Qur'an 98: 7
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | Sura al-Bayyina |
| Verse | 7 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Theological |
| About | The high position of Imam Ali (a) and the Shi'a |
Qur'an 98:7 or the al-Khayr al-Bariyya Verse (Arabic: آية خَيرُ البَريَّة) is among the verses revealed regarding Imam Ali (a). Based on narrations transmitted from Prophet Muhammad (s) in Shi'a and Sunni sources, the phrase "Khayr al-Bariyya" (the best of creatures) refers to Imam Ali (a) and his followers.
Some exegetes have concluded from this verse that pious believers and the righteous are superior even to angels, because the word "al-Bariyya" (creatures) encompasses all created beings.
Text and Translation
The seventh verse of Sura al-Bayyina has become known as the Verse of Khayr al-Bariyya.[1]
﴾إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ﴿
Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds—it is they who are the best of creatures.
Position and Significance
Qur'an 98:7 is counted among the Virtues of Imam Ali (a).[2] It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that this verse was revealed concerning Imam Ali (a).[3] According to Shi'a scholars, Imam Ali (a) cited this verse and its occasion of revelation regarding himself in the Six-Member Council to prove his legitimacy.[4]
Nasir Makarim Shirazi (b. 1926), a Shi'a exegete, relying on narrations from the Prophet (s) concerning the occasion of revelation of this verse which mention Ali and his Shi'a,[5] stated that the term "Shi'a" was introduced during the time of Prophet Muhammad (s), and the intended meaning of Shi'a in these narrations is the special followers of Imam Ali (a).[6]
We were with the Prophet (s) when Ali (a) arrived. The Prophet (s) said: "By the One in whose hand lies my life, this man and his Shi'a are the triumphant ones on the Day of Resurrection;" and this verse was revealed: 'Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds—it is they who are the best of creatures.' Whenever Ali arrived, the Companions of the Prophet (s) would say: 'Khayr al-Bariyya (the best of creatures) has come.'[7]
Meaning of Khayr al-Bariyya
In Shi'a and Sunni hadith collections, traditions have been narrated from the Prophet (s) in which "Khayr al-Bariyya" (the best of creatures) is interpreted as Imam Ali (a) and his Shi'a.[8] Al-Hakim al-Haskani (d. 490/1097), a Sunni scholar, cites more than twenty narrations with various chains of transmission regarding this in his book Shawahid al-tanzil.[9] Among them, he narrates from Ibn Abbas that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet (s) addressed Imam Ali (a) and said: "That is you and your Shi'a. On the Day of Resurrection, you and your Shi'a will come while you are pleased with God and God is pleased with you."[10]
Exegetical Points
One of the exegetical points that exegetes have deduced from the verse is that faithful and righteous human beings are superior even to angels; because the word "al-bariyya" in the phrase "Khayr al-Bariyya" (the best of creatures) includes all created beings.[11]
Revelation of the Verse in Mecca
According to some narrations, the Qur'an 98:7 was revealed while the Prophet (s) was in Mecca in al-Masjid al-Haram.[12] According to Tafsir-i nimuna, this issue does not contradict the Sura being Madani; as the Sura might be Madani, but this verse could have been revealed during one of the journeys the Prophet (s) made from Medina to Mecca.[13]
Notes
- ↑ ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, Nahj al-ḥaqq, p. 189.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 213.
- ↑ See: Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, 1410-1411 AH, vol. 2, p. 473; Shūshtarī, Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq, vol. 20, p. 27.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, al-Mustarshid, p. 354; Astarābādī, Taʾwīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira, p. 803.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 8, p. 589; Amīnī, al-Ghadīr, vol. 2, pp. 57-58.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, pp. 213-214.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh Dimashq, vol. 42, p. 371.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 379; Astarābādī, Taʾwīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira, pp. 80-803; Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 15, p. 432.
- ↑ See: Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, 1410-1411 AH, vol. 2, pp. 459-473.
- ↑ Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, 1410-1411 AH, vol. 2, p. 461.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 340; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 209.
- ↑ Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, 1410-1411 AH, vol. 2, p. 467.
- ↑ See: Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 212.
References
- ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, al-Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-. Nahj al-ḥaqq wa kashf al-ṣidq. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-Lubnānī, 1402 AH.
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm. Edited by ʿAlī ʿAbd al-Bārī ʿAṭiyya. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1415 AH.
- Amīnī, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn al-. Al-Ghadīr fī l-kitāb wa l-sunna wa l-adab. Qom: Markaz al-Ghadīr lil-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya, 1416 AH.
- Astarābādī, Sayyid Sharaf al-Dīn ʿAlī al-. Taʾwīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira fī faḍāʾil al-ʿitra al-ṭāhira. Edited by Ḥusayn Ustādwalī. Qom: Nashr-i Islāmī, 1409 AH.
- Ḥaskānī, ʿUbayd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Shawāhid al-tanzīl li-qawāʿid al-tafḍīl. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Maḥmūdī. Beirut–Tehran: Wizārat al-Thaqāfa wa l-Irshād al-Islāmī, 1410–1411 AH.
- Ibn ʿAsākir, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan. Tārīkh Madīnat Dimashq. Edited by ʿAmr b. Gharāma al-ʿAmrawī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1415 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Shūshtarī, Qāḍī Nūr Allāh al-. Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq wa izhāq al-bāṭil. Qom: Maktabat Āyatullāh al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1409 AH.
- Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr fī tafsīr al-maʾthūr. Qom: Kitābkhāna-yi Marʿashī-yi Najafī, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1417 AH.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Al-Mustarshid fī imāmat ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a). Edited by Aḥmad Maḥmūdī. Qom: Kūshānpūr, 1415 AH.
