سورة التوبة

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A Jewish man asked Ali (peace be upon him): "Inform me of that which is not for Allah, and that which is not with Allah, and that which Allah does not know." Imam Ali (peace be upon him) answered him: "As for what Allah does not know, it is the saying of you Jews who say: 'Uzayr is the son of Allah,' whereas Allah does not know of any son for Himself. As for what is not with Allah, it is oppression against the servants. And as for what is not for Allah, it is associating any partner with Him." The Jewish man said: "I bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Messenger of Allah."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ قالَتِ الْیَهُودُ عُزَیْرٌ ابْنُ اللهِ [And the Jews said: Uzayr is the son of Allah]. The ones who said this were a group of the Jews such as Salam ibn Mishkam, Nu'man ibn Awfa, Shas ibn Qays, and Malik ibn al-Sayf, who came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said this.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) that one day the adherents of five religions and creeds — the Jews, the Christians, the naturalists (Dahriyya), the Manicheans (Thanawiyya), and the polytheists of the Arabs — gathered before the Noble Prophet. The Jews said: "We believe that Uzair is the son of Allah. We have come to debate with you on this matter. If you follow us in this belief, we are ahead of you because of our precedence in time, and if you oppose us, we will engage in debate with you." The Christians claimed that Isa the Messiah (peace be upon him) is the son of Allah and is united with Him, and said: "We have come to see what you believe about this. If you accept, you will follow us, and if you oppose, we will debate with you." The naturalists said: "Things have been eternal and shall remain forever. No one brought them into being. We have come to debate with you. If you accept our belief, our precedence gives us merit, and if you oppose, we shall debate." The Thanawiyya (followers of Mani) said: "Light and darkness govern the world. If you accept this you follow us, and if you oppose, we shall debate." The Arab polytheists said: "We take the idols to be our gods. We have come to debate with you. If you follow us, we are ahead, and if you oppose, we shall engage in debate." The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "I believe in the One Allah, who has no partner, and I disbelieve in the idols and every object of worship other than Him. Allah has sent me to give glad tidings and warning to all the worlds and has made me a proof for all. I shall shortly refute the belief of each of you and hang your baseless beliefs around your necks." At this point he turned to the Jews and said: "Do you want me to accept your belief without proof?" They said: "No." He said: "Then on what basis do you regard Uzair as the son of Allah?" They said: "Because he revived the Torah for the Children of Israel after it had grown old. He could only do this because he is the son of Allah." The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "How is it that Uzair became the son of Allah, while Musa, who brought the Torah with all the miracles he had, did not become the son of Allah? If Uzair is the son of Allah because of reviving the Torah, then Musa is more worthy of this station. And if Allah's honouring Uzair through this act makes him a son, then the position and rank of Musa, which is higher than his, must produce for him a rank higher than sonship. If you mean by sonship what you observe in your own children — that through the intercourse of father and mother a child is born from the mother through birth — this belief is disbelief; you have likened Allah to a creature and ascribed to Him the attributes of created beings. In that case He too must be created and must have a Creator and Maker." They said: "This is not what we mean, for such a belief is disbelief, as you have pointed out. Rather, we believe he is the son of Allah in the sense that he possesses such rank and standing, even though there is no birth involved — just as our scholars, when they wish to distinguish someone above another and honour him, say: 'He is my son,' without any birth being involved and without them having any kinship. Allah, on account of Uzair's rank, took him as His son, not that he was born of Him." The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "In that case, as I explained before, Musa (peace be upon him) is more worthy of this station than he is. This admission is even more damning and defeating for you. Furthermore, your argument requires you to accept for him a station even higher than sonship, because you said that your elders address a stranger who has no kinship with them, out of respect, as 'my son.' They likewise say to another stranger: 'This is my brother,' or 'my elder and