سورة السجدة

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَلَوْ تَرَی إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاکِسُو رُؤُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا [And could you but see when the guilty shall hang down their heads before their Lord: Our Lord! we have seen and we have heard]; [that which You had promised] in the world [we saw and heard, but] we did not act upon them. فَارْجِعْنَا [So send us back]; [meaning: return us] to the world [so that] نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ [we may do good; surely we are certain].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Fath ibn Yazid al-Jurjani said: I said to Imam Rida (peace be upon him): 'Does the Eternal [Allah, who existed before all beings] have knowledge and awareness of a thing that does not exist [and does He know] that if that thing were to come into existence, how it would be?' The Imam said: 'Woe to you! Your questions are difficult! Have you not heard that Allah says in the Quran: لَوْ کانَ فِیهِما آلِهَةٌ إِلَّا اللهُ لَفَسَدَتا [If there were in them (the heavens and earth) gods besides Allah, both would be corrupted.] (Anbiya/22), and He said: وَ لَعَلا بَعْضُهُمْ عَلی بَعْضٍ [[If there were multiple gods] some of them would gain superiority over others.] (Mu'minun/91), and, quoting the speech of the people of the Fire, He said: أَخْرِجْنا نَعْمَلْ صالِحاً غَیْرَ الَّذِی کُنَّا نَعْمَلُ [Take us out [from the Fire] that we may do good, other than what we used to do.] (Fatir/37), and He said: وَ لَوْ رُدُّوا لَعادُوا لِما نُهُوا عَنْهُ [And if they were returned to the world, they would return to the very things they had been forbidden from.] (An'am/28). So Allah has knowledge and awareness even of a thing that does not exist [and He knows] how it would be if it were to come into existence [just as He knows that if the people of the Fire were returned to the world, they would do their previous deeds again].'