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Safinah al-nejat
An International Quarterly Journal of Islamic Studies
Vol.1, No.2, 2016
Published by: Naba Cultural Organization
Chief Executive Officer: Muhammad H. Shahri
Chief Executive Editor: Hasan Taroumi
Associate Chief Executive Editor: Hamid Farnaq
Chief Adviser: Abdulhusayn Taleie
Managing Director: Mina Oskouei
Editorial Board (alphabetical order):
Riza Berenjkar, Tehran university (Iran)
Muhammad-Riza Fakhr-Rohani, Qum University (Iran)
Muhammad Hadi Qandehari, Azad University (Iran)
Ahmad-Riza Rahimi-Riseh, FU University (Germany)
Narges Shahri, Azad University (Iran)
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Author's Guidelines
All researchers, scholars, and those who are interested in Islamic issues are invited to provide us with their academic researches, findings, and articles to be published in Safinah al-nejat. To this end, considering the following points is recommended:
1.The contributions should be original resulted from academic studies and researches.
2. The articles have not been published earlier and are not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.
3. Articles should contain author's name, academic status, country and living city.
4.The editors of Safinah al-nejat retain their full authority to bring the accepted papers in conformity with the Safinah al-nejat house style, and edit them for length and clarity.
5. The length of articles should be 5000 words (15 pages) at maximum.
6. Regarding the academic nature of this journal, using abusive or insulting language in essays or articles towards opposite thoughts or views should be highly avoided.
7. The articles will not be returned.
8.The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the articles.
9. Using parts or complete articles of Safinah al-nejat by citing the source is allowed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL ............................................................................................................. 5
THE WILL OF ALLAH AND OUR DESTINY/ VAHID MAJD .............................................. 7
THE ROLE OF INFALLIBLES’ TRADITIONS IN QURAN INTERPRETATION/ ALI NAQI
KHODAYARI ............................................................................................................. 22
QURANIC CULTURE AND FINANCIAL SUBJECTS/NAHLA GHARAVI NAEENI ................... 42
THE ESSENCE OF LOGIC;LOGIC AND VAHI DISCREPANCY/RIZA BERENJKAR ............... 56
THE VERSES OF SURAH TAHRIM USED IN SAHIFAH SAJJADIYAH/MANSOUREH
SHAHSAVAN ............................................................................................................ 64
THE RELIGIOUS CHILD-REARING PRACTICES/ NARGES SHAHRI ................................. 81
DIVINE PROMISE, DIVINE MAN AND DIVINE DAY/ ALI RIZA GHAVIDEL ...................... 87
Transliteration:
Long Vowels
a, ā –ا آ ‘ - ع ’ -ء
u - ك gh - غ b - ب
i - ي f - ؼ t - ت
q - ؽ th - ث
k Short Vowels - ؾ j - ج
a - ػػ l - ؿ h - ح
u - ػػ m - ـ kh - خ
i - ػػ n - ف d - د h - ق dh - ذ
w Diphthongs - ك r - ر
aw - ػػ ك y - ي z - ز
ay – ػػ ي s - س
sh – ش
s – ص
d - ض
t - ط
z - ظ
ah; at - ة
5
Editorial
Quran is the book of life; it invites us to
the way which can guarantee our
prosperity. It says openly,
ظي ئذج دػحو س ج جظطج١رج لل آ ٠ح أ٠ح جر٠ ح ٠ذ١١ى
“Believers, respond to Allah and the
messenger when he calls you to that
which revives you.”
(The holy Quran,8:24)
In Qurānic teachings, there is such a tight
connection between having good life in
this world and prosperous life in the other
world that it is believed anyone who does
not enjoy a pure humanitarian way of life
in this world cannot have a prosperous life
in the other world.
Here a very critical question is in front, if
it is like that, why haven‘t we seen such a
humanitarian way of life among some
Muslims?
The answer of this question is in the
Quran, where it says a group of idol
worshippers overcame Muslims and their
victory made Muslims ask the same
question. God, the Almighty, after
numerous alarms to Muslims says,
١ إ ئ وط جألػ أط ال ضذصج ج ال ض
“Do not be weak; neither sorrow while
you are the upper ones, if you are
believers.”
(The holy Quran3:139)
As it is clear, God introduces the true faith
as the necessary condition to find
superiority; it means a sheer claim of
being faithful is not sufficient. The true
faith is the faith, which deep-skin-Islam-
believers have been invited to. The Quran
is forthright:
ج ذحلل ج آ آ ٠ح أ٠ح جر٠
“You who believe! Believe in Allah”
(The holy Quran,4:136)
God invites those who are recognized as
faithful to the true faith again. What is the
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
6
point? The point is the superficial faith is
the first step in the path of salvation, but it
should penetrates to the heart of people to
be the root of this world and the other
world blessings. This goal will not be
reached unless faith finds its way to the
heart, tongue and hands of a person. Imam
Rida said,
جإل٠ح ؼسفس ذحمد ئلسجز ذحعح ػ ذحألزکح
―Faith includes knowing by heart,
confessing by tongue, acting by our
members of body.‖1
In fact, the claim of being faithful is just
like a source of money, which should be
resulted in great advantages by the effort
of men in order to guarantee their life.
To be able to do benefit from such a
source ―being faithful‖, first step is to
know the religion well. In this issue, we
made an effort to pave its way. We hope
this journal can be a step in that long way
we are ahead.
We hope our readers join us with their
comments and suggestions to speed up
this journey.
1 Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul , p.422
7
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
Part II: Allah‘s knowledge and His decision sequence
Vahid Majd
Associate Professor of Tarbiat Modares University
Article acceptance date: June. 2016
Abstract: In this article, the chain of sequence that Allah creates for an action to take
place in the world is explained. The different types of will and intention of Allah is
addressed. The freedom of the will of human being in this connection is also discussed.
The rational necessity of regarding Allah pure from any creation including the
knowledge and the will that He created is another subject that is offered in this part.
Some traditions of Shia Imams (PBUT) supported by the verse of the Quran are provided
to verify the detailed discussions.
Keywords:Will, intention, planning, decree, knowledge, commandment.
The meanings of Allah‟s Will and His
decision sequence
According to the sayings of Ahl al-Bayt
(PBUT), for every action that takes place, be it
our choice or not, Allah creates the
following six steps:
1-Knowledge (al-‘Ilm)
2- Will (al-Mashiyya)
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
8
3- Intention (al-Irada)
4- Planning or measure (al-Qadar)
5- Decree (al-Qadha)
6- Signature or conclusion (al-Imda)
In some traditions, the first and the second
steps are joint as one step calling the ―will
of knowledge‖.
Allah is the creator of the worlds and their
rules and formulations. His creation is
based on a created knowledge and then the
created will, intention, planning, and
decree. These steps of information has no
similarity whatsoever with the Eternal
Knowledge of Allah. Above all these
created knowledges and wills, He knows
eternally which is not discussable nor
perceivable for creation as His Eternal
Knowledge is Him, not a feature, attribute,
or property of Him. Eternal (Azali) is that
which free from start and end, and in other
words, free from time and happening
(Huduth). The Essence of Allah is free
from any attribute, as He has created all
attributes. The first thing He created is
foreknowledge or will of knowledge.
A required step for the existence of
anything or occurrence of any event is the
creation of its will by Allah. The traditions
(as noted below) state that Allah has
created two types of will (Mashiyya) and
two types of intention (Irada) for every
action that takes place. More specifically,
Allah has the following two kinds of will:
1- The will of knowledge (Mashiyyat al-
‘Ilm)
2- The will of commandment (Mashiyyat
al-Amr)
The first type of ―will‖ means Allah wills
that no action happens by or to His
creations except that He should have
already made it known and already
permitted that action to take place. In
other words, Allah foreknows what we
would choose if we were given a choice
on a certain thing in a certain situation. He
may then permit the happening of our
would-be action, or He may reject it. In
the latter case, we would lose our choice
in that specific action, and Allah will not
hold us accountable for not performing
that action. We will be questioned only
about our voluntary actions, not about the
actions we ―perform‖ without our choice.
To be more precise, if an action is
performed without our choice, then we
cannot really call it ―our‖ action. In this
sense, ―our‖ action is defined only as our
voluntary action. Our actions include both
the internal actions (i.e., the actions that
we practice in our heart such as our choice
of thoughts, belief and disbelief) as well as
the external ones (i.e., our deeds). Once
Allah permits the happening of our would-
be choice, we have truly been granted
will-power regarding that specific action
although we will choose what Allah
already knew and permitted its
occurrence. Volition is granted or
withheld moment by moment according to
Allah‘s will.
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
9
The very existence of this type of will of
Allah (which enables us to choose while
Allah foreknows our choice in His will of
knowledge and permits us do what we will
choose) immediately disproves the idea of
independent freedom of will and the
relinquishment of the authority by Allah to
us (Tafwidh) in our voluntary actions.
Moreover, depending on our would-be
action, this type of Allah‘s will may or
may not be in line with His pleasure.
The second type of will regards Allah‘s
commandments, orders, and prohibitions
on our voluntary actions. The existence of
this type of will refutes the idea of
compulsion (Jabr) in our actions. This is
because if it were really compulsion, His
orders, prohibitions, glad tidings,
warnings, rewards, and punishments
would have been meaningless.
If an action is our choice, then the two
wills may or may not match. More
specifically, if we choose to follow the
orders of Allah, it shows that the two types
of ―will‖ matched, and if we choose to
disobey Him, it shows the two types of
―will‖ did not match. However, it should
be noted that the foreknowledge, will, or
permission of Allah are not the cause for
our action. In fact, there is no cause for
any action with volition; otherwise, the
word ―volition‖ would become
meaningless since the cause—with the
meaning implied by the philosophers—
would necessarily result in the effect (i.e.,
the action). Volition exists if one can
choose either of the opposite sides of an
action (to do or to refrain) assuming that
Allah has given us permission to exercise
our choice while He is aware of our
would-be choice in a decreed situation.
Omitting the notion of necessity and
urgency that was originally induced by the
philosophers in the cause and effect
relationship, we will end up with the
general meanings of cause, which are
―reason‖ and ―origin‖. The origin of an
action is the one who performs it.
Moreover, there may be reasons behind
one‘s choice of action, but none of these
reasons would compel human to make the
action, otherwise there would be no
volition. This, in turn, goes to prove that
the foreknowledge of Allah and his will
for the occurrence of human‘s choice of
action does not compel him in his action.
As for those actions that are the acts of
Allah, the two kinds of ―will‖ always
agree. For instance, when Allah
commands an angel to perform a task, He
already made it known and permitted that
such action takes place exactly in the way
that He has commanded, and the actual
outcome of that action is always be in
accordance with what He has commanded.
When Allah states in the glorious Quran:
ح ٠شحء ٠فؼ وره للا
“This way Allah does what He wills,"
(The holy Quran,8:40)
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
10
حي ح ٠س٠د فؼ
“The doer of what He intends”
(The holy Quran:11:107; 85:16)
TheMost Glorious refers only to the will
and intention of His own actions, and
these verses do not apply to people‘s
actions. Allah‘s action includes
extraordinary events that happens without
people‘s choice, such as the event
described in the earlier part of the first
verse (3:40), in which a barren woman,
i.e., the wife of Prophet Zakariyya (PBUH)
was enabled to give birth to a child,
namely, Prophet John (the Baptist) (PBUH).
To understand better what was discussed
so far, let us consider a simple scenario.
Assume a man whose name is George.
One day, George goes to the store and sees
a ripe, delicious apple. He has two
choices: he can either buy the apple, or
steal it. Allah has prohibited stealing the
property of others. That day, George
chooses to obey Allah‘s command and
pays for the apple. Here, it is discovered
that Allah‘s will of knowledge and His
will command with regard to George‘s
personal decision in that specific case
were in line. On the next day, George sees
another apple, but this time he chooses to
steal it. In this case, the Allah‘s will of
knowledge still preceded George‘s action,
though it was against His will of
command. Allah knew beforehand that
George would steal the apple on the next
day if he is granted choice, and Allah
allowed George to manifest his own
decision. Had Allah withdrawn His
permission for the occurrence of that
event, George could have never stolen the
apple. However, granting volition to
George while being fully aware that he
will steal does not hold Allah accountable
for George‘s misconduct. The action of
George incurred Allah‘s displeasure
because he violated His commands.
In another classification, Allah‘s will is
divided into the following two
subcategories:
1- The definite will (Mashiyyat al-Hatm)
2- The decided will (Mashiyyat al-‘Azm)
The first subcategory of will is related to
the actions that Allah intended not to
change His permission on them. It can be
either our action or Allah‘s action. All
customs of Allah and His promises are in
His definite will.
However, the second subcategory includes
the wills about which Allah may change
his decisions and may cancel or reform
them.
According to the traditions, the next step
after will for the occurrence of an action is
Allah‘s intention (Irada), which is the
determination and confirmation of will.
Allah‘s will is more general than His
intention. Similar to will, Allah has two
kinds of intention:
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
11
1- The intention of knowledge (Iradat al-
‘Ilm)
2- The intention of commandment (Iradat
al-Amr)
Allah‘s intention is further divided into
two subcategories:
1- The definite intention (Iradat al-Hatm)
2- The draft or decided intention (Iradat
al-Ikhtiyar/al-‘Azm)
The next step after intention in Allah‘s
decision sequence, namely al-Qadar, is
the measuring, apportioning, and detailed
planning of the action with respect to time
and place, as well as determining its
relationship with other events. It also
includes the synchronization of what
happens to an individual without his
choice as a byproduct of the voluntary act
of another person.
For instance, consider the case where a
wrongdoer oppresses a person. Allah
knew this beforehand and permitted him
to exercise his choice to oppress. Allah
has also written the harm that the victim
receives from the oppressor, and this could
have various reasons. It might be that
Allah wants to elevate the spiritual status
of the oppressed by such hardship that he
receives from the oppressor so that he
becomes entitled to more reward in the
Hereafter for exercising patience. It could
also be that Allah intends to punish him by
that oppressor because of his previous
wrong deeds. Either way, Allah
synchronizes the event in terms of time
and place so that such a person becomes
the target for the oppressor who has
intended to wrong others voluntarily. This
synchronization does not make Allah
responsible for the wrongdoing of the
oppressor. It rather shows Allah has not
relinquished His authority on what will
happen in His Kingdom. Neither did Allah
leave the synchronization of the events to
people, nor did He leave it to chance since
both would have required Tafwidh.
Moreover, the reality of our voluntary
action is just our final firm intention just
before the physical manifestation of our
action. However, the quality and quantity
of the effects of our action and the
duration of the effects in the physical
world are all in the hands of Allah and is
according to His detailed planning. For
instance, an oppressor may intend harm to
some people, but the amount of harm that
each victim receives is according to
Allah‘s measure. Thus, not only existence
of the action, but also the quality and
quantity of the effects are in accordance
with Allah‘s planning and permission.
As a side point, it is noteworthy that a
believer who has firm intention to commit
a good deed but his action does not
manifest in the physical world due to
Allah‘s will, is entitled to the reward. The
action of such a person was his final firm
intention even if he was unsuccessful in
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
12
his outward attempt (i.e., the will of Allah
did not permit it). On the other hand, a
person who has a firm intention to perform
a bad deed deserves Allah‘s punishment
even though his action has become
ineffective and has been neutralized in the
physical world by Allah. However, out of
His grace and generosity, Allah does not
punish a believer who could not physically
accomplish his evil intention. Sometimes,
Allah, the most Merciful, may block the
way for a believer who has intended to
commit a sin, so as to save him from its
consequences.
The next step is al-Qada, which is the
decree and confirmation for a future event
or a command (depending on the type of
issue). As we will see in the traditions,
Allah‘s decree has four different meanings
in the holy Quran: the decrees of creation,
judgment, command, and knowledge. If a
specific action is our choice, then Allah‘s
decree of creation on it means that He
makes things physically ready for us to
act, and the decree of Judgment means
passing what would be the reward and the
punishment for that specific act in this
world and the Hereafter. The decree of
command and knowledge are similar to
what we explained about the will and the
intention.
The last step is al-Imda. This is Allah‘s
―signature‖ for the execution of an action,
which means Allah‘s final permission for
the occurrence of that action (be it our
choice or not). Once the occurrence of a
certain action is ―signed‖, it becomes a
definite matter ready for the execution in
its appointed time. An action is
categorized as ―definite‖ (Mahtum) if the
permission for its occurrence is not
changed or is unlikely to be changed by
Allah. In the domain of our volition, a
signed or definite matter is not an imposed
matter. Rather, it is Allah‘s firm
permission for the occurrence of the action
of our choice, which means it is unlikely
that Allah will block us from exercising it.
According to the traditions, the actions
that are to take place in the span of one
year are usually signed in ―the Night of
Apportionment‖ (Laylat al-Qadr) of the
same year. This is the most crucial night
of the year and the most propitious time to
have one‘s supplications answered. This
night is in the holy month of Ramadan
when, according to the holy Quran and the
traditions, Allah descends to His vice-
regent the complete details of what He has
decreed and permitted for the next year1.
Nonetheless, Allah may postpone the
signing of certain actions up to the
moment of their execution. In that case,
al-Imda could be exactly at the time that
the action is carried out in this world. This
is in agreement with the other lexical
meaning of Imda, which is ―execution.‖
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
13
The purity of the Divine Eternal
Knowledge from the created knowledge
It is worth noting that the mentioned steps
of information are Allah‘s creations and
do not provide any trace to His Essence
(Dhat). They are the created (Makhluq)
and the generated (Muhdath) information
by Allah, and are at the level of creation.
They do not have any similarity
whatsoever with His Eternal Knowledge
(that is, His Essence). Any imagination or
perception of Allah‘s Eternal Knowledge
by us is a creation of our mind and cannot
be rationally attributed to Allah. Allah
says in the glorious Quran:
ئ ط أ زذه ج
“And that towards your Lord is the end
limit (of talk).”
(the holy Quran,53:42)
As Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) interpreted the
verse, when a conversation reaches to the
matter of the Essence of Allah one should
desist from speaking about Him. In fact,
this is just a rationally required matter and
the verses of the holy Quran and the
traditions remind this rational obligation.
Our rational task will be just to regard
Allah pure from resemblance (Tashbih)
and non-existence (Ta‘til).On the
commentary of this blessed verse, several
traditionists narrated from the Commander
Faithful Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (PBUH),
Imam al-Baqir (PBUH), and Imam al-Sadiq
(PBUH) who said:
ئ أ ٠مي ج ػص للا ط ئ زذه ج ىال ط ج فاذج ج
عىج. فأ ئ للا
―Very The Lord of might and majesty
states:„And that towards thy Lord is the
end limit.Thus, when conversation
reaches to (the Essence of) Allah,
desist.”2
(the holy Quran,53:42)
Moreover, it is narrated the Leader of the
Faithful, ‘Ali (PBUH) said:
أ . دقص ذجش للا ضس فىف
―Whosoever ponders on the Essence of
Allah becomes an infidel (Zindiq).‖3
In this connection, Sulayman Ibn Khalid
narrated that Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) said:
٠د ئال ض١ح ئ للا ص جطفىس ف للا ال ٠ا جطفىس ف للا ف وحئ٠
. جألذظحز ال ٠طف ذمدجززوال ضد
―Avoid pondering over (the Essence of)
Allah, because pondering over (the
Essence of) Allah would only increase
bewilderment and misguidance. Verily
Allah cannot be reached by the sight (of
minds) and cannot be described by a
degree and quantity.‖4
Abu Hashim al-Ja‘fari narrated:
ذع جسػح أذ ػ ط ػ للا ٠طف فمحي أ ج ع لحي ظأ
مس ضؼآح ضمسأ ج ص ذ لحي أ ح ضمسأ ل ال ضدزو ح ل
ص ذ لحي فطؼسف جألذظ جألذظحز ٠دزن جألذظحز حزل
ؼ١ فمحي ئ ل مخ أ ص ذ لحي ح لص أذظحزج ح ج
ؼ١ ف ح ٠دزن جأل ال ضدزو أورس أذظحز ج
.جألح
I asked Imam Rida (PBUH) if Allah could be
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
14
described. He replied, ―Haven‘t you
recited His saying, ‗Visions can not reach
Him while He reaches to all visions‘
(6:103)?‖ I said, ―Yes.‖ He asked, ―Do
you know what visions are?‖ I said, ―It is
the visions of they eyes.‖ Imam al-Ridha
(PBUH) said: ―Verily the imagination of
the mind is greater than the vision of the
eyes. Thus (the verse means) minds can
not reach Him, and He reaches to all
minds.‖5
The Imams (PBUT) draw the border of
monotheism by confirming the following
statement:
ذد٠ رئ للا ض ء خحزؼ ج حزن ضؼح جدد ١ط وػ ش
١.دد جإلذطحي دد جطشر
―Certainly, Allah—Whose name is holy,
Whose remembrance is high—is Unique.
‗Nothing is like Him.‘ (42:11) He is out of
two extreme (rational) limits: The limit of
non-existence, and the limit of likeness.‖6
Therefore, although we never understand
what He is, we cannot say He is non-
existent. The meaning of the name ―Allah‖
also refers to this fact. It comes from the
root of ―W-L-H‖, which means an entity
about which everyone is bewildered and
stunned.7 His creations never understand
His Essence. His signs prove that He is not
non-existent, meaning that He cannot be
denied. However, His existence has no
similarity with the existence other things.
He is not like other creations or have any
of their attributes, otherwise His common
concepts with others makes Him divided
and partially meaningful and graspable by
mind and created. By His existence, we
only mean the rational proof of Him as
being rationally undeniable and unique.
With regard to the Essence of Allah, we
are not rationally allowed to talk because
we have no way to understand Him. By
―His Eternal Knowledge‖, we only mean
―He is not ignorant.‖ We regard His
Essence (Dhat) pure (Munazzah) from any
type of knowledge that we know (i.e., any
generated knowledge even if it is extended
towards infinity in terms of quality and
quantity) just as we purify Him from
ignorance. Any knowledge that can be
possessed by human is not a part of
Allah‘s Eternal Knowledge, otherwise it
would imply His Essence has parts.
Nothing is like Him. Maintaining a
difference in the quality (Kayfiyyah) or the
quantity (Kammiyyah) between His
knowledge and ours is not enough to avoid
resemblance, and we need to deny any
concept, quality, and quantity for Him,
which are all created. Allah is the creator
of perfection which is a quality, and Allah
is not described by the extensions of
qualities and the concepts that we imagine.
Allah knows, but not like how His
creation know. Our understanding of His
Eternal Knowledge is only limited
regarding Him pure from any type of
ignorance. This is called ―purity-based
recognition‖ (Ma‘rifat al-Tanzihiyya)
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
15
which the opposite of ―similarity-based
recognition‖ (Ma‘rifat al-Tashbihiyya).
The former is the only way to reach the
correct recognition of Allah Who is not
understandable, while the latter is
common way to understand the created
things whose essences can be understood
and described by known properties.
The Eternal knowledge of Allah cannot be
perceived by the creation because it is not
created and has no concept. In Ahadith, it
is referred to as ―subject-free knowledge‖
(‘Elm-e-bila-Ma‘lum). We cannot imagine
or comprehend knowledge without
subject. Thus, what remains for us is to
say Allah is not ignorant.
Unlike His Eternal knowledge, the created
knowledge by Allah has always subject,
and is called ―subject-based knowledge‖
(‘Elm-e-bil-Ma‘lum). They are also called
the knowledge of Allah or the divine
knowledge. Allah is not them but He is
their creator and processor. Based on the
traditions, Allah has created two sets of
subject-based knowledge, which have no
similarity whatsoever with Him, i.e.,
Eternal knowledge. One of them is the
knowledge-based on which His will
manifests. This knowledge is released to
His angels and messengers. The other one
is the knowledge of unseen, which
includes all combinations of the events
that Allah has not currently willed to
happen so that if He wanted to happen
how it would happen.
Moreover, as we will quote later, the
Imams (PBUT) stressed that anyone who
thinks the will of Allah and His intention
are eternal (i.e., claims that His will and
intention are His Essence (Dhat)) is a
disbeliever and a polytheist. This is
because Allah‘s will and intention are the
attributes of actions and refer to the
intended things (i.e., His creations), which
are neither unique nor eternal. Claiming
that something or numerous things have
been with Allah eternally would negate
the oneness of Allah and His Eternity.