father,' or 'my master and lord.' All these appellations are on account of honour and greatness, and the more they wish to honour someone, the higher a station they give him. In that case Musa (peace be upon him) must be Allah's brother, or His elder, or His father and lord, because they honour him more than Uzair (peace be upon him) and confer this rank on him, saying: 'My lord and my master, dear uncle, or my commander.' Do you then allow that Musa (peace be upon him) be Allah's brother, or elder, or uncle and chief, or master and lord and commander?" The Jews were unable to reply and said: "Give us time to think about this and prepare an answer." He said: "You have time, provided that you do not abandon fairness, so that Allah may guide you." Then he turned to the Christians and said: "You believe that the Eternal (mighty and majestic) has united with Isa the Messiah (peace be upon him), so that he has become His son. What do you mean by this belief? Do you say that the eternal and pre-existent Essence of Allah has become created through union with Isa, who himself is a creature? Or do you say that Isa, who is himself a created being with a prior non-existence, has become eternal and pre-existent through his connection with Allah? Or do you mean by this union that Allah has given him a distinction and rank that He has given to no one else? If you say that the eternal Allah has become created, that is a false claim, for it is impossible for the eternal and pre-existent Essence to change and become created. If you say that Isa has become eternal and pre-existent, this too is impossible, for it is impossible for a creature to become eternal and pre-existent. If you say your meaning of union is that He has granted him a distinction and singled him out from among people, then you yourselves have admitted that Isa (peace be upon him) is created and that this rank and standing was not there before but came into being afterwards — for when Isa (peace be upon him) is created and the rank given to him also came into being afterwards, both are originated and created, and this contradicts what you first claimed." The Christians said: "When Allah made those miracles appear at the hand of Isa (peace be upon him), He called him His son on account of his rank and standing." The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Did you hear what I said in reply to the Jews?" Then he repeated the same statement. All were silent except one man who said: "Do you not believe that Ibrahim is the Khalil of Allah?" He said: "Yes." He said: "Then what is wrong if we say that Isa (peace be upon him) is the son of Allah?" The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "These two are not alike. For when we say Ibrahim is Khalilullah, either the word khalil is derived from khulla, meaning need and poverty, in which case we say he is needy and poor at the door of Allah and independent of others. This meaning is clear, for at the moment when they wanted to cast him into the fire and placed him in the catapult, Allah commanded Jibra'il (peace be upon him): 'Reach My servant Ibrahim.' He met Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in the middle of the sky and said: 'Give whatever command you have, for I have been sent to help you.' In reply to Jibra'il he said: حَسْبِیَ اللهُ وَ نِعْمَ الْوَکِیلُ [Allah suffices me and He is the best guardian]; I do not seek refuge in another and present my needs only to Him. So Allah named him His khalil, because he is independent of others and needy and poor at His door. If we take khalil from khulla in the sense that he is aware of matters and secrets that others are not aware of, this rank does not entail likening Allah to creation. As you can see, in either of these two meanings, when Ibrahim is not in need of Him he is not His khalil, and when he is not aware of His secrets, again he is not His khalil. But one who is another's child, born of him — even if he insults him and pushes him away — is still his child, because the reality of sonship is established. Moreover, if you compare being khalil with being a son and say that Isa (peace be upon him) is Allah's son, then you must also grant this rank to Musa (peace be upon him), for the miracles of Musa (peace be upon him) were no less than those of Isa (peace be upon him). Given this meaning, one could also say that they are Allah's chief, uncle, ruler and commander, just as I said to the Jews." At this moment one of the Christians said to another: "In the heavenly books it is said that Isa (peace be upon him) said: 'I go to my father.'" He said: "If you believe in that book, it also says there: 'I go to your father and my own.' So by the same reasoning that Isa (peace be upon him) is the son of Allah, all those whom Isa (peace be upon him) was addressing in this speech would also have to be sons of Allah. Furthermore, if