سورة المدثر

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) regarding the verse: ... کَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُسْتَنْفِرَةٌ فَرَّتْ مِنْ قَسْوَرَةٍ [As if they were asses taking fright, fleeing from a lion] that he said: "That is, they are like wild asses (zebras) that flee upon seeing a lion. The enemies of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them) are just the same; when they hear one of the virtues of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them), they flee from the truth."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The wild ass, when it sees a lion, flees from it; likewise these disbelievers, when they hear the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) reciting the Quran, flee from him.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) would come out of his house, the youths of the polytheists would follow him and throw stones at him until they made his feet bleed, and Ali (peace be upon him) would charge at them and they would flee; so it was revealed: کَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُسْتَنْفِرَةٌ فَرَّتْ مِنْ قَسْوَرَةٍ [As if they were asses taking fright, fleeing from a lion].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): [In the Battle of Siffin, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) attacked thousands of Muawiyah's army along with a small number of men. The entire army of Muawiyah took to flight]. کَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُسْتَنْفِرَةٌ فَرَّتْ مِنْ قَسْوَرَةٍ [As if they were asses taking fright, fleeing from a lion], and suddenly Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) came while [blood] was dripping from his sword and his face was like a piece of the moon.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ulul-albab (those of understanding) are those who worked with thought and reflection until they inherited the love of Allah. Whenever the love of Allah reaches the heart and the heart takes light from it, the grace (lutf) of Allah reaches it more swiftly. When grace descends upon the heart, it becomes a centre of benefits, and when it becomes the place of benefits, the heart speaks with wisdom, and when it speaks from wisdom, it becomes possessed of intelligence and acuity. When it acquires intelligence and perceptiveness, it acts with power, and when it acts with power, it comes to know the heavens. When it reaches this station, it becomes immersed in thought, reflection, wisdom and eloquence. When it becomes like this, its desires and loves become connected to Allah, and when it attains such a station, it reaches the great rank and beholds Allah in its heart. Here it inherits wisdom, but not in the way the wise inherit it, and it inherits knowledge, but not in the way the scholars inherit it, and it inherits truthfulness, but not in the way the truthful inherit it. The wise inherited wisdom through silence, and the scholars acquired knowledge through seeking, and the truthful attained truthfulness through humility and obtained it through worship. Whoever acquires these by this means either descends or is raised, but most of them descend and are not raised, because they did not observe the right of Allah and did not carry out His commands. These are the attributes of those who did not know Allah as He deserves to be known, nor loved Him as He deserves to be loved. So do not be deceived by their prayer and their fasting, and do not be misled by their narrations and their sciences, فإنهم حُمُرٌ مُسْتَنْفِرَةٌ [for indeed they are asses taking fright].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): From the words of the Imam (peace be upon him), spoken in the manner of argument, containing rebuke and reproach of his companions for their refusal to fight Mu'awiya, and also containing censure and threat against them: O people... I spoke to you words filled with wisdom and you turned away from them, and I set forth for you beneficial admonitions and you turned your faces from them, and like wild asses fleeing from a ravaging lion you likewise fled from my divine statements. I called you to battle against the oppressors, and before I had finished my speech all of you scattered like the descendants of Saba (an allusion to the sons of Saba, who in the flood of Arim disappeared one after another, and this became a proverb for expressing dispersion) and returned to your gatherings.