سورة ص

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — Abu al-Salt says: One day al-Ma'mun asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him) and said to him: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! What is the meaning of the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: 'And if your Lord had willed, all those who are on the earth would have believed [by compulsion] altogether. Would you then compel the people until they become believers? [What benefit is there in forced faith?] [Yet] no soul can believe except by the permission of Allah' (Yunus/99–100)?" Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "My father Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) narrated from his father Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon him), from his father Muhammad ibn Ali (peace be upon him), from his father Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him), from his father al-Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him), from his father Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), that the Muslims said to the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! If you were to compel those over whom you have power to become Muslim, our number would grow and we would become strong against our enemies.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'I do not wish to meet Allah with an innovation about which Allah has given me no command, and I am not one to interfere in a matter that is not my concern; وَ ما أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [and I am not of those who affect]. [My words are clear and accompanied by proof.]' Then Allah revealed the above verse: O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! 'And if your Lord had willed, all those who are on the earth would have believed [by compulsion] altogether' (Yunus/99–100), just as they will believe at the time of witnessing the hardships of the Hereafter; and if I had done this with them they would no longer be deserving of reward or praise from Me. But I want them to believe by choice and without compulsion, so that they may be deserving of nearness to Me, of honour, and of everlasting life in the eternal Paradise. 'Would you then compel the people until they become believers? [What benefit is there in forced faith?]' (Yunus/99)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) concerning the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: The reward I have asked from you is for yourselves. (Saba 34:47) That is, the affection (mawaddah) which is the only thing I ask of you returns to your own benefit — through it you are guided and are saved from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection. And on the other hand, concerning the enemies of Allah, who are the friends of Satan and people of denial and rejection, He said: قُلْ ما أَسْئَلُکُمْ عَلَیْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ وَ ما أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it; nor am I of those who affect]. He says: meaning that I should make a claim and ask of you something of which you are not worthy. It was at this point that the hypocrites said to one another: 'Is it not enough for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) that he has held us under his power for twenty full years, that now he wants to place his own family upon our necks [and make them rulers over us as well]?' And so they said: 'Allah did not send this down; this is something he has made up himself, wanting to set his family upon our necks. And if Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is killed or dies, we will take this office away from his family, and after that we will never allow the authority to fall into their hands again.' Allah, mighty is His remembrance, wished to inform His Prophet of what they had concealed in their breasts and resolved upon, and to include this matter in His Book, the Quran, and He said: Or do they say: 'He has forged a lie against Allah'?! Yet if Allah wills, He can seal your heart. (Shura 42:24) He says: 'If I willed, I would withhold the revelation from you so that you would not open your lips about the virtue and love of your family.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): One who acts with affectation (takalluf) is in error even if his deed happens to be correct, and one who acts with the intention of obedience and compliance — his deeds are right even if they turn out contrary to reality. And a person who acts on the basis of affectation will gain nothing in the end but humiliation and disgrace, and at the present time too he will have stored up nothing but toil, hardship and distress. The outward state of the affected person is show and ostentation, and his inward state is hypocrisy, and with these two wings [show and hypocrisy] he moves. Consequently one must realise that the righteous and the Allah-fearing never act on the basis of affectation, and are never characterised by this trait [in any matter whatsoever]. Allah the Exalted says to His noble Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): قُلْ ما أَسْئَلُکُمْ عَلَیْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ وَ ما أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it; nor am I of those who affect]. And he (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'We, the company of the Prophets (peace be upon them) and the awliya, are free of affectation. Fear Allah and keep yourself firm and upright, and then you will have no need of affectation and will act by the nature of faith. Do not occupy yourself with food whose end is the latrine, or clothing that will wear out, or a house that will fall to ruin, or wealth that will pass to the heirs, or brothers who will part from one another, or an honour whose end is disgrace, or a dignity whose end is rudeness, or a life whose end is regret.'

