سورة الفتح

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), until Surah al-Fath was revealed, kept saying: "O Lord! I fear that I might disobey You and be seized by the punishment of the Day of Resurrection." But after that surah was revealed, he no longer spoke this sentence.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) has said: Allah the Exalted commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam (peace be upon him), where He says: "And [remember] when We said to the angels: 'Prostrate and be humble before Adam!' — they all prostrated" (Baqarah/34). Yet regarding our Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) He says: "Indeed Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with a worthy greeting, and be fully submissive [to his command]" (Ahzab/56). And again, regarding Adam (peace be upon him) He says: "Then Adam received certain words from his Lord [and repented with them], and Allah accepted his repentance" (Baqarah/37). Yet regarding our Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) He says: لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ ما تَأَخَّر [That Allah may forgive your past and future faults].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was in the house of Umm Salamah. During the night, Umm Salamah saw that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was not in the bed. A thought passed through her mind, the sort of thought that passes through women's minds. She rose and searched everywhere in the house for the Prophet until she reached him. She saw the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) standing in a corner of the house with his hands raised, weeping and saying: 'O Allah! Never take from me the good favours You have granted me! O Allah! Never make me an object of reproach for enemies and the envious! O Allah! Never return me to any trouble from which You have delivered me! O Allah! Never leave me to myself for the blink of an eye!' At that moment Umm Salamah returned with weeping eyes. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) also turned back on account of Umm Salamah's weeping and said to her: 'O Umm Salamah! Why are you weeping?' She said: 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! How should I not weep, when you hold such a station with Allah that He has forgiven your past and future sins, yet still you ask Him not to make you an object of reproach for enemies, never to return you to any trouble from which He has delivered you, and never to leave you to yourself even for the blink of an eye?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'O Umm Salamah! What guarantees my safety? Allah left Yunus ibn Matta (peace be upon him) to himself for the blink of an eye, and what befell him befell him.'

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): When Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: 'You will die and they too will die!' (Zumar/30), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'I wish I knew when that would be.' Then Surah al-Nasr was revealed. After the revelation of this surah, in his prayer he would be silent between the recitation of the surah and the takbir, and he would say: 'سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ وَ أَتُوبُ إِلَیْهِ [Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him, I seek Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance].' They asked him the reason; he said: 'Indeed, the news of my death has been given to me.' Then he wept greatly. They said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you weep because of your death, when Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'What about the terror after death? What about the pressure of the grave? What about the darkness of the tomb? What about the Resurrection and the dread of it?' And he lived only one year after the revelation of this surah.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm who said: I was present at the gathering of al-Ma'mun, and Imam Rida (peace be upon him) was also there. Al-Ma'mun said to him: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you not say that the prophets are infallible?" The Imam said: "Yes." … Al-Ma'mun said: "O Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him)! Explain to me the verse: لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ ما تَأَخَّرَ [That Allah may forgive you your past faults and those to follow]." The Imam said: "In the view of the Arab polytheists, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was more sinful than anyone else, because they worshipped three hundred and sixty idols instead of Allah. But he brought them the call to the word of ikhlas (sincerity), and this matter was hard on them. For this reason they said: أَ جَعَلَ الْآلِهَةَ إِلهاً واحِداً إِنَّ هذا لَشَیْءٌ عُجابٌ [Has he made the gods into one Allah? Indeed, this is truly an astonishing thing!]