سورة الأنفال

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Isma'il ibn al-Sari narrates from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) regarding the words of Allah the Exalted: وَ اتَّقُواْ فِتْنَةً لاَّ تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنكُمْ خَآصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust]; that he said: "I was informed that they are the People of the Camel (Ashab al-Jamal)."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ خَاصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust]; Allah warned the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) against fighting Ali (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In one place of the Qur'an, regarding إِنَّا أَنْزَلْناهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ [Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Decree], it has come: وَ اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ خَاصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust]; and He says: Muhammad is only the Messenger of Allah, and before him there were other messengers; if he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels? [and abandon Islam and return to the era of ignorance and disbelief]? And whoever turns back on his heels will never harm Allah in the least, and Allah will soon reward the grateful [the steadfast] (Al Imran/144). In the first verse He says: "When Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) departed from the world, the opponents say: 'Laylat al-Qadr has gone with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).' And this is a fitna and turmoil that particularly seizes them and causes them to return to their former disbelief, because if they say Laylat al-Qadr has not gone, then Allah must send down a command on the Night of Decree, and if they acknowledge Allah's command on the Night of Decree, there is no escape but that it must have a master (they must believe in a Wali al-Amr)."

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): [After the passing of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), Abu Sufyan expressed that people should pledge allegiance to Imam Ali (peace be upon him) as successor]; Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Go back, O Abu Sufyan. By Allah! You are not raising this proposal for the pleasure of Allah. Rather, you have always sought to strike Islam and deceive the Muslims. We are now occupied with attending to the burial of the Messenger of Allah, and every person will be responsible for his own deed and for what he gathers." Then Abu Sufyan went towards the mosque and found Banu Umayya gathered there, and he incited them to seize the caliphate, but no one followed him. It was a fitna that engulfed everyone, and a trial and test that became widespread, and evil circumstances arose through which Satan gained strength and the people of falsehood and transgression aided one another, and the people of faith became weak in protesting and denying it. This was the interpretation of the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic who said: وَ اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ خَاصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): When this verse was revealed: وَ اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِیبَنَّ الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْکُمْ خَاصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust], the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Whoever wrongs Ali (peace be upon him) after my passing and takes the station of my caliphate from him, it is as though he has denied my prophethood and the prophethood of the prophets (peace be upon them) before me."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): O Ibn Mas'ud! This verse: وَ اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِیبَنَّ الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْکُمْ خَاصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust] has been revealed, and I entrust it to you as a trust and name for you the specific wrongdoers. So grasp well what I say to you and convey it from me. Whoever wrongs Ali (peace be upon him) and takes my station from him is like one who has denied my prophethood and the prophethood of those before me.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn Salim narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding this saying of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: وَ اتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لا تُصِیبَنَّ الَّذِینَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْکُمْ خَاصَّةً [And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust], that he said: "After Allah called His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to Himself, the people were afflicted with a fitna and abandoned Ali (peace be upon him) and gave allegiance to one another, and that was the very fitna with which they were tried, while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had commanded them to follow Ali (peace be upon him) and the successors from the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them)."