سورة ق

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): مَا یُبَدَّل القَول لدَیَّ [My word shall not be changed] means: what you have done is not changed with Me and is not turned into good [deeds]. And in what I have promised you there is no breach whatsoever.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Ali ibn Husayn narrated that he said: I asked my father, the master of the worshippers, Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): "Dear father! Tell me: when our grandfather, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), ascended to the heavens and Allah commanded him to perform fifty prayers, why did the Prophet himself not ask Allah to reduce their number? Until Musa ibn Imran (peace be upon him) said to him: 'Return to your Lord and ask Him to reduce it, for your ummah cannot bear it.'" He said: "My son! The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) does not make suggestions to Allah, and if Allah commands him to do something, the Prophet does not turn back from it. But when Musa (peace be upon him) asked such a thing of him and interceded for the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), it was not permissible for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to reject the intercession of his brother Musa (peace be upon him). So the Prophet returned to his Lord and asked Him for reduction, until it reached five prayers." I asked: "Dear father! Why did the Prophet not return again and ask that these five prayers also be reduced, when Musa asked him to go back and again ask Allah to reduce this amount as well?" He said: "My son! The Prophet wanted to obtain a reduction for his ummah, while they still receive the reward of fifty prayers; for Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: مَنْ جاءَ بِالحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثالِها [Whoever brings a good deed shall have ten times the like of it]. (al-An'am/160) As you see, when the Prophet returned to the earth, Jibra'il (peace be upon him) descended upon him and said: 'O Muhammad! Your Lord sends you greetings and says: these five are equal to fifty. ما یُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَیَّ وَ ما أَنَا بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِیدِ [My word shall not be changed, nor am I in the least unjust to the servants].'"

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): I enjoin upon you the fear of Allah, for it is the best counsel that a Muslim gives to a Muslim — that he urge him toward the Hereafter and command him to fear Allah. Fear that of which Allah has warned you, for there is no counsel better than this, and no reminder better than this; for this is the piety of one who acts upon it with awe and fear, and a fine helper for what you seek of the affairs of the Hereafter. Whoever sets right his hidden and open relations with Allah, seeking by that nothing but Allah's pleasure, will have a good name for himself in this world, and after death — when a person is in need of his own deeds — it will be a treasure for him. Whatever is other than this, he will wish that there were a great distance between it and himself. Allah warns you of Himself, and Allah is Compassionate toward His servants. By the One whose word is true and whose promise is fulfilled — there is no breach in that! — for Allah the Exalted says: ما یُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَیَّ وَ ما أَنَا بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِیدِ [My word shall not be changed, nor am I in the least unjust to the servants].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): So when [the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)] reached the site of Ghadir Khumm, he said: "O people, this Ali (peace be upon him) is my brother and my successor and the keeper of my knowledge, and concerning the leadership of the ummah and the interpretation of the Book of Allah he is my successor. Ali (peace be upon him) calls people towards Allah, acts according to what pleases Allah, fights the enemies of Allah, follows the command of Allah, and forbids people from disobedience to the Lord. He is the successor of the Messenger of Allah, he is Amir al-Mu'minin; he is the Imam and guiding leader, and he is the killer of the Nakithin (covenant-breakers) and the Qasitin (deviators) and the Mariqin (renegades). By the command of Allah I say: ما یُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَیَّ [My word shall not be changed with Me]."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Jibra'il informed me from my Lord [the Mighty and Majestic]: whoever knows that none is worthy of worship except Me, and knows that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is My servant and My messenger, and that Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) is My successor, and that the Imams from his lineage are My proofs, I will admit him into Paradise through My mercy and save him from the Fire through My pardon, and I will permit him My proximity and make My honour incumbent upon him and complete My blessing upon him and place him among My special and pure ones. If he calls out to Me, I answer him; if he supplicates to Me, I respond; if he asks Me, I grant; if he is silent, I take the initiative with him; if he does wrong, I show him mercy; if he flees from Me, I call him; if he returns, I accept him; and if he knocks at My door, I open it. But whoever does not testify to My divinity and that none is worthy of worship except Me, or accepts My divinity but does not confess to the servitude and messengership of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), or acknowledges that too but does not accept the successorship of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), or testifies to that too but does not recognise the Imams who are from his lineage and children as My proofs, has denied My blessing and disbelieved in My signs and My books. If he heads towards Me, I hang the veil; if he asks Me, I deprive him; if he calls Me, I do not hear his call; if he supplicates, I do not listen to his prayer; if he places hope in Me, I disappoint him. This is the recompense he receives from Me, and ما أَنَا بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِید [I am not in the least unjust to the servants].

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Ibrahim ibn Abi Mahmud said: I asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him): "Does Allah the Exalted compel His servants to sins?" He said: "He does not compel them, rather He gives them a choice and grants them respite until they repent." I said: "Does He impose upon His servants what they cannot bear?" He said: "How could He do that when He has said: وَ ما رَبُّکَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِیدِ [Your Lord does not wrong the servants] (Fussilat/46)?" Then he (peace be upon him) said: "My noble father Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) narrated from his noble father Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon him) that he said: 'Whoever claims that Allah compels His servants to sins, or imposes upon them what they cannot bear — do not eat what he has slaughtered, do not accept his testimony, do not pray behind him, and do not give him anything from the zakat.'" [Meaning: whoever holds this belief is a disbeliever.]