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dhālika lladhī yubashshiru llāhu ʿibādahu lladhīna ʾāmanū wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti qul lā ʾasʾalukum ʿalayhi ʾajran ʾillā l-mawaddata fī l-qurbā wa-man yaqtarif ḥasanatan nazid lahū fīhā ḥusnan ʾinna llāha ghafūrun shakūrun
Such is the good news that Allah gives to His servants who have faith and do righteous deeds! Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except the love of [my] relatives.’ Whoever performs a good deed, We shall enhance its goodness for him. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-appreciative.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Shura - Verse 23
23. That is [the great Bounty] whereof Allah gives glad tidings to His servants who believe and do righteous good deeds. Say [O Muhammad! Say unto people]: “No reward do I ask of you for this [Divine Call] except to be kind to my close relatives.” And whoever earns a good righteous deed, We shall give him an increase of good in respect thereof. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate [the deeds of those obedient to Him].
The preceding Verse treated of the Reward of beneficent believers, e.g. gardens in Paradise and attainment to all desires and Divine Bounties. The blessed Verse in question is about the Reward of the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) who has guided hundreds of millions of people to these Gardens and Bounties. Giving a flower to someone as a gift requires a favor in return, delivering mankind requires a far greater Reward. It is reflected in the Holy Qur’an that all Prophets said that they did not expect any reward from anyone besides God Almighty, their Lord.
is a reference to the preceding blessed Verse, saying that the great Bounty promised to God fearing believers is God’s glad tiding to His righteous servants as it is also reflected elsewhere6 in the Holy Qur’an:
In short, these Verses indicate that the perfect believer is happy in this world through the illuminations reflected on his heart at all times as if he is in Paradise. The occasion of Revelation of the blessed Verses 23-26 is mentioned in Tafsir Majma’ al-Bayan as per which it is narrated from the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) that when he arrived in Medina, the pillars of the Islamic faith were fortified. The Helpers (Ansar) said:
“We will go to the Noble Prophet (S) and will tell him if he has financial needs, our property will unconditionally be at your disposal.”
When he was informed of their offer, the Verse:
was revealed. The Noble Prophet (S) recited the blessed Verse to them and said:
They left his presence with satisfaction and happiness, but hypocrites accused him of attributing his own claims to God Almighty saying that he expects them to be responsible to his relatives following his demise. Then the next Verse was revealed:
The Noble Prophet sent for them and recited the Verse to them. Some of them regretted their false claim, grieved, and wept. Then the third Verse was revealed:
The Noble Prophet (S) sent for them and bore them the glad tiding that their sincere repentance had been accepted by God Almighty. To express the greatness of this Reward, the blessed Verse in question further adds:
Such glad tidings aim at alleviating the pains of obedience to God Almighty, struggling against concupiscent desires, and jihad against enemies. They also encourage them to proceed with more vigor in vicissitudes and hardships in this life for the attainment of Divine Satisfaction. Since imparting the Divine Call by the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) led some people to misunderstanding as to his expecting remunerations for the same, he is addressed thus:
As it will be discussed in details below, love for his relatives alludes to the question of the Divine Guardianship and Leadership of the Infallible Imams (as) as descendants of the Noble Prophet of Islam (S). It is actually the continuity of the Guardianship of the Noble Prophet (S) whose acknowledgement evidently leads to the happiness of mankind and they shall reap the rewards thereof. It is worthy of note that Qur’anic exegets raise many a discussion and interpretation regarding the blessed Verse.
Taking an objective glance at such discussions and interpretations reveals that owing to diverse motives they have deviated from the fundamental meaning of the Verse and have opted for possibilities inconsistent with the contextual meaning of the Verse and narrative and historical evidence. All in all, three well-known interpretations have been provided for the Verse in question: As mentioned above, the term dhawi al-qurba indicates the relatives of the Noble Prophet (S) and love for them may serve as a means of acknowledging the Imamate and leadership of the Infallible Imams (as) as descendants of the Noble Prophet (S) and as a support for imparting the Divine Call.
