As-Salamun-Alaikum
Peace and blesings be on Muhammad and his
Progeny
I am aware of 3 ayas in the Holy Quran Imam Ali(AS) is referred to:
First of all the verse that claims that wilayat of Imam Ali(AS)
[Shakir 5:55] Only Allah is your Vali and His Messenger and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow
commentary:
All the commentators unanimously hold, as Qushaji admits in the Sharh al Tajrid on the subject of imamat, that this verse refers to Ali when he gave his ring to a beggar while bowing down in the course of his prayers. Nasa-i has also recorded this tradition in his Sahihah al Nasa-i, and so has the author of Al Jama Bayn al Sihah al Sittah (corroboration of the six authentic books) in discussion of the commentary on al Ma-idah, and so does Tha-labi in his Tafsir Kabir, and al Balakhi in his Yanabi has copied it from Ahmad bin Hanbal’s Musnad, vol. 5, margin of p. 38. Please refer to the commentary on this verse in Wahidi’s book Asbab al Nuzul (the circumstances of descent) which contains the tradition related by Ibn Abbas. Al Khatib has recorded the tradition in Al Muttafiq, and Ibn Marduwayh and Abu Shaykh in their Musnads. It is mentioned in Kanz al Ummal, vol. 6, p. 391, tradition no. 5991. In Ghayah al Maram, chapter 18, there are twenty four traditions from sources other than the Ahl ul Bayt, all supporting the above statement about the descent of this verse.
When Abi Ishaq Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Naysaburi al Tha-labi reached this verse he recorded the following in his Tafsir al Kabir on the authority of Abu Dharr al Ghifari, who said “Both of my ears may turn deaf and both my eyes may become blind if I speak a lie. I heard the Holy Prophet saying, ‘Ali is the guide of the righteous and the slayer of the infidels. He who has helped him is victorious and he who has abandoned him is forsaken’. One day I said my prayers in the company of the Holy Prophet; a beggar came to the masjid and begged for alms, but nobody gave him anything. Ali was in a state of ruku in the prayer. He pointed out his ring to the beggar, who approached him and removed the ring from his finger. Thereupon the Holy Prophet implored Allah, saying: ‘O Allah! My brother Musa begged You saying: My Lord, delight my heart and make my task easy and undo the knot in my tongue so that they may understand me, and appoint from among my kinsmen, Harun, my brother, as my vizier, and strengthen my back with him and make him participate in my mission so that we may glorify You and remember You more frequently. Certainly You see us-and You inspired him: O Musa! All your requests have been granted. (The Holy Prophet continued) Delight my heart and make my task easy and appoint from among my kinsmen Ali as my vizier and strengthen my back with him’. (Abu Dhar proceeds) By Allah, the Holy Prophet had not yet finished his supplication when the trustworthy Jibril descended to him with this verse”. (Ibn Khallikan says that Al Tha-labi was unique as a commentator of the Quran and his Tafsir al Kabir is superior to all other Tafsirs).
In this verse the word wali has been used in the meaning of guardian or master or who holds authority superior to others. Please refer to the origin of the word wali in Sihah or Mukhtar al Sihah or any other good dictionary. The lexicographers have explained that he who manages the affairs of and exercises authority for another person is the wali of that person. This verse, therefore, means that those who manage the affairs of the people (mankind) are superior to all men, and certainly they are Allah, His messenger, the Holy Prophet, and Ali, who possesses all the qualifications enumerated in this verse. Allah has simultaneously confirmed His wilayah (superior authority), that of His prophet and his wali (Ali) in unbroken succession. Allah’s wilayah is universal, so likewise, the wilayah of the Holy Prophet and his wali (Ali) must be so. It is not possible to assign to the word wali in this verse the meaning of a helper or a friend, etcetera, for help and friendship are not confined to these three only. All the faithful men and women, according to the holy book, are friends and helpers of one another. It is as obvious as can be that the word wali in this verse means, guardian, ruler, possessor of superior authority. It is in this sense that the word wali has been used by the Holy Prophet in the abovenoted tradition related by Al Tha-labi in his Tafsir al Kabir on the authority of Abu Dharr al Ghifari whom the Holy Prophet had given the title of siddiq (the truthful). There are other authentic traditions, given below, in which the word wali indicates its true meaning:
(i) Abu Dawud al Tayalisi has recorded in Isti-ab on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said: “The Holy Prophet said to Ali, ‘You are the master (wali) of the faithful after me’.”
