سورة الأنعام

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): O Hisham! Allah has two proofs (hujjat) over the people: a manifest proof, and a hidden proof. The manifest proof is the messengers and the prophets and the leaders (peace be upon them), and the hidden proof is the intellects.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mas'ada ibn Ziyad said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), regarding this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: فَلِلّهِ الحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ [So Allah's is the conclusive argument], say: "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, will say to His servant on the Day of Judgement: 'My servant! Were you knowledgeable?' If he says: 'Yes,' He will say to him: 'Why did you not act upon what you knew?' And if he says: 'I was ignorant,' He will say to him: 'Why did you not occupy yourself with learning so that you could act upon it?' Then He completes the proof against him, and this is the conclusive proof (al-hujjat al-baligha)."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted says to Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family): فَلِلَّهِ الحُجَّةُ الْبالِغَةُ [So Allah's is the conclusive argument]; this is the very proof which the ignorant understands through his ignorance and the learned attains through his knowledge; the world and the Hereafter stand upon the proof.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): After a long conversation, Harun said to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): "By the right of your fathers, summarize for me comprehensive words about what we are engaged in." He said: "Very well!" An inkwell and paper were brought, and he wrote: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate! All matters of religion are four: 1. Matters in which there is no disagreement and upon which the ummah is agreed and which are of necessity and need to them. 2. Reports agreed upon, which are the ultimate criterion, to which every doubt is presented and from which every occurrence is derived — and that is the consensus (ijma') of the ummah. 3. A matter that is subject to doubt and open to denial; the way of it is that its specialist is asked for clarification, and the proof of it is sought from them — from the Quranic verses whose interpretation is agreed upon and a sunnah that all accept and in which there is no disagreement. 4. A law that from the perspective of all intellects is just, and about which neither the elite of the ummah nor its common people have any doubt or denial. These two matters apply from tawhid (monotheism) and what is below it, down to the blood-money of a scratch on the body and upward. This is the measure by which the matter of religion is weighed. So whatever its proof stands firm for you, accept it, and whatever whose soundness is unclear to you, do not consider part of the religion. Whoever brings, in order to establish a religious matter, one of these three (Quran, sunnah, and rational law), that is the conclusive proof (al-hujjah al-balighah). Allah Himself has explained it for His Prophet: قُلْ فَلِلَّهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شاءَ لَهَداکُمْ أَجْمَعِینَ [Say: Then Allah's is the conclusive argument; so if He please, He would certainly guide you all]. The conclusive proof reaches the ignorant, and he understands it through his ignorance just as the knowledgeable one understands it through his knowledge — because Allah is just and not oppressive. He argues with His creatures by that which they understand, not by what they do not know or comprehend." Harun al-Rashid then gave him a reward and sent him back... (al-Wilayah)

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We are the conclusive proof (al-hujjah al-balighah) over all that is beneath the sky and upon the earth.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): I am the conclusive proof and the complete word.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We are the treasurers of the knowledge of Allah, the All-Knowing, and we are the interpreters of His revelation. We are the conclusive proof over all that is beneath the sky and upon the earth.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Abi Ya'fur said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is One, unique in oneness, alone in His command. Then He created a group and appointed them to His command. We are that group. We are the proofs of Allah among His servants, the treasurers of His knowledge, and those charged with it."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was the door of Allah, through which alone one could come to Allah, and he was the path to Allah — whoever took a path other than it, perished. And so it is with the Imams of guidance (peace be upon them), one after another. Allah has made them the pillars of the earth, so that it does not shake its people, and they are His conclusive argument over everyone who is upon the earth and beneath the sky.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [He said, concerning the tablet which Allah sent down, containing the names of the Imams:] And I made Husayn (peace be upon him) the keeper of My revelation, and I honoured him with martyrdom, and I sealed his life with felicity — so he is the most excellent of those who have been martyred and the highest of the martyrs in rank. I placed My perfect word with him, and My conclusive argument is with him.