15. My father and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid both said: Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Isa, on the authority of `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Hajjal al-Asadi, on the authority of Tha`labah ibn Maymun, on the authority of `Abd Al-A`la ibn A`yun, that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq asked to interpret this verse: Had it been a near advantage and a short journey, they would certainly have followed you, but the tedious journey was too long for them; and they swear by Allah: If we had been able, we would certainly have gone forth with you; they cause their own souls to perish, and Allah knows that they are most surely liars. He said: “They indeed had the ability. Allah knew that they would have carried out their duty had it been a short and advantageous journey.”