Qur'an 9: 119
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| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verse of al-Sadiqin |
| Sura | Sura al-Tawba |
| Verse | 119 |
| Juz' | 11 |
| Topic | Theological |
| About | Proofs of Imamate • Ahl al-Bayt (a) |
Qur'an 9:119 or the Verse of al-Ṣādiqīn (Arabic:آية الصادقين) commands the believers to be with the truthful ones (al-ṣādiqīn) and follow them. Muslim exegetes have offered various interpretations regarding the referent and characteristics of the "truthful ones," relying on Quranic verses in this regard. For instance, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, relying on Qur'an 33: 23, considered the truthful ones in this verse to be those who have acted truthfully in their covenant with God.
Narrations have been cited in Shi'a and Sunni hadith collections, based on which Imam Ali (a) alone, or together with his companions or his household, or Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Household, have been introduced as the referent of the truthful ones. Many narrations have also interpreted the truthful ones as the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
Al-'Allama al-Hilli counted this verse among the proofs for the Imamate of Imam Ali (a) and considered the referents of the verse to be only the infallibles. According to Makarim Shirazi, the meaning of the verse is to be with Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a). Fakhr al-Din al-Razi also considered the verse as a proof for the infallibility of the truthful ones, but stated that the referent of the truthful ones is the "collective consensus of the Umma".
Text and Translation
| “ | يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
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” |
| “ | O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and be with the Truthful
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” |
| — Quran 9:119 | ||
Meaning and Referent of Sadiqin
Burayd says: I asked Imam al-Baqir (a) about the word of God Almighty where He says 'Be wary of Allah, and be with the Truthful'. The Imam (a) said: "It refers to us."[1]
The word "ṣādiqīn" is the plural of "ṣādiq" (truthful).[2] According to Allama Tabataba'i in al-Mizan, one whose belief corresponds with reality or whose outward and inward states are consistent and accompanied by one another is "ṣādiq".[3] Al-Zamakhshari, a Sunni exegete, also maintains that the truthful ones are those who are truthful in God's religion regarding belief, speech, and action.[4]
However, Muslim exegetes disagree on the referent and characteristics of the "truthful ones" (al-ṣādiqīn). In Majma' al-bayan, al-Tabrisi stated that the intended meaning of the truthful ones are those who possess the attributes mentioned in Qur'an 2:177: "Piety is not to turn your faces to the east or the west; rather, piety is [personified by] those who have faith in Allah and the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets..."[5]
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi considered the referents of the truthful ones to be those described in Qur'an 33:23: "Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah: there are some among them who have fulfilled their pledge, and some of them who still wait, and they have not changed in the least." This means they have acted truthfully in their covenant with God.[6]
Among Sunni exegetes, al-Qurtubi believes that the truthful ones are the Muhajirun (the Emigrants) who are called "truthful" (ṣādiqūn) in Qur'an 59: 8: "[The spoils are] for the poor Emigrants who have been expelled from their homes and [dispossessed of] their possessions, seeking grace from Allah and [His] pleasure and helping Allah and His Apostle. It is they who are the truthful."[7]
Among the narrations cited in Shi'a and Sunni books, there are traditions in which Ali (a), or Ali (a) and his companions, or Ali (a) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a),[8] or Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a) have been stated as the referent of the truthful ones in this verse.[9] At the same time, many Shi'a narrations have interpreted the truthful ones as the Ahl al-Bayt (a).[10]
Indication of the Infallibility and Imamate of the Truthful Ones
According to several Shi'a scholars, the Verse of al-Sadiqin indicates the Imamate and infallibility of Imam Ali (a). In his commentary on the words of al-Muhaqqiq al-Tusi, who considered the verse "and be with the Truthful" as one of the proofs for the Imamate of Ali (a), al-'Allama al-Hilli stated that the intended meaning of the "truthful ones" are those whose truthfulness is certain, and this is only realized in the case of an infallible; because one cannot be aware of the truthfulness of a non-infallible. According to the consensus of Muslims, no one among the Companions of the Prophet (s) was infallible except Ali (a).[11]
Furthermore, Makarim Shirazi, a Shi'a Marja' and exegete, has stated that the meaning of the verse is "be with Muhammad (s) and his Household"; because if someone were not Infallible, how could an unconditional order be issued to follow and accompany them?[12]
Among Sunni scholars, Fakhr al-Razi also considered the verse as a proof for the infallibility of the truthful ones. He stated that it is understood from this phrase that the believers are not infallible, and to be safe from error, they must follow those who are free from error, and they are the "truthful ones".[13] However, he considered the referent of the truthful ones to be the "collective consensus of the Umma".[14]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 208.
- ↑ Jurjānī, al-Taʿrīfāt, p. 95.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 9, p. 402.
- ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 220.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 3, p. 81.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 5, p. 318.
- ↑ Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 8, p. 288.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 4, p. 287; Āmidī, Ghāyat al-marām, vol. 3, pp. 50-51; Amīnī, al-Ghadīr, vol. 2, p. 306.
- ↑ Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, vol. 1, p. 262.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Uṣūl al-kāfī, vol. 1, p. 208; Āmidī, Ghāyat al-marām, vol. 3, p. 52.
- ↑ Ḥillī, Kashf al-murād, p. 503.
- ↑ "Dalālat-i āyay-i kūnū maʿa l-ṣādiqīn bar wujūd-i maʿṣūm, dar har ʿaṣrī"
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 16, p. 166.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 16, p. 166.
References
- Āmidī, Sayyid Hāshim al-Baḥrānī al-. Ghāyat al-marām. Beirut, Muʾassisat al-Tārīkh al-ʿArabī, 1391 AH.
- Amīnī, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn al-. Al-Ghadīr. Qom, Markaz al-Ghadīr, 1421 AH.
- "Dalālat-i āyay-i kūnū maʿa l-ṣādiqīn bar wujūd-i maʿṣūm, dar har ʿaṣrī". Website of Āyīn-i Raḥmat. Accessed: 22 Mordad 1403 Sh.
- Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Mafātīḥ al-ghayb (Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr). Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 3rd ed, 1420 AH.
- Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, ʿUbayd Allāh b. Aḥmad. Shawāhid al-tanzīl. Tehran, Muʾassisat al-Ṭabʿ wa l-Nashr, 1411 AH.
- Ḥillī, al-Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-. Kashf al-murād. Qom, Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1419 AH.
- Jurjānī, Sayyid Sharīf ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Al-Taʿrīfāt. Beirut, Dār al-Fikr, 1419 AH.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Uṣūl al-kāfī. Beirut, Dār al-Taʿāruf, 1401 AH.
- Qurṭubī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-. Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm. Edited by ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Mahdī. Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1423 AH.
- Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1421 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān. Beirut, Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī, 1393 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1379 Sh.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Maktab al-Iʿlām al-Islāmī, 1401 AH.
- Zamakhsharī, Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Kashshāf ʿan ḥaqāʾiq ghawāmiḍ al-tanzīl wa ʿuyūn al-aqāwīl fī wujūh al-taʾwīl. Edited by Muṣṭafā Ḥusayn Aḥmad. Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1407 AH.