Wishful thinking [2:78]

Qur’an:

“Among them are the unlearned, who know nothing of the book, except for wishful thinking, and they make only assumptions.” [Al-Baqarah 2:78]

ومنهم أميون لا يعلمون الكتاب إلا أماني وإن هم إلا يظنون

Hadith:

Ali Ibn Ibrahim Al-Qummi writes: “Among them are the unlearned (2:78)”, which refers to those of the Jews: “who do not know the book, except for wishful thinking and they only make assumptions.” [Tafsir-ul-Qummi, Volume 1 Page 50]

قال أبو الحسن القمي: ومنهم أميون أي من اليهود لا يعلمون الكتاب الا أماني وان هم الا يظنون

Ahmad Ibn Ali reported that Imam Al-Askari (a.) said: “God said: “O Muhammad, among these Jews are the unlearned (2:78) who do not read and do not write the book. The unlearned (Ummi) refers to his mother (Umm), meaning that he is exactly as he was born from his mothers womb, neither reading nor writing: “Those who do not know the book.” That was sent down from heaven, nor that which was lied about, and they do not distinguish between them: “Except for wishful thinking.” By which is meant: “Except that which is read to them.” To which they were told: “This is the book of God and His word.” While they do not know if what is read from the book is the opposite of what is in it: “And they are making assumptions.” By which is meant what their leaders deny them about Muhammad (s.) because of his prophethood and the leadership of Ali, the head of his family (a.), and they imitate them, although their imitation (Taqlid) is forbidden to them. A man said to Abu Abdillah As-Sadiq (a.): “If these people did not know the Book except what they heard from those who knew it, and there was no other way for them, how then did He condemn them for their imitation (Taqlid) and taking from those who knew? Are not the ordinary people of the Jews just like the ordinary people of us who imitate their knowledgeable ones? If taking from their knowledgeable ones is not allowed for them, then is the taking by our ordinary people from their knowledgeable ones not allowed?” He said: “There is a difference between our ordinary people and knowledgeable people, and between the ordinary Jews and their knowledgeable people, in one respect and a commonality in another. In terms of their similarity, God condemned our ordinary people for imitating (taqlid) their knowing as He condemned their ordinary people, and in terms of their difference He did not. The man said: “Explain it to me, O son of the Messenger of God!”He said: “The common Jews recognized in their knowledgeable ones clearly the falsehood, the consumption of the forbidden, the corruption, the falsification of judgments about their commitments, the intercessions and the hypocrisies, and they recognized in them the strong zealousness by which they distanced themselves from their religion and that when they are zealous, they violate the rights of those against whom they are zealous and of those, who has no right to it, from the property of others, for which they zealously stand up and they do them injustice because of these (people) and they recognized in them that they were committing the forbidden deeds and they were driven by the knowledge of their hearts that he who commits what they are committing is a transgressor in whom it is not allowed to find himself approved by God and the mediators between creation and God. Therefore, He condemned them when they imitated the one whom they recognized and knew that it is not allowed to accept his message, nor to approve him in his narrations, nor to obey what he tells them about the one they did not witness and it was a duty for them to look into the matter of the Prophet Muhammad (s.) himself, when his evidence was clearer than it could be hidden and more known than it should not be revealed, and that is exactly what the ordinary people of our community are like when they recognize in their minds the manifest transgression and the strong zealotry, bitter dispute over the remains of this world,its forbidden things, the fanatical criticism of those against whom they act