A man came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) on the Day of the Camel and said: “O Ali, on what ground do you fight the companions of the Messenger of God and those who testify that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God?” Ali said: “A verse in the Book of God has made fighting them lawful for me.” He said: “And what is it?” He said: “His word, exalted is He: ‘Those messengers — We preferred some of them above others; among them was he to whom God spoke, and some of them He raised in degrees. And We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Had God willed, those who came after them would not have fought one another after the clear proofs had come to them; but they differed — some of them believed and some disbelieved. And had God willed they would not have fought one another; but God does what He wills.’” The man said: “By God, the people have fallen into unbelief!” (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 74)
On the day of the Battle of the Camel someone came before the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and asked: By what proof do we fight the companions of the Messenger of God, who are Muslims? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) answered: A verse in the Book of God has deemed such fighting permissible. He said: Which verse? He said: Among the prophets, God has preferred some above others — for instance, God spoke directly with some, and granted particular spiritual degrees to others; and, for instance, We gave Jesus son of Mary clear miracles and strengthened him by means of the Holy Spirit. Had God so willed by compulsion, the peoples who came after the prophets would not have fought one another — and that after all those clear proofs! But they fell into disagreement: some believed and some became irreligious. Yes, had God willed, they would not have fought one another; but God does whatever He wills [Qur'an 2:253]. When that man heard this, he said: By God, those who have drawn the sword against you are unbelievers.
A man came to Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) with his wife in this condition, and he sent an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from her family, and said to the two arbiters: “Do you know what you are to judge? If you wish, you may separate them, and if you wish, you may unite them.” The husband said: “I am not content with a ruling of separation, nor will I divorce her.” So he obliged him to pay her maintenance and forbade him to go in to her; and if the husband died in that state, she inherited from him, and if she died, he did not inherit from her — this when she was content with the ruling of the two arbiters and the husband was averse to it. But if the husband was content and the woman averse, she was placed in this position: if she was averse, she had no maintenance from him, and if he died she did not inherit from him, and if she died he inherited from her — until she should submit to the ruling of the two arbiters. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 138)
If a man and a woman had difficulty in continuing their life together and came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), then in accordance with the verse “Appoint an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from her family” [Qur'an 4:35] he would choose an arbiter for each of them and tell them to rule either for the continuation of the marriage or for separation. In the end, if the two arbiters (ruled for the continuation of the marriage, the matter was settled; but if they) ruled for separation, and the husband was not content with their ruling and would not divorce his wife, while the wife was content with their ruling and with separation, he would require the husband to continue paying the wife's maintenance but not to have relations with her; and if the wife died, the husband would not inherit from her, but if the husband died, the wife would be among his heirs. If the husband was content with the arbiters' ruling of separation and the wife was not, then in that case — contrary to the man — the wife would not inherit from him and would have no maintenance, until she submitted to the arbiters' ruling.
Al-Sakuni, from Abu Abd Allah (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “Six do not shorten the prayer: the tax collectors who travel about in their collecting; the merchant who travels about in his trade from market to market; the governor who travels about in his governorship; the shepherd who seeks out the places of rainfall and the sprouting of trees; the man who goes out in pursuit of game, seeking worldly diversion; and the brigand who waylays travellers on the road.” (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 149)
The narrator relates from Imam al-Sadiq (AS), from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), that several categories of people perform the full prayer while travelling: one whose work is the collection of land tax and who travels to collect it; a merchant who is constantly travelling for his trade; a governor who must travel to the far parts of his province; a shepherd who moves his flock in search of pasture; one who has gone hunting for amusement; and likewise one who engages in highway robbery.
From some of his men, tracing it back to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), who said: God has made incumbent upon you the alms of your standing among people, just as He has made incumbent upon you the alms of what your hands possess. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 152)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has made the alms of one's good repute obligatory just as He made the alms of wealth obligatory.
Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) said: The first part of jihad in which you will be overcome [overturned] is jihad with your hands, then jihad with your tongues, then jihad with your hearts. So whoever's heart neither recognizes the good nor rejects the evil, his heart is turned upside down, its lowest part made its highest, and it no longer accepts any good. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 213)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The first part of jihad that the Muslims gradually abandon is jihad with the sword; then they let jihad with the tongue fall into neglect; and in the end they abandon jihad with the heart — that is, their heart neither approves what is good nor counts what is evil as blameworthy. Such a heart has been overturned and no longer accepts any good.
