سورة الحديد

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Awaken from the sleep of heedlessness and, before death arrives, hasten toward the forgiveness of your Lord, before a wall is set up between you whose inside is Allah's mercy and whose outside is Allah's punishment. Then however much you cry out, no one will listen to your cry, and however much you wail and lament, no one will gather around your lament or pay attention, and come to your senses before you plead and no help is given. Before you lose the time, hurry toward the obedience of Allah.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): سابِقُوا إِلی مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّکُمْ وَ جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّماواتُ وَ الْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِینَ [Hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and to a garden whose extensiveness is the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious]; you will not reach that Paradise except through taqwa (Allah-consciousness).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Amr al-Zubayri says: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): ... inform me about the racing toward faith to which Allah the Mighty and Majestic has invited the believers in His speech! He said: This word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: سابِقُوا إِلی مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّکُمْ وَ جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُها کَعَرْضِ السَّماءِ وَ الْأَرْضِ أُعِدَّتْ لِلَّذِینَ آمَنُوا بِاللهِ وَ رُسُلِهِ [Hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and to a garden the extensiveness of which is as the extensiveness of the heaven and the earth; it is prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Amr al-Zubayri said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), "Faith has degrees and stations. Do the believers have superiority over one another in those stations before Allah?" He said, "Yes." I said, "May Allah have mercy on you, describe it to me so that I may understand." He said, "Allah places a race between the believers, just as horses are raced on the day of wagering. Then He gives them precedence according to their degrees in racing toward Him, and He grants each of them a degree according to his precedence, and nothing of his right is diminished, and no latecomer outstrips a forerunner, and no one of lesser degree outstrips one of greater degree. In this way the first and the last of this ummah are distinguished in terms of merit. If the forerunner in faith had no merit over the one who came later, then the last of this ummah would catch up with its first. Yes, if the forerunner in faith had no excellence over the one who delayed in accepting faith and came after him, the last of this ummah would surpass him. But Allah, by the degrees of faith, gave precedence to the forerunners, and because of their delay in faith He placed the negligent in the later ranks; for we find that the acts of worship of some of the later believers exceed those of the earlier ones — their prayer, fasting, hajj, zakat, jihad and spending are greater. If there were no criteria of precedence by which some believers surpass others in rank before Allah, the later ones by their abundant worship would have taken precedence over the earlier ones. But Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, refused to allow the first of the believers to hold the lowest degrees of faith, or that the one whom Allah has placed last should be advanced, or that the one whom Allah has advanced should be delayed." I said, "Inform me about the racing to faith to which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has summoned the believers." He said, "The words of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: سَابِقُوا إِلی مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّکُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا کَعَرْضِ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ أُعِدَّتْ لِلَّذِینَ آمَنُوا بِاللهِ وَرُسُلِهِ [Hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and to a garden the extensiveness of which is as the extensiveness of the heaven and the earth; it is prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers]. And He said: وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ * أُولئِکَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ [And the foremost are the foremost; those are the ones brought near]. And He said: 'And the forerunners, the first of the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in doing good — Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him' (al-Tawbah 9:100). He began with the first Emigrants because of the degree of their precedence, then he mentioned in the second rank the Helpers, and in the third rank those who followed them in doing good. So He placed each group according to the measure of their degrees and stations before their Lord. Then He mentioned the factor by which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, granted some of His friends superiority over others. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: 'We have made some of these messengers to excel others; some of them there are to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He raised in rank. And We gave Isa son of Maryam clear proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. If Allah had willed, those after them would not have fought one another after clear proofs had come to them, but they differed. So some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought one another, but Allah does what He wills' (al-Baqarah 2:253). And He said: 'And indeed We have made some of the prophets excel over others' (al-Isra 17:55). And He said: 'See how We have made some of them excel over others, and indeed the Hereafter is greater in degrees and greater in excellence' (al-Isra 17:21). And He said: 'They are in [varying] degrees before Allah' (Al Imran 3:163). And He said: 'And He will grant every possessor of merit his merit' (Hud 11:3). And He said: 'Those who believed and emigrated and struggled in the way of Allah with their wealth and their lives are greater in rank before Allah' (al-Tawbah 9:20). And He said: 'Allah has given the mujahidin a great reward above those who sit [at home] — degrees from Him, and forgiveness, and mercy' (al-Nisa 4:95–96). And He said: 'Not equal among you are those who spent and fought before the conquest [of Makkah]; those are greater in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards' (al-Hadid 57:10). And He said: 'Allah will raise those of you who believe and those given knowledge in degrees' (al-Mujadalah 58:11). And He said: 'That is because they suffer no thirst, no fatigue, no hunger in the way of Allah, and they tread no place that enrages the disbelievers, nor gain any gain from the enemy, but that a righteous deed is written for them by it' (al-Tawbah 9:120 [Persian cites 9:11]). And He said: 'And whatever good you send forward for yourselves, you will find it with Allah' (al-Baqarah 2:110). And He said: 'So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it' (al-Zalzalah 99:7–8). These verses set forth the degrees and stations of faith before Allah, the Mighty and Majestic."