Jonas in the belly of the whale

Question 174: How do you explain the stay of the Prophet Yunus (Jonas) (pbuh) in the belly of the whale in a scientific way, with the absence of food, air, and the sun? And how did he worship? And what is the Praising/Glorification which, by its preference, caused his exit from the stomach of the whale?

Answer: In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Intensely Merciful,
And Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. O Allah! Send Blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad, the Imams and the Mahdis.
The Almighty said: {Then be patient for the decision of your Lord and be not like the companion of the fish when he called out while he was distressed. * If not that a favor from his Lord overtook him, he would have been thrown onto the naked shore while he was censured.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Al-Qalam (The Pen): 48 & 49}.

And the Almighty said: {Then the fish swallowed him, while he was blameworthy. * And had he not been of those who exalt Allah , * He would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are resurrected. * But We threw him onto the nakedness while he was sick. * And We caused to grow over him a gourd vine.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Aş-Şāffāt (Those who set the Ranks): 142 – 146}.
Verily, Yunus (pbuh) died in the stomach of the whale, and his (pbuh) soul looked towards the darkness of Hell, and looked towards its lower levels.

And the plant (i.e. ‘Gourdplant’) is: the Religion.

So after the whale swallowed Yunus (pbuh) his soul was seized, and it was taken down to Hell in order that he see it, until he saw Hell and its darkness {darknesses, some of them upon others * When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat An-Nūr (The Light): 40}. And he saw Qaroun (May Allah curse him) and he spoke with him. And this Hell, which he saw, is the Hell developing by the works [sins] of the oppressors until its blaze is completed, and its blaze is fueled by the works [sins] of the oppressors, just as Paradise is built by the righteous works [deeds] of the Prophets, and the Guardians ([preferred ones of Allah]), and the Messengers, and the Righteous.

The Almighty said regarding the Hell built upon the works of the oppressive children of Adam: {And when Hell fire is set ablaze} {The Holy Qur’an Surat At-Takwīr (The Overthrowing): 12}, meaning: [when] it reaches to the peak of its blaze and completes its blaze on the Day of Resurrection by the works of the oppressors.

And the Almighty said: {And when Paradise is brought near,} {The Holy Qur’an Surat At-Takwīr (The Overthrowing): 12}, meaning: [when] it reaches to its complete perfection by the works of the Righteous children of Adam, and this meaning has been narrated by the Messenger of Allah pbuh & his family), so whomever says: ‘SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)’ and ‘Alhamdullillah (All  Praise be to Allah)’ and ‘La Illaha Illa Allah (There is No God save Allah)’ and ‘Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater)’ there is planted for him a tree in Paradise, so they said: ‘Therefore, we have a lot of [trees] planted O Messenger of Allah!’ He (pbuh & his family) said: ‘Yes, however, beware lest you send upon them fire so you burn them (i.e. destroyed from bad deeds).’ 1

Therefore, the people are [the ones] whom build Paradise and Hell and each has its own
inhabitants. And this Hell is the real whale which swallowed Yunus (pbuh), and the prison which he was imprisoned in, and the tomb which he was subjected to and confined to, and therefore, the Almighty said these two sayings, and the apparent – for whomever is ignorant of the reality/truth – is that they are contradictory, and they are:

{If not that a favor from his Lord overtook him, he would have been thrown onto the nakedness while he was censured.}

{And had he not been of those who exalt Allah , * He would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are resurrected.}

What is certain is that Allah, the Glorious, the Almighty, must provide one matter as a punishment that he vowed to the Prophet of Allah Yunus (pbuh); either throwing [him] onto the nakedness (naked shore) while he was censured, or remaining in its (the whale’s) stomach until the Day they are resurrected, otherwise there would have been contradictions in the Qur’an; for verily Allah, the Glorious, the Almighty, is Wise and He issues complete wisdom, and it is one not numerous. And if some of them wanted to interpret it to the right or to the left ([meaning if they wanted to interpret it according to their own way]) without the knowledge of the Family of Muhammad (pbut) then this is their own matter. However, I am clarifying the truth/reality and it is that [the punishment was that] his body gets thrown onto the nakedness, and his soul remains in the layers of Hell until the day they are resurrected. And just as I have clarified; ([that Hell] is the developing Hell and not the completed Hell) towards which the world proceeds quickly, just as its proceeding towards Paradise, and from here it is clarified that there are no contradictions between the Verses.

