Ibrāhīm

يُثَبّـِتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الأَخِرَةِ وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَآءُ

27. “Allah confirms those who believe by a firm saying in the life of the world and in the Hereafter, and Allah leaves the unjust to stray; and Allah does what He pleases.”

That is, Allah provides stability for the believers, in this worldly life, because of their belief in the word monotheism and its sanctuary, so that they do not deviate and be misled from the path of the truth, making them staunch proponents lest they shall deviate from the right path in their worldly affairs which will also result in Hereafter. Some commentators suggest: It means that Allah provides them with a living and settlement on earth, and He assists them to overcome their enemies and will place them in the Paradise in the Hereafter.

Ibn-i-‘Abb as and Ibn-i-Mass‘ūd and the majority of the commentators are of the belief that: This verse has been revealed to the question asked in the grave and the objective in mind is the grave once talking about the hereafter. That is, concerning the question of the grave, He fixes them over the issue of faith. Our dear Immaculate Imams have also been quoted as such. Therefore, we read in various Islamic quotations that Allah keeps the believer stable on the line of faith once entering the grave at the time when angels ask questions regarding his identity.

This is the meaning of:

“Allah confirms those who believe by a firm saying in the life of the world and in the Hereafter…”

In some of these quotations, we have it explicitly stated the word /qabr/ (grave), while in some other quotations we read that the Satan calls on the faithful at the time of death and tries to seduce him from every direction and any side by his temptations. However, Allah does not permit him to mislead the faithful and this is the meaning of the abovementioned Qur’anic sentence. Most of the commentators have accepted this commentary according to the quotation of the great commentator, Tabarsi, in Majma‘-ul-Bayan. Perhaps, their reason is that the hereafter is no place for erroneous behaviour, nor is it a place for practice, but it is only a place for attaining the results.

However, at the time of the arrival of death, and even in the state of purgatory, which is the world that exists between this world and the Hereafter, there is the possibility of deviation more or less. It is in this circumstance that Allah’s favour comes to the assistance of man in order to protect him and make him straightforward. Anyway, in two explanatory examples in the previous verses, the state of ‘faith’ ‘disbelief’ ‘a believer’, ‘a disbeliever’ and, in general, the state of every ‘clean’ and ‘untidy’ were visualized. In this verse, the consequence of the job and the ultimate destiny of man are referred to.

First, it implies that Allah straightens and strengthens those who are believers, for their belief, their words and their ideas. He confirms them and protects them in this world, in the purgatory where there is a possibility of deviation, and in the Hereafter, for their belief has not been a superficial one and a shaky one, and their personality has not been a hypocritical and a versatile one. They will remain constant in their confrontation with difficulties and whims, and they will be kept clean of all scandalous flaws of character in here. Allah’s endless blessings will be bestowed on them in the eternal life there.

Then, dealing with the opposite point, it says:

“…and Allah leaves the unjust to stray; and Allah does what He pleases.”

We have repeatedly asserted that wherever, in the Qur’an, there is the question of leading and misleading and it is attributed to Allah, its first steps have been taken by man himself. Allah’s job is that very impact that has been created in every act, and also Allah’s job is bestowal of blessings or withdrawal of blessings that are designated by Him as a consequence of a person’s suitability or his lack of worth.