Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara and Ghadir
 | |
| Ayah Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Surah Name | Sura al-Baqara |
| Ayah Number | 217 |
| Juz' | 2 |
| Ayah Content | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Nullification of deeds and Hellfire as the ultimate fate of the enemies of Ghadir |
| Ayah Recitation Audio Translation | |
Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara is a verse in the al-Ghadir Sermon through which the Prophet (s) warns that the enemies of Ghadir will suffer nullification of deeds (ḥabṭ al-aʿmāl) and Hellfire on the Day of Judgment.
The historical context for the use of Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara in the al-Ghadir Sermon has been depicted as follows: Moments after introducing the divinely appointed walī of Ghadir and after the people had finished their affirmation, the Prophet (s) decisively demonstrated his initial stance regarding the denial of such walāya. He declared the deeds of those who denied the Imamate of the twelve Imams (a) worthless and "gave them glad tidings" of Hell. The Prophet (s) presented this objective by drawing upon two verses (Verse 217 of al-Baqara and Verse 88 of Sura Al ʿImran) concerning apostates from Islam, completing his discourse by using the final clause of both verses.
Regarding the inclusion of Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara in the al-Ghadir Sermon, it has been stated from a theological perspective: The subject of this verse refers to those who, after recognizing the proofs and accepting the divine religion, apostatize and become disbelievers, turning away from Islam. In the words of the Prophet (s), these individuals have been interpreted as those who, after the declaration of the perfection of religion with the Imamate of the twelve Imams (a), still refuse to accept their Imamate, thereby becoming apostates and disbelievers themselves. This apostasy and disbelief ultimately lead to the nullification of deeds and the torment of Hell.
A Verse Regarding the Enemies of Ghadir
Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara is among the verses used in the event of Ghadir. The context for the use of this verse has been depicted by some researchers as follows: ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a) is the Imam whom the Prophet (s) made the cause of the test for the umma: O ʿAlī, if it were not for you, the believers would not be recognized after me[notes 1].[1]
The Prophet (s) dedicated a portion of the Ghadir ceremony to describing the enemies of the Imams (a) and their future. Drawing upon several verses and incorporating other verses for this purpose, a total of fifteen verses are placed under this section's heading. In these verses, on the one hand, the characteristics and behavior of the enemies of Ahl al-Bayt (a) in this world are discussed, and on the other hand, the recompense for their beliefs and actions in this world and the hereafter is stated, including the nullification of the value of their deeds.[2]
These are fifteen verses, among which is Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara:
سْئَلُونَکَ عَنِ الشَّهْرِ الْحَرامِ قِتالٍ فِیهِ قُلْ قِتالٌ فِیهِ کَبِیرٌ وَ صَدٌّ عَنْ سَبِیلِ اللَّه وَ کُفْرٌ بِهِ وَ إِخْراجُ أَهْلِهِ مِنْهُ أَکْبَرُ عِنْدَ اللَّه وَ الْفِتْنَةُ أَکْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ وَ لا یَزالُونَ یُقاتِلُونَکُمْ حَتَّی یَرُدُّوکُمْ عَنْ دِینِکُمْ إِنِ اسْتَطاعُوا وَ مَنْ یَرْتَدِدْ مِنْکُمْ عَنْ دِینِهِ فَیَمُتْ وَ هُوَ کافِرٌ فَأُولئِکَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمالُهُمْ فِی الدُّنْیا وَ الْآخِرَةِ وَ أُولئِکَ أَصْحابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِیها خالِدُونَ
- They ask you about the sacred month, about fighting in it. Say, 'Fighting in it is a great sin, but to bar [people] from the way of Allah, and to be faithless to Him, and [to bar people from] the Sacred Mosque, and to expel its people from it are greater with Allah; and persecution is more severe than killing.' They will not cease fighting you until they turn you away from your religion, if they can. And whoever of you turns away from his religion and dies while he is an infidel—they are the ones whose works have failed in this world and the Hereafter, and they are the inmates of the Fire, in which they will abide forever.[3]
The Verse in the Text of the Sermon
Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara is reported in the text of the al-Ghadir Sermon as follows: O people, Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, has perfected your religion through his Imamate. So whoever does not follow him and those who succeed him from my children, from his progeny, until the Day of Resurrection and the presentation before Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, such are those whose deeds have been nullified in this world and the hereafter, and they will abide eternally in the Fire. Their torment will not be lightened, nor will they be granted respite.[notes 2][4]
Historical Context for the Use of the Verse
The historical context for the use of Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara in the al-Ghadir Sermon has been depicted as follows: Moments after raising Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) upon the pulpit and introducing him as the divinely appointed walī, and after the people had finished their affirmation, the Prophet (s) decisively demonstrated his initial stance regarding the denial of such walāya. He declared the deeds of those who denied the Imamate of the twelve Imams (a) worthless and "gave them glad tidings" of Hell.