Then verily, the remaining in the stomach of the whale until the Day of the Greater Resurrection – meaning: its introductions, and that is destruction of the Kingdoms of Heavens’ for the inhabitants of the Earth – as a physical body is far from usual/normal,and shall not be except by a miracle, for verily it requires that the body of Yunus (pbuh) remains in a complete form in the stomach of the whale, and the remaining of the body of the whale in a complete form as well, whether alive or dead, and there is no significance for this [type of] miracle, for no benefit would result from it. And Allah is Wise and there is no absurdity or playfulness in His actions, far Greater and Exalted is He than what they ascribe [to Him]. So what about that you know that He said:{He would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are resurrected.}, and resurrection is after the introductions of the Greater Resurrection, meaning: after everything present on this Earth perishes, and after this Earth is replaced with another [Earth].

Thus, Yunus’ (pbuh) remaining in the stomach of the whale, as a physical body, until the Day they are resurrected results in an untrue matter. For verily, before it, just as I [previously] said, the Earth shall perish and be replaced {[It will be] on the Day the earth will be replaced by another earth, and the heavens [as well], and all creatures will come out before Allah , the One, the Prevailing.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat ‘Ibrāhīm (Abrahim): 48}, {And when the seas are filled with flame} {The Holy Qur’an Surat At-Takwīr (The Overthrowing): 6}.

And it remains that it be said or interpreted: How can Allah, the Glorious, threaten or warn Yunus (pbuh), while he is a Prophet?

And the truth is that He did not threaten him, nor did He warn him, rather He disciplined him and bestowed upon him when He showed him Hell and his (pbuh) fate if he opposed Allah (swt) and turned away from the Message, and did not bear the Wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (pbuh) 2. So Yunus is as Adam (pbuh): {And We had already taken a promise from Adam before, but he forgot; and We found not in him determination.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Ţāhā (Ta-Ha): 115} 3. And by this discipline Yunus (pbuh) came to know, and was increased in knowledge and knowing the right/truth of Ali (pbuh) and his rank, as being the Commander of the soldiers of Allah, so he sought help from Allah, and pleaded to Allah by the right of Ali (pbuh), so Allah gave to Ali (pbuh) the permission to save him from the anguish of Hell and its trouble. So his death was as a vision that he saw, then he was thrown onto the nakedness just as the garment of Piety was removed
from Adam (pbuh). So the privates/faults of Yunus (pbuh) (with nakedness) appeared to him as being stripped of the garment of Piety. So he glorified Allah, and sought forgiveness, and admitted the right of Ali (pbuh), and his rank which he had not bore.

And do not be surprised at Yunus’ (pbuh) lack [of ability] to bear [it], for perhaps you as well do not bear the rank of the Prince of the Believers Ali (pbuh) if I informed you of it. So what was required from the Prophet of Allah Yunus (pbuh) was to admit/acknowledge a great matter 4, “None shall bear it except for a Prophet Messenger, or a close Angel, or a believer whom Allah has tested his heart for faith.” 5.

Also this admission/recognition of the truth by Yunus (pbuh), and his seeking of forgiveness, and his glorification [of Allah], were the cause for the return of the garment of Piety, and it is the greenery and the religion {And We caused to grow over him a gourd plant.}, it grows over him, as if it is a piece of him, and it is the garment of Piety that accompanies the Pious/God Fearing. Just as the private area of Adam (pbuh) was covered with the paper of Paradise, and it is also the greenery, and the religion, and garment of Piety {O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you garment/clothing to cover your private parts and as adornment. But the garment/clothing of Piety- that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember } {The Holy Qur’an Surat Al-‘A`rāf (The Heights): 26}.

{But We cast him forth on the nakedness while he was sick } {The Holy Qur’an Surat Al-‘A`rāf (The Heights): 25}: The Reason of the sickness of Yunus (pbuh) was because of the removal of the garment of Piety from him, after he turned away and fled, and the runaway is the servant who disobeyed or escaped from his Master.

The Gourd plant is from the plants of Paradise, meaning the plant of religion and Piety.

