سورة الجن

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Yunus ibn Ya'qub, from someone who narrated it from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: وَ أَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً [And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water]: "That is, if they were to stand firm upon the wilayah (guardianship) of the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and the successors (peace be upon them) from among his descendants, and were to accept obedience to them in their commands and prohibitions, We would give them abundant water [of rain] to drink. That is, We would settle faith in their hearts. And what is meant by 'the way' is faith in the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him) and his successors."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about the verse: "Those who said: 'Our Lord is Allah,' then remained steadfast" (Fussilat/30). He said: "By Allah! The verse speaks of the very path that you are treading, and this too points to the same: وَ أَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً [And if they had remained steadfast on the path, We would surely have given them abundant water to drink]. [If they remain steadfast on the path of the Imams (peace be upon them), We shall give them sweet, pleasant water to drink]." I asked: "My master! When do the angels descend upon them and say: 'Do not fear and do not grieve, and receive glad tidings of the Paradise that you were promised!' (Fussilat/30)?" He said: "At the time of death and on the Day of Resurrection."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) say concerning this verse: وَ أَلَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْنَاهُم مَّاء غَدَقًا [And if they had remained steadfast on the path, We would surely have given them abundant water to drink]: "It means those in whom, at the time when Allah in the beginning [of creation], at the time of the shadows, took the covenant from the children of Adam, something of the shirk (associating partners) of Satan existed within them regarding the tariqa (path) — meaning the wilaya (guardianship). لَأَسْقَیْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً; that is, but We placed their shadows in pure, sweet water."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sama'a said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say concerning this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْنَاهُم مَّاءً غَدَقًا* لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِیهِ [And if they had remained steadfast on the path, We would surely have given them abundant water to drink, that We might test them thereby]: "It means on the day of Alast, when the children of Adam (peace be upon him) were in the world of ashbah (spirit-forms) and Allah took the covenant and pledge from them — if they had stood firm regarding the wilaya (guardianship), لَأَسْقَیْنَاهُم مَّاءً غَدَقًا, meaning We would certainly have given them to drink of pure and pleasant water."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Hababa al-Walibiyya came to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) and said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Tell me what you were in the azilla (shadows)." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Before the creation of created beings, we were a light in the presence of the Lord; when Allah created the creation, we glorified Him and the creation glorified Him, we declared His oneness and they declared His oneness, we magnified Him and they magnified Him. And this is the meaning of the word of Allah the Exalted, who says: وَ أَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً; what is meant by الطَّرِیقَةِ is the love of Ali (peace be upon him), and what is meant by ماءً غَدَقاً is the water of the Euphrates (pure and pleasant), which is the wilaya (guardianship) of the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon them)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about this verse: وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْنَاهُم مَّاءً غَدَقًا [And if they had remained steadfast on the path, We would surely have given them abundant water to drink]. He said: "It means that We would surely have granted them knowledge, so that they could learn it from the Imams (peace be upon them)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Burayd al-Ijli said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: وَ أَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ [And that if they should keep to the (right) way]. He said: "It means wilayah; لَأَسْقَیْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً [We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water] means We would make them taste abundant knowledge which they learn from the Imams (peace be upon them)." I said: "Then what is the meaning of this [statement]: لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِیهِ [that We might try them therein]?" He said: "It means so that We may test the hypocrites in this matter."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) regarding the verse: وَ أَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْناهُمْ ماءً غَدَقاً لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِیهِ [And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water, so that We might try them therein], that he said: "Allah says: We would place their forms (ashbah) in pure and pleasant water so that We might test them concerning Ali (peace be upon him)." And in this test the hypocrites disbelieved in what Allah commanded concerning the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him).

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ أَن لَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَی الطَّرِیقَةِ لَأَسْقَیْنَاهُم مَّاءً غَدَقًا [And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water]. الطَّرِیقَةِ [the way] is the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him). لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِیهِ [that We might try them therein] is the killing of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him). وَ مَن یُعْرِضْ عَن ذِکْرِ رَبِّهِ یَسْلُکْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا* وَ أَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللهِ أَحَدًا [And whoever turns aside from the reminder of his Lord, He will make him enter into an afflicting chastisement. And that the mosques belong to Allah, so do not call upon anyone with Allah] (Jinn/17), this means that the Imam is from the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), so do not take an imam from anyone other than them. وَ أَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللهِ یَدْعُوهُ [And when the servant of Allah stood up calling upon Him] (Jinn/19), the meaning is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), who was calling them to the wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him). کَادُوا [they well nigh]; the meaning is the Quraysh. یَکُونُونَ عَلَیْهِ لِبَدًا [would be a compact mass around him]; they help one another against him. He said: قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَدْعُو رَبِّی [Say: I only call upon my Lord] (Jinn/20), meaning, say: "This is the command of Allah, that I have no ownership over you! I have no power over harm or guidance for you if you turn away from his (Ali's (peace be upon him)) wilayah. قُلْ إِنِّی لَن یُجِیرَنِی مِنَ اللهِ أَحَدٌ [Say: Surely no one can protect me against Allah] (Jinn/22), if I conceal what I have been commanded. وَ لَنْ أَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَدًا [nor can I find any refuge besides Him] (Jinn/22), the meaning of مُلْتَحَدًا is a refuge. إِلَّا بَلَاغًا مِّنَ اللهِ [(It is only) a delivering (of communications) from Allah] (Jinn/23), meaning that I should convey to you the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), which I have been commanded with. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger regarding the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him), the fire of Hell is for him and they will abide therein forever."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Burayd al-Ijli narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "We would place abundant knowledge within them, which they would learn from the Imams (peace be upon them)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If they (jinn and mankind) remain firm upon the wilayah of Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), they will never go astray.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The way (al-tariqah) is the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).