Where the Angels Step Aside

Where the Angels Step Aside

Murtaza Muhammadi

Abstract

The worth and station of the believer before God is very great.

One of the most astonishing manifestations of this Divine honour is the moment when two believing friends meet, embrace and speak sincerely with one another. In this private moment of faith, God Almighty, out of respect for their station and to honour it, commands the recording angels to withdraw and keep away from hearing their confidences, so that He Himself, without any intermediary, may be the witness, guardian and protector of the loving converse of His beloved servants.

The Watch of the Angels and the Recording of Human Deeds

It is among the established truths of our religion that God has charged angels with writing down the deeds of human beings.

This principle appears in many verses.

Consider the following verses:

Surah Qaf, verses 17–18

إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ ﴿۱۷﴾ مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ ﴿۱۸﴾

When the two receiving angels, seated on the right and on the left, receive his deeds, he utters no word but that there is a watcher with him, ready to record it.

​ Surah al-Infitar, verses 10–12

وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ ﴿۱۰﴾ كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ ﴿۱۱﴾ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿۱۲﴾

And indeed, guardians have been appointed over you: noble angels who write, who know whatever you do.

​ Surah al-Zukhruf, verse 80

أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ بَلَى وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَ

Do they suppose that We do not hear their secrets and their private counsels? Yes indeed, and Our messengers are present with them, writing.

Surah al-Kahf, verse 49

وَيَقُولُونَ يَا وَيْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا

And they will say: "Woe to us! What sort of book is this, that leaves out no deed, small or great, but has counted it?"

Interestingly, however, this principle too has, in the terminology of the science of jurisprudential principles (usul al-fiqh), been subject to exceptions (takhsis) in some cases.

There are cases in which, for certain reasons of wisdom, the angels either forget what they have written or are removed from writing altogether.

The noble Supplication of Kumayl briefly alludes to this reality:

فَأَسْأَلُكَ بِالْقُدْرَةِ الَّتِي قَدَّرْتَهَا ...أَنْ تَهَبَ لِي فِي هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةِ وَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ كُلَّ جُرْمٍ أَجْرَمْتُهُ وَ كُلَّ ذَنْبٍ أَذْنَبْتُهُ...  وَ كُلَّ سَيِّئَةٍ أَمَرْتَ

بِإِثْبَاتِهَا الْكِرَامَ الْكَاتِبِينَ الَّذِينَ وَكَّلْتَهُمْ بِحِفْظِ مَا يَكُونُ مِنِّي وَ جَعَلْتَهُمْ شُهُوداً عَلَيَّ مَعَ جَوَارِحِي وَ كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيَّ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ وَ الشَّاهِدَ لِمَا خَفِيَ عَنْهُمْ وَ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَخْفَيْتَهُ وَ بِفَضْلِكَ سَتَرْتَهُ

I ask You by the power that You have decreed, by the judgment that You have made certain and firm, and through which You have prevailed over whomever You applied it to, that You grant me, in this night and in this hour:

every crime I have committed,

every sin that has issued from me,

every evil deed I have concealed,

and every act of ignorance I have done, whether I hid it or disclosed it, kept it secret or made it plain,

and every evil deed that You commanded the noble angels and recorders of deeds to write down, those angels You appointed to guard whatever issues from me and made witnesses over me together with my limbs,

while You Yourself were the Watcher over me behind them, and the Witness of what was hidden from them, and in Your mercy You concealed it, and by Your grace You covered it.

The point of evidence is this passage:

وَ كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيَّ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ وَ الشَّاهِدَ لِمَا خَفِيَ عَنْهُمْ وَ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَخْفَيْتَهُ ("And You were the Watcher over me behind them, and the Witness of what was hidden from them, and in Your mercy You concealed it.")

The sentence states explicitly that something being hidden from the angel does not mean it is hidden from God as well.

In explaining this part of the supplication, some have said that people's evil intentions

remain hidden from the angels.

In explaining

«وَالشّاهِدَ لِما خَفِیَ عَنْهُمْ» ("and the Witness of what was hidden from them"), he wrote:

کالخواطر السیئة والنیات الفاسدة الکاسدة التی لایدرکها الموکّلون ویعلمها الله. ("Such as evil thoughts and corrupt, worthless intentions, which the appointed angels do not perceive but God knows.")

