A007
Surah: 013 - Ayah: 007
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13:07
Mundhir and Hadi (Warner and Guide):
In verse (13:7) it is mentioned: "(O Prophet) verily you are a Warner, and for every people there is a guide." That is, in every age there is an Imam. And this Imam, as he is the speaking Book of God is also His speaking path, namely that straight path of God which is living and speaking, for as God says: "And whoever holds fast to Allah is surely guided to the straight path." (3:101). This verse is among the equivocal verses, because there cannot be a literal meaning of holding fast to God. Therefore, it has to have a tawil, which is to act firmly and strictly upon the farman of the True Guide, namely, the Imam of the time. Because it is he who is the rope of God.
Hadin (Guide, Imam)
It is said in verse (13:7): "Verily you are a warner, and to every nation (qawm) there is a guide." (see Shi'i translations and commentaries of the Qur'an and the books on the Manaqib of Mawla cAli). From the time of Adam till the Resurrection of resurrections, the people of every age are a nation and for every nation God has appointed a guide, who is the Imam of the time.
This natural requirement of the religion of the world that, the existence of the true guide is necessary is a sign of the universe whose meaning no wise person can deny and it explains the Quraanic verse: “(O Prophet!) Verily, you are a warner, and for every people (of every age) there is a guide.” (13:7)
Obedience to the Prophet consists of those special religious matters, which God enjoined on the people of the world only through the Prophet under the name of Islam. To act upon these matters is such obedience to God that it can be accomplished only through the Prophet therefore another name for obedience to the Prophet is religious obedience. Obedience to the ulu’lamr is related to luminous and permanent guidance, which is found in the Imam of every age and about which, God in these wisdom-filled words, says: “(O Muhammad) Indeed you are a warner and for every people there is a guide” (13:7). That is, your task is only to warn openly in your own time and there is a guide for every nation and accordingly, in your nation also, there will be a guide forever. Thus, obedience to the guide or the ulu’l-amr can be called spiritual obedience.
From this wisdom-filled verse we can deduce that religious matters are divided into two kinds: One kind is related to warning and the other to guidance. The warner (mundhir), i.e. the Prophet, warns on behalf of God and he uses the external and internal means of warning to do so, particularly the manifestation of miracles and the befalling of calamities. And all this can happen openly. But the guide, i.e. the Imam, who is appointed by God for spiritual guidance, neither warns people nor performs any external miracle in his own name, nor preaches on a large scale. Just as the warner first threatens the people with fear of Hell, in the same way the guide, later on, makes people hopeful for Paradise.
This verse has been referred 8 times.