سورة الأعراف

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Khalil narrates from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) concerning the verse: وَ نَزَعْنا ما فِی صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ [and We will remove whatever of ill-feeling is in their breasts] that he said: "It was revealed concerning us."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ نَزَعْنا ما فِی صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِل [and We will remove whatever of ill-feeling is in their breasts]; that is, the enmity that will be drawn out of their breasts — that is, from the believers in Paradise when they enter it.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ نَزَعْنا ما فِی صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ [And We will remove whatever of ill-feeling is in their breasts]; meaning enmity.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Day of Resurrection comes, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and the Imams from his descendants (peace be upon them) will be summoned, and they will be appointed [to reckon and intercede for] the people. When their Shia see them, they will say: الحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدانا لِهذا وَ ما کُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِیَ لَوْ لا أَنْ هَدانَا اللهُ [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us] — meaning: Allah guided us to the wilayah (guardianship) of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and the Imams from his descendants (peace be upon them).

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Ishaq narrated that Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said to Yunus, the freedman of Ali ibn Yaqtin: "O Yunus! Do not debate about qadar (divine decree)." He said: "I do not debate about qadar; I only say that nothing occurs except what Allah wills and decrees and ordains." He said: "I do not put it this way; I say that nothing occurs except what Allah wishes (sha'a) and wills (arada) and ordains (qaddara) and decrees (qada)." Then he said: "Do you know what mashi'ah (wishing) is?" He said: "No." He said: "It is His intending a thing. Do you know what 'He wills' means?" He said: "No." He said: "[Iradah, will, means] bringing the wish to completion. Do you know what 'He ordains' means?" He said: "No." He said: "It is the measuring of length, breadth and duration." Then he said: "When Allah wishes a thing, He wills it; when He wills it, He ordains it; when He ordains it, He decrees it; and when He decrees it, He carries it out. O Yunus! The Qadariyyah have neither spoken according to the word of Allah, who said: وَ ما تَشاؤُنَ إِلَّا أَنْ یَشاءَ اللهُ [And you do not will anything unless Allah wills] (al-Insan/30), nor according to the word of the people of Paradise who said: الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدانا لِهذا وَ ما کُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِیَ لَوْ لا أَنْ هَدانَا اللهُ [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us], nor according to the word of the people of the Fire who said: رَبَّنا غَلَبَتْ عَلَیْنا شِقْوَتُنا وَ کُنَّا قَوْماً ضالِّینَ [Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a misguided people] (al-Mu'minun/106), nor according to the word of Iblis who said: رَبِّ بِما أَغْوَیْتَنِی [My Lord! Because You led me astray] (al-Hijr/39), nor according to the word of Nuh (peace be upon him): وَ لا یَنْفَعُکُمْ نُصْحِی إِنْ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَنْصَحَ لَکُمْ إِنْ کانَ اللهُ یُرِیدُ أَنْ یُغْوِیَکُمْ هُوَ رَبُّکُمْ وَ إِلَیْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ [Whenever Allah wills to lead you astray [because of your sins], and I wish to counsel you, my counsel will be of no benefit to you. He is your Lord, and to Him you shall be returned] (Hud/34)." Then he said: "Allah said: O son of Adam (peace be upon him)! It is by My wish that you are the one who wishes, and by My strength that you discharge My obligations, and by My favour that you gained strength to disobey Me. I made you hearing, seeing and strong. Whatever good reaches you is from Me, and whatever evil reaches you is from yourself. That is because لَا أُسْأَلُ عَمَّا أَفْعَلُ وَ هُمْ یُسْئَلُونَ [I am not questioned about what I do, but they are questioned] (al-Anbiya/23)." Then he said: "I have set out for you in order everything you wanted [to know]."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Yunus ibn Abd al-Rahman said: Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "O Yunus! Do not accept the doctrine of the Qadariyya, for the words of the Qadariyya are neither the words of the people of Paradise, nor the words of the people of the Fire, nor the words of Iblis. For the people of Paradise said: الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدانا لِهذا وَ ما کُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِیَ لَوْ لا أَنْ هَدانَا اللهُ [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this; and had Allah not guided us, we would not have found the way (to these blessings)]. Nor do they speak the words of the people of the Fire, for the people of the Fire said: our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a people gone astray! (Muminun/106). And Iblis said: 'My Lord, because You led me astray.' (Hijr/39)." I said: "My master! By Allah, I do not speak as they do; I say that nothing occurs except what Allah has willed, decreed and ordained." He said: "O Yunus! It is not as [you say]. The correct thing is that [you say] nothing occurs except what Allah has willed, intended, ordained and decreed. O Yunus! Do you know what mashi'ah (will) is?" I said: "No." He said: "Mashi'ah is the first remembrance (al-dhikr al-awwal). Do you know what iradah (intention) is?" I said: "No." He said: "It is the resolve upon what He has willed. Do you know what qadar (measure) is?" I said: "No." He said: "It is the setting of the limits of terms, provisions, subsistence and cessation. Do you know what qada' (decree) is?" I said: "No." He said: "The establishing of the entity [and bringing it into realisation]." He said: I asked the Imam's permission to kiss his head, and I said: "You have opened up for me a matter of which I was previously unaware."