Baqara Verse 24 and Ghadir
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Baqara Verse 24 is a verse concerning the enemies of Ghadir in the al-Ghadir Sermon, which emphasizes the disbelief of those who deny the wilaya and imamate of the Commander of the Faithful (a), as well as their rebellion against the divine command.
The historical context of the use of Baqara Verse 24 in the event of Ghadir is described as follows: at the beginning of the al-Ghadir Sermon, before the Prophet (s) raised the Commander of the Faithful (a) by his hand, he stated matters regarding the status and positions of the Imam after him to introduce the main subject. He then reminded the people, as a difficult trial lying ahead, that God would not forgive those who deny and oppose the guardian (wali) after him, and that He would subject them to the punishment of the disbelievers.
By using Baqara Verse 24 in the al-Ghadir Sermon, the afterlife fate of those who deny Ghadir is depicted as follows: that God will not forgive them and that God will subject them to an extraordinary punishment. Furthermore, the following points have been inferred from the inclusion of this verse in the sermon: that wilaya is one of the principles of the religion; that a severe punishment awaits those who deny wilaya; and that denial of wilaya is equivalent to disbelief.
A Verse Concerning Confrontation with the Enemies of Ghadir
Baqara Verse 24 is considered one of the verses used at Ghadir to explain the stages of the divine trial of Ghadir regarding its enemies. Some researchers have explained the basis for using this verse as follows: the greatest trial of humanity at Ghadir was a comprehensive test in which the completion of the argument (itmam al-hujja) was fully carried out, leaving no way of escape for anyone for any reason or excuse.
In this divine trial, both the aspects that could serve as the source of the test were numerous, and the causes that could provide a satanic motivation for failing the test appeared in various manifestations. The Prophet (s) explained these conditions of the trial to the people in his long sermon so that they would approach it with full preparation. The Prophet predicted this bitter future of the trial both by allusion and explicitly, and he described the stages of such a great trial by citing eleven verses guaranteed in the al-Ghadir Sermon.[1]
Among these verses is Baqara Verse 24: Template:قرآن.[2]
The Verse in the Text of the Sermon
Baqara Verse 24 in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon, considering the differences in versions, is reported as follows: مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ، انَّهُ امامٌ مِنَ اللَّه (خ ل: انَّهُ امامُكُمْ بِامْرِ اللَّه)، وَ لَنْ يَتُوبَ اللَّه عَلى احَدٍ انْكَرَ وِلايَتَهُ وَ لَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَهُ، حَتْماً عَلَى اللَّه انْ يَفْعَلَ ذلِكَ بِمَنْ خالَفَ امْرَهُ وَ انْ يُعَذِّبَهُ عَذاباً نُكْراً ابَدَ الْآبادِ وَ دَهْرَ الدُّهُورِ. فَاحْذَرُوا انْ تُخالِفُوهُ فَتَصْلُوا ناراً وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَ الْحِجارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكافِرِينَ.[3]
Historical Context of the Use of the Verse
The historical context of the use of Baqara Verse 24 in the event of Ghadir is described as follows: at the beginning of the al-Ghadir Sermon, before the Prophet (s) raised the Commander of the Faithful (a) by his hand, he stated matters regarding the status and positions of the Imam after him to introduce the main subject. He then reminded the people, as a difficult trial lying ahead, that God would not forgive those who deny and oppose the guardian (wali) after him, and that He would subject them to the punishment of the disbelievers.
The Prophet (s) brought this matter into his speech by incorporating the latter part of Talaq Verse 8 and the second part of Baqara Verse 24, with a slight change. In the verse of Surah al-Baqara, he brought the word "nar" (fire), which in the verse has the definite article "al-", as an indefinite noun without the relative pronoun; therefore, the phrase النَّارَ الَّتِى وَقُودُهَا appears as ناراً وَقُودُها.[4]
Theological Analysis of the Verse
In some sources, the mention of verse 24 of Surah al-Baqarah in the al-Ghadir Sermon has been subjected to theological analysis:
First Theological Analysis
What can be inferred from the intense expressions of this sentence, in addition to the inclusion of verse 8 of Surah al-Talaq in this part of the sermon, is that the disbelief of those who deny the wilaya and imamate of 'Ali (a), as well as their rebellion against divine commands, is established by the Quran. In this part of the sermon, the Prophet (s) first states: 'Ali is an Imam appointed by God. Then, as a conclusion, he presents God as the respondent to the people regarding this belief and raises two issues concerning wilaya: one is the denial of wilaya, and the other is opposition to Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (a).
