Ayah 38 of al-A'raf and Ghadir

Ayah 38 of al-A'raf and Ghadir

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Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf is a verse interpreted in the al-Ghadir Sermon, which describes the situation of the enemies of Ghadir on the Day of Judgment, when they curse each other for straying from *wilāya*.

The historical context for the interpretation of Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf is depicted as follows: Half of the lengthy al-Ghadir Sermon had passed. After the Prophet (s) clarified the concept of the Straight Path, he introduced two groups: the friends and the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt (a). In this section, he described the scene of the Day of Judgment concerning his enemies.

According to the interpretation provided by the Prophet (s) for the ayah, its meaning will be as follows: The enemies of 'Ali (a), who denied God's verses and rebelled against them, are people of the Fire and will abide therein eternally, cursing each other there due to their misguidance. Furthermore, in the context of the interpretation of Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf in the al-Ghadir Sermon, a point is made regarding the non-acceptance of acts of worship except with *wilāya* and disavowal of its enemies.

A Verse Explicitly Interpreted in Ghadir

Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf is considered among the verses interpreted in Ghadir. According to some researchers, eighteen verses of the Qurʾān were explicitly interpreted in Ghadir; meaning that the Prophet (s) separately recited the text of the verse in the sermon and then proceeded to interpret it either before or after. These instances are in contrast to verses that were incorporated as allusions or quotations in the Prophet's address.

One of these verses is Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf: قالَ ادْخُلُوا فِی أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِکُمْ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَ الْإِنْسِ فِی النَّارِ کُلَّما دَخَلَتْ أُمَّةٌ لَعَنَتْ أُخْتَها حَتَّی إِذَا ادَّارَکُوا فِیها جَمِیعاً قالَتْ أُخْراهُمْ لِأُولاهُمْ رَبَّنا هؤُلاءِ أَضَلُّونا فَآتِهِمْ عَذاباً ضِعْفاً مِنَ النَّارِ، قالَ لِکُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ وَ لکِنْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ,He will say, 'Enter the Fire with the nations of jinn and humans who passed away before you.' Every time a nation enters, it will curse its sister, until, when they are all gathered in it, the last of them will say to the first of them, 'Our Lord, these led us astray, so give them a double punishment of the Fire.' He will say, 'For each there is a double [punishment], but you do not know.'.

The Verse in the Text of al-Ghadir Sermon

Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf is narrated in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon as follows: اَلا اِنَّ اَعْداءَهُمُ الَّذينَ قالَ اللَّهُ فيهِمْ: کُلَّما دَخَلَتْ اُمَّةٌ لَعَنَتْ اُخْتَها حَتّی اِذَا ادّارَکُوا فیها جَمیعاً قالَتْ اُخْریهُمْ لاَوُلیهُمْ رَبَّنا هؤُلاءِ اَضَلّونا فَآتِهِمْ عَذاباً ضِعْفاً مِنَ النّارِ، قالَ لِکُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ وَ لکِنْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ,Be aware that their enemies are those about whom God has said: Every time a nation enters Hell, it curses its counterpart, until when they are all joined together therein, the last of them, pointing to the first of them, will say: Our Lord, these led us astray; so send down a double punishment of the Fire upon them. God says: "For both groups, the punishment is double, but you do not know.".

The Verse Describing the Enemies of Ghadir

The historical context for the interpretation of Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf is depicted as follows: Half of the lengthy al-Ghadir Sermon had passed. After the Prophet (s) clarified the concept of the Straight Path, he introduced two groups: the friends and the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt (a). Up to this point, he describes the scene of the Day of Judgment concerning his enemies.

According to the interpretation provided by the Prophet (s) for the ayah, its meaning will be as follows: The enemies of 'Ali (a), who denied God's verses and rebelled against them, are people of the Fire and will abide therein eternally. Who is more unjust than the enemies of 'Ali (a) who lied against God or denied God's signs? When their death approaches, God's messengers will ask them: "Where are those whom you used to invoke besides God?" They will reply: "They have vanished from us," and then they will testify against themselves that they were disbelievers.

Then it will be said to the enemies of 'Ali (a): "You too, go join the previous nations who are in the Fire, who are so afflicted that they curse each other and place the blame for sin upon their predecessors." But God will say to the enemies of 'Ali (a): "The punishment of the followers of Saqifa is like that of its founders, who will say to their followers: 'You too have no alleviation from the punishment like us, so taste it like us and see the outcome of your deeds.'"

No Act of Worship Is Accepted Without Wilāya

In the context of the interpretation of Ayah thirty-eight of Surah al-A'raf in the al-Ghadir Sermon, a point is made regarding the non-acceptance of acts of worship except with *wilāya* and disavowal of its enemies; for example, it is narrated in a tradition: "O 'Ali, if a servant worships God for one thousand years, God will not accept it except with your *wilāya* and the *wilāya* of the Imams from your descendants, and your *wilāya* is not accepted except with disavowal of your enemies and the enemies of the Imams from your descendants."

The basis for this non-acceptance is also mentioned in a saying from Amir al-Muʾminīn (a): "The sin of the *Umma* of Muḥammad (s) rests upon those two; until the Day of Judgment, every blood unjustly shed, every wealth unlawfully consumed, every honor unlawfully violated, and every judgment unjustly rendered rests upon those two, without anything being diminished from the sin of the perpetrator."

References

• Anṣārī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Asrār-e Ghadir. Tehran: Nashr-e Tak, 1384 SH.
• Anṣārī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Ghadir dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadir. Qom: Intishārāt-e Dalīl-e Mā, 1387 SH.
• Hilālī, Sulaym b. Qays. Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī. Edited by 'Alāʾ al-Dīn Mūsawī. Tehran: Muʾassasat al-Bi'tha (Qism al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya), 1407 AH.
• Karājakī, Muḥammad b. 'Alī. Kanz al-Fawāʾid. Edited by 'Abd Allāh Ni'ma. Qom: Dār al-Dhakhāʾir, 1410 AH.