From al-Sadiq (AS): The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: There is no good in this world except for one of two men: a man who increases in good deeds every day, and a man who makes good his mortality through repentance. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 242)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: There is no good in this world except for two persons: one who each day sends ahead some good deed for his Hereafter, and one who each day, through repentance, takes a step away from his own self-conceit.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has no sign greater than me. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 309)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has no sign greater than me.
A man recited before the Commander of the Faithful (AS): “Then after that there will come a year in which the people will be given relief, and in which they will press (ya'sirun).” He said: Woe to you! What is it that they press? Do they press wine? The man said: O Commander of the Faithful, how then am I to recite it? He said: It was revealed only as “a year in which the people will be given relief, and in which they will be given rain (yu'sarun)” — that is, rain will be sent down upon them after the years of famine. The proof of that is His saying: “And We sent down from the rain-clouds water pouring forth.” (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 346)
Someone recited before Ali (AS): “in which the people are given relief, and in which they press (ya'sirun).” The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Read the way you read it, this means that they press out juice, that is, wine; rather recite: “a year in which the people are given relief, and in which they are given rain (yu'sarun)” — that is, rain falls upon them. Its proof is the noble verse: “And We sent down from the rain-clouds water pouring forth.”
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The earth is never without an Imam who upholds the proof of God, either manifest and well known or fearful and overpowered, lest God's proofs and clear signs come to nothing. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 1, p. 359)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The earth is never left without an Imam who is the proof of God. That Imam is either manifest and well known, or in fear and overpowered. Were it not so, the proof would not be complete and the path of God would not be made clear.
Al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was sitting before the Messenger of God (PBUH), and he said to him: Say, O Ali: O God, place love for me in the hearts of the believers. Then God sent down: “Surely those who believe and do righteous deeds — the All-Merciful will appoint for them love.” (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 56)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was sitting beside the Messenger of God (PBUH) when the Messenger of God said: O Ali, pray and say: O God, cast love for me into the hearts of the believers! At that moment the verse was revealed: Those who believe and do good — God casts love for them into people's hearts.
Abu al-Jarud, from Abu Ja'far (AS), concerning His saying, “God has not made for any man two hearts within his breast”: Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) said: Love for us and love for our enemy never gather together within a single man. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 171)
Imam al-Baqir (AS), commenting on the verse “God has not made for any man two hearts within his breast,” relates from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that love for us and love for our enemy never gather together in one heart.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said in the letter he wrote to his Shi'a, in which he mentioned A'isha's setting out for Basra and the enormity of the error of Talha and al-Zubayr: Three traits, according to the Book of God, recoil upon people themselves: transgression, deceit, and the breaking of a pledge. God said: “O people, your transgression is only against yourselves”; and He said: “So whoever breaks his oath breaks it only against himself”; and He said: “But evil plotting befalls only its own authors.” And these two have transgressed against us, broken their pledge of allegiance to me, and plotted against me. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 171)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: According to the Book of God there are three traits whose consequences fall directly upon a man himself: oppression, deceit, and the breaking of a covenant. As God has said: “O people, your transgression is only against yourselves”; and He has said: “So whoever breaks his oath breaks it only against himself”; and He has said: “But evil plotting befalls only its own authors.” Talha and al-Zubayr did all three of these together against me, and they perished.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Harun, from Abu 'Abd Allah (AS), from his forefathers (AS), who said: When news reached the Commander of the Faithful (AS) about Mu'awiya, and that he was at the head of a hundred thousand men, he asked: From which people? They said: From the people of Sham. He (AS) said: Do not say “the people of Sham,” but say “the people of shu'm” — the people of ill omen. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 268)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: When it was reported to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that Mu'awiya had mobilized a hundred thousand soldiers from the people of Sham and had resolved on war, he said: Do not call them the people of Sham; they are the people of shu'm, of ill omen!
Al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), said: I heard him say: I shall relate to you a hadith that every Muslim ought to take to heart. Then he turned to us and said: God does not punish a believing servant in this world but that God is too forbearing, too glorious, and too generous to return to punishing him on the Day of Resurrection; and God does not veil a believing servant in this world and pardon him but that God is too glorious, too generous, and too noble to return to punishing him on the Day of Resurrection. Then he (AS) said: God may indeed try the believer with affliction in his body, or his wealth, or his children, or his family. Then he recited this verse: “And whatever misfortune befalls you...” and so on — and he scooped with his hand three times. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 276)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I shall tell you something that a believer would do well to learn and keep ever in mind. If God punishes His believing servant in this world, He is too magnanimous and too generous to punish him again on the Day of Resurrection. These very illnesses, financial hardships, and family troubles are the believer's worldly punishment. Then he said: Likewise, those sins of the believer that God has veiled in this world and not exposed — He is too magnanimous and too generous to expose them on the Day of Resurrection and punish him for them.