 [Sharh Du'a' Kumayl, Ayatollah Sayyid 'Abd al-A'la al-Sabzawari, p. 271]

However, he has offered no evidence for this claim, and perhaps we can say

that our narrations completely contradict this statement.

A narration from Imam al-Kazim (peace be upon him) states:

​عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُوسَی بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ أَبِیهِ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْمَلَکَیْنِ هَلْ یَعْلَمَانِ بِالذَّنْبِ إِذَا أَرَادَ الْعَبْدُ أَنْ یَفْعَلَهُ أَوِ الْحَسَنَةِ؟ فَقَالَ: رِیحُ الْکَنِیفِ وَ رِیحُ الطِّیبِ سَوَاءٌ؟ قُلْتُ: لَا. قَالَ: إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا هَمَّ بِالْحَسَنَةِ خَرَجَ نَفَسُهُ طَیِّبَ الرِّیحِ، فَقَالَ صَاحِبُ الْیَمِینِ لِصَاحِبِ الشِّمَالِ: قُمْ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ هَمَّ بِالْحَسَنَةِ. فَإِذَا فَعَلَهَا کَانَ لِسَانُهُ قَلَمَهُ وَ رِیقُهُ مِدَادَهُ فَأَثْبَتَهَا لَهُ. وَ إِذَا هَمَّ بِالسَّیِّئَةِ خَرَجَ نَفَسُهُ مُنْتِنَ الرِّیحِ، فَیَقُولُ صَاحِبُ الشِّمَالِ لِصَاحِبِ الْیَمِینِ: قِفْ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ هَمَّ بِالسَّیِّئَةِ. فَإِذَا هُوَ فَعَلَهَا کَانَ لِسَانُهُ قَلَمَهُ وَ رِیقُهُ مِدَادَهُ وَ أَثْبَتَهَا عَلَیْهِ.

 [Usul al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 429]

​

​It is narrated from 'Abd Allah ibn Musa ibn Ja'far, from his father (Imam al-Kazim, peace be upon him): I asked him about the two guardian angels: when a servant intends to commit a sin or a good deed, do they come to know of it?

​He said: "Are the smell of a latrine and the smell of perfume the same?"

​I said: "No."

​He said: "When the servant resolves upon a good deed, his breath comes out fragrant, so the angel on the right says to the angel on the left: 'Rise, for he has resolved upon a good deed.' When he does it, his tongue becomes the angel's pen and his saliva its ink, and it records the good deed for him.

​And when he resolves upon an evil deed, his breath comes out foul-smelling, so the angel on the left says to the angel on the right: 'Hold back, for he has resolved upon an evil deed'..."

Of course, this disclosure of the inner, spiritual face of things is not exclusive to the angels.

Rather, it is understood from the narrations that sin itself has this very quality of a foul stench,

but a person must be among the people of spiritual insight (ma'rifa) to be able to perceive this stench, as many great scholars did.

In a narration from

the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) it is stated:

إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ اَلْقِيَامَةِ أَهَبَّ اَللَّهُ رِيحاً مُنْتِنَةً يَتَأَذَّى بِهَا أَهْلُ اَلْجَمْعِ حَتَّى إِذَا هَبَّتْ تُمْسِكُ بِأَنْفَاسِ اَلنَّاسِ نَادَاهُمْ مُنَادٍ هَلْ تَدْرُونَ مَا هَذِهِ اَلرِّيحُ اَلَّتِي قَدْ آذَتْكُمْ فَيَقُولُونَ لاَ فَقَدْ آذَتْنَا وَ بَلَغَتْ مِنَّا كُلَّ مَبْلَغٍ قَالَ فَيُقَالُ هَذِهِ اَلرِّيحُ رِيحُ فُرُوجِ اَلزُّنَاةِ اَلَّذِينَ لَقُوا اَللَّهَ بِالزِّنَاءِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَالْعَنُوهُمْ لَعَنَهُمُ اَللَّهُ قَالَ فَلاَ يَبْقَى فِي اَلْمَوْقِفِ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ قَالَ اَللَّهُمَّ اِلْعَنِ اَلزُّنَاةَ.

