سورة محمد

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Ali said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Did Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman know the hypocrites?" The Imam said: "Yes! He knew twelve men. But you know twelve thousand of them." Allah has said: وَ لَتَعْرِفَنَّهُمْ فِی لَحْنِ الْقَوْلِ [and most certainly you can recognize them by the intent of (their) speech]. "Do you know what lahn al-qawl (the intent of speech) is?" I said: "No!" The Imam said: "By the Lord of the Ka'ba! What is meant by it is bearing enmity toward the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Ubaydah al-Hadhdha said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said to me: "Beware of the people of theological disputation and quarrels, and of sitting with them; for they have abandoned that which they were commanded to know, and taken up that which they were not commanded to know, and burdened themselves with it, to the point that they have burdened themselves with the knowledge of the heavens. O Aba Ubaydah, mix with people through their character, and keep away from them in their deeds. O Aba Ubaydah, we do not consider a man a faqih (jurist) and scholar unless he knows the intent of speech (lahn al-qawl), and that is the word of Allah the Exalted, who says: وَ لَتَعْرِفَنَّهُمْ فِی لَحْنِ الْقَوْلِ [and most certainly you can recognize them by the intent of (their) speech]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah has taken a covenant of wilayah (guardianship) from our Shia. We recognize them by the intent of their speech.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Bukayr ibn A'yan said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) used to say: "Indeed Allah took a covenant from our Shia for our wilayah (guardianship) in [the world of] dharr (particles), on the day when He took the covenant from the particles to affirm His lordship and the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). And Allah presented Muhammad's (peace be upon him and his family) ummah before him in the clay, while they were shadows, and He created them from the same clay from which He created Adam (peace be upon him). And Allah created the souls of our Shia two thousand years before their bodies and presented them to him, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) recognized them and introduced them to Ali (peace be upon him), and we too recognize them by the intent of their speech."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): I said four things which Allah the Exalted confirmed for me in His Book. I said: the heart of a man is hidden beneath his tongue, and when he speaks, what is in his heart becomes manifest. Allah revealed this verse to confirm my saying: وَ لَتَعْرِفَنَّهُمْ فِی لَحْنِ الْقَوْلِ [and most certainly you can recognize them by the intent of (their) speech].