سورة الأحقاف

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): قُل مَا کُنتُ بِدْعًا مِّنْ الرُّسُل [Say: I am not the first of the apostles] means: O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Say to them: I alone have not been chosen for prophethood; rather, many prophets have come before me.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Say: 'I am not a novel messenger [who is different from the other prophets],' meaning: I am not the first messenger who has been sent.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir narrated that I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "How did it come about that the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) fell into disagreement concerning wiping over the shoes in wudu?" The Imam replied: "One of them would hear a statement from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), but would be absent when its abrogator came and would not know of it, and when he was forbidden from the contrary practice he was doing, giving it up was hard on him. Sometimes a matter would be revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and would be acted upon for a time, then he would be commanded with something else, and he would command his companions and community with it, until some people said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): 'You command us with something, and when we grow used to it and it becomes part of our customary practice, you command us with something else in its place!' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) fell silent, and Allah revealed this verse to him: قُلْ ما کُنْتُ بِدْعاً مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَ ما أَدْری ما یُفْعَلُ بی وَ لا بِکُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا ما یُوحی إِلَیَّ وَ ما أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِیرٌ مُبِین [Say: I am not the first of the apostles, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you: I do not follow anything but that which is revealed to me, and I am nothing but a plain warner]."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Muhammad ibn Ishaq: When Imam Rida (peace be upon him) was given allegiance as heir-apparent, the people gathered around him congratulating him. He gestured for them to be silent, and they fell silent. Then he said: بسم اللهِ الرحمن الرحیم [In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful]. Praise be to Allah who does whatever He wills. No one has the power to prevent or reject His rulings (Ra'd/41), and no one can hinder His decree; He knows the eyes that turn treacherously and what the breasts conceal (Ghafir/19). وَ صَلَّی اللهُ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ فِی الْأَوَّلِینَ وَ الْآخِرِینَ وَ عَلَی آلِهِ الطَّیِّبِینَ [And may Allah's blessings be upon Muhammad among the first and the last, and upon his pure family]. I say — and I am Ali son of Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) — may Allah keep him firm and grant him success on the path of guidance and direction: he recognised our right which people were not observing, and reconnected severed kinship ties, and gave security to terrified hearts, and gave life to those on the brink of death, and helped them in their times of poverty, and, since his aim was Allah, he sought no recompense or reward from anyone. Allah gives reward to the grateful and never wastes the reward of those who do good. Ma'mun made me his heir-apparent and entrusted the caliphate after himself to me, should I remain alive after him. Whoever unties a knot which Allah has commanded to be tightened, and looses a bond which Allah has willed to be firm, has shed the blood of his own household and lost his own honour, for by such action he has insulted the Imam and removed the sanctity of Islam. Our master the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was also in such a position; he was patient with their thoughtless deeds and did not oppose their objectionable decisions, so that no breach would occur in the religion and no division would fall among the Muslims. For the Muslims had only recently left behind the age of ignorance, and the hypocrites were watching for an opportunity to put Islam in danger. Then he recited this verse: وَ ما أَدْرِی ما یُفْعَلُ بِی وَ لا بِکُم [And I do not know what will be done with me or with you].

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): In Qurb al-Isnad it is narrated from Imam Rida (peace be upon him) that he said: "Ibn Abi Hamza thought that Ja'far believed my father was the Qa'im of Al-Muhammad (peace be upon them), but Ja'far had no knowledge of what must occur before the appearance of the Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance). By Allah, Allah relates from the tongue of His Prophet in this way: ما أَدْرِی ما یُفْعَلُ بِی وَ لا بِکُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا ما یُوحی إِلَیَّ [I do not know what will be done with me or with you; I only follow what is revealed to me]. That is: I do not know what will befall me and you. I only follow what comes to me by way of revelation. My grandfather Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) used to say: 'Four events will occur before the Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance), which are the signs of his appearance.'" Then Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "Three events have occurred and one event remains." We said: "May we be your ransom, which are the events that have passed?" He said: "The first was the month of Rajab in which the ruler of Khurasan was deposed. The second was the month of Rajab in which they revolted against the son of Zubayda. The third is the month of Rajab in which Muhammad ibn Ibrahim rose up from Kufa." We said: "Does the fourth Rajab also join these three months?" He said: "My grandfather Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said it this way."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): But beyond those praises, He addressed him with harshness and reproach, and rebuked and censured him in a manner in which He addressed no other prophet, like the verses: "We have not neglected anything in the Book." (An'am/38) and "And everything We have enumerated in a clear Imam." (Ya-Sin/12). If everything is counted and reckoned in the Imam, and he is the successor of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), then the Prophet is more deserving to be far removed from the description in which He said: ما أَدْرِی ما یُفْعَلُ بِی وَ لا بِکُمْ [I do not know what will be done with me or with you].