Hadith and Traditions

Political authority comes from God. For a righteous person, it is granted out of love and to guide the community; for an unrighteous person, it is a means of discipline, punishment and trial. The Qur’an says that if people did not repel one another, the earth would fall into corruption. Yet this is a divine pattern, brought about by God’s will.

Angels can disobey, but their disobedience differs in kind from human sin. They have no lower desires, yet they are tested within the order of creation and can attain higher degrees. The verse «لا يسبقونه بٱلقول و هم بأمره یعملون» refers to particular ranks of angels who, in the account of Adam’s creation, tried to prevent him from being created and were punished for it.

In the words of Imam Sajjad (AS), khusūf means being swallowed up and disappearing. In Supplication 27 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, he asks God to destroy and erase the lands of the polytheists. The Quran also conveys this meaning by referring to the people of Lot and Korah being swallowed up by the earth, as well as to the moon’s eclipse on the Day of Resurrection.

The report that a woman should prostrate to her husband appears in authoritative hadith collections, but it requires some explanation. God has not permitted anyone to prostrate to another besides Him, except as an act of reverence. A husband is entitled to respect and obedience, but not in the form of prostration.

Sending blessings upon the Prophet and his family is a special form of prayer that, like the funeral prayer, does not require ablution. It is the finest way to remember the Lord and is considered a form of worship. This hadith is reported in al-Tabarsi’s *al-Ihtijāj*.

The saying “العلم نقطة کثرها الجاهلون” points to the origin and unity of knowledge, which ultimately lead back to the Prophet and the Family of Muhammad (PBUH). True knowledge is unified and boundless; its apparent multiplicity arises from ignorance. The point is the center and source of creation, and a manifestation of divine knowledge.

Qur’anic verses and invocations are divine remedies that take effect by God’s permission, each in its proper setting. The hearts of true believers are where these effects are manifested, and the healing honey of the Qur’an is drawn from the hive of their pure hearts. These verses heal body and soul, and their effects become manifest by God’s permission.

According to exegetical reports concerning verse 9 of Sūrat al-Jinn, before the Prophet’s mission (PBUH), devils would eavesdrop in the heavens from places where they had taken up position. After his mission began, however, they were driven away by shooting stars, and soothsaying came to an end. These reports are narrated from the Commander of the Faithful and Imam al-Ṣādiq (AS).

In passage 27 of the Commander of the Faithful’s (AS) prayer for forgiveness, he refers to various kinds of sin: sins of the tongue, such as misplaced praise; sins of the heart, involving what passes within it; sins of thought and feeling; and sins committed through what one has written by hand. The phrase «أتیته بفعالی» refers to sins committed through one’s actions, which are left unnamed because of their shameful nature. It includes conduct carried out through one’s deeds.

A report attributed to Anas ibn Mālik relates that Fāṭima (SA) asked Abū Bakr about the share of Dhū al-Qurbā in the khums and spoils of war mentioned in the Qur’an, and that Abū Bakr assigned it to the welfare of the Muslims. Although the report has a weak chain of transmission, it has been recommended that one rely on it and act upon it in the hope of divine reward. Other reports from Anas ibn Mālik concerning the merits of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) are also mentioned.

In the hadiths, reciting Sūrat al-Tawḥīd means reading it sincerely while affirming God’s oneness. Such a monotheistic recitation keeps sin from drawing near and prevents Satan from leading a person astray. Numerous hadiths emphasize the merits and worldly and otherworldly effects of reciting Sūrat al-Tawḥīd, including protection from sin and the reward of a martyr.

The minimum remembrance in bowing and prostration is to glorify God three times, as this practice is established in reports and was part of the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Imams. Some reports also consider one glorification sufficient, but saying it three times is preferable and carries greater merit. Repeating it helps engage the heart and mind in remembering and exalting God.

A statement attributed to Imam al-Jawad (AS), in which he is said to have told a young man exhausted by people, “Flee to Husayn (AS),” is fabricated and unauthentic.