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal ibn Umar al-Ju'fi said: I asked my master Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: قُلْ فَلِلّهِ الحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاکُمْ أَجْمَعِینَ [Say: Then Allah's is the conclusive argument; so if He please, He would certainly guide you all]; and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ [the conclusive argument] means the argument that reaches the ignorant among the People of the Book, and they come to know it through their ignorance just as the scholar knows it through his knowledge, because Allah the Mighty and Majestic is more noble and more just than to punish anyone without a proof." Then Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) recited this verse: "It was not for Allah that He should lead a people astray after He had guided them [and they had believed], until He makes clear to them what they should guard against." (Tawbah/115) Then the Imam (peace be upon him) began to narrate this hadith: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) did not pass away except after the completion of the religion, the perfection of the blessing, and the pleasure of the Lord, and Allah revealed this verse to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in the region of Kura' al-Ghamim: "O Messenger! Convey fully [to the people] what has been sent down to you from your Lord! And if you do not, you will not have conveyed His message!" (Ma'idah/67). Because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) feared the apostasy of the hypocrites who concealed enmity toward Ali (peace be upon him). When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) reached Ghadir Khumm after the completion of Hajjat al-Wada' (the Farewell Pilgrimage), he began to deliver a sermon to the Muhajirin and Ansar, and after praising Allah he addressed them saying: "O company of Muhajirin and Ansar! Am I not more entitled to you than you are to yourselves?" They said: "By Allah, yes." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said three times: "O Allah, You Yourself be the witness." Then he said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)!" Ali (peace be upon him) answered: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" He said: "Stand up! For indeed Allah has commanded me to convey His message and messages concerning you, and Jibra'il has brought it down from Allah: 'O Messenger! Convey fully [to the people] what has been sent down to you from your Lord! And if you do not, you will not have conveyed His message!' (Ma'idah/67)" So Ali (peace be upon him) stood up, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took his hand and raised his arm until the people saw the whiteness under his armpit. Then he said: "Whoever's mawla (master) I am, Ali (peace be upon him) is also his mawla. O Allah, love whoever loves him and be an enemy to whoever is his enemy, help whoever helps him, and forsake whoever forsakes him." Umar ibn al-Khattab was the first from the Muhajirin and Ansar to stand up, and he said: "Congratulations to you, O Ali (peace be upon him)! You have become my mawla and the mawla of every believing man and woman." Then Jibra'il descended and brought this verse: "Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed My blessing upon you and have approved Islam as [the everlasting] religion for you." (Ma'idah/2) Therefore, on this day, Allah the Exalted, through Ali (peace be upon him), perfected His religion for you, O Muhajirin and Ansar, completed His blessing upon you, and approved Islam as your religion. So listen to him and obey him, that you may attain salvation.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is not so that Allah would place among the limbs and organs of human beings a leader and imam that removes doubt and uncertainty from them and establishes certainty for them — and that imam is the heart of man — yet leave the matter of proofs neglected. In the Glorious Quran He said: فَلِلَّهِ الحُجَّةُ الْبالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شاءَ لَهَداکُمْ أَجْمَعِینَ [Then Allah's is the conclusive argument; so if He please, He would certainly guide you all]. In another place He said: so that after these messengers there would remain no argument for the people against Allah, [and the proof would be complete upon all]. (Nisa/165).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Ilyas asked my father: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! This is a difficult matter; if they say: the proof of Allah is the Quran, what answer should be given?" He said: "I will say: the Quran does not have a tongue to command and forbid, but the Quran has a people (ahl) who command and forbid." And I will also say: "An occurrence befalls the people that is neither in the Sunnah, nor in an unambiguous ruling, nor is there anything about it in the Quran; never would Allah, who is aware of this occurrence, make this trial appear on earth while the people of the earth have no way or means to repel it and resolve it." That man said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! With this speech they are defeated. I bear witness that Allah knows what afflictions reach creation — whether on the earth or within themselves, from matters of religion to other matters — and He has placed the Quran as a guide." He again asked: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you know of what the Quran is a proof and guide?" Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "Yes, in the Quran there are general statements of the hudud (legal limits) whose interpretation lies with the ruler. Never will Allah leave people such that an occurrence befalls them on earth, or in their souls, or in their wealth, and there is no just judge to pronounce the correct ruling on that matter." The man said: "On this point you have prevailed, unless your opponent slanders Allah and says: 'Allah has no proof.'"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Indeed, Allah the Blessed and Exalted placed these symbols in His Book — symbols that none knows but Him, His prophets (peace be upon them) and His proofs on earth — because He knew that the alterers would introduce innovations into His Book by removing from it the names of His proofs, and would obscure this matter so that the community would help them along in their falsehood. So the Exalted One fixed these symbols firmly in His Book and blinded their hearts and their sight, so that they would inevitably abandon these symbols and other verses — the very symbols and verses that point to the matters they distort. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic also placed the people of the Book (the Qur'an), those who uphold the Book, and those who possess complete knowledge of its outer and inner meaning, from a tree whose root is firmly established and whose branch is in the sky, and which, by the leave of its Lord, always gives its fruit — that is, He brings forth the like of this knowledge in every age for those who bear it. And He made the enemies of that tree from the cursed tree — those who strove to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah willed only to complete His light. If the hypocrites had known how they were made to inevitably abandon the verses whose interpretation I have expounded to you, they would surely have removed them along with what they have already removed; but the decree of Allah was carried out to establish the conclusive proof upon His servants, as He said: فَلِلّهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ [Then Allah's is the conclusive argument]. He covered their sight and placed veils over their hearts so that they would not reflect upon this matter, and thus it came about that the hypocrites left it as it was. So the fortunate ones stood firm upon it, and the wretched ones were blinded from seeing it. (al-Qadr)

Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): Hasan al-Basri wrote a letter to Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) with this content: You, O Bani Hashim, are like ships moving in the depths of the deep seas, and you are the luminous and well-known signs, and [or] you are like the ark of Nuh (peace be upon him) upon which the believers embarked and by which the Muslims [by coming aboard] were saved. O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! When we differed regarding the issue of qadar (predestination) and became perplexed concerning istita'ah (capability), I wrote you a letter. Inform us of your view and the view of your forefathers (peace be upon them), for your knowledge is from the knowledge of Allah, and you are the witnesses over the people and Allah is the witness over you. Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) wrote [in reply]: 'بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیم [In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful]. Your letter reached me. Had you not spoken of your perplexity and that of those around you, I would not have replied to you. [Know that] whoever does not believe in destiny, both its good and its evil, and [does not believe] that Allah has knowledge of destinies, has committed disbelief; and whoever casts [his own] sins upon Allah has wronged [Him]. Allah is not obeyed by compulsion, nor is He disobeyed as one overpowered, and He does not leave His servants to themselves without purpose; rather He is the [true] Owner of what He has placed at their disposal and the [true] Powerful over that which He has empowered them upon. He commanded them so that they might choose [for themselves] and forbade them so that they might beware. If they submit to obedience, they find no obstacle before their obedience; and if they yield to disobedience and Allah wishes to bestow His favour upon them and prevent them from that disobedience, He does so; and if He does not do so, He has not compelled them to disobedience, nor is it the case that they were forced into disobedience against their will. Rather, Allah bestowed His favour upon them, gave them insight, granted them knowledge, warned them, commanded them and forbade them, but He did not create within them obedience to His commands such that they would be like the angels; and [on the other hand], He did not force them to do that which He had forbidden them from, فَلِلَّهِ الحُجَّةُ الْبالِغَةُ [So Allah's is the conclusive argument]. And peace be upon whoever follows the guidance! (Ta Ha/47).'

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): فَلَوْ شاءَ [And if He willed]; that is, Allah the Exalted. لَهَداکُمْ [He would have guided you]; that is, He would have gathered you upon a single matter. But He has placed you upon difference.