From the time a will for a specific action
has been created until the moment of its
execution (Imda), Allah may withdraw
His permission for the occurrence of that
action and may cancel the created will and
change the sequence altogether. This
concept is called al-Bada (the initiation or
origination of a new will). This change
only occurs in the created information
(i.e., the above-mentioned steps), but there
is no change in His Eternal Knowledge.
According to the traditions, all of this
dynamic information is placed in a record
called ―The Protected Board or Panel‖ (al-
Lawh al-Mahfuz), or equivalently, ―The
Mother-Book‖ (Umm al-Kitab). These
terms were mentioned in the holy Quran
and were used in our traditions
interchangeably.8 This record is made of
light and is witnessed by those who are
close (al-Muqarrabun) to Allah.9 They are
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
16
the angels, the prophets, the messengers,
and the Imams, peace be upon them all.
The traditions further state that the heart of
the supreme soul that is with the living
Proof of Allah (i.e., the current messenger
or his vice-regent (Khalifa)) is the vessel
of the will of Allah for both His will of
knowledge and command. All the above-
mentioned information will be visible for
them in the form of a pillar of light any
time Allah let them to access that
sanctified soul (Ruh al-Qudus). The will
of Allah is Allah‘s creation in the heart of
the Imams (PBUT). Consequently, their
knowledge is the (created) divine
knowledge, and their command and
satisfaction is the command and
satisfaction of Allah.
Some traditions on divine decision
sequences
Let us now study some of the traditions
from the heritage of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT)
regarding these subjects. Here, I only
present some of the strongest traditions so
that the interested readers may have the
necessary base to pursue this topic. The
best place to study this and the
surrounding issues in detail is volumes
four and five of Bihar al-Anwār, which is
the greatest Hadith encyclopedia of Shia,
compiled by al-Majlisi(RA).
In the following Hadith, all the mentioned
steps from will to conclusion are
considered as a subcategory of the created
knowledge. Mu‘alla Ibn Muhammad
narrates that it was asked from the seventh
Imam, Musa Ibn Ja‘far al-Kadim (PBUH) that
how is the divine (created) knowledge.
The Imam (PBUH) answered:
حء أزجد لدز لؼ أؼ فأؼ ح لؼ ش ػ
لؼ ح لدز لدز ح أزجد فرؼ وحص ش١ثس ذش١ثط ج
حء ؼوح جم ٠سد٠س ذطمدمزجدز ذازجدض وح جطجإل وحص
ش١ثس ش١ثس ج ذمؼحت وح جإلؼحء جؼ طمد ػ ج
ؼحء ف حإل ٠س جلغ ػ جمؼحء ذزجدز غحػس جطمدجإل غح١س
حء ف١ح أزجد طمد٠س ش ضرحزن ضؼح جردجء ف١ح ػ ط
...جألش١حء فاذج لغ جمؼحء ذحإلؼحء فال ذدجء
Allah knew (i.e., created subject-based
knowledge), willed, intended, planned,
decreed, and then signed and concluded.
Thus, He concludes what He decrees, and
decrees what He plans, and plans what He
intends. Thus, the will was based on His
knowledge, the intention was based on His
will, the planning was based on His
intention, and the decree was based on
His planning, and the conclusion was
based on His decree. Thus, the knowledge
precedes the will, and the second one is
will, the third is intention, and planning
happens for the (initiation of the) decree
with conclusion. For Allah—Whose name
is holy, Whose remembrance is high—is a
new initiation (al-Bada) in what He knows
until He wills, and in what He intended for
the planning of the things. But when
conclusion follows the decree, there will
be no Bada.10
As it can be seen, the Imam (PBUH) places
the knowledge besides the will,
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
17
enumerates it among the rest of sequence
of decision making by Allah; therefore,
this compared knowledge is created and it
cannot be the Eternal knowledge, i.e., His
Essence, Who is Unique and cannot be
compared with the created things.
Moreover, the above tradition gives a
subtle indication that distinguishes the
school of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) from the
heretical schools including the
philosophical and mystical circles. As
stressed in the above tradition, in the view
of school of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), Allah‘s
planning precedes the decree, while in
other schools it is vice versa. This is one
of the codes by which one can examine
the originality of different religious views.
Referring to the verses of the glorious
Quran where Allah states:
جىفس، ٠سػ ال غحع غالغس،ؼرحد للا لحج ئ مد وفس جر٠
“(Allah) is not satisfied with disbelief for
His servants (39:7), and Surely they
disbelieved who said, “Allah is the third
of the three (in a Trinity)” (5:73)
Fudayl Ibn Yasar and Abu Basir both
narrated that Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) said:
ء ئال شى د ٠سع شحء أ ال ٠ذشحء أزجد ٠
٠ أزجد ػ ذه ؼذ غسد أ ٠محي غحع غالذ
. حىفس٠سع ؼرحد
―(It may be that) Allah willed and
intended while He does not like and is not
satisfied. Allah willed that nothing (no
action or anything) exists except
according to His knowledge (of what he
has permitted), and He intended the same
thing, but He does not like to be told ‗He
is the third of the three‘ and He is not
satisfied with disbelief for His servants.‖11
When the Imam (PBUH) states: ―Allah willed
that nothing come to existence except
according to His knowledge‖ He refers to
the will of knowledge which might be
different that His will of commandments.
The Leader of the Faithful (i.e., Imam ‘Ali
(PBUH)) was asked about the will (Mashiyya)
of Allah and His intention (Irada). He (PBUH)
said:
ش١س ػص سش١ ش١١ لل ئ وره ئ لل ئزجدض١ دط
طة ئزجدز ػص ض ئزجدز ػص ئزجدز دط ال ئزجدز دط
ش١طح ش١س ٠شحء طة ضظ١دض ش١س ال ٠شحء ٠
جد جؼرحد شحء أز س ال ٠شحء ؼح٠أ ٠شحء
٠ ء ذمؼحت لدز جألز شحء و ش ١س ؼظسد ج
مؼح ذ١ ضجس ج ف وطحخ للا ػ أزذؼس أ حءح ... ج
حدق ص ح لؼحء ج ػص جحؽك ػ عح ظف١س جظ
ك ؼح فمؼح ظرغ ظحجش ف ١٠ حل ضؼ ج
ذى خم جػح لؼحء ذك ل ج لؼ ذ١ ذح
زذه أال لؼ س لجػحع لؼحء جأل ؼح دى
ل جسجذغ لؼحء جؼ ؼح أس زذه ئ٠حال ج ئضؼرد
ف جألزع لؼ١ح ئ ذ ئظسجت١ ف جىطحخ طفعد
ػرحد ؼح ػ سض١ ح ذ ئظسجت١ لد شحء للا
ش١س ش١س جؼظ١س ح أزجد شحء جطحػس أزجد أل ج
ػح ئزجدز جألس أ جألس سش١س جؼ ئزجدض ئزجدز جس
ؼ شحء حذحطحػس زػ ذ ػرحد ظ١س ٠ؼ ػج
ؼ ج ٠ ح فرج ػدي للا ضرحزن ضؼح ف ذسأ ظ١س
جال ػظ شأ ػرحد .ج
―Certainly, there are two (types of) wills
and two (types of) intentions for Allah.
They are the definite will and the decided
will, and similarly, the definite intention
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
18
and decided intention. The definite
intention never misses (what finally intend
to happen); however, the decided intention
sometimes misses (what He will finally
intend due to change in His desicion) and
sometime hits. And (in another
classification), He has two wills: the will
of what He wills to happen and the will of
what He does not will to happen: He
(may) forbid (an action) while He wills (its
ocurrence due people‘s choice) and He
(may) order (an action) while He does not
will (its ocurrence due people‘s choice). It
means that He wanted obedience and He
willed (people‘s choice to take place), and
He did not want disobedience yet He
willed (and allowed people‘s choice). And
everything is according to His decree
(Qada) and His planning (Qadar) and the
events (or commands) runs between the
two ...‖
―The decree is used with four meanings in
the Book of Allah. The first one is the
decree of creation when He, Whose name
is high, said:„And He decreed them (in
the form of) seven heavens in two days,‟
(41:12)which means He created them. The
second one is the decree of Judgment and
it is in His saying:„And (on the Day of
Judgment) it is decreed/passed among
them (based) on the truth,‟ (39:69)which
means it is judged. The third one is the
decree of commandment and it is in His
saying:„And your Lord decreed that you
should not worship but Him,‟ (17:23)
which means your Lord commanded. And
the forth one is the decree of knowledge,
and it is in His saying:„And We
decreed/passed for the children of Israel
(and revealed) in the scripture that most
certainly you will make mischief on the
earth twice.‟ (17:4) It means We knew
(beforehand) about the (mischief of the)
children of Israel (and let it to happen).‖
―Verily Allah willed (i.e., permitted the
occurrence of some of the) disobedience of
His servants while He did not want it. And
He willed (i.e., knew their choice and
permitted) obedience and wanted it from
them. It is because His will consists of the
will of commandment and the will of
knowledge, and His intention consists of
the intention of satisfaction and the
intention of commandment. He
commanded obedience and is pleased with
it, and He willed disobedience, which
means He knew disobedience of some of
His servants but He did not command
them to do it. This is due to the justice of
Allah—Whose name is holy Whose
remembrance is high—among His
servants.‖12
Fath Ibn Yazid al-Jurjani narrated that
Imam al-Rida(PBUH) said:
صئ لل ئزجدض١ ش١ط١ ئزجدز دط ئزجدز ػ ٠
ط شج آد أ ٠شحء ٠أس ال ٠شحء أ ح زأ٠ص
٠شأ ٠أوال أ ٠أوال جشجسز شحء ذه ػ
غرص ش١طح ش١س للا أس ئذسج١ ذرذخ جذ أوال
٠شأ أ ال ٠رذذ غرص ئظحػ١ شحء أ ال ٠رذذ
ػص ج١ ش١س ئذسج١ ش .س للا
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
19
―Certainly, two intentions and wills
belongs to Allah: the definite intention and
decided intention. He (may) forbid (an
action) while He wills (its ocurrence due
people‘s choice) and He (may) order (an
action) while He does not will (its
ocurrence due people‘s choice). Don‘t you
see that Allah forbade Adam and his wife
to eat from the tree while He willed it (i.e.,
knew their choice and permitted it to
happen)? Had He not willed so, they
would not have eaten, and had they eaten
it in that case, their will would have
overcome the will of Allah (i.e., the
knowledge of what He permitted to
happen). He also ordered Abraham (PBUH)
to slaughter his son, Ishmael (PBUH), while
He willed that he would not slaughter him
(i.e., He did not give permission for that
action to manifest and to become
effective), and had He not willed that he
would not slaughter him, then verily
Abraham‘s will would have overcome the
will of the Lord of might and majesty.‖13
‘Abdullah Ibn Sanan narrated that Imam
al-Sadiq (PBUH) said:
٠ ١ط أ ٠عجد ٢د ئذ شحء ٠أس أس شأأس للا
شحء أ ال ٠عجد شحء عجد آد ػ أو جشجسز
. شحء أ ٠أو ح ٠شأ ٠أو
―Allah commanded and did not will
(accordingly) (i.e., knew that He will be
disobeyed and He permitted the sinner to
manifest his choice), and He willed and
did not command (accordingly). Allah
commanded Satan to prostrate Adam (PBUH)
and willed that he shall not prostrate. Had
He willed otherwise, he would have
certainly prostrated. Moreover, Allah
forbade Adam (PBUH) to eat from that tree,
and willed he shall eat from it. Had He not
willed so, he would not have eaten.‖14
The saying of the Imam (PBUH), ―had He
willed otherwise, Satan would have
certainly prostrated‖, means if the
knowledge of voluntary prostration by
Satan had been in the will of Allah, Satan
would have prostrated. It is, again,
important to remember that the
foreknowledge of Allah is not the cause
for the Satan‘s action, and the will that is
mentioned here is not an imposed will,
rather it is the will of knowledge of what
will happen. The Imam (PBUH) was
emphasizing the full accordance of what
will happen with what Allah knew and
permitted to happen without any
compulsion in human‘s choice.
When the Commander of Believers, Imam
Ali (PBUH) was asked, ―How is it that we are
not compelled in our actions if all our
actions are according to the Allah‘s
planning and decree?‖ the Imam (PBUH)
replied:
وح وره رط ح ئش أ وح لؼحء دطح لدزج الظض
س للا ظمؾ جج جص جؼمحخ جألس جػجخ
س رد الت الىػد جػ١د ف ض جؼ ذ دز
رذع ىح ج ع ىح ذج د أ ذحإلدعح
ذع أ رد ضه محس ئخج ػردز ج ذحؼمذس ج
جألغح خظ د ر لدز٠س دصخ جش١طح حء جس
جظح ئ للا ضرحزن ضؼح و ١١سج ض فجألس
وػ١سج ٠ؼض غذح ٠طغ ١ جم ػر٠سج أػطضذ
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
20
ػح ٠ ك جعحجض جألزع ح ىسح ٠ه ف
ذه ظ ٠رؼع جر١١ رشس٠ رز٠ ػرػح ذ١ح ذحؽال
.٠ ر٠ وفسج جحزجر٠ وفسج ف
―Do you think that this is an indispensable
decree and an imposed planning (as the
cause of our actions)? If it were so, then
reward, punishment, commandment, and
prohibition would have become invalid,
and glad tiding and admonition would
have been meaningless! In that case, there
could not be any blame for the sinner and
any admiration for the righteous; rather,
the sinner would be more deserving of
kindness than the righteous (as he had to
play the role of a wicked), and the
righteous would be more deserving of
punishment than the sinner would. This is
the belief and the saying of the brothers
for idol worshippers, the enemies of Allah,
and the Party of Satan (who are) the
Qadariyya15
and the Majus16
of this
nation.‖
―Allah—Whose name is holy, Whose
remembrance is high—has charged the
servants while they were granted choice,
and forbade them through warnings. He
has given for a small amount of good
deeds a great reward. He is never
disobeyed through being defeated (with
respect to His will), and He is not obeyed
through coercion and compulsion (due to
His will). He does not invest possession by
relinquishing it. He did not create the
heavens and the earth and whatever is in
between wrong and trivial. He has not
sent prophets with warnings and glad-
tidings futile. „This is the suspicion of the
disbelievers. Thus, woe unto the
disbelievers from Hellfire.‟ (38:27)‖17
It is narrated that Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) said:
أزد ذؼرحد ػ ٠جرس أ ئ للا غ ٠ؼحلر ؼحطج
فغ أجدز أػ أ أز أ٠ؼح أج أػص ح ػ١
ى س٠س٠د أسج ف١ى ف جظططحػس جؼرحد غ١س ػ ؼ ج
ف خم فر ضمد٠س ف ذس٠ط لؼح ف غرس ذ ظرك ػ ج
لر أ ٠ م و١ف ٠ م ػ ح ػح ئ ػرحد
ػظح ف م ػ ذه ح طحتس ػ أؽحػ
ؼظ١س ١ط ٠ؼحلدحلطحػس ٠ؼ ج١ػ١ر ػ ػص ر ػ ج
ال لؼحت ال لدز ذ ٠ؼحلد ػ ج ػ ػ
ؼحط ٠ػ١د ػ . جطحػس ج
―Certainly, Allah is more merciful to His
servant than compelling them to
disobedience and then punishing them for
that. He is also more magnificent, mighty,
exalted, meritorious, and aware than He
intends a command that is not in the
capability of the servants yet coerces them
due to His domination. Rather, His
knowledge preceded in His creation, and
His planning and His decree were put into
effect for His servants on how He would
create them before He creates them. He
knew what they would do and towards
which end they would turn. He knew those
who would obey Him from those would
disobey Him. Thus, He created them
accordingly in order to reward them for
obedience and punish them for
disobedience. But, the Lord of might and
majesty shall never punish them because
of His knowledge, decree, or planning,
The Will of Allah and Our Destiny
21
rather, He shall punish for disobedience
and shall reward for obedience.‖18
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed in detail, the
decision steps that are formed before a real
event comes to existence in the world. We
also discussed the notion of subject-based
knowledge and subject-free knowledge,
and explained that the former is created
while the latter is Eternal and cannot be
imagined. We also provided some
traditions of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) regarding the
divine decision sequence. In the next parts
of this article, we will further probe into
the details of this subject, by will of Allah!
1 See Chapter 97 of the holy Quran and the
corresponding commentaries of the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT).
2 Kulayni, Kafi, vol. 1, p. 92, Hadith #2; al-
Tafsir, ‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim al-Qumi, vol. 1, pp 25-26; Kitab al-Tawhid, p. 456, Hadith #9; p. 457, Hadith #18; Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 3, p. 259, Hadith #6; vol. 3, p. 264, Hadith #22; vol. 90, p. 90 (from the Commander of Believers, Imam ‘Ali (PBUH)).
3 Kulayni, Kafi, vol. 8, p. 22; Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-
ʻUqul, p. 196; Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 74, p. 287.
4Kitab al-Tawhid, p. 457, Hadith #14; Wasa’il
al-Shia, vol. 16, p. 197, Hadith #21334; Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 3, p. 259, Hadith #4.
5 Kulayni, Kafi, vol. 1, p. 98, Hadith #10; Kitab
al-Tawhid, p. 112, Hadith #11; Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 4, p. 39, Hadith #16.
6al-Tawhid, p. 81, Hadith 27; Bihar al-Anwār,
vol. 3, p. 268, Hadith 3; Similar narrations exist
in Kafi, vol. 1, p. 82, Hadith 2; p. 85, Hadith 7.
7 See the narration from The Commander of
Believers, Imam ‘Ali (PBUH) quoted in Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 3, p. 222.
8 See verses 85:22 and 13:39 of the Quran.
9 See Quran 83:21, and Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 2,
p. 318.
10Kafi, vol. 1, p. 148, Hadith 16.
11Kafi, vol. 1, p. 151, Hadith 5.
12Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 5, p. 124, Hadith 73,
from Fiqh al-Rida(PBUH).
13Bihar al-Anwār, vol. 4, p. 292, Hadith 21,
from al-Tawhid.
14Kafi, vol. 1, p. 150, Hadith 3.
15 Here Qadariyya refers those who believe in
compulsion.
16 The followers of a certain cult with heretical
beliefs concerning the origin of good and evil.
17Kafi, vol. 1, p. 155.
18Majmu’a al-Warram, vol. 2, p. 268.
22
The Role of Infallibles‘ Traditions in Quran
Interpretation
Alinaqi Khudayari
Associate Professor of Jameat al-Mustafa aL-‗Alamiyah University
Article acceptance date: May. 2016
Abstract:The narrations of the infallible leaders have an important role in
explanation of the verses of Quran. This application and importance are stated in
some verses and narrations. The author of the present article has highlighted 3
application of the narrations in interpreting Quran.
A.Inferencing methodological bases and rules of interpreting Quran (The important
characteristics of Quran such as guidance, comprehensiveness, internal harmony, multi-
dimensionality, its freshness during the centuries, its general and particular meanings , its
Muhkam and Mutashabih verses, rejecting interpretation of the verses based on your
understanding and judgment, etc;)
B. Setting the bases of Quranic interpretation; It means that a commentator should receive
the fundamentals of his (her) religious knowledge from the holy Quran and traditions of the
infallible leaders, and then begins to interpret the holy Quran.
C. The role of narrations as a source of interpretation (The reason of revelation of the
verse(s), application of a verse in its exact case, removal of superficial contradiction among
verse(s), …).
Keywords: Quran, Knowledge and concept/Quran, comment by the infallible
persons /traditions as explanations to Quran /sources of comment of Quran,
narrations /Quran, characteristics /Quran, different kinds of verses /Quran, sciences
and history
The Role of Infallibles’ Traditions in Quran Interpretation
23
Introduction
The credibility of traditions in Quran
interpretation
The Quran interpreters and Quran
researchers have different opinions
regarding the quality and quantity of
using traditions to interpret Quran.
Regardless of some extremists, majority
of Shia and Sunnite interpreters put
special emphasize on the importance of
traditions in Quran interpretations.
Concerning the credibility of the words
of Prophet in interpretation of Quran,
God, the Almighty, stated,
ي ئ١ ح ص حض وس طر١ ح ئ١ه جر أص
“And we sent down to you the
remembrance so that you can make
clear to people what has been sent
down to them” (16:44)
ػ ح حو ظي ف ر جس ح آضحو فحطج
“Whatever the messenger gives you,
accept it; and whatever he forbids you,
abstain.”(59:7)
Likewise, there are some verses which
introduce one of the responsibilities of
prophets as ―teaching the Book and
Hikmah‖.1
The meaning of teaching the Book was
not only reiterating the words of Quran,
but teaching the meanings, and truth of
Quran were meant. The Prophet and
infallible imams did their best to do
their duty and to elaborate on the
teachings of the holy Book, and their
elaborations and explanations reached
us under the name of ―traditions‖.
To prove the authenticity of these
traditions and their reliability in
interpreting Quran, we can refer to the
verse Tathir
٠طسو جر١ص جط أ جس د ػى ١ر ح ٠س٠د للا ئ
١سج ضط
“Allah only wishes to distance fault
from you, and to cleanse you, and to
purify you abundantly.” (33:33)
and
أ ظي أؽ١ؼج جس أؽ١ؼج للا ى س جأل
“Obey Allah and obey the messenger
and those in authority among
you.” (4:59)
ال ضؼ وس ئ وط جر فحظأج أ
“Ask the people of the remembrance, if
you do not know” (16:43), (21:7)
and the frequently narrated tradition of
―Thaqalayn‖.
جی ضحزک ف١ک جػم١ کطحخ للا ػطسضی ح ج ضعکط
جدی جز در ذح ضؼج ذؼدی: کطحخ للا ف١
دد جعحء جی جالزع ػطسضی ج ذ١طی ج
جح ٠فطسلح دطی ٠سدج ػی جط١ف ج ر١س لد جخرسی
ف١ح جذع جظسج ک١ف ض فی
Truly, I leave two precious things, the
Book of God, and my Ahlul Bayt…
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24
According to the mentioned verses,
commentators and elites of Quranic
science have been emphasizing on the
necessity of traditions in order to
interpret Quranic verses.2
How to use Quranic verses to
interpreting Quran
Generally, the role of traditions in
interpreting Quran can be studied from
three aspects:
1.Understanding the principles and rules
of interpretation in terms of
methodology
2.Determining and completing the bases
of interpretation
3.Traditions as the foundation of
interpretation
1.understanding the principles and
rules of interpretation methodology-
wise
Rules of interpretation are a set of
principles for understanding Quran and
also familiarizing with those features of
Quran which influence interpretation
(directly or indirectly).3By
contemplating on the texts of traditions,
we can deduce valuable rules which are
necessary for understanding Quran.
Some of these principles are as follows:
1.1.Quranic understandability
The first important principle in
interpretation is accepting this principle
that ―Quran is an understandable book‖.
This point has been asserted by various
traditions. In the traditions, it has been
declared that Quran is a book which
people should think about. These
traditions can be divided into several
parts:
In some traditions asserted the
understandability of Quran has been
such as this tradition from Prophet on
Ghadir day, ―oh, the group of peoples!
Contemplate on Quran! Pay attention to
its verses, look at its fixed rules and
leave the unfixed ones. I swear by God,
its forbiddance and its interpretation are
hidden from people unless this one [this
person] that I am holding his hand and
pulling him towards myself.‖4
In some traditions, it has been ordered
to contemplate on Quran and the
importance of putting its orders into
practice and revoking to it. For example
Zurarah who said to Imam Sadiq,
ج٠ ػص ج جعخ ذرؼغ جسجض؟ فمحي: کح
5جرحب
How did you know Mash(touching a
part of body by wet hand before prayer)
should be done on head? He answered,
for the letter ―خ‖ [b] in the tradition.6
In another tradition a person asked what
should a person do when his nail is
bleeding and he is putting a plaster on it
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
25
when he wants to take minor ablution
[Wudu]?
Imam ‗Ali replied7,
٠ؼسف رج جشرح کطحخ للا ػصج: " ح جؼ
ػ١ک فی جد٠ دسؼ". جعخ ػ١".
In this issue, the verse 78 of Sura Haj
should be referred to.
