In addition...

In addition, love and affection for the Messenger of God (PBUHH), and his purified progeny [] are greatly emphasized in the Qur’an. For instance, the Prophet (PBUHH) was directed to ask the entire Muslim community thus: “Say, ‘I do not ask you any reward for it except the love of [my] relatives.’ Whoever performs a good deed, We shall enhance its goodness for him.

Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-appreciative.” (Qur’an 42: 23) In this glorious verse, love and affection of the nearest kinship of the Prophet are considered a reward for the divine message preached by the Messenger of God (PBUHH). In the explanation of the verse, Ahmad narrates in his Fada’il al-Sahaba on the authority of Sa’id ibn Jubayr who in turn narrates from ‘Amir thus: “When the Verse ‘Say [O Muhammad!

Say unto people]: ‘No reward do I ask of you for this [Divine Call] except to be kind to my close relatives’ was revealed, the of the Prophet (PBUHH) said unto him: ‘O Messenger of Allah!

Who are your relatives whose love is incumbent upon us?’ He replied: ‘Ali and Fatima and their two sons (PBUH).’ He reiterated the sentence thrice .” Al-Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani in his al-Shahāb al-Thāqib says about Tawalli thus: “It can be inferred that the love for the (a.s) is the acceptance of their Imamate and placing them in their due position.

Therefore, preferring anyone over the (a.s) in this matter, in fact, removes a person from being among the lovers of the Imams (a.s)” (Baḥrānī, al-Shahāb al-thāqib fī bayān maʿna al-nāṣib, p. 144). It is mentioned by the scholars of the Qur’an that the paronyms of “Tabarri” was cited in the Qur’an around thirty times (cf: Muṣṭafawī, al-Taḥqīq, vol. 5, p. 34). For instance, there are several indications in the Qur’an of dissociating polytheism and its leaders by avoiding their gods.

Verse 4 of Qur’an 60 explains the dissociation of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) thus: “ There is certainly a good exemplar for you in Abraham and those who were with him, when they said to their own people, ‘Indeed we repudiate you and whatever you worship besides Allah.

We disown you, and enmity and hate have appeared between you and us forever unless you come to have faith in Allah alone,’ apart from Abraham’s saying to his father, ‘I will surely plead forgiveness for you, though I cannot avail you anything against Allah.’ ‘Our Lord! In You do we put our trust, and to You do we turn penitently, and toward You is the destination.