سورة المطففين

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الفُجَّارِ لَفِي سِجِّينٍ [Nay! most surely the record of the wicked is in the Sijjin] — meaning the punishment which Allah has written down and appointed for them will be in Sijjin (the name of a valley in Hell).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sijjin is the seventh earth.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Sijjin is the lowest level of the seven earths.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الفُجَّارِ لَفِي سِجِّينٍ [Nay! most surely the record of the wicked is in the Sijjin] — the soul of the wicked one is raised up to the heaven, and the heaven refuses to accept it; it is brought back down to the earth, and the earth refuses to accept it; and it is taken down beneath the seven earths until it is brought to Sijjin, which is the encampment of Iblis's army, and from beneath the army of Iblis a document of his ruin is brought out for the reckoning. And this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: وَ ما أَدْراکَ ما سِجِّینٌ [And what will make you know what the Sijjin is?].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Death comes to the disbeliever and the angels of Allah come to his bedside, and when his time arrives they take his soul and hand it over to the angels of punishment, and they show him whatever evil Allah wills to show him, and they take him down to the seventh earth, which is Sijjin — that is the end of the dominion of Iblis — and they record his book there.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Sijjin is an open well in Hell, and al-Falaq is a covered well.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): In the book Majma al-Bayan it is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: "As for the believers, their souls and their deeds are raised up to the heaven, and the gates of the heaven are opened for them; but as for the disbeliever, his deed and his soul are taken up, and when he reaches the heaven, a caller calls out: Take him down to Sijjin — and Sijjin is a wilderness in Hadramawt called Barahut."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The angel takes up a servant's deeds with delight, and when he presents his good deeds, Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: "Place them in Sijjin — for by them he did not intend Me."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) passed by a town whose people, birds and animals had all died, so he said [to the disciples]: "These have not died except by the wrath of Allah, [for] had they died by some other means, their bodies would surely have been buried" (that is, they all died together at once by the descent of the punishment, and had there been an interval between their deaths, the living would have buried the dead). The disciples said: "O Spirit of Allah, call upon Allah to revive the dead of this town for [the lesson of] us, so that they may inform us of their [deeds and] doings, so that we may keep away from those actions [which caused the punishment to descend upon them] — the destructive deeds." Isa (peace be upon him) called upon Allah. Then a call came from the expanse of the heavens: Call them. So Isa (peace be upon him) stood at night upon a high spot of the earth and said: "O people of this village!" A person answered him: Labbayk, O Spirit of Allah and His Word. Then [Isa (peace be upon him)] said: "Woe to you, what were your deeds?" He said: "Servitude [and worship] of Taghut (that is, the leaders of misguidance and those who lead people astray from the path of truth and the straight road and the clear way of the great prophets (peace be upon them)), and love of the world while we had little fear [of Allah], and long [drawn-out] hopes [nurtured in our hearts], and utter heedlessness in amusement and play [in life]." Then [Isa (peace be upon him)] said: "How did you love the world?" He said: "Like a child's love for its mother — when [the world] turned towards us [and we were in ease and comfort of livelihood] we were happy and pleased, and when it turned away from us [and we were faced with failures] we wept and grieved." [Isa (peace be upon him)] said: "How did you worship Taghut?" He said: "We obeyed the people of disobedience." [Isa (peace be upon him)] said: "How did your affair end?" He said: "We slept a night in well-being and awoke in al-Hawiyah." He said: "What is al-Hawiyah?" He said: "Sijjin." He said: "What is Sijjin?" He said: "Mountains of blazing fire that are kindled upon us [our abode] until the Day of Resurrection."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah created us from the highest 'Illiyyin, and created the hearts of our Shia from our substance, and created their bodies from something lower than this substance. For this reason their hearts incline toward us, because they were created from our substance. Then he recited this verse: "It is not as they suppose [regarding the resurrection]; rather, the record of the righteous is in 'Illiyyin! And what will make you know what 'Illiyyin is! It is a written record, a decreed destiny, which those brought near [to Allah] witness!" (Al-Mutaffifin/18-21). And He created our enemies from Sijjin, and created the hearts of their followers from their substance, but their bodies from lower than this substance. For this reason their hearts incline toward them, because they were created from their substance. Then he recited this verse: کَلَّا إِنَّ کِتابَ الفُجَّارِ لَفِی سِجِّینٍ* وَ ما أَدْراکَ ما سِجِّینٌ* کِتابٌ مَرْقُومٌ [Nay! most surely the record of the wicked is in the Sijjin. And what will make you know what the Sijjin is? It is a written book].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, created [the bodies and hearts of] us from a light — that light was in the substance of the highest 'Illiyyin — and He created the hearts of our Shia from that from which He had created our bodies, and He created the bodies of our Shia from a substance other than the substance of their hearts. For this reason their hearts incline toward us. Then he recited this verse: "It is not as they suppose [regarding the resurrection]; rather, the record of the righteous is in 'Illiyyin! And what will make you know what 'Illiyyin is! It is a written record, a decreed destiny, which those brought near [to Allah] witness!" (Al-Mutaffifin/18-21). And Allah created the hearts of our enemies from the substance of Sijjin, and their bodies from a substance lower than that, and He created the hearts of the followers of our enemies from the bodily substance of our enemies, and for this reason their hearts incline toward our enemies. Then he recited this verse: إِنَّ کِتابَ الفُجَّارِ لَفِی سِجِّینٍ* وَ ما أَدْراکَ ما سِجِّینٌ* کِتابٌ مَرْقُومٌ* وَیْلٌ یَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُکَذِّبِینَ [Indeed the record of the wicked is in Sijjin. And what will make you know what Sijjin is? It is a written book. Woe on that Day to the deniers].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fudayl said: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about this verse: کَلَّا إِنَّ کِتابَ الفُجَّارِ لَفِی سِجِّینٍ [Nay! most surely the record of the wicked is in the Sijjin]. He said: "They are those who committed crimes against the Imams (peace be upon them) and transgressed against them." I said: "Then it is said: 'This is that which you used to deny!' (Al-Mutaffifin/17)." He said: "That is, this Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) is the very one whose rank you used to deny." I said: "Was the verse revealed in this way?" He said: "Yes."