The next group of traditions specified
those frequently said traditions which
are about evaluating authenticity of
traditions based on Quranic verses.8All
mentioned traditions are emphasizing on
the comprehensibility of Quran on one
hand and the authenticity of its general
understanding on the other hand.
1.2. The book of guidance and self-
construction
What a kind of book is Quran? What
kind of knowledge and sciences does it
include? Is it a reflection from nature?
Is it a healing prescription?
Contemplating on Quran shows us it is a
Book of Guidance.
Quran is to develop human beings and
to make a utopia based on heavenly
teachings and rules. The source of a lot
of Quranic descriptions like ―light‖,
―guidance‖, ―reasoning‖, etc. is this
characteristics of Quran which is
guidance. According to traditions,
Quran is a guide in all times and
places.9Quran in its guidance is
independent and rich [needless of
anything].10
Looking for a guidance
wherever out of the territory of Quran is
deviation; as the Prophet said,
―Gabriel came to me and said, oh
Muhammad! There is going to be
sedition among your nation soon. I said,
what is the solution? He said, the book
of God… anyone who looks for
guidance out of it, God will mislead
him.‖11
According to what has been said, Quran
is a book of guidance. Due to this, it
gives the necessary guidelines for
human self-construction and salvation,
so when Quran speaks about cosmology
or something like this, it aims is not
cosmological issues but a higher goal,
which is salvation of human beings.
This point should be in mind as a
principle in interpreting Quran.
1.3. Comprehensibility
Another characteristic of Quran is its
completeness and comprehensibility,
which means it, includes all elements
essential for guidance and does not have
any shortcoming.
Imam Ali said,
God has sent a Quran to you, which
expresses everything. He kept His
messenger alive among you to complete
His religion for you and for him [ the
messenger] as He likes and He sent in
His book. He announces good deeds and
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
26
bad deeds, permitted and not permitted
deeds by his tongue.‖12
Imam Sadiq said13
,
ج للا جصي فی جمسج ضر١ح ک شی دطی للا ح ضسک للا
٠ذطحؼ جؼرحد ج١ جال ذ١ حض دطی ٠عطط١غ ػرد ٠مي:
کح رج صي فی جمسج جال لد جصي للا ف١He did not neglect needs of people and
He explained them to people. In this
way, no one can claim I wish it was a
talk in Quran about this or that; [truly]
God has sent a verse about it in Quran.
1.4. Internal consistency and
accordance
One of the teachings of traditions about
the text of Quran which is directly
confirmed by Quran is the internal
compatibility and accordance which
exists among its verses.
For example, Imam Ali, referring to
disputes among verdicts of judges,
emphasized on the completeness of
religion of God and its
comprehensibility of Quran and then
said,
―God, the Almighty, says that He did
not leave out anything in this book and
it includes everything. He says, a part of
Quran is asserting the other part and
there is no discordance in it.‖14
1.5. Abrogator of previous Books and
guardian of them
According to the traditions, Quran is a
guardian, and an abrogator which has a
higher position regarding the previous
holy books. Holy Prophet said,
ج للا جؼ کطحذی ج١ ػی کطر جحظخ ح
―God chose my Book as a guardian and
an abrogator of the prophets‘ books
before me.‖ 15
Imam Sajjad said in his supplication,
ج جک جػطی ػی خط کطحذک جری جصط زج
جؼط ١ح ػی ک کطحخ جصط
―Oh God! You helped me to write down
Quran completely, the Book which is
sent as a light, and for the other books,
it is a guardian.‖ 16
1.6. Multi-dimensionality of Quran
Some traditions assert that the text of
Quran has the potentiality of being
understood by all and can be interpreted
differently. Imam ‗Ali told ibn ‗Abbas
when he wanted to send him to debate
Khawarij, 17
ذحمسجآ، فح جمسج دحي ذ ج، ضمي ال ض حط
حع، فح ٠م، ک دحجج )خحط( ذ
٠جدج ػح ذ١ظح
Abu ‗Abdul Rahman Salmi said, Imam
Ali passed by a judge and said, do you
know what Nasikh is and what
Mansukh is? He said, no. Imam said18
,
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
27
.کص جکص
You got yourself to be destroyed and
caused others be destroyed.
1.7.Quran in the passage of time
In some traditions, it has been
emphasized that the Quranic teachings
and regulations do not belong to any
specific time or specific tribe but it is
true for every time and place. It seems
that this principle is an obvious
principle in tradition studies which is
needless to be proved.
Imam Sadiq has been asked, no matter
how many times I recited Quran, why is
it always new and fresh [to me]?
He answered,
As God, the Almighty, did not allocate it
to a specific time; [ in this case it would
] seems unusual in the other times. And
it is not specifically for a group of
people. Therefore, in any time and for
every group, it is new until the end of
the world.19
Imam Muhammad Baqir said about the
surface and depth of Quran:
Its surface is what has been sent
(Tanzil) and its depth is its
interpretation (Ta‘wil), a part of its
Ta‘wil is known and past and a part left.
It is ongoing like the sun and the
moon[it is ongoing]. Whenever [the
time of] interpretation of a part of it
arrives, it would be the same to deads
as it is to alives [a metaphor which
shows the ongoing nature of Ta‘wil].20
Quran is alive and will not die. Verses
are alive and will not die. If verses were
only sent for a specific group , when
they die, Quran should die as well. But
it is not like this. Verses are true for
coming generations as it was for passing
ones.
Imam Sadiq said, Quran is alive and
will not die, it is ongoing as nights and
days, like the sun and the moon. In
every era it is ongoing as it was for the
first one of us and it is the same for the
last one of us. 21
From these traditions, it is deduced that
regulations and characteristics
mentioned in verses of Quran are not
specific to that special case which they
referred to but they can be generalized
for new cases.
1.8. The levels of knowing Quran
Contemplating on traditions shows that
Quran has different levels. This point
has been explained in different
traditions. In some traditions, the depth
and in some, the surface levels of Quran
were the subject of talk.
Imam ‗Ali,
ج جمسج ظحس ج١ك ذحؽ ػ١ك ال ضفی ػجحتر ال
ضمؼی غسجتر ال ضکشف جظحش جال ذ
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28
The surface of Quran is beautiful and its
depth is profound. Its wonders have no
end and its strange parts are endless.
Darkness can not be overcome without
it. 22
Jabir said, I asked Imam Baqir about
interpretation of Quran. He told me
something. I asked him again. He said
something else in its reply. I said, you
told me something else before; he said,
جحذس، ج جمسج ذطح رط ذطح. ظس ظس
ظس...
Oh Jabir! Quran has a depth and its
depth has depths. It has a surface and
its surface has another surface. 23
Sometimes we talk about its surface and
sometimes its depths. Fudayl ibn Yasar
said, I asked from Imam Muhammad
Baqir about this tradition
سج ج٠ جال ح ظس ذطح جم
There is no verse in Quran unless it has
a surface and a depth.
He said,
ظس ضص٠ ذط ضح٠
Its surface is its Tanzil and its depth is
Ta‘wil. 24
i.e. The surface of Quran is the reason
of it revelation and its interpretation is
its depth.
Imam Ali classified Quranic knowledge
into three groups:
God, the Almighty, knows that people
of ignorance will change the Book, so
He classified His words into three parts:
a part of it is only revealed to one who
has a pure mind and high understanding
so God has opened his heart to Islam. A
part of it is only reveled to God and His
trustees -those who have perseverance
in knowledge. …25
1.9. Generalities and specifications
From traditions, we can learn that Quran
has generalities and specifications. It
means some verses are general,
applicable in all situations and for all
people and some others are not.26
In the
process of interpretation, it is important
to notice the generality or specification
of the verses.
10.1. Fixed and unfixed
According to the verses and traditions,
Quran has fixed (Muhkam) and unfixed
(Mutashabah) verses. As fixed and
unfixed traditions, each one, should be
explained in an special way regarding
its own principles, in traditions our duty
concerning each group has been
declared. By reviewing the traditions,
regarding fixed and unfixed verses we
can conclude these points: the
importance of Faith, putting fixed verses
commands into practice, the necessity of
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
29
accepting unfixed verses while noticing
their limitations.
Imam Sadiq said, 27
ج جمسج ذک طشحذ، فحح جذک ف ذ ؼ
ذ د٠ ذ. جح جطشحذ ف ذ ال ؼ ذک.
ح ضشحذ لي للا: " ش٠غ ف١طرؼ ف لذ ح جر٠ فأ
...
Quran has fixed and unfixed verses. We
believe in fixed ones and put them into
practice. However, about unfixed ones,
we believe in them but we do not put
them into practice. This is the word of
God (ale ‗Imran,7) Who says,28
أ حش ذى آ٠حش ىطحخ صي ػ١ه ج جر أ
ج ش٠غ ف١طرؼ ف لذ ح جر٠ طشحذحش فأ أخس ىطحخ
٠ ئال ضأ ح ٠ؼ ٠
جذطغحء ضأ فطس جذطغحء ج ح ضشحذ
و ح ذ آ ٠م ؼ ف ج جظ جس ح للا د زذ ػ
رحخ س ئال أ جأل و ح ٠ر
“It is He who has sent down to you the
Book. Some of its verses are precise in
meaning they are the foundation of the
Book and others obscure. Those whose
hearts are swerving with disbelief,
follow the obscure desiring sedition
and desiring its interpretation, but no
one knows its interpretation except
Allah. Those who are well grounded in
knowledge say: 'We believe in it, it is
all from our Lord. And none remember
except those who are possessed of
minds.” (3:7)
The second point is the interpretation of
unfixed verses which is on the shoulder
of زجظ ج فی جؼ ―rasekhan fil ilm‖. It
means Prophet and Ahlul Bayt. In
various traditions, the necessity of
neglecting unfixed traditions and
interpret them based on fixed verses
have been emphasized.29
1.11. Quran abrogation
In holy Quran, there are some verses
about the possibility of abrogation of
some holy verses, but it is not said it
happened. From some traditions, we can
conclude that in holy Quran, some
verses are Nasikh (abrogator) and some
are Mansukh (abrogated).
Imam ‗Ali said, 30
خ زذک ف١ک: ر١ح دال دسج فسجتؼ خف... کطح
فؼحت حظ عخ
The majesty Muhammad left the book of
God among you; a book in which Hilal
and Hiram laws, obligatory and
nonobligatory, Nasikh and Mansukh
have been declared.
According to traditions, recognizing
Nasikh and Mansukhis among the
prerequisites of scientific books and
steps of interpretation. Imam Ali said to
a judge, do you know Nasikh and
Mansukh? He said, no, imam said, you
are lost and make others lost.
Interpretation of each letter of Quran
needs different criteria.31
In some other traditions, it is
emphasized that Quran is immune from
abrogation. In the first sermon of Nahj
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30
al-Balāghah while mentioning types of
Quranic regulations, Imam ‗Ali said,
There are some regulations in the book
of God that are obligatory but in
traditions they are abrogated. There are
some regulations in sunnah which are
obligatory but in the Book it is said they
can be left.32
Another point regarding abrogation is
the complete knowledge of Ahlul bayt
regarding Nasikh and Mansukh.33
1.12. Forbiddance of interpreting
Quran based on one‟s opinion
In various traditions, we read
interpreting holy verses based on one‘s
opinions which is not supported by
traditions or other verses is forbidden.
The holy Prophet said, God the
Almighty said, anyone who interprets
my words according to his opinion and
wish does not believe in me. Anyone
who resembles me to my creatures does
not know me in fact. And anyone who
compares [my Deeds with human
beings] my affairs is not on this belief.34
In addition to that, it has been narrated
from him that
فعس جمسج ذسج٠ فمد جفطسی ػی للا جکرخ جفطی
ط التک جعحجش جالزعجحض ذغ١س ػ فؼ
Anyone who interprets Quran based on
his judgment, truly puts God in the
place of being a liar. And anyone who
judges among people while he has no
knowledge (about it), the angels of
heavens and earth will curse him. 35
Imam ‗Ali told a zindiq (atheist) who
insisted on incompatibility among
Quranic verses that ―Do not interpret
Quran based on your opinion! You
should learn it from scholars of it.
Because its surface ( surface of Quran )
is similar to the words of human beings,
while it is the words of God and its
interpretation is not similar to human
beings‘ words, as no creatures is similar
to God.‖36
1.13. The necessity of referring to
Sunnah while interpreting Quran
One of the laws in understanding Quran
which is mentioned in traditions is the
necessity of referring to traditions in
order to interpret Quran. In fact, Quran
as it has been declared by verses and
traditions, includes fixed verses, unfixed
verses, general verses, and specific
verses, brief and extended, surface and
deep interpretation. Sufficing to the
[literal meanings of] the words is not
enough and we should go to the depth of
Quran. To benefit from Quran more,
God, the Almighty, puts the
responsibility of explaining verses on
the shoulders of holy Prophet.37
After
the Prophet his successors are in the
position of ―rasekhun fil ‗Ilm‖who are
responsible for explaining Quran. In
holy Quran, someone is named who is
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
31
the witness of messangership of the
Prophet and has ‗ilmul kitab (ability to
interpret Quran)
وف جىطحخ ل ػد ػ ذ١ى ١دج ذ١ ذحلل ش
“Say: 'Allah is a sufficient witness
between me and you, and whosoever
possesses knowledge of the
book.”(13:43)
According to the traditions of Shia and
Sunnite, the meaning of نده علم الكتاب ومن ع is
‗Ali.38
It is worth saying that only that
person can realize the true meaning of
God‘s message who is familiar with all
aspects of Quran.39
In various traditions, it has been
asserted that Ahl al-Bayt have
comprehensive knowledge regarding
Quran and it is necessary to refer to
them whenever its interpretation is
desired. Here, we are mentioning an
example:
Imam Sadiq told Abu Hanifah, are you
the religious scholar of Iraq? He said,
yes. Imam said, based on what do you
judge among them? He replied, based
on Quran and the lifestyle of His
Prophet Muhammad. Imam said, do you
have comprehensive knowledge
regarding Quran? Do you know what
Nasikh and Mansukh are? He said, yes.
Imam said, you claim you know a lot!
Wow to you! God puts that knowledge
only in the hearts of Ahlul Kitab (the
ones this book has been sent to them).
Wow to you! That knowledge is only in
the hearts of special people from
offspring of Prophet. You do not inherit
not even a letter from the Book.40
We should bear in mind that necessity
of referring to sunnah in interpreting
Quran does not reject methods of
interpretations but it means in addition
to Quran and logic, Sunnah and
infallibles traditions should be regarded.
2.setting interpretations‟ bases
One of the important benefits of
traditions in interpretation of Quran is
its role in preparing the bases of
interpretations. The bases of
interpretation mean those foundations,
presumptions, beliefs and concerns of
interpreters, which influence the
interpretation of the words of God
directly or indirectly.
Any interpreter cultivates the bases of
its interpretation in a special ground and
put up his interpretation‘s tent on those
foundations. To show the role of these
foundations in interpretation, we can
imagine an interpreter who concludes
that visiting God by eyes is possible.
This person will interpret this verse
ثر حػسز ج ٠ ح حظسز ئ زذ
“On that day there shall be radiant
faces, gazing towards their lord.”
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
32
(75:22,23)
based on his ideas. And a person who
believes in ‗Ismah of prophets will
interpret the verses against ‗Ismah
according to his beliefs.
In a suitable interpretation method, an
interpreter will base his interpretation
based on Ahkam, logical regulations,
fixed verses of Quran and proved
traditions of Sunnah.
For example,
ئال أ ٠شحء للا ح ضشحؤ
“And you do not please except that
Allah please”(76:30)
In this verse, God talks about His Will
and the will of human beings. There are
several questions in front of the
interpreter: what is God‘s Will? What is
its relationship with the will of
humankind and His Will? Is His Will
His Essence-bound attribute or Action-
bound attribute? Is His will
incompatible with the will of human
beings?
There are suitable answers for these
questions in religious texts. Therefor an
interpreter should refer to the religious
resources first and then based on what
he learns, he starts interpreting the
above mentioned verse. Or in order to
interpret the verses regarding Ma‘ad,
first an interpreter should refer to fixed
verses of Quran and fixed traditions to
get a picture from it and then based on
this understanding starts interpreting the
verses about Ma‘ad. The reliability of
the principles deduced from Quran and
traditions is so strong that when an
interpreter establishes his belief on them
can not desist even when he faces a
verse which is in contrast with his own
belief. His principle is so authentic in
his mind that he tries to interpret in a
way which is confirming his principles.
Even to get to his desired interpretation,
he puts the surface of the verse aside.
Getting principles from Quran and
traditions in order to interpret Quran is
very important. In the view point of
Imamiyah, to interpret fixed verses,
basically, we cannot refer to any other
sources but Quran and Sunnah; It is
always possible that an interpreter
willingly or unwillingly builds the bases
of his opinions over sources other than
book of God and traditions, mixes
religious elements with unreligious
elements.
3.traditions as the source of
interpretation resources
The sources or Masadir of interpretation
are those documents or resources which
interpreters refer to directly to interpret
Quran. They embark their
interpretations on them. The traditions
of infallibles along side other sources of
interpretation is a highly useful
resource. Some of the most significant
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
33
usages of traditions for Quran
interpretation are outlined in the
following. This list is not complete.
3.1. Reports on the reasons of
revelation of verses
Knowing the reasons of revelation of
verses is a suitable way to understand a
verse. If we know the reason of
revelation of a verse, we can understand
it better. Part of the traditions are about
the reasons of revelation of the verses.
For example, we read in the traditions
and history of Shia and Sunnite that the
meaning of ج آ جر٠ in the verse ١ى ح ئ
٠إض الز جظ ٠م١ ج جر٠ آ جر٠ زظ للا
وحز جص زجوؼ41
is Ali who gave his ring
away in his Salah.42
3.2. Making Examples
One of the important usages of
traditions in interpretation of Quran is
citing examples. For example in
interpreting ―Hasanah‖ in the verse
ف ج٢خسز دعس ١ح دعس ح آضح ف جد ٠مي زذ
لح ػرجخ جحز
“But there are others who say: 'lord,
give us a merit in the world and good
in the everlasting life, and save us from
the punishment of the fire.”(2:201)
We read that imam Sadiq said,
(Hasanah is) the heaven of God in
Hereafter and wellbeing and being
good-tempered in this word.43
In fact,
the heaven of God, well-being, and
being good-tempered are all examples
of Hasanah.
Sometimes we see that in interpreting a
verse, there are various verses which
seem to have incompatible meanings. It
means accepting one necessitates
rejecting the other one. If we look
deeper, we will realize all traditions are
to explain different general Quranic
contents. For example in interpreting the
verse 44١ ضرط١ال ئ ضرط we have various
traditions that each one interpret the
verse differently. In a tradition from
Imam Musa, he said, رجزو is جطرط ج ضمد when you pray, you―کف١ک فی جدػح جذج دػش
turn the palm of your hand‖.45
In another tradition, imam Sadiq said in
its interpretation, ―Pray while you are
pointing by a finger.‖46
Some contemporary interpreters wrote
in this regard, there is no
incompatibility among interpretations
regarding this verse. Because
incompatibility exists between a
negative and a positive thing. According
to Qamus, which means ضرطas
discontinuity and release, these
traditions are not incompatible. These
traditions mean this.
3.3 citing the special meanings of
verses
In addition to explaining the general
meaning of some words or expressions
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34
based on some traditions, some verses
of Quran have been explained. For
example, imam Jawad was asked about
the meaning of Samad. He said,
47جع١د جظد ج١ فی جم١ جکػ١س
That Master Who is meant and aimed in
everything, big or small.
Another example is a tradition that
Sheikh Saduq mentioned in
interpretation of Sura Al-Tawhid.48
Likewise, in various traditions, the
meaning of جظحدل١ in the verse جضمج للا حدل١ غ جظ وج
49 has been declared.
50
3.4. Solving the surface controversy
among verses
Sometimes we confront some
controversies among verses. By the help
of some traditions, we can solve this
problem. For example, it can be
assumed there is incompatibility
between these verses:
زذحع فا غالظ ػ جعحء ح ؽحخ ى فحىذج
جددز أال ضؼدج ف خفط
“Then marry such women as seem
good to you; two, three, four of them.
But if you fear that you cannot do
justice, then one only,” (4:3)
دسطط جعحء ضعطط١ؼج أ ضؼدج ذ١
“You will not be able to be just between
your women, even though you are
eager” (4:129)
While according to traditions the
meaning of justice in the first verse is to
be just in life expenses and nafaqa while
in the second, justice in loving them is
the aim.51
3.5. outlining conditions for Quranic
rules
The conditions of some absolute rules
and regulations mentioned in Quran
have been outlined in traditions. For
example, the rule about will in the
verse,
ط١س ذؼد ح ضسو ذغ جس د فى فا وح
د٠ ذح أ ٠ط١
“If they have a child, a quarter of what
they leave shall be yours after any
bequest she had bequeathed, or any
debt.” (4:12)is absolute and according to
this verse, a person can decide about his
wealth…. While according to traditions,
a person can decide for a third of his
possession after him.52
3.6. General allocation
Some generalities of Quran have been
explained in details in traditions: for
example, in the verse, ب رزك صف ىن اجن أس
53 the word اجن refers to a أس
general type of marriage, temporary or
life- long. This verse has been explained
by traditions and it says only life-long
marriage is meant. According to the
tradition of Tahdhib al-Ahkam,
‗Abdullah ibn ‗Amr said, I asked imam
Sadiq about temporary marriage, he
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
35
said, it is halal for you from God and his
messenger. I said, what is its limitation?
He answered, of its limitation is you can
inherit from her and she can not inherit
from you.54
3.7. Brief explanation
A lot of Ahkam, moral or theological
issues, and stories have been mentioned
in Quran briefly, but their details have
been mentioned in Sunnah. In Quran we
read, 55
امع ع اىز ارمعا مبح آرا اىش الح ا اىص أق
But the condition and details of (Salat)
pray and Zakat have been mentioned in
Sunnah. The explanations of Quranic
stories like the biography of prophets,
i.e. Kahf story or the birds of Abraham
have been included in traditions. In
Quran, we read, ل غزت ثعضن ثعضب
“nor backbite one another” (49:12)
but the definition of Ghaybah
(backbiting), its limitations, the
permitted cases… all are explained in
sunnah. In Quran, it is said after the
Prophet, there is a leader who should be
followed and his characteristics have
been said. But this leader has been
introduced by the Prophet. In a tradition,
Jabir Ansari said, when God sent the
verse
ج آ س ٠ح أ٠ح جر٠ جأل أ ظي أؽ١ؼج جس أؽ١ؼج للا
ى
“Believers, obey Allah and obey the
messenger and those in authority
among you”(4:59)
I said, oh the Prophet! We know God
and His Messenger! However, who are
the جی جالس that God puts their
obedience besides His obedience? He
answered, oh Jabir! They are my
successors and leaders of Muslims after
me. The first one of them is ‗Ali ibn Abi
Talib,…56
Likewise the details of names
and attributes of God, eschatology,…
3.8. Explaining the internal meaning
of verses (Ta‟wil)
l is understanding iw‘The meaning of ta
the internal meaning of Quran which is
not understandable by looking at its
surface. A part of traditions of Shia
regarding Quran interpretation is about
this. In the verse ح ١ػحق جر١١ ئذ أخر للا
ؼى ح ق ظد زظي جحءو س غ دى وطحخ آض١طى
طظس ذ ...طإ
“and when Allah took the covenant of
the prophets: 'that I have given you of
the book and wisdom. Then there shall
come to you a messenger (Muhammad)
confirming what is with
you, …”(3:81,82)
There are some verses explain this
verse. For example, Fayd ibn Abi
Shaybah said imam Sadiq said after
reciting that verse,
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
36
You believe in the Prophet and help
‗Ali. I said, do youhelp Ali? He said,
yes, after Adam till the end of the world.
And God will not choose any Nabi or
Prophet unless he comes to this world to
fight for Ali.57
The author of Tafsir Manahij al-Bayan
wrote about these traditions, these
traditions are about internal meaning
and not for the purpose of interpretation.
