إِنَّ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ أُولٰئِكَ هُم خَيرُ البَرِيَّةِ

Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures.

EXPOSITION

As is the Quranic style, having mentioned one group, it then contrasts it to the other. Whereas kufr and sin earn one punishment, faith and good deeds earn reward. The potential of man is immensely vast, and the same being that can be the worst of creatures can also rise to be the best of creatures. Note how this and the previous verse highlight this dual potential of man. Whilst man can be lower even than animals, he may also rise to be even better than the archangels.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Yazīd ibn Sharāḥīl, that Imam Ali (a) said: ‘The Messenger of God passed away while I was holding him against my chest. He said: “O Ali, have you not heard the word of God, the exalted: Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures? They are your followers (shīʿah), and the appointed place for me and for you all is the Pond (al-Ḥawḍ). When the nations gather for reckoning, they will be called forth with radiant faces and bright limbs.’^{‎[1]See footnotes.}
2. From Imam Ali (a), that the Prophet told him: ‘Have you not heard the word of God, Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures? This is you and your followers and mine; your appointed meeting place is the Pond. When nations will be gathered for accounting, you will be called forth with radiant faces and bright limbs.’^{‎[2]Suyuti, 6/379.}
3. From Muhammad ibn Ali, that the Prophet said regarding this verse: ‘This is you and your Shia, O Ali.’^{‎[3]Tabari, 30/170.}

Note: Muhammad ibn Ali should be Imam al-Bāqir (a). Even though Ṭabarī is a Sunni, he does occasionally report from Imam al-Bāqir (a) and Imam al-Ṣādiq (a). Interestingly, he also includes such traditions where they quote the Prophet directly, without providing a chain of narration tracing back to the Prophet, something the Imams did habitually. Ṭabarī and other Sunni scholars do not generally afford such credit to other contemporary scholars of Imam al-Bāqir (a) and Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), and this was an exception made for them.

4. From Jābir ibn ʿAbd-Allāh, that he said: ‘We were with the Prophet (s) when Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib (a) approached. The Prophet (s) said: “My brother has come to you.” Then he turned toward the Kaaba, struck it with his hand, and said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, this man and his followers will certainly be the successful ones on the Day of Resurrection. He is the first among you to believe with me, the most faithful in keeping God’s covenant, the firmest in upholding God’s command, the most just among you in governance, the most equal in allotting [rights], and the one with the greatest rank before God.”’ Jābir continued: ‘Then it was revealed: Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures. Henceforth, whenever the companions of Muhammad (s) saw Ali (a) approaching, they would say: “Here comes the best of creatures.”’^{‎[4]Amali.T, p.252; Nur, 5/644; Ibn Asakir, 42/371. See also Suyuti, 6/379, who quotes the hadith from Ibn ʿAsākir, but leaves out the first paragraph where the Prophet praises Imam Ali (a) as the foremost of his followers. For the last paragraph of the hadith see also Manaqib, 2/267.}

Note: The surah is Medinan, so if we accept this hadith as authentic then the revelation of this event should have occurred when the Prophet was performing his pilgrimage. Keep in mind that when a surah is classified as Medinan it simply means that it was revealed after the migration of the Prophet to Medina.

5. From Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī, that Imam al-Bāqir (a) said regarding this verse: ‘They are the followers of us, the Ahl al-Bayt.’^{‎[5]Barqi, 1/171; Nur, 5/646.}
6. From ʿĀmir ibn Wāthilah, that Imam Ali (a) gave a sermon from his pulpit in Kufa praising God and sending salutations on the Prophet, after which he said: ‘O people, ask me! By God, you will not ask me about any verse in the book of God except that I will tell you about it – when it was revealed, whether by night or by day, in travel or at home, on a plain or upon a mountain, and about whom it was revealed – whether it concerned a believer or a hypocrite, and what its meaning is – whether it is specific or general. And if you lose me, none will tell you such things as I do.’ Then Ibn al-Kawwāʾ stood up. When the Imam saw him, he said: ‘Do not ask to test, but ask to learn. Come, ask – but understand what you are asking.’ He said: ‘O Commander of the Faithful, tell me about the word of God, mighty and glorious: Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures.’ The Commander of the Faithful remained silent. Ibn al-Kawwāʾ repeated the question a second time, and the Imam was silent again. He repeated it a third time. Then Imam Ali (a) raised his voice and said: ‘Woe to you, O Ibn al-Kawwāʾ! They are us and our followers. On the Day of Resurrection they will come with radiant faces and shining limbs, known by their faces.’^{‎[6]Tawus, pp. 108-109; Nur, 5/646.}

Note: Ibn al-Kawwāʾ was a Kharijite and had hostile relations with Imam Ali (a). There are reports where the Imam directly disparages him. See for example the reports under the commentary on 18:104.

7. From Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, that the Prophet said: ‘Ali is the best of creatures.’
8. From Ibn Abbas, that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet said to Imam Ali (a): ‘That is you and your Shia, you will be pleased and pleasing on the Day of Judgement.’^{‎[7]Suyuti, 6/379. See also Tabrisi, 10/795.}

Note: In Saʿd al-Suʿūd, Ibn Ṭāwūs claims that Muhammad ibn Abbas ibn Marwān has in his work reported through twenty-six different chains of narrations that this verse was revealed about Imam Ali (a) and his followers.^{‎[8]Tawus, pp. 108-109; Nur, 5/646.}

9. From ʿĀʾishah, that she asked the Prophet: ‘O Messenger of God, who is the most honourable amongst God’s creation?’ The Prophet replied: ‘O ʿĀʾishah, have you not read Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of creatures?’^{‎[9]Suyuti, 6/379.}
10. From the Prophet: ‘I am more meritorious than Gabriel, or Michael, or Seraphiel (Isrāfīl), or any of the archangels. I am the best of creatures and the noble one from the children of Adam.’^{‎[10] Ṣadūq, Iʿtiqādāt al-Imāmiyyah (Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1993), p. 90; Nur, 5/645.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. ‘What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet …’^{‎[11] Psalms 8:4-6.}

[1] Tabrisi, 10/795; Nur, 5/644. See also Suyuti, 6/379. Ṭabrisī reports this from al-Ḥaskānī’s Shawāhid al-Tanzīl. For the original, see ʿUbayd-Allāh al-Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-Tanzīl (Qum: Majmaʿ Iḥyāʾ al-Thiqāfah al-Islāmiyyah, 1990), 2/459. Ḥaskānī comments that the hadith is rare (gharīb), only coming to him through the one chain. The extant print of Shawāhid is slightly different in its wording, and does not mention the Prophet being on his deathbed, but rather simply that he held Imam Ali (a) close to his chest. This does seem more appropriate given the statement that is made.
[2] Suyuti, 6/379.
[3] Tabari, 30/170.
[4] Amali.T, p.252; Nur, 5/644; Ibn Asakir, 42/371. See also Suyuti, 6/379, who quotes the hadith from Ibn ʿAsākir, but leaves out the first paragraph where the Prophet praises Imam Ali (a) as the foremost of his followers. For the last paragraph of the hadith see also Manaqib, 2/267.
[5] Barqi, 1/171; Nur, 5/646.
[6] Tawus, pp. 108-109; Nur, 5/646.
[7] Suyuti, 6/379. See also Tabrisi, 10/795.
[8] Tawus, pp. 108-109; Nur, 5/646.
[9] Suyuti, 6/379.
[10] Ṣadūq, Iʿtiqādāt al-Imāmiyyah (Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1993), p. 90; Nur, 5/645.
[11] Psalms 8:4-6.