Verse 167 of Sura al-Baqara and Ghadir
 | |
| Ayah Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Surah Name | Sura al-Baqara |
| Ayah Number | 167 |
| Juz' | 2 |
| Ayah Content | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | The regret of hypocrites for their actions against Ghadir on the Day of Judgment |
| Ayah Recitation Audio Translation | |
Verse 167 of Sura al-Baqara is a verse about the actions of the hypocrites at Ghadir, indicating that on the Day of Judgment they will regret their actions against Ghadir and will not be able to exit the Fire.
The historical context of the revelation of Verse 167 of Sūrat al-Baqarah is depicted as follows: The Companions of the Accursed Scroll signed a pact against Ghadir during the Hajjat al-Wada'. This rebellion against God's decree was recorded in their book of deeds and could not bring them any worldly benefit; rather, it would lead to regret and remorse for them and their followers. Imam al-Bāqir (a) stated the occasion of revelation for this verse concerning the Companions of the Scroll thus: "This is how God shows them their deeds, to their regret." It is at the time of death that they will see with their own eyes what torment has been prepared for them, and these are the Companions of the Scroll who wrote about their opposition to ʿAlī (a). "And they will not be able to exit the Fire."
Researchers have derived three important points from the connection of Verse 167 of Sūrat al-Baqarah with the Companions of the Accursed Scroll, about which detailed narrations have also been transmitted: First, the disavowal of the Companions of the Scroll from one another at the time of death; second, the disavowal of the Companions of the Scroll from one another on the Day of Judgment; and third, the regret of the Companions of the Scroll and their followers for the actions they took against Ghadir.
A Verse Regarding the Actions of Hypocrites at Ghadir
Verse 167 of Sūrat al-Baqarah is considered among the verses revealed concerning the actions of the hypocrites at Ghadir. Since the hypocrites began their sedition and conspiracy from the very first hours of the Ghadir journey and acted upon their plans in many instances, many verses were revealed to the Prophet (ṣ) concerning the instigations and schemes of the hypocrites, alongside the verses revealed about the Prophet's (ṣ) actions at Ghadir. Narrations related to these verses have clarified their occasion of revelation and direct connection with Ghadir.[1]
These are one hundred four verses that were revealed in thirty-nine instances; among these verses is Verse 167 of Sūrat al-Baqarah:
وَ قالَ الَّذِینَ اتَّبَعُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَنا کَرَّةً فَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُمْ کَما تَبَرَّؤُا مِنَّا کَذلِکَ یُرِیهِمُ اللَّهُ أَعْمالَهُمْ حَسَراتٍ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ ما هُمْ بِخارِجِینَ مِنَ النَّارِ
- And those who followed will say, 'If only we had another chance, we would disavow them just as they disavowed us.' Thus will Allah show them their deeds as regrets for them, and they will not exit the Fire.
Historical Context of Revelation
The historical context of the revelation of Verse 167 of Sūrat al-Baqarah is depicted as follows: The Companions of the Accursed Scroll signed a pact against Ghadir during the Hajjat al-Wada'. This rebellion against God's decree was recorded in their book of deeds and could not bring them any worldly benefit: for Abu Bakr b. Abi Quhafah, less than three years of rule, and for ʿUmar, less than twelve years. With the end of this short worldly rule, regret and remorse began. This regret and remorse will also afflict all their followers when death comes to them.
Imam al-Bāqir (a) stated the occasion of revelation for this verse concerning the Companions of the Scroll thus: "This is how God shows them their deeds, to their regret." It is at the time of death that they will see with their own eyes what torment has been prepared for them, and these are the Companions of the Scroll who wrote about their opposition to ʿAlī (a). "And they will not be able to exit the Fire."[2]
The first half of this verse, as well as the preceding verse (Verse 166 of Al-Baqarah), also clearly depicts this regret, where in Verse 166 it states: "When those who were followed disavow their followers, and they see the punishment, and all ties are cut off from them. And those who followed will say, 'If only we had another chance, we would disavow them just as they disavowed us.'" From the perspective of the context of Verse 166, this verse will also be related to the Companions of Saqīfah.[3]
Theological Analysis of the Verse
Researchers have deduced three important points from the connection between Verse 167 of Sura al-Baqara and the companions of the Cursed Document, about which detailed narrations have been transmitted:
First: The Disavowal of the Companions of the Document from Each Other at the Time of Death
The main signatories of the Cursed Document were five individuals: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Abu 'Ubayda al-Jarrah, Mu'adh b. Jabal, and Sālim Mawlā Abī Ḥudhayfa. All five of them, at the time of their death, confessed to their 'inability to exit the Fire' based on verse 167 of Sura al-Baqara: "And never will they exit the Fire." Just as they disavowed each other and regretted what they had lost, they hastened with hearts full of regret towards the recompense for their deeds.