(ii) After an expedition, under the command of Ali, some of the men, who went with him, complained to the Holy Prophet about Ali’s refusal to oblige them favourably. The Holy Prophet turned to them with signs of displeasure on his face and said: “What do you want to do to Ali? Surely Ali is from me and I am from him, and after me he is the master (wali) of all the faithful.”
Nasa-i has recorded it in his Khasa-is al Alawiyyah, p. 17, Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, vol. 4, p. 438; Hakim in Mustadrak, vol. 11, p. 11; Al Dhahabi in his Talkhis al Mustadrak; Ibn Shaybah and Jarir both have recorded it from whom Muttaqi of India has copied it in his Kanz al Ummal, vol. 6, p. 400; Tirmidhi has recorded it from Asqalani, mentioned in his account of Ali in his Isabah; Ibn Hadid has copied it from Tirmidhi in his Sharh al Nahj al Balagha, vol. 2, p. 450.
(iii) The Holy Prophet said to Buraydah:
“Am I not a more privileged master (mawla or wali) of the lives of the faithful than the faithful themselves? Ali is the master (wali or mawla) of those who believe me to be their master.”
Ahmad ibn Hanbal has recorded it in his Musnad, vol. 5, p. 356, Hakim has recorded it in his Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 110, besides many other traditionists.
(iv) The Holy Prophet said:
“O Ali! After me you are the master of all the faithful.”
Hakim has recorded this tradition as reported by Ibn Abbas in his Mustadrak, vol. 3, p. 134; and Dhahabi in his Talkhis; Nasa-i in Khasa-is al Alawiyyah p. 6; Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Musnad vol. 1, p. 331.
“Ali is your wali after me”, means that Ali and none else will be the master of the faithful after the Holy Prophet. It confines in Ali the authority to manage the affairs of the ummah after him. It is, therefore, necessary to attach the same meaning to the word wali and to understand it in the same sense as has been pointed out above. Help, affection, love, friendship are not confined to any one person. All faithful men and women love and are friends of one another. If the meaning of wali is taken as helper or friend, then why the Holy Prophet took so much interest in, and attached so much importance to, clarifying emphatically what was obvious and evident, so as to repeat the declaration off and on? His perfect wisdom, his thorough impeccability and termination with him of the prophethood make him far above the indulgence of explaining the self-evident, emphasising the obvious and making unnecessary repetitions. Besides, the traditions lay down clearly that Ali is or will be master of the nation after the Holy Prophet, and this makes it all the more necessary to understand the word wali in the same sense and fix for it the same meaning as has been stated above. The abovenoted traditionists, commentators and historians also deal with the word wali or mawla as the “more privileged master of the lives of the faithful than the faithful themselves.”
“Those who believe” is in the plural form. How can it be applicable to an individual?
All the annotators, traditionists and historians agree that it was Na-im ibn Mas-ud al Ashja-i, whom Abu Sufyan gave ten camels for discouraging the Muslim, said to them: “Fear your enemies who have united against you and gathered in large numbers to attack you” (Ali Imran: 173), but in this verse “people said to them” (a plural form) has been used.
It was Ghawrath from the tribe of Banu Maharib, some scholars say, while others say that it was Umar ibn Jahash of the tribe of Banu Nadir, (a single man) single man) who drew out his sword to strike the Holy Prophet, but verse 11 of al Ma-idah describes it as “when a group of persons became so bold as to stretch their hands to you”-in plural form. Verse 120 of al Nahl says: “Ibrahim was certainly a people obedient to Allah”.