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُکُمْ عَلَیْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ [Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it], meaning: for that to which I call you, I do not want you to give me any wealth; وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [nor am I of those who affect], meaning: I do not fabricate this from myself; إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِکْرٌ [It is nothing but a reminder], meaning: an admonition; لِّلْعَالَمِینَ [for the worlds], meaning: for all creatures; وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ [and you shall surely come to know], meaning: O company of polytheists! نَبَأَهُ بَعْدَ حِینٍ [its tidings after a while], meaning: at the time of death and after death on the Day of Resurrection.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: The pretentious one (mutakallif) has three signs: in a person's presence he flatters him, behind his back he backbites him, and at a misfortune he gloats. In the book al-Khisal, Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Luqman (peace be upon him) said to his son: 'My dear son! Everything has a sign by which it is known and witnessed to... Those who want to raise themselves to some rank through pretension also have three signs: they dispute with those above them, they speak of what they do not know, and they reach out for what they cannot attain and claim a rank for which they are not fit.'" In Jawami al-Jami it is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) that he said: "The one who poses as a scholar (mutakallif) has three signs: he disputes with those above him, he stretches out the hand of greed to what is beyond his reach, and he speaks of something without knowing it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Some of the scholars put themselves forward to give fatwas and say, "Ask me," while perhaps they do not grasp even a single word, and Allah does not love those who affect themselves with pretension; they are in the sixth level of the Fire.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), regarding the interpretation of the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: "And whoever performs a good deed, We increase for him goodness therein." (Shura/23) He said: "That is, whoever loves the successors of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and follows their traces, this love will increase for him the love of those who have passed of the prophets (peace be upon them) and the earlier believers, until their love reaches Adam (peace be upon him). And this is the meaning of the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: 'Say: whatever reward I have asked of you is yours.' (Saba/47) He says: that is, the reward of that very love — which is the only thing I asked of you — belongs to yourselves, that through it you may be guided and delivered from the punishment of the Day of Resurrection. And on the other side, to the enemies of Allah, who are the friends of Satan and the people of denial and rejection, He said: قُلْ ما أَسْئَلُکُمْ عَلَیْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ وَ ما أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it; nor am I of those who affect]. He says: that is, that I should claim and ask of you something for which you are not fit." It was at this point that the hypocrites said to one another: "Is it not enough for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) that he has held us under his power for twenty full years, that now he wants to mount his own household upon our necks [and make them rulers over us as well]?" And so they said: "Allah did not send this down; it is something he has invented of his own accord, wanting to mount his household on our necks, and if Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is killed or dies, we shall wrest this office from his household, and after that we shall never let power fall into their hands again." And Allah the Mighty and Majestic willed to inform His Prophet of what they had concealed in their breasts and resolved upon, and to include this matter in His Book, the Quran, and He said: "Or do they say: 'He has forged a lie against Allah'? Yet if Allah wills, He will set a seal upon your heart." (Shura/24) He says: "If I willed, I would withhold the revelation from you, so that you would not open your lips about the excellence of your household and the love of them."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Humran narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: A woman from among the Muslims came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! So-and-so is my husband; I have borne him many children and I have helped him in the affairs of his world and his hereafter. He has seen nothing displeasing from me, yet I bring my complaint against him to you." He said: "What is it about him that you complain of?" She said: "Today he said to me: 'You are as forbidden to me as the back of my mother,' and he turned me out of my house. Attend to my matter." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah has not sent down upon me any verse by which I may judge between you and your husband, and I do not wish to be of those who speak from themselves."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said regarding this word of Allah the Exalted: O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! قُلْ مَا أَسْأَلُکُمْ عَلَیْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ [Say: I do not ask you for any reward for it] means, in return for that to which I call you, I do not want you to give me any wealth. وَ مَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [nor am I of those who affect] means, I do not invent this from myself.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated that Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: O people! Upon you be obedience and the recognition of one whose recognition leaves you no excuse [to plead ignorance], for indeed the knowledge with which Adam (peace be upon him) descended, and all that by which the prophets (peace be upon them) were given precedence, up to your Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him and his family), is all with the family of your Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). So where are you wandering, and where are you going? O you who have been brought forth from the loins of the companions of the Ark [of Nuh (peace be upon him)], the likeness of the family [of the Prophet] among you is like the Ark of Nuh (peace be upon him); so board it, and just as those saved in that ark were saved, likewise whoever boards this one will be saved. And I am, by a true oath, pledged to what I say, وَ ما أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَکَلِّفِینَ [and I am not of those who affect]; and woe to him who turns away! Then woe to him who turns away! Has this hadith of your Prophet at the Farewell Pilgrimage not reached you, that he said: 'I am leaving among you two weighty and precious things; if you cling to them you will never go astray after me: the Book of Allah and my family, the people of my house, and these two shall not separate until they come to me at the Pond'? So look how you conduct yourselves with regard to those two. Know that this is sweet, fresh water, so drink of it; and that other is salty, bitter water, so keep away from it.