Tafsirand ta‘wil are both true in their
own place and it is clear that ... so
proving a thing which is in surface of
Quran with a thing in ta‘wil which
belongs to internal meaning of Quran is
not in contrast. …‖58
In the following tradition, you can see
the meaning of this verse (Ta‘wil) by
Imam Ali:
Salam ibn Mustanir narrated from imam
Sadiq who said, the opponents chose
some epithet for themselves that God
only gave it to ‗Ali ibn Abitalib. The
meaning of it (its ta‘wil) has not sent
down yet. I said, when will it be sent?
He answered, when it is the very time,
God will gather prophets and infallibles
in front of him to help him. And this is
what God says, on that day, the flag of
holy Prophet will be given to ‗Ali ibn
Abitalib and he will be the leader of all
people. All people will be under his flag
while he is their leader. This is the
meaning of this verse.‖59
3.9. The interpretation of Mutashabih
verses
Regarding these verses, the surface of
them should be unfolded and their
Ta‘wil should be studied. Traditions
which are about interpretation of
Mutashabih verses can help us to
understand meaning. For example, in
interpreting the verse
ثر حػسز ج ٠ ح حظسز ئ زذ
“On that day there shall be radiant
faces, gazing towards their
lord.”(75:22,23)imam Rida said, ―it
means faces are shinny and … looking
at the blessings of their Lord‖60
and also
imam Ali said in a tradition, ―This is
what God says: جی زذح حظس.‖ the
meaning of looking at God is looking at
the blessings of God, the Almighty‖.61
3.10. subject-based interpretation
In some interpretational traditions, by
putting related verses aside and a topic
related to them besides that topic has
been explained. For example, imam
Sadiq said about different aspects of
Kufr: Kufr in the book of God has five
aspects: one aspect is denying Kufr.
And it is of two types; kufr in ignoring
what God commands which is Bira‘at
kufr and not valuing God‘s blessing62
then he continued explaining the other
types of Kufr by the help of Quranic
verses.
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
37
3.11. inferencing the religious
concepts from verses of Quran
In a group of traditions, some religious
concepts have been defined according to
holy verses of Quran. For example,
imam Ali said, all piety is gathered in
two sentences of Quran. God the
Almighty says,
ح آضحو ال ضفسدج ذ ح فحضى ج ػ ظ ى١ال ضأ
“So that you will not be saddened for
whatever does not come to you, nor be
overjoyed in what has come to
you”(57:23).‖63
In another tradition imam Sajjad said,
―piety has 10 parts: the highest level of
piety, is the lowest level of Wara‘ … be
aware that piety is in a verse from the
book of God: اى١ال ضأظ ‖64
3.12. Interpretation based on words
In some interpretations, words are the
pivot of interpretation. An example
from these kinds of tradition is the one
in which imam Baqir explained the
meaning of sabh سجح in the verse ىل إ
بر سجحب طال 65 ف اىIt means for sleep and
…you have a long time.66
In fact, in this tradition, the literal
meaning of sabh which is rest has been
explained67
.
3.13. Different realization
The role of traditions in this regard is
very important. Sometimes the meaning
of a tradition highlights one meaning of
a verse over the others. For example,
about the meaning of عظب in this verse
٠س ػ ػسشح لحي أ خح س ػ لس٠س وحر أ
ذؼػ لحي و غ ثس ػح حض للا ضح فأ للا ذؼد ذ ٠ذ١
لح ذؼغ ٠ ح أ رػص لحي رػص ٠ ثس ػح ي ذ رػص
حزن جظس ئ د ٠طع شسجذه ه فحظس ئ ؽؼح
و١ف شصح غ جظس ئ جؼظح حض جؼه آ٠س
للا أ لحي أػ ح ضر١ ح ف ء ىعح ذ ش ػ و
لد٠س
“or of him, who, when passing by the
ruined village that was fallen on its
roofs, remarked: 'how can Allah give
life to this after its death? ' thereupon
Allah caused him to die, and after a
hundred years he revived him. He
asked: 'how long have you remained?
„„A day, ' he replied, 'or part of a day.
„Allah said: 'rather, you have remained
a hundred years. Look at your food
and drink; they have not rotted. And
look at your donkey (that had died). We
will make you a sign to the people. And
look at the bones (of your donkey) how
we shall revive them and clothe them
with flesh. „and when it had all become
clear to him, he said: 'I know that
Allah has power over all things.”
(2:259)
We have two opinions about it: some
say the meaning of it is the bones of
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
38
beasts and the other the bones of a
resurrected person68
.
From some traditions we can conclude
that the meaning of the resurrected
person‘s bones are meant. According to
‗Ayashi, imam Sadiq said, the first body
member that God created were eyes
which were like the thin skin of eggs.
Then he was told, how long did you
wait? He answered, a day. Then when
he saw the sun did not set, he said, part
of a day. God said you waited 100
years, so look at your food and drink
which are not spoilt…‖ then he looked
at the bones, which were joining to each
other and saw how blood started
running in his veins. When he stood up,
he said, I knew God is Able to do
anything.69
3.14. Interpreting Quran according to
Quran
Some traditions try to give us another
meaning of Quranic verses by the help
of other Quranic verses. As the
interpretational relations of verses are
not clear for us, for example, we can not
say the word ظي in verse
جأل ثه أ ح ذظ رعج ئ٠ ٠ ج آ جر٠
طد
“Those who believe and have not
confounded their belief with harm
security belongs to them; and they are
guided” (6:82)means the same as in this
verse luqman,13
ػظ١ سن ظ جش ئ ال ضشسن ذحلل ٠ح ذ
“My son, associate none with Allah, to
associate others with Allah is a
tremendous wrong.”(31:13)
The reason of this ambiguity for us is
the various examples of this word. In
order to be able to choose, one should
know the reasons, which are not in the
verse. And also the word شزک has
various realization.
As the holy Prophet and his successor
have comprehensive knowledge about
Quran, they can give a suitable
interpretation. About the above
mentioned verses Prophet provided us
with their true interpretation.70
3.15 determining Nasikh and
Mansukh
In the first part, we said that Quran
includes Nasikh and Mansukh.
Knowing them needs having knowledge
about the time of their revelation.
Naturally, first an abrogator verse
should be sent down, and then a verse
can be nullified. This point is
understandable from traditions and not
Quran.
For example, according to the traditions,
the verse
ء ش للا ػ و ئ س للا ذأ جطفذج دط ٠أض فحػفج
لد٠س
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
39
“So pardon and forgive until Allah
brings his command. Allah is powerful
over everything.”(2:109)
which is known as ‗Afw verse, is
rejected by the verse
لح ال ٠ذس ج٢خس ١ ال ذح ذحلل ال ٠إ ضج جر٠
أضج جر٠ ذك ج د٠ ال ٠د٠ زظ للا ح دس
طحغس ىطحخ دط ٠ؼطج ججص٠س ػ ٠د ج
“fight those who neither believe in
Allah nor the last day, who do not
forbid what Allah and his messenger
have forbidden, and do not embrace
the religion of the truth, being among
those who have been given the book
(Bible and the Torah), until they pay
tribute out of hand and have been
humiliated.”(9:29) which is known as
Sayf verse.71
End notes:
1 Refer to: Qurān, 2:129,151; 3:164;62:2
2Refer to: Majmaʻ al-Bayān; vol.1,pp.39,40;
Mutishabih al-Quran va mukhtalafa, vol.2,p.148; al-bayan fi Tafsir al-Qurān, p.397; Tabarsi,Majmaʻ al-Bayān, vol.1, pp.15, 18; al-Burhan, vol.2, p.156; al-Itqan, vol.2, p.351; Manahil al-‘Irfan, vol.1,pp.480,481.
3 No doubt to understand anything and to
be able to interpret it is essential to have a kind of knowledge even very general to it. It is subject of misunderstanding if we deal with interpretation without knowing the bases. The more this knowledge, the better understanding.
Regarding text of Quran, the importance of this knowledge is more; as Quran in addition to the general aspects common among all texts, enjoys some specialties which are specific to it. The secret of the Quranic characteristics is being from God, which shows Him. A book which is endowed to the heart of the Prophet as the last messenger which takes the responsibility of guidance in all eras and places. (imam Ali encyclopedia, vol.1,Quranic Studies, Ali Naqi Khudayari)
4Al-Ihtijaj,vol.1,p.146; Wasa’il al-Shia,
vol.27,p.193,tradition,43) 5Kafi, vol.3,p.30.tradition 4; al-faqih, vol.1,
p.102, tradition 212)
6 In this case the verse ma’idah, 6 has been
referred to. 7Kafi, vol.3,p.33,tradition 4; Tahdhib al-
Ahkam, vol.1, p.363, tradition 27) 8Al-Bayan, p.365
9Kafi, vol.2, p.216, tradition, 2)
10Nahj al-Balāghah, sermon 175
11Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.1,p.3
12Nahj al-Balāghah, sermon 86
13Tafsiral-Qumi, vol.2, p.451; al-Mahasin,
vol.1,p.266, tradition 352; Bihar al-Anwār, vol.92, p.81, tradition 9)
14Nahj al-Balāghah, sermon 133
15 Al-Ihtijaj, vol.1,p.57; Bihar al-Anwār,
tradition 9, p.292 16
Sahifah Sajjadiyah, pray, 42 17
Nahj al-Balāghah, letter 77; Avael al-Maqalat, p.401 18
Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.1,p.12,tradition 9; Wasa’il al-Shia, volo.27,p.202,tradition 65
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
40
19
‘Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol.1,p.93; Tusi, Amali, p.580 20
Basair al-Darajat, p.216; Wasa’il al-Shia, vol.27, p.96, tradition 49 21
Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.2,pp.2,3, tradition 6; refer to, Bihar al-Anwār, vol.92, p.83, tradition 14 22
Nahj al-Balāghah, sermon 18; Al-Ihtijaj, vol.1, p.390; refer to, Kafi, vol.2,p.598,tradition 2 23
Al-Mahasin, vol.2, p.300, tradition 5; Wasa’il al-Shia, vol.27,p.192,tradition 41 24
Basair al-Darajat, p.216; Bihar al-Anwār, vol.92, p.97, tra.64 25
Al-Ihtijaj, vol.1,p.376; Wasa’il al-Shia, vol.27, p.193,trad.44 26
Refer to: Kafi, vol.1, p.213, tradition 2; Tafsir ʻAyashi,vol.1,p.164,trad.6; Basair al-Darajat, p.223,trad.4 27
Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.1, p.162 28
Refer to: Sahifah Sajjadiyah, prayer. 42; Bihar al-Anwār, vol.23,p.191 29
Refer to: taghir al-Burhan, verse 7 ale ‘Imran, ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol.2,p.290; for the meaning of referring unfixed based on fixed verses refer to: Manahij al-Bayan, vol.1,pp.27,28; compared with al-Mizan, vol.3,p.43
30Nahj al-Balāghah, sermon.1; Kafi,
vol.1,p.64,trad.1; Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.1,p.14,trad.1 31
Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.1, p.12; Bihar al-Anwār, vol.92, p.110, trad.9
32Nahj al-Balāghah, sermon 1
33 Refer to: ‘Ilal al-Sharayi‘, vol.1, p.90,
Khisal, p.576, Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul, p.349 34
‘Uyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol.1,p.116
35
Kamal al-Din, vol.1,p.256; refer to Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.1,p.17,18. 36
Al-Tawhid,p.262
37Holy Quran, Nahl,44; refer to Jumua, 2
38Refer to Kafi, vol.1, p.229,tradition,6;
Tafsir ʻAyashi, vol.2,p.220,tradition 76; Bisharat al-Mustafa, p.194; Tafsir Qurtubi, vol.9,p.336
39Manahij al-Bayan, part.1,p.60
40 ‘Ilal al-Sharayi‘,p.89
41your guide is only Allah, his messenger,
and the believers; those who establish the prayer, pay their obligatory charity, and bow down (in worship).(5:55) 42
Al-Kashaf, vol.1,p.347; Tarikh Damishq, vol.42, p.357, no.8950; Al-Badayah va al-Nahayah, vol.7,p.358; Marifah ‘Ulum al-Hadith,p.102,no.25; Shawahid al-Tanzil, vol.1,p.226,no.233; Dur al-Manthur, vol.3, p.105, p.580, no.1;al-Yaqin,p.348,no.127;al-Shafi fi al-Imamah,vol.2,p.217; al-Iqtisad,p.198. 43
Tafsir ʻAyashi,vol.1,p.98
44dedicate yourself devoutly to him(73:8)
45Nur al-Thaqalayn,vol.5,p.449
46Kafi,vol.2,p.48,no.3,p.481,no.5
47Kafi,vol.1,p.123
48 Refer to Al-Tawhid,p.88,chapter
interpretation of Sura Tawhid. 49
fear Allah and stand with the truthful.(9:119) 50
Refer to Kafi,vol.1,p.207- 51
Tafsir ʻAyāshi,, vol.1,p.207,refer to. Manahij al-Bayan,vol.4,p.185 52
Refer to. Kafi,vol.7,pp.10,11
53 4:12
The role of infallibles’ traditions in Quran interpretation
41
54
Tahzib al-Ahkam,vol.7,p.265,no.68
55Establish your prayers, pay the obligatory
charity, and bow with those who bow. (2:43) 56
Kamal al-Din,p.253;Kifayat al-Athar,p.53;Manaqib Ale Abi Talib,vol.1,p.242
57Tafsir ʻAyashi,vol.1,p.181;Kanzul
Fawaid,vol.1,p.54,55; Mukhtasar Basair al-Darajat,p.32
58Manahij al-Bayan, vol.3,p.290
59Tafsir ʻAyashi,vol.1,p.181
60Al-Tawhid,p.116,no.19
61Al-Tawhid,p.262
62
Kafi,vol.2,p.389 63
Nahj al-Balāghah,Hikmat 439. 64
Kafi, vol.2,p.128,no.4
65you have by day prolonged
occupations.(73:7) 66
Tafsiral-Qumi,vol.2,p.392
67 Refer to al-Sihah,vol.1,p.372;Lisan al-
Arab,vol.2,p.470
68Majmaʻ al-Bayān,vol.2.p.174
69Tafsir ʻAyashi,vol.1,p.140
70Majmaʻ al-Bayān,vol.4,p.327
71 Refer to: Manahij al-Bayan,vol.1,p.308-
312
42
Quranic Culture and Financial Subjects
Nahla Gharavi Naeeni
Professor of Tarbiat Modares University
Article acceptance date: June. 2016
Abstract:Sent down from God in the Arabic language to the Prophet of Islam, the
Holy Quran directs its message to the faithfuls to teach them Quranic culture.
Among the issues that are suggested, emphasized, and commanded in the Quran is
the issue of finances, i.e. one‘s personal finances and social economics, both of
which play important roles in one‘s life. People‘s livelihoods are dependent upon
these matters, and one‘s social relations are also affected by them. The subjects that
Quran teaches include the giving of charity and loans and the abstention from
taking usury, and the quality of which is discussed and taught to those who have
faith. By repeating these subjects in various chapters, the Quran reminds Muslims
and gives them practice in these acts so that they become habitual, and society
adopts the way of God to achieve a peaceful existence and financial parity.
Using an analytical-descriptive method, this article gives the instructions of the
Quran regarding the usage of property and presents. Human societies can set these
solutions as an example for themselves to reach worldly happiness and be needless
of others.
Keywords: Quran, Personal Finances, Social Economics, Charity, Zakat, Usury,
Loans
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
43
Introduction
Holy Quran is a book of guidance and
life. In it there are many directions for
man‘s life. One of them is solving
economic problems of society and also
giving directions for better life like:
Zakat (charity), loans and not taking
usury. The Prophet of Islam taught
people these directions and He himself
and his house hold tried them during
their life for the sake of God(Allah) in
order to be role models for people to get
them to accept it as a culture. In this
way, believers and their society can
change from needy situation to
prosperous one and they become a
strong nation.
The Quran states and teaches to those
who have accepted faith the quality of
these issues. In this way, correct
behavior becomes habitual and society
adopts the way of God to achieve a
peaceful existence and financial parity.
1. Definitions of Culture
Culture is that with which people live; it
is related to the people. Culture is a
complicated combination of knowledge,
beliefs, arts, rules, ethics, and traditions
of people. Therefore, the term ―Quranic
culture‖ refers to the training and
teaching given in the Quran in terms of
beliefs, traditions, and behaviors of
man, because the Quran is a book of
guidance.
2. Charity
One of the Quranic teachings is the
subject of spending charitably for others
and giving alms. The Quran says:
٠ ٠أض أ لر ح زشلحو فمج ج أ آ ٠ح أ٠ح جر٠
جظح جىحفس ال شفحػس ال خس ال ذ١غ ف١
“You who believe! Spend out[to the
needy], of the bounty we have provided
as sustenance for you before the day
comes wherein there shall be no
bargaining nor friendship, nor
intercession. And those who disbelieve
they are the self-oppressors indeed”
(the holy Quran, 2, 254)
Charity in this world is a kind of trading
with God. It lays the groundwork for a
friendship with Him, for intercession
and daily sustenance, and it is profitable
on the day when all bartering or friendly
relationship is negated. By giving
charity in this world, man accumulates
good deeds that will be his friends and
companions in the Hereafter. Charity
giving is so important that if one
distances himself from this virtue, he is
committing practical sacrilege, and from
the perspective of this verse, refusing to
give obligatory charity is considered a
practical sacrilege and oppression.
Also the Holy Quran says,
ر ظي س ع خ لل ء فأ ش ط ح غ ج أ جػ
ذحلل ط آ ط و ئ ر١ جع جذ عحو١ ج ١طح ج مسذ ج
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
44
طم ج ج ٠ فسلح ج ح ػ ػردح ٠ ص ح أ للا ؼح ج
ء لد٠س ش ػ و
―And know that whatever of the war
spoils that you [o, Muslims]may gain
one fifth of it is assigned to Allah‟s way
and to the Messenger and to the near
relatives of the Messenger, to the
orphans, the poor who beg and the
wayfarers, if you believe in Allah …”
(the holy Quran; 8, 41)
The Quran commands Muslims to give
charity and shows that refusing to give
charity is sacrilegious and oppressive.
2-1 Quality of Charitable
Spending
The Holy Quran teaches how to give
charity, saying:
2-1-1Give charity from that which we
have provided you (2, 254). In this
verse, God accredits Himself with the
daily sustenance that we receive. Man
must remember that whatever he
achieves, is by the favor and sustenance
of God; without God‘s help or His will,
man is nothing and has no power. If
God withdraws His favor from mankind
for even just one moment, mankind will
lose all his power. Man‘s existence is
contingent upon the existence of God.
Therefore, it is easier to think that the
charity we give comes from God‘s daily
sustenance than to think that all wealth
belongs to us and that we earn our daily
sustenance by ourselves. This Quranic
teaching is itself a training for human
development and having correct culture.
2-1-2 It should be pure as Holy Quran
says: ―O, you who believe! Spend out
[in the way of Allah]of the good and
pure things which you have earned
[lawfully] and from which we have
brought out for you from the earth”.(2,
267) Even though one may feel that he
himself attained his wealth, he should
spend for charity from the unsullied part
of it. The Quran does not deny man‘s
ownership; it encourages mankind to
spend charitably from that which he has
attained, that for which he has worked
hard. Of course, God accredits Himself
with the growing of crops, and this in
itself is another lesson for us; crops
sprout for man out of the earth through
the favor and blessing of God. He says:
“Have you observed your farm and the
seed that you sow in the ground? Do
you cause it to yield production or are
we the producer? (56, 63-4)
Also Quran says: “And do not aim to
spend from that which is bad and
worthless, whereas you would not
accept it( 2, 267)
Charitable spending is what God likes
and it should be done for His approval,
thus, we should spend worthy things for
God. Anything other than virtue and
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
45
purity is not worthy to be offered to
God.
The method of training in this verse is
clear. By addressing those who have
accepted faith, God orders charitable
giving and describes the conditions of
the Judgment Day.
2-1-3 Pay charity without reminding
our generosity
God (Allah) warns those who pay no
attention to this command of the
consequences of their actions.
Furthermore, the manner of spending
charitably is stated in verse 264 of this
same chapter, which says that one‘s
charitable spending should not be
accompanied by reminders of one‘s
generosity or harassment: ―o, You who
believe! Do not render in vain your
charities by reminders your generosity
or by annoying; like a man who spends
his wealth to show off to people
whereas he does not believe (2, 264).
Also it describes the reward of one who
spends charitably without harassment or
reminders of his generosity and teaches
the appropriate behavior. With this
lesson in culture, the Islamic community
is taught to spend charitably without
harassment or reminders of one‘s
generosity, while alms giving and
charitable spending with harassment and
reminders nullifies the charitability of
one‘s act, as if one had not given charity
at all.
If one does not see the results and
benefits of his deed, he has no incentive
to repeat it. It is possible that the result
of charitable spending will not be seen
quickly; however, God‘s promises and
statements, which are truth for one who
has faith in Him, can be educational and
can be believed, because a faithful
person has confidence in God‘s word.
He accepts it and obeys the commands
of God. The Holy Quran promotes faith
and the doing of good deeds in those
who accept faith, i.e., charitable
spending, giving alms, and continuing
these acts, and says that those who
spend their wealth in order to please
God and to prove their own pure
intentions are like a garden on a hill
where hard rain pours and thereafter its
fruit is doubled. Men are encouraged by
the increased reward.
In this lesson, the Holy Quran also
teaches how to spend charitably saying:
2-1-4 the way of paying charity
If you give alms openly, it is well, and if
you hide it and give it to the poor, it is
better for you. To reassure the faithful
about giving charity secretly, the Quran
says that God is aware and informed of
man‟s actions. So whether one pays
openly or in secret, from his good
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46
wealth or the bad, God knows
everything (2, 271).
From the viewpoint of Islam, receiving
charity is a right of mankind, and it has
great importance; Islam makes an
appeal for various methods of giving,
including zakat1, khums
2, fines and
other ransoms, and both obligatory and
recommended charitable payments as
well as endowments, legacies, and
bequests. This means that the level of
life in the lower social classes, e.g., men
who cannot meet the basic needs of
their lives without the help of others, is
raised until it approaches that of those
who have been blessed with wealth.
From another viewpoint, Islam has
forbidden the upper class from
excessive display of the affectations,
luxuries, and ornamentations of life that
are not within reach of society‘s middle
class. The intent behind all this is to
establish a moderate life style, the
components and dimensions of which
are similar and bring closer together the
social classes, bring to life the integrity
of unity and cooperation, and uproot
opposing desires, hostility, and
spitefulness of the heart. The Quran
propounds that the religion of truth must
maintain all affairs of life in neat order
as a guarantor of prosperity in this
world and in the Hereafter. Through
this, with a truthful education and
knowledge of ethics, mankind can live a
prosperous and happy life, benefit from
the blessings God given in this world,
and avert ill-health, calamities, and
material shortcomings. This is not
possible unless there is a happy life of
peace and tranquility for everyone alike.
Nor is it possible unless lifestyles are
improved and essential needs for life are
satisfied. Only with financial and
economic actions will this become
complete. The way to achieve this for
members of society is to share willingly
with others what they earn by pain and
difficulty, because believers are
brothers, and the earth and all property
belong to God.
2-2 Methods for Spending Charitably
The Quran also presents methods for
charitable spending, saying: Spend
charitably in secret, openly, at night or
in the day. Hiding the charitable
spending distances it from pretension,
harassment, and reminders of one‘s
generosity and further protects the
integrity of the poor. The shame of
humiliation and degradation will not
befall on them, and their dignity will not
be injured. Therefore, open charity has a
greater result and secretive charity is
more pure. The foundation of religion is
built on sincerity, and the purer a deed
is, the closer to virtue it becomes. Thus,
charity given in secret is given
preference:
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
47
فمسجء ضإضح ج ض فح ئ ح دلحش فؼ ضردج جظ ئ
خر١س ح ضؼ ذ للا ظ١ثحضى ى ٠ىفس ػ خ١س ى ف
“If you give alms openly, it is well, and
if you hide it and give it to the poor, it
is better for you; and this will do away
with some of your evil deeds; and Allah
is aware of what you do”
(the holy Quran; 2, 271).
For further encouragement, the Quran
says: Those who spend charitably of
their wealth in the night or day,
secretly or openly, their reward is with
their Lord; there is no fear upon them,
nor will they grieve.