Some of the earlier exegets and all Shi’i ones have opted for the meaning in question and many a tradition have been narrated by Shi’i and Sunni scholars in this vein which will be mentioned below. The blessed Verse intends to say that the Reward of Prophethood is to favor the affairs which call man unto nearness to God Almighty. The interpretation opted by some of Sunni exegets is by no means consistent with the literal meaning of the Verse since taking this interpretations into account, the Verse would mean:
“I ask you to love obedience to God Almighty and develop a liking for it,”
whereas it is supposed to say that I expect you to obey God Almighty rather than love for God. Furthermore, there was not a single person among the audience of the Verse who did not want to come closer to God, even polytheists were interested to approach God and they principally regarded idolatry as a means of the same. The Verse intends to say that you have your relatives as the reward of Prophethood. Take care of your blood relatives. This interpretation is quite inconsistent with the Prophetic Call and its Reward, since loving one’s relatives has nothing to do with assisting the Noble Prophet (S) and it may not be regarded as the Reward for imparting his Prophetic Call.
Now, the best way to further familiarize ourselves with the true contextual meaning of the Verse is to take into account other Qur’anic Verses. It is reflected in many a Qur’anic Verse that Prophets expected no remuneration from people for imparting the Divine Message, but they solely expected God Almighty to Reward them. There are different interpretations about the Noble Prophet’s (S) Reward. Mention is made of the Reward elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an, for instance,
Taking into account the three Verses and the One in question, we may easily make a conclusion: expectation of remuneration is totally negated in one of the Verses, but another says:
The third Verse says:
Finally, the blessed Verse in question says:
“Loving [my] close relatives is the reward of my Prophetic Call,”
in other words, what he expects have the following characteristics: He is not supposed to reap the fruits of such love but such love paves their path toward God Almighty. It is worthy of note that the blessed Verse in question makes a reference to the continuity of the Prophetic doctrine by the Divine Guardians who are his Infallible successors and descendants. The question of loving them serves as the basis of the nexus which is explicitly mentioned in the Verse.
It would be of interest to say that besides the Verse in question, the word:
is attested fifteen times in the Holy Qur’an, but it is not known why some people insist that the word in this context designates “closeness to Allah” and thereby turn away from the denotative meaning as attested throughout the Holy Qur’an. It is also noteworthy that the Verse further adds:
The most exalted excellence for man is to obey Divine leaders, love them, proceed on their path, inquire about ambiguous issues and ask for their expositions, regard their deeds as the standards of his own, and set their manners as his models. The aforesaid interpretation is substantiated by many a Prophetic tradition attested in Sunni and Shi’i sources which all indicate that the phrase
is applied to his Ahl al-Bayt and his kith and kin, instances of which include: In his Fada’il al-Sahaba, Ahmad narrates thus on the authority of Sa’id ibn Jubayr who in turn narrates from ‘Amir:
“When the Verse
was revealed, the Companions of the Prophet (S) said unto him:
‘O Messenger of Allah! Who are your relatives whose love is incumbent upon us?’
He replied:
‘Ali and Fatima and their two sons (as).’
He reiterated the sentence thrice.” 9
It is narrated from Imam ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (as) in Mustadrak al-Sahihayn that when Imam ‘Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (as), was martyred, Hasan ibn ‘Ali delivered a sermon, in which he said:
“I am from a family whose love is incumbent upon all Muslims by God Almighty and He said unto His Prophet (as):
Acquisition of the good is a reference to being kind to Ahl al-Bayt.” 10
In his Durr al-Manthur under the Verse in question, Suyuti narrates from Mujahid who in turn narrates from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Noble Prophet was asked as to the interpretation of the Verse:
and he replied:
“It means to say that preserve my right regarding my Ahl al-Bayt and be kind to them because of me.” 11
Thus it becomes evident that what is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas by others in a different manner as per which the Noble Prophet’s (S) safety had been due to his relation to different Arab tribes is not certain since as mentioned above, counter-traditions have been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas. In his Tafsir (“Exegesis”), Ibn Jarir Tabari narrates on the authorities of Sa’id ibn Jubayr and ‘Umar ibn Shu’ayb that the Verse in question indicates the relatives of the Prophet (S).12
Quoting Hakim Haskani’s (a well-known Sunni exeget and traditionist) Shawahid al-Tanzil, Tabarsi narrates from Abi Umama Bahili that the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) said:
“God Almighty created Prophets from different trees, but He has created me and ‘Ali (as) from the same tree. I am the trunk and ‘Ali is the branch of the tree and Fatima (as) causes the tree to thrive and Hasan and Husayn (as) are the fruits thereof and the Shi’i, our followers, are its leaves…
Even if someone worships God Almighty between Safa and Marwa for three thousand years such that he will be likened to an old water skin but he fails to love us, God Almighty will cast him on his face onto the Fire.”