Abu Ishaq, from al-Harith, from Ali (AS), who spoke of two believing friends and two unbelieving friends, and of a rich believer and a poor believer, and a rich unbeliever and a poor unbeliever. As for the two believing friends: they were friends throughout their lives in obedience to God, gave freely to one another for its sake, and loved one another for its sake. Then one of them died before his companion, and God showed him his station in Paradise; and he intercedes for his companion and says: O Lord, my friend so-and-so used to command me to obey You and help me in it and forbid me from disobeying You; so keep him firm upon the guidance upon which he kept me firm, until You show him what You have shown me. And God answers his prayer, until the two of them meet in the presence of God, Mighty and Majestic, and each one says to the other: May God reward you well as a friend — you used to command me to obey God and forbid me from disobeying God. As for the two unbelievers: they were friends in disobedience to God, gave freely to one another for its sake, and loved one another for its sake. Then one of them died before his companion, and God, Blessed and Exalted, showed him his place in the Fire; and he said: O Lord, so-and-so, my friend, used to command me to disobey You and forbid me from obeying You; so keep him firm upon the acts of disobedience upon which he kept me firm, until You show him the torment You have shown me. So the two of them meet in God's presence on the Day of Resurrection, and each one says to the other: May God reward you with evil as a friend — you used to command me to disobey God and forbid me from obeying God. He said: Then he (AS) recited: “Friends on that Day will be enemies to one another, except the God-fearing.” And the rich believer will be summoned to the reckoning on the Day of Resurrection. God, Blessed and Exalted, says: My servant! He says: Here I am, my Lord. He says: Did I not make you hearing and seeing, and give you abundant wealth? He says: Yes indeed, my Lord. He says: Then what have you prepared for meeting Me? He says: I believed in You, I affirmed the truth of Your Messenger, and I strove in Your path. He says: And what did you do with what I gave you? He says: I spent it in obedience to You. He says: What did you leave behind for your offspring? He says: You created me and created them, You provided for me and provided for them, and You were able to provide for them just as You provided for me; so I entrusted my offspring to You. Then God, Mighty and Majestic, says: You have spoken truly; if you knew what awaits you with Me, you would laugh much. Then the poor believer will be summoned, and He says: O My servant. He says: Here I am, my Lord. He says: What did you do? He says: O Lord, You guided me to Your religion and bestowed Your favour upon me, and You withheld from me that which, had You spread it out before me, I would have feared might distract me from that for which You created me. So God, Mighty and Majestic, says: You have spoken truly, My servant; if you knew what awaits you with Me, you would laugh much. Then the rich unbeliever will be summoned, and He says: What have you prepared for meeting Me? And the man makes excuses. He says: What did you do with what I gave you? He says: I left it as an inheritance to my offspring. He says: Who created you? He says: You. He says: Who created your offspring? He says: You. He says: Was I not able to provide for your offspring just as I provided for you? If he says, “I forgot,” he is ruined; and if he says, “I did not know who You are,” he is ruined. Then God, Mighty and Majestic, says: If you knew what awaits you with Me, you would weep much. He said: Then the poor unbeliever will be summoned, and He says: O son of Adam, what did you do about what I commanded you? He says: You tried me with the affliction of this world until You made me forget Your remembrance and distracted me from that for which You created me. So He says to him: Then why did you not call upon Me, that I might provide for you, and ask of Me, that I might give to you? If he says, “My Lord, I forgot,” he is ruined; and if he says, “I did not know who You are,” he is ruined. So He says to him: If you knew what awaits you with Me, you would weep much. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 287)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When two believers have been friends in this world and their friendship has been for the sake of obedience to God, and they have done good to one another for God's sake, then when one of them departs this world first and beholds Paradise with his own eyes, he intercedes for his friend and says: O God, my friend so-and-so urged me on to obedience and helped me in obedience; just as You kept me firm until I beheld Paradise with my own eyes, keep him firm too, that he may become one of the people of Paradise. And God answers such a prayer, and the two of them meet God as well-wishers of one another and well pleased with one another.
