سورة المائدة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mas'ada ibn Sadaqa said: I asked the Imam about a group of the Shia who "enter into the affairs of the ruling authority and work for them and love them [collect taxes for them] and maintain ties with them." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "They are not of the Shia; rather, they are of them [the rulers]!" Then the Imam (peace be upon him) recited this verse: لُعِنَ الَّذینَ کَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنی إِسْرائیلَ عَلی لِسانِ داوُدَ وَ عیسَی ابْنِ مَرْیَم ... وَ لَکِنَّ کَثِیرًا مِّنهمْ فَسِقُون [Those who disbelieved from among the Children of Israel were cursed on the tongue of Dawud and Isa son of Maryam ... but most of them are transgressors]. And he said: "They are, on the tongue of Dawud (peace be upon him), swine, and on the tongue of Isa (peace be upon him), apes."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Ubayda al-Hadhdha' narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said about this verse: لُعنَ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُواْ مِن بَنِی إِسْرَائِیلَ علَی لِسَانِ دَاوُودَ وَعیسَی‌ابْنِ‌مَرْیَمَ [Those who disbelieved from among the Children of Israel were cursed on the tongue of Dawud and Isa son of Maryam]: "The swine are on the tongue of Dawud (peace be upon him), and the apes on the tongue of Isa son of Maryam (peace be upon him). The Jews were commanded to refrain [from fishing] on Friday, but they abandoned that and refrained on Saturday, so hunting on Saturday was forbidden to them. Some foolish men of the town deliberately took some of the fish on Friday night [i.e. Saturday's eve] and sold them, and no punishment came upon them; they became pleased and continued doing this for years. A group admonished them, but they did not listen and [mockingly] said: 'Why do you counsel a people [sinners] whom Allah will destroy?' In the end they were turned into abased apes."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Dawud cursed the people of the city of Ayla when they transgressed regarding their Sabbath observance, and this transgression of theirs was in the time of Dawud himself. Dawud (peace be upon him) said: "O Allah! Clothe them with the cloak of the curse like a belt upon their two hips," and Allah transformed them into monkeys. As for Isa (peace be upon him), he cursed those who disbelieved after the heavenly table (al-Ma'ida) was sent down upon them.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O people! Surely Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not punish the general public on account of the sin of a few individuals who sin secretly, without the general public being aware of it. But if those same few, insignificant individuals openly commit that sin in the presence of the people, and the people do not rebuke them for the evil deed they are doing, both groups become deserving of the punishment and chastisement of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. He also said: None of you should be present while a ruler unjustly and out of enmity strikes a man, or kills an innocent person, or harms an oppressed one — if you do not intend to defend him, do not attend that scene, because helping a believer by a believer, when he is present at the scene, is obligatory (wajib), and safety and well-being are easier for you — that is, until the proof has been completed against you. He also said: When lethargy and laxity appeared among the Children of Israel, in such circumstances a man would see his brother in faith committing a sin and would forbid him from that evil deed, but that man would continue with his behaviour, and this refusal to accept advice would not stop that very advisor from being the drinking-companion, sitting-companion and table-companion of that sinful man!! Until Allah, as a punishment for this indifference and lack of a sense of responsibility, turned their hearts against one another and set them at enmity with each other, and He sent down these verses concerning them: لُعِنَ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنِی إِسْرائِیلَ عَلی لِسانِ داوُدَ وَ عِیسَی ابْنِ مَرْیَمَ ذلِکَ بِما عَصَوْا وَ کانُوا یَعْتَدُونَ* کانُوا لا یَتَناهَوْنَ عَنْ مُنکَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ... [Those who disbelieved from among the children of Israel were cursed by the tongue of Dawud and Isa, son of Maryam; this was because they disobeyed and used to exceed the limit. They used not to forbid one another from the evil they did...]

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O people! Take heed from what Allah has admonished His friends with, such as His censure of the Jewish scholars, where He says: لَوْ لا یَنْهاهُمُ الرَّبَّانِیُّونَ وَ الْأَحْبارُ عَنْ قَوْلِهِمُ الْإِثْمَ [Why do the Rabbis and the scholars not forbid them from their sinful speech?], and He says: لُعِنَ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنِی إِسْرائِیلَ [Those who disbelieved from among the children of Israel were cursed] up to His statement لَبِئْسَ ما کانُوا یَفْعَلُونَ [Certainly evil was that which they did]. Indeed, Allah reproached them because they were among the oppressors and used to witness their evil and corrupt deeds, yet out of greed for what they had and out of fear of falling into hardship, they did not forbid them from those deeds.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O Ibn Mas'ud, soon groups will come who eat pure and varied foods, ride upon beasts, adorn themselves as a woman adorns herself for her husband, display their finery to others as women do, and behave like tyrannical kings. They will be the hypocrites of this ummah at the end of time. They will drink coffees and play at dice, ride upon the mount of lusts, abandon attendance in the congregations of the Muslims, spend the evenings in sleep and pass the mornings in heedlessness ... O Ibn Mas'ud, upon them be my curse and the curse of all the prophets and the angels brought near. And upon them is the wrath of Allah and the evil reckoning in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah said: لُعِنَ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُوا مِنْ بَنِی إِسْرائِیلَ [Those who disbelieved from among the children of Israel were cursed] up to وَ لکِنَّ کَثِیراً مِنْهُمْ فاسِقُونَ [but most of them are transgressors]. O Ibn Mas'ud, they display abundant greed and manifest envy, they cut off ties of kinship, and they have no inclination toward good deeds.