Ali in the Quran

The majority of Islamic commentators do not believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib is explicitly mentioned in the Quran. An exception is in Ja'far Ibn al-Haytham's Kitab al-Munazarat, there is a specific mention of the words ʿAliyyan (Arabic: عَلِيًّا‎), ʿAliyyun (عَلِيٌّ) and ʿAlayya (عَلَيَّ) in the Quran which, he believes, according to grammatical rules are the names to Ali. Examples of these, he says, are the following verses: In the (mother of the Book which is with Us, he is Ali, full of wisdom;[1] We appointed for them Ali as a voice of truth;[2] and This is the straight path of Ali.[3][4] However, many other verses of the Quran have been interpreted, by both Shia and Sunni scholars, as referring to Ali.

Chapters and verses

Verse 2:207
Main article: Laylat al-Mabit

Laylat al-Mabit is the night when the Islamic prophet Muhammad left the city of Mecca and began his migration to Medina. Many of the Meccan polytheists had planned to kill Muhammad on the night that he left Mecca. That night, Ali risked his life by sleeping in Muhammad's bed so that Muhammad could leave Mecca safely. When the polytheists of Mecca went to Muhammad's room with the aim of killing him, they instead found Ali in his bed.

The 207th verse of Surat al-Baqarah in the Quran is interpreted as having been revealed in this regard to show the sacrifice of Imam 'Ali for saving the life of the Islamic Prophet:[5][6][7][8][9]

And of an-nās (Arabic: ٱلنَّاس‎, the people) is he who sells his nafs (Arabic: نَفْس‎, self), seeking the marḍātillāh (مَرْضَاتِ ٱلله, approval of God). And Allāh is Raʾūfum-bil-ʿibād (Arabic: رَءُوْفٌ بِٱلْعِبَاد‎, Kind to the servants).

— Qur'an, [2:207]

Verse 3:61
Main article: Event of Mubahala § Verse of Mubahalah

In the year 10 AH (631/32 CE), a Christian envoy from Najran (now in southwestern Saudi Arabia) came to Muhammad to debate doctrines regarding ʿĪsā (Jesus). After Muhammad likened Jesus' miraculous birth to the creation of Ādam (Adam),[lower-alpha 1]—who was born to neither a mother nor a father — and when the Christians did not accept the Islamic doctrine about Jesus, Muhammad was instructed to call them to Mubahalah where each party should ask God to destroy the false party and their families.[10][11][12]

"But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars."[Quran 3:61]

Many historians, both Shi'ite and Sunni, state that the people that Muhammad brought to the Mubahalah were Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husain. Accordingly, in the verse of Mubahalah, it has been stated the phrase "our sons" refers to Hasan and Husayn, "our women" refers to Fatimah, and that "ourselves" refers Muhammad and Ali.[4][12][13][14]

Chapter 5
Main article: Al-Ma'ida

Verse 5:3
Main article: Verse of Ikmal al-Din

In the Shi'ite version of the Farewell Sermon, immediately after Muhammad had finished his sermon at Ghadir Khumm, the following verse of the Quran was revealed:[15][16][17]

This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion (5:3).

Verse 5:55

"Only Allah is Waliyyukum (Arabic: وَلِيُّكُم‎, "your Walī" (masculine, plural tense)) and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay az-Zakāh (the Poor-rate) while they bow."[Quran 5:55 (Translated by Shakir)]

Shi'ite scholars, along with Sunni ones such as Tabari,[lower-alpha 2] Al-Suyuti[lower-alpha 3] and Razi,[lower-alpha 4] recorded[lower-alpha 5] that one day, when Ali was performing the ritual prayers in the Mosque, a beggar began to ask for alms. Ali extended his finger, and the beggar removed his ring.[18][19] Then Muhammad observed this, and a passage of the Qur'an was sent down upon him (5:55),[20] According to Shi'ites, in this verse, "obedience is absolute and conjoined with obedience to God and his messenger", so the person identified as Wali must be infallible.[14]