And it remains that you know that: Verily, Yunus (pbuh) died while he was a small child, and the Prophet of Allah Elijah brought him back to life by the permission of Allah (swt) and the Prophet of Allah Elijah had stretched over him while he was a dead child, until the Prophet of Allah Elijahs’ (pbuh) body heat transferred to the body of the Prophet of Allah Yunus (pbuh) while he was a small dead child, and he pleaded to Allah (swt) so Allah (swt) brought him back to life 6.

And in this incident is a sign for those who contemplate over what happened after that to Yunus (pbuh), for he had died in the stomach of the whale and Ali (pbuh) (Elijah) brought him back to life after the heat of the knowledge of Ali (pbuh) passed over him, and he recognized the right/truth of Ali (pbuh). And in the nakedness while he was ill, a gourd plant grew/sprouted over him, and it is Elijah and Ali, and the Religion, and Paradise, and the garment of Piety.

As for if you asked regarding what is the evidence of the death of Yunus in the stomach of the whale, then it is the saying of His, the Glorious: {until the Day they are resurrected.}, meaning: that he is dead, for the one who remains until the Day they are resurrected remains dead just as it has been clarified from what has been presented previously.

And also Imam Ali (pbuh) said, when a few Jews asked him regarding a prison which toured [around] the regions of Earth with its companion, so he (pbuh) said: “O Jew! As for the prison which toured [around] the regions of the Earth by its companion verily it is the whale which imprisoned Yunus in its stomach, so it entered into the sea of Qalzim, then exited towards the sea of Egypt, then entered into the sea of Tabaristan, then exited in Tigris Al Ghora’.”

He (pbuh) said: “Then passed by him under the Earth until he reached Qaroun, and Qaroun had perished in the days of Moses (pbuh), and Allah assigned to him an Angel who would enter in the land every day in the figure of a man, and Yunus was in the stomach of the whale glorifying/praising Allah and seeking forgiveness from Him. So Qaroun heard his voice so he said to the Angel assigned to him: ‘Let me see, for I hear the words of Adami (i.e. someone from the lineage of Adam).’ So Allah revealed to the Angel assigned to him to show him, so he showed him, then Qaroun said: ‘Who are you?’ Yunus said: ‘I am the guilty sinner Yunus ibn Matta.’ [So Qaroun] said: ‘What happened to the extremely angry for Allah Moses son of Imran?’ [So Yunus] said: ‘How far! He perished.’ [So Qaroun] said: ‘What did the Gracious, the Merciful upon his people, Aaron son of Imran?’ [So Yunus] said: ‘He perished.’ [So Qaroun] said: ‘So what happened to Kaltham daughter of Imran who was named for me?’ [So Yunus] said: ‘How far! None remain from the family of Imran.’ So Qaroun said: ‘Woe to me regarding the family of Imran.’ So Allah thanked him for this, so Allah commanded the Angel assigned to him that he lifts/removes from him the punishment of the days of this world, so he lifted/removed it from him. So when Yunus saw that, he called in the darkness: ‘Verily, there is no God save You, Glory to You, Verily, I have been of the wrongdoers.’ So Allah answered him and commanded the whale to expel [release] him.” 7.

Abu Abdullah, may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, he said: “Yunus (pbuh) went out angry from his people because of what he had seen from their sins, until he boarded a ship with a people in Al-Yam. So they were exposed to the Whale so that it may drown them, so they cast lots three times, so Yunus said: “I am the one that was chosen, so thrown me”. Then when the Whale took Yunus Allah The Almighty inspired to it: “I have not made him (Yunus) a sustenance for you, so do not break a bone of his, and do not eat his meat”.Then he said: “Then it toured the sea by him, so he called in the darkness: “Verily, there is no God save You, Glory to You, Verily, I have been of the wrongdoers.”

And he said: “When the fish became in the sea which Qaroun was in, Qaroun heard a voice that could not hear him, so he said to the Angel assigned to him: ‘What is this voice?’ [So the Angel] said: ‘It is the Prophet Yunus (pbuh) in the stomach of the whale.’ [So Qaroun] said: ‘Can you give me the permission that I may talk to him?’ [So the Angel] said: ‘Yes.’ [So Qaroun] said: ‘O Yunus! What happened to Aaron?’ [So Yunus] said: ‘He is dead.’ So Qaroun wept, [then] said: ‘What happened to Moses?’ [So Yunus] said: ‘He is dead.’ So Qaroun wept, so Allah, the Exalted, The Almighty, inspired to the Angel “lighten the torment on Qaroun due to his gentleness towards His close ones.”” 8.

