سورة النبإ

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The Ruh (Spirit) is an angel greater and mightier than Jibra'il and Mika'il. The Ruh was with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and will likewise be with the Imams (peace be upon them).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Asbagh ibn Nubata said: A man came to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and asked about the Ruh: 'Is he the same as Jibra'il?' Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said to him: 'Jibra'il (peace be upon him) is of the angels, and the Ruh is other than Jibra'il.' And he repeated this statement. The man said: 'You have said something momentous!! No one holds the belief that the Ruh is other than Jibra'il.' Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said to him: 'You yourself are misguided and you narrate from the people of misguidance... یَوْمَ یَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَ الْمَلائِکَةُ صَفًّا [The day on which the Spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks].'

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abu Ma'mar al-Sa'dani said: A man came to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and said, "O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)! I have come to doubt the Book that Allah has sent down." The Imam (peace be upon him) said to him, "May your mother mourn you! How is it that you have doubted the Book that Allah has sent down?" He said, "Because I have seen that the verses of the Book of Allah contradict one another — how then should I not doubt it?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said, "The verses of the Book of Allah confirm one another and never contradict one another, but you have not been granted an intellect by which you can profit. Now tell me what it is in the Book of Allah the Mighty and Majestic that you have doubted." The man said, "I have found that Allah says: … یَوْمَ یَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِکَةُ صَفًّا لَّا یَتَکَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent permits, and who speaks the right thing]. And when they are made to speak they say: 'By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists' (al-An'am 6:23). 'On the Day of Resurrection some of you shall deny others and some of you shall curse others' (al-'Ankabut 29:25). 'Indeed, that is surely true — the wrangling of the people of the Fire' (Sad 38:64). 'Do not dispute in My presence, for I had already sent you the warning' (Qaf 50:28). 'Today We seal their mouths, and their hands speak to Us and their feet bear witness to what they used to earn' (Ya-Sin 36:65). So at one moment He informs us that they speak, and at another moment He informs us that no one speaks except the one whom the Beneficent permits, who speaks the right thing; and at another moment He informs us that the creatures do not open their tongues, and yet He quotes their saying: وَاللّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا کُنَّا مُشْرِکِینَ [By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists]; and at another moment He informs us that they dispute — how can this be, O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)? And how am I not to doubt in what you have heard?" … The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "As for the word of Allah the Exalted: یَوْمَ یَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِکَةُ صَفًّا لَّا یَتَکَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent permits, and who speaks the right thing], and 'By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists' (al-An'am 6:23), and 'On the Day of Resurrection some of you shall deny others and some of you shall curse others' (al-'Ankabut 29:25), and 'Indeed, that is surely true — the wrangling of the people of the Fire' (Sad 38:64), and 'Do not dispute in My presence, for I had already sent you the warning' (Qaf 50:28), and 'Today We seal their mouths, and their hands speak to Us and their feet bear witness to what they used to earn' (Ya-Sin 36:65) — each of these is at one of the stations of that Day whose measure is fifty thousand years. Allah the Mighty and Majestic on that Day gathers the creatures — while they are scattered — in a station, and they speak to one another and seek forgiveness for one another. These are those who in the abode of the world obeyed their chiefs and leaders. But the workers of disobedience denounce one another as disbelievers and curse one another; these are those who have borne malice, and who in the abode of the world assisted one another — the arrogant and the weak — in oppression and transgression. 'Kufr' (disbelief) in this verse means disavowal and disowning; He is saying: they disown one another. Similar to it in Surah Ibrahim is the word of Satan: 'Indeed I disbelieve in your associating me (with Allah) before' (Ibrahim 14:22), and likewise the word of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Khalil al-Rahman: 'We disbelieve in you' (al-Mumtahanah 60:4), meaning: 'We disown you.' Then they gather in another place and weep there, and if those voices and cries were to be made manifest to the people of the world, they would cause all the creatures to forget the means of their livelihood and their hearts would burst asunder — except for what Allah wills — and they will continue to weep blood. Then they gather in another station and are made to speak there, and they say: 'وَ اللّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا کُنَّا مُشْرِکِینَ [By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists]'. Then Allah the Blessed and Exalted seals their mouths with the seal of silence and makes their hands and feet and skins speak, and they bear witness to every sin that issued from them. Then He removes the seal from their tongues and they say to their skins, 'Why did you bear witness against us?' They say, 'Allah, who has made every thing speak, made us speak.' Then they gather in another station and are made to speak, and they flee from one another — and that is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: 'The day on which a man shall flee from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his sons' (Abasa 80:34–36). Then they are made to speak, and no one speaks except the one