سورة المائدة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding this verse: وَحَسِبُواْ أَلاَّ تَکُونَ فِتْنَةٌ [And they thought that there would be no affliction], he said: "At that time, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was among them. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) passed away, they became blind and deaf; and when Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) rose to the caliphate, Allah forgave them." And he said: "After that, until the Day of Resurrection, they will remain blind and deaf."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Ibn Mas'ud said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage, said to me: "O son of Mas'ud, my appointed time has drawn near and news of my death has been given to me; whom do you have after me?" So I began naming men one by one, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) wept and then said: "May bereaved women mourn you! Why did you not place Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) ahead of all of them? O son of Mas'ud, when the Day of Resurrection comes, banners will be raised for this Ummah. The first of these banners is my greatest banner, which will be with Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), and all the people will be under my banner. A caller will call out: 'O son of Abu Talib, this is the excellence.' Then the Book of Allah was revealed concerning the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): وَ حَسِبُوا أَلَّا تَکُونَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوا وَ صَمُّوا [And they thought that there would be no affliction, so they became blind and deaf] — meaning that they thought there would be no test and that Allah would not try them with Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)." So while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was among them they became blind and deaf, and after the passing of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), after he had appointed Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) over them, they again became blind and deaf, and until this hour they remain blind and deaf concerning Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Wa'l al-Taymi said: I was with Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) when a courier came running to him with a letter from Qaraza ibn Ka'b al-Ansari, who was one of his agents. In that letter he informed him that horsemen had passed from the direction of Kufa heading toward Naffar, and that a man from the landowners of the lower Euphrates had accepted Islam and prayed, called Zadhan Farrukh. They met him and said to him: "Are you a Muslim?" He said: "Yes." They said: "What do you say about Ali (peace be upon him)?" He said: "I say: he is Amir al-Mu'minin, the master of humankind, and the successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." They said: "O enemy of Allah, you have disbelieved." Then a band of them attacked him and cut him to pieces with their swords. And along with him they seized a Jewish man from the people of dhimma and said: "Let this one go, you have no way against him." So Amir al-Mu'minin wrote to him: "To proceed: I have understood what you mentioned about the matter of that band that passed through the area of your jurisdiction; they killed the righteous Muslim while the opposing polytheist was safe with them. Truly these are a people whom Satan has led astray, and they have gone astray like those who thought there would be no affliction, so they became blind and deaf: وَ حَسِبُوا أَلاَّ تَکُونَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوا وَ صَمُّوا [And they thought that there would be no affliction, so they became blind and deaf]; but on the Day when their deeds are gathered, how hearing and how seeing they will be!"