There are plenty of other examples of using the plural form for an individual.
Tabrasi, while commenting on this verse in his Majma al Bayan, says: “The plural form has been used for Ali in order to express his glory and eminence .”
Zamakhshari, in his Tafsir al Kashshaf, says:
“If you inquire how this plural word is applicable to Ali, who is an individual, I shall say that though this verse is about Ali, an individual, the plural form is used in order to persuade others to act similarly and give alms as readily as Ali did.”
The Imams among the Ahl ul Bayt have frequently referred to this verse as a proof of their rightful imamat and have assigned the same meaning to the word wali as we have stated.
The word innama makes the decision of Allah (that He, the Holy Prophet and Ali alone are the masters of the believers) final and decisive. The construction of the sentence and the word wali, used in singular for all the three, means that wilayah of all the three is essentially one in nature as well as in effect. Therefore, obedience to the Holy Prophet must be as it should be to Allah, and obedience to Ali and his successors (the Imams among the Ahl ul Bayt) must be as it should be to the Holy Prophet.
Wa hum raki-un is an adverbial clause qualifying the manner in which the alms were given. If it is taken as a conjunctive clause, then yuqimunas salat or this clause becomes an unnecessary repetition.
In fact this verse points out the highest state of spiritual attainment-fully absorbed in witnessing the glory of the absolute Lord and at the same time alive to the needs of His servants so as to solve them at once to their full satisfaction- which alone entitles a man to be a master like the eternal master, the almighty Allah. The Quran a asserts this possibility for such a man, not for all the followers because they have been addressed in
second person (kum). The plural term “those who believe” is used to include the Imams among the Ahl ul Bayt in the same way as has been done in verse 61 of Ali Imran (Mubahilah).
Please also refer to verse 67 of this surah for the event of Ghadir Khum where the Holy Prophet openly declared Ali as the wali or mawla of the faithfuls just as the Holy Prophet himself is. The entire Muslim nation is unanimous that when the verses of the Quran were collected they were not arranged in the same order in which they descended. There is many a verse occurring in an irrelevant context, for instance, the verse of purification, which occurs in the account of the wives of the Holy Prophet, but actually is in praise of the five persons of al kisa, as has been universally admitted. All Muslims are agreed that arguments are to be preferred to the context, and whenever the implication of the context was opposed to the implication of arguments they ignored the context and yielded to the arguments, because they were doubtful about the context in which a certain verse occurs.
The second Ayah: Here Imam Ali(AS) is referred as a part of the ahl-Bayt(AS)
. Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House!(Ahlul Bayt) and to purify you a (thorough) purifying.
Obedience to Allah’s law sums up all duties. Regular prayer (seeking nearness to Allah) and regular charity (doing good to fellow-creatures) are mentioned as specially symbolical of the religion of Allah, Islam.
The first command in this verse “stay in your houses” was violated by A-isha when she went to Iraq to organise a mischievous campaign against Ali about whom the Holy Prophet said:
“O Ali, you are to me as Harun was to Musa. You are my brother in this world and the hereafter. Your flesh is my flesh, your blood is my blood. You and me are from one and the same light.”
In his sermon at Ghadir Khum (see commentary of Ma-idah: 67) he invoked Allah to be a friend of those who loved Ali and be an enemy of those who opposed Ali.
Bukhari has recorded in the chapter “What happened in the houses of the Prophet’s wives” in the book “Jihad and Travel” of his Sahih, vol. 2, p. 125, that while delivering an address from the pulpit, the Holy Prophet pointed towards A-isha’s house and said: “Here lies the scandal; here lies the scandal; here lies the scandal, where the horn of Shaytan would be rising.” In the words of Sahih Muslim: "The Prophet came out of the house of A-isha and remarked: “Here is the head of infidelity where the horn of Shaytan will rise.” Refer to Sahih Muslim, vol. 2,0.502.
