and: ﴿يُجَادِلُونَكَ فِي الْحَقِّ بَعْدَمَا تَبَيَّنَ كَأَنَّمَا يُسَاقُونَ إِلَى الْمَوْتِ وَهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ﴾[1]; “They dispute with you concerning the truth after it has become clear, as if they were being driven toward death while they looked on,” and: ﴿وَيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا مَا لَهُمْ مِنْ مَحِيصٍ﴾[2]; “And those who dispute Our signs should know that there is no escape for them.” Moreover, it is clear that their doubt regarding this statement has originated from their sectarian fanaticism and personal desires, not from any real defect in its chain of narrators or its text; because it is evident that the chain of narrators of this statement is mutawatir, and its text is rational and in agreement with the definitive statements of Allah. Rather, it is something clearly necessitated by the definitive statements of Allah concerning the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet , which simplifies the matter and shortens the discussion; because, in His Book, Allah has explicitly mentioned the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet and revealed His will to purify them from any impurity, which is essential for their mediation in teaching the original form and the entirety of Islam, and He has said: ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾[3]; “Indeed, Allah wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure.” It is clear that the last will of the Prophet concerning following them alongside the Quran is among the things necessitated by this divine purification; because following those whom Allah has not purified and whose purification He has not announced may lead to impurity and to a breach of following Allah. Therefore, it is unwise to leave such a last will. However, issuing a last will concerning following those whom Allah has purified and whose purity He has announced is utterly sound and beneficial. Rather, it is unwise not to issue a last will concerning following such people—if they exist. Likewise, Allah has made affection for them obligatory in Islam and has clearly said: ﴿قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَى ۗ وَمَنْ يَقْتَرِفْ حَسَنَةً نَزِدْ لَهُ فِيهَا حُسْنًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ﴾[4]; “Say: ‘I do not ask you for any reward except affection for my relatives.’ And whoever takes up a good deed, We increase for him good therein. Indeed, Allah is the Most-Forgiving, the Most-Appreciative.”[5]

↑[1] . Al-Anfal/ 6

↑[2] . Ash-Shura/ 35

↑[3] . Al-Ahzab/ 33

↑[4] . Ash-Shura/ 23

↑[5] . This is the most apparent and most appropriate meaning of the verse, and it is the view of the Ahl al-Bayt, Sa‘id ibn Jubair, Amr bin Shu‘aib, al-Suddi, and others (see Sunan of Sa‘id ibn Mansoor, Takmilah al-Tafsir, vol. 7, p. 255; al-Dhurriyyah al-Tahirah by al-Dulabi, p. 74; Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 21, p. 528; al-Mustadrak Ala al-Sahihain by al-Hakim, vol. 3, p. 188; Tafsir al-Tha‘labi, vol. 8, pp. 37 and 310; Tafsir al-Mawardi, vol. 5, p. 202; Tafsir al-Baghawi, vol. 4, p. 144; al-Kashshaf by al-Zamakhshari, vol. 4, p. 219; Ahkam al-Quran by ibn al-Arabi, vol. 3, p. 190; Tafsir al-Razi, vol. 27, p. 594; Umdah al-Qari by al-Ayni, vol. 16, p. 71, vol. 19, p. 157). It has been narrated from the Prophet what indicates that this is the intended meaning (see Faḍa’il al-Ṣaḥabah by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, vol. 2, p. 669; Tafsir ibn Abi Ḥatim, vol. 10, p. 3276; al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir by al-Ṭabarani, vol. 11, p. 444, vol. 12, p. 33; al-Tafsir al-Wasiṭ by al-Waḥidi, vol. 4, p. 52). The other view, to which some who do not distinguish the age of ignorance from Islam have inclined, is that the verse means: “Say: ‘I do not ask you for any reward except that you love me due to my kinship with you, if you do not believe in my prophethood.” This view is extremely weak. Rather, it cannot be adhered to at all, as it contradicts the Book of Allah; given that He has prohibited, in many verses, having affection for the people of falsehood and criminals, even if they are relatives. Therefore, it is not possible that He would command people to have affection for a man who claims Prophethood merely because of his kinship with them. Such affection is clearly a form of pre-Islamic tribal bias. There are also other views, all of which are far-fetched and inconsistent with the apparent meaning and context of the verse.