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Verse 102 of Al 'Imran and Ghadir

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Verse 102 of Āl ʿImrān and Ghadir
Verse 102 of Al 'Imran and Ghadir
Verse 102 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān
Ayah Specifications
Surah NameAl 'Imran
Ayah Number102
Juz'4
Ayah Content
Place of RevelationMedina
TopicObserving divine taqwā as it ought to be observed.
Ayah Recitation

Audio Translation

Verse 102 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is a verse that was used in the al-Ghadir Sermon to introduce the divinely accepted Islam: an Islam that includes the wilāya of the twelve Imams (a).

At the end of the fifth stage of the al-Ghadir Sermon, the Prophet (s) once again referred to taqwā and recited Verse 102 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān as an address. The fundamental interpretation of this usage is understood to be the expression of the connection between the wilāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and true taqwā and fear of God.

Researchers have considered the use of this verse as a kind of conclusion drawn from Verse three of Sūrat al-Māʾida, Verse nineteen of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, and Verse eighty-five of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān. The Islam that is not accepted otherwise, as referred to in this verse, is understood to be an Islam that includes the wilāya of the twelve Imams (a).


A Verse Related to Non-Wilāya Topics

The context for the use of Verse 102 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān has been outlined as follows: at Ghadir, the connection between belief and action was explained such that divine rulings are inseparable from the wilāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (a): the Ahl al-Bayt are the explainers of these rulings, and acting upon these rulings is submission to divine commands, which is perfected through obedience to His messengers. In this regard, at the end of the al-Ghadir Sermon, the Prophet (s) emphasized the importance of ṣalāt, zakāt, ḥajj, amr bi l-maʿrūf wa nahy ʿani l-munkar, avoiding prohibitions, and acting based on taqwā. Subsequently, discussions about Death, the afterlife (maʿād), and Reward and punishment arose.

Although these matters do not have a direct connection with Ghadir and their instances are very few, they serve as a reminder, on the periphery of Ghadir, of the connection that divine rulings must have with the Ahl al-Bayt (a). Among these emphases, the Prophet (s) generally discusses what is lawful (ḥalāl) and unlawful (ḥarām), and that for their details, one must refer to the Imams (a). One of these verses used is Verse 102 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah with the wariness due to Him, and do not die except as Muslims. [notes 1]

Position of the Verse in the Text of the al-Ghadir Sermon

The position of the verse within the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon has been depicted by some researchers as follows: in the middle of the sermon, after introducing Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) and completing the conclusive argument regarding the negation and affirmation of the subject of wilāya, two points were brought up as the final words: first, that the Prophet (s) takes God as a witness to his conveyance of the message;[1] second, that with people becoming Muslims, it is their duty to preserve their Islam by considering God. The second point was presented by incorporating a Qurʾānic verse into the Prophet's (s) speech, with only the phrase O you who have faith! [notes 2] changed to O people! [notes 3], and the rest of the verse appearing verbatim in his words: O people, be wary of Allah as He ought to be wary of, and do not die except as Muslims[notes 4].[2]

Qurʾānic Position of the Verse

According to researchers, this verse in the Qurʾān follows verses about preserving faith and not corrupting it. In the preceding verse, it considers the Muslims' following of the People of the Book to be a cause for returning to disbelief (kufr) after faith, and then it asks in astonishment: how can a Muslim incline towards disbelief when the Prophet (s) is present and God's verses are being recited? Here, it mentions true taqwā as the solution to this problem, stating that true fear of God keeps a Muslim steadfast in their belief; for this reason, in the subsequent verses, adherence to the divine rope is also considered a guarantor of a Muslim's perseverance.

Theological Analysis of the Verse

Regarding the theological analysis of the use of Verse 102 of Āl ʿImrān in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon, it has been stated: the fundamental interpretation of this usage is the expression of the connection between the wilāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and true taqwā and fear of God. In this verse, taqwā means fear of God and should not be understood as abstaining from sin, which is a result of taqwā. The evidence for this analysis is that in the continuation of the verse, the result of this taqwā is mentioned as the preservation of belief, and from this perspective, its connection with the wilāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) becomes clear: those who abandoned the Ahl al-Bayt (a), despite all those divine conclusive arguments, still did not fear God; meaning, those who did not accept the wilāya of ʿAlī (a) did not possess true taqwā, even if they feigned it.

Furthermore, researchers have considered the use of this verse as a kind of conclusion drawn from Verse three of Sūrat al-Māʾida, Verse nineteen of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, and Verse eighty-five of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān. The Islam that is not accepted otherwise, as referred to in this verse, is understood to be an Islam that includes the wilāya of the twelve Imams (a).[3]

Historical Evidence for the Theological Analysis

Historical evidence for this theological analysis of Verse 102 of Āl ʿImrān in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon has been presented: Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), in a sermon delivered after the Battle of Jamal, expressed the direct connection between lack of taqwā and enmity towards wilāya as follows: O people, be wary of Allah as He ought to be wary of, and perceive the fear of Allah, exalted be His mention, and purify your souls, and repent to Him from the ugly deed that Satan incited you to, which was to fight the walī al-amr and the people of knowledge after the Messenger of Allah (s).[4][notes 5]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 1, p. 61.
  2. ↑ Al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 1, p. 61.
  3. ↑ Wāqiʿat Qurʾānī Ghadīr, p. 93; Sukhanrānī Istithnāʾī Ghadīr, pp. 179–186.
  4. ↑ Al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 256; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 32, pp. 233–234, ḥadīth 186.
  1. ↑ یا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّه حَقَّ تُقاتِهِ وَ لا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلا وَ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
  2. ↑ يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
  3. ↑ مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ
  4. ↑ مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ، اتَّقُوا اللَّه حَقَّ تُقاتِهِ وَ لا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلا وَ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
  5. ↑ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّه - ايُّهَا النّاسُ - حَقَّ تُقاتِهِ وَ اسْتَشْعِرُوا خَوْفَ اللَّه عَزَّ ذِكْرُهُ وَ اخْلِصُوا النَّفْسَ وَ تُوبُوا الَيْهِ مِنْ قَبيحِ مَا اسْتَنْفَرَكُمُ الشَّيْطانُ مِنْ قِتالِ وَلِىِّ الامْرِ وَ اهْلِ الْعِلْمِ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّه صلى الله عليه و آله

Sources

  • Al-Iḥtijāj; Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Ṭabarsī, edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Mūsawī Khursān, Mashhad: Nashr al-Murtaḍā, 1403/1983.
  • Biḥār al-Anwār al-Jāmiʿa li-Durar Akhbār al-Aʾimma al-Aṭhār; Muḥammad Bāqir b. Muḥammad Taqī al-Majlisī, Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403/1983.
  • The Exceptional Ghadir Sermon; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-i Mā, 1386/2007.
  • Al-Kāfī; Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq al-Kulaynī, edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī and Muḥammad Ākhūndī, Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1407/1986.
  • The Qurʾānic Event of Ghadir: A Report on the Prophet's One-Month Journey to Announce Wilāya in Light of Qurʾānic Verses; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-i Mā, 1386/2007.
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