Verse 98 of Sura al-An'am and Ghadir
Verse 98 of Sura al-An'am is a verse within a Ghadir supplication, in which God is asked to establish faith in Ghadir firmly in hearts.
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| Ayah Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Surah Name | Sura al-An'am |
| Ayah Number | 98 |
| Juz' | 7 |
| Ayah Content | |
| Place of Revelation | Mecca |
| Topic | Request for a fixed abode and a place of trust for faith in Ghadir |
| Ayah Recitation Audio Translation | |
Verse 98 of Sūrat al-Anʿām is mentioned in a part of the supplication recited after the prayers on the day of Ghadir. In this supplication, relying on this verse, it is explicitly declared that the essence of the Covenant of Alast is friendship with God's friends and enmity towards His enemies. This is the same as Tawallī and Tabarrī, which refers to friendship with God's friends and enmity towards God's enemies.
The request made to God in this supplication explicitly indicates that those who accept wilāya are at risk. This sense of danger is substantiated by the Qurʾān, and thus Verse 98 of Sūrat al-Anʿām is also interpreted. In this verse, God presents faith in two forms: "fixed abode and a place of trust." According to this supplication, the intention is the Wilāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and disavowal of their enemies, as the acceptor of it might one day abandon their belief.
A Verse within a Ghadir Supplication
According to some researchers, Verse 98 of Sūrat al-Anʿām is a verse that appears in the text of one of the supplications related to Ghadir. One of the Qurʾānic manifestations of Ghadir is the supplications and ziyārāt in which the verses related to the event of Ghadir are explained and interpreted. In many supplications and ziyārāt—especially those pertaining to the night and day of Ghadir—unspoken aspects of the issue of Ghadir are observed that are not found in any other narration. In some cases, the occasion of revelation of verses, in others, citing Qurʾānic verses, and in still others, considering Ghadir as the instance for the mentioned verse, have been discussed.[1]
Among these instances is Verse 98 of Sūrat al-Anʿām:
وَ هُوَ الَّذِی أَنْشَأَکُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ واحِدَةٍ فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ وَ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ، قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآیاتِ لِقَوْمٍ یَفْقَهُونَ
- And He is the One who produced you from a single soul, then [appointed] a dwelling and a repository. We have certainly elaborated the signs for a people who understand.
The Verse in the Text of the Supplication
Verse 98 of Sūrat al-Anʿām is reported in a part of the supplication after the prayers on the day of Ghadir as follows: O God, I ask You by the right You have placed with them, and by the virtue with which You have favored them over all the worlds, to bless us on this day, in which You honored us by fulfilling Your covenant that You entrusted to us, and the compact by which You bound us concerning the wilāya of Your friends and disavowal of Your enemies. And bestow upon us Your grace and make it a firm and stable abode with us, and never take it away from us; and do not make it a temporary trust with us, for You Yourself have said: "faith is a fixed abode and a trust." So, O God, make it a firm and stable abode[notes 1].[2]
Doctrinal Outcome of the Verse in the Supplication
According to some sources, in this part of the Ghadir supplication, two verses are mentioned: Verse 98 of Sūrat al-Anʿām and Verse seven of Sūrat al-Māʾida. The first verse is quoted verbatim with explicit reference to the Qurʾān, stating: فَانَّكَ قُلْتَ: for You have said [in the Qurʾān] and then the phrase فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ وَ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ is quoted verbatim from the Qurʾān.
