Verse 118 of Sura Al 'Imran and Ghadir
Verse 118 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān prohibits believers from taking as their biṭāna (close confidants entrusted with secrets) people who seek to harm them. Some Shi'a sources and studies of Ghadir have linked the revelation of this verse to the Sahifa affair (ṣaḥīfa literally means “document”) in the final months of the Prophet’s life (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
According to this interpretation, the verse describes such characteristics as seeking to cause disruption, taking pleasure in believers’ suffering, expressing hostility in speech, and harboring hidden hatred. These characteristics have been applied to those associated with the Ṣaḥīfa.
Some researchers studying Ghadir have drawn six points from different parts of the verse concerning those associated with the Ṣaḥīfa: their exclusion from the community of believers; the prohibition against taking them as confidants; their efforts to cause disruption within the community; their pleasure in believers’ suffering; the emergence of their hostility; and their hidden hatred.
Text and Translation of the Verse
- “O you who believe, do not take outsiders as confidants. They spare no effort to cause corruption and harm in your affairs, and they wish to see you suffer. Hatred has become evident in their words, but what their hearts conceal is greater. We have made the signs clear to you, if you reflect.” (Qur'an, Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, verse 118)
Context of the Verse’s Revelation in Ghadir Studies
Some sources and studies of Ghadir identify verse 118 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān as one of the verses considered in connection with the Farewell Pilgrimage (Hajjat al-Wada') and the affair of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Malʿūna (“the Accursed Document”).
According to this account, before the event of Ghadir, a group consisting of Abu Bakr b. Abi Quhafah, 'Umar b. al-Khattab, Mu'adh b. Jabal, Salim Mawla Abi Hudhayfah, and Abū 'Ubaydah al-Jarrah drew up a pact to prevent the caliphate (leadership of the Muslim community after the Prophet) from passing to the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet’s household; peace be upon them) after the Prophet’s death (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Within this interpretation, a number of Qur'anic verses are understood as exposing aspects of this affair and warning believers about it.[1]
A report attributed to Imam al-Bāqir (peace be upon him) also identifies the “Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa” as those referred to in the verse and regards making believers aware of their concealed intentions as part of its message.[2]
Analysis of the Verse’s Content in Relation to Ghadir
Some researchers, accepting the connection between the verse’s occasion of revelation and the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa, have applied different parts of the verse to this group’s conduct and aims. These interpretations can be presented under six headings:
First: Being Outside the Community of Believers
The phrase «مِنْ دُونِکُمْ» refers to those who “are not of you.”[notes 1] According to this analysis, the expression indicates a substantive and doctrinal divide between the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa and the community of believers.
Second: The Prohibition Against Taking Them as Confidants
The command «لا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطانَةً مِنْ دُونِکُمْ» prohibits believers from taking ill-intentioned people as confidants entrusted with their secrets.
When this passage is applied to Ghadir, the conclusion drawn is that Muslims should not entrust their secrets and key decisions to people whose aims conflict with the interests of the community of believers.
On this basis, entrusting important religious and social affairs to people whom the verse deems unsuitable as confidants is regarded, within this analysis, as inconsistent with the Qur'anic warning.
Third: Efforts to Cause Disruption
The verse continues:
«لا یَأْلُونَکُمْ خَبالاً»
“They spare no effort to cause corruption and harm in your affairs.”[notes 2].
Some studies of Ghadir have applied this phrase to the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa’s efforts to disrupt the proclamation and establishment of wilāya, as well as to their actions after the event of Ghadir.[3]
According to this interpretation, opposition to wilāya is viewed not merely as a personal disagreement, but as an action with doctrinal and social consequences.
Fourth: Taking Pleasure in Believers’ Suffering
The phrase:
«وَدُّوا ما عَنِتُّمْ»
“They wish to see you suffer hardship.”[notes 3]
In interpretations relating the verse to Ghadir, this phrase has been understood as indicating the opponents’ ill will and their pleasure in the difficulties faced by the Muslim community.