The son-in-law of Mu'adh b. Jabal, who was by his bedside in Syria during his death from the plague, narrates: Mu'ādh, while in the throes of death, kept saying, 'Woe is me! Woe is me!' I said, 'You are delirious.' He replied, 'No, may God have mercy on you.' I asked, 'Then why are you lamenting?' He said, 'Because I preferred the enemy of God over the friend of God.' I inquired, 'Whom do you mean?' He replied, 'I preferred Abu Bakr and 'Umar over the Caliph of the Prophet and his successor, 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib.' I said, 'It seems you are delirious.' He said, 'By God, I am not delirious. Now, the Prophet and 'Alī are telling me: O Mu'ādh, glad tidings of the Fire for you and your companions! Were you not the ones who said: If the Messenger of God dies or is killed, we will keep the caliphate away from 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib in such a way that he will never attain it?'
It was I who gathered with Abu Bakr, 'Umar, Abu 'Ubayda, and Sālim. I asked, 'O Mu'ādh, when did this happen?' He replied, 'During the Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ. We made a covenant with each other and said: We will assist each other against 'Alī and will not allow him to attain the caliphate as long as we are alive. When the Prophet passed away, I told them: I will resolve the issue of my people, the Anṣār; you resolve the matter concerning the Quraysh. During the Prophet's time, I invited two individuals to this covenant: Bashir b. Sa'id and Usayd b. Ḥuḍayr, and they pledged their allegiance to me based on this very covenant.' Mu'ādh's son-in-law, who had never expected such a history from that seemingly pious man, says: 'I was terrified by what Mu'ādh said.' During the Ḥajj journey, I met those who were present at the death of Abu 'Ubayda (in Syria) and Sālim (in the Battle of Yamāma), and they reported that these two had also uttered precisely the same words at the time of their death.
The narrator says: I recounted Mu'ādh's son-in-law's words to Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr. He said: 'My father also uttered similar words at the time of his death.' Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr states: I met 'Abd Allāh b. 'Umar during the time of 'Uthmān and relayed to him my father's (Abu Bakr) statements. He said: 'By God, my father also said exactly what your father said, without any addition or omission.' Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr, in recounting more details of his father's death, says: At the time of his death, 'Abd al-Raḥmān, 'Ā'isha, and 'Umar were present when his lamentations grew loud. 'Umar said: 'O Caliph of the Messenger of God! Why are you lamenting?' He replied: 'Now, the Messenger of God, accompanied by 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, is giving me glad tidings of the Fire, and with him is the document over which we made a covenant in the Ka'ba. He says: You fulfilled your covenant and rose against the friend of God. Glad tidings to you and your companion of the Fire in the lowest degree of Hell.'
As soon as 'Umar heard this, he rose to leave, saying, 'He is delirious.' Abu Bakr said: 'No, by God, I am not delirious. Where are you going?' 'Umar said: 'How are you not delirious when you were the second of the two when you were in the cave?' Abu Bakr said: 'Are you still saying this? Did I not tell you in those days that Muḥammad said to me in the cave: "I see the ship of Ja'far and his companions floating in the sea." I asked him to show it to me as well, and he passed his hand over my face, and I saw it, and at that very moment, I became convinced that he was a sorcerer. And I recounted this incident to you in Medina, and we both agreed that he was a sorcerer.'
Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr continues the story, saying: Then I said, "Father, say: Lā ilāha illā Allāh." He said, "I will not say it, and I cannot say it until I enter the Fire and am placed in the coffin." When he mentioned the "coffin," I thought he was delirious. So I asked, "Which coffin are you speaking of?" He said, "A coffin of fire, locked with a lock of fire, and in it are twelve people, including me and this companion of mine." I asked, "'Umar?" He said, "Yes, and ten others in a well of Hell, over which there is a rock. Whenever God wishes to ignite Hell, He removes that rock." I said, "It seems you are delirious!" He said, "No, by God, I am not delirious. May God curse the son of Ṣahhāk. It was he who led me astray from the remembrance of God after it had come to me, and what an evil companion he is!" Then his wailing intensified once more until he passed away.[4]
Second: The Disavowal of the Companions of the Sahifa from Each Other on the Day of Resurrection
On the Day of Resurrection, God will display shocking scenes of the instigators of deviation in Islam to reveal the depth of the crime committed by the companions of the Sahifa to everyone. In a narration from Imam al-Bāqir (a) concerning verses twenty-seven to twenty-nine of Sūrat al-Furqān, it is stated: "The day when the wrongdoer will bite his hands," the wrongdoer here refers to Abu Bakr. "saying, 'Oh, would that I had taken a way along with the Apostle!'" meaning, 'Oh, would that I had accepted 'Alī with the Prophet.' "'Oh, woe to me! Would that I had not taken so-and-so for a friend!'" so-and-so refers to 'Umar. "'He indeed led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me.'" The Reminder here means wilāya (guardianship).[5]
