سورة الجن

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle] — by Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was one of those whom He chose.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): One of the companions of Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) asked him about this saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِن بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا [Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him]. Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic appoints angels to record the deeds of His prophets and to inform them of the matter of conveying the message. Allah the Mighty and Majestic appointed a mighty angel over him from the time when the period of his infancy ended, who guided him to good things and noble morals, and kept him away from evil, filth and blameworthy morals. This angel was the one who used to address him and say: 'Peace be upon you, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! O Messenger of Allah!' — while at that time, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had not yet attained the rank and station of prophethood, and he thought that this call was from a stone or from the ground, and however much he looked carefully, he found nothing."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah the Exalted did not send down upon His Prophet any verse of the Quran except that He sent with it four guardian angels who preserved it until they delivered it to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Then he recited this verse: عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَدًا * إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِن بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as an apostle; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him], meaning the four angels: لِّیَعْلَمَ أَن قَدْ أَبْلَغُواْ رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ [So that He may know that they have indeed delivered the messages of their Lord].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِنْ بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَداً [Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him]: they are a group of angels who follow up and protect the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) from the satans, so that through this the matters to which the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) has been sent become clear and are not confused.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِن بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as an apostle; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him] — Allah the Mighty and Majestic informs His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), with whom He is pleased, about the reports of what has occurred before, and the reports concerning Imam Zaman (may Allah hasten his noble return), the Return (raj'ah) and the Resurrection.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) whispered in my ear and taught me what has been and what will occur until the Day of Resurrection, and Allah caused those [sciences] to flow to me — for my [knowledge] — upon the tongue of His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as an apostle] — what is meant is Ali al-Murtada (peace be upon him), who is the one pleasing and acceptable to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and Ali (peace be upon him) is from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Allah says: فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِن بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا [for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him]. He said: in his heart is knowledge and behind him are guards; He teaches him and casts knowledge into him, and Allah teaches him by way of ilham (inspiration); and "rasad" is the teaching which [Imam Ali (peace be upon him)] receives from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), so that he may know that His messengers have delivered the messages of their Lord, and he encompasses what they possess and has enumerated everything. That is, he knows whatever has been and whatever is, from the day Allah created Adam until the establishment of the Resurrection — whether it be fitna (trial), or sinking into the earth, or being pelted, or nations that were destroyed in the past or will be destroyed in the future, and how many oppressive or just leaders have come and will come — he knows them all by name and lineage, and knows whether they will die a natural death or be killed; and how many imams have been forsaken and this forsaking causes them no harm, and how many imams have been helped without the help of the helpers benefiting them.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): One of the zanadiqa (heretics) came to Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and said: If there were no discrepancy and contradiction in the Quran, I would surely believe... The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "What discrepancy?"... The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "[Allah] completed the proof upon creation; by speaking to them with a statement that indicates His singularity and oneness, and [telling them] that they have guardians [from Allah] whose deeds and rulings run in the same course as Allah's deed. And Allah made known to creation their awareness of the knowledge of the unseen by this word of His: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as an apostle]." The zindiq (heretic) said: "Who are these proofs?" He said: "They are the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and those of Allah's chosen ones who are his successors; those of whom Allah [presented them as His own face and] said: And whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah. (Baqarah/115) Those whom Allah joined with Himself and His Messenger, and whose obedience He made obligatory upon the servants just as He made obedience to Himself obligatory upon the servants."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sadir Sayrafi said: Humran said: "Then what is meant by this verse: عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَدًا [The Knower of the unseen, He does not disclose His unseen to anyone]?" Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ [Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle]. By Allah! Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was among those with whom Allah was pleased. As for the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ [The Knower of the unseen], Allah has knowledge and awareness of what is hidden from His creation. Among these is that He is aware of the destinies of the world and what is in His knowledge, before He creates it and before He conveys it to the angels. O Humran! This knowledge (the suspended knowledge) is exclusive to Allah, and its will and volition is in His control; if He wills, He brings it to occurrence, or bada (a change of decree) occurs for Him regarding it and He does not bring it to occurrence. But the knowledge which Allah the Mighty and Majestic decrees and brings to fulfilment is the knowledge which reaches first the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and then ends with us."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Zayd ibn Sharahil al-Ansari said: The noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to his companions: "Name for me the best among you." They said: "You, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." He said: "That is correct, I am the best of you, but I introduce to you one better than the best of you — the foremost of you in following Islam, the most learned of all, and the most forbearing of all — Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)."