whom the Beneficent permits, and he speaks the right thing. At that moment the messengers stand up and bear witness at this station, and that is the word of Allah the Exalted: 'How then shall it be when We bring from every people a witness and bring you as a witness against these?' (al-Nisa' 4:41). Then they gather in another station, in which is the standing of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and it is the praiseworthy standing (al-Maqam al-Mahmud). At that moment Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) shall praise Allah the Blessed and Exalted with a praise that no one before him has uttered; then he shall praise all the angels, and there shall not remain a single angel whom Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has not praised; and thereafter he shall praise the prophets (peace be upon them) with a praise the like of which no one has uttered before him; and then he (peace be upon him and his family) shall praise the believing men and women, beginning with the truthful and the martyrs, and then with the righteous. At that moment the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth shall praise him (peace be upon him and his family), and that is the word of Allah the Exalted: 'It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praiseworthy station' (al-Isra' 17:79). Blessed is he who has a share in that station, and woe to him who has no share and no portion in that station! Then they gather in another station and withdraw from one another. All of this that has passed is before the reckoning; and when the reckoning is begun, every human being is preoccupied with what he has before him. We ask of Allah the blessing of that Day." The man said, "You have relieved me — may Allah relieve you, O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) — and you have untied a knot for me, so may Allah make your reward great."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): One of the zindiqs (heretics) came to the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), and said: "Were it not for the discrepancies and contradictions in the Quran, I would surely enter your religion." Ali (peace be upon him) said to him: "What are you speaking of (where in the Quran is there discrepancy and contradiction)?" He said: "In this word of Allah the Exalted: ... يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَ قَالَ صَوَابًا [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Allah permits and who speaks the right thing]; and also: 'By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists' (al-An'am/23); and also: 'On the Day of Resurrection, some of you will deny others and some of you will curse others...' (al-Ankabut/25)." The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said to him: "As for the word of Allah the Exalted: يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَ قَالَ صَوَابًا [The day the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent permits, and he speaks what is right], and 'By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists,' and 'On the Day of Resurrection some of you will deny others and some of you will curse others,' and also the word of Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, whose remembrance is majestic and lofty, on the Day of Resurrection: 'Indeed, that is true — the quarrelling of the people of the Fire.' And لَا تَخْتَصِمُوا لَدَيَّ [Do not dispute in My presence — after I have already sent you the warning]. And 'Today We seal their mouths, and their hands speak to Us, and their feet bear witness to what they used to earn' (Ya-Sin/65) — each of these belongs to one of the stations of that Day whose measure is fifty thousand years. What is meant is that those who commit sins disbelieve in one another and curse one another. Kufr (disbelief) in this verse means bara'a (dissociation) and disowning." He said: "They disown one another. The like of this appears in Surah Ibrahim (peace be upon him), the words of Satan: 'Indeed I disbelieve in your having associated me [with Allah] before' (Ibrahim/22). And likewise the word of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Khalil al-Rahman: 'We disbelieve in you' (al-Mumtahanah/4) — meaning we have dissociated ourselves from you. Then they gather at other stations and weep so bitterly that, if the sound of their weeping reached the people of this world, it would surely turn all the creatures of the world away from their life (they would perish) and their hearts would burst — except what Allah wills. They continue to weep until their tears run dry and they weep blood. Then they gather at other stations where they are made to speak (interrogated), and they say: 'By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists' (al-An'am/23). These specifically are those who in the abode of this world professed the oneness of Allah, yet their faith in Allah the Exalted does not avail them, because they opposed His messengers and doubted what they brought from their Lord, and broke their covenants concerning their successors (upon whom be the peace and greetings of Allah), and put in place someone lower instead of one who was better. Therefore Allah declared them liars in the faith they claimed for themselves and said: 'See how they lie against themselves' (al-An'am/24). Then Allah seals their mouths into silence and makes their hands, feet and skins speak, and these testify to every sin that issued from them. Then He removes the seal from their tongues and they say to their own skins: 'Why did you bear witness against us?' They say: 'The same Allah who made every thing speak has made us speak' (Fussilat/21). Then they gather at other stations, and from fear of the severity of the matter and the immensity of the trial that they see, they flee from one another. It is for this reason that Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: 'The Day a man will flee from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his children' (Abasa/34–36). Then they gather at other stations, and there the friends of Allah and His chosen ones are made to speak, and none speaks except him whom the Beneficent permits, and he speaks what is right. At that moment the messengers are set up and are questioned about their delivery of the messages which they