fanatically, even if he deserves the correction of his own affair and the treatment with kindness and goodness towards those for whom they are fanatically supporting, even if he deserves despise and degradation. Therefore, those from among our common people who imitate the like of these understanding people are like the Jews whom God condemned for imitating (taqlid) their wicked people of understanding. As for those of the understanders (Fuqaha’) who were restraining their self, preserving their religion, resisting their desires, and obeying the command of their Lord, it is up to ordinary people to imitate them, and these are only some understanders (Fuqaha’) from among our followers, and not all. So if anyone commits any of the abominations and shameful deeds which the wicked understanders of those who are not from among our followers (Ammah) commit, accept nothing from them about us, nor any estimation for them.There is therefore much confusion in what is taken from us of the people of the house, for the wicked take from us and then falsify it by the possession of it because of their ignorance, and they do not interpret things according to their point of view because of their lack of knowledge, and others deliberately lie about us, to pursue the possessions of this world, which is added to them into the hellfire, and among them is a group of enemies (Nawasib) who are not able to insult us and who learn some of our authentic knowledge, so that they address our followers with it and make us look low among our enemies. Then they add its multiple and the multiple of its multiple of lies about us with which we have nothing to do, so that the Muslims who are submissive by following us accept it as if it were from our knowledge and so they err and lead others astray and those are harming our weak followers more than the army of Yazid, God curse and punish him, than they did harm to Al-Husain, the son of Ali (a.) and his companions,for they deprive the spirits and the property, but the robbed ones are in the best position with Allah when it is added to them by their enemies, and those evil knowledgeable ones who are enemies (nawasib) and by appearance are our followers and enemies of our enemies, cause our weak followers to fall into doubt and uncertainty, so that they lead them astray and deny them the way of truth. There is no crime in the fact that that one of the ordinary people, whose heart God knows, has no other intention than to preserve his religion and honor his loved ones. God does not leave him in the hands of these dressed up disbelievers, but appoints for him a believer who will guide him to the right path. Then God grants him the assurance of acceptance of him, so that in this way He gathers for him the good of this world and the hereafter, and He gathers for him who led him astray the curse of this world and the punishment in the hereafter. The Prophet Muhammad (s.) said: “The worst knowledgeable people from our community are those who let others stray from us, who cut off the path to us, who attribute our names to our enemies, who give our titles to our enemies, who pray for them even though our enemies deserve to be cursed and who curse us, whereby we are embraced by the blessings of God, God and His closest angels say the blessings on us and we do not need these people to pray for us. Someone asked the commander of the believers (a.): “Who are the best creatures after the imams of guidance and illuminating signs in the darkness?” He said: “The knowledgeable ones, if they behave righteously.” He was asked: “Who are the worst creatures after the devil and Pharaoh and after those who use your names, take your titles for themselves, deprive you of your rights and administer your possessions for themselves?” He said: “The knowledgeable ones, if they behave wickedly and publish the falsehoods and hide the truths, and about them the Exalted One says: “These are the ones God curses, and the cursing ones curse them also.” (2:159) [Al-Burhan of Al-Bahrani, Volume 1 Page 208 – 209]