In this part of the Ghadir supplication—while interpreting two Qurʾānic verses—two important aspects regarding the beginning and end of belief in wilāya are explained: that the acceptance of wilāya begins for all people from the first day of creation and continues until the last day of each person's life; and that the day of Ghadir acts as a bridge between these two stages, connecting them to each other.[3]
Covenant of Ghadir
What is the covenant that humanity made with God on the Day of Alast and renewed on the day of Ghadir? This supplication explicitly declares that the essence of that covenant is friendship with God's friends and enmity towards His enemies. This is the same as Tawallī and Tabarrī, which refers to friendship with God's friends and enmity towards God's enemies.[4]
Aspiration for Steadfastness on the Path of Ghadir
The request made to God in this supplication explicitly indicates that those who accept wilāya are at risk. This sense of danger is substantiated by the Qurʾān, and thus the Qurʾānic verse is also interpreted. In this verse, God presents faith in two forms: "fixed abode and a place of trust." According to this supplication, the intention is the Wilāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and disavowal of their enemies, as the acceptor of it might one day abandon their belief.
Regarding this, Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) states: Faith is of two kinds: one is established and firm in hearts, and the other is a trust placed between the heart and the chest. The established one does not perish, but the entrusted one will surely return, even if it is one moment before the departure of the soul.[5] Also, Imam al-Sadiq (a) says concerning the removal of faith from some people: Established faith is that which has become firm in someone's heart and never separates from them, and entrusted faith is that which keeps faith as a trust for a time, but is later taken away from them.[6]
Footnotes
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. three, p. three hundred fifty-five.
- ↑ al-Iqbāl, vol. two, pp. two hundred eighty-eight–two hundred eighty-nine; ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm, vol. two/fifteen, p. two hundred nineteen.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. three, p. three hundred eighty-seven.
- ↑ Ghadir dar Qurʾān, vol. three, pp. three hundred eighty-seven–three hundred eighty-eight.
- ↑ al-Muḥtaḍar, p. fifty-four.
- ↑ Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. sixty-six, p. two hundred twenty-two.
- ↑ اللّهُمَّ انّى اسْأَلُكَ بِالْحَقِّ الَّذى جَعَلْتَهُ عِنَدَهُمْ وَ بِالَّذى فَضَّلْتَهُمْ عَلَى الْعالَمينَ جَميعاً، انْ تُبارِكَ لَنا فى يَوْمِنا هذا الَّذى اكْرَمْتَنا فيهِ بِالْوَفاءِ لِعَهْدِكَ الَّذى عَهِدْتَ الَيْنا وَ الْميثاقِ الَّذى واثَقْتَنا بِهِ مِنْ مُوالاةِ اوْلِيائِكَ وَ الْبرائَةِ مِنْ اعْدائِكَ، وَ تَمُنَّ عَلَيْنا بِنِعْمَتِكَ وَ تَجْعَلَهُ عِنْدَنا مُسْتَقَرّاً ثابِتاً وَ لا تَسْلُبَناهُ ابَداً؛ وَ لا تَجْعَلَهُ عِنْدَنا مُسْتَوْدَعاً فَانَّكَ قُلْتَ: «فَمُسْتَقَرٌّ وَ مُسْتَوْدَعٌ»، فَاجْعَلْهُ مُسْتَقَرّاً ثابِتاً
References
- al-Iqbāl bi-l-Aʿmāl al-Ḥasana fīmā Yuʿmal Marra fī al-Sana; Sayyid ʿAlī b. Mūsā b. Ṭāwūs, ed. Jawād Qayyūmī Iṣfahānī, Qom: Maktab al-Iʿlām al-Islāmī, 1418 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.
- ʿAwālim al-ʿUlūm wa al-Maʿārif wa al-Aḥwāl min al-Āyāt wa al-Akhbār wa al-Aqwāl; ʿAbd Allāh b. Nūr Allāh Baḥrānī Iṣfahānī, ed. Muḥammad Bāqir Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī Iṣfahānī, Qom: Muʾassasat al-Imām al-Mahdī (a), 1382 SH.
- Ghadir dar Qurʾān, Qurʾān dar Ghadir; Muḥammad Bāqir Anṣārī, Qom: Intishārāt Dalīl-i Mā, 1387 SH.
- al-Muḥtaḍar; Ḥasan b. Sulaymān Ḥillī, ed. ʿAlī Ashrāf, Qom: al-Maktabat al-Ḥaydarīya, 1424 AH.