Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi T6lib 495
a clear aim, because the Qur'an was revealed by Allah (&) in a plain
Arabic tongue and is addressed to all people: eerily, We have sent it
down as an Arabic Qur'an in order that you may understand.)
(Qur'an 12: 2)
(This [the Qw'anl is a plain statement for mankind, a guidance and
instruction to those who are Al-Muttaqoon [the pious].B
(Qur'an 3: 138)
Allah (&) has commanded His slaves to ponder it, learn its
lessons and heed its prohibitions. It does not make sense to say to
someone who does not understand what is said to him: "Ponder that
of which you have no understanding or knowledge."833 This is an
attempt to turn people away from that great store of knowledge of the
interpretation of the Qur'an that was transmitted to us by the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah (g), the early generations of
the Urnrnah and the scholars. This great treasure has no value or
worth, according to the Shiite religion, because it was not narrated
from the twelve Imams. Some of their contemporary sbaykhs have
stated this clearly, saying: "All the commentary on the Qur'an that
was narrated from anyone except Ah1 d-Bayt is of no value and is not
to be taken into c~nsideration."~~~
Their main books of Qur'an interpretation, such as those of d-
Qummi, al-'Iykhi, as-Sifi and al-Burhk, and their main hooks of
hadith, such as al-Kifi and BiGr al-Anwcir, have tried to give
interpretations of the Book of Allah which are attributed to Ah1 al-
Bayt. In most cases, though, their interpretations demonstrate blatant
ignorance of the Book of Allah and a deviant interpretation of its
verses. Their explanations are very twisted and cannot be soundly
attributed to the scholars among Ah1 d-Bayt, because they have no
connection to the meaning of the words; they are not indicated by the
words or by the Qur'anic context, as we shall see below. According
to this belief, this is supposed to represent the best knowledge of the