Parables in the Holy Quran are a source of divine guidance. 5

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Fifteenth: Alid Parables

The Commander of the Faithful, Imam ʿAli (peace be upon him), was the fountainhead and lawgiver of eloquence, the source and birthplace of rhetoric. From him its hidden treasures emerged; from him its principles were derived. Every eloquent orator modeled himself on his examples, and every powerful preacher sought aid from his words. His speech bears a touch of divine knowledge and a fragrance of Prophetic discourse.

More than one pioneer of eloquence and rhetoric collected the scattered gems of his speech, both short sayings and long discourses, until they exceeded twelve thousand statements. What ʿAbd al-Wahid al-Amidi (d. around 550 AH) collected in his book Ghurar al-Ḥikam wa Durar al-Kalim is sufficient and satisfying for seekers of truth, and therefore we pass over further detail here.

As for figurative representation in the words of the other twelve Imams, one could speak of it endlessly. The researcher al-Gharawi strove earnestly in this field and authored encyclopedic works on the subject. May God reward his beautiful efforts.

Sixteenth: The Proverbs of Luqman the Wise

Opinions differ concerning the personality of Luqman the Wise. Ibn ʿUmar narrated: I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) say:

“Luqman was not a prophet, but he was a servant who reflected much, possessed excellent certainty, loved God and so God loved him, and bestowed wisdom upon him.” (1)

The loftiness of his speech reached such a degree that God, exalted is He, transmitted some of his wisdom in the Holy Qur’an and revealed a surah bearing his name. More than one scholar also collected the wise sayings about him scattered through the books.

Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi transmitted some of his wisdom in his commentary. Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) described him as follows:

“By God, Luqman was not given wisdom because of lineage, wealth, physical stature, or beauty. Rather, he was a man strong in the cause of God, scrupulous before God, silent, serene, deep in insight, long in reflection, keen of sight. He never slept during the day, never reclined in a gathering of people, never spat in a gathering, never toyed with anything, and no one ever saw him urinating or defecating or bathing, because of the intensity of his concealment and care in his affairs. He never laughed at anything, never became angry out of fear of sinning in his religion, never joked with anyone, never rejoiced in what he was given of this world, nor grieved over anything from it… He never passed by two men fighting or disputing without reconciling between them, and he would not leave them until they had separated in peace. Whenever he heard a saying from someone that pleased him, he would ask him for its explanation and from whom he had taken it. He frequently sat with jurists and scholars, and he visited judges, kings, and rulers, feeling compassion for judges because of what they had been tried with, and pitying kings and rulers for their delusion in power and their false sense of security in it. He learned that by which he might master himself and struggle against his desires, and he guarded himself against authority. He treated himself through reflection and taking lessons. He never traveled except for what benefited him, and never looked except toward what helped him. Thus was he granted wisdom and sound judgment.” (1)

Surat al-Baqarah

1. The First Representation

The Exalted says:

“When they meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe’; but when they are alone with their devils, they say: ‘Indeed, we are with you; we were only mocking.’ Allah mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression, wandering blindly. Those are the ones who have purchased error in exchange for guidance, so their trade has brought no profit, nor were they rightly guided. Their likeness is like that of one who kindled a fire, and when it illuminated what was around him, Allah took away their light and left them in darknesses, unable to see—deaf, dumb, blind, so they do not return.” (1)

Explanation of the Verses

Waqūd—with fatḥah on the wāw—means firewood. Istawqada nāran means “he sought to kindle a fire” or simply “he kindled a fire,” just as istajāba can mean ajāba.

God, exalted is He, opened His discourse in Surat al-Baqarah by describing the condition of three groups:

The believers, to whom He devoted only two verses.
The disbelievers, to whom He devoted only one verse.
The hypocrites, whose conditions and traits He described over twelve verses.

If this indicates anything, it indicates that hypocrisy is the more dangerous evil, and that hypocrites pose a grave threat to the Islamic community. God presents two parables that reveal to us the nature of their wicked intentions and the disbelief they conceal.

He begins His speech concerning them by stating that the hypocrites are those who inwardly conceal disbelief while outwardly displaying faith:

“When they meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe’; but when they are alone with their devils, they say: ‘Indeed, we are with you; we were only mocking.’”

Then God replies to them, saying:

“Allah mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression, wandering blindly,”

meaning that He recompenses them for their mockery.