Translation by Ghaffari

When the Day of Resurrection comes, God will send a foul-smelling wind whose stench will torment all the people gathered there, until it holds their breath in their chests. Then a caller will call out: "Do you know what this foul smell that torments you is?" They will say: "We do not know, but it has afflicted us to the utmost." He said: Then it will be said to them: "This foul smell is from the private parts of the adulterers who met God with adultery without repenting. So curse them, for God has cursed them." Then no one will remain in the plain of gathering but that he says «اللّهم العن الزّناة»: "O Lord, banish the adulterers from Your mercy."

 [Thawab al-A'mal wa 'Iqab al-A'mal, with four Persian translations, p. 276]

The narration states explicitly that this grave sin has such a spiritual reality, which, of course, we do not see,

just as the Quran also points to this truth.

In verse 10 of Surah al-Nisa' we read:

​إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتَامَىٰ ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا ۖ وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ سَعِيرًا

Indeed, those who consume the property of orphans unjustly are in fact swallowing fire into their bellies, and soon they will enter a blazing fire.

This verse sets out one of the clearest examples in the Quran of the embodiment of deeds (tajassum al-a'mal). According to this verse, the property of an orphan, which outwardly appears to be wealth and food, is in its spiritual dimension and inner reality a burning fire. Those who take possession of it unjustly are, at that very moment, swallowing fire into themselves, but because their outward senses dominate them, they do not feel its burning. When the material veils are removed on the Day of Resurrection, this inner reality becomes manifest and appears as real fire in Hell.

Where do the angels, by the leave of God the All-Conquering, forget the deeds they have recorded?

At the time of repentance

One such occasion is when the servant turns to repentance (tawba), one of the most beautiful of deeds in God's sight.

According to numerous hadiths,

Almighty God causes even the angels themselves to forget the servant's sins,

as though everything they had written were erased of itself.

So God does not merely forgive the sin; He wipes its trace from the scene of existence so that His servant's honour is preserved.

If the sin were only forgiven while the angels and witnesses remained aware of it, a sense of shame would remain within the person. By erasing this memory from the minds of the angels and witnesses, God preserves a person's honour even before His closest servants, so that he does not feel humiliated.

In fact, when all the traces and records are erased, a person's relationship with God returns to its original, pure state, like a white page on which no line has been drawn. This revives in the human heart hope in life and in setting out anew.

In human relationships, even when someone forgives another, he usually does not forget the other's fault. But the Lord not only forgives; He treats His servant as though no fault had ever occurred. This is the height of His generosity and of His being the Concealer of faults (Sattar al-'Uyub).

Now consider the following hadiths:

The late al-Saduq (may God have mercy on him) narrated with his chain from Imam 'Ali (peace be upon him):

مَنْ تَابَ، تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَأُمِرَتْ جَوَارِحُهُ أَنْ تَسْتُرَ عَلَيْهِ، وَبِقَاعُ الْأَرْضِ أَنْ تَكْتُمَ عَلَيْهِ، وَأُنْسِيَتِ الْحَفَظَةُ مَا كَانَتْ تَكْتُبُ عَلَيْهِ.

Whoever repents, God accepts his repentance; his limbs and organs are commanded to cover his sins, the patches of earth are commanded to conceal them, and the guardian angels of deeds are made to forget what they had been writing against him.

​Thawab al-A'mal wa 'Iqab al-A'mal, p. 179, Chapter on the Reward of Repentance.

​The late al-Kulayni (may God have mercy on him)

​narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):

إِذَا تَابَ الْعَبْدُ الْمُؤْمِنُ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحاً أَحَبَّهُ اللَّهُ فَسَتَرَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، قُلْتُ: وَكَيْفَ يَسْتُرُ عَلَيْهِ؟ قَالَ: يُنْسِي مَلَكَيْهِ مَا كَتَبَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ... فَيَلْقَى اللَّهَ حِينَ يَلْقَاهُ وَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ يَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ.

When a believing servant repents with a sincere and true repentance (tawba nasuh), God loves him and covers him in this world and the Hereafter. The narrator says: I asked, "How does He cover him?" He said: "He makes his two angels forget the sins they had written against him... so when he meets God, there is nothing to testify against him for any of his sins."

​Al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 430, Chapter on Repentance, hadith 1.

