سورة سبإ

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Sa'id al-Samman narrates with his chain: Iblis came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) in the form of a fine-looking old man and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! How few are those who have pledged allegiance to you concerning what you say about your cousin Ali (peace be upon him)!" Then Allah revealed [this verse]: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِیقاً مِنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them, so they followed him, except a party of the believers].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Allah, in the verse: "O Messenger! Deliver fully [to the people] that which has been sent down to you from your Lord" (Ma'idah/67), commanded His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) at Ghadir Khumm to appoint Ali (peace be upon him) as Commander of the Faithful, that noble one said: "Whoever's master I am, Ali is his master." Then the devils came to the greatest Iblis and poured dust on their heads, and Iblis said to them: "What is the matter with you?" They said: "This man today has tied such a knot that nothing will be able to untie it until the Day of Resurrection." Then Iblis said to them: "Never! It is not so! For those who are around him have given me several promises, and they will not act contrary to their promises." Then Allah revealed to His Messenger the verse: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them] — the verse.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Khuza'i said: I heard the Imam (peace be upon him), regarding the hadith of Ghadir, say: "When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said about Ali (peace be upon him) what he had to say and appointed him as the leader of the people, Iblis let out a shriek, and all his demons gathered around him and said, 'O our master, what was this shriek?' He said, 'Woe to you! Today for you is like the day of Isa (peace be upon him). By Allah, I shall lead the people astray concerning him.'" And he said: "Then it was revealed in the Quran: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِیقاً مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them, so they followed him, except a party of the believers]." And he said: "Then Iblis let out another shriek, and the demons came back around him and said, 'O our master, what was this other shriek?' He said, 'Woe to you! Allah has recounted my speech in the Quran and revealed based upon it: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them].' Then he raised his head to the sky and said, 'By Your might and majesty, I shall join this group of believers with the rest.' He said: Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ. إِنَّ عِبادِی لَیْسَ لَکَ عَلَیْهِمْ سُلْطانٌ [In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Indeed, over My servants you have no authority]. He said: Then Iblis let out a shriek, and his demons returned to him and said, 'O our master, what is this third shriek for?' He said, 'By Allah, it is because of the companions of Ali (peace be upon him). But by Your might and majesty, O Lord, I shall adorn sins for them so that I make them hated by You.'" He said: Imam Ja'far Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "By the One who sent the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) with the truth! Indeed, the demons and devils upon a believer are more numerous than hornets upon meat, and the believer is harder than a mountain — a mountain can be chipped away with an axe and carved down, but the believer will not be moved from his religion."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Did Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, not command His Prophet to introduce his successor to the people and to make manifest his imamate and wilayah? In the glorious Quran He said: "O Messenger! Convey fully [to the people] what has been sent down to you from your Lord! And if you do not, you have not conveyed His message! Allah will protect you from [the possible dangers of] the people" (al-Ma'idah/67). So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) conveyed the command of Allah to the people. At that point the satans gathered around Iblis and said: "You told us that after Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) passes away his ummah will scatter and his sunnah will be broken, and his Book also indicates this and says: 'وَ ما مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَ فَإِنْ ماتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلی أَعْقابِکُمْ [Muhammad is only a Messenger of Allah, and messengers have passed away before him; so if he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels?] (Al-i Imran/144).' Now how will his prophethood come to completion, or his ummah scatter, while he has appointed a successor for himself and installed an imam?" Satan said: "Do not be afraid. His ummah will violate his command and will act treacherously toward his successor and will oppress his Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). Love of the world will overpower them and they will render the testament of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) ineffective, and prejudices and rancour will appear in their hearts, and out of arrogance and pride they will take the right from its rightful owner." At that point Allah revealed this verse: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِیقاً مِنَ الْمؤْمِنِینَ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them, so they followed him, except a party of the believers].

Ali ibn Ibrahim: "Then I will come upon them from before them and from behind them, and from their right side and from their left side; and You will not find most of them thankful!" (al-A'raf/17). "From before them" means: before the Hereafter I will inform them that there is no paradise, no hell, and no resurrection. As for "behind them," He says: in their worldly life I will command them to amass wealth and I will order them not to take relatives into consideration in their wealth and not to give any right out of it. I will command them not to spend on their brethren and I will frighten them with poverty and destitution. As for their faith, He says: concerning their religion, if they are in misguidance I will beautify it for them, and if they are on the path of guidance I will drive them out of this path. And concerning their characteristics He says: concerning desires and pleasures, Allah says: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took the hand of Ali (peace be upon him) on the day of Ghadir Khumm and said, "Whoever I am his master, Ali (peace be upon him) is his master," Iblis — may Allah curse him — was present there together with his devils. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said, "Whoever I am his master, Ali (peace be upon him) is his master," those devils said to him, "By Allah! You did not tell us this. You had informed us that this man (the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)), if he dies, discord would fall among his companions; but this statement of his today brings firmness and stability, and whenever one of them wishes to depart [and an Imam dies], another comes in his place." Iblis said, "Scatter, for his companions have promised me that they will not acknowledge or confess to anything of what he (the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)) has said," and this is the same word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic who said: وَ لَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَیْهِمْ إِبْلِیسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِیقًا مِّنَ المُؤْمِنِینَ [And certainly Iblis found true his conjecture concerning them, so they followed him, except a party of the believers].