سورة الحشر

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah in the Qur'an has made seeking forgiveness for Ali (peace be upon him) obligatory upon every Muslim, and that is the meaning of the words of Allah: یَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنا وَ لِإِخْوانِنَا الَّذِینَ سَبَقُونا بِالْإِیمانِ [They say: Our Lord! forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of us in faith], and Ali was the one who preceded [in faith].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): It is narrated with a chain from Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنا وَ لِإِخْوانِنَا الَّذِینَ سَبَقُونا بِالْإِیمانِ [Our Lord! forgive us and those of our brethren who had precedence of us in faith] — those referred to are three persons: the believer of the family of Fir'awn, Habib the Carpenter, resident of the city of Antioch, and Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).

Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): Allah says in the Quran: "And [the third group are] the foremost; they are the ones brought near." (Waqi'ah/10–11) My father was among those who accepted Islam before everyone else, and was closer to him [the Messenger] than all others. Allah the Exalted says in the Glorious Quran: "Those who spent and fought before the victory are not equal [to those who spent after the victory]; they are higher in rank than those who spent after the conquest." (Hadid/10) My father was the first Muslim and the first migrant, and he gave in charity before everyone. In another place He says: وَ الَّذِینَ جاؤُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ یَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنا وَ لِإِخْوانِنَا الَّذِینَ سَبَقُونا بِالْإِیمانِ وَ لا تَجْعَلْ فِی قُلُوبِنا غِلًّا لِلَّذِینَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنا إِنَّکَ رَؤُفٌ رَحِیمٌ [And those who came after them say: Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any rancour towards those who believe. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind, Merciful]. The Muslim people after Ali (peace be upon him) all pray for him and seek forgiveness for him, because he accepted Islam before everyone and believed in the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) and migrated, and no one before him believed in the Messenger of Allah or offered prayer, nor accompanied that noble one. [And again] Allah the Exalted has said: "The foremost, the first of the Muhajirin and the Ansar, and those who followed them in goodness." (Tawbah/100) In this noble verse, mention has been made of the first foremost ones who accepted Islam and migrated, their virtue has been declared, and their standing in Islam has been recalled.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The questioner said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Does faith have degrees and ranks by which believers are ranked above one another before Allah?" He said: "Yes." I said: "May Allah have mercy on you, explain it to me so that I may understand." He said: "Allah set a race between the believers, just as a race is set between horses on the day of the contest. He gave them precedence according to their degrees of precedence, and He placed each of the believers according to the degree of his precedence, and did not diminish his right in that degree. No one who lags behind may go ahead of one who preceded [before Allah], nor may one of lesser merit go ahead of one of greater merit. For this reason the earlier ones of this Ummah surpassed the later ones, and if the one who preceded in faith had no merit over the one who came later, the last of this Ummah [in station and merit] would catch up with the first [and stand in one rank — whereas the companions of the Prophet and the Muslims of the first period laid the foundations of Islam, and the last of them benefited from their striving]. Yes, they would have caught up, and rather gone ahead of them, if the one who preceded in faith had no merit over the one who came later. But Allah, by reason of the degrees of faith, put those who preceded in faith ahead, and by reason of falling behind in faith, put those who fell short at the rear (that is, in rank and merit), because we see many of the later believers whose prayer, fasting, Hajj, zakat, jihad and spending exceed those of the earlier ones; and were it not for the precedents by which believers are preferred over one another, the later ones would have had to be placed ahead of the earlier ones on account of their abundant deeds. But Allah the Mighty and Majestic never willed that a person who stands at the lowest degree of faith should reach a higher degree, nor that the one whom Allah has put at the rear should be put ahead, nor that the one whom Allah has put ahead should be put at the rear [because, firstly, merit and degree before Allah are not by abundance of deeds; and secondly, those who preceded in faith have precedence over the later ones, and their faith became the cause of the later ones' faith, in addition to the great difficulty and hardship they endured in embracing faith — through taqiyya, small numbers, and the persecution of the polytheists]." I said: "Racing toward faith, to which Allah has called the believers in this saying of His…" He said: وَ الَّذِینَ تَبَوَّؤُا الدَّارَ وَ الْإِیمانَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ یُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هاجَرَ إِلَیْهِمْ وَ لا یَجِدُونَ فِی صُدُورِهِمْ حاجَةً مِمَّا أُوتُوا وَ یُؤْثِرُونَ عَلی أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ لَوْ کانَ بِهِمْ خَصاصَةٌ وَ مَنْ یُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولئِکَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَ الَّذِینَ جاؤُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ یَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنا وَ لِإِخْوانِنَا الَّذِینَ سَبَقُونا بِالْإِیمانِ وَ لا تَجْعَلْ فِی قُلُوبِنا غِلًّا لِلَّذِینَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنا إِنَّکَ رَؤُفٌ رَحِیم [And those who had settled in the abode and in faith before them love those who migrated to them, and do not find in their breasts any need for what has been given to them, and prefer them over themselves even though they be in dire need; and whoever is saved from the greed of his own soul — it is those who are the successful. And those who came after them say: Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who preceded us in faith, and do not put in our hearts any rancour toward those who believe. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind, Merciful]. Here He began with the first Muhajirun on account of their precedence in migration, then mentioned the Ansar, and then those who followed them; and He then described each in accordance with his own station. Allah the Exalted has also given some of His prophets merit over others; in the Quran He says: We distinguished the prophets from one another, and gave some of them merit over others. Allah said: تِلْکَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلی بَعْضٍ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ کَلَّمَ اللهُ وَ رَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجاتٍ وَ آتَیْنا عِیسَی ابْنَ مَرْیَمَ الْبَیِّناتِ وَ أَیَّدْناهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُس [We preferred some of those messengers over others; among them was one to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degrees; and We gave Isa son of Maryam clear signs and supported him with the Holy Spirit] [but the merit and station of those prophets did not prevent the differing of the nations]. (Al-Baqarah/253)