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When Hajjat al-Wada' was completed, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) departed from Mecca [and moved towards Medina] until he reached the land of Ghadir Khumm, and there the call to prayer was given [and it was announced that the congregational prayer was to be held]. We too went out to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and prayed the congregational prayer behind him. After the prayer, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) turned to us and said: "O people, say what I have said, and salute Ali (peace be upon him) as Amir al-Mu'minin, and say: سَمِعْنَا وَ أَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَکَ رَبَّنا وَ إِلَیْکَ الْمَصِیرُ [We hear and we obey; our Lord, we seek Your forgiveness, and to You is the return] (Baqarah/285), and say: الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَ مَا کُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِیَ لَوْ لَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللهُ [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this (all these blessings); and had Allah not guided us, we would not have found the way (to these)]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Asim ibn Damrah narrated from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) that he mentioned the people of Paradise, then said: "They come and enter Paradise, and suddenly they see that the foundations of their houses are of pearl stone, and there are raised couches, and goblets set down, and cushions arranged in rows, and rich carpets spread out. And were it not that Allah had ordained it thus for them, their eyes would have been dazzled by what they see. And they embrace their spouses, sit upon the couches, and say: الحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدانا لِهذا [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this]."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abu Dharr al-Ghifari asked Salman al-Farsi: "O Aba Abdillah! How is the recognition of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) through nuraniyyah (the luminous reality)?" ... [up to where] Salman said: We asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): "What has been given to you that is better than all of this?" He said: "He has informed us of the Ism al-A'zam (the Greatest Name), such that if we wish, we can uproot the heavens and the earth and Paradise and Hell, carry them up to the sky and cast them upon the earth; we go to the west and the east and end up at the Throne, where we sit before Allah, and everything is obedient to us — even the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the living creatures, the seas, Paradise and Hell, all are obedient to us. This station Allah has bestowed upon us by means of the Ism al-A'zam which He has granted us. Along with all these distinctions, we eat food and walk in the markets, and we perform these acts by the command of Allah. We are the honoured servants of Allah, who do not put forth an opinion before Him and act upon His command. He has made us infallible and pure, and has favoured us over many of His believing servants. We say: الحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدانا لِهذا وَ ما کُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِیَ لَوْ لا أَنْ هَدانَا اللهُ [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us]. And the punishment is established upon the disbelievers — meaning those who deny the favours of Allah upon us."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Day of Judgement comes, Allah will summon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali (peace be upon him) to Himself, and the two of them will sit upon the Throne of Honour which is set before the Throne. And whenever a group of their Shia come out, they will say: This is the Prophet and this is his successor. Then they will say to one another: الحَمْدُ لِلهِ الَّذِی هَدانا لِهذا وَ ما کُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِیَ لَوْ لا أَنْ هَدانَا اللهُ [Praise be to Allah who guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us] to the wilayah of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and Ali (peace be upon him) and the Imams from among their descendants. Then the command will come that they be taken to Paradise.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him) said: For the friends of Allah, ninety-nine doors are opened from their houses in Paradise to their graves, and the spirit, sweet basil, fragrance, delight and light of Paradise reach him until the Day of Judgement ... Then the two angels who were with him during his worldly life come to receive him ... They say to him: "O friend of Allah, on this day there shall be no fear upon you nor any grief. We are the same two to whom your affair was entrusted in the world, and today, in the Hereafter, we are also your friends and companions. Behold, تِلْکُمُ الْجَنَّهًُْ الَّتِی أُورِثْتُمُوها بِما کُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ [that is the Paradise which you have inherited for what you used to do]."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): All human beings have a house in Paradise and a house in Hell. The disbeliever [who is destined for Hell, in addition to his own house in Hell] inherits the house of the believer in Hell and becomes its owner, and the believer [in addition to his own house in Paradise] inherits the house of the disbeliever in Paradise [and becomes its owner]. This is the meaning of the words of Allah where He says: أُورِثْتُمُوها بِما کُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ [you are made heirs of it for what you used to do].