Document Type : Academicm and Research

Author

• Kazem Ostadi

Master’s Graduate of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Independent scholar, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

In order to prove the issue of Imamate and succession of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household), theological and historical reasons as well as the verses of the Holy Quran are cited. Verse 124 of the al-Baqarah Chapter: When his Lord tested Abraham with certain words and he fulfilled them, He said, ‘I am making you the Imam of mankind.’ Said he, ‘And from among my descendants?’ He said, ‘My pledge does not extend to the unjust’, which is known among recent and contemporary Shiites as the Trial of Abraham Verse or the Verse of Imamate, is considered one of the most important verses about Imamate. The exegesis and interpretation of this verse have created many controversies, especially in the later periods. On the other hand, in the middle and later periods, Shiite scholars consider this verse, which refers to the appointment of Prophet Abraham by God to the position of Imamate after several tests, to be about Shiite Imamate and one of the Quranic proofs for the divine appointment of the Imam and the necessity of the infallibility of an Imam.

Regarding Imamate in its specific meaning, two research and argumentative approaches can be adopted: a) the rational and philosophical approach, in which we prove and support specific Imamate without using Quranic verses and narrations; b) the written and textual approach, in which we support and argue about specific Imamate by referring to the Quran and narrations. The methods of the latter instance can have three distinctive states: 1) this topic and the citation of Quranic verses about it are not unprecedented; 2) this matter is new; 3) the topic has a history, but citing Quranic verses for it is a new issue.

Therefore, two cases can be pursued by us: 1) explaining the concept of Imamate through the verses of the Quran with previous specifications in early Islam, and 2) explaining the concept of Imamate through the verses of the Quran with later and newly created specifications and concepts.  In view of these points, it is necessary to deal with the several time periods of citations of the Trial of Abraham Verse in the issue of Imamate: a) the narrations under the Trial of Abraham Verse, b) the verse of the trial in early Shiite exegeses, and c) the Trial Verse in early Shiite theological and Imamate sources. In the following research, the early Shiite exegeses regarding the verse of Abraham’s trial will be examined according to the following questions: 1) What have the previous and early Shiite commentators mentioned regarding the verse of Abraham’s trial? 2) Do the interpretations concerning the verse of Abraham’s trial refer to the issue of Imamate in the present prevalent sense?

Early exegeses in terms of the approach to the verse of testing

In order to examine the Trial of Abraham Verse and the citations of it in early Shiite exegeses, we searched among the existing exegeses up to the 5^th century, which are ten titles. Some titles of the exegetive sources did not contain any information about verse 124 of al-Baqarah or following the verse of the trial, such as the exegesis attributed to Abu Hamzah Thumali (2^nd century), the exegesis attributed to Abu al-Jaroud (2^nd century), the exegesis attributed to Tustari (3^rd century), Tafsir al-Habari (3^rd century), and the exegesis of Nasir Utrush or exegesis attributed to Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) (3^rd or 4^th century). A few other exegetive sources had the contents regarding the verse of Abraham’s trial (peace be upon him), but they did not have a clear and specific citation and reference about Imamate, and they only explained a part of this verse. These exegeses are: the exegesis attributed to Ibn Abbas (1^st century), the exegesis attributed to Maqatil b. Sulaiman (2^nd century), and the exegesis attributed to Ali b. Ibrahim Qummi (3^rd century).

Therefore, by examining the early Shiite exegeses and the evidence of these exegeses, it becomes clear that the Shiite predecessors did not take the Trial of Abraham (peace be upon him) Verse as proof of the existence of Imamate, and did not refer to it in this regard, at least until the 4^th century. In other words, exegeses such as the one attributed to Ibn Abbas (1^st century), the exegesis attributed to Abu Hamzah Thumali (2^nd century), the exegesis attributed to Maqatil b. Suleiman (2^nd century), the exegesis attributed to Abu al-Jaroud (2^nd century), the exegesis attributed to Tustari (3^rd century), the exegesis attributed to Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) (3^rd century), Tafsir al-Habari (3^rd century), the exegesis attributed to Ali b. Ibrahim Qummi (3^rd century).

These early exegeses are Shiite narrative exegeses that have paid attention to Imamate and its references as well. Some of them even include the virtues of the Ahlulbayt and the demerits of the enemies of the Ahlulbayt. On the other hand, most of these exegeses have interpreted some verses and most of their interpretations are about the miracles of the Prophet and Imams. Additionally, in some of these exegeses, the meaning of the words Shiʿa, rāfiḍī, taqiyyah, the virtues of the companions, as well as specific Shiite interpretations of the verses of the Quran have been discussed; however, in these sources, the verse of Abraham’s trial is used as an argument and reference for the existence of the tenet of Imamate and the Imamate of Imam Ali has not been discussed. It is as though they didn't consider this verse and its interpretation to be indicative of the issue of Imamate in these works. However, when we reach the 4^th century AH, in two exegeses, that is, Tafsir Ayyashi and Tafsir Furat, we come across contents related to Imamate under the verse of the trial of Abraham.

It is now very important to note that these two sources were written in the 4^th century, during the time of the formation of the Shiite Buyid Dynasty, which ruled over a large part of Iran and Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula up to the northern borders of Damascus, and one of the characteristics of these works of this period is interpretationism (Qobadi, 2006). Apart from this, these sources are usually full of exaggerated narrations about the Imams (peace be upon him). Therefore, the existence of the narrations of the specific exegesis of verse 124 of al-Baqarah in these sources is problematic and requires special investigation and verification.

Conclusion

By examining early Shiite exegeses and the evidence of these exegeses, it becomes clear that early Shiites did not take the Trial of Abraham Verse as proof of the existence of the issue of Imamate at least until the 4^th century and they have not cited it in this regard. Therefore, it seems that early Shiite exegetes did not turn to the analysis of the verse and its functions in theological issues regarding the issue of specific Imamate.

References

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Keywords

• : verse 124 of the al-Baqarah Chapter
• the Trial Verse
• Imamate
• early Shiite exegeses
• the succession of the Prophet

Main Subjects

• Islamic