Another case, the one we are discussing now, in which God commands the angels to step aside,

is when two believers sit together and converse with each other in affection.

At that moment God commands the angels to withdraw out of respect for these two believers,

and that there is no need for them to watch his deeds.

Now, if in such a private moment, when the Lord has drawn back every curtain and sent the angels away in order to honour His servant and spread the shade of His mercy over him, a person commits sin and disobedience, backbites or speaks indecent words, the ugliness and shamelessness of this act are multiplied many times over.

​Such behaviour is like going to the home of one of your friends,

and the host, out of respect for your presence, sends all the members of the household out, makes the house completely private and secure, and places every comfort at your disposal so that you may be entirely at ease. But instead of appreciating this respect and trust, in that very house he has emptied for you, you do things the owner detests: you break his belongings, set the house on fire and provoke his anger.

​According to the narrations, God Almighty likewise clears the space at such a moment and sends the angels aside in order to enfold His servant in His mercy. If the servant uses this secure opportunity and special privacy for backbiting, slander and sin, he has truly bitten the hand that fed him. He has not only turned a great blessing into a heavy affliction, but has also shown ingratitude and shamelessness before the gaze of the Lord, who witnesses and watches him even in private. As will come in the hadiths, the Imam (peace be upon him) said with tears flowing that although the angels do not hear or write those words, God, who knows the secret and what is even more hidden, sees and hears.

Text and Translation of the Narrations

Now let us look at the text of the narration.

​

The late al-Kulayni (may God have mercy on him) narrated it as the second hadith in the Chapter on Embracing (Bab al-Mu'anaqa):

عَلِیُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِیمَ عَنْ أَبِیهِ عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ یَحْیَی عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ عَنْ أَبِی عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَالَ: إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَیْنِ إِذَا اعْتَنَقَا غَمَرَتْهُمَا الرَّحْمَةُ فَإِذَا الْتَزَمَا لَا یُرِیدَانِ بِذَلِکَ إِلَّا وَجْهَ اللَّهِ وَ لَا یُرِیدَانِ غَرَضاً مِنْ أَغْرَاضِ الدُّنْیَا قِیلَ لَهُمَا مَغْفُوراً لَکُمَا فَاسْتَأْنِفَا  فَإِذَا أَقْبَلَا عَلَی الْمُسَاءَلَةِ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِکَةُ بَعْضُهَا لِبَعْضِ تَنَحَّوْا عَنْهُمَا فَإِنَّ لَهُمَا سِرّاً وَ قَدْ سَتَرَ اللَّهُ عَلَیْهِمَا قَالَ إِسْحَاقُ فَقُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاکَ فَلَا یُکْتَبُ عَلَیْهِمَا لَفْظُهُمَا وَ قَدْ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ- ما یَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَیْهِ رَقِیبٌ عَتِیدٌ  قَالَ فَتَنَفَّسَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع الصُّعَدَاءَ ثُمَّ بَکَی حَتَّی أَخْضَلَتْ دُمُوعُهُ لِحْیَتَهُ وَ قَالَ یَا إِسْحَاقُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَکَ وَ تَعَالَی إِنَّمَا أَمَرَ الْمَلَائِکَةَ أَنْ تَعْتَزِلَ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنَیْنِ إِذَا الْتَقَیَا إِجْلَالًا لَهُمَا وَ إِنَّهُ وَ إِنْ کَانَتِ الْمَلَائِکَةُ لَا تَکْتُبُ لَفْظَهُمَا وَ لَا تَعْرِفُ کَلَامَهُمَا فَإِنَّهُ یَعْرِفُهُ وَ یَحْفَظُهُ عَلَیْهِمَا عَالِمُ السِّرِّ وَ أَخْفَی.

 [Usul al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 185]

The late al-Majlisi wrote in his comment on the chain: hasan muwaththaq (good and reliable).

 [Mir'at al-'Uqul fi Sharh Akhbar Al al-Rasul (peace be upon them), vol. 9, p. 76]

Ishaq ibn 'Ammar narrates that Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:

When two believers embrace one another, God's mercy encompasses and immerses them. When they hold each other close, seeking nothing by it but God's pleasure and having no worldly aim, it is said to them: "You are forgiven; now begin your deeds anew."

