Al-Istirja' Verse
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | al-Istirja' |
| Sura | Qur'an 2 |
| Verse | 156 |
| Juz' | 2 |
| Content Information | |
| Cause of Revelation | Saying the sentence of Istirja' by Imam 'Ali (a) in the tragedy of Hamza or Ja'far b. Abi Talib |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Theological and ethical |
| About | Return of all humans to God |
| Others | Calling each other to be patient in disasters |
| Related Verses | Qur'an 2:155, 157 |
Al-Istirja' Verse (Arabic: آيَة الاِسْتِرْجاع) also known as the Verse of Return, is a Quranic verse emphasizing people's ultimate return to God. It is highly recommended to recite this verse when one experiences loss or hardship. In Shiite exegeses such as al-Tibyan and Majma' al-bayan, the verse is regarded as an expression of servitude towards God and an affirmation of the day of resurrection. According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), reciting the Al-Istirja' Verse during a tragedy ensures entry into heaven.
According to hadiths cited in the works of al-'Allama al-Hilli and Ibn Shahrashub, the al-Istirja' Verse was revealed when Imam 'Ali (a) heard the news of the martyrdom of his uncle Hamza or his brother Ja'far and said: “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”
The Verse and Its Translation
Part of verse 156 of Qur'an 2, which says that humans belong to God and to Him they will return, is known as al-Istirja' Verse or the Verse of Return.[1]
| “ | الَّذِینَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِیبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلهِ وَ إِنَّا إِلَیهِ رَاجِعُونَ
Those who, when an affliction visits them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and to Him do we indeed return. |
” |
| — Qur'an 2:156 | ||
Interpretations of the Verse
In his Quranic exegsis al-Safi, al-Fayd al-Kashani, an eleventh/seventeenth-century exegete of the Qur'an, draws upon a hadith to interpret “musiba” (disaster) as everything that hurts a believer.[2] Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, a fifth/eleventh-century exegete, in al-Tibyan and Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi, a sixth/twelfth-century Shiite exegete, in Majma' al-bayan believe that the Verse of Return involves notions such as confession of servitude towards God and affirmation of the day of resurrection. They believe that uttering this verse during disasters and hardships implies submission and surrender to God’s plans.[3]
In his interpretation of the Verse of Return, Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi cites a hadith according to which God will reward those who, at times of disaster, remember that they belong to God and will return to Him.[4] Moreover, he cites a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) to the effect that those who remember the "return" at times of tragedy will be in one of the four groups of people who enter the heaven.[5] Imam 'Ali (a) interprets the Verse of Return as follows: when we say "we belong to Allah" we confess that we are owned by God, and when we say "to Him we will return" we confess that we will perish.[6] The reason why the verse is called al-Istirja' or return is its second part, according to which all people will return to God.
In his Quranic exegesis al-Mizan, 'Allama Tabataba'i offers an interpretation of the verse, stating that if individuals comprehend that God is the true owner and humans are merely pseudo-owners, they will not experience joy upon acquiring something, nor will they be distressed by any loss.[7]
Religiously Recommended
According to al-Shahid al-Awwal, a Shia jurist in the eighth/fourteenth century, it is recommended to recite the Verse of Return when stricken by a tragedy.[8] There are several hadiths in which the Prophet (s) and other Infallibles have recommended the recitation of this verse at times of disaster.[9] According to Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi the author of the book al-Jawahir al-Kalam, the Shia jurist in the thirteenth/nineteenth century, it is also recommended to recite the al-Istirja' Verse when burying the dead.[10]
Occasion of Revelation
According to a hadith cited by al-'Allama al-Hilli in his Nahj al-haqq wa kashf al-sidq on the occasion of the revelation of the Verse of Return, when Imam 'Ali (a) heard the news of the martyrdom of his uncle Hamza, he said, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return". After this, the verse was revealed.[11] According to another hadith cited by Ibn Shahrashub, the Shiite scholar of hadith and exegete in the sixth/twelfth century, in his Manaqib Al Abi Talib, when the Prophet (s) gave Imam 'Ali (a) the news of the martyrdom of Ja'far b. Abi Talib in the Battle of Mu'ta, Imam 'Ali (a) said, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return". Upon this, the verse was revealed.[12]
Notes
- ↑ See: Ḥillī, Nahj al-ḥaqq wa Kashf al-ṣidq, p. 209.
- ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 1, p. 204.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 437; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 2, p. 39-40.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 437.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 437.
- ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, no. 99.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 353-354.
- ↑ Shahīd al-Awwal, Dhikrā al-shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 49.
- ↑ Shahīd al-Awwal, Dhikrā al-shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 49.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 4, p. 310.
- ↑ Ḥillī, Nahj al-ḥaqq wa Kashf al-ṣidq, p. 209.
- ↑ Ibn Shahrāshūb, Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib, vol. 2, p. 120.
References
- Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥammad b. al-Murtaḍā al-. Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī. Edited by Ḥusayn Aʿlamī. Second edition. Tehran: Maktabat al-Ṣadr, 1415 AH.
- Ḥillī, al-Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-. Nahj al-ḥaq wa Kashf al-ṣidq. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, 1982.
- Ibn Shahrāshūb, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib. Qom: ʿAllāma, 1379 AH.
- Najafī, Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Edited by ʿAbbās Qūchānī & ʿAlī Ākhūndī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1404 AH.
- Shahīd al-Awwal, Muḥammad b. Makkī. Al-Dhikrā al-shīʿa fī aḥkām al-sharīʿa. Qom: 1419 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1390 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1408 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Aḥmad Qaṣīr al-ʿĀmilī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].