To explain this interpretation, some authors have cited accounts concerning harshness and severity in the conduct of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, including the following:
- One account describes him as “quick to anger.”[notes 4].[4]
- Another refers to the severity and harshness of his conduct.[5]
- Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd also describes his approach as involving harshness and threats.[6]
- An account concerning the appointment of Abū Bakr’s successor records objections to ʿUmar’s harshness and severity.[notes 5].[7]
The study cited presents these accounts as evidence illustrating how the verse’s wording has been applied to the historical conduct of the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa.
Fifth: Hostility Revealed in Speecha
The Qur'an states:
«قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضاءُ مِنْ أَفْواهِهِمْ»
“Hostility and hatred have become evident in their words.”[notes 6].
Some researchers have applied this passage to instances of speech and conduct by opponents of wilāya that they regard as expressing hostility toward the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).[8]
On this reading, some of their statements and positions are interpreted as signs of concealed or overt hostility, rather than mere differences of opinion.
Sixth: Hidden Hatred
Another part of the verse states:
«وَ ما تُخْفِی صُدُورُهُمْ أَکْبَرُ»
“And what their hearts conceal is greater.”[notes 7].
Some sources interpret this passage as referring to motives and hatred deeper than the outward conduct of the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa reveals.
To explain this interpretation, a letter attributed to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and addressed to Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan is cited from Biḥār al-Anwār. The letter contains statements concerning hostility toward Amīr al-Muʾminīn (Commander of the Faithful; peace be upon him) and Fāṭima (peace be upon her), the attack on the house, the bringing of Amīr al-Muʾminīn to pledge allegiance, the events at Saqīfa (the gathering concerning succession after the Prophet’s death), and advice on continuing the political course pursued after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).[9]
The closing passage of this attributed letter emphasizes keeping its aims and contents secret. Some researchers studying Ghadir have regarded this account as evidence supporting the application of the phrase “and what their hearts conceal is greater” to the concealed motives of those opposed to wilāya.[10]
Summary
Verse 118 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān primarily warns believers against taking as confidants people who wish them harm and hardship and harbor both overt and concealed hostility.
Some sources and studies of Ghadir have linked this verse to the affair of the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa and their actions in the lead-up to the event of Ghadir. According to this interpretation, the verse’s various expressions concerning differences in belief, causing disruption, taking pleasure in believers’ suffering, and overt and concealed hostility have been applied to the conduct and aims of the Companions of the Ṣaḥīfa.
This interpretation represents one Shi'a reading of the verse’s historical context and the people to whom it refers. The analysis presented in this article is based on the sources cited above.
Footnotes
- ↑ Manāqib, vol. 3, p. 213; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 28, pp. 116–117; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 31, p. 636.
- ↑ Manāqib, vol. 3, p. 213; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 28, pp. 116–117; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 31, p. 636.
- ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. 1, pp. 216–218.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, p. 270.
- ↑ Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī, p. 35.
- ↑ Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha, vol. 1, p. 220.
- ↑ al-Īḍāḥ, p. 97.
- ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. 1, pp. 236–219.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, pp. 287–300.
- ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. 1, pp. 280-283; Wāqiʿa-ye Qurʾānī Ghadīr, p. 52.
References
- Al-Īḍāḥ; Faḍl b. Shādhān, Tehran: Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1402 AH.
- Biḥār al-Anwār al-Jāmiʿa li-Durar Akhbār al-Aʾimma al-Aṭhār; Muḥammad Bāqir b. Muḥammad Taqī Majlisī, Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāgha; Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd b. Hibat Allāh (Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd), edited by Muḥammad Abū al-Faḍl Ibrāhīm, Qom: Maktabat Āyat Allāh al-ʿUẓmā al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1404 AH.
- Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-e Mā, 1387 SH.
- Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī; Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī, edited by ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Mūsawī, Tehran: Muʾassasat al-Biʿtha (Qism al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya), 1407 AH.
- Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib; Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Shahrāshūb Māzandarānī, edited by Muḥammad Ḥusayn Āshtiyānī and Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Qom: Muʾassasa-ye Intishārāt-e ʿAllāma, 1379 AH.
- Wāqiʿa-ye Qurʾānī Ghadīr: Guzārish-e Safar-e Yek Māha-ye Payāmbar barā-ye Iʿlān-e Wilāyat dar Sāya-ye Āyāt-e Qurʾānī; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-e Mā, 1386 SH.