bore to their communities, and they give word that they conveyed the messages to their communities. Then the communities are asked, and they deny it — as Allah the Exalted said: 'So We will surely question those to whom [the messengers] were sent, and We will surely question the messengers' (al-A'raf/6). They say: 'No bearer of glad tidings and no warner came to us.' Then the messengers call the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to witness, and he bears witness to the truthfulness of the messengers and the falsehood of the denying communities, and he says to each of those communities: 'Yes! A bearer of glad tidings and a warner did come to you, and Allah is Powerful over all things,' meaning He is able to have your limbs testify against you that the messengers conveyed their messages to you. It is for this reason that Allah the Exalted said to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): 'How then when We bring a witness from every community and We bring you as a witness against these?' (al-Nisa/41). In this way they cannot reject his testimony, because they fear that their mouths will be sealed and their limbs will testify against them to their deeds. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) testifies against the hypocrites and unbelievers of his people and community concerning their disbelief and enmity, and says that they broke their covenants with him (peace be upon him and his family) and altered his sunnah, showed enmity to his Ahl al-Bayt, turned back on their heels from the way of their predecessors, abandoned the conduct of the earlier generations, and in doing so followed in the footsteps of the earlier communities who wronged their prophets and betrayed them. At that moment, all of them will say: 'Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us and we were a straying people' (al-Mu'minun/106). Then they gather at another station, which is the station of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) — and it is the Praiseworthy Station (al-Maqam al-Mahmud). At that moment he (peace be upon him and his family) will praise Allah the Mighty and Majestic with a praise such as no one before him has offered Him. Then he will praise the prophets (peace be upon them) with a praise the like of which no one has uttered. Then he will praise the believing women and men, beginning with the truthful and the martyrs and proceeding to the righteous. At that moment the people of the heavens and the people of the earths praise him. This is the word of Allah the Exalted: 'It may be that your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station' (al-Isra/79). So blessed is he who has a portion and a share in that station, and woe to him who has no portion and no share in that station. Then they gather at another station and keep away from one another. All of this is before the reckoning; and when the reckoning begins, every human being is occupied with what is before him. We ask Allah for the blessing of that Day."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Day of Resurrection arrives and Allah the Mighty and Majestic gathers all creatures, from the first to the last, in one place, the saying of لا إله إلاّ الله [there is no god but Allah] will be taken away from all creatures, except those who have acknowledged the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). This is the very word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic who said: يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Allah permits and who speaks the right thing].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fudayl said: I said to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): "What is meant by يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Allah permits and who speaks the right thing]?" He said: "By Allah! It is we who will be granted permission on the Day of Resurrection, and who will speak the truth." I said to him: "When you speak, what will you say?" He said: "We will praise our Lord and send blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and intercede for our Shia, and our Lord will not turn us away (He will accept our intercession)."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Abu al-Jarud: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said concerning the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Allah permits]: "When the Day of Resurrection comes, the saying of لا اله الا الله [there is no god but Allah] will be forgotten from the hearts of the servants at the standing place, except for those who have acknowledged the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him). This is the meaning of the word of Allah: إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ [except he whom the Beneficent permits] — that is, from the people of the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him). It is they who will be granted permission to say: لا اله الا الله [there is no god but Allah]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza al-Thumali said: I went 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 a hadith that will benefit me." He said: "O Abu Hamza! All people will enter Paradise except one who refuses." I said: "Is there anyone who would refuse to go to Paradise?" He said: "Yes! Anyone who does not say: لا اله الا الله محمّد رسول الله [there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah]." I said: "I have left the Murji'a, the Qadariyya, the Khawarij and the Banu Umayya, while all of them used to say: لا اله الا الله محمّد رسول الله [there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah]." Then he said: "How far, how far! When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah will strip that [saying] away from them, and none will say those words except us and our Shia, and the rest will be disowned of it. Have you not heard the word of Allah who says: يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا لَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا [The day on which the spirit and the angels shall stand in ranks; they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Allah permits and who speaks the right thing] — meaning whoever says لا اله الا الله محمّد رسول الله [there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah]."