But as for two unbelieving friends whose friendship took shape in disobedience to God and who helped one another in sin: when one of them dies first and beholds the torment with his own eyes, he says: O God, so-and-so was the cause of my wretchedness and dragged me into disobeying You; O God, let his end too be torment. So the two of them meet God on the Day of Resurrection as enemies of one another. This is the meaning of the verse: “Friends on that Day will be enemies to one another, except the God-fearing.”
Likewise, on the Day of Resurrection the rich believer is brought forward and asked: With the wealth We bestowed upon you, what have you sent ahead for the meeting with God? He says: O God, I strove in Your path and spent in obedience to You. He is asked: What did you leave for your heirs? He says: I entrusted them to You, for I knew that if You willed, You would give them wealth just as You gave it to me. He hears the answer: You have spoken truly! Now enter Paradise.
Then the poor believer is brought forward and asked: And what of you? He says: O God, You created me and guided me. And You opened up provision for me only to the measure of my sufficiency, lest I become preoccupied with it. God says: You have spoken truly! You too, enter Paradise.
Then the rich unbeliever is brought forward and they say: What have you in hand for this Day? He says: Nothing; I left it all to my heirs, and I myself did no good deed. They say: Were We not able to provide for them as We provided for you? If he says, “I did not grasp this point,” he perishes; and if he says, “I did not know God at all,” he has again testified against himself and perishes. So he is consigned to Hell.
Then the poor unbeliever is brought forward and they say: What have you to say? He says: You poured so much affliction upon me in the world that I forgot You and forgot what I had been created for! They say: Could you not have raised your hands to heaven and prayed, that I might lift the affliction from you and grant you provision? If he says, “It did not occur to me,” he has confessed against himself; and if he says, “I did not know You at all,” he has spoken against his own innate nature and again confessed against himself. So he too is consigned to Hell.
From them (AS): The Messenger of God (PBUH) commanded the Commander of the Faithful (AS) to teach the jinn and instruct them in religion. Among them are believers and among them are unbelievers, and Nasibis, and Jews, and Christians, and Magians; and they are the children of al-Jann. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 299)
The Imam (AS) said: When a number of the jinn believed, the Messenger of God (PBUH) appointed the Commander of the Faithful (AS) to teach them and make the religion understood by them. Some of the jinn are believers and some are unbelievers, and some are even enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS). Some are Christians, or Jews, or Magians.
Al-Hasan ibn al-'Abbas al-Harishi, from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said: After the death of the Messenger of God (PBUH), the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said in the mosque, while the people were gathered, in a loud voice: “Those who disbelieve and turn others away from the path of God — He renders their deeds vain.” Ibn 'Abbas said to him: O Abu al-Hasan, why did you say what you said? He said: I recited something from the Qur'an. He said: You surely said it for a reason. He said: Yes. God says in His Book: “Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it.” Do you bear witness of the Messenger of God (PBUH) that he appointed so-and-so as his successor? He said: I never heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) make a testament to anyone but you. He said: Then why did you not pledge allegiance to me? He said: The people gathered around him, and I was one of them. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Just as the people of the calf gathered around the calf. It is here that you were put to trial. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 301)
The narrator said: In the days after the passing of the Prophet (PBUH), the Commander of the Faithful (AS) one day recited aloud in the Mosque of the Prophet, so that all might hear: “Those who disbelieve and turn others away from the path of God — He renders their deeds vain.” Ibn 'Abbas said: O Abu al-Hasan, what do you mean by this? He said: I recited a verse. Ibn 'Abbas said: No indeed; you had something in mind! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Yes, I had something in mind. Has God not said: “Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it”? Were you a witness to the Prophet appointing Abu Bakr as his successor? Ibn 'Abbas said: No; the testament of the Messenger of God (PBUH) was that you be his successor. Ali (AS) said: Then why did you yourself pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr? Ibn 'Abbas said: That was the people's view, and I too am one of the people; I cannot move against the opinion of the whole. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The people united upon a course, and you went along with them — exactly like the affair of the calf-worship of the Children of Israel. This is the very root of wretchedness.