Abu Dhar al-Ghifari, one of the earliest converts to Islam, was said to have related the following ḥadith to Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tha'labi, the Sunni author of the Tafsir al-Thalabi:[21]

One day, I was praying with the Prophet in the mosque when a beggar walked in. No one responded to his pleas. The beggar raised his hands towards the heavens and said, "Allah! Be a witness that I came to the Prophet's Mosque and no one gave me anything." Imam Ali (a) was bowing during his prayer at that time. He pointed his little finger, on which was a ring, towards the beggar who came forward and took away the ring. The incident occurred in the Prophet's presence, and he raised his face towards heaven and prayed:

"O Lord! my brother Musa had begged of Thee to open his breast and to make his work easy for him, to loosen the knot of his tongue so that people might understand him, and to appoint from among his relations his brother, as his wali, and to strengthen his back with Harun and to make Harun his partner in his work. O Allah! Thou said to Musa, 'We will strengthen thy arm with thy brother. No one will now have access to either of you!'[22] O Allah! I am Muhammad and Thou hast given me distinction. Open my breast for me, make my work easy for me, and from my family appoint my brother Ali as my wali. Strengthen my back with him."[21][23]

Verse 5:67

"O Messenger! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people."[Quran 5:67 (Translated by Shakir)]

This verse urges the Prophet of Islam to announce Ali as his successor on his way from his last pilgrimage to Mecca.[24]

Verse 33:33

"And stay in your houses and do not display your finery like the displaying of the Ignorance of yore; and keep up the Salah, and pay the Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, Ahlal-Bayt (People of the House), and purify you a (thorough) purifying."[Quran 33:33 (Translated by Shakir)]

Shi'ite commentators, along with some Sunni ones, record that the people of the house in this verse are the Ahl al-Kisāʾ (People of the Mantle): Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn.[4][14][25][26][27][28][lower-alpha 6] According to Wilferd Madelung, "the great majority of the reports quoted by al-Tabari in his commentary on this verse support this interpretation."[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8] However, Ibn Kathir, in his tafsir of the verse, says "the [Sunni] scholars are unanimously agreed that they (Muhammad's wives) were the reason for revelation in this case ... but others may be included by way of generalization."[30]

Verse 42:23

"That is of which Allah gives the good news to His servants, (to) those who believe and do good deeds. Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but al-mawaddah fil-qurbā (Arabic: ٱلْمَوَدَّة فِي ٱلْقُرْبَى‎, the love for the near relatives), and whoever earns good, We give him more of good therein; surely Allah is Forgiving, Grateful."[Quran 42:23 (Translated by Shakir)]

Shi'ite commentators and Sunni ones like Baydawi[lower-alpha 9] and Razi[lower-alpha 10] agree that the near relatives in question are Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn.[32] Such a view is rejected by Ibn Kathir, who claims the verse refers to the Quraysh, quoting hadiths from Sahih Bukhari and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.[33] According to Madelung Shi'ite and Sunni sources agree that by the near relatives in this verse and other similar verses were meant the descendants of Muhammad's great-grandfather Hashim ibn ʿAbd Manaf, and of Hashim's brother Al-Muṭṭalib.[34]

