Qur'an 98:7
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Khayr al-Bariyya Verse |
| Sura | Qur'an 98 |
| Verse | 7 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| About | Spiritual position of Imam Ali (a) and his followers |
Qur'an 98:7, known as Khayr al-Barīyya Verse (Arabic: آیة خیرالبریة), is the 7th verse of Qur'an 98 which refers, according to Shi'a, as well as Sunni hadiths by the Prophet (s), to the spiritual position of Ali b. Abi Talib (a) and his followers.
Text and Translation
Exegesis
The verse has been interpreted by many hadiths in Shi'a and Sunni sources as being about Ali b. Abi Talib (a) and his followers.
Al-Hakim al-Haskani al-Naysaburi, a well-known Sunni scholar, cites more than 20 hadiths in his book, Shawahid al-tanzil, with different chains of narrators. Its chains go back to companions such as 'Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas[1], Abu Barza al-Aslami[2], and Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari[3]. For example, 'Abd Allah b. al-'Abbas has been quoted as saying that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet (s) addressed Ali b. Abi Talib (a): "That is you and your Shiites (followers) who are happy and satisfied on Judgment Day".[4]
Origin of the word "Shi'a"
Hadiths concerning the occasion on which this verse has been revealed show that the word "Shi'a" (Shiite) was used by the Prophet (s) himself in reference to the followers of Ali b. Abi Talib (a).
Superiority of the Righteous People to Angels
The phrase "they are the best of creatures" (Arabic:أُولئِكَ هُمْ خَیرُ الْبَرِیةِ) shows that the place of righteous believers is superior to that of angels, since the verse yields an absolute verdict including all creatures.[5]
Notes
- ↑ Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 358; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 379.
- ↑ Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 359; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 795.
- ↑ Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 362; Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 379; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 341.
- ↑ Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 358.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnah, vol. 27, p. 209.
References
- Ḥākim al-Ḥaskānī, ʿUbayd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Shawāhid al-tanzīl li-qawāʿid al-tafḍīl. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1393 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnah. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1374 Sh.
- Suyūṭī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr fī tafsīr al-maʾthūr. Qom: Maktabaṭ Āyat Allāh al-Marʿashī, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī (Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn), 1417 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Naṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.