Maryam

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَيَجْعَلُ لَهُمُ الرَّحْمَنُ وُدّاً

96. “Verily those who believe and do righteous deeds, soon the Beneficent (Allah) will appoint love for them.”

The words in this verse, as well as the next couple of verses, are about the faithful believers and also about the faithless cruel unjust. The contents of these verses are also upon the Qur’an and its glad tidings and warnings. At first, it says:

Faith and righteous deed has a reflection as vast as the world of existence, and the ray of love emerged from it can cover the whole expansion of creation. Allah, the Pure Essence, loves such believing people. They are beloved with all those who are in the skies. This affection will brighten the hearts of men who are on the earth. To be beloved is a divine bounty which may be given to the believers and the righteous, as the Qur’an says:

Yes, the one who loves only Allah will be loved heartily by all people with the help of Allah. In general, he who remembers Allah, He will have His favor upon him. The Qur’an says:

It is interesting that the Prophet (S) in a tradition says:

“When the Lord loves one of His servants, He says to His great angel, Gabriel, that He loves so and so, then do love him. Gabriel will love him and, then, he calls in the skies that Allah loves so and so, then do love him; and thereafter, all those who are in the skies will love him, and then the acceptance of this affection will reflect in the earth.

And when the Lord hates a person, He tells Gabriel to hate him, and Gabriel hates him. After that he calls out among those who are in the skies that Allah hates him, then do hate him. Thus, all those who are in the skies will hate him, and afterward, the reflection of this hatred will be found in the earth.”

This tradition has been recorded in many Islamic traditional sources as well as in many commentary books, but this is a tradition of the text recorded in The Commentary of Fi-Zalal, vol. 5, p. 454 which is adopted from Ahmad, Muslim, and Bukhari. Verily, what a pleasure is better than this that a person feels that he is beloved by all the pure and the righteous of the world of existence? And how painful is that a person feels that the earth, the skies, the angels and the believing people all hate him?

However, besides the books of Shi‘ah, there are numerous traditions recorded in the books of tradition and commentary compiled by the scholars of the Sunnite upon the occasion of revelation of the verse under discussion, narrated from the Prophet of Islam (S), which denote that this verse has been revealed mostly in regard to Ali-ibn-Abitalib (as). Among them are: Zamakhshari in Kashshaf; Sebtayn-ul-Jauzi in Tathkirah; Ganji Shafi‘i; Qurtabi his famous book; Mu‘jab-ud-Din Tabari in Zakha’ir-ul-‘Ughba; Neyshaburi in his well-known commentary book;’Ibn-i-Sabbaq Maliki in Fusul-ul-Muhimmah, Suyuti in Durr-ul-Manthur; Heythami in Sawa‘igh-ul-Muhraghah; and’Alusi in Rouh-ul-Ma‘ani.

Some of these traditions are as follows:

1. Tha‘labi, in his commentary book, narrates from Bara’-ibn-‘Azib:

“The Messenger of Allah (S) told Ali (as): ‘Say: O’ Allah! Appoint a covenant for me with yourself, and set my love in the hearts of the believers’. Then this verse was reveled.” ²⁹

This very statement exactly, or with a little difference, has been cited in many other Islamic books.

2. In a lot of Islamic sources it has been narrated from’Ibn-‘Abbas who said:

“The verse:

h as been revealed in regard to Ali-ibn-Abitalib (as), which means that Allah appoints his love in the hearts of the believers.” ³⁰

3. Upon the commentary of this verse, it is cited in the book entitled ‘Sawa’igh’ that Muhammad-ibn-Hanafiyyah said:

“There is no faithful believer but there is love of Ali and his Ahl-ul-Bayt in his heart.” ³¹

4. Maybe, for the same reason it has been cited in a correct and authentic tradition narrated from Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) who said:

“Even if I strike the nose of a believer with this, my sword, for hating me, he will not hate me, and even if I pile all the wealth of the world before a hypocrite in order that he loves me, he will not love me. This is because it is a verdict pronounced by the tongue of the unschooled Prophet (S) as he said: ‘O’ Ali! a believer will never hate you and a hypocrite will never love you’.” ³²

5. Imam Sadiq (as) in a tradition said:

“The Prophet (S) in his last prayer invocated in regard to Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) so loudly that people could hear, saying: ‘O Allah! Bestow the love of Ali upon the hearts of the believers, and appoint his awe and greatness in the hearts of the hypocrites’. Then this verse and the verse next to it were revealed.” ³³

It has also been narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) who said:

“The love of Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) is a reward that Allah gives to the believers who have righteous deed.” A similar meaning to this tradition has been narrated from the holy Prophet (S) in regard to the love and affection of the believers unto Ali (as). ³⁴

However, as it was said in the commentary explanations of the abovementioned verses, the revelation of this verse upon Ali, as a complete example, does not contrast the generality of the meaning upon the believers wholly, with a hierarchical order, of course.