“Verily Allah intends to keep off from you uncleanness, O you Ahl ul Bayt and purify you with a thorough purification” is a separate verse revealed on a particular occasion but placed here. Please refer to Aqa Mahdi Puya’s note in the commentary of verses 28 to 32.
The time, occasion and people concerned in connection with the revelation of the above noted verse have been discussed and made known in many authentic books of the Muslim scholars.
The one and only reference available to the commentators is the event of the blanket (Hadith al Kisa).
The “event of the blanket” has been written by the following authors whom the Muslim Ummah acclaim with one voice.
(1) Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal (241 H) “Musnad” (Egypt: 131 H) pages 259, 285, 292.
(2) Muslim bin Hajjaj Nayshapuri (261 H) Sahih Muslim" (Egypt: 1349) vol. 4, page 116.
(3) Abi Isa Muhammad Tirmidhi (275 or 279 H) “Sahih Tirmidhi” (Sharah ibnul Arabi) (Egypt: 1352 H) vol. 13 pages 200, 248.
(4) Ahmed ibn Shu-ayb Nisa-i (303 H) “Khasa-is” (Egypt: 1348 H) page 4.
(5) Ibn Jarir Tabari (310 H) “Tafsir Tabari” (Jama ul Bayan fi Tafsir il Quran) (Egypt: 1331 H) vol.22, page 5.
(6) Sulayman bin Ahmad Al Tibrani (360 H) “Al Mu-jam Al Saghir” (Dehli: 1311 H), page 34, 75.
(7) Hakim Nayshapuri (405 H) “Al Mustadrak” (Hyderabad Deccan: 1334 H), pages 146, 147, 148.
(8) Yusuf bin Abdullah ibni Abdul Birr (463 H) “Al Isti-ab” (Hyderabad Deccan: 1346 H),
vol. 2, page 460.
Ali bin Ahmad Al Wahidi (468 H) “Asbab ul Nuzul” (Egypt: 1315 H) pages 266, 267.
Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir Tabari, Hakim and Tibrani have related from Ummi Salima that when this verse was revealed the Holy Prophet was under a blanket or mantle along with Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn, and he declared that his family consisted of only these persons. Ummi Salima, his wife, within whose quarters the revelation came, asked permission to be included in the group under the blanket, but she was politely refused permission. The group is known ever since with the epithet “panjtan pak” or “the holy group of five”. These are the persons who were compared by the Holy Prophet with the ark of Nuh wherein those who embarked were saved, while those who sought shelter elsewhere were drowned. Refer to Tafsir Azizi by Shah Abdul Aziz and Tafsir Durr al Manthur by Jalal al Din al Suyuti. In Yanabi al Mawaddat, page 87, Shaykh al Islam writes that A-isha said: “Ayah al Tat-hir refers only to the Holy Prophet, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn. No wife of his is included.” On page 280 of volume two of Sharah Nuwi of Sahih Muslim it is written that when Zayd bin Arqam was asked whether the wives of the Holy Prophet are included in the Ahl ul Bayt, he said: “By Allah the wives of the Holy Prophet cannot be included in the Ahl ul Bayt at all, because after the pronouncement of divorce the wives are reverted to their parent; and, moreover, sadqah (charity) is prohibited to be given to the Ahl ul Bayt.” Also please refer to the commentary of Shura: 42 and Ali Imran : 61 for further confirmation and proofs.
Some commentators report this tradition through A-isha who says that this event took place in her house. So two wives of the Holy Prophet have confirmed that they both were not given permission by the Holy Prophet to come under the blanket, so they could never be described as Ahl ul Bayt.
Thalabi reports that when A-isha was asked as to why she violated the command of Allah “to stay in your houses” by going to the battle of Jamal against Ali, she said:
“It was my fate. I saw the Holy Prophet taking Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain under his mantle and heard him saying: ‘O Allah, these are my Ahl ul Bayt. Keep off impurity from them.’ I asked him: ‘Am I not of your Ahl ul Bayt?’ He said: ‘Go away from here. You are not of my Ahlul Bayt.’”