​And when they turn to asking after each other and conversing, the angels say to one another: "Move away from these two, for they share a secret which God has kept covered."

​Ishaq says: I said, "May I be your ransom! Are their words and utterances not written down, when God, Mighty and Majestic, has said: ﴿مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ﴾ (He utters no word but that there is a watchful angel with him, ready)?"

​[Ishaq says:] At this, Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) heaved a very deep sigh and wept until his tears moistened his noble beard. Then he said: "O Ishaq! God, Blessed and Exalted, has commanded the angels to withdraw from two believers when they meet, in order to exalt and honour their station. And although the angels do not write their words and do not learn of their conversation, God, who knows the secret and what is even more hidden, knows it and preserves it for them."

The narrator of this noble hadith is Ishaq ibn 'Ammar.

Ishaq ibn 'Ammar was one of the well-known Shia merchants and men of wealth.

Some biographical (rijal) sources show that he was a money-changer.

In the Mu'jam of the late al-Khu'i (may God have mercy on him), his name is recorded as follows:

إسحاق بن عمار الصيرفي (Ishaq ibn 'Ammar al-Sayrafi)

Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith wa Tafsil Tabaqat al-Ruwat, vol. 3, p. 224

Sayrafi means someone whose profession was money-changing.

The story itself, or what is called the occasion of the hadith (sha'n al-sudur), was narrated by Ishaq himself.

He says:

When my wealth increased and I gradually became prominent,

I placed a doorkeeper at the door of my house,

and this meant that many needy Shia could no longer easily reach him.

The late author of al-Wasa'il narrated this in the continuation of the Book of Hajj, in the Chapters on the Rules of Social Conduct at Home and on Journeys (Abwab Ahkam al-'Ishra fi al-Safar wa al-Hadar),

  Chapter 130, the chapter on the prohibition of keeping the Shia away (Bab Tahrim Hajb al-Shi'a),

as the second hadith:

وَ عَنْ عِدَّةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِیَادٍ عَنْ یَحْیَی بْنِ الْمُبَارَکِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جَبَلَةَ عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ قَالَ: دَخَلْتُ عَلَی أَبِی عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع فَنَظَرَ إِلَیَّ بِوَجْهٍ قَاطِبٍ فَقُلْتُ مَا الَّذِی غَیَّرَکَ لِی قَالَ الَّذِی غَیَّرَکَ لِإِخْوَانِکَ بَلَغَنِی یَا إِسْحَاقُ- أَنَّکَ أَقْعَدْتَ بِبَابِکَ بَوَّاباً یَرُدُّ عَنْکَ فُقَرَاءَ الشِّیعَةِ- فَقُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاکَ إِنِّی خِفْتُ الشُّهْرَةَ قَالَ أَ فَلَا خِفْتَ الْبَلِیَّةَ أَ وَ مَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَیْنِ إِذَا الْتَقَیَا فَتَصَافَحَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ الرَّحْمَةَ عَلَیْهِمَا فَکَانَتْ تِسْعَةً وَ تِسْعِینَ لِأَشَدِّهِمَا حُبّاً لِصَاحِبِهِ فَإِذَا تَوَاقَفَا غَمَرَتْهُمَا الرَّحْمَةُ  وَ إِذَا قَعَدَا یَتَحَادَثَانِ قَالَتِ الْحَفَظَةُ بَعْضُهَا لِبَعْضٍ اعْتَزِلُوا بِنَا لَعَلَّ لَهُمَا سِرّاً وَ قَدْ سَتَرَ اللَّهُ عَلَیْهِمَا فَقُلْتُ أَ لَیْسَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ یَقُولُ (Ishaq ibn 'Ammar said: I came in to Abu 'Abd Allah [al-Sadiq] (peace be upon him) and he looked at me with a frowning face. I said: "What has changed you towards me?" He said: "That which changed you towards your brothers. It has reached me, O Ishaq, that you have seated a doorkeeper at your door who turns the poor of the Shia away from you." I said: "May I be your ransom, I feared notoriety." He said: "Did you not fear affliction? Do you not know that when two believers meet and shake hands, God, Mighty and Majestic, sends down mercy upon them, ninety-nine parts of it for the one who loves his companion more? When they stand together, mercy immerses them, and when they sit down to talk, the guardian angels say to one another: 'Let us withdraw; perhaps they have a secret, and God has covered them.'" I said: "Does God, Mighty and Majestic, not say:)