In conclusion, the Quran says that God
is aware of the deeds of his servants. In
verse 274 to emphasize the culture of
charitable spending, the Quran says
those who give alms openly and in
secret from their wealth for the pleasure
of God, God with kindness has
promised them, “Their reward is with
their Lord.”
Of course it is recommended that it is
better to pay the obligatory
charity(Zakat) openly because others
may be encouraged to pay it too.
2-3 Factors Deterring Charitable
Spending
In its method of teaching, as the Holy
Quran advises and encourages good
deeds, it also brings to the attention of
mankind that which deters from good
deeds by listing them. It alerts mankind
to be careful not to fall victim to Satan‘s
trickery, for the Quran says that Satan is
an obvious enemy of man (Al-Qasas,
28, 15).
In every act and issue, Satan is lying in
ambush. In regards to charitable
spending, too, the Quran says that Satan
inspires fear of poverty, and other than
perversion and lewdness, he has no
other objective; thus, it is not lawful for
you to follow him (Al-Baqarah, 2, 268).
2-4 Factors Encouraging Charitable
Spending
In verse 261, the Quran describes the
effects of spending charitably from
one‘s wealth as being worth seven times
the amount spent. With this promise, the
Quran teaches the faithful that
charitable spending has copious
benefits, and the faithful are encouraged
to adopt this act.
The rewards which are increased by
God can be likened to the parable of a
grain of wheat which grows seven
stalks, and each stalk has 100 kernels. In
other words, the bounty will increase
700-fold. If God wants, He will give
even more than 700 times, because He
is free from want and nothing can
prevent His generosity or limit His favor
and magnanimity.
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
48
The verses in chapter Al-Baqarah say
that there are two types of charitable
spending: one is for the pleasure and
satisfaction of God, and the other is
without the intention of pleasing God.
Therefore, one‘s intention in spending
charitably and giving alms influences
the result. An action that is meant to
please God will be accompanied by
goodness and honesty. Allameh
Tabataba‘i says: ―Any time charitable
spending is for God, its favorable
effects will never be nullified, because
its connection to God is protected and
God‘s favor is incumbent upon it, even
though the degree of favor will differ
according to the degree of purity of
intention. The weight of an action also
cause variation in its effect, such that a
garden located on fertile land will give
fruit upon the coming of a good rain,
but the degree of its goodness depends
on the amount of rain. Regarding this
difference, the Quran says:
“The similitude of those who spend
their wealth seeking Allah‟s pleasure
and strengthening their own souls is as
the similitude of a garden on a height:
Heavy rain falls on it and it doubles its
yield of harvest; and if heavy rain does
not fall upon it, then a gentle rain is
[also] sufficient. And Allah is the seer
of all that you people do” (2:265). In
other words, God is aware of that which
you do; there will be no injustice in the
reward for it, and the reward of an
action will not be attributed to another
action‖.
In contrast to the deterrent factors, God
presents encouraging factors as well so
that mankind is encouraged to spend
charitably and give alms. He dismisses a
portion of his wages and gives it to the
needy for the satisfaction of God. The
factors which are mentioned include:
Then the Quran says that the goodness
one does in giving charity, is for
himself. The tone of the verse is simple.
It states that charitable spending has no
benefit for God, rather only for
mankind. This expression is also meant
to be encouraging, because man is
continuously pursuing his own interests
and wants that which is profitable to
him. This indicates that worldly reward,
and the reward of the Hereafter is not an
illusory affair, rather a truthful and real
one that God will pay without omission.
Ibn Abbass says that the verse “Those
who spend [in charity] of their wealth
by night and day, secretly and openly,
for them shall be their reward with
their Lord, on them shall be no fear,
nor shall they grieve” (2: 274) was sent
down regarding ‗Ali (pbuh) who had
four dirhams; one he gave at night, one
during day, the 3rd
secretively, and the
4th
openly.
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
49
2-4-1 Allah‟ Promise is truth (justice)
Thus, the Quran says that God is just
and His promise is just:” Satan
threatens you with poverty [to prevent
you from spending in charity]; and
orders you to commit sin; whereas
Allah promises you His bounty and
forgiveness…” (2:268). It also says:
“And whatever you spend in charity, of
whatever vow you make, surely Allah
knows it; but for the wrongdoers there
shall be no helpers for them” (2 : 270).
It means that those who do not pay their
obligatory charity they are wrong doers
(oppressors).
To Whom One Should Give Charity
In its teachings, the Holy Quran tells to
whom a determined amount of charity
should be given: “for those poor who
are besieged in the path of Allah and
thereby prevented from travelling and
cannot move about in the land [for
trade or work]” (2:273). Charity is for
the underprivileged who, in the way of
God, have been stricken with poverty
and cannot travel the earth. They veil
their own needlessness so much that a
foolish person (with their conditions)
would suppose that they have no needs.
They do not want to compel people to
help them. Therefore, the truly needy
must be identified and sought out. It is
not clear if one who begs openly is
really needy. Also, to the orphans, the
poor who beg and the wayfarers (Al –
Anfal, 41).
3-Loan Giving
Loaning and borrowing is another
financial relationship between people.
People‘s social needs may cause them to
borrow from each other. Constraints,
illness, bankruptcy, and business
advances are all cases in which cause
one person to borrow money from
another. The Quran urges Muslims to
lend money to each other and
encourages the culture of lending by
recommending that loans be given in the
best possible manner and that extra time
be given to he who lacks the financial
means to repay his loan, by saying:
“And if the debtor is in straitness, then
grant him time till it is easy for him to
repay; but if he has no money your
emit it by way of charity; that is better
for you if you only knew” (2:280).
About ten verses of the Quran are about
loans, all of which stipulate excellence
[Hasanah]. These verses encourage men
to give excellent loans and are
accompanied by the promise of
increased wealth and forgiveness of
God (Al-Baqarah, 245; Hadid, 11). So,
by repeating the phrase ―excellent loan,‖
it teaches Muslims to adopt the culture
of giving excellent loans so that it
becomes habitual for them.
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
50
Regarding this noble verse, Allameh
Tabataba‘i writes: Spending wealth in
the way of God is considered as a loan
given to Him, because it will be used in
His way, and several times that which
one spends will be given to him as
encouragement.3
Giving a loan to God can mean giving a
loan to a servant of God for God‘s
satisfaction, to help resolve the
problems of a faithful person who has
been stricken with trouble, especially if
that person is needy and cannot repay
his loans. If the loan given is for the
satisfaction of God and it is not
demanded, ultimately the loan takes on
the status of charity and will result in
the pleasure of God and, according to
God‘s promise, the wealth of the giver
will increase.
3-1 Method of Loan Giving
The Holy Quran teaches Muslims how
to loan money, saying: “o, you who
believe! When you contract a debt for a
fixed term, then write it down and let a
scribe write it down between you justly.
And the scribe should not refuse to
write, as to what Allah has taught him.
So let him write and let the debtor
dictate; and he must fear Allah, his
Creator Nurturer; and diminish not
anything of what he owes, if he who
owes, suffers from mental problem or
he is weak or unable to dictate himself,
then let his guardian dictate justly. And
call to witness, two witnesses from
among your men and if there is not two
men, then call a man and two women
of those you approve of as witnesses, so
that it one of the two women forgets.
The second one of the two may remind
the other; and the witnesses should not
refuse to witness when they are called
on you should not become weary of
writing it sown, whether small
transaction or big, with its fixed term,
this procedure is the most equitable
with Allah, more solid as evidence, and
more convenient to prevent doubt
among yourselves. (2: 282-3).
The verse commands the writing and
registering/recording of this financial
affairs so that the rights of the wealth
owner remain protected and
forgetfulness, deception, or lying do not
destroy them. In this same verse, it is
emphasized that even small loans be
recorded, so that no one in the affair
incurs a loss. The verse with the
sentences ―Believers, when you
contract a debt for a fixed period, put it
in writing. Let a scribe write it down
between you with fairness; no scribe
shall refuse to write as Allah has
taught him. Therefore, let him write;
and let the debtor dictate, fearing Allah
his Lord, and do not decrease anything
of it. If the debtor is a fool, or weak, or
unable to dictate himself, let his
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
51
guardian dictate for him in fairness.
Call to witness two witnesses of your
men, if the two are not men, then a
man and two women from the
witnesses whom you approve; so that if
one of the two errs, one of them will
remind the other. Whenever witnesses
are called upon they must not refuse,
and do not be weary to write it down,
be it small or large, together with its
term. This is more just with Allah; it
ensures accuracy in testifying and is
the least of doubt. Unless it is present
merchandise that you circulate
between you; then no guilt shall be on
you if you do not write it down and
take witnesses when you are selling,
and let no harm be done to either
scribe or witness. If you do, that is a
transgression in you. Fear Allah. Allah
teaches you, and Allah has knowledge
of everything.” (2:282) reaches the
conclusion. It emphasizes on fear of
God and says that God is All-Knowing.
In other words, God knows your
goodness and evil, profits and losses,
good and bad, and that which God
commands and recommends is for your
own good. It also says that if one is in a
situation where writing is not possible
there must be a trustee, and if it is
necessary he should be a witness and
not hide the truth. If he does hide the
truth, his heart has sinned.
Helping others develops affection in
hearts and creates a strong bond among
people. It is the best tool for connecting
the people of a society. The existence of
such a culture among the people of a
nation will result in empathy, unity, and
a peaceful life. Every type of financial
contract must be respected so that no
one‘s rights are abused; if a promise is
given to someone, or especially when
money is borrowed. If that promise is
not kept, the person making the loan
will incur a loss. The culture of keeping
promises that the Quran emphasizes is
crucial in society. When promises are
kept, trust and confidence in one
another will increase among people. A
peaceful life, trust, and confidence are
crucial to society.
4. USURY
In contrast to charitable spending, the
subject of usury is raised, which means
the receipt of extra property/wealth in
return for that which was loaned. In
continuance of the verse regarding
charitable spending in the chapter Al-
Baqarah, God poses the discussion of
usury. Usury was prevalent in human
societies before Islam. The Holy Quran
directly addresses those who have
accepted faith and forbids them from
getting usury, saying: Oh, you who
believe! Do not devour usury with
increasing profits; and fear from the
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
52
disobedience of Allah so that you may
receive salvation (Al‘Imran, 130).
The method in which the Quran says
about usury also has a process, and God
states the effects and harms of it. He
also states the results of obeying and
disobeying Him regarding usury. This is
repeated in the verses of the Quran to
make people do it more so that a culture
that avoids usury becomes the habit and
behavior of people.
Verse 39 of Chapter Ar-Rum (a Meccan
chapter) was revealed, before the verse
in Al‘Imran which says: “whatever you
give with the name of usury, to
increase the property of the usurer, it
has no increase in the presence of
Allah; but whatever you spend in alms
to gain the pleasure of Allah it does
attain the state of becoming manifold
by Allah‟s favour”. From this it is
obvious that usury was discouraged and
prevented from the beginning of the era
of the Holy Prophet before his
migration, and in chapter Al‘Imran it
was forbidden completely. In seven
verses, the forbiddance of usury was
emphasized and intensified after the
verse in Al‘Imran was revealed.4
The verses regarding usury and
charitable spending and alms giving are
related to each other. Usury is getting
property and alms-giving is the giving
property. The bad effects that are
associated with usury are, without
exception, precisely opposed to the
good effects associated with alms-
giving. Alms-giving causes the
outpouring of mercy and love,
straightens the backs of the
impoverished and needy, and gives
order and safety to society; the effects
of usury are starkly juxtaposed to these
benefits. In these verses, God in his
eminence has shown strictness
regarding usury, the likes of which are
seen in none of the branches of religion
except friendship with enemies of
religion, because the ill effects of these
two sins destroy the foundation of
religion, obliterates its effects, and
corrupts the system of life. Moreover, it
casts a curtain upon the eyes of men and
impede their true judgment (Ibid, p.
409).Usury causes the collapse of the
working class and draws all the wealth
toward the upper class. It becomes a
way for them to dominate the lives,
property, and honor of others. The
working and weak classes, who see
themselves in this situation as degraded
and inferior, take any means to defend
their rights and take revenge from the
wealthy, and in this manner, society is
disrupted.
The cultural lessons of the Quran are
such that first the Quran encourages
good deeds and then forbids repulsive
and lewd acts. Taking usury, draining
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
53
the resources of the needy, collecting
property in another group, storing
wealth, and accumulating the
possessions of the people divide people
into two groups: the wealthy and the
needy, and this threatens humanity.
Allameh writes: Usury disrupts the
balance and equilibrium of society and
destroys the order of society that
governs the straight path of decency and
method of innate government. This is
the same mistake that afflicts usury
takers, because usury confuses the order
of bartering and exchange and will mix
normal buying and selling and usury. If
one is invited to stop taking usury, he
will say: trading is only like usury. (Al-
Baqarah, 275) (Ibid, p. 411). He also
writes:
The point of this is that in this verse
down payment is compared to usury,
not the other way around. One who has
this discrepancy and mistake in him is
stuck in a situation which seems logical
and acceptable to as which is indecent
and unacceptable. Whenever this person
is commanded to stop his inappropriate
actions and turn to doing good deeds, if
he answers at all, he will say: That
which you tell me to do is like that
which you stop me from doing, and
there is no benefit in it. Yes, if incorrect
practices become the habit and culture
of a person, he will lose the ability to
recognize what is wholesome, and that
which is indecent and unacceptable they
will consider to be good. They will not
be able to recognize the right path. A
person who is afflicted with this type of
culture are headed for destruction.
Allameh also writes:
If a personal matter becomes a social
one, the method of continuity and
downfall and its effects will differ. For
example, a promiscuous person who
commits lewd acts in a society opposed
to such behaviors will fall into disfavor
with the people. No one will associate
with or marry that person, and he will
lose the trust and confidence of society.
It would not be disapproved by society
when such an act becomes socially
acceptable. When an act becomes
widespread and fashionable, its
obscenity is forgotten and natural and
social corruptions will spread (ibid, p.
420).
In this group of verses, God also names
those who do not obey or who turn
away from God‘s commands as
dwellers of the fire. Then, in the way of
Quranic teachings, He says that God
will destroy usury while he multiplies
charity. ―Allah will deprive usury of
any blessing and will increase blessing
for deeds of charity; and Allah dies not
like any ungrateful sinner” (Al-
Baqarah, 276). He brings up this subject
to warn usury takers, so that maybe they
will awaken from their sleep of
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
54
negligence, become aware of their error,
and stop taking usury.
From ‗Ali bin Abitalib (pbuh) it has
been narrated that the Prophet of God
(pbuh) condemned five people in
regards to usury: those who take usury,
those who pay usury, the two witnesses,
and the scribe of the contract for usury.
These subjects indicate that in the
Islamic society of those days, despite
the presence of the Prophet of God
(pbuh) among the people and the
revelation of the divinely inspired
verses that were the best tools for
strengthening faith, usury still existed.
This subject in verse 278 of chapter Al-
Baqarah is shown, “oh you who
believe! Fear from the disobedience of
Allah‟s command and give up what
remains from usury, if you are
believers”.
Disobeying and refusing to stop
collecting usury means to fight with
God and his Prophet. Of course, warring
with God and his prophet is the epitome
of heresy. In continuance, the Quran
says that if one repents (meaning a real
repentance in which one never again
approaches usury), one‟s assets are his
own. Don‟t do injustice and you will
not be treated unjustly (Al-Baqarah,
279).
The important points that rule over all
issues related to God are the matters of
accepting faith, worshipping the One
God, obeying and serving Him, and
obeying His Prophet (Muhammad
(p.b.u.h)). In the beginning of chapter
Ma‘idah, the last chapter to be revealed
to the Prophet, it says: ”O you who
believe! Fulfill the promises and
covenants once made…”.
Twenty years after the prophecy of the
Prophet of God (pbuh), Muslims are
commanded and advised to keep their
covenants and agreements. The subject
of this covenant is obedience of God,
which includes the verses that command
charitable spending, giving goodly
loans, and neither receiving nor giving
usury. If the culture of usury is not
prevalent among members of a society,
they will enjoy goodness and bounty,
and the unjust collection of wealth in
one place will not occur. These are all
types of righteous deeds for which in
many verses the Holy Quran gives many
good things to those who have accepted
faith and do good deeds (Al-Baqarah,
82; Al-Ma‘edeh, 9; Yunus, 4; Ar-Ra‘ad,
29; Al-Kahf, 30; Al-Hajj, 14, 23;
Luqman, 8; etc.).
5-Expropriation of other people‟s
possessions
Another of the financial issues the
Quran has forbidden is the expropriation
and use of the wealth of others without
their approval. In other words, it is
Quranic Culture And Financial Subjects
55
invalid. As the Quran says: “O, you
who believe! Do not devour each
other‟s wealth in vanity and illegal
way: The profit obtained should be
from trading based on mutual consent”
(An-Nisa, 29). Expropriating an
orphan‘s property for one‘s own benefit
similar to not giving a divorced woman
her dowry (An-Nisa, 2) is against
general logic and good intention.
CONCLUSION
Charitable spending and giving alms in
order to please God will unify the hearts
of members of society and thus fortify
the society. Giving loans to the needy
and giving them time to pay back the
loan are issues recommended by the
Quran that will resolve the problems of
the people, create empathy, and reduce
the number of problems. Quitting usury
and foregoing money and assets attained
through usury will bring goodness and
bounty, and wealth will not be collected
all in one place. Moreover, the
possessions of the poor will not be
completely depleted and peace of mind
will increase in society.
RESOURCES
-Holy Quran
- Esposio,John l., The Oxford
Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic
World, Oxford University press;
Newyork Oxford, 1995.
- Jawadi-Amuli, Abdullah,Tafsir
Tasnim, Qum, Isra Institute, 1386
- Saffarzadeh, Tahereh, The Holy
Qur‘an translation eighth commentary,
Al-Huda, Tehran/ Iran, 2007.
- Tabataba‘i, Seyyid Muhammad
Husayn, Al-Mizan, an Exegesis of the
Qur‘an; Qum, Esmaeiliyan Publishing
Institute, 1393 AH/1973 CE.
- Tabarsi, Fazl bin Hassan; Tafsir
Majma al-Bayanof the Quran; Qum,
Manshural Maktabeh of Ayatullah
Mar‗ashi, 1403 AH.
- Wikipedia
ndnotes
1Muslims with the financial means (nisab)
are obliged to give a certain percentage of their wealth as zakat. Zakat was institutionalized as an obligatory edict of faith in both the Quran and sunnah (Esposio, v.4, p.366)
2Khums(fifth) as a tax developed in very
early Islam and was based on the principle that one fifth of war booty taken by Muslims belonged to the Prophet Muhammad. It was used for the benefit of the holy family as well as some categories of the indigent. Later on, it was interpreted as an Islamic tax on profits of various sorts beyond expenditures (Esposio,v. 2, p.431).
3 Tabataba’i, v. 2, p. 84.
4 Ibid. p. 408
56
:
The Essence of Logic;
Logic and Vahi Discrepancy
Reza Berenjkar
Professor of Tehran University
Article acceptance date: February. 2016
Abstract: logic in the word of Arab means prevention. Logic is the foundation of a
kind of gnosis which leads human beings to the right path. Though it should be
noticed that logic is not an innate soul-bound trait, it is a blessing from God which
lightens up human beings‘ soul. On the other hand, the perceptions of logic is clear
and unerring and are trustable in their essence. While the logic which is dealt with
in Philosophy is erring and a stage of mind‘s understanding. The discrepancy
between logic and words have various forms and it is impossible to give them the
same judgment.
Key Word: Vahi(revelation of God to His Prophets)
Introduction:
Clarifying the meaning of logic and its
borders are of the most significant and
basic discussions. This clarification can
introduce logical solutions to many
religious based disputes such as conflict
between logic and Vahi (Revelation from
God.)
All are able to talk about logic, make
examples, and give some definitions
though their definitions and examples can
be vague or general.
Logic And Vahi Discrepancy
57
Generally, when logic is the subject of
discussions, we can hear these words:
Godly logic, humanly logic, partly logic,
general logic, reasoning logic, witnessing
logic, shallow logic, realistic logic,
theoretical logic, practical logic, non-
experimental logic, non-revelational
logic,… .
Therefore, before opening any discussion,
which includes the discussion on the
relationship between logic and Vahi, the
exact meaning and its borders should be
clarified. The present article aimed at
clarifying the meaning of logic. It tries to
investigate some points like the
relationship between soul and logic, the
time of benefiting from logic and its
perfection, the grades of logic, logic
trustability, the relationship between will
and logic, the realm of logical judgment to
clear up the meaning of logic. Then it
encompasses the conflict between logic
and Vahi.
Logic in Arabic language
The meaning of logic in Arabic is
prohibition, forbiddance and stoppage.1
The usages of logic are derived from these
meanings. Khalil Nahwi said, logic is the
opposite of ignorance.2 Raqib argued that
logic is the ready potentiality to accept
knowledge.3 Ibn Faras said logic is named
logic as it prohibits us from evil deeds and
talks.4 Jurjani said, logic stops men from
distractions from right path.5
The conclusion of this part is the meaning
of logic which is prevention and in this
meaning two sides have been regarded: a
recognition-base side and a value-based
side. It means logic is the root of
recognition. A kind of recognition which
leads human beings to right path and good
deeds.
To end up in right path it is essential to
realize true beliefs which are in
accordance with reality. To recognize
good deeds it is obligatory to know what
is good and what is bad. Therefore, it can
be said logic is something which shows
true beliefs and good deeds to human
beings.
The mentioned literal meaning of this
word has been used in Quran and
traditions. In this case similar to other
cases nothing is added to this meaning to
change it, of course there are some
interpretations regarding it which added
some descriptions and conditions to it
which is called ―Ta‘addud Dal and
Madlul‖.
Here, first we present several examples
from Islamic resources about the literal
meaning of logic. Then we will embark on
the specific features added to it.
a. Examples on the literal
meaning of logic
1. In the realm of religion
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
58
There are various verses in Quran which
command people to think logically about
the verses concerning creations6; and the
reasons of disbelief and distortions have
been called lack of logical thinking.7
In traditions, growth and guidance have
been named as the results of logic.8 In a
tradition from the holy Prophet we read, 9
ج جؼم ػمحي جج
From Ali (a.s.), it has been narrated that, 10
جؼم جط جؼ
―Logic is the base of knowledge.‖
Imam Sadiq said in this regard, wisdom,
understanding, and knowledge are resulted
from logic.11
It has been narrated from imam Sadiq that
human beings can realize being creatures
and having a Creator Who plans for them
through their logic.12
In traditions
sometimes logic has been lined up against
ignorance and sometimes knowledge has
been mentioned to be against ignorance.13
The commonality between these two
traditions is logic which is the root of
knowledge. Therefore in this sense
ignorance can be regarded as the opposite
of logic. Also in this confrontation
ignorance does not mean lack of any
science but lack of true knowledge which
leads human beings to the path of God. In
this regard, anyone who has not such a
knowledge, although is equipped with
other knowledge is ignorant. Therefore
ignorance has two meanings: one is the
lack of any knowledge, second lack of
useful knowledge.
Apparently, the expressions like
knowledge (‗ilm), hikmah, ma‘rifah
(gnosis), and God‘s acceptance which are
the results of logic show the gnosis which
is in accordance with reality. From this we
can conclude that logic can show honesty
and dishonesty so it is a reason from
God.14
In the well-known tradition of
Mi‘raj it has been asserted that the one
who does not use his logic will err.15
2. In the realm of practice and
ethics
In holy Quran we read,
ال ٠ؼم جط ػ جر٠ جس ٠جؼ
“and he casts uncleanness on those who
will not understand”(10:100)
In various traditions good deeds and
morality, e.g. good deeds16
, not
committing sins17
, worshipping God18
,
patience and humbleness19
, politeness and
good manner20
, piety,21
justice and
avoiding bad temper,22
good
speaking,23
putting everything in its
suitable place24
have been counted as the
results of logic.
In a famous tradition, it has been said that
when imam Sadiq was defining the word
logic as something which causes God‘s
Logic And Vahi Discrepancy
59
worship and heaven be gained. Someone
asked, so what‘s it called which is in
Mu‘awiyah? Imam answered, that is
mischief which looks like logic but it is
not logic. It means logic guides to
goodness, benevolence and truth not
aberration25
.
