سورة الصف

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When the Torah was revealed to Musa (peace be upon him), the good news of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was given. Between Yusuf and Musa (peace be upon them) there were ten prophets, and the successor of Musa was Yusha' ibn Nun (peace be upon them). He is the same young man whose name Allah has mentioned in His book. The prophets (peace be upon them) constantly gave the good news of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), until Allah sent the Messiah Isa son of Maryam (peace be upon him) as a prophet, and he gave the good news of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). And the word of Allah the Exalted on this matter is thus: یَجِدُونَهُ [they find him]; what is meant is the Jews and the Christians, مَکْتُوبًا [written]; that is, the description of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his name is written in the Torah and the Gospel which they have — they find him — commanding them to what is right and forbidding them from what is wrong. (al-A'raf/157) And it is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, informing and speaking from the tongue of Isa (peace be upon him): وَ مُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ یَأْتِی مِن بَعْدِی اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ [and giving the good news of a Messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad]. And Musa and Isa (peace be upon them) gave the good news of the coming of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), just as some prophets gave the good news of the coming of others, until the time of the mission of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) arrived.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Allah the Mighty and Majestic sent the Messiah, the Messiah (peace be upon him) said to the people: "Indeed, after me a prophet will come whose name is Ahmad, from the offspring of Isma'il (peace be upon him), who will confirm me and confirm you, and bring the proof and the excuse for me and for you."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yaqub ibn Shuayb said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "[The interval] between Isa (peace be upon him) and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was five hundred years, in two hundred and fifty of which there was no prophet and no visible scholar." I said: "Then upon what religion were they?" He said: "They held fast to the religion of Isa (peace be upon him)." I said: "Then what were they?" He said: "They were believers." Then the Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The earth is never without a scholar" [but he may be visible or he may be unknown and hidden].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — Abu Umamah said: I said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "What was the beginning of your affair?" He said: "The supplication of my father Ibrahim, and the glad tidings of Isa son of Maryam, and my mother saw that something came out of her by which the palaces of Sham were illuminated."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him) — It is narrated from Safwan ibn Yahya, the companion of Sabiri, who said: Abu Qurrah, the companion of the Jathaliq, asked me to bring him to Imam Rida (peace be upon him). I sought permission from Imam Rida (peace be upon him) for that. He said: "Bring him into my gathering." When Abu Qurrah entered the gathering of Imam Rida (peace be upon him), he kissed the carpet and rug of His Eminence (peace be upon him) and said: "In our religion it is the custom that when we wish to enter upon the nobles of the people of our time, we kiss their carpets — that is, we kiss the ground out of respect." Abu Qurrah said to that noble one: "Aslahaka Allah [may Allah set you aright], what do you say concerning a group that makes a claim, and another group who are of upright character bear witness for them?" He said: "Their claim stands." He said: "Then another group makes a claim about something and finds no witnesses other than themselves." He said: "Their claim does not stand." He said: "Then I claim that Isa (peace be upon him) is Ruh Allah (the Spirit of Allah) and Kalimat Allah (the Word of Allah), and the Muslims agree with us on this claim; but the Muslims claim that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Prophet of Allah, and we do not follow them on this claim — and what we agree upon is better than what we differ upon." Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "What is your name?" He said: "Yuhanna." He said: "O Yuhanna! We have believed in the Isa who is Ruh Allah and Kalimat Allah — the one who believed in Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and gave glad tidings of his coming, and acknowledged that he himself is a servant and that he has a Lord. So if that Isa (peace be upon him) who in your view is Ruh Allah and Kalimat Allah is not the Isa (peace be upon him) who believed in Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and is not the Isa (peace be upon him) who gave glad tidings of the coming of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and is not the Isa (peace be upon him) who acknowledged the servitude of himself and the Lordship of Allah — then on what basis do we have any agreement?" Abu Qurrah stood up and said to Safwan ibn Yahya: "Rise! How much this gathering has made us dispensed with and how fruitful it was for us."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): It is narrated that Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Nawfali said: ... The Catholicos (Jathaliq) said, "What is your belief regarding the prophethood of Isa (peace be upon him) and his book? Do you deny either of them?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said, "I affirm the prophethood of Isa (peace be upon him) and his book and the good tidings he gave to his community and that which the Hawariyyun (the disciples) affirmed. But I disbelieve in the prophethood of any Isa who did not affirm the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his book, and did not give his community good tidings of him." The Catholicos said, "Are matters not settled by two just witnesses?" He said, "Yes." He said, "Then produce two just witnesses to the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) from other than the people of your religion, whom Christianity does not reject; and we shall ask the same of you from other than the people of our religion." Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said, "Now you have spoken fairly. Will you not accept from me a just one who held the foremost position with Isa son of Marium (peace be upon him)?" He said, "Yes — but who was this just one? Name him for me." He said, "What do you say of Yuhanna al-Daylami?" He said, "Bravo! Bravo! You have named the most beloved person to Isa the Messiah (peace be upon him)." He said, "I put you under oath — does the Injil not state that Yuhanna said: 'The Messiah told me of the prophethood of Muhammad the Arab and gave me the good tidings that he would come after me, and I gave the good tidings to the Hawariyyun (the disciples) and they believed in him'?" The Catholicos said, "This statement Yuhanna did narrate from the Messiah, and he gave good tidings of the prophethood of a man and of his household and his successor, but he did not specify when this would be, nor did he name him for us so that we might know him." He (peace be upon him) said, "If I bring you someone who reads the Injil and recites to you the mention of Muhammad and his household and his community, will you believe in him?" He said, "Certainly." His Eminence (peace be upon him) said to Nastas the Roman, "Do you have the third book of the Injil by heart?" He said, "Yes." He said, "Listen! I shall recite. If the name of Muhammad and his household has been mentioned, bear witness to it! But if it has not been mentioned, do not bear witness." Then he began to recite the third book. When he reached the mention of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), he stopped. Then he said, "I put you under oath by the truth of Isa the Messiah and his mother! Do you accept that I am knowledgeable of the Injil?" He said, "Yes." Then he began to recite what was there concerning Muhammad and his household and his community. Then he said, "Now what do you say, O Christian? This is the statement of Isa son of Marium. If you deny what the Injil states, you have denied Musa and Isa. If you deny this revelation, your killing becomes obligatory, because you would have disbelieved in Allah, His prophet and His book." The Catholicos said, "I do not deny what you have recited from the Injil, and I affirm it." His Eminence (peace be upon him) said, "Bear witness that he has affirmed." Then he said, "Ask whatever you wish." He said, "Tell me, how many were the Hawariyyun (disciples) of Isa?" He said, "You have asked one who is well-informed. As for the Hawariyyun, they were twelve men, and the most learned and the best of them was Alwaqa. As for the scholars of the Christians, they were three men: Yuhanna the Elder, who resided at Bajj; Yuhanna, who resided at Qarqisiya; and Yuhanna al-Daylami, who was at Zajan — and with him was the mention of the Prophet and the mention of his household and his community. He it was who gave the community of Isa and the Children of Israel the good tidings of the appearance of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): In the Torah it is written مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ [Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah], and in Hebrew it is recorded as طاب. Then he recited this verse: یَجِدُونَهُ مَکْتُوباً عِنْدَهُمْ فِی التَّوْراةِ وَ الْإِنْجِیلِ وَ مُبَشِّراً بِرَسُولٍ یَأْتِی مِنْ بَعْدِی اسْمُهُ أَحْمَد [They find him written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel, and giving good news of a Messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): A Jewish man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "Why is your name Muhammad, Ahmad, Bashir and Nadhir?" He said: "He is Muhammad because I am praised on earth. He is Ahmad because in the heavens I am more praised than on earth. He is Bashir (bearer of glad tidings) because I give glad tidings of Paradise to whoever obeys Allah. And he is Nadhir (warner) because I warn of the Fire whoever disobeys the command of Allah."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Indeed I have several names: Muhammad, Ahmad, and al-Mahi (the effacer) — for through me Allah effaces disbelief; and al-Hashir (the gatherer) — for the Lord will gather people before me; and al-'Aqib (the last) — for after me there will be no messenger or prophet.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has ten names — five of them are in the Qur'an and five are not in the Qur'an. Those in the Qur'an are: Muhammad, Ahmad, Abdullah, Ya-Sin and Nun. And those that are not in the Qur'an are: al-Fatih (the opener), al-Khatam (the seal), al-Kafi (the sufficient), al-Muqaffi (the follower) and al-Hashir (the gatherer).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was asked: Who are the six prophets each of whom has two names? He said: "Yusha ibn Nun, whose second name is Dhul-Kifl; Ya'qub (peace be upon him), who is Israel; Khidr (peace be upon him), who is Hilqiya; Yunus (peace be upon him), who is Dhul-Nun; Isa (peace be upon him), who is al-Masih; and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), who is Ahmad."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has ten names; five names are in the Qur'an and five names are not in the Qur'an. As for the names that are in the Qur'an, [they are]: Muhammad, Ahmad, Abd Allah, Ya-Sin and Nun.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ibn Qays narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: "The name of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) in the scriptures of Ibrahim is al-Mahi (the Effacer), in the Tawrat of Musa (peace be upon him) al-Hadd (the Sharp/Opposer), in the Injil of Isa (peace be upon him) Ahmad, and in the Furqan Muhammad." It was said: "What does al-Mahi mean?" He said: "The destroyer of the idols, the graven images, the divining arrows, and every object of worship other than the Most Merciful." It was said: "What does al-Hadd mean?" He said: "The one who contends against everyone who opposes Allah and His religion, whether kin or stranger." It was said: "What does Ahmad mean?" He said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic has praised him beautifully in His books [for his praiseworthy deeds]." It was said: "What does Muhammad mean?" He said: "Indeed, Allah and His angels and all His prophets and messengers and all their communities extol him and send blessings upon him."