Therefore, two groups are addressed by the words of the Prophet (s): those who do not believe in the imamate of Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (a) and have not accepted it at all; and those who have practically risen in opposition to him, even if they accepted his caliphate in their hearts and acknowledged his legitimacy, such as those who abandoned the Imam due to material interests and joined Mu'awiya.
Then, in expressing the punishment of these two groups, five emphases have been employed:
- حَتْمٌ عَلَى اللَّه: With this phrase, the inevitability and certainty of the punishment are recalled.
- لَنْ: A word of emphatic negation, and in some cases, eternal negation, meaning "never."
- ابَدَ الْآبادِ: Beyond the word "lan," the eternity is expressed with the word "abad" and made more emphatic by being annexed to "abad."
- دَهْرَ الدُّهُورِ: Another emphasis on eternity.
- احْذَرُوا: A word signaling danger, which counts as another emphasis.[5]
With these emphases, their punishment has been mentioned in two aspects:
- God will not forgive them: This is expressed in the following phrase: "God will never accept the repentance of anyone who denies his wilaya, and He will never forgive him."
- God will punish them extraordinarily: This is stated as follows: "It is incumbent upon God to punish the deniers of wilaya with a severe punishment until endless eternity and until the end of time"; "Beware and fear opposing him," and "As a result of opposing 'Ali, you will be caught in a fire whose fuel is people and stones, and it has been prepared for the disbelievers."[6]
Second Theological Analysis
The sensitive points of this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon are summarized in three aspects:
First Aspect: Wilaya as a Principle of Religion
The result of opposing Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (a) and denying his wilaya is the fire of Hell. No one should pass by this fundamental belief with indifference or consider the love and wilaya of the Imam as a secondary intellectual matter. The absolute wilaya of the infallible Imams (a), which is a principle of religion, must be clear in a Muslim's belief in all its aspects, and one must have transparent answers for the grave and the Day of Judgment regarding it, seeing a point ahead where negligence is equivalent to divine punishment.[7]
Second Aspect: Severe Punishment for Denying Wilaya
The punishment intended for denying wilaya and opposing 'Ali (a) is a severe and extraordinary punishment. The Quran has explicitly stated two aspects of its extraordinary nature, and the Prophet (s) also mentioned them in the sermon: one is that its fuel is stone and it is not like worldly fires; the other is that the people deserving of the fire are themselves its fuel; they are not only punished in the fire, but they themselves become fuel for the punishment of others.[8]
Third Aspect: Denial of Wilaya is Disbelief
Denying the wilaya of 'Ali (a) and opposing him is not just a sin, but rebellion against the command of the Lord and transgression of the limit, equivalent to disbelief, because it explicitly states: if you oppose 'Ali, you will be punished with a punishment prepared for the disbelievers. Also, the phrase "severe punishment" is used in the verse, which begins with the phrase "they disobeyed the command of their Lord," and this means that antagonism toward 'Ali (a) is equivalent to disbelief.
