سورة سبإ

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Hafs al-Kinani: I heard Abdullah ibn Bakr al-Arrajani say: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) asked me: "Tell me about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) who was sent for all mankind — has Allah not said in the clear verses of His Book: وَ مَا أَرْسَلْنَاکَ إِلَّا کَافَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ [And We have not sent you but to all the men]? What is meant is all the inhabitants of the east and the west, and the dwellers of the heavens and the earth, both jinn and humans. Was the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) able to convey his message and mission to all of them?" I said: "I do not know." He (peace be upon him) said: "O son of Bakr! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) did not leave Medina, so how was he able to deliver [the message] to the people of the east and the west?" I said: "I do not know." He said: "Allah commanded Jibra'il (peace be upon him), and he uprooted the earth from its foundations with a single feather from his wing and placed it before the Messenger of Allah, and the earth before the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was like the palm of his hand in relation to his hand. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would look at the inhabitants of the east and the west, and would address every people in their own tongue, and would himself call them to Allah the Exalted and to his prophethood. Thus the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was in this manner able, on his own, to invite all the inhabitants of villages and cities to Allah the Exalted and to his prophethood."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Bakr al-Arrajani said: I was in the company of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) on a journey from Medina to Mecca... I said: "May I be your ransom! Does the Imam (peace be upon him) see all that is between the east and the west?" He said: "If he does not see them and does not judge among them, how can he be a proof over all that is between the east and the west? And how can he be a proof over people who are hidden from his sight, and neither he has power over them nor they over him? How can he be a conveyor from Allah and a witness over the creation while he does not see them? And how can he be a proof over them while he is veiled from them, and there is a barrier between them and him preventing him from establishing the command of his Lord among them? While Allah says: وَ ما أَرْسَلْناکَ إِلَّا کَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ [And We have not sent you but to all the men] — what is meant is all the people of the earth. And the Proof (Hujjah) after him will be his successor, and he is the guide in the disputes of the community, and the one who exacts the rights of the people, and who establishes the command of Allah, and who gives justice to one from another. If there is no one among them whose word is enforced, [then how]? While Allah says: "Soon We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves." (Fussilat/53) Which sign on the horizons other than us is there that Allah has shown to the people of the horizons?"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ ما أَرْسَلْناکَ إِلَّا کَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِیراً وَ نَذِیراً [And We have not sent you but to all the men as a bearer of good news and as a warner] — in every land the call is given, bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Messenger of Allah; and the Imam (peace be upon him) pointed with his hand to the [far] horizons of the earth.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The prophets were sent forth in both a specific and a general manner. Nuh (peace be upon him) was sent to the people of the earth with a general prophethood and a general mission. Hud was sent with a specific prophethood to the people of 'Ad. Salih was sent to one village of the people of Thamud, a village of fewer than forty small houses on the seashore. Shu'ayb was sent to Madyan, which did not amount to forty houses. The prophethood of Ibrahim was in Bakuniya. Bakuniya was one of the villages of Sawad, and it was there that Ibrahim's prophethood began. Then he emigrated from it, and this emigration was not for the sake of war. This matter is mentioned in this verse: [He came out safely from that place of destruction] and said: "إِنِّی مُهاجِرٌ إِلی رَبِّی [I am going to my Lord; He will guide me!]" (al-Saffat/99). So the emigration of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was for something other than war. As for Ishaq, his prophethood was after Ibrahim (peace be upon him). The prophethood of Ya'qub (peace be upon him) was in the land of Canaan, then he descended to the land of Egypt and passed away there. Then his body was carried so that it could be buried in the land of Canaan. And the dream in which Yusuf (peace be upon him) saw eleven stars and the moon and the sun prostrating to him — the beginning of his prophethood was in Egypt. Then the twelve grandsons of Ya'qub (peace be upon him) attained prophethood after Yusuf. Then Harun and Musa were sent to guide Pharaoh and the people of Egypt, and their prophethood was confined to Egypt. Then Allah the Exalted, after Musa, sent Yusha' ibn Nun to the Children of Israel. The beginning of his prophethood was in the wilderness in which the Children of Israel were wandering bewildered. After that there were many prophets, some of whose accounts Allah related to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and some He did not relate to him. Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sent Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) specifically to the Children of Israel, and his prophethood was in Bayt al-Maqdis. After him were the twelve disciples, and from the time Allah raised Isa (peace be upon him) to the heaven, faith remained hidden among the rest of the members of his household. And Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) specifically to the jinn and mankind.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Abu Talib (peace be upon him) used to defend the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) with his sword and guard and protect him with his life and soul. Quraysh said: "O Abu Talib! Ask him: has Allah sent him specifically to us, or to all people?" Abu Talib (peace be upon him) said: "O nephew! Have you been sent forth for all people, or only for your own people?" He said: "I have been raised up for all people — the white and the black and the red, the Arab and the non-Arab. By the One in whose hand is my soul! I will call all people — the white and the black, and whoever is on the tops of the mountains and on the islands of the seas — to this creed, and I will call the Persians and the Romans to this matter this very year."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): [regarding] His statement وَ ما أَرْسَلْناکَ إِلَّا کَافَّةً [And We have not sent you but to all]: I have been raised up to the red-skinned people, the black-skinned people and the white-skinned people (all human beings).

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): I have been favoured with four qualities [over the other prophets (peace be upon them)]; the earth has been made for me a place of prostration and a means of purification ... and I have been sent to [guide] all people.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Regarding the verse وَ ما أَرْسَلْناکَ إِلَّا کَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ [And We have not sent you but to all the men], the meaning is that Allah will raise him (the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)) in the raj'a (the return) [to guide and fulfil the needs of all the people of the world].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted granted to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) the laws of Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and Isa (peace be upon them), ... so that he might call the jinn and mankind, black and white, to Allah.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Five things were granted to me, and I do not say this out of boasting; I was sent for red-skinned and yellow-skinned people [and all human beings], and the earth has been made pure and a place of prostration for me. War booty was made lawful for me — before me the hadd [prescribed legal punishment] was not lawful — and I was aided by terror [in the hearts of my enemies]. Before I set out to conquer a place, terror is cast into the hearts of my enemies one month ahead, and intercession has been granted to me, which I have stored up for my ummah on the Day of Resurrection.