your proof is what is written in that book, then your earlier argument — that Allah gave this position to him because of his distinction and rank — is invalidated. For you said that this sonship was on account of the honour and standing of Isa (peace be upon him), and you yourselves know that the standing of Isa (peace be upon him) was not possessed by those to whom Isa (peace be upon him) said: 'I go to my father and yours.' So sonship is not exclusive to Isa (peace be upon him), and moreover you interpreted the words of Isa contrary to his intent. Perhaps he meant: I go to Adam, who is my father and yours, or to Nuh the prophet (peace be upon him), and Isa (peace be upon him) meant nothing other than this." The Christians fell silent and said: "Until now we have never encountered such argument and debate. Allow us to think more about this."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): A group of people speak about this Quran without having any knowledge. ... And the meaning of this statement of Allah: "وَ ما أَضَلَّنا إِلَّا الْمُجْرِمُونَ [But none led us astray except the guilty ones!]" (Ash-Shu'ara/99) is the polytheists, whom they followed and imitated in their polytheism, and they are the people of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), among whom there is no one from the Jews or Christians. The evidence for this is the statement of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: "كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ [Before them the people of Nuh denied]" (Al-Qamar/9), "كَذَّبَ أَصْحابُ الْأَیْکَةِ [The dwellers of al-Ayka (a town near Madyan) denied]" (Ash-Shu'ara/176), "كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍ [The people of Lut denied]" (Ash-Shu'ara/160). They were not the Jews who said: "عُزَیْرٌ ابْنُ اللهِ [Uzair is the son of Allah]", nor were they the Christians who said: "الْمَسِیحُ ابْنُ اللهِ [The Messiah is the son of Allah]". Allah will enter the Jews and Christians into the Fire, and He will enter every people into the Fire because of their deeds. And their statement: "وَ ما أَضَلَّنا إِلَّا الْمُجْرِمُونَ [But none led us astray except the guilty ones!]" (Ash-Shu'ara/99) means: when they invited us to their creed. And Allah says about them, at the time when He gathers them together in the Fire: "رَبَّنا هؤُلاءِ أَضَلُّونا فَآتِهِمْ عَذاباً ضِعْفاً مِنَ النَّارِ [Our Lord! These are the ones who led us astray, so give them a double punishment of the Fire!]" — a punishment for their own misguidance, and a punishment for leading us astray. (Al-A'raf/38). And this statement of Allah: "كُلَّما دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَعَنَتْ أُخْتَها حَتَّی إِذَا ادَّارَکُوا فِیها جَمِیعاً [Every time a group enters, they curse the other group, until they all follow one another into it in disgrace]" (Al-A'raf/38). Some of them dissociate from others, and some of them curse others. Some of them wish to argue with others in the hope of overcoming them, so that they may escape from the great affliction that has befallen them, while that time is not the time of trial and testing, nor of accepting excuses, nor a time of deliverance. These verses and those like them were revealed in Mecca. And Allah does not enter anyone into Hell except a polytheist.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "Allah has never been angered by anything as He was angered against the talh and sidr trees. The talh had fruit like an orange, and the sidr had fruit like a melon. When the Jews said: "يَدُ اللهِ مَغْلُولَةٌ [Allah's hand is chained]" — may their hands be chained! (Al-Ma'ida/64) — their fruits shrank and became stony, and their stones became hard. And when the Christians said: The Messiah is the son of Allah, they trembled and brought forth thorns, and their fruit was diminished and came to its present form, and the talh became entirely fruitless and will not bear fruit until our Qaim (may Allah hasten his noble relief) rises or the Hour is established." And he said: "Whoever waters a talh tree or a sidr tree, it is as though he has given water to a thirsty believer."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Every tree continually had fruit ready to be picked, until a son was claimed for Allah — glorified and mighty is the Most Merciful above having a son — ... at that point the trees trembled and grew thorns, for fear that punishment might descend upon them because of that statement.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Allah's wrath against the Jews became severe when they said: "عُزَیْرٌ ابْنُ اللهِ [Uzair is the son of Allah]", and Allah's wrath against the Christians became severe when they said: "الْمَسِیحُ ابْنُ اللهِ [The Messiah is the son of Allah]", and Allah's wrath against the one who sheds my blood and harms me by harming my family (Itrat) became severe.