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): When I entered Paradise, I saw the Tuba tree; its root was in the house of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). There is no palace or dwelling in Paradise but that a branch of that tree is in it. At the top of that tree are baskets filled with sundus and istabraq [fine and thick silk]; in each basket there are a thousand thousand baskets, and in each basket there are a hundred thousand robes. There is no robe in it that resembles another, though they are of various colours. These are the garments of the people of Paradise. In its midst is an extended shade. The extensiveness of Paradise is as the extensiveness of the heaven and the earth. Paradise has been prepared for those who believe in Allah and the Messenger.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The lowest of the dwellings of Paradise is such that if all the jinn and humans were to be guests of its owner, food and drink would reach them all, and nothing would decrease from what that dweller of Paradise has. And the lowest in rank of the people of Paradise is such that when he enters Paradise, three gardens are raised up for him. When he enters the lowest of them, he sees such wives, servants, rivers and fruits as would fill his eye with delight and his heart with joy. When he offers thanks and praise to Allah, it is said to him: "Raise your head towards the second garden, for in it are things which were not in the other." He says: "O my Lord! Grant me this garden." Allah the Exalted says: "If I give you this, you will ask Me for another." He says: "O my Lord! This is what I want [and I shall have no other request]." When he enters that garden and becomes intensely delighted, he offers thanks and praise to Allah. Then it is said: "Open for him a door to Paradise," and it is said to him: "Raise your head." Suddenly a door of eternity is opened for him, and he sees many times over what he had seen before. At the multiplying of his joy he says: "O my Lord! To You belongs praise that cannot be counted, for You have bestowed Paradise upon me and delivered me from the Fire."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Jathaliq (bishop) asked the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him): "Tell me, where are Paradise and Hell?" He said: "Paradise is in the Hereafter beneath the Throne, and Hell lies beneath the seventh earth." The Jathaliq said: "You have spoken the truth."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The bishop said to him: "O Umar! You read in your Book that Allah has a paradise as extensive as the heavens and the earth — then where is Hell?" Umar fell silent and lowered his head. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), who was present there, said: "Shall I answer this Christian?" Umar said to him: "Yes, you answer." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "O bishop of Najran, I shall answer you. When the day comes, where is the night? And when the night comes, where is the day?" The bishop said: "Until now I have not seen anyone answer my question like this." Then he said: "O Umar! Who is this young man?" He said: "This young man is Ali ibn Abi Talib. He is the son-in-law and cousin of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and the first person who believed in him. He is the father of Hasan (peace be upon him) and Husayn (peace be upon him)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): ... You Arabs in those days followed the worst of religions ... until Allah favoured you with [the prophethood of] Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and raised him up from among yourselves as a prophet to you ... and Allah said: ذلِکَ فَضْلُ اللهِ یُؤْتِیهِ مَنْ یَشاءُ وَ اللهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِیمِ [That is the grace of Allah: He gives it to whom He pleases, and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): So hasten with your deeds so that in the abode of Allah you may be with the neighbours of Allah. He has made His messengers their companions, and has sent His angels to visit them, and has honoured their ears so that they never hear the crackling of the Fire, and has preserved their bodies from meeting any fatigue or hardship. This is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whomever He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): ذَلکَ فَضْل اللهِ یُؤْتِیهِ مَن یَشَاءُ [That is the grace of Allah: He gives it to whom He pleases]; meaning from among His servants, and "beware, do not covet that by which Allah has given some of you preference over others" (Nisa/32) — these two verses were revealed concerning the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him). (Wilayah)

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): When Allah chooses a person as the leader of His servants, He gives him a broadened breast and the power of reflection in this path. And He makes his heart a source of wisdom and inspires him with knowledge. He is not left helpless in giving a reply, nor is he incapable of seeing reality. He is infallible, supported, granted success and backed by Allah, and preserved from error and slip. Allah grants him these distinctions so that he may be His proof and witness among the servants; وَ ذلِکَ فَضْلُ اللهِ یُؤْتِیهِ مَنْ یَشاءُ وَ اللهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِیم [And that is the grace of Allah: He gives it to whom He pleases, and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him and his family): Some of the angels of the heaven look down upon one, two or three persons [among the inhabitants of the earth] who are mentioning the merit of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them), and they say: "Do you not see these people, who despite their fewness and the multitude of their enemies, praise the merit of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)?" Then another group of the angels say: ذلِکَ فَضْلُ اللهِ یُؤْتِیهِ مَنْ یَشاءُ وَ اللهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِیم [That is the grace of Allah: He gives it to whom He pleases, and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace].