سورة الانسان

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muslim ibn Khalid narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), and he from his father (peace be upon him), who said: "Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) fell ill while they were young children. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) came to visit them with two men. One of them said: 'O Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him), if you were to make a vow for your two sons, Allah would heal them.' He said: 'I shall fast three days in thanks to Allah.' And Fatima (peace be upon her) said the same, and Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) also said: 'We too shall fast three days,' and their maidservant Fidda also made such a vow. Allah clothed their bodies in well-being. In the morning they had the intention to fast, but they had no food."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him)- Khwarazmi in his Manaqib, from Ibn Abbas — which Tha'labi and other exegetes have also narrated — regarding the verse: يُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ وَ يَخافُونَ يَوْماً كانَ شَرُّهُ مُسْتَطيراً [They fulfill vows and fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide], says: Hasan (peace be upon him) and Husayn (peace be upon him) fell ill, and their grandfather the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), together with Abu Bakr and Umar, went to visit them, and many other people of the Arabs also visited them. They said: "O Abu al-Hasan! It would be well if you made a vow for your sons, for any vow that is not fulfilled has no value." So Ali (peace be upon him) said: "If my sons recover, I shall fast three days in thanks for this blessing." And Fatima (peace be upon her) said: "If my sons recover from their illness, I shall fast three days in thanks." And a maidservant named Fidda, who belonged to Fatima (peace be upon her), also made a vow: "If my masters recover from their illness, I shall fast three days." So Allah clothed Hasan (peace be upon him) and Husayn (peace be upon him) in the garment of well-being. But in the house of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) no food was to be found. So Amir al-Mu'minin went to Sham'un al-Khaybari, who was a Jewish man, and borrowed from him three sa' of barley.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) and Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) fell ill in their childhood. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), along with two of his companions, went to visit them. One of the two said to Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "If only you would make a vow to Allah for the recovery of your two sons?" He said: "[If He cures them,] in thanks and gratitude to Allah, I will fast three days." Fatimah (peace be upon her) also repeated the same words, and the two sons also said: "We too will fast three days." And their servant Fiddah also said: "I too will fast." So Allah granted them recovery, and they began the fast while they had no food. Ali (peace be upon him) went to his Jewish neighbour, Shamun, who was a wool-spinner, and said: "Will you accept this bargain — that in exchange for the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) spinning some sheep's wool for you, you give me three measures of barley?" The Jewish man accepted. So Ali (peace be upon him) brought that amount of sheep's wool and those three measures of barley, and informed Fatimah (peace be upon her) of it, and she accepted. Fatimah (peace be upon her) began spinning that quantity of wool, and when she had spun a third of it, she took one measure of that barley and ground it, and baked five loaves of bread, one loaf allotted to each of them. Ali (peace be upon him) performed the Maghrib prayer with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and came home. They spread the cloth and all of them sat around it, and when Ali (peace be upon him) picked up the first morsel, a poor man came to the door and said: "Peace be upon you, O household of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! I am a poor Muslim. Give me some of the food you are eating. May Allah grant you of the tables of Paradise." So Ali (peace be upon him) placed his morsel on the ground ... then he reached to the cloth and gave everything on it to that poor person, and they lay down with hungry stomachs and drank only water. They also fasted the next day. Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) turned to another third of that sheep's wool and spun it, and took another measure of that barley and ground it, and baked five loaves of bread, one loaf reaching each of them. Ali (peace be upon him) performed the Maghrib prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and came to his home. The cloth was spread and all of them sat around it, and when Ali (peace be upon him) picked up his first morsel, a Muslim orphan appeared at the threshold and said: "Peace be upon you, O household of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! I am a Muslim orphan. Give me some of the food you are eating. May Allah grant you of the tables of Paradise." So Ali (peace be upon him) placed his morsel on the ground, and then Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) gave whatever was on the cloth to that orphan, and they passed the night into morning in a state of hunger and drank only water. They also fasted the next day, and Fatimah (peace be upon her) spun the remaining third of that sheep's wool and ground and kneaded the last measure of that barley, and prepared five loaves of bread from it, each loaf allotted to one of them. Ali (peace be upon him) performed the Maghrib prayer with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and came home. The cloth was spread and all of them sat around it. When Ali (peace be upon him) picked up his first morsel, one of the polytheist captives stood at the door and said: "Peace be upon you, O household of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! You take us captive and bind us in chains, and do not feed us?!" So Ali (peace be upon him) placed the morsel on the ground. Then they reached to the cloth and gave what was on the cloth to that captive ... and passed the night with hunger into morning, and remained without food until the following morning. Ali (peace be upon him) took Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), while the two were trembling like chicks from the intensity of hunger. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) saw the two of them, he said: "O Abal-Hasan (peace be upon him)! Your condition greatly saddens me; hurry, let us go to Fatimah (peace be upon her)." So they went in haste. Lady Fatimah (peace be upon her) was in her prayer-niche, and from the intensity of hunger her stomach had stuck to her back and her eyes had become sunken. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) saw her in that state, he embraced her and said: "Woe is me! You have been in this state for three days!" Then Jibra'il (peace be upon him) descended and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Take this, and may it be wholesome for you among your household." He (peace be upon him and his family) said: "What shall I take?" He said: هَلْ أَتَی عَلَی الْإِنسَانِ حِینٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ یَکُن شَیْئًا مَّذْکُورًا [Has there not been over man a period of time when he was nothing worth mentioning?] ... إِنَّ هَذَا کَانَ لَکُمْ جَزَاء وَکَانَ سَعْیُکُم مَّشْکُورًا [Indeed, this is a reward for you, and your effort has been appreciated]. And Hasan ibn Mihran in his hadith relates: The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) hurried to the house of Fatimah (peace be upon her) and observed their condition, then he embraced them and shed tears and said: "It has been three days that you are in this state and I am unaware of you." Then Jibra'il descended upon him with these verses: إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ یَشْرَبُونَ مِن کَأْسٍ کَانَ مِزَاجُهَا کَافُورًا * عَیْنًا یَشْرَبُ بِهَا عِبَادُ اللهِ یُفَجِّرُونَهَا تَفْجِیرًا [Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup whose mixture is of Kafur — a spring from which the servants of Allah will drink, causing it to gush forth in force].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) — in Tafsir Furat ibn Ibrahim, Abul-Qasim al-Alawi from Furat ibn Ibrahim, with the chain of the hadith, from Ja'far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon him) from his father from his grandfather (peace be upon him) [narrated that] he said: "Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) fell severely ill, and the master of the children of Adam, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), came to visit them, and Abu Bakr and Umar also visited them. Umar said to Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him): 'O Abul-Hasan (peace be upon him)! If you make an obligatory vow to Allah, [your sons will be cured]; because any vow that is not for Allah has no [obligatory] fulfilment.' Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) said: 'If Allah grants my two sons recovery from the illness they have, I shall fast three consecutive days for Allah.' And Zahra (peace be upon her) said the like of what her husband said, and they had a Maghribi maidservant named Fidda, and she too said: 'If Allah grants my two masters recovery from the illness they have, I shall fast three days for Allah.' ... Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) took the hands of the two children, who were trembling with hunger like two featherless chicks, and brought them to the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) saw the two of them, his eyes filled with tears, and he took the hands of the two children and went with them to Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her). When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) saw her — her colour had changed and her belly had stuck to her back — he pressed her to his chest and kissed her forehead, and Fatima (peace be upon her) said, weeping: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! I seek help from Allah and then from you because of hunger!' He said: The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) raised his head to the sky, saying: 'O Allah, satisfy the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them)!' Then Jibra'il descended and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), recite!' He said: 'What shall I recite?' He said: Recite: إِنَّ الْأَبْرارَ یَشْرَبُونَ مِنْ کَأْسٍ کانَ مِزاجُها کافُوراً عَیْناً یَشْرَبُ بِها عِبادُ اللهِ یُفَجِّرُونَها تَفْجِیراً یُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ وَ یَخافُونَ یَوْماً کانَ شَرُّهُ مُسْتَطِیراً وَ یُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعامَ عَلی حُبِّهِ مِسْکِیناً وَ یَتِیماً وَ أَسِیراً [Indeed the righteous shall drink of a cup the mixture of which is camphor, a fountain from which the servants of Allah shall drink, making it flow in abundance. They fulfil vows and fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide, and they give food, for love of Him, to the needy, the orphan and the captive]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): یُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ [They fulfill vows] refers to Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (peace be upon them) and their maidservant, and وَ یَخافُونَ یَوْماً کانَ شَرُّهُ مُسْتَطِیراً [and they fear a day whose evil is widespread] means [a day that] is frowning and grim-faced.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O Ali (peace be upon him)! What deed did you perform in the night [that has passed]? He said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Why [do you ask]?!" He said: "Four lofty stations were revealed concerning you." He said: "May my father and mother be your ransom! I had four dirhams; I gave one dirham as charity by night, one by day, one in secret, and one openly." He said: "Allah revealed concerning you: الَّذِینَ یُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوالَهُمْ بِاللَّیْلِ وَ النَّهارِ سِرًّا وَ عَلانِیَةً فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ لا هُمْ یَحْزَنُونَ [Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly — their reward is with their Lord, and no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve.] (Baqarah/274)." Then he said to him: "Did you do anything besides this? For Allah has revealed to me seventeen consecutive verses, from the verse: إِنَّ الْأَبْرارَ یَشْرَبُونَ مِنْ کَأْسٍ کانَ مِزاجُها کافُوراً [Indeed the righteous shall drink from a cup whose mixture is of camphor] up to ... إِنَّ هَذَا کَانَ لَکُمْ جَزَاء وَکَانَ سَعْیُکُم مَّشْکُورًا [Indeed this is a reward for you, and your striving is appreciated]."

Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): یُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْر [They fulfill vows] — meaning they fully carry out their vows.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrates from Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) concerning this verse: یُوفُونَ بِالنَّذْرِ [They fulfill vows], that he said: "They fulfill for Allah that covenant and pledge which was taken from them concerning our wilayah (are bound by it)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) forbade making a vow for other than Allah, and forbade a vow involving disobedience or the severing of kinship ties.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): مُسْتَطِیر means great (immense).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O servants of Allah! Indeed, after being raised from the grave you will face something more severe than [the punishment of] the grave, and that is a day on which the young will grow old, and the elderly will fall into intoxication and unconsciousness, and unborn children will be miscarried from the wombs, and every nursing woman will forget the infant she was nursing, a day whose face is frowning and whose brow is drawn together, a day whose evil is spread everywhere. Indeed, the terror of that day will strike fear into the angels who have no sin, and the seven heavens and the firm mountains and the outspread, cradle-like earth will tremble from fear of it, and the sky will split apart.