The Prophet (s) presented this objective by drawing upon two verses (Verse 217 of al-Baqara and Verse 88 of Sura Al ʿImran), which concern apostates from Islam and are fully relevant to the topic. He completed his discourse by using the final clause of both verses—which is the consequence of apostasy. The verse from Sura al-Baqara is cited with the addition of الَّذينَ in the form of فاولئك الَّذِينَ حَبِطَتْ, and instead of أُولئِکَ أَصْحابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِیها خالِدُونَ, the phrase وَ فِى النَّارِ هُمْ خالِدُونَ is mentioned in abbreviation.[5]
Quranic Context of the Verse
By some researchers, the Quranic context of Verse 217 of Sura al-Baqara has been depicted as follows: This verse concerns warfare and its prohibition during the sacred months. From the middle of the verse, the discussion shifts to comparing killing and instigating fitna, stating that 'instigating fitna is greater than killing.' Subsequently, the issue of apostasy (turning away from religion) is raised, and it is stated that whoever dies in a state of apostasy will be recompensed with the nullification of deeds and the eternal fire of Hell.[6]
Theological Analysis of the Verse
Regarding the revelation of Verse 217 of Sūrat al-Baqarah in the al-Ghadir Sermon, the following theological analysis has been presented: In the exegetical dimension, the Prophet's (s) words in this part of the sermon concerning this verse highlight that the verse speaks of those who, after recognizing the proofs and accepting the divine religion, apostatize and become disbelievers, turning away from Islam. These individuals are interpreted in the Prophet's (s) words as those who, even after the declaration of the perfection of religion with the Imamate of the Twelve Imams (a), still refuse to accept their Imamate, thereby becoming apostates and disbelievers. The Prophet (s) expressed the above point in three stages:
The Imamate of the Twelve Imams: A Complete Religion
Considering that this segment of the Prophet's (s) speech was delivered precisely after raising and introducing Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), the Prophet's (s) first statement is that "Allah, the Exalted, has perfected your religion with his Imamate." This serves as a conclusive argument for those who claim to be Muslims but, by rejecting the Imamate, implicitly declare, "We do not want a complete religion," even though the Qurʾān indicates that "an incomplete religion is like irreligion."
In elaboration of this point, it is stated that the issue is not solely about the Imamate of Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), but rather, the condition for a complete religion is the acceptance of the immediate Imamate of the Twelve Infallible Imams (a) after the Prophet (s). The clearest way to convey this remaining part of the speech is the phrase بِمَنْ يَقُومُ مَقامَهُ: those who succeed him; meaning that if the appointment of an Imam must necessarily be from Allah, then naturally, after 'Alī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), Imams must also have been appointed by Allah until the end of the world, whom the Prophet (s) designated with the phrase "from my descendants, from the loins of 'Alī (a)."[7]
Deniers of Imamate Until the Day of Resurrection
In this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon, particular emphasis is placed on the issue of the Day of Resurrection with two phrases placed side by side: "until the Day of Resurrection and the Day of going before Allah, the Exalted." Grammatically, this "prepositional phrase" can relate to one of the two preceding verbs (لَمْ يَأْتَمَّ: does not follow and يَقُومُ: stands up), and both meanings are correct: If it relates to the second verb, it refers to the continuity of the Imamate of the Twelve Imams (a) until the Day of Resurrection. If it relates to the first verb, it refers to the generality of those who deny the Imamate of the Twelve Imams (a) from the day of the Prophet's (s) demise until the establishment of the Day of Resurrection, and it will not be exclusive to those who broke their allegiance in the early days of the caliphate.