Yunus (pbuh) had descended to Qaroun and he spoke to him, while Qaroun is dead being
tortured.

And also the Almighty said: {And [mention] Dhun Nun, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Al-‘Anbyā’ (The Prophets): 87}, and it is the darkness of Hell which is developing by the works of the wrongdoers.

And the Almighty said: {Then the fish swallowed him, while he was blameworthy. * And had he not been of those who exalt Allah, * He would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are resurrected. * But We threw him onto the nakedness while he was sick. * And We caused to grow over him a gourd vine.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Aş-Şāffāt (Those who set the Ranks): 142 – 146}, meaning: Allah, the Glorious, the Almighty, has considered it to be a new case sending, and that is because he was resurrected after his death, so it was a case of a new sending, and if it had not been for his death it would have been a return from his occultation/absence and a completion of his message.

And Yunus (pbuh) remained in the stomach of the whale for twenty eight days, from Ali ibn Abi  Talib: “… As for the twenty eight days, it is the stay of Yunus in the stomach of the whale…” 9.

And in Surat Al Qalam: {Noon. By the pen and what they inscribe, * You are not by the favor of your Lord, an insane man.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Al-Qalam (The Pen): 1 & 2}, and the insane is he whom his mind is veiled and hidden and lost, for the word insanity means: hidden and covered/veiled, and here it means: You are not hidden or lost by the blessing of your Lord, rather, you are clear and known just as the sun.

And in the Verse: {And [mention] Dhun Nun , when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”}, and Dhun Nun means the companion of the Noon, and the Noon in a degree is:(Muhammad), and in a degree is: (Ali), just as clarified in ‘The Allegories’, so refer to it 10.

And here in this Verse it is Ali (pbuh) and Yunus was expressed as being Dhun Nun, or, the companion of Ali (puh), for verily the origin of Yunus’ (pbuh) issue is his inability to bear the rank of Ali (pbuh) and his position. “Which none shall bear it except for a Prophet Messenger or a close Angel, or a believer whom Allah has tested his heart for faith.” 11, and faith here is the Imam (pbuh). Meaning: a believer whom Allah has tested his heart with the Imam (pbuh), and Yunus (pbuh) is a dispatched Messenger. So he did not bear it in the beginning, however, he bore it after what occurred to him, what occurred from the lesson of Allah, and His, the Glorious, the Almighty, teaching him.

So that which swallowed him in this physical world was a whale (or noon of the sea) and it is the biggest of beasts on this Earth. And that which swallowed him in the world of the spirits is (Noon of knowledge), or Ali ibn Abi Talib (pbuh), so he came to know him, and admitted his rank and he is the blessing/favor of Allah. {If not that a favor from his Lord overtook him, he would have been thrown onto the naked shore while he was censured.}, {You are not by the favor of your Lord, an insane man.} 12.

And the whale of the sea which swallowed Yunus (pbuh) is a type of whales which feeds on the Mollusks/clams present in the depths of the Oceans, for there does not exist any type of whales other than this type of whale that reaches to these depths of darkness. Rather, until now no human has reached/traveled to these depths, and the biologists get acquainted/familiar with the Mollusks/clams of the depths through this whale. And here this whale is characterized by the fact that he descends to the depths of the darkest bleak darkness {And he called out within the darknesses}. And also its nutrition is the Mollusks/clams, so its digestive system is gentle with the solid body, (like the body of a human being), so the body of Yunus (pbuh) was not smashed due to the whale swallowing him.
* * *
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1 – Narrated from Abi Abdullah Al Sadiq, from his father, from his grandfather (pbut) who said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (pbuh & his family) said:“Whomever says ‘SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)’ Allah plants for him by [this praise] a tree in Paradise, and whomever says ‘Alhamdullillah (All Praise be to Allah)’ Allah plants for him by [this praise] a tree in Paradise, and whomever says ‘La Illaha Illa Allah (There is No God save Allah)’ Allah plants for him by [this praise] a tree in Paradise, and whomever says ‘Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater)’ Allah plants for him by [this praise] a tree in Paradise.” So a man from Quraysh said:“O Messenger of Allah! Verily our trees in Paradise are many.”He (pbuh & his family) said:“ Yes, however, beware lest you send upon them fire so you burn them. (i.e. destroy them by bad deeds).” And that is [because] Allah, Glorified and Exalted, says: {O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not drop your deeds.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Muĥammad (Muhammad): 33}.’ [Amali (the Dictations) of  Sheikh Al Sadouq: p. 705.]