Al-Karkhi, from Abu 'Abd Allah (AS): A verse from the Book of God restrained Ali: “Had they been separated, We would surely have punished those of them who disbelieved with a painful punishment.” God had believing deposits in the loins of a people who were unbelievers and hypocrites; so Ali (AS) was not one to slay the fathers until the deposits had come forth. And when they had come forth, he prevailed over those over whom he prevailed and slew them. Likewise our Qa'im of the Ahl al-Bayt will never rise until the deposits of God have come forth; and when they have come forth, he will prevail over those over whom he prevails and slay them. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 316)
The narrator said: Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: It was the verse “Had they been separated, We would surely have punished those of them who disbelieved with a painful punishment” that restrained Ali (AS) from hastening to kill his opponents. Indeed, there were believing deposits in the loins of those unbelievers and hypocrites who had yet to be born; and some are still to be born, and until that comes to pass our Qa'im will not rise.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people, every man meets in his flight the very thing from which he flees. The appointed term is the driving of the soul toward it, and to flee from it is to arrive at it. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 366)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people, whatever anyone flees from, one day he will come face to face with it. Time drives a man toward the very thing from which he flees, and his very flight is what brings about the encounter.
Ali (AS) had led them by a road other than the one the two of them had taken, and they realized that he would prevail over the enemy. So 'Amr ibn al-'As said to so-and-so: Ali is a young lad with no knowledge of the road, and this road is infested with beasts of prey; one is not safe from wild beasts upon it. So the two of them went to him and said: O Abu al-Hasan, this road you have taken is infested with beasts; would you not return to the main road? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to them: Keep to your saddles, refrain from what does not concern you, and listen and obey, for I know best what I am doing. So the two of them fell silent. (Tafsir al-Qummi, vol. 2, p. 439)
At the battle of Dhat al-Salasil, Ali (AS) led the army toward the enemy by an untravelled route. 'Amr ibn al-'As, who had earlier been commander of the army and had been dismissed by the Messenger of God (PBUH), realized that this time the army of Islam would be victorious. So he began to spread the rumour that this road was full of hyenas and lions, so that the Muslims would rebel against Ali (AS). He himself came with another man to Ali (AS) and said: O Abu al-Hasan, this road is dangerous. Ali (AS) said to them: Go your way and do not meddle in what does not concern you. Be obedient and keep to the command. I know what I am doing. So they fell silent.
Explanation: In the eighth year of the Hijra, after the battle of Khaybar and before the conquest of Mecca, an old man came to the Prophet in Medina and said: I have a piece of advice for you! The Prophet (PBUH) said: Give your advice. The old man said that a large number of the tribes of Banu Sulaym, 'Amila, and Quda'a had made a pact and had encamped in the Valley of Raml on the road from Medina to Syria; they were taking captive anyone who travelled that way and were planning a surprise raid on the outskirts of Medina. The Prophet (PBUH) ordered the Muslims to assemble in the mosque, and wished an army to be formed and sent in that direction. Many volunteered; the Prophet (PBUH) cast lots among them and chose some three hundred men, and appointed over them one of the Companions — in some accounts said to be Abu Bakr, and in others 'Amr ibn al-'As. The army set out for the Valley of Raml, and when it met the enemy it withdrew after suffering a number of dead, and sent a messenger to Medina to say that the enemy's numbers were greater than had been supposed. The Prophet (PBUH) sent a further two hundred men under the command of Abu 'Ubayda al-Jarrah to their aid. When the reinforcements arrived, a dispute broke out between 'Amr ibn al-'As and Abu 'Ubayda over who should lead the prayer and command the army. 'Amr ibn al-'As said: You are a reinforcement and under my command; and Abu 'Ubayda said: You have accomplished nothing, and that is why the Messenger of God set me in command. In the midst of this dispute the business of the war was left suspended. When news of it reached the Prophet, he ordered the whole army to return. When the army reached Medina, the Prophet (PBUH) reorganized it and this time appointed Ali (AS) as its commander. Contrary to expectation, Ali (AS) moved the army by way of the Iraq road and led it for several days along untravelled paths, until at dawn on the day of battle he had positioned it behind the enemy. The enemy, not expecting to be met by the Muslims from the rear, from the direction away from Medina, had posted no lookouts on that side; supposing that the Muslims had for the time being given up the fight, they had let down their guard and were resting. In such a state the Imam (AS) ordered the troops to fall upon the enemy suddenly in the darkness before dawn. In a short time the army of the brigands was routed; many of them were taken captive, bound in chains (salasil), and marched toward Medina.