سورة الغاشية

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad narrates from his father: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "What does عامِلَةٌ [laboring] mean?" He said: "It acted upon other than the Book that Allah sent down." I said: "What does ناصِبَةٌ [toiling] mean?" He said: "It installed someone other than the rightful Imam in authority."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Every Nasibi, however much he worships and strives, still falls under this verse: عامِلَةٌ ناصِبَةٌ* تَصْلی ناراً حامِیَةً [Laboring, toiling, entering a scorching fire]; so every hard-striving Nasibi — his deeds are scattered dust.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Hamza said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: "Whoever opposes you, however much he worships and strives, falls under this verse: وُجُوهٌ یَوْمَئِذٍ خَاشِعَةٌ * عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ * تَصْلَی نَارًا حَامِیَةً [Faces that Day will be humbled, laboring, toiling, entering a scorching fire]."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وُجُوهٌ یَوْمَئِذٍ خَاشِعَةٌ * عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ [Faces that Day will be humbled, laboring, toiling] was revealed concerning the Nawasib, and they are those who disobeyed the religion of Allah — they prayed and fasted, but bore enmity toward the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him).

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): Ibn Abi Umayr said: I asked Imam Jawad (peace be upon him) about the verse: وُجُوهٌ یَوْمَئِذٍ خَاشِعَةٌ * عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ [Faces that Day will be humbled, laboring, toiling], and he said: "This verse was revealed concerning the Nawasib, and the Zaydiyya and the Waqifiyya are among the Nawasib."

The Imams (peace be upon them): وُجُوهٌ یَوْمَئِذٍ خَاشِعَةٌ * عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ [On that Day, faces shall be downcast, laboring, toiling] — they are those who set up the foundation of enmity against the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It makes no difference whether the Nasibi prays or commits adultery, for this verse was revealed about them: عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ * تَصْلَی نَارًا حَامِیَةً [Laboring, toiling, they will burn in a scorching fire].

Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): Al-Ihtijaj narrates from al-Sha'bi: Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) said: ... As for you, O Utbah ibn Abi Sufyan, you have no sound intellect that I should answer you. You have no intellect at all that I should reproach you; there is no good in you that anyone should hope for, nor any evil that anyone should fear. If you were to revile the Imam (peace be upon him), I would not find it strange or far-fetched, because I do not regard you as a slave of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) that I should refute you and reproach you. But know that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, lies in wait to punish you, your father, your mother, and your brother. You are the offspring of those very fathers about whom Allah said in the Glorious Qur'an: عامِلَةٌ ناصِبَةٌ * تَصْلی ناراً حامِیَةً [Laboring, toiling, they will burn in a scorching fire], and they will drink from the boiling water of Hell.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Ishaq al-Laythi said: I said in the blessed presence of Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), tell me: does a believer who is mustabsir (discerning), when he attains ma'rifah (recognition) and reaches perfection, commit fornication?" He said: "No." I said: "Does he commit sodomy?" He said: "No." I said: "Does he steal?" He said: "No." I said: "Does he drink wine?" He said: "No." I said: "Does he commit one of these major sins or one of these obscenities?" He said: "No." I said: "Does he commit a sin?" He said: "Yes, he is a sinning believer who is mulimm." I said: "What is the meaning of mulimm?" He said: "al-mulimm bi'l-dhanb — one who commits a sin but does not persist in it and does not insist upon it." I said: "Subhan Allah! How astonishing this is — that the believer does not fornicate, nor sodomise, nor steal, nor drink wine, nor commit a major sin among the major sins, nor an obscenity among the obscenities!" He said: "One should not be astonished at the affair of Allah. Allah the Exalted does what He wills and is not questioned about what He does, but the servants are questioned and called to account. So what has astonished you, O Ibrahim? Ask and do not hold back, and do not be shy — this knowledge is not attained by the arrogant nor by one who is shy of asking." I said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), I find among your Shia people who drink wine, cut the highways, make the roads fearful and dangerous, commit fornication and sodomy, consume usury, plunge into obscenities, are lax in performing the prayer, keeping the fast, and paying the zakat, sever the ties of kinship, and commit the major sins — so what is the explanation of this, and why is a believer who is of your Shia the doer of these vile acts?" He said: "O Ibrahim, is there no other question stirring in your breast besides this one?" I said: "Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), a question greater than this!" He said: "What is that question?" I said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), that question is this: among your enemies and those who set up enmity and hatred toward you, I have found people who pray much and fast much, pay the zakat of their wealth, perform the Hajj and Umrah, are eager and keen for jihad, have good deeds and praiseworthy conduct, uphold the ties of kinship, discharge the rights of their brothers in faith, share their wealth with others in fair partnership, keep away from drinking wine, and do not commit fornication, sodomy, or the other obscenities. What is the source of this, and how can it be explained? So tell me this secret and set forth its proof and clear evidence — by Allah, it has occupied my mind and taken sleep from me at night." Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) smiled, then said: "O Ibrahim, I shall present to you a statement that will solve your difficulty and answer your question, and I shall disclose to you a hidden knowledge from the treasuries of Allah's knowledge. Tell me: how have you found the belief of these two groups (the disobedient Shia and the enemies adorned with etiquette)?" I said: "Your lovers and your Shia who commit the aforementioned acts — they are such that if the space between the east and the west were filled with gold and silver and given to them so that they would abandon your friendship and wilayah and go to other than you, they would never do it; and if in the path of your love their noses were struck with swords, and if they were killed in this path, they would not turn back nor withdraw from it. And the nasibi (hostile opponent), with the qualities I have related, I have seen to be such that if the space between the east and the west were filled with gold and silver and given to them so that they would abandon the love of the tawaghit (tyrants) and take up your wilayah and friendship, it would not be possible; and in the path of love of the tawaghit and oppressors, if their noses were struck with swords or they were killed, they would not be willing to give it up. And if they hear a virtue among your virtues or a merit among your merits, they become ill at ease and repelled by it, their colour changes, and the signs of aversion are seen on their faces — and this is because of their hatred of you and their love of the oppressors." [The narrator says:] Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) smiled and said: "O Ibrahim, this is where the نَاصِبَة الْعَامِلَة [labouring, hostile ones] perish — تَصْلَی نَاراً حَامِیَةً [they will enter a blazing fire], تُسْقَی مِنْ عَیْنٍ آنِیَةٍ [they will be given to drink from a boiling spring]. And for this reason the Mighty and Majestic said: وَ قَدِمْنَا إِلَی مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُوراً [And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make them as scattered dust]. (Furqan/23)"