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Mansur, who was a foster-child of one of the sons of Zayd ibn Ali (peace be upon him), said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) a question and said: "Tell me about the martyrdom of the son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." ... He said: "Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), who on that day was fifty-seven years old, took hold of his blessed beard and said: When the Jewish people said: عُزَیْرٌ ابْنُ اللهِ [Uzair is the son of Allah], Allah's wrath against them became severe. When the Christians said: الْمَسِیحُ ابْنُ اللهِ [The Messiah is the son of Allah], Allah's wrath against them increased. When the Magians became fire-worshippers, Allah's wrath against them became intense. Allah's wrath became severe against the group who martyred their prophet; Allah's wrath will be severe against this group who intend to martyr the son of their prophet."

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): O people, beware of these irreligious ones who liken Allah to themselves and echo the words of the disbelievers among the People of the Book. "لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِهِ شَیْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِیعُ الْبَصِیرُ [There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing]" (Shura/11). "لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الْخَبِیرُ [Eyes do not perceive Him but He perceives all eyes, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware]" (An'am/103). He has claimed oneness and majesty for Himself alone, and has set will, intention, power and knowledge over all that is to be. He has no rival in anything of His affair, no equal to match Him, no opposite to contend with Him, no namesake to resemble Him, and no like to be similar to Him. Affairs do not pass over Him, states do not run upon Him, and events do not descend upon Him. Those who describe cannot grasp the depth of His greatness, and the extent of His majesty cannot occur to hearts, for He has no counterpart among things. The learned with all their intellects do not perceive Him, and thinkers with all their thought do not reach Him — except by verification, through certainty in the unseen — for He is not described by any of the attributes of created beings. He is the One, the Eternal Refuge. Whatever is pictured in imaginations, He is other than it. He who falls under the reach of understanding is no Lord, and he who is found in space or other than space is no object of worship. He is in things but not with a being that constrains Him, and separate from things but not with a separation that makes Him absent from them. He is not powerful who has an opposite paired with Him or an equal matching Him. His pre-eternity is not on account of the passing of time, and attention to Him is not confined to a direction. He is veiled from intellects just as He is veiled from sights, and He is concealed from those in the heavens just as He is concealed from those on the earth. His nearness is His honouring, and His distance is His humiliating. Place and the word "in" do not contain Him, time and the word "when" do not fit Him into a moment, and the word "if" does not bring Him under any condition. His highness is without ascending, and His coming is without moving. He brings the nonexistent into existence and makes the existent nonexistent, and these two attributes do not gather for any other than Him at one time. The share of thought in perceiving Him is only that it attains certainty of His "being" and finds a way only to His "existence", not to the existence of any attribute. All attributes are described by Him, not He by them, and all knowings are known through His light, not He through them. So this is Allah, who has no namesake, glorified is He, "لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِهِ شَیْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِیعُ الْبَصِیرُ [There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing]" (Shura/11).

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): يُضاهِؤُنَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا [They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved] means [the saying of] the idol-worshippers regarding their worship of their idols, or regarding their worship of the angels.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In addition to this, in the Book of Allah the Mighty and Majestic there are verses whose interpretation differs from the form of their revelation and does not resemble the speech or actions of human beings. Now I will inform you of some examples in this regard, and — Allah the Exalted willing — this will suffice you. ... And He said: قاتَلَهُمُ اللهُ أَنَّی یُؤْفَکُونَ [may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away], meaning: may Allah curse them, how greatly they lie; but He named the curse a killing. Likewise He said: قُتِلَ الْإِنْسانُ ما أَکْفَرَهُ [death to this man, how disbelieving and ungrateful he is!] (Abasa/17), meaning: a curse upon man.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): قَاتَلَهُمُ اللهُ [may Allah destroy them], meaning: Allah has cursed them.