2 – [Narrated] from Haba Al Arani that he said, the Prince of the Believers (pbuh) said: “Verily, Allah presents my Wilaya (authority) upon the inhabitants of the skies and upon the inhabitants of the Earth. Whoever accepted it has accepted it, and whoever denied it has denied it. Yunus denied it, so Allah imprisoned him within the belly of the whale until he confessed/accepted it.” Basai’r Al Darajat: P. 95.

And [narrated] from Al Thamani that he said:“Abdullah son of Omar entered upon [Imam Ali] Zain Al Abideen (pbuh) and said to him: ‘O son of Al Hussain, who claims that what caused Yunus son of Matta to be cast/thrown from the whale was because it was presented upon him the wilaya (authority) of my grandfather and he stopped at it [did not accept immediately].’[Imam Ali Zain Al Abideen (pbuh)] said: ‘May your mother be bereft of you.’ [So Abdullah son of Omar] said:‘So show me a verse [proving] this if you are of the truthful.’ So he commanded that his eyes be covered with a covering, and my eye with a covering, then after an hour he commanded us to open our eyes, then we were upon the shore of the sea and the waves were striking. So the son of Omar said: ‘O Master! My blood is in your neck! Allah! Allah! In myself!’[So Imam Ali Zain Al Abideen (pbuh)] said:‘Bring it forth and make us see it if you are of the truthful.’Then he (pbuh)
said:‘O Whale!’”It was said: “So the whale’s head came out of the sea, the likes of a great
mountain, while it was saying:‘At your service At your service O Preferred One of Allah!’ So he (pbuh) said:‘Who are you?!’[So the whale] said:‘I am the whale of Yunus O Master!’ [So he (pbuh)] said:‘Inform us of the news.’ So [the whale] said: ‘O Master! Verily Allah, the Almighty, does not dispatch a prophet from Adam until your grandfather Muhammad (pbuh & his family) [came], except that He had presented your authority (Wilayah) upon them. So whomever accepted it from among the prophets was saved and rescued, and whomever stopped and became slow/hesitated in carrying/bearing it received what Adam received from the sin, and what Noah (pbuh) received from drowning, and what Abraham (pbuh) received from the fire, and what Yusuf (pbuh) received from the well, and what Ayoub (Job) (pbuh) received from infliction, and
what Dawoud (David) (pbuh) received from the sin, until Allah dispatched Yunus (pbuh) so Allah inspired to him: ‘Verily, O Yunus! Accept the Wilayah (authority) of the Prince of the Believers Ali and the Righteous/Guiding Imams from his loins.

During the talk to him: he said: ‘How do I accept the Wilayah (authority) of someone I have never seen or known? And he left while being displeased. So He inspired to me: “Swallow Yunus, and do not weaken/break his bones”. So he stayed in my belly for forty mornings, touring the seas with me, in three darknesses, while calling: “Verily There is no God except for you, Glory be to You. Verily, I have been of the wrongdoers!” Verily I have accepted the Wilayah (authority) of Ali and the Righteous/Guiding Imams from his sons. So when he believed in your Wilayah (authority), my Lord commanded me to thrown him on the sear shore”

So Imam Zain Al-‘Abideen said:“Go back to your shelter O Whale.”Then the water of the sea became on the same level.” [Manaqib Al’ Abi Talib by Ibn Shahr Ashob, volume 3, page 281. Qisas Al-Anbiyaa’ by Al-Jaza’iri page 493]

3 – [Narrated] from Jabir on the authority of Abi Ja’far (pbuh) regarding the saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted:{And We had already taken a promise from Adam before, but he forgot; and We found not in him determination.}, he (pbuh) said: “He promised regarding Muhammad and the Imams after him, so he left it and there was no determination in him regarding them that they are as such. Rather, Uli Al-Azm (The companions of determination) were called Uli Al-Azm because a covenant was taken upon them regarding Muhammad and the vicegerents after him and the Mahdi and his path so their determination gathered upon [the fact that] this is as such and admitting that.” [Basa’ir Al-Darajat page 90].