The mentioned evidences assert that good
deeds are the result of logic. In some
traditions we read that human beings can
recognize good and bad through logic.26
The one who uses logic will not revolt
against truth and logic will not embellish
badness as goodness.27
In a part about the
relationship between logic and soul some
other evidence from Quran and Sunnah
will be mentioned.
As we have seen in some cases
―recognizing‖ good and bad are counted
as results of logic and in other cases
―good deeds‖ are mentioned as its result.
It can be said that logic not only is the
criterion to distinguish bad from good but
also shows the necessity of such an action.
Therefore, to think logically, i.e. to listen
to the message of logic, human beings
should be able to do good deeds.
In brief, logic in its literal meaning and
also in Quran and Sunnah is a light in the
realm of theory and practice which helps
people get a recognition based on truth. In
practical realm it shows good deeds.
Therefore the possibility of making
mistake will be zero. Though it is possible
that logic can not understand something,
i.e. that issue be above its understanding
level, in its realm it will make no mistake.
In a research we have done we did not find
any example of logic which made a
mistake. In the following, other proof on
our claim which is unerring essence of
logic have been presented.
b. Other features of logic
Various features have been cited regarding
logic that here we only suffice to the basic
features:
1. The relationship between logic
and soul ( an analysis on the recognition
essence of logic)
Islamic resources did not talk directly
about this issue much. But regarding the
verses and traditions, it seems that logic in
contrast to what is common in philosophy
is not a non seperatable phenomenon from
soul, it is not mentioned in the definition
of the soul, but logic is a gift of God, a
light bestowed to human beings by God to
lighten their souls which helps human
beings to distinguish right and wrong.
Here we are going to mention those
traditions which assert this. In some of
these traditions some other characteristics
have been mentioned for logic.
1.1. Logic is similar to light which
lighten up soul. Imam Musa Kazim said,
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
60
28ج ػب جسح، جؼم
i.e. truly, logic is the light of soul.
In a tradition from the Prophet mentioned
in Shia and Sunnite books,
29جؼم ز فی جمد ٠فسق ذ ذ١ جذك جرحؽ
i.e. logic is a ray of light in heart by which
right and wrong can be distinguished.
(some times instead of the word soul the
word heart has been used.)
In another tradition we read, when a
human being grows up to be a man or
woman, in his heart a ray of light will
appear. Since then, Vajib and Mustahab
(religiously obligatory actions and
religiously advised actions) , good and bad
are all understandable to him. Logic in
heart is like a light hung in a home.30
1.2. Some traditions are speaking about
the creation of logic.31
1.3. Imam Baqir said, the resident of logic
is soul and heart.32
1.4. Imam ‗Ali said, Gabriel came to
Adam and said, oh Adam! I was ordered
to suggest three things to you to choose
one of them and leave the other two.
Adam asked, what are they? He said,
logic, Haya (modesty), and religion. Adam
said, I choose logic. Gabriel said to Haya
and religion, go back! They said, we are
ordered to accompany logic wherever it
is!33
1.5. In another tradition it has been said
about the creation of those human beings
who do not have logic and mind are not
responsible.34
1.6. The holy Quran said,
جح ح ظ فط جح لد أفخ ضم ح فجزح فأ
دظحح شوحح لد خحخ
―By the soul and who shaped it, and
inspired it with its sin and its piety,
prosperous is he who purified it, and
failed is he who buried it!”(91:7-10)
According to these verses God after the
creation of human being inspired piety to
him.
Imam Sadiq interpreted the word فجز and
Fujur and Taqwa) like this: God( ضمج
inspired human being whatever he should
do and whatever he shouldn‘t, He taught
him rightness and falsehood.35
As the same thing has been said about
logic it is assumed that this inspiration is
that inspiration of the light of logic to the
soul.36
2. The time of benefiting from
logic and its perfection
As we have seen in the holy verse, human
beings after completion, is equipped with
logic. In fiqh, this level is called the age of
understanding, which means in this age
distinguishing right and wrong is possible.
But it is different among human beings.
Usually it is about 12 years old. In a
tradition about the verse
Logic And Vahi Discrepancy
61
وره جص ح ػ ح آض١ح دى جظط ح ذغ أشد
ذع١ ج
and when he was full grown, and
reached the perfection of his strength, we
gave him judgment and knowledge. as
such we recompense the
gooddoers. (28:14)
We read,
جشد
means 18 years old and جظطی means the
time of growing bear and mustache.37
Also in other traditions we read about
perfection of logic by the age of 28,35,56.
3. The levels of logic
The degree of having logic in human
beings is various. In traditions of Sunnite
and Shia the highness of human beings is
according to the level of their logic.38
In
addition to that, the duty of each person
and its accountability in Hereafter would
be based on the level of his logic. 39
In a
tradition we read, the holy Prophet enjoys
99 parts of logic and a part of them has
been scattered among all other human
beings.40
4. logic as a clear proof (Hujjat)
Hujjat means a clear proof; in a way that
there remains no place for excuse. God
has two kinds of proof: the first is
apparent,i.e. infallibles and imams; the
second, the inside proof, i.e. logic.41
The significant point is logic which is an
inside proof and can lead people to God
and religion. The base of each holy
religion is to prove the unity of God and
prophethood, these two are proved by
logic. On the other hand, when we realize
religion as a proof, logic will prove the
necessity of following God and His
messenger.42
As we have seen, a condition
of being responsible is to enjoy logic.
―Logic‖ being as a proof and its
fundamental role in knowing the other
proof assert logic as a phenomenon which
makes no mistakes.
5. the relationship between will
and logic
From what we have read so far we can
infer that logic is given by God and people
are benefiting from it in different levels. In
various traditions we read that logic is a
gift from God43
and it is the highest gift.44
Here we have this question in front of us
can human being‘s will power determine
the level of logic he enjoys? The answer is
yes. First, logic is something which is
donated to us by God but using it or not is
in our control, based on our will.
Second, human being‘s will power is
effective in strengthening the logic or
weakening it.
Regarding the first one, we can say,
human being has logic and lust both. He
can will which one to follow.45
If he
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
62
follows his logic it will benefit him but if
he follows his lust it will destroy him. Due
to this, the verses of holy Quran blame
unbelievers why they don‘t think.
About the second issue it should be said in
some traditions logic has been divided into
two parts: one which is our logic which is
given by God and the second empirical
logic which is governed by the will
power.46
In addition in some other traditions it is
talked about teaching logic and acquiring
logic.47
In Islamic texts, it is said some
actions like learning, politeness and
following rightness48
can increase logic. In
contrast some actions can deteriorate
logic: lust49
, arrogance50
, greediness51
,
interacting ignorant ones52
, drinking
wine53
In brief, logic in the book of God and the
words of infallibles is not a sense which
errs; it is a light from God which lighten
up soul and heart. By its help differing
right from wrong is possible. Therefore,
logic is an inside proof, the base of outside
proof. This logic is called Fitrah logic
,‗Aql Salim or heavenly logic.
1 Refer to Juhari, al-Sihah, vol.5,p.1769;
Fiyyuti, al-Misbah al-Munir, p.422-423; ibn Faras, Mu’jam Maqaiis al-Lughah, vol.4,p.69
2Mu’jam Maqaiis al-Lughah, vol.4, p.69
3 Raqib Isfahani, Mufradat al-Faz al-Quran,
p.577
4Mu’jam Maqaiis al-Lughah, vol.4, p.69
5 Jurjani, al-Ta’rifat,p.65
6 Refer to: Ale ‘Imran, 118; Muminun, 80; Nur,
61; Hadid, 17; Baqarah, 164; Ra’d,4; Naml, 12; Rum, 24,28,…
7 Refer to: Anbiya, 67; Baqarah, 170, 171;
Ma’idah 58; Anfal, 22; Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul, p.44; Kanzul Fawaid, vol.2, p.31; al-Firdus, vol.2; p.150, vol.3, p.217
8Nahj al-Balāghah, Hikmat 421; Guralul Hikam,
no. 7078; kanzul Fawaid, vol.2,p.31.
9 Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul, p.15
10Ghurarul Hikam,no.1959,816
11Kafi, vol.1, p.25; ‘ilal al-Sharaye,p.103
12Kafi, vol.1,p.29
13 Refer to: Kafi, vol.1, p.14,21; Tanbih al-
Khavatir, vol.2,p.14;Ghurarul Hikam, tradition. 1736
14Kafi,vol.1,p.25
15Irshad al-Qulub,p.205
16Khisal,vol.2, p.633, hadith arb’a ma’e
17Kafi,vol.1,p.18; Ghurarul Hikam, tradition,
6393,1737, 7340
18Kafi, vol.1, p.11
19 Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul,p.28
20Irshad al-Qulub, vol.1,p.199;Ghurarul
Hikam,no.1280
21Kafi, vol.8,p.241
22 I’lam al-Din,p.127
23 Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul,p.323;Ghurarul
Hikam, no.9416,7091,4776,10961
Logic And Vahi Discrepancy
63
24
Nahj al-Balāghah, hikmah 235; Kanzul Fawaid,vol.1,p.200
25Kafi,vol.1,pp.3,11.
26Kafi, vol.1,p.29
27 Refer to: Irshad al-Qulub, vol.1, p.205
28 Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul,p.396
29Irshad al-Qulub,vol.1,p.198; Rabi al-Abrar,
vol.3,p.137.also refer to Avali al-Laali,vol.1,pp.248,244
30 I’lal al-Sharaye,p.98
31 Refer to: Kafi,vol.1,p.10,21,26,28; Khisal,
vol.2,p.427; Ma’ani al-Akhbar, p.313; Rudha al-Waezin,p.7; al-Ikhtisas,p.244; Avameli al-laali,vol.1,p.248;al-faqih,vol.4,p.267; al-Mahasin,p.192; Hilyat al-Uliya,vol.7,p.318; Tarikh Baghdad,vol.13,p.40
32Ilal al-Sharaye,p.107
33Kafi, vol.1,p.10; Irshad al-Qulub,p.198
34Bihar al-Anwār,vol.93,p.41
35Kafi, vol.1,p.163; Tafsiral-Qumi, vol.2,p.424;
Bihar al-Anwār vol.24,p.72
36 Refer to Tuḥid al-Imamiyah for more
explanation.
37Tuḥid al-Imamiyah,p.23
38Kafi.7055; Rabi al Abrar,vol.3,p.137;Hilyat al-
Uliyavol.1,p.362;Tarikh Baghdad,vol.8,p.360
39Al-Mahasin,vol.1,pp.308,608;
Kafi,vol.1,pp.11,12,26; Ma’anial-Akhbar,vol.1,p.2; Irshad al-Qulubvol.1,p.199; al-Ja’fariyat, p.148
40Bihar al-Anwār, vol.1,p.97
41Kafi, vol.1,pp.16,13,25; Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-
ʻUghul,pp.285,283,331
42Kafi, vol.1,p.29
43
Kafi,vol.1,p.23; Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul p.330; kanzul Fawaid,vol.1,p.56; irshad, vol.1,p.198;jame al ahadith,p.101; Ghural, no.227,3545; she’b al iman,vol.5,pp.388,7040; al-Firdus, vol.3,pp.155,4419.
44Kafi,vol.1,p.12;irshad,vol.1,pp.99; arāni,
Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul, p.293; kanzul Fawaid,no.7053
45Bihar al-Anwār, vol.60,p.299
46Matalib al-Seul,p.49; Mufradat,p.577
47Tarikh Yaqubi,vol.2,p.98; al-
Firdus,vol.5,p.325
48Ḥarāni, Tuḥaf al-ʻUghul, p.364;
Kafi,vol.1,p.20; I’lam al Din,p.298
49Nahj al-Balāghah,letter 3
50Nahj al-Balāghah, Hikmat, 212
51Nahj al-Balāghah Hikmat
64
The Verses of Surah Tahrim Used in Sahifah
Sajjadiyah
Mansoureh Shahsavan
Islamic Researcher
Article acceptance date: May. 2016
Abstract: In this article about ‗the verses of Surah Tahrim used in Sahifah
Sajjadiyah‘, the researcher tried to highlight the deep relationship between the
words of Imam Sajjad (AS) and words of God in Quran. Based on the research, the
most repeated verses in Sahifah are from surah Baqarah, but that verse which is
used by Imam and is specifically about Tawbah (repentance) is the verse 8 of
Tahrim Surah (sanction);it has been used ten times. Verse six of this Surah is also
used in Sahifah once.
Keywords: Sahifah Sajjadiyah‘, prayer, Tawbah Nasuh
The Verses Of Surah Tahrim Used In Sahifah Sajjadiyah
65
Introduction:
Familiarity with the life-giving prayers of
Sahifah Sajjadiyah, if accompanied by
thought and contemplation and not a mere
recitation, can open a window to the
endless world of knowledge; as this noble
book has been issued by the real
addressees of the Revelation i.e. the
Household of prophecy (PBUT). This
book is the vast ocean which gives shining
pearls of revelation covered in the shell of
prayers to all interested passengers. In
fact, Sahifah Sajjadiyah is another
wordings of the content of Quran; Quran
is the words of God to His Prophet and
prayers, the words of Prophet and Imams
to God, a kind of mutual interaction.
By reading the words of Sahifah
Sajjadiyah, we realize that the verses of
Quran have been included in this book.
One of the verses which is used in Sahifah
is the verse 8 of Surah Tahrim
(i.e.Sanction). In the following, first we
will take a look at the gist of this surah
and then the meaning of those parts of
Sahifah which embrace the verses.
A look at the Surah Tahrim
This surah begins with the story about the
Prophet and some of his wives. The story
was like this: the Prophet prohibited some
Hilal (religiously permitted) things to
himself and God blamed him why for the
sake of his wives‘ satisfaction he did this;
of course, it could be understood from the
verse that this blame should fall on his
wives. After this story, God warned
faithfuls of saving themselves from Fire of
hell which its woods are human beings
and being aware that the reward in return
for their actions is their actions! No one
can escape from his/her actions; salvation
would be for the Prophet and those who
come to believe in him. Then God orders
Prophet to fight disbelievers and
hypocrites. At the end of the Surah, He
made an example about Muslim women
and disbeliever woman.
ثخ صحب عس ر ا رثا إى للا آ ب اىذ " ب أ رثن
ب رحز جبد رجز دخين سئبرن ن نفز ع أ
ع ر ا آ اىذ اىج ل خش للا بر ال
سع ىب رب ب أر رث قى ب ثأ د أ ث
اغفز ىب إل عي ء قدز " مو ش
O‘ you who believe![ if you desire to be
immune from the bad end, then avoid
wrongdoing while you are in this world
submit your repentance to Allah with a
sincere repentance; your creator may
remove from you, your sins and will
admit you to the gardens in the midst of
which streams flow. On the day of
Judgment, the messenger and his
believing followers are not disgraced by
Allah: Their light will go ahead of them
And on their right side; and they pray:"
O, our Creator and Nurturer! Perfect for
us our light and grant us Forgiveness;
Verily, You are Powerful over all Things.
(the holy Quran:66 / 6)
Regarding the word ―Nasuh‖ in the verse,
Allameh Tabatabayei, in his interpretation
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
66
in ‗Al-Mizan‘,wrote, ‗The word ‗Nasuh‘
(Sincere) is from ―N-S-H‖, which means
seeking the best practice and the best
words which benefit its owner more. And
this word has another meaning; a sense of
absolute sincerity.1 Raghib Isfahani has
offered this meaning for this word.
According to him, Tawbah Nasuh‘
(sincere repentance) is a kind of
repentance that restrains its owner from
returning to sin so he will not repeat that
sin.2 God after ordering people to save
themselves and their families from hell, in
this verse for the second time – of course
to public- orders all faithfuls, ―do
repentance!‖ He used the word ػعیی which
means this hope remains that He will hide
their sins and will enter them to heaven
which rivers are running from underneath.
An explanation on the verses of Surah
Tahrim used in Sahifah
Third Prayer, part 19:
اىذ ز ب ؤ فعي ، ز ب أ للا ل عص
"They act upon what they have been
Commanded;"
(the holy Quran:66 / 6)
The title for this prayer is ―sending regards
to angels‖, from the first of this prayer
Imam Sajjad started with sending his
salutations to the angels who are obedient
and innocent. They do not stop in their
worship…‖. He continued counting their
characteristics until the above mentioned
verse. Here, some angels are named like
―Kiram Al-Katibin‖, Malik al-Mut‖,
―Nakir‖ , ―Monkir‖, ―Khazin‖, and
―Rizwan‖
There is a secret in giving each angel a
specific name. This verse talks about a
common feature among all angels;
whether they are agents of hell or heaven.3
And it is being obedient.
Prayer 12, part 16:
...ط ػی ذد جي ذد جلغ دحجطی ججخ ؽرطی
ل عي، جغفس ذری ج خف فعی إ ء قدز مو ش
ذک ػ١ک ٠ع١س ج١ زخ جؼح١.
In this prayer, the holy Imam started with
introducing those three hindrance in front
of us; first, an obstacle which is
disobedience. Second, committing sins
and the last one is people‘s ignorance…he
continued until the part he desired to
repent. Then he said, ―I do not fear from
anything but you; since you are deserved
to be afraid of and deserved to forgive;
send our regards to Muhammad and his
family, …these desires are easily granted
by you, so Grant, Lord of Worlds Verily,
you are Powerful over all Things. And
this is easy upon you, Amen O‘ Lord of all
the worlds.«
A look at the previous words of Imam
(AS) indicates that Imam Sajjad (AS) is
talking to God as if he is an ordinary
human being who has failed to perform his
duties and should be blamed. Hence, he
spoke to God as such: ―Oh! The Almighty,
The verses of surah Tahrim used in Sahifah Sajjadiyah
67
send greetings upon Muhammad and his
family and whatever duties granted upon
me [that I have failed] forgive, and
whatever I am worthy to be blamed for,
exempt…. and you are Known for Bounty
and Forgiveness and I need none other
than you‖4 Since Imam‘s (AS) words are
another interpretation of Divine words, the
next phrase of Imam is about seeking
Forgiveness. And this is quite obvious
that: ―If one finds the knowledge of
righteousness and knows that the only
change bringer in the world is none other
than the Almighty, he will not fear anyone
other than Him and will not need anyone
other than Him; therefore where there is a
gap between God‘s order and his own
wish, fearlessly, he will chose
righteousness. Due to this, Imam Sajjad
(AS) at the beginning of this part of his
speech said, ―If I am safe from Divinity
Punishment, nothing else is terrifying for
me,‖ then he continued: ―I am not afraid
of anything but you, so place me in your
Sanctuary.‖ This issue is in fact joining
God while separating from others and
indulging in infinity.5
Prayer 14, part 16:
ه » ، ئ ١ ؼح زخ ج ١ " آ ؼظ١ ج فؼ ذ "ذ ج "عي أ
«.ء قدز" مو ش
"You" are Powerful over all Things, so
answer me the Greatest of Worlds, since
you have Virtue and Great Bounty and you
are the All Mighty, All Powerful.‖
The sentence ―He is Powerful over all
Things "indicates that: ―The Power of
God is unlimited and infinite.‖6 God is the
Source of All lives; All Mighty; And
Absolute Powerful, and since He is the
most Powerful and Knowledgeable, it is
obligatory for all wise men and all
faithfuls not to oppose His Commands;
since His Rule is to give rewards to His
obedient servants and to punish arrogant
ones. As He said Himself,
ذذ مذذذىل أخذذذ رثذذل إا أخذذذ اىقذذز أخذذذ أىذذ ذذخ إ ظبى
شدد
“Such is the overtaking of your Creator
and Nurturer: When He overtakes the
wrongdoers of the towns, His
Punishment is painful and severe".
(11:102)
The Almighty is Forgiver of all servants‘
sins and is Merciful to them. And if they
repent and convert to Islam, the All-
Mighty will forgive their past; so it is
upon believers and the faithful to have
hopes on Him.
In this prayer, Imam complained about
cruelties of oppressors and as God is the
Omnipotent, he asked Him to punish
oppressors.
Prayer 16, Paragraph 34:
دن ف لدزضه، » ال ٠طىأ ظؼه، ١ه ف ذه ال ٠ؼ١ك ػ ئ
ص ط د رحضه ج ال ٠ثدن ف جص٠ دن ف أحضه، ال ٠طظؼ
ح ضس٠د ضذى ح ضشحء، ه ضفؼ ١ح آ٠حضه، ئ ػ مو ل عي، إ
. «ء قدز ش
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68
Verily, this does not harm "."Verily, you
are Powerful over all Things."
(the holy Quran;66/8)
―Since these are not hard to you
considering your widespread abilities…
Verily, you are the All-Mighty.‖
A significant issue in Imam Sajjad‘s (AS)
words is his request from Almighty to
receive good news of amnesty and
forgiving sins; good news which is given
in this world not the other world; and this
is what which is mentioned in Quran:
... ذه ١حء للا أ ؼظ١ أال ئ ش ج ف ج
“It should be known, verily on the
devoted friends of Allah…. this glad-
tiding is indeed a great achievement.‖
(The holy Quran;10: 62 – 64)
Be aware that God‘s Saints do not fear or
not sorrowed by a thing…. And this
Annunciation is itself a great salvation.‖
Based on what has been stated in this
verse, God‘s Saints are those whom there
is no barrier between them and God.
Hijab (the veils) has gone aside from their
hearts and in the light of knowledge and
faith and pure acts, they could see God
with their hearts; in a way that no doubt
enters their hearts and for this familiarity
with the Divine, they will find all other
things unimportant7. The great
commentator of Sahifah has described this
section of the prayer as such: ―Verily,
whatever you Desire you shall Do and
whatever you shall intend you will
Command. Or, whatever the deeds you
will Act and whatever ordinances you will
Command…. And إذذذل عيذذذ ء قذذذدز مذذذو شذذذ Verily, you are Powerful over all
Things." (The holy Quran;66/8) is a
conclusion of the previous sentence; since
Almighty God is the one that if He
Desires, He will Act and if He does not,
He Will not; as you can order when you
have Might.8 In fact in this prayer as it is
about asking forgiveness, only the one
who is Powerful has the ability to forgive.
Prayer 19, part 7:
This prayer is about asking for rain.
جزشلح د، ذ آي د ذ ػ ط مو ل عي...إ ج
ء قدز ش
« O‘ Allah Great upon Muhammad and
his household … and Provide us…Verily,
you are Powerful over all Things."9―Oh,
Almighty! Send Greetings to Muhammad
and his family, Bestow us Blessings from
Heaven and Earth (rain and plants), since
Verily you are the Almighty.‖
Imam Sajjad (AS) requests God to bestow
us blessings from Heaven and Earth.10
As
God of All Glories Commands:
إى سب ظز ال ن طع في عب ل زبعب ىن ... ب
"Man should observe the food that he
eats and the process that Allah has
determined for its provision" ….[By
The verses of surah Tahrim used in Sahifah Sajjadiyah
69
Allah's Favour] All these bounties are a
provision for you and your cattle[So that
you may be thankful to your Creator "
(the holy Quran;80: 24 – 32)
Here, ‗heaven and earth blessings‘ are
those that descend from heavens and come
out of the earth like minerals, plants,
animals, etc. that God Almighty has
created for the livelihood of his
creatures.11
Just as He Commanded in His
words:
عب ب ف الرض ج خيق ىن
“He is the One who created for you all
things that are on the earth [as means of
provision and comfort”.
(the holy Quran; 2 / 29)
Also, it is narrated from the Prophet
(PBUH) that:
ئ شه للا بء إى الرض ثزمبد أرثع أ اىس شه اىحدد أ
يح اى اىبر بء اى
―Verily Allah send four tokens of sky
towards earth sent Iron and Water and
Fire and Salt. »12
He mentioned these four materials as they
are the most significant materials giving
us benefits; as His blessings are not
countable as we read,
ل رحصب ذ للا ا ع رعد إ
"And if you decide to count Allah's
Blessings you will not be able to compute
them."
(the holy Quran;14 /34.
