Verse 88 of Al 'Imran and Ghadir

Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is a verse in al-Ghadir Sermon which, by relying on it, states that denying the Imamate of the Imams (a) is equivalent to eternal damnation in Hell.

The historical context of using Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān in al-Ghadir Sermon is depicted as follows: Moments after introducing the divinely appointed guardian of Ghadir and after the people had finished their affirmation, the Prophet (s) decisively demonstrated the first confrontation regarding the denial of such guardianship. He declared the deeds of those who denied the Imamate of the twelve Imams (a) to be worthless and gave them tidings of Hell. The Prophet (s) presented this objective by drawing from two verses (Verse 217 of Al-Baqara and Verse 88 of Āl ʿImrān) which are about apostates from Islam, and completed his statement by using the last part of both verses.

Regarding the inclusion of Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān in al-Ghadir Sermon, it has been stated from a theological perspective: In this verse, the subject is about those who, after recognizing the proofs and accepting the divine religion, apostatize and become disbelievers, turning away from Islam. These individuals, in the words of the Prophet (s), 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, and by doing so, they become apostates and disbelievers. This apostasy and disbelief ultimately lead to eternal torment in Hell, from which the punishment will neither be lightened nor will the person be granted any respite for deliverance.

A Verse Regarding the Enemies of Ghadir

Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is among the verses used in the event of Ghadir. The context of the use of this verse by some researchers is depicted as follows: ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a) is the Imam whom the Prophet (s) made the cause of the test for the Ummah: لَوْ لا انْتَ يا عَلِىُّ لَمْ يُعْرَفِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بَعْدى: O ʿAlī, if it were not for you, the believers would not have been known after me.

The Prophet (s) dedicated a part of the Ghadir ceremony to describing the enemies of the Imams (a) and their future. Drawing from several verses and incorporating other verses for this purpose, a total of fifteen verses are included under this section. 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.

These are fifteen verses, among which are Verse 217 of Sūrat al-Baqara and Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: خَالِدِینَ فِیهَا لَا یُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمْ یُنْظَرُونَ,They shall abide in it forever; their punishment shall not be lightened, nor shall they be granted any respite.

The Verse in the Text of the Sermon

Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is reported in the text of al-Ghadir Sermon as follows: 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: O people, Allah, the Almighty, 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 Almighty, then those are the ones whose deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and they shall abide eternally in the Fire. Their punishment shall not be lightened, nor shall they be granted any respite.

Historical Context of the Verse's Use

The historical context of using Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān in al-Ghadir Sermon is depicted as follows: Moments after raising Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) atop the pulpit and introducing him as the divinely appointed guardian, and after the people had finished their affirmation, the Prophet (s) decisively demonstrated the first confrontation regarding the denial of such guardianship. He declared the deeds of those who denied the Imamate of the twelve Imams (a) to be worthless and gave them tidings of Hell.

The Prophet (s) presented this objective by drawing from two verses (Verse 217 of Al-Baqara and Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān) which are about apostates from Islam and are fully relevant to the subject, and completed his statement by using the last part of both verses—which is the consequence of apostasy. In this part of al-Ghadir Sermon, the end of the verse from Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is quoted verbatim in the words of the Prophet (s).

Quranic Context of the Verse

By some researchers, the Quranic context of Verse 88 of Sūrat Āl ʿImrān is depicted as follows: This verse is about those who turn away from Islam and become disbelievers after affirming the truthfulness of the Prophet (s). Such individuals are deemed deserving of the curse of Allah, the angels, and the people. They will be tormented in Hell without any alleviation of punishment. In the verses following this one, the issue of apostasy is further pursued, and the non-acceptance of their deeds is discussed from various angles.

Theological Analysis of the Verse

Regarding the mention of Surah Al 'Imran, verse 88, 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 emphasize that the verse speaks of those who, after recognizing proofs and accepting the divine religion, apostatize and disbelieve, 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: Complete Religion

Considering that this segment of the Prophet's (s) words was uttered precisely after raising and introducing Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), the Prophet's (s) first statement is that "Allah, the Almighty and Glorious, 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," whereas the Quran indicates that "an incomplete religion is like having no religion."

In elaboration of this point, it has been stated that the issue is not merely 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 discourse is the phrase بِمَنْ يَقُومُ مَقامَهُ; meaning that if the appointment of an Imam must necessarily be from God, then naturally, after ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), Imams must also have been appointed by God until the end of the world, whom He designated with the phrase "from my children, from the loins of ʿAlī (a)."

Deniers of Imamate Until the Day of Judgment

In this part of the al-Ghadir Sermon, special emphasis is placed on the issue of Qiyāmah with two phrases juxtaposed: "until the Day of Judgment and the day of going before Allah, the Almighty and Glorious." Grammatically, this `jārr wa majrūr` (prepositional phrase) can relate to one of the two preceding verbs («لَمْ يَأْتَمَّ» and يَقُومُ), 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 Judgment. If it relates to the first verb, it refers to the generality of the deniers of the imamate of the Twelve Imams (a) from the day of the Prophet's (s) demise until the establishment of Qiyāmah, and it will not be exclusive to those who broke their allegiance in the early days of the caliphate.

The phrase "the day of going before Allah, the Almighty and Glorious" can be considered evidence for the second possibility, i.e., its relation to لَمْ يَأْتَمَّ; because being presented before God is a kind of reference to readiness for accountability, and by this, the Prophet (s) warns the deniers of the imamate. Although even by accepting the first possibility, the generality of the phrase would still include all deniers of the imamate across time and space.

The Recompense of the Deniers of the Imamate of the Imams (a): Hellfire

The issue of apostasy and turning away from the divine religion is considered by God to be worse than disbelief. Now that the rejection of the imamate of the Imams (a) is considered apostasy and a turning away from Islam by God, in this part of the sermon, citing the verse, the recompense of eternal abode in Hellfire is assigned to these individuals who are heedless of their religion: This punishment is the due of one who apostatizes after a lifetime of being Muslim. However, the description of this punishment in the Prophet's (s) words indicates extraordinary divine wrath towards such people. The Prophet (s) mentioned three points about the punishment of this group, drawing from the Quran:

• خالِدُونَ: They will abide forever in Jahannam and will have no escape from it, meaning they have no means for 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 Jahannam, where they will not be allowed any halt, nor inside Jahannam, where the punishment will not cease for a moment.

References

• Asrār Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Tehran: Nashr-e Tak, 1384 SH.
• Sokhanrānī-ye Istithnāʾī-ye Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt-e Dalīl-e Mā, 1386 SH.
• Ghadīr dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadīr; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt-e Dalīl-e Mā, 1387 SH.
• Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib; Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Shahrāshūb Māzandarānī, research: Muḥammad Ḥusayn Āshtiyānī and Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Qom: Muʾassasa-ye Intishārāt-e ʿAllāma, 1379 AH.
• Wāqiʿa-ye Qurʾānī-ye Ghadīr: Guzārish-e Safar-e Yek-Māha-ye Payāmbar barā-ye Iʿlān-e Wilāyat dar Sāye-ye Āyāt-e Qurʾānī; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt-e Dalīl-e Mā, 1386 SH.