Shia Hadith sources
2 weeks ago
koran القران
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In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and His prayers and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his good and pure family and companions.
Al‑Sayyid al‑Murtada, known as **ʿAlam al‑Huda**, possessor of two honors, **Abu al‑Qasim ʿAli ibn al‑Tahir**, son of the noble **Abu Ahmad al‑Husayn ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Musa al‑Kazim ibn Jaʿfar al‑Sadiq ibn Muhammad al‑Baqir ibn ʿAli Zayn al‑ʿAbidin ibn al‑Husayn ibn ʿAli ibn Abi Talib**—may God be pleased with them and sanctify their souls—said:
**The First Session (1)**
**[Interpretation of a Verse]**
God the Exalted said:
“And when We intend to destroy a town, We command its affluent ones, but they defiantly disobey within it…” (the verse).
This verse has several possible interpretations. Each of them removes the doubt that some misguided interpreters have raised concerning it—those who diverted its interpretation from its proper meaning and turned it away from its correct context.
The first explanation is that **destruction (ihlak)** may sometimes be just and sometimes unjust. When it is deserved or occurs as a form of trial, it is just; it is only unjust when it is an act of wrongdoing. Therefore, the attachment of the divine will to destruction does not imply that it is attached to it in an unjust manner. The apparent meaning of the verse does not necessitate that understanding. Since we know through rational and textual evidence that the Eternal (God) is exalted above injustice and evil acts, we understand that the divine will here is connected only with a **just destruction**.
As for His saying: *“We command its affluent ones (amarnā mutrafīhā)”*, the object of the command has been omitted. It is not necessary that what they were commanded to do was the **immorality (fisq)** that followed. This is similar to someone saying: *“I commanded him, but he disobeyed,”* or *“I invited him, but he refused.”* The intended meaning is: I commanded him **to obey**, and I called him **to respond and accept**.
It may be said in response to this explanation that the point of doubt is not what you have mentioned. Rather, the doubt concerns the precedence of the **divine will**. If the will is connected with destroying those who deserve it for reasons other than the disobedience mentioned in the verse, then what is the meaning of His saying, *“When We intend, We command”*? For commanding them with obedience would not make sense if the punishment had already been deserved because of previous deeds. But if the will is connected to destruction because of their disobedience to the command mentioned in the verse, this is what they reject, since it would imply that God wills the destruction of those who do not yet deserve that punishment.
The answer to this is that the divine will is attached only to **the destruction of those who deserve it because of their previous sins**. The wisdom in His saying *“When We intend, We command”* is that the command to obedience and faith serves as an **excuse presented to the sinners**, a **warning to them**, and the establishment of **clear proof against them**. Thus, if they then oppose the command and persist in rebellion and tyranny after repeated exhortation, warning, and admonition, they become among those against whom the decisive word of punishment is justified and upon whom the proof has been established.
The correctness of this interpretation is supported by God’s saying earlier in the same context:
“We never punish until We send a messenger.”
The **second interpretation** of this verse is that the phrase *“We commanded its affluent ones”* describes the town itself and serves as one of its attributes, rather than being the response to the clause *“When We intend.”* The meaning would therefore be: *“When We intend to destroy a town whose characteristic is that We commanded its affluent ones and they defiantly disobeyed within it.”* In this case, the particle **“when” (idhā)** would not have an explicit answer in the verse, because the meaning is sufficiently understood from the context.
A similar example appears in God’s description of Paradise:
“Until, when they reach it and its gates are opened, and its keepers say to them: ‘Peace be upon you; you have done well, so enter it to abide therein.’ And they say: ‘Praise be to God who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the land so that we may dwell in Paradise wherever we wish. How excellent is the reward of the workers.’”
In this passage, the explicit answer to **“when”** is not stated because the context makes it clear.
Another example supporting this interpretation appears in the poetry of **al‑Hudhali**, who said:
“Until when they drove them into the mountain pass of Qatā’idah,
Driving them away as camel drivers drive off the straying camels.”
Here the answer to *“when”* is also omitted because the verse occurs at the end of the poem.
The **third interpretation** is that the mention of **divine will** in the verse is used figuratively and expansively, indicating what is already known about the condition of those people and the outcome of their affair—that whenever they are commanded, they respond with disobedience and opposition. The mention of will here resembles the usage in expressions such as when people say “if…” (continuing the analogy of rhetorical usage).
Footnote:
[1] **Qatā’idah** – a mountain pass or steep ascent.
**Shallan** – driving away or chasing.
**Shurdan** – the plural of *shārid*, meaning one who flees or strays.
WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
