سورة محمد

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): أَفَمَن کَانَ عَلی بَیِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ [What! is he who has a clear argument from his Lord] — meaning: is Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) کَمَن زُیِّنَ لهُ سُوءُ عَمَلهِ [like him to whom the evil of his work is made fairseeming] — like the usurpers and those who follow their low desires?

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): کَمَنْ زُیِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ [like him to whom the evil of his work is made fairseeming] — they are the hypocrites.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Tariq ibn Shihab narrated from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) that he said: O Tariq! The Imam (peace be upon him) is the Word of Allah ... but, O Tariq, they abandoned such an Imam and followed their low desires.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) as a prophet and made him the Seal of the Prophets, so no prophet will ever come after him, and He sent down upon His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) the Book as the final book. This book sets forth what Allah has made lawful and unlawful; its lawful is lawful until the Day of Resurrection and its unlawful is unlawful until the Day of Resurrection. It contains the rulings of the sacred law and gives news of those who came before and those who will come after ... And the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) questioned his Shia about this matter ... And Allah severely rebuked and censured them for this great slander ... with this word: 'Is one who has a clear proof from his Lord like one who is blind?!' He made clear the distinction between truth and falsehood in the verses of the Qur'an and left no excuse for the servants in this regard. Allah, by proof and by clarifying the matters, separated truth from falsehood and did not leave the people in confusion. The Islamic community, after the passing of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), fell into darkness and disbelief, and they differed among themselves and split apart. The Muslims were scattered from one another and they transgressed and oppressed the successors of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and this was after Allah had appointed reward for the obedient and punishment for the disobedient; but they followed their own low desires and forgot the commands of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Abd al-Aziz ibn Muslim said: We were in the time of Imam Rida (peace be upon him) in the city of Marw, and on the first day of our arrival we gathered in the congregational mosque, and those present at the gathering were speaking about the matter of the Imamate and the many disagreements of the people concerning it. I went in to my master and informed him of what the people were discussing. He smiled and said: 'O Abd al-Aziz! These people have no awareness and have been deceived by their own beliefs ... By the House of Allah [I swear], they transgressed and cast the Qur'an behind their backs, as though they do not know the matter. Guidance and healing are in the Book of Allah, which they turned their backs on and followed their own desires.'

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): أَ فَمَنْ کانَ عَلی بَیِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ [Is he then who has a clear proof from his Lord] — meaning, is upon the religion of his Lord. This verse was revealed concerning the Prophet and Ali (peace be upon them), who bore witness that there is no god but Allah, He is One and has no partner. کَمَنْ زُیِّنَ لَهُ سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ [like him to whom the evil of his work is made to seem fair] — they are Abu Jahl ibn Hisham and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb; they loved a thing and worshipped it, and this is the meaning of the verse: وَ اتَّبَعُوا أَهْواءَهُمْ [and they followed their low desires].