ما یَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَیْهِ رَقِیبٌ عَتِیدٌ فَقَالَ یَا إِسْحَاقُ- إِنْ کَانَتِ الْحَفَظَةُ لَا تَسْمَعُ فَإِنَّ عَالِمَ السِّرِّ یَسْمَعُ وَ یَرَی. ('He utters no word but that there is a watcher with him, ready'?" He said: "O Ishaq, if the guardian angels do not hear, the Knower of secrets hears and sees.")

 [Wasa'il al-Shi'a ila Tahsil Masa'il al-Shari'a, vol. 12, p. 229]

This stirring story

points to several important lessons:

1. Sincerity in love and embracing is the condition of acceptance

​The Imam (peace be upon him) makes pure sincerity the condition for sins falling away and for Divine mercy to encompass those who embrace: «لَا يُرِيدَانِ بِذَلِكِ إِلَّا وَجْهَ اللَّهِ وَ لَا يُرِيدَانِ غَرَضاً مِنْ أَغْرَضِ الدُّنْيَا» ("seeking nothing by it but the Face of God, and having no aim among the aims of this world"). If the love of two people for each other is not based on material interests, fame or worldly aims, but is purely for the sake of God and faith, this embrace becomes a great act of worship that purifies past sins.

​

2. God's guarding of the privacy of two believers' confidences

​The phrase «تَنَحَّوْا عَنْهُمَا فَإِنَّ لَهُمَا سِرّاً» ("Move away from these two, for they share a secret") shows God's extraordinary respect for the intimate converse and privacy of two believing friends. God does not permit even the nearest angels and the recorders of deeds (Raqib and 'Atid) to enter the sanctuary of the secrets and loving greetings of two believers, and commands them to withdraw.

Ishaq ibn 'Ammar's question and the Imam's weeping

Ishaq ibn 'Ammar asked whether deeds are not written down at that time.

​Imam al-Sadiq's (peace be upon him) answer was accompanied by a deep sigh (تَنَفَّسَ الصُّعَدَاءَ) ("he heaved a deep sigh") and intense weeping. This poignant reaction of the Imam may point to two truths:

1. Showing the greatness of the believer's station before God

It is as though the Imam was involuntarily absorbed in this thought and wept at its greatness:

how God sets His angels aside to preserve the sanctity and dignity of the believer.

2. People's heedlessness of this value

That is, the Imam wept because people pay no attention to this honour,

and because people are so unaware of the greatness of the bond of faith and of the believer's dignity before the Lord.

In fact, the Imam wanted to shift people's thinking from an angel-centred view to a God-centred one.

​

The Imam's final answer shows how accustomed minds have become to seeing God and His sovereignty only through agents and angels.

It is as though the Imam's sigh and tears were meant to show that even a distinguished believer such as Ishaq had forgotten the direct, unmediated presence of the "Knower of the secret" ('Alim al-sirr), and supposed that if there is no angel, there is no oversight and no accountability.

Consequently, heedlessness of this "special and direct privacy with the Lord" is precisely what pained the Imam's blessed heart.

​

But

as to why Ishaq ibn 'Ammar had placed a doorkeeper,

two explanations are possible.

1. That he never intended unkindness, arrogance or disobedience to the instructions of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), but erred in judging priorities and in his spiritual reckoning.

The evidence for this explanation is that Ishaq ibn 'Ammar was among the distinguished and trustworthy hadith narrators and was very close to Imam al-Sadiq and Imam al-Kazim (peace be upon them both). He was not a man who would deliberately and obstinately act haughtily towards the poor or disregard the rights of his brothers in faith.

Likewise,

​his reply to the Imam (إِنِّی خِفْتُ الشُّهْرَةَ) ("I feared notoriety") shows that he was genuinely worried about a moral danger (love of fame and self-admiration). He thought that if his home and office became a place where everyone came and went without any restriction, his name might spread on people's tongues as a very rich or generous man, and that this fame would endanger his faith.

In fact, he erred in distinguishing "the more important from the important", and this was not a deliberate wrong.