Then He describes them, saying:

“Those are the ones who have purchased error in exchange for guidance, so their trade has brought no profit, nor were they rightly guided,”

that is, they took error and abandoned guidance, exchanging disbelief for faith. Thus they were not gainers in this bargain and exchange. He then describes them with the following representation:

Let us imagine a man lost in a desert amid pitch darkness. He wishes to continue on his way without stumbling about in confusion, but in such a state he can only find guidance by lighting a fire so that he may walk by its light and avoid dangerous pitfalls. Yet no sooner has he lit the fire than a violent wind suddenly extinguishes it, and he returns to his former bewilderment.

Such is the state of the hypocrites. At first they believed, were illumined by the light of faith, and walked by its radiance. But then they exchanged faith for disbelief, and the darkness of unbelief covered them so that they found no path.

This is according to the view that the hypocrites had truly believed and then turned to disbelief. But according to the view that they had never believed from the beginning, then the fire they kindled refers to the light of the innate nature (fiṭrah) which had been guiding them to the path of truth, but they extinguished that light through their disbelief in the signs of God, Blessed and Exalted.

In sum: the state of these hypocrites, when they outwardly displayed faith and inwardly concealed disbelief, is like that of one who lost his way in darkness in a place full of danger and then lit a fire to illuminate his road, only for a violent wind to extinguish it and leave him in layers of darkness, unable to find a way.

This representation, masterfully depicted by the Qur’an, reflects the state of the hypocrites in the age of revelation. The implication of the representation is that the hypocrites were guided for a period by the light of guidance, and then its light was extinguished by God’s leave, so that they became deaf, dumb, and blind, unable to find their way. The fire by which they were guided was the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Messenger, for they were honored with the Prophet’s presence and heard his speech, his proofs in clarifying the truth, his evidences in guiding, and his recitation of God’s Book. In that respect they were like one who kindled a fire for guidance. But when the paths of right guidance and the signs of truth were illuminated for them, they rebelled against God through their hypocrisy, and thus they ceased to be worthy of divine success and right direction. So God left them to their commanding selves and their evil desires, and the darknesses of misguidance enveloped them because of their evil choice.

Accordingly, God begins the parable with His saying:

“Their likeness is like that of one who kindled a fire, and when it illuminated what was around him…”

The parable is complete up to this point.

Then He begins mentioning what is being represented by saying:

“Allah took away their light and left them in darknesses, unable to see.”

If you ask: on this reading, what is the answer to lammā in His saying, “and when it illuminated”?

I say: the answer is omitted for the sake of brevity, and it is: “it went out.”

If you ask: then to what does His saying “Allah took away their light” relate?

I say: it is a new sentence referring back to the explanation of the represented reality. The estimated wording would be: “When it illuminated what was around him, it went out, so they remained groping in darkness, bewildered, regretful over the loss of light, disappointed after the effort of kindling the fire.”

Thus the state of the hypocrites is like theirs: they lit a fire to seek illumination by its light, but “Allah took away their light and left them in darknesses, unable to see.”

In brief: what we have mentioned from these clauses is the meaning understood from the verse, and brevity without complication is among the qualities of eloquence. (1)

So His saying:

“Allah took away their light”

means that this was the result of their hypocrisy and rebellion, and consequently their capacity to be guided by the light of truth was dispelled.

“and left them in darknesses, unable to see”

that is, He left them amid their passions and evil choices, floundering in the darknesses of misguidance, unable to perceive the path of truth and right guidance.

You can see that the representation contains many lofty meanings in concise phrases. Had the Qur’an tried to convey these meanings without representation, it would have required an extended discourse like the one we have just unfolded. This is one of the benefits of the parable: it conveys many meanings in few words.

Then God describes them further: since they rendered their ears useless, they are deaf; since they rendered their tongues useless, they are dumb; since they rendered their eyes useless, they are blind. Thus He says:

“Deaf, dumb, blind—so they do not return.”

What is meant by this disabling is that they did not benefit from these faculties, by which realities are known. They did not listen earnestly to God’s signs, nor did they look upon the shining proofs of prophethood except through the lens of doubt. (1)

Thus far, the state of the hypocrites has been presented through the state of one who kindled a fire for illumination, but whose efforts ended in failure.

Among the verses indicating that the hypocrites had believed in God and His Messenger at the outset and then hypocrisy overcame them is His saying:

“That is because they believed, then disbelieved; so their hearts were sealed, and thus they do not understand.” (2)