In some verses of the Quran, the confrontation between Abu Bakr and 'Umar and their disavowal of each other are mentioned. Imam al-Bāqir (a) interpreted verses thirty-seven to thirty-nine of Sūrat al-Zukhruf in this regard as follows: "until, when they come to Us" refers to Abu Bakr and 'Umar. When they see each other, one will say to the other: "'I wish there had been between me and you the distance of the east and the west! What an evil companion!'" It is then that God will say to His Prophet: Tell Abu Bakr and 'Umar and their followers: "'Since you have been unjust, today it will not avail you that you are partners in the punishment,'" meaning, now that you have wronged the Household of Muḥammad (a).[6]
The confrontation between the founders of injustice against the Household of Muḥammad (a) and their successors from Banu Umayya and Banu Abbas, and all those who revived the path of Saqīfa until the Day of Resurrection, and their disavowal of each other, is mentioned in other narrations. The Imam (a) says in interpreting verses fifty-five to sixty-three of Sūrat Ṣād: "For the rebellious, there will be the worst return," referring to Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and Banu Umayya. Then God mentions those who usurped the right of the Household of Muḥammad (a) after them and says: "And others of the same kind, of various sorts." "This is a troop that will rush with you [into hell]," referring to Banu Abbas. Then Banu Umayya will say to them: "No welcome for them! They will indeed enter the Fire." Banu Abbas will respond: "No, rather no welcome for you! You prepared it for us, and what a bad abode it is!" meaning, by initiating injustice against the Household of Muḥammad (a), you paved the way for us. Then Banu Umayya will say: "Our Lord! Double the punishment for whoever prepared this for us," referring to Abu Bakr and 'Umar. It is then that the enemies of the Household of Muḥammad (a) in the Fire will say: "What is the matter with us that we do not see men whom we used to count among the evil ones?" meaning, in the world, we considered 'Alī's Shi'a to be evil. "Did we take them for a laughingstock, or have our eyes missed them?"[7]
Third: The Regret of the Companions of the Sahifa and Their Followers
The regret of the companions of the Sahifa and their followers, based on verses sixty-six to sixty-eight of Sūrat al-Aḥzāb, is depicted in some narrations as follows: Amidst the flames of Hell, which are the result of the usurpation of the caliphate and injustice to the station of wilāya by the companions of the Sahifa, the people of Saqīfa, and their followers, their regret and remorse reach their peak: "The day their faces are turned over in the Fire," referring to those who usurped the right of the Household of Muḥammad (a). "they will say, 'Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Apostle!'" meaning, concerning Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a). "And they will say, 'Our Lord! We obeyed our chiefs and our elders, and they led us astray from the way,'" referring to Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and the chiefs and elders are those who initiated injustice against Ahl al-Bayt (a) and usurped their right. The "way" refers to the path to Paradise, which is the path of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a). Then they will say: "Our Lord! Give them a double punishment and curse them with a great curse!"[8]
God has not sufficed with this much regret from them, and has prepared another scene that the Shi'a should witness from Paradise and enjoy seeing them. Imam al-Sajjad (a) has described this scene by referring to verses thirty-four to thirty-six of Sūrat al-Muṭaffifīn as follows: On the Day of Judgment, two thrones will be brought out from Paradise and placed overlooking Hell. Then 'Alī (a) comes and sits on them. When he sits, he laughs, and from his laughter, Hell is turned upside down, and its lower layer rises. Then Abū Bakr and 'Umar are brought out from Hell and held before him. The two say: O Amīr al-Muʾminīn! O successor of the Messenger of God! Do you not have mercy on us? Will you not intercede for us with your Lord? Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) laughs at them (mockingly) and (without answering them) rises and enters Paradise, and the two thrones are removed and returned to their place. And this is the meaning of the word of God, the Exalted: "So today the faithful laugh at the faithless, watching from couches. Have not the faithless been requited for what they used to do?"[9]
Footnotes
- ↑ Ghadir in the Qurʾān, vol. one, pp. 213–214.
- ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 3, pp. 212–213; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. twenty-eight, p. 116; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 31, p. 637.
- ↑ Ghadir in the Qurʾān, vol. 1, pp. 290–291.
- ↑ Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī, pp. 182–186; Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, pp. 127–131.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, p. 149, ḥ. 5.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, p. 156, ḥ. 14.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, pp. 153–154, ḥ. 10.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, p. 152, ḥ. 7.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 30, pp. 277–278, ḥadīth 149.
References
- 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 AH.
- Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-e Mā, 1387 HS.
- Kitāb Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī; Sulaym b. Qays al-Hilālī, research by: ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Mūsawī, Tehran: Muʾassasat al-Biʿtha (Qism al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya), 1407 AH.
- Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib; Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Shahrāshūb al-Māzandarānī, research by: Muḥammad Ḥusayn Āshtiyānī and Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Qom: Muʾassasat Intishārāt ʿAllāma, 1379 AH.