سورة الأنفال

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Yahya narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that concerning this word of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: وَ الرَّکْبُ أَسْفَلَ مِنْکُمْ [while the caravan was in a lower place than you], he said: "It is Abu Sufyan and his companions."

Ali ibn Ibrahim: إِذْ أَنتُم بِالْعُدْوَةِ الدُّنْیَا وَ هُم بِالْعُدْوَةِ الْقُصْوَی [When you were on the nearer side and they were on the farthest side] — the meaning is Quraysh, when they came down at the Yemeni side [of the valley], and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) came down at the Syrian side. وَ الرَّکْبُ أَسْفَلَ مِنکُمْ [while the caravan was in a lower place than you]; what is meant by it is the caravan that fled.

Imam Ali: Indeed Allah the Blessed and Exalted has revealed the Qur'an in seven categories ... [qada' has ten categories whose meanings differ from one another]; as for qada' in the sense of carrying out, it is like this verse: لِیَقْضِیَ اللهُ أَمْراً کانَ مَفْعُولًا [that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done] from Surah al-Anfal. That is, Allah carries out (brings to realisation) what was in His eternal knowledge, and the like of this verse [in which qada' means carrying out] is abundant in the Qur'an.

Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him) (addressing Hakima Khatun): "Allah keeps His Wali (Hazrat Mahdi (peace be upon him)) away from His creation and hides him from His servants, so that no one will see him until Jibra'il prepares his horse for him [for the uprising], [all of this] was so that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Be aware that Allah the Mighty and Majestic has not left out anything that He loves without making it clear to His servants. And [likewise] He has not left out anything that He dislikes without making it clear to His servants, and He has forbidden them from it; so that those who perish may perish by clear proof, and those who are guided may live by clear proof.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): لِّیَهْلِکَ مَنْ هَلَکَ عَن بَیِّنَةٍ وَ یَحْیَی مَنْ حَیَّ عَن بَیِّنَةٍ وَ إِنَّ اللهَ لَسَمِیعٌ عَلِیمٌ [that he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof; and most surely Allah is Hearing, Knowing] — that is, those who remained know that Allah has aided them.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Maytham al-Tammar said: One day Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) delivered a sermon for us in the Jami' Mosque of Kufa. ... until suddenly a messenger from the region of the city of Anbar entered in a state of distress and cried out: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)! Be mindful of Allah regarding your subjects and Shia! Know that the army of Mu'awiya has attacked us from every side in the small villages around the Euphrates, between the two cities of Hit and Anbar." At this point, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) cut short his sermon and said: "Woe to you! Some of Mu'awiya's soldiers entered a large village that lies beyond the walls of the city of Anbar, and there they killed seven women, seven young boys, and seven young girls, and drew their swords upon its people, and trampled them under the hooves of horses, and announced that they were doing these deeds in order to enrage Abu Turab (the kunya of Imam Ali (peace be upon him))." At this point, Ibrahim ibn Hasan al-Azdi stood before the pulpit and said: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)! This is the power and capability of Mu'awiya's army that you observe, and you are upon the pulpit [engaged in preaching and oration] while the army of Mu'awiya, the son of Hind the liver-eater, has entered your house [and your kingdom] and has brought about so many calamities upon your Shia, and this man is unaware of it! Why do you overlook Mu'awiya [and his deeds] [and not retaliate against him in kind]?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Woe to you, O Ibrahim! [My conduct is because]: Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: لِیَهْلِکَ مَنْ هَلَکَ عَنْ بَیِّنَةٍ وَ یَحْیى مَنْ حَیَّ عَنْ بَیِّنَةٍ [That he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof]." At this point the cries of the people rose from every side of the mosque: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)! Until when must this situation continue, and whoever perishes perish by a clear proof, and whoever lives live by a clear proof, while your Shia [as a result of the aggressions of Mu'awiya's army] are being annihilated?!" The Imam (peace be upon him) said in reply to them: "لِیَقْضِیَ اللهُ أَمْراً کانَ مَفْعُولا [In order that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done]."