عن هاشم بن سليمان عن أحمد بن علي عن الإمام العسكري عليه السلام قال: قال الله عز وجل يا محمد ومن هؤلاء اليهود أميون لا يقرأون الكتاب ولا يكتبون فالأمي منسوب إلى أمه أي هو كما خرج من بطن أمه لا يقرأ ولا يكتب لا يعلمون الكتاب المنزل من السماء ولا المكذب به ولا يميزون بينهما إلا أماني أي إلا أن يقرأ عليهم ويقال لهم: إن هذا كتاب الله وكلامه لا يعرفون إن قريء عليهم من الكتاب خلاف ما فيه وإن هم إلا يظنون إلا ما يقول لهم رؤساؤهم من تكذيب محمد في نبوته وإمامة علي سيد عترته وهم يقلدونهم مع أنه محرم عليهم تقليدهم قال: فقال رجل للصادق عليه السلام فإذا هؤلاء القوم لا يعرفون الكتاب إلا بما يسمعون من علمائهم لا سبيل لهم إلى غيره فكيف ذمهم بتقليدهم والقبول من علمائهم وهل عوام اليهود إلا كعوامنا يقلدون علماءهم فإن لم يجز لأولئك القبول من علمائهم لم يجز لعوامنا القبول من علمائهم؟ قال عليه السلام: بين عوامنا وعلمائنا وبين عوام اليهود وعلمائهم فرق من جهة وتسوية من جهة أما من حيث أنهم استووا فإن الله قد ذم عوامنا بتقليدهم علماءهم كما قد ذم عوامهم وأما من حيث أنهم افترقوا فلا فقال: بين لي يابن رسول الله قال عليه السلام: إن عوام اليهود كانوا قد عرفوا علماءهم بالكذب الصراح وبأكل الحرام والرشا وبتغيير الأحكام عن واجبها بالشفاعات والعنايات والمصانعات وعرفوهم بالتعصب الشديد الذي يفارقون به أديانهم وأنهم إذا تعصبوا أزالوا حقوق من تعصبوا عليه وأعطوا ما لا يستحق من تعصبوا له من أموال غيرهم وظلموهم من أجلهم وعرفوهم بأنهم يقارفون المحرمات واضطروا بمعارف قلوبهم إلى أن من فعل ما يفعلونه فهو فاسق لا يجوز أن يصدق على الله تعالى ولا على الوسائط بين الخلق وبين الله فلذلك ذمهم لما قلدوا من قد عرفوا ومن قد علموا أنه لا يجوز قبول خبره ولا تصديقه في حكاياته ولا العمل بما يؤديه إليهم عمن لم يشاهدوه ووجب عليهم النظر بأنفسهم في أمر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم إذا كانت دلائله أوضح من أن تخفى وأشهر من أن لا تظهر لهم وكذلك عوام أمتنا إذا عرفوا من فقهائهم الفسق الظاهر والعصبية الشديدة والتكالب على حطام الدنيا وحرامها وإهلاك من يتعصبون عليه وإن كان لإصلاح أمره مستحقا وبالترفق البر والإحسان على من تعصبوا له وإن كان للإذلال والإهانة مستحقا فمن قلد من عوامنا مثل هؤلاء الفقهاء فهم مثل اليهود الذين ذمهم الله تعالى بالتقليد لفسقة فقهائهم فأما من كان من الفقهاء صائنا لنفسه حافظا لدينه مخالفا على هواه مطيعا لأمر مولاه فللعوام أي يقلدوه وذلك لا يكون إلا في بعض فقهاء الشيعة دون بعض لا جميعهم فإن من ركب من القبائح والفواحش مراكب فسقة فقهاء العامة فلا تقبلوا منهم عنا شيئا ولا كرامة لهم وإنما كثير التخليط فيما يتحمل عنا أهل البيت لذلك لأن الفسقة يتحملون عنا فحرفونه بأسره لجهلهم ويضعون الأشياء على غير وجهها لقلة معرفتهم وآخرين يتعمدون الكذب علينا ليجروا من عرض الدنيا ما هو زادهم إلى نار جهنم ومنهم قوم نصاب لا يقدرون على القدح فينا يتعلمون بعض علومنا الصحيحة فيتوجهون به عند شيعتنا وينتقصون لنا عند نصابنا ثم يضيفون إليه أضعافه وأضعاف أضعافه من الأكاذيب علينا التي نحن براء منها فيتقبله المسلمون المستسلمون من شيعتنا على أنه من علومنا فضلوا وأضلوا وهم أضر على ضعفاء شيعتنا من جيش يزيد عليه اللعنة والعذاب على الحسين بن علي عليهما السلام وأصحابه فإنهم يسلبونهم الأرواح والأموال وللمسلوبين عند الله أفضل الأحوال لما لحقهم من أعدائهم وهؤلاء علماء السوء الناصبون المشبهون بأنهم لنا موالون ولأعدائنا معادون يدخلون الشك والشبهة على ضعفاء شيعتنا فيضلونهم ويمنعونهم عن قصد الحق المصيب لا جرم أن من علم الله من قلبه من هؤلاء العوام أنه لا يريد إلا صيانة دينه وتعظيمه وليه لم يتركه في بد هذا الملبس الكافر ولكنه يقيض له مؤمنا يقف به على الصواب ثم يوفقه الله للقبول منه فيجمع له بذلك خير الدنيا والآخرة ويجمع على من أضله لعن الدنيا وعذاب الآخرة ثم قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم شرار علماء أمتنا المضلون عنا القاطعون للطريق إلينا المسمون أضدادتا بأسمائنا المقلبون أضدادنا بألقابنا يصلون عليهم وهم للعن مستحقون ويلعنوننا ونحن بكرامات الله مغمورون وبصلوات الله وصلوات ملائكته المقربون علينا عن صلواتهم علينا مستغنون ثم قال: قيل لأمير المؤمنين عليه السلام من خير الخلق بعد أئمة الهدى ومصابيح الدجى؟ قال: العلماء إذا صلحوا قيل: فمن شرار خلق الله بعد إبليس وفرعون ونمرود وبعد المتسمين بأسمائكم والمتلقبين بألقابكم والآخذين لأمكنتكم والمتأمرين في ممالككم؟ قال: العلماء إذا فسدوا وإنهم المظهرون للاباطيل الكاتمون للحقائق وفيهم قال الله عز وجل: أولئك يلعنون الله ويلعنونهم اللاعنون إلا الذين تابوا الآية