. Their chiefs went out and said: امْشُوا وَ اصْبِرُوا عَلی آلِهَتِکُمْ إِنَّ هذا لَشَیْءٌ یُرادُ ما سَمِعْنا بِهذا فِی الْمِلَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ إِنْ هذا إِلَّا اخْتِلاقٌ [Go and hold firmly to your gods; indeed this is a thing intended (to lead you astray)! We have never heard of such a thing in the latest religion; this is nothing but a fabrication!]. (Sad/75) When Allah made possible the conquest of Mecca for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), He addressed him and said: إِنَّا فَتَحْنا لَکَ فَتْحاً مُبِیناً، لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ ما تَأَخَّرَ [Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive you your past faults and those to follow] — that is, so that Allah may forgive your sins, in the reckoning of the polytheists of Mecca, on account of your calling the people to the Oneness of Allah, in the past, present and future. Because some of the polytheists of Mecca had embraced Islam and some had left Mecca. The group that remained in Mecca had not been able to deny his call of the people to tawhid. For this reason, the sins that they thought lay on Muhammad's (peace be upon him and his family) shoulders were forgiven, because his word prevailed and he triumphed over them."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A Jewish man from Sham who had read the Torah, the Injil, the Zabur and the scriptures of the prophets (peace be upon them) and had knowledge of their arguments, entered a gathering in which the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) were present; Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) was also there, along with Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) and Abu Ma'bad al-Juhani. He said, "O community of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), you have not left any rank or station belonging to any prophet without claiming all of them for your own Prophet; will you answer my questions?" The people turned away from him. But Ali (peace be upon him) said, "Yes. Allah has not granted any rank to any prophet nor any excellence to any messenger without gathering all of them in our Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and bestowing upon him many times more." The Jew said, "Will you answer me?" He said, "Yes. Today I shall narrate to you enough of the excellences of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) as will bring light to the eyes of the believers and remove the doubt of those who were in uncertainty regarding his excellences. Whenever he mentioned any excellence of his own, he would say, 'I do not boast.' I now recount his excellences without any belittling of the prophets (peace be upon them). Rather, I am grateful to Allah for what He has bestowed upon him — like all the excellences He gave to the prophets (peace be upon them), and other stations which He singled out for him, granting him excellence over the prophets (peace be upon them)." The Jew said, "I shall now ask, so prepare yourself to answer." He said, "Ask!" He said, "Allah commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam (peace be upon him); has He granted such a station to him [Muhammad]?" He said, "Yes. What you said about Adam (peace be upon him) is so. If the angels prostrated to Adam (peace be upon him), their prostration was not a prostration of worship, that they should worship Adam (peace be upon him) in place of Allah; rather, by this prostration they acknowledged the excellence of Adam, that he had become the object of Allah's mercy. To the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) something better than this was granted: Allah in His majesty, together with all the angels, sent blessings upon him, and the believers too were made obliged to send blessings upon him; this is a higher station." The Jew said, "Allah accepted the repentance of Adam (peace be upon him) after his committing the fault." He said, "That is correct, but to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has been granted a station higher than this, without any sin having issued from him. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an: لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ ما تَأَخَّرَ [That Allah may forgive you your past faults and those to follow]. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will never enter the Day of Resurrection with sin, nor will he be called to account there for any sin."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Umar ibn Yazid Bayya' al-Sabiri said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "What is the meaning of لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ مَا تَأَخَّرَ [That Allah may forgive you what preceded of your sin and what will follow]?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "He had no sin and never committed any sin. But Allah had placed the sins of his companions and followers upon his shoulders."