Abu Dawud and Malik relate from Anas that for six months after the revelation of this verse every morning, while going for fajr salat, the Holy Prophet used to recite this verse at the door of Fatimah’s house.
In verse 73 of Hud Sara is addressed as Ahli Bayt, not as the wife of Ibrahim but as the mother of prophet Is-haq, because the state of being a wife of a prophet gives no privilege to a woman as stated above and clearly indicated by the Holy Prophet himself, and decisively proved by the condemnation of the wives of Nuh and Lut.
Innama implies the determined decision or will of Allah. Although the decision of a created being may not take effect at all, but the will of Allah takes immediate effect. There cannot be a slightest gap of time or space in the will of Allah taking effect. When He commands: “Be”; it becomes. Refer to Baqarah: 117; Nahl: 40 Maryolm: 35; Ya Sin 83; Mumin: 68 and Qamar 50. It is not only the will of Allah but the declaration of its effect. Since the Ahl ul Bayt have been thoroughly purified, they remain thoroughly purified for ever. The prayer of Ibrahim in Baqarah: 127 to 129 is prayed to continue the excellence in themselves and in their descendants mentioned in Baqarah: 124. When a quality or attribute is described or mentioned in indefinite sense it refers to the perfect possibility. The purity in this verse is absolute purity. Polytheism (shirk) is described in the Quran as impurity and also the greatest iniquity (refer to Luqman : 13). Refer to the commentary of Baqarah: 124 for the condition that imamah is not bestowed on those who have ever (even once in their lives) worshipped any ghayrallah. All the companions of the Holy Prophet and his wives were polytheists before embracing Islam. Only the Holy Prophet, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husayn were at that time free from the dirt of shirk, therefore they alone could be throughly purified.
Aqa Mahdi Puya says:
(i) Innama (verily or only) signifies exclusive distinction. To emphasise this exclusiveness, the second object of the verb yudh-hiba (keep off)-the phrase ankum (from you)-has been put before the first object rijs (uncleanness); and for further emphasis, the phrase Ahl ul Bayt has been mentioned to explain the pronoun ankum (from you). The grammatical structure of the whole clause indicates that this a unique privilege or distinction granted to the Ahl ul Bayt only, excluding all others.
(ii)
The verb yuridu implies that the continuous will or intention of Allah is His creative will or intention, not legislative. To interpret the will as the legislative will as in Ma-idah: 6, distorts the whole fabric of the verse and renders meaningless the exclusive particle and the constructional arrangement. Even then it means that only the Ahl ul Bayt exclusively achieved the standard.
(iii) This verse is a preface to verses 77 to 79 of al Waqi-ah: “Verily this is an honourable (Karim) Quran, in a hidden (preserved) book, which no one can touch save the purified.” (Refer to page 3.)
(iv) The excellences of Ahl ul Bayt have been openly demonstrated in the event of mubahilah (refer to the commentary of Ali Imran : 61).
(v) The Ahl ul Bayt had only been thoroughly purified by Allah because of their total submission to Allah’s will and their state of being always in communion with Allah.
The event of revelation of this verse as reported by Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari, one of the most reliable companions of the Holy Prophet has been mentioned in “Awalim al Ulum” by Shaykh Abdullah bin Nurullah Al-Bahrayni and is reproduced here:-
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. It is reported by Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari that Fatimah Zahra said;
One day my father, the messenger of Allah, came into (my house),
and said “Fatimah! Peace be on you.” “Peace be on you too.” I replied.
“I am not feeling well.” He said.
“May Allah keep you safe from weakness, O my father.” I prayed.
“Fatimah! Please bring the Yamani blanket and cover me with it.” He said.
So I brought the Yamani blanket and covered him with it. I turned my eyes upon his face. It was shining bright like a full moon in its full glory and splendour.
Then, not a moment passed before my son, Hasan, walked in and said:
“Peace be on you, mother.”
“Peace be on you too, my dearest darling” I answered.
“I breathe the pure aroma of the messenger of Allah, my grandfather, coming from you!” He observed.