Then the Noble Prophet (S) recited the Verse:
It is worthy of note that the tradition was so well-known that the famous poet, Kumayt, alludes to it:
“We have found for you (the Family of the Noble Prophet) a Verse in HM Chapters which is interpreted by those who conceal their beliefs out of discretion in duress and it is explicitly expressed by those who evidently express their beliefs.” 13
Thus quotes Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthur from Ibn Jarir who in his turn narrates on the authority of Abi Daylam:
“When ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn was captured and held at the gate of Damascus, a certain man from Sham said:
“God bless that He killed and eradicated you.”
‘Ali ibn Husayn replied:
“Have you read the Qur’an?”
He said:
“Yes.”
‘Ali ibn Husayn inquired:
“Have you read the Chapter HM?”
He said:
“No.”
‘Ali asked him:
“Have you not read the Verse:
The man asked:
“Are you the ones referred to in the Verse?”
‘Ali replied:
“Yes.” 14
In his Kashshaf, Zamakhshari quotes a tradition which is also cited on his authority by Fakhr Razi and Qurtubi in their exegetic works. The tradition explicitly expresses the excellence of the family of the Prophet (S) and the significance of the love for them, saying:
“The Messenger of Allah (S) said:
“One who passes away with the love of the family of Muhammad (S) is a martyr. Beware that such person passes away with repentance.
Beware that he passes away as a perfect believer. Beware that when he dies, the angel of death bears glad tidings to the people of Paradise and the angels in charge of questioning the deceased in purgatory bear him glad tidings.
Beware that such person will be taken to Paradise with respect such that a bride is taken to the bridegroom. Beware that two gates will be opened in his grave to Paradise. Beware that his grave shall be the place of worship for the angels of Mercy.
Beware that such person passes away according to the practice of the Muslim community. Beware that one who passes away with enmity against the family of the Prophet (S) will enter the desert of Resurrection with a sign on his forehead which reads:
‘Disappointed from Divine Mercy.’
Beware that one who passes away with a grudge against the family of the Prophet (S) dies as a disbeliever. Beware that such person will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.” 15
It is worthy of note that that citing the tradition also quoted by the author of Kashshaf, Zamakhshari, Fakhr Razi further adds:
“The family of the Prophet (S) are those to whom they shall return, those people whose relationship is firmer and more perfect are regarded as the ‘family’ and it is evident that Fatima, ‘Ali, Hasan, and Husayn (as) had the firmest relationship with the Messenger of Allah (S).
This fact is substantiated by consecutively transmitted traditions. Thus it is incumbent upon us to call them as the family of the Prophet (S). Some people have different opinions regarding the meaning of ‘family’ (al). Some regard them as the close relatives of the Prophet (S) and some maintain that they are the Noble Prophet’s (S) community.
If we take the former meaning as preferable the term exclusively refers to them, but if we take it as indicating those who acknowledged his Prophetic Call, the close relatives of the Messenger of God (S) are still regarded as his family. Therefore, in any case, they are the family of the Prophet (S), but there are differences of opinion as to the inclusion of people other than them.”
Then Fakhr Razi proceeds to quote from Zamakhshari’s Kashshaf:
“When the Verse was revealed, the Noble Prophet (S) was asked:
‘O Messenger of God! Who are your relatives whose love is incumbent upon us?’
He replied:
‘‘Ali, Fatima, and their two sons (as).’
Now it is evident that these four persons are the Noble Prophet’s (S) close relatives and it behoves Muslims to pay deed respect to them.”
Fakhr Razi further adds that there are different arguments substantiating the question: The aforesaid clause:
whose manner of argumentation was discussed above. The Noble Prophet (S) indubitably loved Fatima (as) and regarding whom he said:
“Fatima is a part of my body, what hurts her, hurts me.”