See also

Notes
  1. Quran, 3: 59
  2. See at-Tabari: at-Tarikh, vol.6, p.186
  3. See as-Suyuti: Dur al-Manthur, vol.2, pp. 293–4
  4. See ar-Razi: at-Tafsiru 'l Kabir, vol.12, p.26
  5. See also az-Zamakhshari: at-Tafsir al-Kashshaf, vol.1, p.469; al-Jassas:Ahkamu 'l-Quran, vol.2, pp. 542–3; al-khazin: at-Tafsir, vol.2, p.68 Imamate: The vicegerency of the Holy Prophet By Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizv p24
  6. see also al-Bahrani, Ghayat al-Marum, p. 126:al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur, Vol. V, p.199; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al Musnad, Vol. I, p.331; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, al-Tafsir al-Kabir, Vol. I, p.783; Ibn Hajar, al-Sawa'iq p.85
  7. See Tabari, Jarir XXII, 5–7.
  8. Madelung writes "the verse addressed to the wives of the Prophet: 'Stay in your houses, and do not show yourselves in spectacular fashion like that of the former time of ignorance. Perform the prayer, give alms, and obey God and His Messenger. God desires only to remove defilement from you, o people of the house (ahl al-bayt)^ and to purify you (yutahhirakum) completely' (XXXIII 33). Who are the 'people of the house' here? The pronoun referring to them is in the masculine plural, while the preceding part of the verse is in the feminine plural. This change of gender has evidently contributed to the birth of various accounts of a legendary character, attaching the latter part of the verse to the five People of the Mantle ahl al-kisa: Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn."[29]
  9. See Baydawi, Anwar at-Tanzil. Vol.5 p.53[31]
  10. See Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb, vol. 7, pp. 273–5[31]

References
  1. Quran, 43:4
  2. http://tanzil.net/#19:50 Quran, 19:50]
  3. Quran, 15:41
  4. Leaman, Oliver (2006). The Quran: an Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis e-Library. pp. 28–31. ISBN 978-0-415-32639-1.
  5. Tabataba'i, Al-Mizan, 2, p. 135
  6. Nishapuri, Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, 3, p. 5
  7. Shaybani, Fada'il al-sahaba, 2, p. 484
  8. 'Ayyashi, Tafsir, 1, p. 101
  9. Zarkashī, Al-Burhān fī `ulūm al-Qur’ān, 1, p. 206
  10. Momen 1985, pp. 13–14
  11. Madelung 1997, pp. 15–16
  12. Madelung 1997, p. 16
  13. Momen 1985, p. 14
  14. Hamid, Mavani (2013). Religious Authority and Political Thought in Twelver Shi'ism. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 68–73. ISBN 978-0-415-62440-4.
  15. al-Bahrani, Seyyed Hashim. Al-Burhan Fi Tafsir al-Quran. 1. pp. 434–437.
  16. Makarem Shirazi, Naser. Tafsir Nemooneh. 4. pp. 263–271.
  17. Sobhani, Ja'far. Al-Iman va al-Kofr fi al-Ketab va al-Sunnah. 1. p. 244.
  18. Akhtar Rizvi, Sayyid Saeed (1988). Imamate: The vicegerency of the Holy Prophet. Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania. pp. 24–. ISBN 978-9976-956-13-9.
  19. Cornille, Catherine; Conway, Christopher (1 July 2010). Interreligious Hermeneutics. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-1-63087-425-4.
  20. Hasnain Rizvi, Syed Tilmiz (3 February 2014). Fazail-e-Ali ibn Abi Talib. Lulu.com. pp. 1–42. ISBN 978-1-304-87140-4.
  21. Shomali (2004), pp. 140–142.
  22. Quran 20:25.
  23. Rizvi & al. (2006), p. 24.
  24. Vaglieri, Laura Veccia (2012). "G̲h̲adīr K̲h̲umm". Encyclopædia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill Online. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  25. Sahih Muslim, Chapter of virtues of companions, section of the virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt of the Prophet, 1980 Edition Pub. in Saudi Arabia, Arabic version, v4, p1883, Tradition #61
  26. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tafsir al-Tabari. XXII. pp. 5–7.
  27. H. Algar, "Al-E Aba," Encyclopædia Iranica, I/7, p. 742; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/al-e-aba-the-family-of-the-cloak-i (accessed on 14 May 2014).
  28. "Fāṭima." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2014. Reference. 08 April 2014
  29. Madelung 1997, pp. 14–15
  30. Tafsir Ibn Kathir. IslamKotob. p. 126.
  31. Momen 1985, p. 334
  32. Momen 1985, p. 152
  33. Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman (29 October 2009). The Meaning and Explanation of the Glorious Qur'an (Vol 9). MSA Publication Limited. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-86179-667-7.
  34. Madelung 1997, p. 13

Sources
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