“True; your grandfather is under the blanket.” I confirmed.
Hasan went near his grandfather (covered with the blanket) and said:
“Peace be on you, grandfather, the messenger of Allah, may I join you under the blanket?”
“Peace be on you, my son, my companion at the spring of Kawthar, come in.”
He went inside the blanket.
Then, not a moment passed, before my son, Husayn, walked in and said: “Peace be on you, mother.” “Peace be on you too, my dearest darling” I answered .
“I breathe the pure aroma of the messenger of Allah, my grandfather, coming from you!” He observed .
“True, your grandfather and your brother are under the blanket.” I confirmed.
Husayn went near the blanket (under which his grandfather was resting with his brother) and said:
“Peace be on you grandfather, the choice of Allah, may I join you both under the blanket ?”
“Peace be on you, my son, the saviour of my people, come in.”
He went inside the blanket.
In that instant Abul Hasan. Amir al Muminin, Ali ibn abi Talib, stepped in and said:
“Peace be on you, O the daughter of the messenger of Allah!”
“Peace be on you too, Abul Hasan, Amir al Muminin.” I answered.
“Fatimah, I breathe the pure aroma of my brother, the son of my uncle, the messenger of Allah, coming from you!” He observed.
“True, he is under the blanket with your sons” I confirmed.
Ali went near the blanket and said:
“Peace be on you, the messenger of Allah, may I join you (all) under the blanket?”
“Peace be on you, my brother, the executor of my will, my successor, my standard bearer, come in.”
Ali went inside the blanket.
Then I went near the blanket and said:
“Peace be on you, my father, the messenger of Allah, may I join you (all), under the blanket?”
“Peace be on you; my daughter my darling, come in.”
I went inside the blanket.
As soon as all of us united under the blanket, my father, the messenger of Allah, held the two ends of the blanket and raised his right hand toward the heaven and said:
“O Allah! These are my Ahl ul Bayt, very special to me, my near and dear ones, my own flesh and blood; whoso annoys them disturbs me; whoso makes them sad makes me unhappy. I make war on those who carry on hostilities against them; I am well disposed towards those who make their peace with them; I oppose those who run counter to them; I favour those who love them. They are from me and I am from them. So send Thy blessings, benefits, mercy, protection and favours on me and on them, and keep off from them uncleanliness, and purify them with a thorough purification.”
Thereupon The Almighty and the Glorious Allah said: “O My angels and the dwellers of the heavens, verily I have not created the indeclinable sky, the levelled earth, the bright moon, the resplendent sun, the rotating cosmic system, the flowing seas, and the sailing ship, but for the sake of and in the love of the five souls lying underneath the blanket.”
The trusted Jibrail asked:
“O Lord! Who are underneath the blanket?” The Almighty and the Glorious replied:
“They are the ‘Ahl ul Bayt’ of the Prophet, the custodians of the message; they are-Fatimah, her father, her husband and her sons.”
Jibrail (submissively) asked:
“O Lord! May I descend on the earth and be the sixth with them?”
“Yes. I give you permission,” said Allah.
The trusted angel, Jibrail, came down (on the earth), and said:
"Peace be on you, O the messenger of Allah. The Highest High says: "Peace be on you. And distinguishes you with greetings and blessings.
He tells you:
‘In the name of My majesty and glory, verily, I have not created the indeclinable sky, the levelled earth, the bright moon, the resplendent sun, the rotating cosmic system, the flowing seas, and the sailing ship, but for your sake and in your love.’
And He has also given me permission to be with you. So may I have your permission O the messenger of Allah."
The messenger of Allah replied: “Peace be on you, O the custodian of Allah’s revelation, come in and join (us).”
Jibrail came in and joined us under the blanket.
He told my father: "Verily, Allah has sent a revelation to you. He said:
‘Verily Allah’s wish is but to keep off from you uncleanness, O Ahl ul Bayt, and to purify you (with) a thorough purification.’"