In the prayers, it is stated:
اسذد فقزذب فضذيل ب أفط عي دك ع دب ا اىي
زل ب رح شزعي ا ثقدررل
O’ Allah guide us and have mercy on us
and remove our poverty by your power. 13
نا من بػركات سمائك ماء طهورا ك أنبت لنا من اللهم أ نزؿ عليػأنعاما كأناسي بػركات أرضك نػباتا مسقيا ك تسقيه مما خلقت
كثيرا
«O’ Allah sent down on us from the tokens
of sky pure water and fix for us from the
earth‘s tokens fruitful plants and water the
from the created animals and people a
lot14«
عي إل ء قدز مو ش
"Verily, you are Powerful over all
Things." (the holy Quran; 66 / 8) where all
are cited to descent.
Prayer 21, part 13:
It is about the sorrow of feeling guilty:
لس٠ح، ججؼ ، آ د ذ ػ ط ... إل عي ج
ء قدز مو ش
«O‟ Allah Greet upon Muhammad and
his household and assign me for him as a
companion .….Verily, you are Powerful
over all Things."
(the holy Quran; 66: 8)
These words from Imam Sajjad (AS) truly
indicate the high degree of his devotion;
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70
this kind of devotion can be interpreted as
‗noble men‘s devotion‘; it is narrated that:
« فذذب ف عجذذدا للا طيذذت زيذذل خ عجذذدا للا قذذ عجذذب ح اىعجذذد،
حجذذب ىذذ فزيذذل عجذذدا للا قذذ اة فزيذذل عجذذب ح الجذذزاء، اىثذذ
أفضو اىعجب ح «عجب ح الحزار،
» If you serve Allah, based on fear it is
the worship of servants ,and the nation
who worship Allah to gain rewards this is
the worship of good-doers and the nation
worship Allah upon the love of him, this
is the worship of virtuous and the best
worship.” 15 Imam Ali (AS) has also
referred to this definition and further
states:
ب عجدرل فب ال برك خ جدرل أ عب ف جزل ىن ل ط
ىيعجب ح فعجدرل
I do not worship you based on the fear
of the hell, and not based on the greed of
heaven, but find you that you deserve to
be worshipped and I worship you. 16
This means ―I have not worshipped you
through fear nor Fire nor for Greed of
your Paradise but have found you Highly
Worthy of Worship and Obedience, so I
worship you.
In this part, Imam Sajjad (AS) requested
Almighty to place him among the allies of
Muhammad and his household (PBUH);
and this is for the mankind‘s need to a
friend or an assistant otherwise he will
suffer from loneliness. One‘s inclination
may be an indication of his ideas, red
lines, personality, approaches, and
thoughts. One‘s real character is a
phenomenon that its soil is man‘s deep
nature and perhaps not so simply
distinguishable; it is the most secret phase
of his existence. But what can assist in
revealing this secrecy and unmasking the
visage is his natural inclination, tendencies
and interests; for this reason, one‘s
character is manifested in his empathy and
emotions towards individuals and/ or
objects. That is why Imam Sajjad (AS)
requests Almighty to orient his heart
towards the Prophet (PBUH) and his
honourable Household (AS) headed by
Imam Ali (AS) making him a companion
and a faithful friend. It is stated in
narrations that God‘s Prophet has quoted:
ع زء اى أحت
“The man will be with the one who
loves.”17
This means that mankind will be similar to
whatever he desires. With such profound
insight Imam Ali (AS) requests God of
Glory to orient his heart to love of God
and His Household (AS) so that his deed
is taken in to His Affection and
Satisfaction since affection towards
Imams (AS) causes purity, virtue and
graceful deeds. And we are quite aware:
―A True friend and a companion of the
Prophet (PBUH) is the one who obeys the
God even if he is not one of Prophet‘s
relatives and the enemy of Muhammad
(PBUH) is the one whom disobey God
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71
even though he may be a very intimate
relatives of him.‖18
Prayer 31, part 30:
، ح د٠طح ذ ، و آ د ذ ػ ط مو ..." إل عي ج
ء قدز ش
« O‘ God Greet upon Muhammad and his
households as to that we were guided by
him.….Verily, you are Powerful over all
Things and this is easy for you . «
If we read several lines before this part,
we will see that repentance is of the
greatest obligatory steps and of the
greatest worship. When a person repent,
his heart feels peace. It is the cause of
rescuing from Hell.
In this part, as Imam‘s speech indicates for
repentance as well, God‘s Power is
needed; He should accept and forgive.
Prayer 45, part 10:
... » اذ اىذی فزحذ ىعجب ک ثبة اىی عفک رثا إى للا
ثخ صحب ر
0, you are the One that open a door to the
worshipper for repentance…. "If you
desire to be Immune from the bad end,
then avoid Wrongdoing while you are in
this world] Submit your repentance to
Allah with a Sincere Repentance"
(the holy Quran; 66 /8)
This section of Imam Sajjad‘s speech can
be claimed to be the most related part to
the verse 8 of Surah Tahrim because here
the main discussion is about repent and
requesting the Divine for forgiveness. In
this prayer, some important points such as
the ‗reality of repentance‘, ‗sincere
repentance‘, the ‗benefits of repentance‘
and ―repentance as a spiritual initiative‖
can be observed.
Repentance can be considered as an inner
revolution against the reign of profanity
and idolatrous devil inside, a revolution
which gradually changes the nature of
mankind in a way that no signs of
excrements or impurity ever remains.
(Evidence and recognition, Vol. 3, p.452)
Imam Sajjad said:
یییی جضییخ ج١یییک فییی میییحی ییرج ییی کرییحتس ذیییذی جیی ج
طغحتسح ... ضذ جر ذ ح ظف جعال ف١ح ذمی
«O‟ God I repent toward you in my
position from my minor and cardinal sins
, a repentance that covers up this sins in
the past and keep safe for the future . «
Imam Baqir (AS) also states: 19
للا ح ٠ج جرد جال جلس ذ
―Swear upon God that no soul is saved
from sin unless he confesses to it before
the Lord. After confession, the repentant
must remorse and regret from his evil
deeds.‖ About ‗true repentance‘ Imam
Rida (AS) said
2 جظطغفس للا ذعح ٠د ذمر فمد جظطصج ذفع
« The person who askes forgiven ness of
God with his tongue and do not regret by
his heart, so he is mocking himself. »
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72
In terms of ‗sincere repentance‘ numerous
definitions are stated that often are rooted
from one word even though the
expressions may vary. Ahmad Bin Khalil
Farahidi in his book of ‗Al-Ain‘
(assistance) says:
: أ ال ٠ؼد ئ ح ضحخ ػ جطذس جظح
« A sincere repentance means do not go
back to the sin. »21
This means that one will repent from sin
and will not return to the act of
committing sins. Shiekh Kulayni cites
about Abi Al-Salah Kanani and his book
‗Kafi‘:
ج ػص ي للا ل ع ػ ص أذح ػرد للا ج ٠ح أ٠ح -ظأ آ جر٠
ذس ظدح لحي ٠طخ ض ضذج ئ للا ؼرد د ج جر ال غ
' ٠ؼد ف١
Aba - Abduallah (p .b .u .h) was asked
about the word of Glorified Allah," O‘
people who believe repent to God a
sincere repentance; it means not go back
to the sins. 22
‗Tawbah Nasuh‘ or ‗sincere repentance‘
means a servant who repents from sins and
does not return to committing sins.
‗Nasuh‘ originates from ‗Nasahah Al-
Savab‘ which means ‗to embroider pieces
of torn dresses; this apparently means
‗repentance is to embroider pieces of
religion that emerge through sin. (Fhahri,
2010, Vol. 3, p. 312) Also, it is cited that
Ahmad Bin Hilal had said:
فىطد ح ذس جظح جط جألخ١س )ع( ػ ذع ص أذح ج ظأ
٠ى ع أ رحؽ ج أفؼ س وحظح ذه
« The latter Abal- Hassan ( peace be upon
him ) was asked about the repentance and
what it is. Imam ( p.b.u.h ) answered, the
inside of a person should be like his
outside.» 23
I asked Imam Abul Hasan about the
definition of ‗Tawbah Nasuh‘ (sincere
repentance‘) and he replied: ―The
conscience must be just like appearance or
even better.‖ For this, Imam Sadiq has
also said,
ئذج ضحخ ، فعطس ػ١ للا ذس ظدح، أدر ؼرد ض «. ج ص: فم
؟ لحي و١ف : » ٠عطس ػ١ ، ػ١ ح وحح ٠ىطرح ى١ ع ٠
٠د ئ ئ للا جزد ذمح ج ػ١ ع جألزع: أ جوط
م للا - ذذ، ف١ ج -ػص ١ط ش مح ٠ ء ٠شد د١
ذش خ. ػ١ جر ء 24
―If a servant repents in sincerity, the
Almighty will like him, so He will pull a
drape over his deeds.‖ Next I asked:
―how will he pull a drape?‖ He replied:
―those two angels who are missioned on
his behalf to register sins will forget they
have inscribed him as a sinner and then
all on earth will be inspired to hide his
known servants sins and as a result when
this divinity concealer meets the Almighty,
there would be no evidence to prove the
performed sins‖.
But the intentions of Imam Sajjad (AS)
from this expressions that says:
ج ػ د١ه ثال ٠ؼ رحخ د١ال جؼص ػ ذه ج
The verses of surah Tahrim used in Sahifah Sajjadiyah
73
is: ―God has opened a Door to his servants
for All-Pardoning and forgiving and has
entitled this ‗repentance‘ and set guide by
the door which is His Revelation (for
people) not to be lost; which means He
planned ‗repentance‘ in His Quran and
recounted the conditions by His
messengers and Imams and has led His
traveler into this Path. So, you would say:
―Great is your holy name, so return to
God, a pure return – which means ‗repent‘
that does not return to the sin again –
maybe your God will pass your sins and
flour you to Gardens where streams shall
continuously flow from underneath.
ح ػرز ف س ذه دخي أغف ئلح رحخ صي ذؼد فطخ ج ج
١ جد
« So there is no excuse for the one who
disregards to enter this house after its
opened and there is guide by it. »25
But if one enters the open door and enters
into Him and in a sense to say: ‗To enter
Baab-Al-Abwab (Gate of Gates)‘, as its
outcome, the Almighty will exit him from
evil darkness and blasphemy and enter
him to a clean and pure world with pure
and clean orchards away from any filth
and dirt; not comparable to what has seen
since then. ‗Hadith Qudsi‘, it is stated: 26
ؼرحد أػددش ح ال ػ١ ال ؼص ظ ال أذ خطس زأش
د ذشس ذم
« For my obedient servants, I have
prepared things no eyes have ever seen.
No ears have ever heard and no heart has
ever felt.»
God is Powerful in forgiving and hiding
sins. We need His Power to return and
find prosperity.
Prayer 45, part 11:
ع، ... إل عي ا آ اىذ اىج ل خش للا مو
ء قدز ش
―On the Day of Judgment, the Messenger
and his Believing followers are not
disgraced by Allah….Verily, You are
Powerful over all Things."(Al-Tahrim (66)
/8)
―The day that the Almighty does not
humiliate the Prophet and his believers;
their lights will move ahead and from their
right side and they would say: Oh,
Almighty! Complete this light and forgive
us, since you are the Almighty.‖ So what
excuse does anyone have to neglect
entering that House after you have opened
its door and have placed a guide in?!
This phrase is a promise to pure believers;
on the day that each person would tremble
and cry and wonder in darkness from their
committed crimes, there are servants that a
Light shines over their ahead and their
right and on that Day of Resurrection
when others are astonished and bewildered
while their eyes are gazing below of
terror, they shall be bestowed safety. And
this at the time when darkness is pervasive
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74
is in fact reward for their deeds. In the
holy Quran, it is stated:
« ؼ أضج ج « ...لحي جر٠
Those who have found the wisdom will
say: ―Today, scandal and bad deeds is
upon disbelievers.‖ (16 / 27)
And further quoted:
« حز ج « ...فأ
" Verily, for him is the Fire of the Hell "
(the holy Quran; 9: 63)
If anyone opposes the Divine and His
Prophet, his punishment is immortal hell
and this is a big 'scandal but the righteous
servants of God are constantly praying
here and there; such that it is stated in
Quran:
ػدضح ػ » آضح ح ح زظه زذ ... »
" [ They also say: ] " O, our Creator and
Nurturer! Give us what You Promised us
through Your Messengers "
(the holy Quran;3:194)
―Oh, Almighty! Allot us what you have
vowed your apostles and do not deprive
since your promise will never fail.
The Divine seeks repenting guilty servants
and commands them not to feel despair
and Loudly Calls: « للا ر ذ أسذا ل ر »
" Verily, no One despairs from Allah's
Grace "(the holy Quran; 12:87)
―And do not despair God's deliverance and
confirm:
أظسفج ػ جر٠ ل ٠ح ػرحد فع ...أ
" Say [ O, Messenger! ]:" O, you human
Creatures of Mine who have wronged
Your own souls "
(the holy Quran; 39: 53)
―Say, Oh servants whom have oppressed
self and have lavished! Do not be hopeless
from God's Mercy since He is Forgiver of
all sins; He has commanded the Last
Word and there is no excuse for not
returning to Divine Mercy.‖
But unfortunately, people ignore this
blessing of God and do not join Him.
Therefore they can not enjoy the security
and dignity spread in His shelter. If they
joined, they could say,
ذ وف ػصج أ ه أو ضى وف ذ ف سج أ ػردج
زذح
« Sufficient to me this glory that I am your
servant, and sufficient to me this honour
that you are my God. »
The interpreter of ‗Al-Burhan‘ (The Proof)
in respect to this part
ج آ جر٠ جر ال ٠ ص للا ٠
"On the Day of Judgment the Messenger
and his Believing followers are not
disgraced by Allah" Says: " أىئذل اىذؤ "
They are Believers ."27
The verses of surah Tahrim used in Sahifah Sajjadiyah
75
And God Almighty about the faithful
commands
قد افيح اى
"Indeed the Believers are those who
attain Salvation "
(the holy Quran;23 /1)
Also, in the interpretation of ‗Al-Tabayan‘
it is mentioned that this is in the sense that
God will not humiliate nor debilitate or
punish them but better still enter them in
His Paradise where He Will Glorify them.
Yet, in this phrase of Imam Sajjad (AS)
speech that says:
اغفز ىذب، إذل عيذ ىب رب، ب أر : رث قى ء مذو شذ
قدز
They pray:" O, our Creator and
Nurturer! Perfect for us our light and
grant us Forgiveness; Verily, You are
Powerful over all Things."
….there is a fine point of adaptation from
the words of the Lord which is quite
worthy of consideration; the word ‗ػییک
(about)‘ after the word ‗٠کفیس (disbelieve)‘
which may be an indication of the Divine
Mercy which is vast in a way that a sinner
due to immersion in the Divine Sea of
Benedictions and Blessings will become
unaware of his guilt as if he may not have
ever committed any sin or guilt.
Prayer 45, part 52:
عذدا ا ذؤ فطزب اىذ جعيز ىي ل ف إب زة إى ىي
ثخ صحب - سزرا، ... ر
(The holy Quran; 66: 8)
ب ثجزب عي
« O‟ God I repent toward you, on the
day of Fitr that appointed for the
believers Eid and happiness… a sincere
repentance and make us steadfast on
it.»
The word ‗ذطشیید (crowd)‘ and ‗جییغ
(assembly)‘ are synonyms and in
definition ‗جدطشحد means a ‗gathering‘.
Imam Sajjad (AS) requests the Omniscient
to bestow him success of repentance so
that he would not return to sin and in pure
repentance be innocent and pure from any
uncertainties and indecision.
In continuation of this speech, Imam (AS)
requests the Almighty to save him from
any dangers and evil temptations that may
cross human minds and imagination and
become clean and pure, as the one who is
in the front of danger, will not be saved
from Satan.
Therefore, it is narrated that:
قع ف شل أ أ ه اىح ررع ح ف
«And any one who is close to the
borders of forbidden zone, is about to
enter it.»28
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76
Prayer 47, Paragraph 126:
رت عي ثخ صحب اجعو رجبرر راثحخ، ... ر
And appoint my trading Fruitful and
repent me a sincere repentance.
(the holy Quran; 66:8)
ؼی ال ضرز ال ور١سز، ؼح ذذح طغ١سز ال ضرك ح ػال١یس
.ال ظس٠سز
―And place my trade of after-life
profitable and my return to resurrection
harmless, put terror in my heart about
Your high position, make me interested in
visiting you, help me be successful in
repentance, if I succeed to repent, you will
not to leave any sins of me, big or small
remained or my open and hidden sins
behind.‖
In this section of Imam Sajjad‘s speech
which was delivered on the Day of
Arafeh, it is stated that this topic is not so
alien with the issue of repentance. In the
etymology of this day of ‗Arafeh‘, several
reasons have been cited; that one which is
related to our this discussion is ‗Arafeh‘
being derived from ‗confession‘; since on
that day Adam and Eve reached ‗Arafat‘.
Then they confessed to Lordship and
Greatness of God and disgrace of
themselves due to their sins and they said,
29آال ػسفطح أفعکح
Then Imam Sajjad (AS) pointed out to a
lucrative trade. But what is this lucrative
trade in the eyes of infallibles? A trade
that does not have sorrow in the way back
against the return of deniers of
resurrection and infidels,. (The same, p.
446) So, The Almighty Commands in the
Quran:
ز خحظسز ه ئذج وس لحج ض
" And they say:" If this turns to be true
Our return will be hardship and total
Loss."
(the holy Quran; 79 /12)
Imam Sajjad (AS) continued, ―Do not
accompany on the Day of Resurrection my
return with loss.‖ And this request is the
same as desiring a profitable trade. Also
in this respect, Imam Ali (AS) states:
سح سذذس ٠ع زذ ضجحزز
« A fruitful trade that God makes it
easy for them.»
ه مح أخف
« O‟ God appoint me the resident of
the Heaven"
In the next section of his speech, Imam
(AS) requests the Almighty: ―Oh, Allah!
Make me enthusiastic to see you‖.
In this respect, Imam Husayn said,
ر ج ل ل ه درح ه ج حح خش١س ئ٠ ضظد٠مح ذه
ه لح ئ١ه فسلح ش
O‟ God fill my heart with love for You
and fear of you, and testify You and
separation and an enthusiasm for You.30
The verses of surah Tahrim used in Sahifah Sajjadiyah
77
He, then, requests the Almighty to give
him the opportunity to repentance that has
no return to small or big sins nor the
revealed or hidden sins.
Prayer 48, Paragraph 3:
« ضظ ص، أ د، ال ئ ئال أ ذ ج ه ه ج ذأ أظأه ج
خ١سضه ضه طف در١ره زظه د ػردن ذ ػ
جألخ١حز طالز ال س٠ د جألذسجز جطح ذ ػ آي مه، خ
ضشسوح ف طحخ أ ص، ػ ئدظحتح ئال أ ٠م
، ١ ؼح ، ٠ح زخ ج ١ إ ػرحدن ج ١ دػحن ف رج ج أ
، إل عيضغفس ح «.ء قدز مو ش
Oh God! As kingdom, worship and thanks
are specific to you, and there is not other
being except you to be worshipped, I ask
you to send your regards and peace to
Muhammad, that servant of You and Your
friend and Your selected one among
others, and his family those pure
benevolent; regards and blessings that no
one but you can count, and let the prayers
of Your faithful servants who are asking
your blessings in this day be true for us,
Oh, the Lord of all creatures, forgive them
and us, Verily, You are Powerful over all
Things."
(the holy Quran; 66: 8)
In this part of the prayer Imam (AS)
teaches us lessons of Unity of God and
asks us to look at existence system and
know that there is no effective Power in
the world God; everything is a sign of God
and not more; since God is the merciful to
all His servants, he has bestowed his
blessings to us. Therefore Hiss creatures
should make efforts to their own ability
and they will not have any revenue from
being active unless God wants; as Imam
Sajjad said in terms of our assignments for
the other world,
طه » غك زد أ « ذؼ
« Your mercy makes a trust in me over
my deeds.»31
This means that one shall practice but at
the same time know that his deeds does
not bring him to Paradise and Grace and
Mercy of the Almighty must also be
attached.
Conclusion:
1-From 114 Surahs of the holy Quran, 52
Surahs are included (parts of them) in the
prayers of Sahifah in term of their content.
2-The verses which Imam Sajjad have
been included in Sahifah, considering the
number of their repetition, roughly they
are 114 which is equal to the number of
Surahs of Quran. It can indicate the
unbreakable link between Quran and
Sahifah.
3-The most verses used in Sahifah are
from Surah Baqarah which are 14 verses
which is reasonable as Baqarah is the
longest Surah of Quran.
4-The second Surah with the most
repeated verses in Sahifah is Surah
Tahrim. 10 times verse 8 of Surah Tahrim
has been repeated.
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
78
5-A review over those parts of Imam
Sajjad‘s words which include verse 8 of
Surah Tahrim, we realize that although
these phrases are not mentioned in one
place in a prayer, all parts including these
verses are related content wise and linked
like rings of a chain.
6-As in Quran, as some verses are
interpreters of some other verses, the same
is true for Sahifah. To understand some
parts of Sahifah we need to refer to other
parts of Sahifah.
Sources:
The holy Quran
1. ‘Ali ibn Husayn, Sahifah Sajjadiyah, Qum,
first edition, 1376.
2.Ibn Abi Jumhur, Muhammad Ibn Zeyn al-Din,
Avali Allaali Alaziziyah Fi Alahadith Aldiniyah,
Qom, first edition, 1405.
3. Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad Ibn Ali,
Ma’anial-Akhbar, Qum, first edition, 1403.
4. Ibn Fahd al-Hilli, Ahmad Ibn Muhammad,
Udat al-dai wa najah al-sai, first edition, 1407.
5. Ibn Manẓur, Muhammad Ibn Mukarram,
Lisan al-Arab, Beirut, third edition, 1414.
6. Ansarian,Hossein, Dīyār-e 'Āsheqān Tafsir
Sahīfa Sajjādīyya, edited by: Hassan Ostad
Vali, Tehran, Payam Azadi, second edition,
1378.
7. Bahrani, Hashem Ibn Soleiman, Al-Burhan Fi
Tafsir al-Quran, researched by: Aldirasat al-
Islamiyah Moasseseh al-Bithat, Qom, Tehran,
Bonyad Besat, first edition,1416.
8. Raghib Isfahani, Hossein Ibn Muhammad,
Mufradat alfaz al-Qur'an, Beirut, Dameshgh,
first edition, 1412.
9. Sabzevari (Vosogh al-Hokama), Mirza
MuhammadEbrahim, Sharh-e Sahīfa
Sajjādīyya, edited and researched by: Hamed
Naji Esfahani, Esfahan, Computer Research
Center of Isfahan Seminary, first edition, 1391.
10. Sharif al-Radi, Muhammad Ibn Husayn,
Nahj al-Balagha, translated by: Dashti, Iran,
Qom, first edition, 1391.
11. Sharif Lahiji, Qutb al-Din Muhammad Ibn
Ali, Tarjomeh waSharh-e Sahīfa Sajjādīyya,
edited and researched by: Akbar Saghafian,
Tehran, Library, Museum and Document
Center of Islamic Parliament, first edition.
12. Tabataba'i , Muhammad Ibn Husayn, al-
Mizan Fi Tafsir al-Quran, Qom, Islamic
publications office of the Qom Seminary
Teachers Society, fifth edition, 1417.
13. Tarihi, Fakhr al-Din Ibn Muhammad,
Majma al-Bahrain, Tehran, third edition, 1375.
14. Tusi, Muhammad Ibn Hassan, Misbah al-
mutahajjid wa silah al-muta'abbid, Beirut, first
edition, 1411.
15. Tusi, Muhammad Ibn Hassan, al-Tibyan Fi
Tafsir al-Quran, researched by: Ahmad Ghasir
Ameli, Beirut, Dar Ahya al-Torath al-Arabi,
first edition, Bita.
16. Allameh Modarresi, Tarjomeh waSharh-e
Sahīfa Kameleye Sajjādīyya, corrected by:
The verses of surah Tahrim used in Sahifah Sajjadiyah
79
Fazel Pakatchi, Manshorat al-Maktaba al-
Mortazaviyah Le-Ehya-e al-Athar al-Jafariyah,
Tehran, 1360.
17. Farahidi, Khalil Ibn Ahmad, Kitab al-Ayn,
Qom, second edition, 1409.
