سورة فصلت

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): فَاسْتَقِیمُوا إِلَیْهِ [So take the straight path to Him] means: respond to Him. The verse: وَ وَیْلٌ لِلْمُشْرِکِینَ [And woe to the polytheists]; they are those who profess Islam yet associate partners [with Allah] in [their] deeds.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O people! Hasten toward your Lord, as Allah the Exalted has said: فَاسْتَقِیمُوا إِلَیْهِ وَ اسْتَغْفِرُوهُ [So take the straight path to Him and seek His forgiveness], and He has said: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ قالُوا رَبُّنَا اللهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقامُوا [Indeed those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then remain steadfast]. O people, do not be like that [foolish] woman who unravelled her spun yarn after it had been made strong, while you make [your oaths and covenants] a means of treachery and corruption (An-Nahl/92). Know that whoever is not firm in the quality he possesses will not be reformed, and will not have a correct way; he moves from the honour of piety toward the disgrace of sin, and from the intimacy of obedience toward the terror of sin. Do not deceive your religious brothers — let your outward and inward be the same. Whoever is like this, the signs of deceit appear plainly on his face, and the matter becomes clear through the slips of his tongue, so through his treachery he becomes lowly and abased in this world, and remorseful punishment awaits him in the hereafter. Thus he passes the night into morning while in terms of his conduct and deeds he is among the losers."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Aban ibn Taghlib said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to me: "O Aban! Allah does not demand from the polytheists the zakat of their wealth while they are polytheists, as He says in this verse: وَ وَیْلٌ لِلْمُشْرِکِینَ* الَّذِینَ لا یُؤْتُونَ الزَّکاةَ وَ هُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ کافِرُونَ [And woe to the polytheists — those who do not give zakat and who are disbelievers in the hereafter]." I said: "May I be your ransom! Explain this matter to me." He said: "Woe to the polytheists who associated partners [with Allah] regarding the first Imam, and they are also disbelievers regarding the other Imams (peace be upon them). O Aban! Allah has invited people to believe in Him; when they believe in Allah and the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), the obligations become binding upon them."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): A man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! What does Allah mean by وَ وَیْلٌ لِلْمُشْرِکِینَ الَّذِینَ لا یُؤْتُونَ الزَّکاةَ وَ هُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ کافِرُونَ [And woe to the polytheists, those who do not pay the zakat and who are disbelievers in the Hereafter]?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah does not rebuke and reproach the polytheists [rather, what is meant by 'polytheists' in this verse are Muslims who do not pay zakat]. Have you not heard that Allah has said: فَوَیْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّینَ الَّذِینَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلاتِهِمْ ساهُونَ الَّذِینَ هُمْ یُراؤُنَ وَ یَمْنَعُونَ الْماعُونَ [So woe to those who pray, those who are heedless of their prayer, those who make a show, and withhold small kindnesses] (Ma'un/4-7). What is meant by al-Ma'un (necessary provisions of life) is zakat." Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), no one betrays Allah in anything of the zakat of his wealth except one who associates partners with Allah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever associates with an imam whose imamate is from Allah someone whose imamate is not from Allah is a polytheist.

Imam Hadi (peace be upon him): In Ziyarat al-Jami'ah it is stated: "And whoever denies you is a disbeliever, and whoever wages war against you is a polytheist."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: One day my father Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said to Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari: "O Jabir! Has Allah made zakat obligatory upon a polytheist?" Jabir replied: "No, Allah has made zakat obligatory upon the Muslims." I said to Jabir: "Then what is your view about this word of Allah where He has said: وَ وَیْلٌ لِلْمُشْرِکِینَ الَّذِینَ لا یُؤْتُونَ الزَّکاةَ [And woe to the polytheists, those who do not pay the zakat]?!" Jabir replied: "By Allah! Although this verse is in the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, it is as though I had never read it until now!" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "This verse was revealed concerning those who associated partners in the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), and paid their zakat to one who had [usurpingly] set himself up in place of his eminence."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah has said: الَّذِینَ لا یُؤْتُونَ الزَّکاةَ وَ هُمْ بِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ کافِرُونَ [Those who do not give zakat and who are disbelievers in the Hereafter] — meaning that whoever does not pay zakat is a disbeliever.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In the Book of Allah (the Quran), we are the prayer and the zakat.