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li-yukaffira llāhu ʿanhum ʾaswaʾa lladhī ʿamilū wa-yajziyahum ʾajrahum bi-ʾaḥsani lladhī kānū yaʿmalūna
that Allah may absolve them of the worst of what they did, and pay them their reward by the best of what they used to do.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Zumar - Verses 33 - 35
33. And he who brought the Truth and believed therein, those are the God fearing.
34. They shall have all that they will desire with their Lord. That is the reward of good doers.
35. So that Allah [thanks to their faith and sincerity] may expiate from them the evil of what they did and give them the reward, according to the best of what they used to do.
One of Divine Favors is that He expiates from sinners the evil of what they did and gives them rewards in the best manner. Two characteristics are also mentioned for believers:
The clause
is interpreted in a number of traditions narrated from Shi’i Imams as a reference to Imam ‘Ali (as).3 However, it is worthy of note that the blessed Verse presents clear pieces of evidence, since the clause:
indicates the general applicability of the Verse. It bears testimony to the fact that the interpretation of the Verse in question to the Noble Prophet of Islam (S), as the bearer of Divine Revelation and believer in It is an instance of the applicability (bayan misdaq) of the contextual meaning of the Verse rather than the meaning thereof in Its entirety. Consequently, some exegets interpret the clause:
to be applicable to all prophets and hold that:
designates the true believers of them who are all the God fearing of the world. Another interpretation of the Verse in question which is the most comprehensive, though more or less neglected by exegets despite the fact that it is more consistent with the outward meaning of the Verses, is that:
does not solely refer to the bearers of Divine Revelation, i.e., the prophets, rather it is addressed to all those who disseminated their teachings as the Words of Truth. Therefore, both clauses may refer to the same group, as reflected by the outward interpretation of the Verse, since:
is mentioned solely once. Thus, the Verse treats both the bearers of Truth and those acting upon the same. It is concerned with the disseminators of Divine Revelation and True Word and they, i.e., prophets, the Infallible Imams and promulgators of their teachings, believe in and act upon the same. It is noteworthy that
designates “Revelation,” making a reference to the fact that they only word which is not subject to inconsistency and contradiction is Divine Word Revealed to prophets. Furthermore, fearing God Almighty may flourish in hearts through believing in prophetic teachings and acting upon them. The next Verse enumerates three great rewards for such believers. Firstly, it says:
The contextual meaning of the blessed Verse is so comprehensive that It includes all this worldly and otherworldly Bounties some of which may be unimaginable. It is worthy of note to keep in mind that the Rewards of the Hereafter and Divine Bounties shall be bestowed upon servants as per the merits they accrue in this world. The expression:
expresses Divine Boundless Favors granted to them as if they are His guests for good and may request whatever they require. In
the present participial form:
is employed in lieu of demonstrative pronoun to make a reference to the fact that the main reason behind the bestowal of such Rewards is their good doing. Verse 35 treats of the second and the third characteristics granted to good doers:
The expression is worthy of note. On the one hand, they expect that the worst of their deeds be expiated thanks to Divine Mercy such that they may be absolved of them and on the other hand they pray to God Almighty to regard their best of deeds as the standard of according Rewards to them and accept all their deeds accordingly! It is evident in the Verse that God Almighty accepts their request, namely, He forgives the worst and regards the best as the standard of granting Rewards. It is to be noted that when worse faults are to be forgiven by Divine Mercy, other faults will be reckoned accordingly.
The point in question is that man is more concerned by worse faults as a consequence of which believers are more preoccupied with it. Now a question arises: Who was the first believer? Many a Shi’i and Sunni exegets have reported a tradition concerning the interpretation of:
according to which:
indicates the Noble Prophet (S) and
refers to ‘Ali (as). Eminent exegets, Tabarsi in Majma’ al-Bayan and Abu al-Futuh Razi in Rawh al-Jananhave narrated the tradition from the Prophet’s Household (Ahl al-Bayt). However, a number of Sunni scholars and exegets, e.g. ‘Allama Ibn Maghazili in Manaqib, ‘Allama Ganji in Kifayat al-Matalib, Qurtubi in his Tafsir [“Exegesis”], ‘Allama Suyuti in Durr al-Manthur, and Alusi in Ruh al-Ma’ani,4 narrate the Prophetic tradition from Abu Hurayra and or other transmitters.
As mentioned above, such interpretations are included for referring to the most evident instances and indubitably, ‘Ali (as) is the first person to believe in the Noble Prophet of Islam (S). He is the first believer. It is to be noted that all Muslim scholars unanimously believe that from amongst men, ‘Ali (as) was the first who converted to the Islamic faith and he is many a time mentioned by the Noble Prophet (S) as the
or “the first one who converted to the Islamic faith,” the references of which were mentioned above under 9:10.
Footnotes