18. Fahri, Seyed Ahmad, Sharh wa Tarjomeh-e
Sahīfa Sajjādīyya, Tehran, endowment and
chariyy affairs organization, Osveh, second
edition, 1388.
19. al-Qumi, Abbas, Safinat al-Behar, Qom,
first edition, 1414.
20. Ghahpaei, Badi' al-Zaman, Riaz al-Abedin Fi
Sharh-e Sahīfa, corrected by: Hossein Dargahi,
Tehran, Ministry of Culture and Islamic
Guidance, Printing and Publishing
Organization, first edition, 1347.
21. Kabir Madani Shirazi, Seyed Ali Khan Ibn
Ahmad, Riaz al-Salekin Fi Sharh-e Sahīfa Seyed
al-Sajedin, Iran, Qom, first edition, 1409.
22. Kulayni, Muhammad Ibn Ya'qub, Kafi,
Tehran, fourth edition, 1407.
23. Majlesi, Muhammad Baqir Ibn Muhammad
Taqi ,Bihar al-Anwār, Beirut, second edition,
1403.
24. Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir Ibn Muhammad
Taqi, Mir'at-ul-Uqool Fi Sharh-e Akhbar aal al-
Rasul, Tehran, second edition, 1404.
25. Moghniyeh, Muhammad Javad, Dar
Sayehsar-e Sahifah Sharh-e SahīfaSajjādīyya,
Tehran, Jami, first edition, 1391.
26.Mamdouhi Kermanshahi, Hassan, Shohood
wa Shenakht-e Tarjomeh wa Sharh-e
SahīfaSajjādīyya, Qom, bustan ketab, Islamic
Propagation Office of Qom Seminary, sixth
edition, 1383.
27. Attributed to Jafar Ibn Muhammad, the
sixth Imam, Misbah al-Shariah, Beirut, first
edition, 1400.
28. Varam Ibn Abi Faras, Masoud Ibn Isa,
Majmueye Varram, Qom, first edition, 1410.
1 Tabatabayei, 1417 (Lunar year), Vol. 19,
p.335
2 Isfahani, 1412, p.808
3Ghahri, 2008, Vol. 1, p.243
4Sahifah Sajjadiyah, prayer 12
5 Mamdouhi Kermanshahi, 2005, Vol. 1, p. 556
6Tabatabaie, 1417, Vol. 9, p. 348
7 Ansarian, 2000, Vol. 5, p. 474
8 Madani Shirazi, 1409, Vol. 3; p. 167
9Al-Tahrim 66) /8
10 Ghahpaie, 1968, p. 308
11 Sabzevari, 2013, p. 145
12Tarihi, 1997, Vol. 5, p. 480
13 Toosi, 1411, Vol. 1, p. 216
14 Majlisi, 1403, Vol. 88, p. 334
15 ‘Amili, 1414, Vol. 1, p. 40
16 Majlisi, 1403, Vol. 67, p. 186
17 Attributed to Jaffar Ibn Muhammad (AS),
1400, p. 194 and Madani, Shirazi, 1409, Vol. 7, p.132
18 Maghniyeh, 2013, p. 236
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
80
19
Kulayni, Vol. 2, p. 426
20 Vram, 1410, Vol. 2, p. 110
21 Gharahidi, 1409, Vol. 3; p.119
22 Kulayni, 1407, Vol, 2; p. 432
23 Babouyeh, Al-Nass; p. 174
24 Kulayni, 1407, Vol, 4; p. 234
25 Al-Sahife Sajjadiyah, prayer 45
26 Ibn Fahd Halli, 1407, p. 109
27 Bahrani, 1416, Vol. 5, p. 427
28 Ibn Abi Jumhur, 1405, Vol. 2. P. 83
29 Lahiji, 2012, p. 432
30 Majlisi, 1404, Vol. 12, p.460
31 Sahifah Sajjadiyah, Prayer 48
81
The Religious Child-Rearing Practices
Narges Shahri
Ph.D in training psychology
Abstract: In the present article, the author evaluates the religious child-rearing and
declares the benefits in this kind of training. First, the necessity of this training has
been introduced and then the characteristics of such a training have been
introduced.at the end, the goals of religious training have been introduced.
Key words: child-rearing, ultimate goals, detailed goals, comprehensive goals, faith,
recognition, enforcement
Introduction
In order to understand the concept of
―religious child-rearing‖ one should study
the meaning of the words ―child-rearing‖
and ―religion‖. Therefore, as the first step,
the meaning of these two words will be
introduced.
“Child-rearing”
The word ―rearing‖ literally means
―raising‖. This word in comparison to the.
word ―Tazkiyah‖ and ―Ta‘dib‖ has been
used in less verses and traditions; thought,
―Tazkiyah‖ and ―Ta‘dib‖ both have the
same meaning. Tazkiyah is derived from
the word Zakat:
Zakat means raising and growing; it can
be applied to spiritual growth as well.
Sometimes it is assumed human beings are
responsible to cultivate it in themselves:
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
82
بب قد أفيح سم
“Prosperous is he who purified it”
(The holy Quran;91:9)
Sometimes it is cultivated by God, as He
is the True Cause of growth. Such as
شبء ثو للا شم
“Rather, Allah purifies whom he will”
(The holy Quran;4:49)
Or it is developed by Prophet, as he is the
channel of flow of perfection to people:
عي شم آبر …زي عي
“Recite to them his verses, to purify them,
and to teach them…”
(The holy Quran;4:49)
And sometimes it is the result of worship;
as worship is the means of developing
spiritual growth such as1
دحح دح شک
There are various definitions for training
and child-rearing which all recognize child
rearing as a process which benefits from
child‘s talents to make changes in him.
Now if an aim-oriented element enters this
process, we can claim that child-rearing
means ―preparing the grounds and
necessary factors to activate ones
potentiality in a favorable direction.‖
Therefore, training should be goal-
oriented and that goal differs based on
people‘s ideology, this ideology dictates
how much growth and in what direction is
expected. The reason of various schools of
thought regarding training lies in this
point.
Religion
The word religion literally means belief,
customs, Shariah. As an expression, it
means a group of laws, commands, and
principles which are given to human
beings by God. In another word, a religion
includes a group of descriptive and
prescriptive elements which has three
main parts:
a.Recognition: the first effective element
in being religious is to know basis and
rules of a religion. A religious person
should come to believe those principles
through reasoning and logic; for example,
believing in Oneness of God or God being
the Creator of the Universe.
b.Faith: The second element is, after
confirming the principles, those beliefs
and rules should be accepted by heart. One
who does not believe in God in his heart is
not called a religious person. The root of
all moral values is having faith in religious
laws and regulations; and faith should be
based on recognition; the deeper the
recognition, the stronger the belief.
Though knowledge and recognition are
not the only conditions but they are the
prerequisite. ―Will power‖ and ―internal
The Religious Child-Rearing Practices
83
tendency to religious belief‖ are other
sides of faith.
C. Practice: the third element is putting
the prescriptive and descriptive elements
into practice; it means a person declares
his religious beliefs when they are in his
action; that action is valuable in Islam
which is done out of belief.
3. Religious child-rearing
From what we have studied so far, it can
be understood that religious child-rearing
is in close connection with three axis of
recognition, faith and practice. Therefore,
it can be said, religious child-rearing is a
process of giving recognition and insight,
which cause sincere belief and practices
based on that belief, far from any force or
pressure, to reach this world and the other
world salvation.
According to this definition, the most
important responsibility of parents and
teachers is to train children in three
dimensions of recognition, faith, and
practice.
The Necessity and Importance of
Religious Training
No one will doubt the importance of
training; as the destiny of a person can be
programmed by this training. This training
can strengthen the connection between
God and His creature and encourages him
to accept his responsibilities. The reason
of Prophethood is this goal. In fact, in the
importance of religious training, it suffices
to say the reason of prophethood was this
and Quran which is a book of guidance
openly orders people to this,
لدح جحض ٠ح حزج ١ى أ ج لج أفعى آ أ٠ح جر٠
ذجحزز ج
―Believers, guard yourselves and your
families against the fire the fuel of which
is people and stones‖
(The holy Quran; 66:6)
Or in another verse,
س ل م١ح ج ٠ ١ أ خعسج أفع جر٠ ج حظس٠ ئ
―Say: 'the losers are surely those who lose
themselves and their families on the day of
resurrection‖
(The holy Quran; 39:15)
The infallible imams of Islam, also,
specifically emphasized on this issue; the
holy Prophet said,
―Cultivate three things in your kids‘ heart
(raise your child with these three
characteristics): friendship with your
Prophet, friendship with Ahlul Bayt, and
reciting Quran.‖2
He also said,
―Teach your kids to pray when they are
seven years old.‖3
Imam Sadiq narrated from his grandfather
who said, ―We (Ahlul Bayt) order our kids
to pray when they are five years old but
you order yours when they are at seven.‖4
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
84
In another tradition,
―A boy should play in the first seven years
of his life, then he should learn writing
(sciences) for next seven years and learn
what Haram and Halal is in the third seven
years of his life.‖
The characteristics of religious child-
rearing
Religious child rearing is different from
non-religious child-rearing: some of these
differences are as follows:
Training Self
In religious rearing, the first step is to train
yourself (parents) because you are going
to be the trainer. How could a person train
someone when he needs to be trained?
When there are serious moral or
ideological weak points in him. Logically,
such an individual is not able to train
another one. Religion does not accept faith
if it is not followed by practice. It blames
a person who advises but he himself does
not act based on his advice,
أفعى ضع رس جحض ذح س أضأ
“Would you order righteousness on
others and forget it yourselves?”
(the holy Quran; 2:44)
ح ال ضفؼ ضم ج آ أ .٠ح أ٠ح جر٠ مطح ػد للا ورس
ضم ح ال ضفؼ ج
“Believers, why do you say what you
never do? It is most hateful to Allah that
you should say that which you do not
do”.
(the holy Quran; 61:2-3)
ج للا ج فػ ح ض غسخ فأ٠ ج شسق ج لل
“Whichever way you turn, there is the
face of Allah. He is the embracer, the
knower.”
(the holy Quran; 2:115)
But in non-religious training this aspect is
not of high importance. People usually
advise others to be like something but they
do not take the same advice for
themselves.
Enforcement
The other important benefit of religious
child-training is enforcement .i.e. put the
belief into practice.
When faith opens its way through the
heart of a person as a unique spiritual and
immortal power, then all obstacles and
hardship will be eradicated, a huge
internal change will help him train
himself. Those who were trained by
religious schools of thought could
overcome mundane desires and obstacles
by the help of this power, they broke the
barrier between thought and action by this
faith and they dare confronting
difficulties.
Solutions and Practical Plans
The other benefit of religious training is
that it can provide solutions and practical
The Religious Child-Rearing Practices
85
programs for training; these solutions are
based on exact recognition of Fitrah so
they can answer all needs of human
beings.
Comprehensibility
The religious rearing program against
other programs is not limited to one or a
few aspects of human being. Those who
are trained by other schools of thought are
philosophers, scholars, mystics, etc. But
those who are trained by the religious
training program will enjoy all aspects, in
one word, they are symbols of all positive
characteristics of human beings and
immune from any negative personality
trait. Their role models can be ‗Ali,
Fatimah, Zeynab, Hasan, Husayn, Salman,
Miqdad….
The Goals of Religious Child-Rearing
The goals of religious rearing can be
divided into three main parts: Ultimate,
General, detailed.
1. 1.Ultimate Goal
The ultimate goal of religious training is to
reach to a Truth who is endless and
includes all values and perfections; the
One Who is called ―Allah‖. He is the One
who is Endless and Absolute Perfect and
can be the pivot of all human life‘s
activities.
This closeness does not mean decreasing
physical distance; as God the creator of
time and place is far from being limited in
a place or time, so talking about His
physical distance from His creatures is
meaningless.
ء ػ١ ش ذى رحؽ ج س جظح ج٢خس ي جأل
“He is the First and the Last, and the
Outward and the Inward; and He is
Knower of all things.”
(the holy Quran; 27:3)
ذظ١س ح ضؼ ذ للا ط ح و أ٠ ؼى
“… and He is with you wheresoever ye
may be. And Allah sees of what you do.”
(the holy Quran; 27:4)
جظغ للا ئ ج للا ج فػ ح ض غسخ فأ٠ ج شسق ج لل
ػ١
“o Allah belong the east and the west.
Whichever way you turn, there is the
Face of Allah. He is the Embracer, the
Knower.”
(the holy Quran; 2:115)
ذ١ؾ ء ش ذى ئ
“Indeed! It is He that doth encompass all
things!”
(the holy Quran; 25:54)
ال ضرظس ى ى ألسخ ئ١ ذ
“And We are nearer to it than you, but
you do not see”
(the holy Quran; 56:85)
But the meaning of closeness to God is a
perfection which only good, purified
servants of God can gain through worship
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
86
and answering God‘s commands. In this
level, they find themselves in close
connection to Him. At this point, they do
find themselves attached to Him in all
aspects; they will elevate to the point that
things find their meaning in the light of
God. Out of His light nothing exists.
2. General goals
These goals are in the midpoint of ultimate
goals and detailed goals spectrum. These
goals can clear up the path ahead of
human beings to some extent and can
make a plan which its parts are detailed
goals which are put besides each other.
Regarding the fact that religious training is
to direct human being‘s attention to God,
to other human beings, to himself, and to
nature in the best way, we can classify
general goals in four classes (bearing in
mind that relation with one or several
factors will not cut his connection with
other elements. For example, the duty of
human being for himself is not separated
from his duty and connection toward
others.)
a.Some training goals regarding human
beings and God are as follows: gnosis of
God, belief in religious teachings, piety,
worship of God.
b.Some training goals regarding the duty
of human being for himself: intellectual
and logical growth, self-knowledge,
developing spirit of truth seeking, virtue
seeking, and tendency to moral virtues.
c.Some training goals regarding human
beings and others: learning practical
experience from infallibles, respecting
parents, respecting other human beings
and respecting humanity, developing
social spirit, brotherhood, unity and
cooperation, faithfulness, keeping
promises, honesty, devotion,
d.Some training goals regarding human
beings and nature: respecting nature and
its true use
3. Detailed goals
To be able to lead those who want to enjoy
religious training we need to explain
general goals in details; whatever has been
introduced about Islamic role models in
terms of morality, virtues and humanity
are explained in the realm of detailed
goals.
1Mufradat Quran, Raghib Isfahani, the word
Zaki
2 Mizan al-Hikmah, vol.10, p.721
3 Ibid,p.722
4Wasa’il al-Shia, vol.3,p.12
87
Divine Promise, Divine Man and Divine Day
Ali Riza Ghavidel.
Ph.D.Psychlogy
Article acceptance date: January 2016
Abstract:This article which is a very brief review over the reappearance of Imam
Mahdi (A.S.) in religious books, at first tries to picture the common problems of our
today‘s life; depression, violence, injustices, and so one; then he introduces the
Promise of God who is going to put an end to all these hardships.
Keywords: religion, Mahdi (A.S.), holy books
Wars have disrupted both personal and
national life, leaving in their wake grief,
destruction and social unrest. Economic
fluctuations and inflation have taken their
toll in unemployment, dislocation and
poverty for millions of people. Racial
prejudice, with its unreasoned feeling of
superiority, hatred and resentment, hurts
both the individual and community. Urban
society with its high mobility disrupts
friendships, and loss of extended family
bonds places increasing stress on the
home. Unhappy marriages and homes
broken by divorce bring hurt and
Safinah al-nejat. Vol.1, No.2
88
disillusionment and leave emotional scars
on parents and children alike. Excessive
competition and interpersonal bureaucracy
tend to dehumanize the individual and
lead to loss of meaning in human
existence. The human population
explosion increases widespread hunger
and starvation, cancelling out the advances
of the ―green revolution‖ and creating
difficult social problems and tensions.
Grinding poverty and discrimination exist
side by side with abundance and
opportunity, leading to social pressures
that periodically erupt in violence. The
wasteful use of our natural resources,
coupled with the pollution of air, water
and soil, threatens the life-support system
of all who travel on the spaceship Earth.
And the ever-present threat of global
atomic war further aggravates our
anxieties.
Ours is an age of tremendous growth of
knowledge and of rapid social change.
More scientific and technological
advances have been made in the past fifty
years than in all previous recorded time.
For many people, the pace of change is
simply too fast, resulting in what has been
termed ―Future Shock‖. Modern science
and technology affect all phases of our
lives. Innovations in transportation and
communication have broadened our
horizons and shown the interdependence
of peoples, so that daily we face
international as well as national and local
problems.
The landing of man on the moon has
inevitably placed the earth and its
inhabitants in a new perspective, and as
we venture farther into the universe, we
are increasingly and inescapably
confronted with our own finiteness and
with questions concerning the meaning of
human existence. Unfortunately, advances
in our understanding of human nature are
behind our advances in the physical and
biological sciences. We know much about
the atom and the gene but not nearly
enough about love or the values needed
for achieving a meaningful and fulfilling
life, or for constructing a better world for
us all. As a consequence, many of us tend
to stumble round seeking answers among
diverse religions, philosophies and social
provide direction and meaning for living
in our contemporary world.
Small wonder that on every side we see
anxious, unhappy and bewildered people
who fail to fulfill their potential because
they cannot find satisfactory answers to
problems that seem just too great.
The stress of modern life is indicated by
the incredible amount of tranquilizers,
sleeping pills and alcoholic beverages
consumed in our society, by the
emergence of heart attacks as the leading
cause of death in our society, by the
marked increase in suicide among the
Divine Promise, Divine Man, and Divine Day
89
youth, and by the alarming increase in
delinquency and crime, particularly crimes
of violence. In an equally dramatic way, it
is reflected in the widespread
preoccupation with altered states of
consciousness and parapsychology as well
as the ample literature on dehumanization
and alienation.
The majority of the world‘s religions,
irrespective of their being divine or
earthly, believe in the advent of a savior.
The spiritual leaders of different religions
have discussed and debated this subject.
Divine Man is described as the deliverer
of mankind, who will appear at the
ultimate stage of the world, fill the earth
with justice and equity after it has been
filled with tyranny and oppression,
eradicate deviation, ignorance and atheism
and disseminate moral and spiritual
guidance and monotheism.
Such ideas can be found in various
religions and in their books. One can even
find the various attributes and
characteristics of the Divine Man. It also
becomes clear that the belief in a Divine
Man is based on instinct, as anybody
hopes that the world will culminate in
good rather than evil. The following are
some excerpts from the books of ancient
religions about the Divine Man;
Zoroastrianism, or Dualism, is regarded
as an ancient religion. It is known through
discussions and extracts from Zoroastrian
writing that one of the significant
principles of this religion is the belief in a
savior who will defeat Ahriman (the devil)
after his return and lead the world towards
light. In the Zoroastrian book of ―Zend‖,
the struggle between Ahriman and Yazdan
is narrated as follows:
―… Then Yazdan (Divine Man will
achieve a great triumph, and Ahriman will
be annihilated… The world will receive its
virtual salvation after the victory of
Yazdan. And with the elimination and
destruction of Ahriman, the sons of Adam
will ascend the throne of virtues.‖
According to the above excerpt, the
triumph for Yazdan, or the Divine Man, is
regarded as the success of humanity.
Belief of Jews in Divine Man
The history of the Jews dates back to
ancient times. They have distorted and
tempered with their divine books to the
greatest possible extent and cunningly
endeavored to delete all those portions
which prophesy about Islam and Holy
Prophet (S). Since Allah wishes to
illuminate the darkness of deviation with
the beacon of guidance, despite such
attempts by the Jews, these parts can be
seen in their books where predictions
regarding the advent of a Divine Man who
will establish justice and equity in the
world are recorded.
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The following are some excerpts from the
Jewish books which pertinently describe
their Divine Man
―Because the pious man will inherit the
earth, but the accused will perish.‖
Psalms of David, 37,sentences 22 & 29
This excerpts indicates that the Divine
Man will be pious, the ruler of a just
kingdom, protector of the divine precepts.
Besides this narration in the Old
Testament , says, “If he delays (his
coming), then await him because he will
certainly come and will not delay or
procrastinate his arrival Rather he will
gather all people around himself to face
all the nation.”
Christian and Divine man
There are plenty of verses in the holy
books of the Christians (presently known
as the New Testament) regarding the
Divine Man. Despite blatant distortions,
there are quite a few verses which talk
about the Divine Man, as example:
“As lightning shoots up from the east
and is visible up to the west, similar is
the advent of the son of man.”
“They will see the son of man on the
clouds coming with his glorious pomp
splendor…”
The Gospel of Matthew chapter 24:
From the above verses, the advent of the
Divine Man, the importance of waiting for
him and the signs of his reappearance
become clear.
Moslems And Divine Man, Divine Day
and Divine Promise
Belief in the Divine man is one of the
fundamentals of Islam. Denial of this
belief is like repudiating any other Islamic
fundamental, and the denial of any of
these fundamentals is tantamount to
apostasy.
There are numerous Quranic verses and
traditions from the Holy Prophet (S) that
"The only Divine Man is Imam Mahdi
(AS), who will establish justice and equity
in the world on that Divine Day and,
thus, fulfill the Divine Promise of “So
that it (Islam) may prevail over all other
religions."
(Holy Quran)
1-Quran: the Holy Quran has mentioned
the aims of prophets; it has cited justice as
the chief objective of their mission which
is going to prevail the world by his hands.
The Holy Quran says:
نات وأن زلنا معهم الكتاب والميزان لي قوم الناس ي لقد أرسلنا رسلنا بالب بالقسط
“We verily sent Our messengers with
clear proofs, and revealed with them the
Scripture and the Balance, so that men
may conduct themselves with equity.”
(the holy Quran; 57: 25)
Divine Promise, Divine Man, and Divine Day
91
قال موسى لقومو استعينوا باللو واصبوا إن الرض للو يورث ها من يشاء من عباده والعاقبة للمتقي
“Moses said to his nation: 'seek help
from Allah and be patient. The earth
belongs to Allah; he gives it as a heritage
to whom he chooses amongst his
worshipers. The outcome is for the
cautious.”
(The holy Quran;7: 128)
ين كل و ولو ىو الذي أرسل رسولو بالدى ودين الق ليظهره على الد كره المشركون
"He it is Who sent His Messenger with
guidance and the religion of truth, that
He might cause it (Islam) to prevail over
all religions, though the polytheists may
be averse.”
(the holy Quran: 9:33)
And people will realize the truth of the
following verses:
“Say (O‟Prophet) truth has come, and
falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood
was bound to vanish.”
2- Traditions: The Holy Prophet (S)
spoke a lot about Imam Mahdi (AS) and
stated emphatically that Qiyamah
(Resurrection Day) will occur only after
the arrival of Imam Mahdi (AS). The Holy
Prophet (S) was quoted as saying:
لومل يبق من الدنيا اال يوم واحد، لطول اهلل والذى بعثىن بالق بشريا …ذلك اليوم حىت خيرج فيو ولدى املهدى
“Even if the last day of the world comes,
Allah will prolong that day to such an
extent that He will delegate a man from
my progeny on that particular day…”1
And:
“Denying the reappearance of Imam
Mahdi (AS) is just like disbelieving in
all that was revealed upon Holy Prophet
Muhammad (S).”
It can be inferred from the above Quranic
verses and traditions that the purpose of
the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS) is
the dissemination of justice. When he
arrives, injustice and oppression will be
rampant in the world. There will be only
one person who can change the trend, are
the same as those of the Holy Prophet (S).
It will be the era of the fulfillment of the
divine promise that: ―The last era is for the
pious men.‖
3- An Emphatic Command for the
Believers: Not doubt that the revolution of
Imam Mahdi (AS) will not be an ordinary
one. It will bring a sea of change in the
cosmic order in its wake. It is evident that
for bringing about such an unparalleled
revolution, his holiness will need a legion
of companions who are determined and
can endure all sorts of untold calamities in
their way.
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In conclusion, we raise our hands and pray
to Allah that:
“O‟ Lord, Hasten the advent and
reappearance of the Promised Divine
man and make it known to the world
that he is none but Muhammad bin al-
Hasan al-„Askari (AS), the only Hope,
the only Divine Man.”
1Bihar al-Anwār vol. 53, &Sunan-e AbiDavood,
Kitab-ul-Mahdi, tradition No. 4282