Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)

24. “And they are guided unto the purest of speeches, and they are guided to the Path (of Him who is) Worthy of (all) Praise.”

The fourth and fifth merits which Allah bestows on them, the righteous believers, and which are merely in spiritual aspect, are that, firstly, they are guided toward the speech which is pure.

The verse says:

“And they are guided unto the purest of speeches…”

These are some enlivening speeches with some pleasant words and sentences; such words which are spiritual and full of serenity, bring the soul high up in the stages of perfection, and smooth the spirit and mind of man.

It also continues saying:

“…and they are guided to the Path (of Him who is) Worthy of (all) Praise.”1

This is the path of knowing Allah (s.w.t.) and spiritually approaching Him, His nearness, which is the path of love and theosophy.

Yes, by guiding the true believers unto these spiritual meanings, Allah leads them to the utmost stage of spiritual pleasures.

The tradition, which has been cited by Ali-ibn-’Ibrahim, the great Islamic commentator in his commentary, denotes that the purpose of the phrase: ‘the purest of speech’ is monotheism and sincerity; and the objective of the Qur’anic phrase: /sirat il hamid/ (the path (of Him Who is) Worthy of (all) Praise) is ‘Wilayah’ (mastership) and the acceptance of leadership and divine leaders. (This meaning, of course is one of the clear examples of the verse.)

However, the different interpretations expressed upon the abovementioned holy verses, as well as their occasions of revelation, lead us to the recognition that those heavy and grievous punishments are consequently for a particular group of disbelievers, those who hostilely dispute against Allah and try to mislead others.

Such persons are the leaders of infidelity, the example of them are those who fought against Ali (as), Hamzat-ibn-‘Abd-ul-Mutalib, and ‘Ubaydat-ibn-Harith.