سورة ص

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sadir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the words of Allah, Blessed and Exalted: "Rather, these are clear verses in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge" (Ankabut/49), and also: قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِیمٌ* أَنتُمْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ [Say: it is a great tiding * from which you turn away]. He (peace be upon him) said: "Those who have been given knowledge are the Imams (peace be upon them), and the tiding is the imamate."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِیمٌ [Say: it is a great tiding] — meaning the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him) — أَنتُمْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ [from which you turn away].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Abu Hamza al-Thumali that he said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "May I be your ransom! The Shia ask you about the interpretation of the verse: 'About what are they asking one another?! About the great and momentous tiding [of the Resurrection]!' (Naba/1-2). They ask you [about it]." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Its interpretation is with me; if I wish, I inform them, and if I wish, I do not inform them. But do you want me to tell you its interpretation?" I said: "About what are they asking one another? (Naba/1-2)." He said: "This verse is about the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him). He (peace be upon him) used to say: 'Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has no sign greater than me, and no tiding more momentous than me. My wilayah was presented to all the past nations, but they refused to accept it.'" I said: regarding the verses: قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِیم* أَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ [Say: it is a great tiding * from which you turn away], he said: "By Allah, what is meant by it is Ali (peace be upon him)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said from the pulpit: "I am the brother of al-Mustafa, the best of mankind, the great one of the family of Hashim, and the mighty news which the hand of destiny has set in motion, and I am the Righteous One of the Believers to whom the verses and surahs have been devoted!" And if it is established that he is صالح المؤمنین [the Righteous One of the Believers], then his being the most righteous of all others is also established, both by convention and by the usage of the expression, for when you say "So-and-so is the learned one of his people and the brave one of his tribe," it means that among them he has no equal in these two respects.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated that when that group fled on the day of Uhud, Ali (peace be upon him) was defending the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) from the front, Jibra'il from the right and Mika'il from the left. At that moment the verse قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِیمٌ * أَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ [Say: It is a message of importance, from which you turn away] was revealed, and at the same time Ali (peace be upon him) was saying: Allah has no sign greater than me!

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In the book Nur al-Thaqalayn, quoting from the book al-Misbah by Shaykh al-Ta'ifa, there is a sermon of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) in which he addressed the people on the day of Ghadir Khumm and said: "Today is a day of tremendous importance. Today is the day of the Mala' al-A'la (the Highest Assembly), the very day from which you turn away!"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): By Allah! Your master will indeed appear [upon you], and he will not have the allegiance of anyone upon his neck. And he said: "Your master will not appear until the people of certainty come to doubt about him," and he cited this verse: قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِیمٌ أَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ [Say: It is a message of importance, from which you turn away].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! [The news of the Resurrection] هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِیمٌ [It is a message of importance], but the people turn away from managing their affairs and performing deeds fitting for that Day.