Yes, it may have been out of negligence and insufficient knowledge;

at times a person commits a great mistake out of ignorance and lack of awareness, but at least he does not commit it deliberately.

​As a result, in order to avoid a possible, personal danger (fame), Ishaq did something that brought about a certain, social harm (depriving the poor and creating distance between believers).

​He was worried about the danger of "fame", but neglected the far greater danger of "turning away the needy and breaking a believer's heart".

​Imam al-Sadiq's (peace be upon him) rebuke (أَفَلَا خِفْتَ الْبَلِیَّةَ) ("Did you not fear affliction?") was in fact an educational jolt to recalibrate Ishaq's scales of judgment. The Imam reminded him that preserving the dignity of the believer and keeping one's door open to the needy is so overriding a principle in Islam that no excuse (not even avoiding fame) can set it aside.

​Therefore, the Imam's reproach was of the kind given to a distinguished, faithful student who was at a loss in discerning his duty and needed his teacher's reminder, not to an arrogant person or one indifferent to the Sacred Law.

Had Ishaq's action stemmed from ill intent and obstinacy, the Imam would not have spent his time explaining the profound spiritual philosophy of shaking hands, of believers meeting and sitting together, and of the angels withdrawing. The fact that, after that rebuke, the Imam explains to him one of the deepest truths concerning the sanctity of the believer shows that his aim was to raise Ishaq's understanding and insight, so that he would never again make such an error in distinguishing "the more important from the important".

​

Further evidence for this claim is that ​in the conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), if someone treated the Divine laws and people's rights with arrogance, haughtiness or obstinacy, the Imam's stance towards him was complete rejection, cursing or severing ties. But frowning (بِوَجْهٍ قَاطِبٍ) ("with a frowning face") and verbal rebuke were the Imam's particular educational method for disciplining and awakening his close companions and believers who had made an error of judgment. This anger is "the anger of a mentor and spiritual father", not "anger at an enemy or a hypocrite".

So the very fact that the Imam allowed him to come in shows that his action was neither out of arrogance nor deliberate.

Another indication is that

when

people commit a sin or a mistake out of arrogance, haughtiness or obstinacy, they usually conceal their slips and the reproaches they received, so that their social standing is not harmed. But Ishaq ibn 'Ammar, with complete courage and humility, relates the Imam's angry face, his rebuke and his own error of judgment without censoring anything. This faithful self-disclosure shows that his only aim was to pass on the Imam's educational lesson to later generations, not to protect his outward reputation,

and this itself shows his lack of arrogance.

​When a believer makes an error of judgment and is awakened by his mentor's admonition, relating that recognized error is part of the process of repentance and amends. By recounting this story, Ishaq wants to warn others, especially wealthy believers, not to build a wall between themselves and the needy under seemingly justified pretexts (such as fleeing from fame).

​So his full account of this episode, even the parts that apparently harmed his own social standing, shows the height of trustworthiness in transmitting the Sunna and conduct of the Infallible. He put the Imam's teaching and discipline before his personal prestige.

​Therefore, this action of Ishaq ibn 'Ammar proves that not only had he not appointed a doorkeeper out of obstinacy or arrogance, but that after being awakened he bowed so humbly before the Imam's words that he turned the story of his own lapse into an enduring lesson in Islamic ethics.

As for why the Imam

treated him with a certain severity,

the reason is clear.

​Ishaq ibn 'Ammar was a great hadith narrator and a well-known figure. If such a person erred in his priorities, gentle and ordinary words might not make the depth of his mistake clear to him. The Imam met him with a frowning face so that he would feel the spiritual blow at that very first moment and realize how grave his action was in God's sight; this is exactly the method used to correct a righteous believer who has slipped.

​

2. Another explanation is that Ishaq may genuinely have become heedless at that period.

History offers us many examples of wealth gradually changing people.

The Holy Quran explicitly sets out this rule of human behaviour:

کَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَیَطْغَىٰ ﴿۶﴾ أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَىٰ ﴿۷﴾ (Surah al-'Alaq, verses 6–7)

It is not as it should be, that man is grateful; surely man transgresses whenever he sees himself as self-sufficient.

Wealth and outward self-sufficiency, creeping in quietly and slowly, make a person's mind self-satisfied. History holds many examples of people with a record of faith and closeness to the Ahl al-Bayt who, once the world turned towards them, underwent shifts in their thinking or a decline in their moral care.