Imam Hadi (peace be upon him): Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) was asked about the verse: لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ مَا تَأَخَّرَ [That Allah may forgive you what preceded of your sin and what will follow]. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) never committed a sin, and he had no past or future sins. Rather, Allah had placed upon him the sins of the Shia of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and then forgiven them for him."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal said: "O my master! What sin had the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) committed [that Allah says: لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ مَا تَأَخَّرَ (That Allah may forgive you what preceded of your sin and what will follow)]?" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "O Mufaddal! The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'O Allah, entrust to me the past and future sins of the Shia of my brother (Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)) and of my children, who are my successors, until the Day of Resurrection. And do not disgrace me among the prophets and messengers (peace be upon them) on account of the deeds of my followers.' So Allah entrusted their sins to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and forgave them all." Mufaddal says: "At this I wept bitterly and said: 'O my master! This is a favour from Allah which has reached us through the blessing of your existence.' The Imam said: 'O Mufaddal! The Shia whose sins the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) took upon himself are you and those like you. O Mufaddal! Do not narrate this hadith to some of our Shia who are careless in matters of religion, for relying on this favour they will abandon acting upon the rulings of religion, and as a result will be deprived of divine mercy. For Allah said concerning us: They do not intercede except for one with whom He is pleased [to intercede for], and they are apprehensive from fear of Him. (Anbiya/28)'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Harb al-Hilali said: I said, "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Answer my question now." The Imam (peace be upon him) said, "You wanted to ask why Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) — at the time of the conquest of Mecca, when the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) wanted to cleanse the Ka'ba from the filth of the idols — despite his great strength and power, was unable to carry and hold up the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) ... He said, 'He carried him on his shoulders in order to make others understand that Ali (peace be upon him) is infallible and is not burdened with any sin, and thus to show that his deeds among the people are wisdom and reward, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had said to Ali (peace be upon him): "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, placed the burden of the sins of your Shia upon my shoulders and then forgave them for me, and this is the meaning of the saying of Allah in the verse: لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِکَ وَ مَا تَأَخَّر [That Allah may forgive you your past faults and those to follow]."'"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): When the verse لِیَغْفِرَ لَکَ اللهُ ما تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِکَ وَ ما تَأَخَّرَ [That Allah may forgive you your past faults and those to follow] was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), he said, "O Jibra'il, what is the past sin and what is the future sin?" Jibra'il said, "You have no sin for Allah to forgive."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was in Aisha's chamber on the night that was her turn. Aisha said, 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Why do you put yourself to so much toil and hardship, when Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?' The Prophet said, 'O Aisha, should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?'"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A Jewish man from Sham who had read the Torah, the Injil, the Zabur and the scriptures of the prophets (peace be upon them), and had knowledge of their arguments, entered a gathering in which the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) were present; Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) was also there, and Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) and Abu Ma'bad al-Juhani. He said, "O community of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), you have not left any rank or station for any prophet without claiming all of it for your own Prophet; will you answer my questions?" The people turned away from him. But Ali (peace be upon him) said, "Yes." The Jew said, "Dawud (peace be upon him) wept over the sin he had committed to such a degree that, due to the intensity of his fear, the mountains too accompanied him." Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said, "That is indeed so, but Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was granted something greater than that. He would stand up for prayer, and from the intensity of his weeping a sound would be heard from his chest and belly like the boiling of a cauldron upon its stones, even though Allah had secured him from His punishment; but he wished to humble himself before his Lord through his weeping and to be a leader for those who follow him. For ten years he (peace be upon him and his family) stood on the tips of his toes until his feet swelled and the colour of his face turned pale, and he would stay awake the entire night, until Allah the Mighty and Majestic reproached him for that and said: طه ما أَنْزَلْنا عَلَیْکَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقی [Ta Ha. We did not send down the Quran to you that you should be distressed] (Ta Ha 20:1-2), rather We sent it down so that you might be made happy through it. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) would weep so much that he would lose consciousness. It was said to him, 'Has Allah not forgiven your past and future sins?' He said, 'Yes, but should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?'"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Umar ibn al-Khattab came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and saw that he was severely ill, or he saw that he had a fever. He said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), how severely you have fallen ill!" — or, "what a fever you have!" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said, "Even so, last night I recited thirty surahs of the Quran, among them the seven long surahs." Umar said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah has forgiven your past and future sins, yet still you strive so much in worship?" The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said, "Yes, but should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?"

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): قَدْ غَفَرَ اللهُ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ وَ مَا تَأَخَّرَ [Allah has forgiven him his past and future sins] — Allah forgave my grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), his past and future sins, yet he did not abandon any effort in the way of Allah; may my father and mother be sacrificed for him, he worshipped so much that his shins and feet swelled, and it was said to him, "Why do you worship in this way while Allah has forgiven your past and future sins?" He said, "Should I not be a grateful servant of Allah?"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever lives thirty years, Allah forgives his past and future sins.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When [a person] reaches the age of ninety, Allah forgives his past and future sins.