As-Saaffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks)

83. “And verily Abraham was of his persuasion.”

84. “When he came unto his Lord with a sound (pure) heart.”

We ought to purify inside of ourselves at first, and then we may try to purify the society. The necessary condition of the success of the religious leaders is to have a sound pure heart.

In these verses a considerable part of the life story of ’Ibrahim, the iconoclastic hero (as), together with some parts of the adventurous history of Noah (as) are referred to.

Here, at first it begins with the event of Abraham’s idol-breaking and the harsh reaction of the idolaters against him, and in another part, it speaks about the greatest scene of Abraham’s self-sacrifice, sacrificing his son. This part of the event has exclusively been mentioned only in this section of the Qur’an.

The first verse relates the event of Abraham with the event of Noah as this:

“And verily Abraham was of his persuasion.”

Abraham paved the same way of Unity and Justice, the same path of piety and sincerity that Noah paved, since all divine prophets were the preachers of the same school and the teachers of the same university, and every one of then continued and completed the program of the previous one.

What an interesting meaning this is! Abraham was one of the followers of Noah! Though there was a long time between them, (according to some commentators, about (600 years), but we know that time has not any effect on the relation of religious schools.

In the second verse, it says remember the time:

“When he came unto his Lord with a sound (pure) heart.”

The commentators of the Qur’an have delivered different meanings for the Qur’anic term /qalb/ (heart), each of which refers to one of the dimensions of it: a heart which is free from polytheism; the sincere heart which is far from sins, grudges, and hypocrisies; a heart empty of the love of the world, because the love of the world is the source of faults, and, finally, a heart which contains nothing but Allah.

The fact is that the Qur’anic term /salim/ is derived from /salamat/ (health), and when healthy is propounded in its absolute state, it envelops health from all kinds of ethical and creedal sicknesses.

Concerning the hypocrites, the Qur’an implies that there is a disease in their hearts and, as the result of their obstinacy and sins, Allah will increase this sickness:

“In their hearts is a disease, so Allah has increased their disease…”1 Imam Sadiq (as) has stated the best commentary on the Qur’anic phrase /qalbin salim/ where he says: “A sound heart is the one which meets his Lord while there is none in it except Him.”2

This clear commentary is conclusive of all aforementioned qualities.

Again, in another authentic tradition narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) he said:

“Whoever has a truthful intention is the possessor of a sound heart, because the soundness of the heart from polytheism and doubt, purifies the intention for Allah in all affairs.”3

This is sufficient about the importance of the sound heart that the Qur’an counts it as the capital of safety in Hereafter, as in Surah As-Shu‘ara, No. 26, verses 88 and 89 from the tongue of this very prophet, Abraham (as), we recite:

“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,” “Except for him who comes to Allah with a pure heart.”

In a tradition from Imam Sadiq (as) we recite he said:

“The heart is the sanctuary of Allah; do settle no one in the sanctuary of Allah, except Him.”