According to consecutively transmitted traditions narrated from the Noble Prophet (S), he loved ‘Ali, Hasan, and Husayn (as) which makes it incumbent upon all Muslims to love them, since the following Qur’anic Verses explicitly indicate the same:
It would be a great honor to pray for the family (al), thereby the tashahhud part of daily prayers devoted to the invocation of Divine Presence closes with:
Such honor is unprecedented for people besides the Noble Prophet’s (S) family. Thus, the aforesaid arguments indicate that it is incumbent upon Muslims to love the Noble Prophet’s (S) family. Finally, Fakhr Razi closes his discussion on the same with the well-known lines by Shafi’i:
O rider heading to pilgrimage to Mecca
/ In a place close to Mina, the great centre for pilgrims’ assembly, where rocks are gathered for symbolic lapidation of Satan (ramy jamara)
/ Stand and call unto all those praying at Khayf Mosque or are moving around,
/ Cry out at daybreak when pilgrims depart from Mash’ar toward Mina and flow like an immense and roaring river into the land of Mina
/ Call unto them that if the love for the family of the Noble Prophet (S) is heresy and apostasy, all jinn and mankind will bear witness that I am a heretic and an apostate. 20
Thus is the exalted state of the family of the Noble Prophet (S) whom we ask to intercede with God Almighty on our behalf and whom we regard as our leaders and guides in matters of religion in this world and as our models in life. We regard their Imamate as the continuity of the Prophetic Call. It is worthy of note that in addition to the aforesaid traditions, there are many other traditions mentioned in Islamic sources concerning the same issue; however, owing to concision and making solely mention of exegetic dimensions, mention was made above of seven traditions.
It is also noteworthy that the tradition in question is attested in theological sources, e.g. Ihqaq al-Haqq and its detailed commentary and also in approximately fifty Sunni sources. Such attestation explicitly bears witness to the prevalence of the tradition in Sunni as well as Shi’i sources. In terms of traditions, Shi’i and Sunni sources unanimously reveal that the blessed Verse in question is revealed concerning the Noble Prophet’s (S) family (Ahl al-Bayt) loving them is obligatory and enmity against them is forbidden.
Now, mention will be made of the Sunni sources regarding the exegesis of the blessed Verse in question and the obligation of loving the Noble Prophet’s (S) family: Bukhari’s Sahih, section six concerning the exegesis of the blessed Verse in question; Muslim’s Sahih, section five regarding the exegesis of the blessed Verse in question; Tirmidhi’s Sahih, vol. 2, p. 308; Hilyat al-Awliya’, vol. 3, p. 201; Kifayat al-Talib, chapter 11, p. 90; Musnad al-Sahaba, section 10, p. 71; Mu’jam al-Kabir, vol. 1, p. 125; Fada’il Ibn Hanbal, tradition 263; Ghayat al-Maram, chapter 5, p. 306; Ibn Maghazili’s Manaqib, tradition 355; Majma’ al-Zawa’id, vol. 9, p. 168; Tafsir Kashshaf, vol. 2, p. 339; Dhakha’ir al-’Uqba’, p. 25; Sawa’q, p. 101; Ibn ‘Asakir, no. 181, Ta’rikh Dimashq, vol. 37, p. 43; Lisan al-Mizan, vol. 4, p. 434; Ta’rikh Isbahan, vol. 2, p. 165; Kanz al-’Ummal, vol. 1, p. 208; Fara’id al-Simtayn, chapter 26, simt 2, tradition 425; Maqatil al-Talibiyin, p. 50; Tafsir Furat, p.70; Taysir al-Matalib, p. 120; Ansab al-Ashraf, vol. 2, p. 79; Tafsir Tabari, vol. 25, p. 25; Usd al-Ghaba, vol. 5, p. 367; Ta’rikh Baghdad, vol. 2, p. 146; al-Durr al-Manthur, under the blessed Verse in question; Majma’ al-Zawa’id, vol. 9, p. 172; Kunuz al-Haqa’iq, vol. 5, Dhakha’ir al-’Uqba, p. 18; Nur al-Absar, p. 103.
To sum up, all Sunnis and Shi’is, friends and foes, are unanimous in saying that it is incumbent upon all Muslims to love and support the Noble Prophet’s (S) family and his descendents.
Footnotes