سورة ق

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O servants of Allah, take counsel from the beneficial lessons, and take heed from the shining signs, and be restrained by the far-reaching warnings from sins, and profit from the remembrances and admonitions. It is as though the talons of death have already fastened upon you, and attachment to hope has been severed from you, and dreadful matters and the driving of your soul to the place where it must enter have overtaken you, and every human being comes [to the gathering] while an angel drives him [toward the court of divine justice] and a witness is with him! The driver drives him toward his gathering-place, and the witness bears witness to his deeds.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) accompanied a funeral procession. When the deceased was placed in the grave, his relatives raised their voices in weeping. Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Why do you weep? By Allah! If you were to witness what your deceased is witnessing, you would forget weeping. Take heed, O servants of Allah, from the lessons, and learn a lesson from the signs and the traces, fear the warnings, and profit from the admonitions. It is as though the talons of death have seized your throat, calamity has surrounded you, the house of dust (meaning the grave) has enveloped you, and terrifying matters have thrown you into distress — the blowing of the trumpet, the falling into the grave, the movement to the gathering-place, and the standing for reckoning on the Day of Resurrection. The people of the world have come forth without clothing and barefoot. وَ جاءَتْ کُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَها سائِقٌ وَ شَهِید [And every soul shall come, with it a driver and a witness]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): کُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَها سائِقٌ وَ شَهِیدٌ — with every soul is a driver who drives it up to the gathering-place, and a witness who bears witness to its deeds and knows what it has done.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ جاءَتْ کُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَها سائِقٌ وَ شَهِیدٌ [And every soul shall come, with it a driver and a witness] — that is, [the witness] bears witness against that soul, and the driver is one who drives the soul forward.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Khadija said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to me: "How far is the distance between you and Basra?" I said: "If the wind is favourable, five days by water, and by land about eight days." He said: "How near that is! So visit one another (the Shia) and inquire after each other's condition. For on the Day of Resurrection every person must inevitably bring a witness who will testify to his religion."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): No day passes over the son of Adam except that day says to him: I am a new day, and I am a witness over you, so speak good words in my hours, and do good deeds in me, so that I may bear witness for you to that good speech and good deed on the Day of Resurrection, for indeed after this you will never see me again.

The Imams (peace be upon them): وَ جاءَتْ کُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَها سائِقٌ وَ شَهِیدٌ [And every soul shall come, with it a driver and a witness] — and on that day everyone comes to the gathering with an angel for the reckoning, and that angel bears witness to their good and bad deeds. So it is at that time that your brother flees from you and forgets you, and your friend turns away from you, and your companions push you away, and your wife and children do not help you; rather, out of terror you too forget all of them.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): السَّائِقُ [the driver] means Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), and الشَّهِیدُ [the witness] means the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).