سورة القلم

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Indeed, when a person commits a sin, sustenance is withheld from him. And he recited these verses: إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَیَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِینَ، وَ لَا یَسْتَثْنُونَ؛ فَطَافَ عَلَیْهَا طَائِفٌ مِّن رَّبِّکَ وَ هُمْ نَائِمُونَ [When they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, and did not make an exception; then a visitation from your Lord came upon it while they were sleeping].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Sa'id ibn Jubayr narrates from Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): It was said to him: "A group from this Ummah claim that when a servant commits a sin, he is deprived of sustenance — is it so?" Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ... An old man had gardens ... When that old man passed away, his sons inherited from him. They went to their gardens after the Asr prayer and looked at such an abundance of produce the like of which had never been seen in their father's lifetime. So when they saw all that produce, they became rebellious and transgressed, and said to one another: Our father was an aged old man who had lost his mind. So come, let us make a pact that this year we will not give any of the poor Muslims anything from our produce, so that we may become wealthy and our wealth may increase ... And this is the one about whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّکُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ [The most moderate among them said: Did I not say to you, why do you not glorify (Allah)?]. That man said: "O Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him)! Was he the middle one among them in age?" He said: "No, rather he was the youngest of them in age, but the greatest of them in intellect. The middle one of a people is the best of them, and the proof of this is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic in the Quran; that you, O Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), are the smallest of the nations, yet at the same time the best of them, just as [your qiblah is a middle qiblah] We have also made you a middle nation (Baqarah/143). Then their brother said to them: Fear Allah, and follow the same path and way of your father — you will be safe and will profit. But they attacked him and severely injured him, and when their brother realised that they intended to kill him, out of compulsion he joined them in that matter. They went to their homes and swore that in the morning they would pluck its fruit, without paying heed to the will and decree of Allah. So Allah gave them the recompense of that sin of theirs and snatched away from them that produce which they were on the point of harvesting, and He mentioned their story in the Quran: إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ کَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَیَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِینَ، وَ لَا یَسْتَثْنُونَ، فَطَافَ عَلَیْهَا طَائِفٌ مِّن رَّبِّکَ وَ هُمْ نَائِمُونَ، فَأَصْبَحَتْ کَالصَّرِیمِ [Surely We tried them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, and did not make an exception; then a visitation from your Lord came upon it while they were sleeping, so it became as if it were reaped].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The meaning of the verse إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ کَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الجَنَّةِ [Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden] is that the people of Makkah were afflicted with hunger, just as the owners of those gardens were afflicted with hunger and drought. Those gardens were in a lower region [of the world], in the land of Yemen, and were called al-Ridwan, situated nine miles from Sanaa. In this verse فَطَافَ عَلَیْهَا طَائِفٌ مِّن رَّبِّکَ وَ هُمْ نَائِمُونَ [Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping], the "visitor" means the punishment. And إِنَّا لَضَالُّونَ [Indeed we have gone astray] means: we have taken the wrong path. And the meaning of the verse لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ [Why do you not glorify (Allah)?] is: why do you not seek forgiveness and pardon?

Imam Hadi (peace be upon him): These verses are all to be compared with one another, and they bear witness to one another. As for the verses of "balwa" [expressed in this term], which also means testing and trial [although this expression was also present in the verses of the first part]: "but Allah wishes to test you in what He has granted you" (al-Ma'idah/48); "then He turned you away from them so that He might test you" [and your victory turned into defeat] (Al Imran/152); and إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ کَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الجَنَّةِ; and "He created death and life to test which of you is best in deed" (al-Mulk/2); and [remember] when Allah tested Ibrahim with various means (al-Baqarah/124); and "if Allah had willed, He Himself would have punished them, but He wishes to test some of you by means of others" (Muhammad/4). Everything in the Quran that comes as "balwa", of which the verses mentioned are examples, all means testing, and its like in the Quran is abundant. These establish the reality of trial. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, did not create creation in vain, nor did He leave them to their own devices, nor did He carry out His wise acts as play.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): He forbade it because it causes the poor to be deprived of the harvest that is given to them from it. Do you not see the word of Allah the Exalted [where He says]: إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَیَصْرِمُنَّها مُصْبِحِینَ وَ لا یَسْتَثْنُون [when they swore that they would certainly cut off its fruit in the morning, and they made no exception].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Avoid sins, for sin destroys good deeds. A person commits a sin and because of it forgets the knowledge he had acquired; a person commits a sin and because of it is prevented from performing the night prayer; and sin causes a person to be deprived of his sustenance, while life had been pleasant for him. Then he recited this verse: إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ کَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الجَنَّة [Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sin prevents sustenance from reaching the servant, and this is a reference to the word of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, who said: إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ کَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الجَنَّةِ [Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّا بَلَوْناهُمْ کَما بَلَوْنا أَصْحابَ الجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا [Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore] — meaning they swore that they would pluck the fruits of the garden in the early morning [away from the eyes of the poor].