Imam al-Sadiq's (peace be upon him) turning his head away and his long weeping after Ishaq's question may support this meaning. The Imam's tears were perhaps not only because of the greatness of the Divine station, but also out of grief and sorrow at a heedlessness that befell even close and wealthy companions: a heedlessness that had made Ishaq confine his gaze to the angels' registers and, for a moment, forget the sovereignty and witnessing of God, who knows the secret and what is even more hidden.

The fuller narration in Rijal al-Kashshi

The late al-Kashshi

has narrated the account in greater detail,

and the late al-Khu'i (may God have mercy on him) also quotes the hadith from al-Kashshi:

جعفر بن معروف، قال: حدثنا أبو الحسن الرازي، قال: حدثني إسماعيل بن مهران، قال: حدثني سليمان الديلمي، قال: قال إسحاق بن عمار: لما كثر مالي أجلست علي بابي بوابا يرد عني فقراء الشيعة، قال: فخرجت إلي مكة، في تلك السنة فسلمت علي أبي عبد الله ع فرد علي بوجه قاطب غير مسرور، فقلت: جعلت فداك، و ما الذي غير حالي عندك؟، قال ع: الذي غيرك للمؤمنين، قلت: جعلت فداك، و الله إني لأعلم أنهم علي دين الله، و لكن خشيت الشهرة علي نفسي، قال: يا إسحاق أ ما علمت أن المؤمنين إذا التقيا فتصافحا بين إبهاميهما مائة رحمة، تسعة و تسعون منها لأشدهما حبا لصاحبه، فإذا اعتنقا غمرتهما الرحمة، فإذا التأما لا يريدان بذلك إلا وجه الله، قيل لهما غفر الله لكما، فإذا جلسا يتساءلان، قالت الحفظة بعضها لبعض: اعتزلوا بنا عنهما، فإن لهما سرا و قد ستر الله عليهما، قلت: جعلت فداك، و تسمع الحفظة قولهما و لا تكتبه و قد قال الله عز و جل: (مٰا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلّٰا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ)؟. قال: فنكس رأسه طويلا، ثم رفعه، و قد فاضت دموعه علي لحيته و هو يقول: يا إسحاق، إن كانت الحفظة لا تسمعه و لا تكتبه، فقد يسمعه و يعلمه الذي يعلم السر و أخفي، يا إسحاق، خف الله، كأنك تراه، فإن شككت في أنه يراك، فقد كفرت، و إن تيقنت أنه يراك، ثم برزت له بالمعصية، فقد جعلته في حد أهون الناظرين إليك. (In brief: Ishaq ibn 'Ammar said: When my wealth grew, I seated a doorkeeper at my door to turn the poor of the Shia away from me. That year I went to Mecca and greeted Abu 'Abd Allah [al-Sadiq] (peace be upon him), and he returned my greeting with a frowning, displeased face. I said: "May I be your ransom, what has changed my standing with you?" He said: "That which changed you towards the believers." I said: "By God, I know they follow the religion of God, but I feared notoriety for myself." He said: "O Ishaq, do you not know that when two believers meet and shake hands, a hundred mercies are between their thumbs, ninety-nine of them for the one who loves his companion more; when they embrace, mercy immerses them; when they hold each other seeking only the Face of God, it is said to them: 'God has forgiven you'; and when they sit asking after one another, the guardian angels say to each other: 'Let us withdraw from them, for they have a secret and God has covered them.'" I said: "Do the guardian angels hear their words and not write them, when God has said: 'He utters no word but that there is a watcher with him, ready'?" He lowered his head for a long time, then raised it with tears flowing onto his beard, saying: "O Ishaq, if the guardian angels do not hear it or write it, then the One who knows the secret and what is more hidden hears it and knows it." The closing sentences are translated below.)

 Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith wa Tafsil Tabaqat al-Ruwat, vol. 3, p. 213

The closing sentences do not appear in al-Kafi.

In these sentences the Imam says:

"O Ishaq, fear God as though you see Him, for if you doubt that He sees you, you have disbelieved; and if you are certain that He sees you and still come out before Him with sin and disobedience, you have placed Him in the rank of the least regarded of those who look upon you."

​