In this regard, many hadiths have been narrated from the Prophet (s) that explain this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon:
- Since 'Ali Amir al-Mu'minin (a) is امامٌ مِنَ اللَّه, the Prophet (s) says in a hadith: ما آمَنَ بِاللَّه مَنْ انْكَرَكَ.[9]
- In another hadith, he says: ما آمَنَ بى مَنْ انْكَرَكَ.[10]
- Elsewhere, not only is the faith of the denier of 'Ali (a) not accepted, but he is considered a disbeliever: كَفَرَ مَنْ انْكَرَكَ.[11]
- In a more comprehensive hadith, it is stated: مَنْ انْكَرَ امامَةَ عَلِىٍّ بَعْدى كانَ كَمَنْ انْكَرَ نُبُوَّتى فى حَياتى، وَ مَنْ انْكَرَ نُبُوَّتى كانَ كَمَنْ انْكَرَ رُبُوبِيَّةَ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ.[12]
- In another hadith, the wilaya of 'Ali (a) is introduced as the believer's capital, and he says: مَنْ لَمْ يَلْقَ اللَّه بِوِلايَتِكَ لَمْ يَلْقَهُ بِشَىْءٍ.[13]
- In another hadith, it is explicitly stated that denying the wilaya of Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali (a) has a two-way effect, and on the Day of Judgment, whoever does not recognize the Imam, the Imam will not recognize him: لا يَدْخُلُ النّارَ الاّ مَنْ انْكَرَكَ وَ انْكَرْتَهُ.[14]
- The warning regarding 'Ali (a) is so serious that not only denying him, but even doubting him leads to disbelief and Hell: احْذَرْ انْ يَدْخُلَكَ فى عَلِىٍّ شَكٌ فَانَّ الشَّكَّ فى عَلِىٍّ كُفْرٌ بِاللَّه تَعالى.[15]
Footnotes
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, pp. 235–236.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 339.
- ↑ Asrar-i Ghadir, p. 142, section 3 and footnote 5 from version "B".
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 339.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, pp. 340–341.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, pp. 341–342.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 342.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Quran, vol. 2, p. 342.
- ↑ Tafsir Furat al-Kufi, p. 181; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 36, p. 139; Shawahid al-Tanzil, vol. 1, p. 353.
- ↑ al-Mustarshid, p. 607; al-Mustarshid, p. 727; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 24, p. 64; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 35, p. 26.
- ↑ al-Mazar al-Kabir, p. 309; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 97, p. 351.
- ↑ al-Amali li-l-Saduq, p. 656.
- ↑ Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 38, p. 159.
- ↑ al-Amali li-l-Mufid, p. 213.
- ↑ Amali li-l-Tusi, p. 106; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 38, p. 159.
References
- Asrār-i Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Tehran: Nashr-i Tak, 1384 Sh.
- al-Amālī; Muḥammad b. Ḥasan Ṭūsī, Qom: Dār al-Thaqāfa, 1414 Q.
- al-Amālī; Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Bābawayh Qummī (Shaykh Ṣadūq), edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Kamaraʾī, Tehran: Kitābchī Publications, 1376 Sh.
- al-Amālī; Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Nuʿmān (Shaykh Mufīd), edited by Ḥusayn Ustāwalī and ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī, Qom: Manshūrāt Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn fī al-Ḥawza al-ʿIlmiyya, 1413 Q.
- Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī; Furāt b. Ibrāhīm Kūfī, edited by Muḥammad al-Kāẓim, Tehran: Wizārat al-Thaqāfa wa al-Irshād al-Islāmī (Muʾassasat al-Ṭabʿ wa al-Nashr), 1410 Q.
- Shawāhid al-Tanzīl li-Qawāʿid al-Tafḍīl fī al-Āyāt al-Nāzila fī Ahl al-Bayt Ṣalawāt Allāh wa Salāmuhu ʿalayhim; ʿUbayd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh Ḥaskānī, edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Ḥaskānī, Tehran: Wizārat al-Thaqāfa wa al-Irshād al-Islāmī (Muʾassasat al-Ṭabʿ wa al-Nashr), 1411 Q.
- Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Dalīl-i Mā Publications, 1387 Sh.
- al-Mazār al-Kabīr; Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar b. Mashhadī, edited by Jawād Qayyūmī Iṣfahānī, Qom: Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1419 Q.
- al-Mustarshid fī Imāmat Amīr al-Muʾminīn ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib ʿalayh al-salām; Muḥammad b. Jarīr Ṭabarī Imāmī, edited by Aḥmad Maḥmūdī, Tehran: Muʾassasat al-Thaqāfa al-Islāmiyya li-Kūshānpūr, 1415 Q.