Ali asked my father: “O messenger of Allah, tell us that which makes our assembly under this blanket an event of surpassing excellence before Allah.”
The Prophet replied:
“In the name of He who sent me as a truthful prophet, and chose me as a redeemer to convey His message, I declare that no assembly of our followers and devotees, on the earth, where this event is narrated shall spend a single moment but the mercy of Allah will envelop them, then and there; and countless angels of Allah shall pray for the remission of their sins till the group of the faithful disperse.”
Ali declared:
“Well then, by the Lord of the Ka-bah, we have attained our end, and have been rendered successful, so also our followers!”
The Holy Prophet said again:
“O Ali! In the name of He who sent me as a truthful Prophet, and chose me as a redeemer to convey His message, I declare that in any of the assemblies of our followers and devotees, on the earth, where this event is narrated, there would not be a grief-stricken among them, but Allah dispels his worries; nor there would be a downcast, among them, but Allah disperses his sorrows; nor would there be a needy, among them, but Allah meets his demands.”
Then Ali observed:
“In this case then, by Allah, we have attained our end, and found our happiness; and likewise our followers have attained their end and found their happiness in this world and in the hereafter, in the name of the Lord of the Ka-bah.”
In view of the concluding discourse of the Holy Prophet and the conclusive declaration of Imam Ali ibn abi Talib, quoted in the “event of the blanket”, it is but natural that the “followers and devotees of Muhammad and ali Muhammad”, recite the text of the tradition every day, or at least, once in a week, on the night preceding every Friday.
Thirdly Ali(AS) is referred in Ayat 207 of Sura al-Baqara
[Shakir 2:207] And among men is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Affectionate to the servants.
[Yusufali 2:207] And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah: And Allah is full of kindness to (His) devotees.
[Pickthal 2:207] And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the pleasure of Allah; and Allah hath compassion on (His) bondmen.
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 2:207]
Thalabi, Ghazali, the author of Ahya-ul Ulum, and all the Shia commentators say that this verse was revealed to praise Ali ibna abi Talib, when he slept in the bed of the Holy Prophet, during the night of hijrat.
Immediately after the death of Abu Talib, Abu Sufyan, the chief of the branch of Umayyah, succeeded to the principality of Makka. A zealous votary of the idols, a mortal foe of the line of Hashim, he convened an assembly of the Quraysh and their allies. All tribal heads held a conference on the instigation of Abu Sufyan and Abu Jahl. It was resolved that one man from every tribe should go to the Holy Prophet’s house in the darkness of the night and kill him jointly, in order to divide the guilt, and baffle the vengeance of the Bani Hashim. In the stupidity of their ignorance, they forgot that Allah is seeing, hearing, and His hand (Ali) was alive, who, from his earliest days, had committed himself to save the Holy Prophet at all costs. In the dark night, the conspirators surrounded the house of the Holy Prophet. Meanwhile, Allah commanded the Holy Prophet to leave Makka at once and go to Madina. The Holy Prophet intimated Ali of the divine plan and asked him to lie down on his bed, in order to lead the enemies into thinking that it was the Holy Prophet himself who was sleeping, thus giving him enough time to go away from Makka (unnoticed). Ali asked the Holy Prophet if his lying down in his bed would save the Holy Prophet’s life, to which he answered in the affirmative. So Ali lay down on the Holy Prophet’s bed, covering himself with his blanket. Ali made a willing choice of certain death, as the blood-thirsty enemies were lurking around the house to kill the Holy Prophet in his bed at any time during the night.
Ali willingly agreed to die because:
(1) in his opinion the life of the Holy Prophet was more valuable than his own;
he was absolutely certain that it was the duty of a true believer to obtain the pleasure of Allah and His messenger, even if one’s life has to be bartered;
he had the peace of mind which gave him courage to sleep, while the naked swords were flashing to
strike him - a singular example of willing surrender to Allah’s will;
Commentary taken from
http://www.al-islam.org/quran/
Wa-Salamun-alaikum-Wa-Rahmatullahi-Wa-Barakatu