The phrase "Day of going before Allah, the Exalted" can be considered evidence for the second possibility, i.e., its relation to {{arabic text| لَمْ يَأْتَمَّ}; because being presented before Allah is a kind of reference to readiness for accountability, and through this, the Prophet (s) warns the deniers of the Imamate. Although, even by accepting the first possibility, the generality of the phrase would still encompass all deniers of the Imamate across time and space.[8]
Punishment for Deniers of the Imamate of the Imams (a)
The issue of apostasy and turning away from the divine religion is considered by Allah to be graver than disbelief. Now that the rejection of the Imamate of the Imams (a) is deemed apostasy and a turning away from Islam by Allah, in this part of the sermon, based on the verse, two significant punishments are considered for these individuals who are heedless of their religion:
Nullification of Deeds
Ḥabṭ al-aʿmāl (nullification of deeds) means their deeds become worthless and invalid; that is, what they have done as Muslims should naturally yield results for them in this world and the hereafter, but Allah explicitly nullifies their deeds and declares them worthless in this world and the hereafter. This means that disbelievers, due to some of their good deeds, will at least see their recompense in this world, but the deniers of Imamate will not only be empty-handed in the hereafter but will also receive nothing in this world as a reward for their good deeds, and this is due to the nullification of their deeds as a result of denying walāya.
Hellfire
This torment is the recompense for one who apostatizes after a lifetime of being a Muslim. However, the description of this torment in the Prophet's (s) words indicates Allah's extraordinary wrath towards such individuals. The Prophet (s) stated three points about the torment of this group, drawing from the Qurʾān:
- خالِدُونَ: They will abide forever in Hell and have no escape from it, meaning they have no means to Paradise.
- لا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذابُ: Their punishment will not be lightened, and it seems no intercession will be accepted for them.
- وَ لا هُمْ يُنْظَرُونَ: They will not be granted respite; neither in their journey towards Hell, where they will not be allowed any halt, nor inside Hell itself, where the torment will not cease for a moment.
Footnotes
- ↑ Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. three, p. 206.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 361.
- ↑ Ali Quli Qara'i's "Phrase by Phrase English Translation.
- ↑ Asrār-i Ghadir, p. 146, section 5.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 383.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 383.
- ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, pp. 384–385.
- ↑ Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, vol. 2, pp. 385–386.
- ↑ لَوْ لا انْتَ يا عَلِىُّ لَمْ يُعْرَفِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بَعْدى
- ↑ مَعاشِرَ النّاسِ، انَّما اكْمَلَ اللَّه عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ دينَكُمْ بِامامَتِهِ. فَمَنْ لَمْ يَأْتَمَّ بِهِ وَ بِمَنْ يَقُومُ مَقامَهُ مِنْ وُلْدى مِنْ صُلْبِهِ الى يَوْمِ الْقِيامَةِ وَ الْعَرْضِ عَلَى اللَّه عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَاولئِكَ الَّذينَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمالُهُمْ فِى الدُّنْيا وَ الْآخِرَةِ وَ فِى النَّارِ هُمْ خالِدُونَ لا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذابُ وَ لا هُمْ يُنْظَرُونَ
References
- Asrār Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Tehran: Nashr-e Tak, 1384 SH.
- Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl Mā, 1387 SH.
- Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib; Muḥammad b. 'Alī b. Shahrāshūb Māzandarānī, edited by: Muḥammad Ḥusayn Āshtiyānī and Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Qom: Muʾassasat Intishārāt 'Allāma, 1379 AH.