Abu Ja’far (pbuh) said: “Then the covenant was taken upon the prophets, so He said: ‘Am I not your Lord? And is not this Muhammad My Messenger? And is not this Ali the Prince of the Believers?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ ‘So prophethood was confirmed to them, and the covenant was  taken upon Uli Al-Azm that I am your Lord, and Muhammad is My Messenger, and Ali is the Prince of the Believers, and his vicegerents after him (pbut) are the guardians of My matter and the container of my Knowledge, and that by Al-Mahdi I shall grant victory to My religion and make My State apparent and take revenge from My enemies, and be worshiped willfully or by force.’ So they said: ‘We have admitted, O our Lord, and we have bore witness to that.’ Adam did not deny neither did he admit. So determination became confirmed to those five regarding the Mahdi. And Adam had no determination to admit him. And that is [the reason for] His, The Almighty, saying: {And We had already taken a promise from Adam before, but he forgot; and We found not in him determination.} {The Holy Qur’an Surat Ţāhā (Ta-Ha): 115}. He said: Rather it is him: so he left…” [Al-Kafi volume 2, page 8]

4 – [Narrated] from Abi Abdullah (pbuh): “That the Prophet (pbuh & his family) said:‘No one should say: I am better than Yunus son of Matta (pbuh).’” [Bihar Al Anwar: V. 14, P. 392.]

5 –Al Kafi: V. 1, P. 401, Hadith No. 1.

6 – [Narrated] from son of Abbas that he said: “… then verily Elias (Elijah) came down and hid from the mother of Yunus son of Matta for six months, and Yunus was a baby born, then he returned to his place, and he did not remain except for a short time until her son died after she was done with breastfeeding him (after he was weaned). So the calamity became great, and she went out calling for Elijah, and the Mountains softened until she found Elijah, so he said: “I have become sorrowful because of the death of my son, And Allah The Exalted inspired me to intercede by you towards him so that He may bring my son back to life. I have left him upon his condition and I have not buried him and I have hidden his place.” So he said to her : “When did your son die?” She said: “Today is the seventh day.” So Elijah went forth, and he spent another seven days. Until he reached her house. So he made a supplication to Allah The Glorified The Exalted until He brought life back to Yunus (pbuh). So when he became alive, Elijah left. And
when 40 years passed, Allah sent him to his people, like He said: And We have sent him to a hundred thousand or more…” [Qisas Al-Anbiyaa’ by Al-Jaza’iri page 359-361, Bihar Al-Anwar: volume 13, page 393-396]

7 – Bihar Al Anwar: V. 41, P. 382.

8 – Bihar Al Anwar: V. 41, P. 391.

9 – Bihar Al Anwar: V. 10, P. 87.

10 – Refer to: Al Mutashabihat (‘The Allegories’) Volume 1, question number 6, the entire Qur’an is in the Dot.

11 – Al Kafi: V. 1, P. 401, Hadith No. 1.

12 – Ibrahim ibn Abbas Al-Suli, said: ‘One day we were between the hands of Ali son of Musa (pbuh), So he said to me: “There is no real bliss/blessing in Dunya.”So some of the scholars who were present at the time said: “Allah, The Almighty, said: {Then [on this day] you will be asked about the Bliss/Blessing}, so this bliss/blessing is in this Dunya and it is the cold water.”So Imam Al-Ridha (pbuh) said to him in a loud voice:”You have interpreted like that?! And you have made it upon conditions, for some people said it is the cold water, and some people said it is the good food and other said it is the good sleep!” Then Al-Ridha (pbuh) said: “My father said to me that his father Abu Abdullah (pbuh) said to him then these sayings of yours were said to him (pbuh) in regarding to the saying of Allah, The Exalted:{Then [on this day] you will be asked about the Bliss/Blessing} So he (pbuh) became angry and said: Allah, The Almighty, verily, does not ask His servants regarding that which He favors upon them, and He does not bestow that upon them, and asking about the favors/blessings is hated from the creations, so how do you attribute to the Creator the Almighty that which the created does not accept? Rather, the bliss/blessing is loving us, Ahlul Bayt, and accepting our Wilayah (authority). Allah will ask His servants about this after monotheism and prophethood because if the servant fulfills that he would be led to the bliss/blessing of Paradise that does not go away.” [‘Uyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha (pbuh) volume 1, page 136-137]