سورة الأنفال

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "There is no doubt that my life is a good for you, and in my death too there is a good for you." So it was said: "O Messenger of Allah! We know the good of your life, so what good will there be for us in your passing?" So he said: "As for [the good] in my life, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [O Prophet]! As long as you are among them, Allah will not punish them. And as for after my death, your deeds will be presented to me, and I will seek forgiveness from Allah for you."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family) was fearful and anxious about ten matters, and Allah the Powerful kept him under His protection and gave him glad tidings concerning them. ... And concerning the punishment of his ummah, He revealed the verse: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), while he was among a group of his companions, said: "Indeed my staying among you is a good for you, and my parting from you is also a good for you." So Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari rose and said: "O Messenger of Allah! We know that your staying among us is a good, but how is your parting from us a good for us?" So he said: "Allah, concerning my staying among you, says: وَ مَا کَانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنتَ فِیهِمْ وَ مَا کَانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness], so He has punished them with the sword. And as for my parting from you being better for you, it is because your deeds are presented to me every Monday and Thursday. So whenever a good deed is presented to me, I praise Allah for it, and if a bad deed is presented to me, I seek forgiveness for you."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and seeking forgiveness were for you like two fortified strongholds against divine punishment. The greater of these two strongholds (the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)) has passed, and seeking forgiveness remains. So do it often, for it is an eraser of sins. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ وَ ما کانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): On earth there were two safeguards from the punishment of Allah the Glorified, and one of the two has been lifted. So hold fast to the other; cling to it. As for the safeguard which has been lifted, it is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and as for the safeguard which remains, it is seeking forgiveness. Allah the Mighty, from among the speakers, said: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ وَ ما کانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُون [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "For what reason do people need a prophet and an imam?" He said: "For the world to remain in its right order. That is why Allah lifts chastisement from the people of a land in which there is a prophet or an imam. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an: ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them]. The noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) also said: 'The stars are a source of calm and safety for the people of the heaven, and my Ahl al-Bayt are a source of safety for the people of the earth. When the stars disappear, distress will come upon the people of the heaven, and when my Ahl al-Bayt pass away, distress will come upon the people of the earth.' What the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) meant by Ahl al-Bayt are the Imams (peace be upon them), whose obedience Allah the Mighty and Majestic has coupled and joined with obedience to Himself."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah did not chastise the people of Makkah until they drove the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) out of Makkah. وَ ما کانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness] — the meaning is that even after driving you out of Makkah, Allah will not chastise the people of Makkah so long as a group of believers remains among them. The account is this: after the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) left Makkah, a group of believers, though they intended to emigrate, were prevented from doing so because of a valid excuse. Out of respect for their seeking forgiveness, Allah lifted the chastisement from the polytheists of Makkah [who, on account of driving the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) out of Makkah, deserved it]. But once that group of believers too had left Makkah, Allah granted permission for the conquest of Makkah.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Four things are to a man's benefit and not to his harm: faith and gratitude — for Allah the Exalted says: ما یَفْعَلُ اللهُ بِعَذابِکُمْ إِنْ شَکَرْتُمْ وَ آمَنْتُمْ [What need has Allah to chastise you if you are grateful and believe] (al-Nisa'/147); the third is istighfar (seeking forgiveness), for He says: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ وَ ما کانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness]; the fourth is supplication, for Allah says: قُلْ ما یَعْبَؤُا بِکُمْ رَبِّی لَوْ لا دُعاؤُکُمْ [Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplication] (al-Furqan/77).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): As for the one who denies bada' (Allah's changing of a decree)... and similar to it is this verse: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ وَ ما کانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness]; then bada' occurred [and He said]: وَ ما لَهُمْ أَلاَّ یُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللهُ وَ هُمْ یَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمسْجِدِ الحَرام [And what have they to plead that Allah should not chastise them, when they are hindering people from the Sacred Mosque].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: ... Harith ibn Nu'man said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): "If you are the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and Ali (peace be upon him) is your successor, and your daughter Fatima (peace be upon her) is the mistress of the women of the worlds, and your two sons Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) are the masters of the youth of the people of Paradise, and your uncle Hamza (may Allah have mercy on him) is the master of the martyrs, and your cousin Ja'far al-Tayyar flies with the angels in Paradise, and the station of providing water to the pilgrims (siqaya) belongs to your uncle Abbas — then what have you left for the rest of Quraysh, who are also related to you by kinship?!" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Woe to you, O Harith! I did not do this of my own accord with the family of Abd al-Muttalib; rather, all of it was from Allah." Harith said: إِنْ کانَ هذا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِنْدِکَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَیْنا حِجارَةً مِنَ السَّماءِ أَوِ ائْتِنا بِعَذابٍ أَلیمٍ [If this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring upon us a painful punishment] ... In reply to him, Allah revealed this verse: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them]. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) called Harith and said to him: "Either you must repent [of what you said] or leave us." Harith said: "My heart has no inclination to repent, but I will leave you." He mounted his camel, and when he reached the open desert, Allah sent down upon him a bird from the sky which had in its beak a pebble like a lentil grain. It dropped it on his head and it came out from his back, and Harith fell to convulsing [in the throes of death].

Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him): Yahya ibn Aktham said: It has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "If the punishment were to descend, none would be saved from it except Umar." Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said: "This too is impossible, for Allah the Exalted says: وَ ما کانَ اللهُ لِیُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ أَنْتَ فِیهِمْ وَ ما کانَ اللهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَ هُمْ یَسْتَغْفِرُونَ [But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness]. In this verse He states explicitly that as long as the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is among them He will not punish them, and likewise as long as they are seeking forgiveness He will not punish them."