?" He said: "It is us, and this verse is the same: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِینَ [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief, and the good end is for those who guard (against evil)]; what is meant by 'the good end' in this verse is us. O Sa'd! Our love and affection belongs to the pious."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In the book "al-Rawdah" [a debate between Hurrah, the daughter of Halimah Sa'diyyah, and Hajjaj ibn Yusuf] it is reported: Our master Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "O world, I have divorced you three times; I have no need of you." At that moment Allah revealed this verse: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً [(As for) that future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Unwan al-Basri said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "[Divine] knowledge is not attained through learning; rather it is a light that Allah casts upon the hearts of those He wishes to guide. Now, if you seek knowledge, first seek within yourself the reality of servitude (ubudiyyah), seek knowledge for the sake of acting upon it, and ask Allah to increase your understanding so that you may comprehend." I said: "O noble one!" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Say, O Aba Abdillah!" I said: "O Aba Abdillah (peace be upon him), what is the reality of servitude?" He said: "This reality can be grasped through three things: first, that servants do not consider what Allah has bestowed upon them as their own property, because the servants of Allah are not owners — whatever they have belongs to Allah, and wherever Allah commands, they must spend it. Second, that a servant never has the power to manage his own affairs by his own thought and reasoning. Third, that whatever Allah has commanded him or forbidden him, he acts accordingly and does not turn away from Allah's commands and prohibitions. Whenever a servant does not regard something as his own property, he spends the wealth freely. Whenever a servant entrusts his affairs to Allah and understands that with his own intellect and planning he cannot manage his affairs as they truly are, then the troubles and calamities of this world become easy for him. Whenever a servant submits to Allah's commands and prohibitions, he no longer quarrels, disputes or boasts with people and does not harm them. Whenever Allah grants these three qualities to a person, the world, Satan and people become insignificant in his eyes, and he does not pursue the accumulation of wealth, rivalry in abundance or boasting, nor does he seek leadership over people or the pursuit of honour, nor does he waste his time. These attributes are the first degree of the Allah-fearing. Allah the Exalted says in the Glorious Quran: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً [That future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Salam al-A'raj narrates from Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) that he said: If a person, even about the strap of his sandal, says [that my sandal-strap is better than so-and-so's, and] feels pleased and boastful, [he falls under the category of seeking status and greatness in the world and] is an instance of this verse which says: تِلْکَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُها لِلَّذِینَ لا یُرِیدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَ لا فَساداً [That future abode, We assign it to those who have no desire to exalt themselves in the earth nor to make mischief].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by uluww is honour (sharaf).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): عُلُوًّا فِی الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَاداً [Exaltation in the earth nor mischief]; what is meant by uluww is honour (sharaf), and fasad is attachment to women [and sexual desires].